Purchasing my first hunter/jumper

[happyhunter1]

Hello, I’m looking for advise and haven’t been able to find much relevant to my exact situation, so I’m hoping the COTH community can help me out.

I recently got back into riding as an adult after about 12 years where I couldn’t afford it. I’m taking lessons at a local stable, and it makes me so happy. I know I never want to be without horses in my life again. The stable I’m riding at is almost entirely saddleseat lessons. I would really like to get back to hunters, but I can’t find any local programs.

Basically, it seems my choices are to lease or purchase a hunter if that’s the kind of riding I want to do, but I’m sure everyone here knows how expensive made hunters can be even just to lease. I’ve been looking at “restarted” OTTB’s (please don’t come at me for the wording, it just seems to be the common term) and other green horses with ads that say they would be good projects for an adult armature or a junior in a program. They are within my budget with enough left over to spend on professional training to help finish them, and I am a confident rider who’s ridden young, quirky horses before.

My plan right now is to find a trainer, we find a horse that we think will suit me, and then put them (and me) in full training for I’m expecting around 90 days before boarding at my local stable. I think it’s an okay plan. I would love to ride a school master for a while and really build my confidence back before doing this, but I haven’t found that as an option. I’m on this forum looking for a sanity check. Am I crazy for thinking about this?

I’m committed. I’m patient. I know I can train, and I know a lot of training a horse to jump is done in ground and flat work. My main concern is that while it seems my riding ability came back to me very easily, I was still learning to jump when I stopped taking lessons before, and I won’t be getting probably any practice until I get my own horse. Can I relearn to jump on a green horse? Has anyone here done it? Obviously, I’m going to be getting professional advice too, but I like to do all my research first, and I couldn’t find much for this exact situation. If you read this all the way through, thank you!

As an aside, I have thought about getting an older horse that’s been there, done that that’s within my budget, and if I find that unicorn I will buy them in a heartbeat, but I do want a long term partner. My first horse had to be put to sleep due to cancer, and it was awful. If anyone has input on what age older horses I could be looking at that still have a long career in front of them, I’m happy to hear that as well.

[Scribbler]

@happyhunter1

Hello, I’m looking for advise and haven’t been able to find much relevant to my exact situation, so I’m hoping the COTH community can help me out.

I recently got back into riding as an adult after about 12 years where I couldn’t afford it. I’m taking lessons at a local stable, and it makes me so happy. I know I never want to be without horses in my life again. The stable I’m riding at is almost entirely saddleseat lessons. I would really like to get back to hunters, but I can’t find any local programs.

Basically, it seems my choices are to lease or purchase a hunter if that’s the kind of riding I want to do, but I’m sure everyone here knows how expensive made hunters can be even just to lease. I’ve been looking at “restarted” OTTB’s (please don’t come at me for the wording, it just seems to be the common term) and other green horses with ads that say they would be good projects for an adult armature or a junior in a program. They are within my budget with enough left over to spend on professional training to help finish them, and I am a confident rider who’s ridden young, quirky horses before.

My plan right now is to find a trainer, we find a horse that we think will suit me, and then put them (and me) in full training for I’m expecting around 90 days before boarding at my local stable. I think it’s an okay plan. I would love to ride a school master for a while and really build my confidence back before doing this, but I haven’t found that as an option. I’m on this forum looking for a sanity check. Am I crazy for thinking about this?

I’m committed. I’m patient. I know I can train, and I know a lot of training a horse to jump is done in ground and flat work. My main concern is that while it seems my riding ability came back to me very easily, I was still learning to jump when I stopped taking lessons before, and I won’t be getting probably any practice until I get my own horse. Can I relearn to jump on a green horse? Has anyone here done it? Obviously, I’m going to be getting professional advice too, but I like to do all my research first, and I couldn’t find much for this exact situation. If you read this all the way through, thank you!

As an aside, I have thought about getting an older horse that’s been there, done that that’s within my budget, and if I find that unicorn I will buy them in a heartbeat, but I do want a long term partner. My first horse had to be put to sleep due to cancer, and it was awful. If anyone has input on what age older horses I could be looking at that still have a long career in front of them, I’m happy to hear that as well.

Find your H/j trainer first. Take some lessons. Make sure they are a good fit for you, and honest. Then discuss the next step.

The trainer will want some input into your horse choice and can help you shop.

Do not buy an OTTB and board at a saddle seat barn and expect to make progress learning to jump.

Find your H/j support system first, which might take some shopping. Not all programs and coaches are created equal

[lenapesadie]

@happyhunter1

My plan right now is to find a trainer, we find a horse that we think will suit me, and then put them (and me) in full training for I’m expecting around 90 days before boarding at my local stable.

