Over the years there have been horses I passed over that seemed perfect for one reason or other, or many, but circumstances and that little voice determined I move on.
Remembering those with sadness, I also know it was the right decision to let them go.
There are also some I went on and bought, against doubts and some it worked, others didn’t.
Don’t we wish buying horses came with a crystal ball?
OP, I think you made a wise decision, best luck on your next.
I think it’s a very wise choice to pass on this horse.
I think an older, quiet, been there, done that horse is a privilege for any rider to ride, let alone someone beginning their riding career. Horses that can take a joke, humor a rider’s progressive seat, that do not hold mistakes such as being caught in the mouth or a rider becoming unbalanced, are worth their weight in gold. I’d much rather a beginner take on a less than stellar mover, less than flashy horse, that is on the more quiet side, older with some maintenance, that can teach a rider along the way. There are things about horses that just take time and wet saddle pads to learn. You can have the greatest coach in the world but a lot of it comes down to plain experience. Training your body not to over react, fine tuning balance, fine tuning feel and aids, learning to think in the moment - being instinctual in your reactions, etc., that are things that must be learned from experience. I see a lot of riders take on too much horse and it absolutely ruins the sport for them. I’d much rather a rider outgrow the horse than the rider be overfaced. So maybe you don’t find your 20 year horse - maybe you find an excellent teacher for a few years, then you move on to something else. I assure you, the wise, quiet, forgiving teaching horses are the ones you will remember and cherish forever, even if they never were a fancy, young, top level prospect.
I will say that the scariest almost wreck I’ve had in a long time was in an indoor. My horse bucked and I had been focusing too much on my coach and not present enough with my horse and lost a stirrup. So I was kind of hanging off the side with my head pointed at the kickboards. I stayed there until horse veered away from the wall a little bit and bailed off. I don’t fall off much and unfortunately more of my falls in the past decade have been horses that fell down with me still on them. I was really scared of taking a high speed header into the wall in the moment. But in any event, it’s a dangerous sport, indoors or out, and since you are an adult beginner, I think I’d go with an older more been there done that horse if you can afford a good one.
Correct. It doesn’t matter what caused the rearing. A horse that resorts to rearing for ANY reason is not a horse for a beginner. (Frankly, I’ve been riding for 35 years and it’s not a horse for me either. No thank you.)
I had a colt years ago who I bought as a yearling. I knew his breeder, knew both sire and dam, and knew that he might be quirky but wanted to give him a chance. I bought him, gelded him, and let him grow up with lots of handling and care. Unfortunately, even when just handling and doing ground work, and then later when we started under saddle work, his MO was to go up when he wasn’t happy. His mother was the same way, so I had it in the back of my head that he might have it in him. Needless to say, I got rid of him. I’m just an ammy who liked to start her own horses for fun back in the day.
I got the horse above’s half-brother not too much later. Again, he was a yearling. Bought him, gelded him, raised him and started him. He has never, EVER offered to rear. And believe me, he’s been as scared and freaked out as a horse can be at times when I’ve been on him and/or leading him. He’s also dealt with back spasms from poor angles in hind feet AND an ill-fitting saddle. He was so painful you couldn’t even spray warm water over his back without him losing his mind (and this horse loves a bath). But he still NEVER, EVER offered to rear. It’s just not in him. He’ll spook, spin, bolt (not far), and even hump his back a little now and then (very rare). But rear? Never. EVER.
Some do and some don’t. Get one that doesn’t. Period. This is not the horse for you.
ETA: I still have the non-rearing half-brother. He’s my only horse now. He’s 14 and a good boy.
ETA: when I continued reading I saw you passed. Good luck on your search
Don’t hold the blood. Send it for drug testing. Don’t wait until after you already paid for the horse and for a problem to arise to see if it was drugged. I never understand when people draw blood but don’t test it. So much harder to walk away when money has been paid and horse is yours.
If they disclosed one rear maybe there was more than one. This alone would not spook me. However, I’m pretty experienced with horses.
Is a lease option available or an off the farm trial? See if he has a tantrum in a new place 
If you’ll buy long distance I can recommend a really nice sale horse. Owned by a friend of a friend. I have no financial affiliation to it but I’ve seen it go and I know that it’s kind and would be an idea “first horse.”
Sorry, to be clear, for blood testing my expectation would be to pay for an immediate screen, plus an additional vial to hold. Based on my research I’ve seen that some things don’t show up immediately, thus the importance of the second (held) sample to test against a current sample if the need arises.
Am I mis-informed? I’ve never really looked deeply into this but that is what I was expecting to ask/pay for.
