yup, we could add to the list for daaaays 
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I echo this opinion. I think your needs as a rider will change significantly over the next year or two so buying a horse that is suitable NOW, is likely not going to be the horse you need as you advance. Finding a lease (either a half lease or even a full lease) would give you the flexibility to match the horse to your abilities as you progress.
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For my OTTBs, this is also how I typically introduce the canter, especially if they are sticky on one lead. It makes for an easy transition so I can understand using it for beginning riders.
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My gut feeling after reading your post is that your trainer is more interested in finding a horse for her to make a lot of money off of (including putting three training rides a week on; going to Europe to find the right horse), than she is helping you find the optimal opportunities to enhance your riding.
You’ve gotten a lot of great advice from fellow COTHers here. I can also offer my personal experience. I started riding seriously as an adult (mid thirties). I took lessons for three years at a local barn and rode lots of different lesson horses and learned a lot about basic horsemanship and care in the meantime. I made friends with people who owned their own horses and learned all about the costs and responsibilities of what that ownership entailed.
Eventually I started riding a lesson horse that a fell in love with and ended up leasing him for almost a year. It was a mini introduction to horse ownership and I had lots of great experiences with him. By that time I felt ready to look for my own horse. I ended up buying him and it was a great situation because I knew him already and I knew that we matched each other in our riding goals. He was the perfect school master to a basically still novice rider.
I know you said there aren’t a lot of lesson horses to ride at your current barn. Perhaps, as someone else mentioned, you could part lease someone else’s horse to get more experience and develop more skills before jumping into horse ownership. At my current barn, we have several owners who part lease their horses to other riders because they can’t get to the barn enough, plus it helps with board expenses.
Horse ownership is a big commitment. It’s wonderful, don’t get me wrong. But the decision should flow naturally from your own desires and experience, never from outside pressure. I guess I’m saying is trust your gut and don’t be afraid to take your time making this big decision. You have the right to say I’m not ready yet, if that’s what you feel and what you need. There are always options. Good luck in your decision.
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Absolutely. It’s also a “surprise” canter for those students who are intimidated by the idea of it, and find out, after the crossrail, that it’s quite easy after all.
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I used to say, in Pony Club, that every horse needed at least 2 riders, because in our population of students (who have studies) and adults (who have jobs), almost no one rode 6-7 days a week. And the horses really need to get out. (We did not live in an area where horses were kept on pasture).
@carrotgirl There are so many different ways to think about this. You’ll need to sort out for yourself how much you can trust your trainer, how much you want to invest, etc. But here are a few varied thoughts about the possibility you have presented.
Many of us would have been better riders quicker with access to a really good school master.
ANY horse you choose, whether it’s a grade pony from around the corner or a fancy horse from a top breeder, will benefit from professional rides to keep it ‘tuned up’ (arrest the propensity to get slovenly in its work lol) while you are learning. This is truly one of the most important things to remember - you don’t have the skills yet to train the horse, so give the horse the benefit of regular reminder rides. You will be ever so thankful when you do get to the point of jumping 1.1 (or whatever your goal is) and your horse still has the skills to do the job well. There is absolutely zero shame in not being able to ride the horse to its ability. But, it would be a shame to allow the horse to be trained by your undeveloped knowledge/balance/skills.
Your horse doesn’t care if it ‘depreciates.’ Your horse only wants to be well looked after, have a job that isn’t too hard/unreasonable, and have a social network outside of humans.
Something I learned from someone with clients on the mid-exceptionally high spectrum of well heeled - if the client can pay for the horse, care for the horse, training for the horse, showing for the horse, and fund whatever emergencies may come up with the horse without adversely affecting their lifestyle, they can afford the horse. Find that number for yourself. If spending X to import a school master from Europe is within that number, why not?
Lastly, please don’t ever think of a horse as an investment. Some people get lucky. The vast majority of us do not. Horses are a giant liability. You may get lucky if you decide to sell. You probably will not. Ask yourself if you’re ok with kissing your whole purchase sum, plus all your expenses for keeping the horse, goodbye. If you are, go for it. I can almost promise you will not regret horse ownership. It’s one of the most rewarding things we can experience in life <3
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My first instinct is that this trainer is recommending buying a horse that is beyond your needs (and possibly skill level) right now, and so I feel skeptical about her motives. I don’t know you or your skill level, but you say that other horses in the barn are too advanced for you to part-lease, which makes me question why your trainer believes a 1.00m European import would be the right fit for you at this time.
I would ask some questions to both yourself and your trainer.
For you:
What are your riding goals short (in next year), medium (next few years) and long term? Think about things like mastering skills, being social with your barnmates, showing, etc.
Have you talked about your goals with your trainer?
Really look at the finances. Horses are expensive and unpredictable. Are you comfortable with that risk? Horses are not really an investment, and don’t appreciate or depreciate in value predictably.
Do you want to own right now and go all-in, or would you prefer a stepping stone with a lease to learn while working towards ownership?
Do you want to continue to ride 3 days a week, or are you able to increase that number?
For your trainer:
What are your trainer’s goals for you? Do they align with your own goals?
