I know it’s a decision I have to ultimately make own my own but I would like some advice.
I bought this young gelding 6 weeks ago after a long break from horse riding / horse ownership.
I was initially looking for a quiet confidence builder and should have stuck to my guns but ended up “falling in love” with this guy who is green.
I am nervous riding him (sometimes) outside of the arena and probably don’t have the skills needed to bring him on & feel as though we don’t click. I’m already finding it challenging to juggle work, school & riding/caring for a horse so now I"m thinking I should sell him after only 6 weeks of owning him.
Should I give it more time? or just admit that I should not have bought him to begin with and try to find a more suitable home for him.
or I can send him for more training / do lessons for myself but i will admit I am apprehensive about investing a ton of money in him in case I still decide we’re not a match. I’m looking more for recreational riding / some clinics / fundays rather than competition.
I should add that I’m not a beginner rider. I’m more intermediate and used to do Ponyclub ,etc but like I said , just rusty from lack or riding for a long time plus lacking in confidence/nervous.
If you are rusty, you shouldn’t expect to be able to go it alone with any new horse in the beginning. You’re just setting yourself up for failure. I’d work with a trainer for a month and then re-evaluate where you are. Ask your trainer for his/her honest opinion after a month and take it to heart.
If you feel differently after a month of solid instruction and training, great. Consider how much training and how many lessons you need to go forward with this horse successfully. Hopefully that number will decrease over time - but not necessary weeks or months. If not, consider all of these factors when deciding if you want to purchase another horse, and if so, involve your trainer in making the decision so you end up with something that will work for you next time around.
If you’re having trouble with time management now it will only get worse as you don’t have a horse that you love to ride. Your apprehension will make it increasingly easier to talk yourself out of going to the barn. Which will mean less work with the horse, which means less progress, which isn’t going to help you want to go.
I have a horse I was ready to get rid off about two years ago. I’d had him from a foal, loved riding him when he was good, and liked who he was, but the constant dramatics were just pushing me past all that. There were days I patted him and gave him a carrot and left because I just couldn’t deal with it. Two years ago I was almost done. I gave him six months, until the spring. If I couldn’t make it work by then I was going to sell him.
I worked at it. I looked for all the things l liked about him. I thought about all the hurdles we had overcome and realized we only had one major issue left - the saddle. I called in my saddle fitter, found something that fit him and worked for me, and then put him to work. I saw improvements in far less than six months. I’m glad I managed to make it work because I really enjoy riding him.
If you decide to try and make it work, set yourself a deadline. Give yourself one or two months to make things work. Get your butt to the barn. Get yourself some lessons every week, and maybe some training rides on him. Commit to doing your homework. Remember that everything you do now, the lessons, the training, the practice, all will help him be better and help sell him faster if you do decide it’s not going to work. Assess at the end of your time. What’s better, how are you handling your responsibilities (work, job, etc), how you feel about the horse, everything you are considering now think about has it changed or become a bigger or smaller concern.
Then make the decision. And if it is the decision to sell then you can be confident that you gave it a fair shot. If it is the decision to keep, then you will be glad you put the work in.
Good luck, whatever you choose.
Horse riding should be fun…
The best horse we ever bought was a old (14) ugly, under weight, gelding. We were a mixed family. Pony clubber from way back and a non rider (me) That horse was very quick and eager to go at a word. And just as adept at Whoa. Stubborn as a mule. But he never did anything dangerous like bucking or kicking. He was the ultimate confidence builder and teacher. If you could stay centered you would stay on. If one fell off, he would stop, stand and look back with a bemused expression…every time.
That’s the sort of horse you want and need. Green on Green equals black & blue. This young horse is not for you.
^ this says it all …
i know obstacles can be found for everything but the only issue with riding / lessons for several months is that I soon can’t ride after work as it will soon be dark early and i will not have access to an indoor arena, no trailer. I can ride at the weekends but it will be snowy (which I don’t mind riding in as long as it’s safe and not absolutely freezing cold with a wind chill). Winter here is 6 months :(.
