Haha he’s red (my 4th chestnut - I’ve only owned redheads) and supposedly 16.2.
Sprite is kinda cute though!
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I know this horse! Watched him run a couple times at Charles Town. Loved his name. I watch the races way too often. lol.
He seemed very easy for the grooms and his jockey but was quite slow, so happy he has a great home.
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Oh really??? That’s fantastic! I honestly bought him off a 3 second jog clip on long feet and a personality clip of him molesting for treats 
I’m already in love tbh, but haven’t yet booked a shipper so I’m trying to tamp that down
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THIS. 100%. I force myself to take long breaks from reading the nervous rider and instructors forums I belong to on FB because so many people feel that admitting that you’re not the right human for this particular horse is akin to microwaving your roommate’s pet rabbit. It is almost always egregious human error on those forums. Like, what da f-q is going through your head that you that it was a great idea to buy that 19hh 2 year old Shire or native pony straight from the Fells when you haven’t ridden in 40 years and just standing near a paddock fence spooks you??
Usually? It is so much more subtle than that. Perfect on paper yet not gelling in real life. This will sound corny but I believe riding at any level – from that 7yo struggling to post on that schoolmaster who knows just how much to push to the McLain Wards and Charlotte Dujardins of the world on horses only 1 in a million can dare to sit in the saddle – is truly a miracle. Think about it. Two creatures, who despite having no language in common, decide they care enough about each other to puzzle it out and arrive at an understanding and even (somewhat) trust each other with their life.
It didn’t occur to me until we were in the thick of the horse search for DD16 that I’m easy-going to a fault on horseback. Never had the finances for my own horse growing up and took whatever was offered to me by some kind soul. On the plus side, I learned to seek the tiniest spark of the positive in every horse. On the negative side, I never learned to suss out my personal boundaries, for lack of a better way to explain it. Sort of, this horse is cool, I’m fine with it, without allowing myself to be comfortable with real introspection on how my abilities as a rider did or did not match up with a given horse.
DD16 has some of the same attitude while still managing to maintain a realistic sense of discernment (if that makes any sense). Her horse was the second one we tried. We left work and school early to race out to the seller’s farm to be the first to try him. I was wracked with doubt and worries. DD16 took him on a cool down walk while trainers and buyer and seller conferred. Horse and DD16 returned: “This is the one.” I worried that she was just saying that because the market was hot and there was so much pressure. The past 2.5 years showed me I was worried for nothing
He’s quirky as hell and the first horse DD16 ever rode high octane enough to require her to expect the unexpected. He’s unceremoniously bucked a couple much better riders off. He launched DD16 several times. It didn’t phase either one of them. They seemed to have some unspoken agreement that it was just part of the process of a former pony hunter kid and a Euro show jumper getting to know one another. I adore him and he seems to return the feeling. Walking along next to them on foot is darn near impossible because he wants to walk with his nose buried in my shoulder. The idea was that I might take dressage lessons on him. He’s been here for 2.5 years now and I’ve ridden him exactly once. For 10 minutes to try a saddle.
Idk. He’s DD16’s horse. They both seemed to know it from the moment they met.
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I’m still trying to get the darn horse here (holiday delays in getting a health cert and updated Coggins, now waiting on dates from the shipper), but he’s a HAM. Just absolutely in everyone’s business, big Golden Retriever energy. I’m trying so hard to be chill but I’m already 19273739% in love. He’s long overdue for teeth and hoof care, so once we get those squared away we shall see if his personality carries over to his under saddle life.
As far as the OG topic on hand - the biggest key here? I have 0 expectations and spent an amount on him that I’m comfortable throwing away. I’ll be happy if he is a kid’s horse happy hacker type, and absolutely delighted if he can do the 2’6" with me. More than that is just icing on the cake. Everything else I was looking at had me all in a tizzy worrying if it would be a fit, needing it to be XYZ to be “right” - this one somehow seems to have earned excitement from me with hopes only of him being rideable .
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Congrats and please post pics!!
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Which vet did you use? Most are fast around here so surprising it took more than 2-3 days.
Now you are making me want to grab a horse Charles Town.
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You totally have a type. 
Beautiful horses.
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I used the seller’s vet - I honestly let them handle it since I was just wanting a health cert (not what I usually do 
). We had some nasty weather and that seems to have been part of the issue. Regardless, I’m getting antsy and just want him HERE. I can go get him myself but it’s 10 hours round trip and I really don’t want to 
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My dad already can’t tell a bay pony from a bay draft. Just wait until we throw this one out there with the other three chestnut TBs on the property! 
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I love him. His expression is so… deep
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I absolutely loved him when I saw his ad, and I like his breeding too. If I weren’t in the market for something with a bit more mileage and ready to event this spring, I would have been fighting you for him best of luck and please keep us updated on your adventures! I think you got a good one!
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He has a beautiful eye
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He’s here! He definitely needs some TLC, but his personality is fantastic. Just so easy to deal with, and not a peep besides a little nicker at the mini when he came in the barn. Usually a new horse has them all in an uproar- perhaps they are saving that for tomorrow
Pics to follow, for now have this!
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Glad he made it safely. Can’t wait to see his glow up.
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Congratulations!
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Sweet face. Congratulations!!
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Congratulations, he looks lovely! What a kind eye. I hope he continues settling in smoothly!
Since I had posted here a couple times too…I bought candidate #2. I felt weirdly un-anxious about the actual transaction but the nerves have definitely spiked a couple of times since then We’ve had tough weather and she won’t be moving to my trainer’s barn until the end of the month, so I haven’t been able to do much with her yet. I’ve pretty much decided we’re in survival mode until she moves. She’s been out of work anyway (no fault of her own), so while I wish I could have hit the ground running with getting her back in shape, a couple weeks won’t make a difference in the long run. Right??
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