Hi!
I know I posted previously about looking for a new lease and getting used to working with the head trainer at my barn after the assistant trainer left. I’m sorry this is going to be so long, but I’m extremely conflicted on what to do.
The reason I was looking for a new lease was because the woman that owned the quarter horse I was leasing was planning on moving and taking her horse with her. (I kind of stumbled into him originally because she was a friend of a friend who boards at the barn and was looking for a place for him to stay for the summer and while he was there figured she may as well lease him out).
She has now decided she wants to sell him, and the head trainer at my barn, who I am currently working with, is fully convinced that she should sell him to me.
I’ve only been riding for a little over a year, and pending on what happens with the horse situation am supposed to start doing some smaller schooling shows with my barn in October.
Basically, I have the opportunity to purchase a super sweet horse, who I absolutely adore and I have until next week to decide or she’s going to take him back and try and sell him elsewhere. She’s not interested in continuing to lease him, because she’s moving out of state and either he sells here soon or she’s bringing him with her.
I’m hesitating because I wasn’t planning on even thinking about purchasing a horse until next summer at the earliest.
Additionally, even though he’s 16.1 hands, he’s still a quarter horse and he’s only been jumping about six months, he does seem to enjoy it a lot more than the competitive trail riding and roping he was doing before though and has never refused a jump and just listens so well and tries so hard.
He has great scope and is extremely broke and doesn’t have a malicious bone in his body. Plus he’s only ten, and has never had any injury issues! The trainers at my barn just keep saying what a great pair we are, and how far we have come together the last few months, and how we need to continue our partnership. I know we have improved immensely and there is still room for us to grow. He’s basically the perfect first horse, except for the timing and the fact that he’s a quarter horse which I’ve read don’t necessarily do well in shows, which is something I am interested in pursuing if the local schooling shows work out (even though he keeps up with the warmbloods in TBs in our lessons and he looks more TBy despite his apparently “fancy quarter horse bloodlines” according to a barn friend that looked over his papers).
Because of his bloodlines he is also priced higher than I was expecting, especially because even though we aren’t there yet, they don’t think he probably doesn’t have much potential over three feet / three foot three. I could try and negotiate his price down but I don’t even have any idea of what would be a realistic ask for him.
Despite all of this, every part of me wants to buy him, he’s such a little teddybear and I trust him completely, he does wonderfully in our arena jumping and is also great on the trails around the property. I just know in a year or two I’ll be outgrowing his abilities and I also haven’t been riding that long and should ease into ownership. I also just quit my miserable job and am currently searching for a new one. I have the money up front for him, but know that long term horses and everything else for them is extremely expensive.
My family aren’t animal people and said they are staying out of it, but if I do decide to buy him not to expect any kind of financial help from them with it (not that I was expecting any). My heart wants to buy him more than anything, but the realistic side of me isn’t sure it’s the right time.
Does anyone have any advice? Have they found themselves in a situation like this? Did they buy the horse and regret it? I’m just not sure I’m going to be able to handle watching him be trailered away after working together four-five days a week for almost six months.
Thank you so much and I hope that it’s okay I posted this!
