If you are asking if I would purchase a 5yo unregistered gelding who has not been consistently ridden in at least 6 months or more, from someone who is too pregnant to ride it, who has only had the horse long enough to still be blaming the previous owner for his condition and making excuses about his bad feet etc, in order to lease it to a teenager and a natural horsemanship trainer…
the answer would be not in a million years.
I feel like this is potentially more of a shared ownership or at least shared use deal.
I think the horse should be extremely cheap, even free/$1 in this situation.
I would want a farrier to look carefully at the feet. If by “cracks” you mean the hoof is long and chipping off, no problem.
If you are seeing true “quarter cracks” that run vertically up the hoof from the ground towards the coronet band, these can be a real process to grow out, they can point to general hoof problems, and they can absolutely make a horse foot sore and unrideable.
For some reason this nice enough gentleman got sidelined into a bad pasture situation. Why? Sometimes it’s just the people. But sometimes horses that are not quite right end up with people that neglect them.
I don’t think there’s anything inherently wrong in deciding to pick up a cheap fallen through the cracks horse, and have your trainer and her assistant use and school him in exchange for feeding, and care while you are out of town. OP already has another horse to ride and doesn’t have big show ambitions personally.
It hinges on whether you like and trust the trainers and their work.
This is something that makes sense if the whole scenario is super cheap and you can afford to walk away or sign horse over to trainer if circumstances change in any way.
I would be less inclined to do this with a high value horse or in a more expensive setting where you could start feeling exploited.
BTW, I had to Google “Boeperd horse” ( OP rides a QH/Boeperd cross). Fascinating history! I love finding out about breeds that are new to me. They look like nice horses, maybe most comparable to AngloArabs?
@Scribbler hi! The cracks was just chipping, his feet just got done so it’s good as new again! I just went for a second viewing and his feet is looking much better, rode him again and went really well!
i did ask why the previous owner left him out in a pasture for so long, and she said he’s not the only one, the previous owner had too many horses he couldn’t financially upkeep and is quite recluse so all his horses got taken away for neglect(this is no excuse to me, it’s silly. If you can’t afford, don’t buy)
oh and ive decided to do it solo to re evaluate after a year only. I do trust my trainer, she is very good, and her own horses are amazing, they are the ones I’ve leased in the past.
I love a boerperd, they are amazing hardy horses, the name boer perd, from direct translation means farmers horse. They do quite look like a stocky anglo Arab! Thanks for that comparison!
The previous owner also also showed me photos of him when she got this boy, he was ridiculously skinny, all bones and spine, so he’s looking ALOT better, personally I’d like to fatten him up abit more then build his muscle. But I’m starting my 2 month trial period now, at her stable yard which isn’t too far away from mine, so the agreement is I can go ride or do groundwork or just spend time with him 3 times a week. She also wants to see how I interact with him, which I like.
Oh price wise, here in SA for a green not backed horse of about 2 or 3 years old goes for between $400-$1200, for a backed but still green we looking at $1000 up, this boy is $500, but I can still negotiate. I’ll see how I feel after the trial though.
After all this amazing advice, I won’t rush into it, im scoping out everything very carefully!
Keep us posted, and have fun!!
I know nothing about South Africa. Honestly sometimes I feel like everything i have learned about global culture as an adult comes from COTH. 
:encouragement:
Sounds like your trial should tell you what you need to know to make your decision to buy or not.
Honestly though, as much as this horse has been passed around in his young life, don’t expect him to recognize you may be the Last Stop right away.
IOW: don’t be disappointed if you don’t feel a close bond develop in that time.
If riding continues to be enjoyable & his personality stays as you found already, for that price (USD?) worth the gamble.
Have fun & let us know how things progress :yes:
OK if he works out to be healthy and sane $500 would be a reasonable kind of token price here in Canada.
Interesting that if you said “farm horse” in Britain or North America you would absolutely think of a draft horse for plowing. But if you said “ranch horse” you’d think of a good quarter horse.
The Boerperd sounds a bit like the Australian Waler, in between a cavalry horse, a good field hunter, and a cattle horse. I’m going to make a guess that farming in South Africa like Australia is more cattle (or sheep) ranching than plowing up for crops, so the “farm horse” in both cases is a really nice versatile saddle horse for covering long distances and working stock.
Yeah! There’s loads of live stock farming here aswell as a lot of crops, but we use tractors for plowing mostly! I would definitly say a boerperd is a combo of all you’ve mentioned! We don’t use the word ranch unfortunately it’s farms all around, either a dairy farm, chicken farm, grain farm, wine farm etc.
btw South Africa is beautiful especially cape town! And super cheap for holidays especially if you’re coming from the dollar! We have THE best wine!
The boerperd has been making an appearance in shows quite a lot lately, they are really nice dressage, western games(American style), and they are decent jumpers and quite fast. Their bones are very hard and thick compared to a TB, they don’t often break a bone, honestly I think they will make an excellent cross country horse.
But unfortunately the equestrian world here in SA gets quite snobbish, if you don’t have a high bred horse and the most expensive tack, they treat you horribly at shows, that’s why I’m not into competing… my stable yard has a 75 yr old ex grand prix rider and he’s the most humble person in the world, he still jumps insanely high it’s nerve wrecking to watch him! And he still shows occasionally but they are always making him feel unwelcome because of his age and his boerperd.
People are way too cruel, if it’s just me, my horse and my dog, I’m in heaven!
This is the Boerperd x quarter horse I ride, he’s amazing, but he’s getting quite old.
First off, don’t assume anything until you get that chip read by the vet. You are depending heavily on second hand, oral information and some excuses for this horse’s sketchy past and lack of condition. You don’t even really know if he’s really going to be safe to ride or how much under saddle training he’s actually had.
Did the previous owner who neglected him breed him or did he get him from somebody else?
Sometimes sellers are just repeating what they were told, not trying to be dishonest, but what you are told is not true. If that’s not a problem for you, age, training, health and basic temperament maybe not being what they are telling you, it might be OK. If you aren’t equipped to deal with details that are left out, maybe not.
Trust but verify, verify, verify and get everything in writing. Think waiting until you have had him for at least 6 months, gotten to know him and verified age, health, etc. is smart, It also far more fair to your lease partners then the many things that are unknown about this horse right now.
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