It’s probably not that one sample will reveal something that the other won’t if pulled from the horse at the same time, but the standard panel doesn’t test for everything potentially nefarious and possibly not to very low concentrations. You could use the second vial for more specific testing potentially.
Yeah when a sale barn gives you the “he only did it once” that’s a load of hooey. They are trying to give you ample warning, so you can’t come back later and say the horse was misrepresented.
I do not tolerate rearing. My current two don’t. Old Man doesn’t do really anything ill behaved anymore, and young mare has a two stride bolt and a prop-spin we’re working through (she’s 5, and a little vapid). My late mare started out with a rear, not high, but enough. It would happen when you touched her anxiety threshold - the problem was, it started as a hair pin threshold that could be triggered by “you put your leg on, and I don’t like that”. I’d wait for her to come down, I’d swing off as soon as her front touched earth, and I would immediately make it VERY CLEAR that was an unacceptable thing to try. This was either with one solid whip strike across the chest, or by a LOT of backing. She only tried it a few times before she realized she must express her anxiety in a different way. Rearing is not a joke, and needs to be dealt with swiftly and firmly.
The fact that the old owners brought the vet out to me means the rear seemed to come out of the blue. That’s no bueno.
I’m genuinely curious, and not trying to derail this thread: why would a running martingale stop or dissuade a horse from rearing? That hasn’t been my experience—plenty of talented rearers I’ve met with yokes and rings and martingales—so I’m wondering if someone could enlighten me.
Running martingales don’t keep a horse from rearing.
They help keeping any head movements confined to an arc defined by your use of the reins and range of the martingale.
With running martingales, horse may be more controllable and/or he won’t reach back enough to hit you in the face.
I’m genuinely curious about this. In my initial inquiries before even scheduling the visit I outright asked about suitability for adult beginner (among many other questions about soundness, vices, quirks, maintenance, etc). I would think that the misrepresentation would be encapsulated there - a horse that rears is not suitable for an adult beginner. If they were trying to CYA or give ample warning, why would they, once there visiting in person, disclose and then emphasize multiple times that it was a one-time thing, never to be seen again?
I am likely too naive - I know about the traditional representation of horse sellers being anything from not-fully-truthful to outright slimey, but I would think for the most part in todays day and age sellers would be extra careful to protect their reputation AGAINST this type of broad-brush representation… similar to lawyers or possibly even car salesmen.
Trying to get you there in person, so hopefully you’d fall in love with Fluffy and still move forward with the sale (like you almost did, but you wised up!).
I get this part, but when fluffy turns out to be an uncontrollable demon, the sellers reputation is still going to take a hit in the rather small horsey community.
I guess because I work in a profession that relies on sales people and I see how hard they work to protect their reputations, it blows my mind a little that in a MUCH smaller community of buyers/sellers like the horse world, someone wouldn’t work twice as hard to ensure their reputation is positively managed and their integrity not questionable.
Flippers typically do not care. Just my experience.
I agree with endless. The idea is to get you attached and also get people in to pressure them with the “got to get it right now” pitch to just drive off with it.
I found my current mare from a place like this. I consider myself extremely lucky that she was more or less as advertised and has been a wonderful horse because I bought her without the PPE. I’ve been burned by low end flippers and professionals as well. I asked one professional about one horse and when I said I can be on the more timid side they translated that to “stupid” and tried to sell me on a completely unsuitable horse. The one they said was better suited for a timid rider had no brakes and was completely comfortable to go through the jumps rather than over them.
I am going to look at two later this week from a sale barn and will be running the gauntlet again. Horse shopping is frustrating.
Horse shopping = buying a used car…
PASS !
Please keep looking ~ Good Luck
…which they then blame on: the new owner/rider, the new trainer, the new feed, the new environment, etc, etc, etc. Not to say that such things are NOT in play when a horse’s behavior changes, but to point out that there CAN be many factors involved and it’s really not like selling medical equipment, or houses, or cars.
If you’re up for gaited dressage, you could look at a gaited breed like a Tennessee Walker or Kentucky Mountain horse. Maybe not an ex-show horse on the Walker (If the horse was involved with “big lick” performance showing), but for a good-tempered beginner’s horse and trail riding, you can’t do better.
There are zero standards/accreditation in the horse world. Anyone can say they are an expert. Because there are many unknowledgeable clients and no barriers to entry, unscrupulous behavior is rewarded.
Keep in mind: the overriding goal for most professionals is to make money. Not do what’s best for you, or best for the horse. And if you find the rare pro who puts your interests, ir the horse’s, first, hang onto them for dear life!
By submitting your email, you agree to our Terms of Service and Privacy Policy. You may also receive promotional emails from The Chronicle of the Horse. You can opt out at any time.
For Customers
Company
Terms of Use