Yes I agree horse riding should be fun considering the amount of time & money we put into it but I am not always enjoying it. More anxious / nervous
Are you working with a trainer? May 2016 I was sat on my horse in the middle of the arena, unable to talk and shaking with fear after yet another spook. My trainer was there and once she had got me to start breathing again we talked it out…although I was feeling overwhelmed, she pointed out that with all her shenanigans she never had done anything dangerous…so we agreed that we would start from scratch again and if I was still unhappy in a month then we would sell her.
Lots of walking, then jogging later, I decided she would stay, and the rest is history! SHe has taught me so much, BUT she is a teenager, not a green horse, so she actually did know better.
I guess if you have no help, and you aren’t enjoying him, sell, but if you think you can get through it, if you really like him, give it a go, with a set time line.
Good luck whatever you decide.
No shame in admitting we are overhorsed and doing something about it.
You listed your options, one to get him trained for a few months and hope he is then more a horse you can enjoy.
It is dubious that in a few months he will be that much less green and definitively not if you don’t after that stick with it and keep riding him steadily, since he will be a green horse for long time yet.
Some times, it takes more than one horse to hit on the one that works for you, but remember, there also won’t be a perfect horse, each one will have something or other that you will have to adapt to.
I agree that green is something that will be very hard to make work for long time yet.
Green horses need to be with someone that can train consistently and well and doesn’t has to worry if an overly ambitious greenie keeps pulling stuff on them.
Can the OP make this work?
Sounds like that is not what she wants of her horse life, but to have a nice horse to ride, not one to be a worry.
If that voice on your shoulder keeps telling you that keeping on with that one horse is not a good idea, I would listen to it.
What to do about it?
Consider that getting him trained further, if he still is not then what you want, that training may have increased his value enough to pay for it and who knows, he may just fit you then.
You could ask a trainer to evaluate him for you, see if he thinks he will be the horse you want later, but you know he is not now.
Don’t take any unneeded chances where you may get hurt, if that is a possibility, no horse is worth that.
It doesn’t sound like this is a great match for skill level versus horse. Others might have different experiences but I’ve only seen green-on-green work out really well when the rider is a thrill-seeker that kind of enjoys heart attacks and doesn’t mind a good fall here and there. If you’re apprehensive about selling him just yet, getting a trainer involved, as others suggested, is imperative. Also, depending on your area, you might be able to find someone with more experience that wants a horse they can mess around on either for the cost of a cheap lease or free - someone that just enjoys a project and wants more time in the saddle. Whatever trainer you find might know someone or have another student looking for exactly that.
Good luck, though! I know it’s probably really disheartening to be in this situation and hope it works out for the best for all involved 
:lol: well I have gone sky diving but I still wouldnt consider myself a thrill seeker. I prefer to go on a relaxing trail ride to de-stress from work and be able to let my guard down…
Want to amplify a point in my earlier post. That ugly horse would always stop on command. If I was slipping sidewise in the saddle, Whoa would get an immediate stop… from a walk. from a canter. from a gallop. from a jig. after a huge spook. after dropping the reins… That was a huge confidence booster. The ability to control any situation so I could get back into proper position makes the difference between confidence and fear.
Every horse I’ve had since, I’ve trained and reinforced an immediate and reliable “whoa”
Perhaps, if a trainer would get the same from the green horse. OP would enjoy her time astride instead of anxiety.
Today we had our first blue northern blow by, in the 40’s, windy and cold and maybe flurries tonight.
A friend was working cattle today, so he came borrow one of our ranch horses, an older, reliable one.
He has a colt, but the colt is still green, friend was too busy to keep him ridden and he already had a wreck with him this summer, got bucked off etc., he is a lot of horse, big, athletic, spooky and, well, still green.
My friend is in the OP’s situation, a colt he dearly loves, but just has not had the time to bring him along enough to be reliable so he can trust him.
Those just are not good situations all around.
Some horses need more riding and training than some riders will give them and that makes the riders anxious, the horses at times overfaced when they have to do something that they are not quite ready for, not a good situation for both.
When friend brought the older horse back, he had the colt with him and rode him some in the arena.
Friend is trying to put some more time in him, but without consistency, he just can’t trust him when he really needs to get work done.
That is the OP’s problem, she can’t trust a green horse to be a happy, relaxed trail horse when he is still green to the ways of the world and may pull a greenie stunt any minute.
