Just curious as to others experiences. I have bought some youngsters and have been thrilled with how they turn out. Others, once they get going, I pass them on as they just are not a fit for what I want. I have champagne taste, on a beer budget, and if I do not buy young, I cannot afford what I want. So, I have some youngsters now sitting in my field, with a new great prospect to go look at. Trying to decide if I take another chance on a young one, or buy one of a lesser quality to ride. I would love to hear some success, or fails while contemplating where to go from here.
I bought a 18 month old some years ago. I was tired of fixing problems caused by previous training so decided starting from scratch was the best answer. I loved the initial process - I did all the ground work and backing myself. It wasnāt quite as smooth as I was hoping as I had absolutely no help (not even a ground person) and had never done it before, so it was definitely a challenge, but worked OK in the end. However, it turned out the horse and I were not really a good personality match and she wasnāt really interested in being an eventer (and I wasnāt really interested in being a hunter!). By the time this was figured out, I was so emotionally/financially/etc. invested that it took way too long to make the right decision to sell her. As a result, I got hurt a few times and lost a lot of confidence which was very hard to get back.
I would not buy something unstarted again. My current horse I bought as a very green 4 yo and that is working out great. I was able to get a feel for her personality (on the ground and under saddle) so was more confident of a good fit both in personality and career plan. I probably paid a little more money for a little less talent, but Iām not aiming at the Olympics, so Iām OK with that to get better odds of finding the right match.
That said, you seem to have more than one horse (so something to ride while waiting) and no issues moving a not-so-good-fit horse on so Iām guessing it would be a better gamble for you than it was for me!
I bought a 2 year old KWPN gelding because I wanted head turning high quality and could not afford a started horse with the same quality. Horse is a dream- A+ mind, trainability, rideability, gorgeous, movement etcā¦except he is over a hand taller than I was told he would mature to. So he will be someoneās ELSEās dream horse. I was adamant about not wanting anything 17h he is that now and growing.
I also bought a 2 y/o KWPN gelding because I was sick of riding horses with big behavioral problems. I really enjoy working with young horses, and decided it was time to get my own so Iād keep the ride on it after all the baby stuff. My kiddo is awesome and at 4 years old heās forward and sensitive, but quite brave and level headed.
I know some timid people who bought young to save money and they have ended up with not the most āwell-adjustedā adult horses.
I think if you have the space and the ability to start them and move them along if they end up being not your cup of tea, you should do so.
Of the 7 iāve had as foals yearlings and 2 yolds, one took me all the way to GP. Two I made money on, two I broke even and one (the foal) I lost money on.
I loved all but one and enjoyed the process. All but one competed well and sold as 5 yo when it became clear they werenāt FEI horses so itās an OK success rate and certainly better than buying someone elses not good enough horse. If I could afford a super quality already ridden young horse, that would be nice, but they seem to be such big money now, and if they seem like a bargain,they usually donāt turn out to be in my experience.
I have a 2 yo at the moment I think has the goods that I bought after a long and frustrating search for a going horse. Should have imported my German horse probably. Much easier to find a going horse in Europe, but certainly not foolproof and I did end up buying a 3 yo just started horse even there where thereās plenty to look at.
Good sensible athletic beautiful reasonably priced horses are rare!
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Bought a 6 month old KWPN colt who is about to turn 5. Great breeding, top inspection scores, adorable personality. Grew over 17h and stocky so heās big for me, is very much a kick ride when I like hot/forward, his gaits are very average, heās spooky on the trail and has shivers and PSSM so I canāt sell him. Absolutely love his personality but would never have bought this horse as an adult 
I board and cant afford multiple horses so I have to make do with him, which means my eventing goals are on hold again.
Buy a started horse. Too much can go wrong.
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I bought my youngster sight unseen at 18 mos and adore him. His personality is hysterical and heās been a fantastic riding partner. Heās pretty and athletic - Iām doing both dressage and hunters with him. I donāt know if heāll be my GP horse but Iām confident heāll make it to FEI and heās a lovely hunter. Iāve loved every minute of the training process (okā¦ ALMOST every minute :lol:)ā¦ So much so that Iām doing it again. Iām doing a custom foal this time with a breeder whose program I really admire. Provided all goes well, he/she will be by my absolute favorite stallion. She will likely be bred on Saturday so if youāre reading this, send me all of your good fertility vibes 
I think it really depends on what you want and how much of a risk taker you are. Iām lucky to have my horses at home so I can afford more risk than if I were boarding and could only have one. I also find the training process super rewarding and love having a horse with no baggage, that I can get to know long before I ever sit on them.
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Not a dressage rider, nor do I play one on TV, but I did ride competitive dressage for about six years in a departure from hunter princessdom. There was also some eventing in there. I have twice bought unstarted horses, one late in his 2-y.o. year and the other 3 y.o. Neither even knew how to lunge. When I sat down to talk to my trainer before buying my current horse (my profile picture) I said that I didnāt want to buy green, which surprised her. Turned out our definitions of green were a bit differentāI was talking kind of feral and she was talking about something that had limited showing.
Buy something that is reasonably bred to do what you want to do, with parents who have stayed sound in some sort of athletic endeavor. Ideally buy something that is bred for the discipline you plan to do. My last two horses were actually bred to jump and they both have (or in the case of Skipper, had) an excellent instinct about going to the fence. It needs to be soundāI learned that the hard way. For many amateurs a good mind is essential. If you havenāt done this before, get help selecting the horse and working with it.