How does she feel about your goals? Are they realistic for how she coaches you and are they in line with her program’s goals?
Would a lease on a more local horse be able to meet those goals in the short term? Does she think one of the more “advanced” horses in the barn might be a good fit for you to part-lease?
Full Disclosure: I have been riding for close to 20 years (a few breaks, but 20 years total riding time) and I have never owned a horse. I rode lesson horses, part boarded, leased, did lessons on a stepping-down schoolmaster, and worked on project/sales horses across various English disciplines. I’ve always been able to find something to ride while still working towards my goals… without the financial risk of owning. So my thoughts are coming from someone with no horse ownership experience, but lots of horse experience (including working at a few farms over the years).
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Yup. And same in dressage. I’m sure it can’t be different in hunters either!
Generally, the better the horse is and the higher level the horse has attained, the quicker the rider will rise up through the levels. The horse must be able to ‘take a joke’ (be generous to novice riders and read pilot errors as just that and not some great offence against their entire being, in case you’re not familiar with that term, @carrotgirl ) and not be a froot loop, but even one with a few non-dangerous quirks is going to help a rider reach their goals in a more timely manner than a progression of 18 horses that need to be sold on as the rider reaches the level each horse has maxed out at.
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The first thing that popped into my mind when I read she would put several training rides on per week is that she (the trainer) wants a nice horse to ride and come show season, will convince the owner that she’s not ready for the ring and the trainer would take over the showing responsibilities, on the owner’s dime of course. And, will no doubt want to use the horse in lessons for her other students.
I’m a natural skeptic and take what people say with a grain of salt so I may be way off base here but if it doesn’t pass the sniff test, there’s something fishy going on.
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OP, when the trainer mentioned a buying trip to Europe, were you included in that trip? It would take a lot of trust to buy a horse, especially my first horse, without trying it myself.
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Right there with you… My first thought was the trainer needs another lesson horse and lower level show horse for other clients that she wants the OP to pay for.
Perhaps the OP is advancing past the available lesson horse, but then why can’t they find something locally instead of a European shopping trip? Or a local lease?
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I agree with others who say that this is probably not the time for an import. A lease or purchase of a solid citizen 3 ft horse , locally, will get you to the place where you are comfortable going to shows and riding courses ( or whatever your goal) . Then stepping up to something a bit more fancy to meet your challenges.
Surely your trainer has connections to people who got that import this winter and now have a nice, safe, sensible horse to find a new job, ready to go for you.
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To me the core question is whether the trainer has found the right horses for her other clients.
OP, I actually care more about that…are the other ammies with their own horses happy? Can they ride their own horses easily and do they do well at shows? If so, it’s highly likely that the trainer is good at pairing riders to the right horse and you should consider it! If not, definitely don’t buy one through her.
A 1 m schoolmaster in Europe is actually a pretty low-end type and what I would expect might be perfect for OP to learn on. She will be able to start jumping on it, and it will continue to be suitable for several more years. It is also probably less expensive than a hunter schoolmaster of the same type here, where such horses can easily cost in the high fives. Europe will be cheaper if trainer sources the right one.
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I agree Europe does have family-type horses that could probably do this job. I’m not sure they’re in the circles most trainers flying to Europe for buying trips shop in, but they do exist.
I just don’t understand why we need yet another horse from Europe to do this job when we have plenty of suitable horses stateside that need gainful employment as they age. Do they perhaps cost a bit more? Maybe, but at least they know what a flower box is, have a documented history of doing exactly this job, and can be test-ridden before purchase. Dollars to donuts they were once an import, too.
And they may not be as expensive as you’d think. Older horses really don’t get a fair shake in the market, unless they’re legacy types with some notoriety, but a 15 y.o. jack-of-all-trades or plain bay hunter can be had for very reasonable numbers, especially if you’re talking numbers that include import costs. A new & novice rider that’s not even jumping yet is the perfect home for these types. There’s just no reason to go to Europe for this, and plenty of reasons not to.
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I don’t think the pro rides are odd. The pro is going to want to jump the horse around once every few weeks and school it on the flat to keep it tuned up. It will take time before OP is ready to do that all herself. Even lesson horses benefit from the occasional pro ride. It sounds like a pretty typical program to me…lessons or pro rides 5x a week is normal.
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I think Amberley was referring to pros buying something talented but a wee bit green for their student, so they have an excuse to campaign it “for the miles” and show in the bigger stuff and special classes.
But by and large most pros aren’t jumping up and down to add another 3’ horse to their weekday schooling list, or to have to show the 1m with 120 entries when they’ve got 20 other horses to get in the ring before clients arrive. But it can make for good training bills if you need them, I suppose.
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Regardless, I think the OP needs to decide how she wants her trajectory into riding to be–and what her options are. Does she want to be “in a program” owning a horse (or possibly leasing a horse, if that’s an option, which I personally think is better for someone riding a year) or get more experience riding different horses and riding independently, which, it sounds like, would mean trying another barn.
I really like the riding vacation idea floated out at one point. Sometimes that can expose holes in a program and be a great window onto different ways of working with horses (assuming it’s a good vacation riding school).
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