Okay, I have been shopping for a horse for my husband for a while now, and being on a tight budget, I cannot find anything suitable. (When did it get this bad?) He has a lists of criteria, so that makes it more difficult, for sure. No TB (I’m not against them, I have one!), 16.2 or taller, etc. Now he is looking at 4-year-old barely started geldings. We have found a few within budget, but my trainer is against this idea. He thinks horses between 4 and 7 are the ones that are like terrible toddlers that are not especially safe. He’s looking out for us, but is this a general rule? We’ve worked young horses before, but more so OTTB retrains than young WBs. When talking to my trainer and telling him what we would like, he said, “It doesn’t exist.” It was so disheartening to hear and just looking at my husband’s face made me sad. For us, 20K is a big purchase. Sigh. I guess I’m just venting. I just want my DH to have a good, safe horse to ride that he enjoys.
Mind providing the full list?
Whatever the list is, it exists. It may not be within your budget, but it exists. And even with a tighter budget, it still exists, you may just have to wait longer than you want to for it and/or get really lucky.
My personal experience is 100% in line with your trainer. I would not consider a young horse for husband. In fact, I sold my young horse after a few disheartening years where my confidence was decimated. When I decided to purchase again, I did not want to look at anything under 10 yrs old. My sweet spot was 14-16 years old. I ended up purchasing a 15 year old mare and she is PERFECT. I am having so much fun and she is 100% what I need. She was the 10th horse I tried and it took me 5 months to find her. She does have a medical history that some would not consider (which is what put her in my price range) but to me she was worth the risk.
Thanks, endlessclimb and floppyammy.
More background. I have a 30-year-old retiree and a 25-year-old soon-to-be retiree at home. We keep our horses at home. We have limited paddock space. I got both those horses as teenagers. My other current riding horse is 12. He fears getting an older horse, say 13 or older, and having to retire it in a few years. So age is a bit tricky. I think we need to be open to an older horse, though, but maybe just not a teenager. The two older horses I have were both my riding horses, and I love them both. 
I’m starting to worry about the young horse idea now that a few folks are trying to steer us away from that. The ones we were going to look at were started as three-year-olds then had winter off. They didn’t get restarted as four-year-olds, and are on the back burner (all at the same breeder). So, though they look nice in video, they’re probably going to be quite a bit of work, and I do NOT want my DH getting hurt. We don’t bounce as well as we once did!
endlessclimb, are you asking about a list of wants? Or did I misread your post? Yes, the whole “It does not exist” is leaving off the unsaid part of “It does not exist (for 20/25K).”
ETA, my 12-year-old WB would not pass a vet check – but we are happily doing dressage.
Yes, what’s the full list?
@ParadoxFarm i bought this exact horse you are describing. I bought him as lightly started late 3 year old. He was an absolute saint at 3 and 4 years old. People raved about what an easy horse he was. The best baby horse they had ever seen. At 5, he became the terrible toddler your trainer described. Everyone - my trainer, the assistant pro, a former trainer that I had ridden with extensively - all shrugged their shoulders and said “totally normal. That’s baby horses”. I wish someone had thought to warn me. I had no idea it was coming. I stuck with it until he was 7. He was good 99% of the time. The 1% of the time that he was naughty - normal baby horse moments - I could not stick it and had numerous falls to back it up. I also had to put all of my goals and all of my personal progress on the back burner for 3+ years as I brought him along in a professional program with extensive help.
Unless this is the type of journey you and your husband are looking for - I would not recommend it.
If I had to do an ISO ad, it would be something like this:
• GREAT BRAIN/Easy to handle (His previous horse was OTTB and he was difficult on the ground and for farrier, etc. I didn’t enjoy handling him, and let’s face it, we handle them more than ride them.)
• Strong preference for gelding just because that’s what we have on our small farm right now.
• 16.2 minimum.
• Started with W/T/C and a plus for going over cross rails or small jumps minimum. I don’t expect a fully trained horse in my budget and that’s okay if the horse has the temperament to work with.
• Has the potential to do maybe 1, 1.10, but my DH really doesn’t show. He enjoys the training at home, and maybe he’d do a local show here and there. But it is not the main focus.
• Nice on the flat would be a bonus so that I could fiddle around with dressage when he is not riding.
Thank you, floppy. I’m starting to get nervous about it.
What about a draft cross? This meets your criteria and budget. You could find a nice draft cross that is going and in the 5-10 year old range for your budget. Safe, sane and reasonably athletic. And a good size.
I would be open to that, but I’m not sure my DH would be. I would have to find the right one, I think. Something to think about. Thanks for the suggestion. 
What breed is he ideally looking for?
This is what I’d do away with, on your list. If he isn’t going to show, who cares if the horse tops out at .8m, IMO.
What job is your husband going to do with the horse? I’m having a hard time getting a read on your husband’s riding level and what he wants to do with the horse.
My first impression was that you were looking for a kind, safe lower level horse but the potential for 1.10m confused that.
Another vote for probably not a young horse. Not impossible a 4yo might work out but I would think more a 4yo that had been around the block than a lightly backed never been off the farm. Big is expensive. Sensible is expensive. Athletic is expensive. Trained is expensive. I’m sure you’ve noticed! You need to compromise somewhere. Big and sensible seem a necessity. Maybe consider a draft cross instead of a WB. Revisit the OTTB thought. An older OTTB event horse might work perfectly. Definitely would recommend staying flexible on age. You have a 25yo soon to be retiree. If you by a 15yo there is definitely potential for another 10 years. I bought a 4yo. Enjoyed the first year. Slogged through the next 3 years thinking I should just give up before I get hurt. This spring all that hard work started to pay off and he was doing great. In July I had to euthanize him. There are no guarantees. Look for something that doesn’t break the bank and DH can have fun on tomorrow. Everything else is negotiable.
He would like a “warmblood”. I think because I have a 17.2 Rhinelander who is really sweet and has a good look to him. He would not pass a vet check, though. If he did, I likely wouldn’t have been able to afford him, but he’s good for what I’m doing. So I think he compares horses to him. But I’m willing to look outside the box if I could find something that would work for him. Thanks.
Could you give him that horse and look for one for you? Sorry if that’s a dumb question.
What does your husband want to do and how big is he? Could your height limit come down to 16 hands? 15.2? That would open up a lot more choices.
In my experience with young horses, they’re mostly pretty good at 3 & 4, then will test you at 5 & 6 and hopefully by 7 will be over it, but you never know.
Good thoughts, all! Personally, I’d like to look at experienced TBs. If I could find one that was big enough and sane enough, WITH a jump – that would be good (to ME, I’d have to talk DH into it, I think.)
The sane safe is for basic manners. We both can ride, have been doing it for over 40 years (me) and 30 (him). He is an experienced rider. I just am putting my own thoughts on wanting it to be safe. In that, I mean, my trainer thinks the young WBs are not going to be safe in general. What I really want the sanity for is on the ground. His last horse was flighty, anxious, and sometimes mean. He was a bear to shoe, so needed Dorm. I don’t want that anymore. It makes chores more nerve wracking and just leading him in and out could be an ordeal. Now, oddly enough, he was a nice ride. I didn’t mind riding him, but hated tacking him up. So that’s where I’m coming from with wanting a good-brained horse.
Thanks.
I’ve considered it, but he shouldn’t be jumping much due to some physical issues. Not a dumb question at all!
a 7-9 yo tall WB with a wonderful brain, going under saddle is not a 20k horse and hasn’t been for 20 years or more in my area.
I would definitely shop for a TB in this case. That seems to be the one place you can still get some bang for your buck.
