I am a new member of the local fox hunting club and my friends are telling me that I should buy this horse to hunt. In the picture she is the big grey in the middle. She is a 5 or 6 yr. old. Percheron and TB cross that jumps about 2’9" and is sweet as can be. I do already have horses, but I’m not sure that they would be as good on a hunt as this horse has been. What would you do?
Buy her!
Easy for me to say! :winkgrin:
I love her type but pretty is as pretty does. If she hunts nicely and she gives you great enjoyment while doing so AND her price is acceptable AND you need her (cuz the pretty ones won’t hunt!) then go for it. Life’s too short to fiddle with the issue. Think of it…how many hunt seasons do you have left and do you want to enjoy them?!!
She’d go quickly in our area; that kind of horse is very popular here. And for big bucks too.
OR…you could send her to me and I’ll hunt her for ya!!! :yes:
Honest!!
caveat emptor
hunting since '91 and now on hunt horse #3, but about the time #1 was nearing retirement [95], several club members suggested I look at one they had seen advertised, and knew from the local horse shows. A vet check turned up problems those recommending the horse were unaware. use all due caution. I’ve never met a person who has sold a really good hunt horse. [they hunt on them]
[QUOTE=armandh;2750213]
I’ve never met a person who has sold a really good hunt horse. [they hunt on them][/QUOTE]
Hi, now we meet. We’ve sold several “really good hunt horses.” Not everyone can make them, and some people make a hobby out of making hunt horses. The lady I ride for has. She’s bred and retrained MANY over the years. Nearly everye horse she’s sold over the last few years has been a super star, they horse just needed to move on. Sold horses to Waterloo Hunt (to a Master), Red Mountain, Carrollton, Keswick, Piedmont, and Shakerag (and a few others in VA).
You can’t tell much about a hunt horse from a picture, but that doesn’t mean she isn’t nice. She’s quite large!! I’d be more worried about joints, etc. I see a lot of crosses that people start at 3, so when they are 7 they are “seasoned” horses, but many have joint problems. She’s quite pretty and I thought she looked quite refined for a draft cross, looked just like a friend of mine’s Hanoverian cross. If she’s really a nice hunt horse, and the price is right…I’d snatch her up.
I plan to try her again today or tomorrow
I rode her a bit last night in the ring. She walks, trots and canters quietly. I popper her over a little x which she jumped like it was nothing. I love that her canter feels like she is really covering some ground and that she has really good brakes. In the picture she is going out on her first hunt (last weekend) and everyone said she was just lovely, even when she was bumped and backed into by other horses.
I plan to go on my first hunt tomorrow on my gelding, Charlie. Neither of us have been on a hunt. I’m looking at the gray mare, because I’m not sure that Charlie is going to be a suitable hunt horse and I want to hunt on something I can trust.
The gray is priced within what I can afford. I can either keep her at the training barn where she is now or move her down the street to where my other two are kept. I plan on trying her again today or tomorrow after hunt breakfast. When I rode last night, it was a kinda spur of the moment thing and I was riding without my half chaps and with stirrups that were too long. I plan to give her a closer and more serious look today. Of course, I’ll get her vetted.
If you are buying her as a hunt horse, I would ask that you could hunt her yourself before you vet. You may be compatable in the ring, but you want to make sure she isn’t strong out hunting. I’d just be wary since she’s really not an experienced field hunter, although nice, she herself still hasn’t been in a lot of situations.
Good Luck, keep us updated.
[QUOTE=CharliesMom;2750424]
In the picture she is going out on her first hunt (last weekend) and everyone said she was just lovely, even when she was bumped and backed into by other horses.
I want to hunt on something I can trust…[/QUOTE]
I’m not trying to be the voice of doom & gloom but I don’t know that one hunt makes a horse trust worthy no matter how well they behaved. If the horse had been hunting for an entire season or two and people were raving about her that would be a different story.
Our barn sells lots of great hunt horses! Usually re-educated show horses who didn’t love jumping poles in a ring! Happy talented hunt horses do they become!
time to call the vet
for an appointment to vet this gray mare.
After the hunt today, I went out on a group trail ride on the mare. She was clearly the best behaved, but also the eldest. We rode in front, in the middle and last. No Problem. She was unaffected by the bucking and kicking being done by the naughty four-year-olds in the group. She didn’t even flinch when another rider came galloping up from behind and joined our group. She was also good when that same rider decided to gallop off away from the group. She was fabulous and pending the vet check she’ll be mine. I’m so excited. The trainer at the barn is going to email me some pictures of the mare. I post when I get them.
I was going to second the take her out and hunt her notion, my own gelding is push button in the ring but it’s a whole different horse cross country. Personally, I’d give your own horse a try first but if you really like her, it may be worth it.
Sounds to me like you should buy her. There’s nothing that changes the level of enjoyment in the hunt field more than having a good reliable horse under you.
one caution: she’s still growing. And she could easily grow another couple of inches ( or more). Does she have papers? It would help to know how big her sire and dam were- it could help you try to make an educated guess as to how big she will finish ( and that might not be until she’s 8 :-0) Of course, disregard this if size is not an issue.
Also- what kind of bit is she hunting in? Hard to tell from the photo- but it looks like it might be just a snaffle. If so, and she hunts in that quietly- that’s another reason to buy her…
vetting went okay today
There were some little issues that came up at the vetting today that we are going to look into further. Turns out she may be a 6yo coming 7. That’s not such a big issue. However, she was a little off and we are going to try to figure out the source of that before I write a check. It is quite possible that she is just a little sore after all the work she’s had in the last 10 days with being a little out of shape and without shoes. She is quiet hunting and in the ring in just a snaffle (she has great brakes). I watched her in a lesson last night where she easily navigated a grid of three fences and an oxer. I think the highest was 3’3"
Here are some pics of her
head shot
show jumping
To respond to magicteetango about just using my current horse …
[QUOTE=magicteetango;2757312]
Personally, I’d give your own horse a try first but if you really like her, it may be worth it.[/QUOTE] I took my current horse out to just hilltop last weekend. He was great. He was nice and quiet. We had multiple opportunities to see the hounds and horses fly past us. We had to back off the trail to let the whips by and he was good at that. My concern for Charlie is more a soundness issue than a temperament issue. I love him dearly, but I am aware of his limitations as a post-EPM horse.
She is lovely. Shedding light on the fact that Charlie is post-EPM, I think it would be wise to have a horse specifically for the purpose of hunting. It sounds like this mare will be a nice new addition to your herd should she pass the vet. Hope it goes well for you.