By local stable, do you mean that after your 90 days you would move horse back to saddle seat barn where you lesson now?

Also are you wanting to do open H/J or like AQHA H/J?

[happyhunter1]

Yes, it would be ideal to take lessons first, but I can’t find any. There are some trainers 45-60 min away but they are full time trainers without a lesson program. I guess there isn’t a big demand for H/J lessons where I am.

I am looking for a trainer, and I def want their help shopping, but I will have to board locally and continue on my own in the long term with very intermittent help.

I do appreciate the words of wisdom though. Thanks!

[happyhunter1]

Yes, that’s what I mean, and open H/J. I do. Love quarter horses though. Honestly, I love all breeds. I have experience with Clydesdales, quarter horses, appaloosas, TWH, saddlebreds, Arabs, and TBs.

[lenapesadie]

I see. It may prove difficult to find a trainer willing to take a short term client with a green horse. But that may vary wildly depending on the sort of programs in your area.

I think you will be better served finding a more been there done that horse even if he’s not gotten any over fences training.

An AQHA trainer may be easier to find, so that’s why I asked.

[happyhunter1]

Ok, good to know.

What would you consider a more experienced horse that I might be looking for because maybe I didn’t correctly describe the type of horses I’m seeing a lot of in my budget. They have plenty of time under saddle that I feel I would have no problem working them on the flat, and most have been started over fences and have even gone to schooling shows, but the ads all say they need to be finished or brought up.

I can easily find a full board training by the month within like an hour of me, but I don’t know how long I should be planning for that before I could bring them to a “normal” boarding stable that closer to me.

[NoSuchPerson]

@happyhunter1

I’m on this forum looking for a sanity check. Am I crazy for thinking about this?

Sorry, but I’m going to be the big old meanie here. Yes, you are.

@happyhunter1

I was still learning to jump when I stopped taking lessons before

This strongly suggests that you do not have the skill and experience to do this on your own. It’s highly unlikely that your plan will be successful.

@happyhunter1

There are some trainers 45-60 min away but they are full time trainers without a lesson program.

Full time H/J trainers? If they don’t give lessons, who rides their horses? Just training hunters/jumpers without any kind of program to work with the owners of those horses would be an unusual business model unless, I guess, you’re talking about BNTs whose wealthy clients buy horses for them to show. Maybe you need to look into that a little deeper.

If you truly cannot find any lesson programs within a reasonable drive except for saddleseat, then I think you’re going to have be a saddleseat rider.

Alternatively, as @lenapesadie mentioned, you might look for an AQHA trainer. That might be a better route back to riding hunt seat and jumping.

[RW06]

Many trainers without lesson programs will allow you to visit the property, watch them teach and if they have a “spare” horse give you a courtesy lesson to get a feel for their style, as long as you are clear that you are looking for a new horse and a longterm program and aren’t tire kicking.

[happyhunter1]

No need to apologize. I knew what I was getting into on this post. I already knew I was a little crazy.

I also strongly agree that I don’t have the skill to do this on my own hence working with a trainer. For reference, I was working with my old instructor’s green hunter way back when because even then that was all I could find for a hunter program in this area. Now she’s no longer training at all.

From what I have gathered, they are multidiscipline trainers. A lot give lessons in Western, some English, but none so far have offered jumping because they don’t have lesson horses that jump. Nobody around here solely trains or deals in jumpers. I assume if I had my own horse, they would give me lessons. I do live in a very strange area. It’s not business friendly to anything with higher price points. I’d have to go about 3 hr to find a serious H/J barn.

I will look more into AQHA. I do really appreciate all the responses!

[mfglickman]

Could you give us an idea where you are? Maybe someone here knows someone…

[lenapesadie]

@happyhunter1

They have plenty of time under saddle that I feel I would have no problem working them on the flat, and most have been started over fences and have even gone to schooling shows, but the ads all say they need to be finished or brought up

Many many restarted OTTBs have far fewer rides than one might think post racing. So I’m saying more BTDT than a baby racehorse.

[happyhunter1]

That would be great if they do. I live near the one “major” city in SW VA. If you know it, you know it. Big saddleseat/gaited horse country.

[Bristol_Bay]

The only crazy part is thinking 90 days is enough for a green horse to be rideable by an ammy on her own.

I’ve never had the money to be in a full training program until recent years, so any horse I buy has to pass this test:

Can I ride this horse on my own and still have fun and be safe?

If you have the right horse for that, then regardless of where you ride, you can still set poles and do fun exercises and low courses on your own.

So I vote for looking at BTDT stepping down horses instead of green. You would need to move or commit to the commute in order to be in a program. Can you keep that as a goal?

