Dream horse on paper but not in reality.

[Darty]

What would you do if you purchased your ‘dream horse’ as a weanling, only to discover over time that the horse, itself, does not mesh well with you and needs a more hands on environment than you can provide?

Said horse is now a yearling and I just don’t like his personality. Would you stick it out til he was an adult and hope with maturity he would be better suited to you or accept that he’s just not right for you and sell him?

I have a buyer wanting him for the price I would accept. Been tossing and turning over it for a month and still haven’t decided. I’m starting to think I’m going to have to move him on but I worry I’ll regret it.

Thoughts?

[SharonA]

My thoughts are, why are you even tossing and turning? You don’t like him. Someone else does and is willing to pay for him.

I am not seeing any conflict, here.

If I were you, I would hurry up and take the offer before it’s gone. You imply that you regret buying him and then you say that you worry that you’ll regret selling him. Cut that crap out. Regret is pointless. Sell him to someone who appreciates what he is, vs. some fantasy, and move on.

[Darty]

I have not regretted buying him. My thoughts are that he’s still such a baby and the personality quirks he has NOW are not necessarily ones that will always be there as he will mature mentally. But then that’s a ‘maybe’ and a few years of being unhappy with him until that point.

I guess I know what I should do and I am needing a push.

[furlong47]

Sell before your buyer moves on. Use the money to buy a horse that is already what you dream of.

[Griffyn]

You wont regret it. Thats years and years (and lots of $) between a yearling and “made horse” who may or may not be what you wanted. Pass him on now. I have a gelding who I just never really liked and hes pretty behind on training b/c I just dont have the sort of emotional investment in him- I just dont ever seem to have time…(motivation, really) to get to him. Im training and planning on showing someone elses horse this year.

[Withstand]

What quirks does he have that bother you?

I wouldn’t jump the gun and say “sell” without more info.

What are you looking as a “dream horse”?

[SnicklefritzG]

This is a tough decision. Horses change so much in the first couple of years. What you see as a weanling, might not be what you have as a yearling, or later as a 3 or 4 year old. I’ve experienced that myself. A horse’s personality can change a lot in the first 6 years even.

Have you considered making yourself a checklist of the things you like about this horse and the things you don’t? Add to that any financial considerations, and perhaps the choice may become clearer.

Are you in a position where you can keep an extra horse while you look for something else? Or would you have to sell this one in order to get another?

Is the price that the potential buyer is willing to offer something that is reasonable in today’s market? Are you conceding in any way, or is it really something that you are happy with, and not just something that you would merely accept?

Some of this also depends on what exactly it is that you don’t like. Is this an opinionated horse that requires a lot of training? Does it challenge your authority, not in a mean way, but just needs to have things reinforced frequently?

[Darty]

He’s that obnoxious type of horse that will get into absolutely everything imaginable and destroy it. He demolished my wooden fencing by just simply barging it, and couldn’t care less about the electric wire we put up to try keep him off it. We’ve had to redo the entire fencing in his paddock which, so far, is keeping him in but if I let him into one if the other paddocks, he will barge through or simply jump the fence. He is a draft horse who is already 16.1hh at 14 months old so will be a big boy. He requires a lot of handling to keep him in check (is gelded) but I work 60 hours a week so he’s generally only handled once or twice a week which leaves him acting like a racehorse on the end of the lead, needing a lot of correction.

I’ve had a number of drafts before, including babies, but none who are like him. Even typing this, I know you guys will continue to say sell him. He needs to be somewhere where he can be handled more. I’m not going to be working these hours forever, so I wanted him to grow up and be a horse for a while in a big paddock but the fence fiascos don’t allow that.

When he does get handled frequently, he is well behaved but as it is now with my work situation, every weekend I am having to start all over again. Visitors ask me if he’s a colt with how full of himself he gets.

There are positives about him, of course. He’s an affectionate boy who likes to be with people, he self loads, he stands tied and never does anything BAD on the end of the lead as in rearing, trying to bolt, etc. he just dances like a pita on the end of it and you have to constantly regain his attention. Plus he is absolutely gorgeous and would clean up in the show ring. The best way to describe him is hot.

[Darty]

[QUOTE=SnicklefritzG;7938672]
This is a tough decision. Horses change so much in the first couple of years. What you see as a weanling, might not be what you have as a yearling, or later as a 3 or 4 year old. I’ve experienced that myself. A horse’s personality can change a lot in the first 6 years even.

Have you considered making yourself a checklist of the things you like about this horse and the things you don’t? Add to that any financial considerations, and perhaps the choice may become clearer.

Are you in a position where you can keep an extra horse while you look for something else? Or would you have to sell this one in order to get another?

Is the price that the potential buyer is willing to offer something that is reasonable in today’s market? Are you conceding in any way, or is it really something that you are happy with, and not just something that you would merely accept?

Some of this also depends on what exactly it is that you don’t like. Is this an opinionated horse that requires a lot of training? Does it challenge your authority, not in a mean way, but just needs to have things reinforced frequently?[/QUOTE]

You put his personality into two sentences that I tried to achieve in a big post. He does challenge authority every time you handle him and is just plain obnoxious. I used to let him into the house yard as it was secure for him until he started destroying everything he could get his mouth on - even so far as scraping his teeth along the cars (company car) and badly damaging them.