Not an enjoyable situation, which is what the OP wants of her horse experience now.
Do you board him now or keep him at home? Could you afford to move him to a barn with an indoor for the winter?
Regardless, I think a lesson or training program will help you. If you could put 90 days on him with a trainer, you could probably make a far better assessment of your future with the horse then than you could now. I wouldn’t imagine the investment would be a waste, either, in the event you do decide to sell. That’s 90 days of him being further along with a professional than he is currently, and a trainer may be able to help you sell the horse and find the next. Even if you were only able to make it out to the trainer’s on the weekends, you’d have a capable hand riding the horse in the meantime and be able to do some riding with the insight of that trainer.
Alternatively, I suppose if I couldn’t afford or didn’t want to enlist a trainer, and I didn’t want to pay to winter a horse I was unsure of, I’d probably list him now for what I paid. Save your money over the winter and look for the Steady Eddie again come spring. If you do sell and look again at another point for a different horse, do not waver on the things most important to you. If you want a weekend warrior, confidence builder type, then only look at those. They may be older, unsightly, or require some maintenance, but it’s more important you feel safe than anything else.
This doesn’t sound like a good plan. I don’t know too many horses that can sit all week and only be ridden on weekends. It sounds like you also need a horse that can sit unridden for a few weeks when the weather is bad and still be novice-safe when the weather comes around.
For the time being, can your trainer ride the horse during the week? Even if the plan is to sell the horse now, you need to keep the horse in work so he’s sellable.
Unfortunately the only barn in this town with an indoor arena that you can board at has a waiting list of 75 people although there are sometimes options to sublet stalls from people. It is fully self board in 12x12 stalls with paddocks you can turn out in a few hours a day (I do have some concern about the limited turn out but I suppose if he were being ridden every day it wouldn’t be so bad but I also have to consider that I would need to go there at minimum 1x per day & spend a decent amount of time mucking out the stall, spending time with him & riding which isn’t too bad except for my other responsibilities and working full-time myself ). I was researching and had prepared to send him for 3 months of training over the winter & keeping him. However if I"m considering selling him , I’m just not quite sure whether the amount I paid for him + the amount for the 3 months training = the amount I could sell him for & hubby says if I still wanted to sell him after the training he would only let me sell him if I could get back the amount that we invested in him otherwise I’m “stuck” with keeping him regardless of good fit or not hence I am feeling it may be best to just list him now and see if I can find a better suited home.
You need some “back in the saddle” lessons on a lesson horse!!! That means you don’t need to worry about hauling your greenie as you’ll not be riding him for a while. This doesn’t mean he’s “on vacation.” There is a whole world of ground work you can be doing that will help you learn about him, him learn about you, and find what each of you knows (or doesn’t know) so you can “fill in” any blanks.
Come spring you can start working with a trainer to help you apply your resurrected knowledge to your now well prepared green gelding.
As noted, “green on green leads to black on blue.” Or, worse, red on brown. Follow the above and the odds of that happening go WAY down. Keep up your current program and you’ll be looking at a long term frustration.
Good luck in whatever you decide to do.
G.
I imagined when you referenced snow, you must live up country and I know indoors available to the public are in short supply that way. That’s tough! It’s tough, too, when you’ve got to consider someone else in the mix.
I don’t know what trainers in your area charge, but taking away the typical care costs, most trainers I know are essentially paid somewhere around $600 out of the full monthly freight. So using that estimation, do you think if you were to sell your horse following the 90 days it would be realistic to list him for purchase price + $1800? Or possibly more? I’m just using rough figures and you certainly don’t need to reveal what you paid for the horse, but that’s something to consider. If you don’t think so, then perhaps moving on if you’re already unsure is the safer bet.
As a horse owner buying horses, not a professional doing it after years of experience, DH may as well get used to that you sell for what you can get, no matter what you have in a horse.
Many people not in horses as a business tend to overpay when buying the few horses they do buy in a lifetime.
Most times those horses not in a training situation will sell for less than you paid, your expenses and any loss chalked to experience.
There is no return on your investment that counts in any measurable way, other than being lucky, like buying a winning lottery ticket.