[CBoylen]

@happyhunter1

I was still learning to jump when I stopped taking lessons before,

And pause. My lesson riders that are at this stage all would tell you they could jump without me standing there. I will tell you they couldn’t set a safe jump, know how to get to it safely or what path or even direction to take, or have any clue where they are leaving the ground on any horse other than my lesson metronomes. They don’t know what they don’t know. Not knowing you, I’m going to assume you don’t either.
If there is no established hunter or jumper trainer in your area, you are going to need to do something else.

[happyhunter1]

Maybe green wasn’t the right word. I’m looking at horses that I can handle (can’t tell without riding them of course), but are unproven jumpers. I just don’t want my rusty riding messing up a horse’s confidence while they are trying to learn a new skill.

Poles, fun exercises, and low courses are pretty much what I was thinking of doing on my own. I’m looking for a trainer to help me round out and polish their education in ways that you only get from years of experience, not because I want some fancy 3’ hunter.

Moving or commuting is very unlikely to ever happen, but I hear you.

[dmveventer]

I’m sorry to say this but I think it’s a terrible idea. Someone who was just beginning to learn to jump before taking several years off needs regular lessons over fences on a steady horse to get the hang of it, which can take years. I think your top priority should be finding a program with jumping lessons, and once you’ve established that relationship that trainer can help you buy something.

@happyhunter1

I’m committed. I’m patient. I know I can train, and I know a lot of training a horse to jump is done in ground and flat work.

You’re right that flatwork is the basis of jumping, but it’s not the basis of teaching a horse to jump. In order to build confidence and help the horse learn to use itself properly over fences the rider needs to have good feel and timing, and be capable of staying out of the horse’s way even if they get wiggly or overjump or do other normal green horse things. A horse that isn’t confident in it’s job is not going to benefit from a rider that also isn’t confident in their job.

And the same goes for you. Learning to jump on a green horse is likely to wear down your confidence and instill bad habits that will be hard to undo later.

@happyhunter1

I’ve been looking at “restarted” OTTB’s (please don’t come at me for the wording, it just seems to be the common term) and other green horses with ads that say they would be good projects for an adult armature or a junior in a program.

It doesn’t sound like you would be “in a program” though. 90 days of professional training isn’t what people mean when they say this, they mean that the horse would be suitable for an amateur to bring along under the close and continuing supervision of a competent trainer. They also usually refer to amateurs with established skills over fences.

@happyhunter1

I am a confident rider who’s ridden young, quirky horses before.

@happyhunter1

I was still learning to jump when I stopped taking lessons before

What is your riding background exactly? You owned a horse before, how long did you ride before your break and at what level? Did you start off in a non-jumping discipline and then switch? I don’t mean to sound rude but your post comes off sounding inexperienced and a little overconfident, it’s hard to give good advice without understanding where your skill level is.

[NoSuchPerson]

@happyhunter1

I also strongly agree that I don’t have the skill to do this on my own hence working with a trainer.

What you have described doing, i.e. having 90 days training put on a horse and then taking it to your local boarding barn where there are no trainers available and occasionally having a lesson with a H/J trainer is NOT “working with a trainer.”

Those horses you see advertised as being “good projects for an adult amateur or a junior in a program” are only good projects for amateurs or juniors who work with a trainer on the premises. A trainer who can do a training ride or two every week and give you lessons every week and who provide guidance on what you should be doing when you ride on your own. That is a far cry from what you are saying is available to you.

I know I keep raining on your parade, but I really think you’re not being realistic here.

[happyhunter1]

Not rude at all my riding experience is long, and a little random if I’m honest. My post was already so long. I didn’t know if I should get into all of it.

I rode for about 13 years previously maybe more. I can’t remember how young I started. Started as English/hunt seat for about 6 years, then my family moved and I took some western lessons for not very long before switching back to hunt seat with a “green” horse just out of jump school for about a year. At the time I was considered an advanced rider who was learning to train. I started shopping for my own horse and found a really neglected TWH that I couldn’t leave where he was, so I bought him and rehabbed him and after that I couldn’t sell him, so I mostly rode him for the next 5 years until I retired him. During that time I studied natural horsemanship, and after I retired my horse, I worked with a family friend’s Arab colts doing ground work and foundational training in return for being able to ride their WB. He’d hop over a log every once in a while, but he wasn’t a jumper. He’s probably the greenest horse I ever rode, very forward ride and spooky, but he made a lot of progress that year. Then I got busy with college and then career and family.

[happyhunter1]

Ok, so is there any length of time with a trainer that would then be realistic besides indefinitely? Of course, horses and their riders progress at different paces so there’s not some hard and fast answer, but this is the advice I came here for.

If there are no programs I can be a part of indefinitely, if a packer is not in the budget, is there anything I can do? If you guys say the answer is no, I hear you. Maybe my career is destined to stay on the flat.