Official De-Lurking + A Pressing Concern

[Rocinante]

Hey Everyone!

I just thought this would be a good time to officially de-lurk, since there has recently been a de-lurking thread. I really haven’t lurked here that long, I’m too impatient to get in on the fun!

Anyway, the timing was especially good for me because my horse involvement has recently gotten much more complex. Within the past year, I’ve gone from owning just one ready-made, “bomb-proof” hunter to owning said hunter, plus a jumper (what was I thinking?!) AND a baby. (2 year old Dutch WB) I acquired the baby from a friend who had to move rather suddenly, and therefore offered the horse at a very good price. Lovely animal, lots of potential, but I’m starting to think I’m in over my head. I mean, learning how to navigate these crazy jumper courses is challenging enough! I’ve had a rather generous offer for the baby, and I’m seriously considering accepting it, even though up until the offer was made, I hadn’t planned to sell. I guess now that a way out has presented itself, I’m tempted.

So, what do you guys think? Should I take the money and run or stick it out??

(as vetran BBers roll their eyes at the confusion of the newbie, and mutter to themselves about long-winded whiners)

[Midge]

If you make money, sell!!!

If you don’t make money, think long and hard about turning down the offer.

[Rocinante]

Midge- sounds like a good rule of thumb.

But actually, money isn’t much of a concern. I don’t throw my money aroud or anything, but I don’t need to make money off of my horses, and I don’t mind losing some money in order to have a new horse experience. (Don’t tell my trainer, I want him to get any funny ideas! haha)

I probably will end up having made a little money when I sell the baby (only a very little- expenses of ownership have to be taken into account) but even if I was going to be losing money, if it’s in the horse’s best interest, than I will let my wallet take the hit.

Thanks for taking the time to read and respond! This is so neat- I posted only a couple of hours ago and I have 3 worthy opinions to consider!!

[Reginapony]

An old saying:

One horse is not enough, two is too many.

Do what is right for all of your horses. If you don’t have time for three, you should sell the baby.

What breed and potential skills does your baby have?

[Rocinante]

The baby doesn’t really take up much of my time, seeing as I lack the skills to properly train one from the ground up. The fact that the baby doesn’t require my personal attention was actually what first made me think that perhaps I should take the offer.

Queenie (her very un-official name is Dancing Queen) is a 2 y.o. Dutch WB/TBX (She was homebred, so the seller could’ve been lying and she may be a mule for all I can prove, but it seems to fit), hoping to be a jumper…she’s kind of gawky right now though, so who knows.

I talked to the gentleman who made me the offer, and he actual increased his offer (with no prompting from me). So, I think I’m going to take it, in a way it’s sad, but really I’m not as attached to her as to my other guys, simply because we don’t interact as much. My trainer will miss her though!

“What am I lying here
for?..We are lying here as
though we had a chance of
enjoying a quiet time…am I
waiting until I become a
little older?”

[AAJumper]

I agree with the others…sell. My trainer has the belief that you shouldn’t pass up a good offer because they only come around once. I have found this to be true in a few cases. The one that stands out is when a lady bought a really nice looking fancy hunter prospect. Other people wanted it also, but she got it. When she returned home from Indio (where she bought it) the people who originally wanted it offered her a bunch of money, and this was only 6 weeks after purchase. It was about 50% over the price she paid (and it was a large chunk of cash!). My trainer told her to take the money and run, because that kind of deal will not come around again. Well, the horse got a splint, the lady had trouble riding him when he was fresh, etc. She left us and later ended up selling the horse for less than she paid (about 50% less), and had the horse for a little over a year.

[Rocinante]

Hey Everyone!

I just thought this would be a good time to officially de-lurk, since there has recently been a de-lurking thread. I really haven’t lurked here that long, I’m too impatient to get in on the fun!

Anyway, the timing was especially good for me because my horse involvement has recently gotten much more complex. Within the past year, I’ve gone from owning just one ready-made, “bomb-proof” hunter to owning said hunter, plus a jumper (what was I thinking?!) AND a baby. (2 year old Dutch WB) I acquired the baby from a friend who had to move rather suddenly, and therefore offered the horse at a very good price. Lovely animal, lots of potential, but I’m starting to think I’m in over my head. I mean, learning how to navigate these crazy jumper courses is challenging enough! I’ve had a rather generous offer for the baby, and I’m seriously considering accepting it, even though up until the offer was made, I hadn’t planned to sell. I guess now that a way out has presented itself, I’m tempted.

So, what do you guys think? Should I take the money and run or stick it out??

(as vetran BBers roll their eyes at the confusion of the newbie, and mutter to themselves about long-winded whiners)

[jacksmom]

forget the money, think of it as more of an attitude thing. working with a youngster, esp a warmblood, requires a huge commitment - if you were way into this youngster, you really wouldn’t even THINK about selling. you’d look at the person who made the offer and say you are flattered but there’s not a snowballs chance in hell that you’ll sell.

-jacksmom

[Coreene]

“Bobby Sue took the money and run
Singin’ go on take the money and run”

[Rocinante]

Good point jacksmom,

She’s a great horse, and I really think she will amount to something, but she’ll be better off with an owner who has experience with young warmbloods. I have enough trouble with my grown-up warmbloods! So, this will be a good chance to remedy the moment of insanity in which I decided a baby sounded like fun.

Mr.Soup2Nuts will be so proud of me!

“What am I lying here
for?..We are lying here as
though we had a chance of
enjoying a quiet time…am I
waiting until I become a
little older?”

[Merry]

Not all trainers can be everything to all riders.
Not all riders can be the perfect match for all horses.
Everyone has their own gift & talent on horseback.
Starting/handling/bringing along a 2yr. old requires a certain gift— perhaps even a passionate desire— to work with a very young horse.

And you say you feel perhaps a tad in over your head?

To keep with Coreene’s musical theme:
“Go on, take the money and run, oooh-ooooh!”

“Charter Member of the Baby Greenie Support Group of North America”

[Lucassb]

old time horsemans’ wisdom - straight from the oldest horseman I ever knew - “never turn down good money for a horse. For one thing, if you need/want to, you can ALWAYS buy another one. But more importantly, horses know when you’ve turned down a good offer, and almost immediately try to figure out a way to hurt themselves and become not only unsaleable, but unrideable.”

I only tested this theory one time. Sadly, found it to be true.

SELL SELL SELL!!!

[Rocinante]

Thanks for the honest replies. I guess I should mention that while I feel overwhelmed, the baby actually is only my problem in theory. See, my trainer is basically doing everything, and while my enthusiasm to help is appreciated, and I am “allowed” to participate in some ways, for the most part I’m a glorified check-writer.

I should also probably mention that while I phrased the problem in terms of money, for various reasons, money is not a problem. I still think I will sell the horse, though, basically because the wonderful sort of person Merry described is my antithesis. (“I want it yesterday”) In that regard, owning this young horse has been a learning experience for me (you mean if I’m patient good things will happen in the long run?! what a concept.)

So, I think I’m going to do what I pretty much decided to do the moment the offer was made, and focus once again on the jumper problem. With the added bonus of knowing that this delightful young horse will be brought along by someone who actually knows what they’re doing. (hey, maybe I’ll buy her back in 4 years, you never know!)

Sound like a plan?

[Cactuskate]

We had an old saying,

Where two fools met. One for offering and one for turning it down.

You decide if this might fit.

“The older I get, the better I used to be.”