I have 3 other horses and could keep him fine. I have actually just purchased another horse (the third) and it’s really making me wonder if now is the time to let him go. I can afford all of them as I have acreage in my backyard. The price they are willing to pay is my full asking price which is fair in the market for him.

Eta - two of those three horses are retired so I am not trying to keep a bunch of horses in work.

[Jealoushe]

Sounds like a typical yearling to me

[Darty]

I’ve had quite a few yearlings and none of the others have come close to him!

But it does bring up the point of why I’m wishy washy is because a fair chunk of this will likely go away with age.

[mvp]

Sell him.

With all due respect, you are expecting too much of this horse. And therefore, you won’t learn to like him better. And as a young, annoying boy horse, he won’t be capable of making you like him, at least for several years and a lot more money and (probably) some help from a pro.

I am always worried when people describe horses as “dream horses” and then talk about liking them or not. That’s a lot of pressure for an animal. Especially when you breed for yourself, you have to commit to a very long, expensive project. Ideally, you researched the snot out of the sire and dam’s mind so that you would be likely to get a tractable horse. I did that with the one I bred and I was not disappointed. But yeah, he could be a PITA when he was a colt.

[RWR]

[QUOTE=SharonA;7938656]
My thoughts are, why are you even tossing and turning? You don’t like him. Someone else does and is willing to pay for him.

I am not seeing any conflict, here.

If I were you, I would hurry up and take the offer before it’s gone. You imply that you regret buying him and then you say that you worry that you’ll regret selling him. Cut that crap out. Regret is pointless. Sell him to someone who appreciates what he is, vs. some fantasy, and move on.[/QUOTE]

This exactly. I’d sell him.

[Darty]

[QUOTE=mvp;7938685]
Sell him.

With all due respect, you are expecting too much of this horse. And therefore, you won’t learn to like him better. And as a young, annoying boy horse, he won’t be capable of making you like him, at least for several years and a lot more money and (probably) some help from a pro.

I am always worried when people describe horses as “dream horses” and then talk about liking them or not. That’s a lot of pressure for an animal. Especially when you breed for yourself, you have to commit to a very long, expensive project. Ideally, you researched the snot out of the sire and dam’s mind so that you would be likely to get a tractable horse. I did that with the one I bred and I was not disappointed. But yeah, he could be a PITA when he was a colt.[/QUOTE]

Fair point. I guess I just wasn’t expecting to have a hot shire on my hands when the drafts I’ve had were very laid back types and he was very chilled when he was a bub too. Back when I had more time it would have been fine, but being time poor is my life at the moment.

Should also mention I have tons of experience with hotter horses. Used to retrain ottbs and then had a herd of warmbloods, including a couple youngsters. So it’s not that I can’t handle it, I just don’t really want to at this point.

[normandy_shores]

[QUOTE=Darty;7938693]
. So it’s not that I can’t handle it, I just don’t really want to at this point.[/QUOTE]

I think you just answered your own question!

[Sailboats]

I’d be inclined to sell him, especially with a buyer who’s willing to pay the asking price. You might feel a little regret, but you’ll feel more of it if he never grows out of it.

[Kafue]

I find that the personalities of horses do not change with age. They will mellow a bit as they get older but if you do not like this guy as a yearling you will probably really dislike him as a four year old when he’s that much bigger. He sounds like he has a challenging personality and those types need lots of experienced handling which is something you cannot manage at this time of your life. He probably will be stunning and will make somebody an awesome equine partner with time and I think you owe it to him to make sure he gets an owner that can put the time into him now. Sell him and get something with a temperament that is easier to work with.

[retrofit]

Another voice saying “Sell.” Even if he coulda/woulda become your “dream horse” with a ton of handling, you have already said that you don’t have the time or inclination to do that handling right now. So therefore, he will never become that horse and will continue to be a destructive pain in your tuckus. There is such a limited market for yearlings, sell before the offer is gone.

[quietann]

[QUOTE=Kafue;7938784…
He sounds like he has a challenging personality and those types need lots of experienced handling which is something you cannot manage at this time of your life. He probably will be stunning and will make somebody an awesome equine partner with time and I think you owe it to him to make sure he gets an owner that can put the time into him now. Sell him and get something with a temperament that is easier to work with.[/QUOTE]

I italicized the above just as a reminder, OP, that you sound like a VERY experienced horseperson who has dealt with a lot of obnoxious horses… but right NOW your circumstances do not allow it. No reflection on your skill, just reality.

Selling a youngster once it’s past the cute baby stage is so hard, so if you have a buyer ready and waiting, let your yearling go. And if he turns into a marvelous stunner, you can give yourself some credit for realizing that you could not have created that at the time.

(I have a 10 month old filly I bought rather impulsively at 10 days old. And one of my minor nightmares, since I’m an anxious sort, is “what if I have to sell her before she’s ready to start under saddle?” Because seriously, who really wants the expense of a yearling, 2, 3 year old without the promise that it will eventually grow up? That said, she’s so far a rock-solid, extremely trainable and willing baby, and I know enough of her relatives that I can be pretty sure that even if she goes through an obnoxious stage, she’ll come out the other side a real sweetheart.)

[Goforward]

They change a little as they grow up because they learn respect for humans but who they are will always be who they are.
My gelding was a chicken-poo, drama queen at 1 year old. Guess what? At 11 years old he’s still a chicken-poo, drama queen.
Sell him while you can. New horses are made everyday.