Star was a reasonable success. I bought him during my dressage phase and transitioned out of it with him. He was not a happy dressage horse, I preferred HJ and had even gotten him started over fences with the resident HJ trainer to give him some variety in his life. I showed him up to 3ā in the hunters and eq, but then he started to have lameness issues that ultimately turned out to be neck related. I retired him at age 14; the year before that I had done only flat work. All that dressage did make him a rather nice flat horse though. Pedigree - http://www.allbreedpedigree.com/aldebaran13 Was he bred to jump? Do dressage? Not sure. He did have a decent instinct for jumping.
I bought Skipper from a breeder of TB sport horses. He definitely was bred to jumpāa monkey probably could have started him over fences. But there were many, many soundness issues. There was even stuff going on when I bought him but it seemed to be fixable and I really liked the brain. Stupid decision, by the way. We got him started, he went lame, I spent essentially two years trying to rehab him at home, then doing Dr. Green, and then restarting him and teaching him to jump at the rehab facility before moving him to a training barn. We had a few very fun months there before he went lame again. Ultimately turned out to be cervical stenosis and I had him euthanized shortly after his seventh birthday. At least I probably saved him from the likely fate of staying forever with his breeder, with bad feet (among other things) on hard ground, or getting purchased by someone who wasnāt willing to do the right thing. Pedigree - http://www.pedigreequery.com/asf+skipper
Given that I was sixty and figured I didnāt have a lot of time to dink around with the next horse I then bought something that was six, was bred to jump, and had been to a few shows as a jumper (as opposed to the hunters and equitation I planned to do). And vetted the heck out of him. Way more money. Way less risk. Were I not so ancient, I may have tried for something between feral and what I bought. But I was back in the show ring, after quite a few years off, a few months after I bought him and have been having a blast at home and at shows for the last year. Again this is the horse in my profile picture. Pedigree - http://www.allbreedpedigree.com/the+graduate10
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Well it seems to have eaten my nice, long response.
Based on experience with buying two unstated horses I would say get help with the purchase and the training, buy something that has reasonable breeding for what you want to do, ideally purpose-bred, make sure that the sire and dam did some sort of athletic endeavor for a period of time and stayed sound, and donāt forget a good brain.
After my most recent experience with semi-feral horses (horse euthanized shortly after seventh birthday) I decided that I wasnāt getting any younger and bought what my trainer considered āgreen.ā The horse was six and had limited show experience. Less risk. Way more money.
I bought a yearling and so far things have gone according to plan. Sheās 6 and showing 2nd and is a good, versatile, fun horse. However, she has been with a professional, so it has been an investment. And something could still go wrong. I have not shown her myself but hopefully that will happen this year or next. So, the final verdict is still pendingā¦
I bought a 7 month old weanling in Denmark 16.5 years ago. She is my current grand prix horse and I trained her myself from about a total of 90 days under saddle. I wanted a baby horse so I would know its entire history and I wanted one that was related to my previous horse (she is out of his sister). I definitely regretted my decision several times along the way: first, when she turned out to be massive; second, when she didnāt receive the early training that I paid for due to some personal misfortunes of the breeder/trainer and I was apprehensive about riding such a green horse myself; third, after I imported her and realized that she was way more feral to handle than it even appeared on video (I hired a natural horse person to work with us for about six months to help with the ground work, trailer loading, tying, etc., basics that she didnāt receive); fifth, when I started showing her and she proved to be a super spook and I couldnāt rely on her not to come unglued in the show ring (and that has continued to this day). But the good things far outweighed the bad: I have a great bond with this horse; I know her entire history; the mistakes are mine as well as the achievements; it has been an incredible journey that continues to this day. Most importantly, I could not have afforded a horse of this quality if it were grown and made by someone else. I learned a TON. I am now contemplating whether I will get another horse and am vacillating between another foal and a three or four year old that I can actually give a tryout to and am leaning to the foal again!
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I had a great experience. My best friend bought a weanling who didnāt grow up quite as big as she wanted, so she wanted to sell him. When he was ready to start under saddle she did all the ground work and when he was ready to swing a leg over I came out and took over all the bills and we went in on the horse together.
He was lovely to train up (even with the occasional teenage moment, but since I only owned half the horse I would just call my friend and be like guess what your half of th horse did today) and turned out super well. Super brain, easy, and itās so nice to have one where you know its entire history and also it goes just how you like because you installed it. The difference between riding him and fixing other peopleās problems was a breath of fresh air. And he got me my bronze with room to continue further up the levels.
Eventually, he became too valuable as a hunter for me to just keep, especially since there was another ownerās investment involved, so he sold to an amateur who he does very well with, leads the life of Riley, and more than paid for himself. Now my friend has āReggieās arenaā and āReggieās deckā, and I have āReggieās rental property,ā so in a way heās still with us. :lol:
From my experience I definitely prefer horses that are unbroke or barely broke. The ideal would be one thatās been sat on like 5 times - juuuuuuuuust enough that you can climb on and see how its brain is. But if I find an unbroke one I know exactly what friend I would send it to to start.
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I think this really depends.
I bought my now 2yo from a breeder at 6 weeks.
She has two full siblings including one licensed stallion. I was able to talk to her about those two full siblings, their father (she owns both parents), how they were to break, what were the temperaments like, etc. I also had a fair chance at figuring out height based on her two older siblings.
I obviously havenāt ridden her yet but I expect similar to what I know about her two siblings who were raised and started by the same people.
I would do it again with a reputable breeder who knows what to expect of their stock. Importation is never going to be in the cards for me, so buying a young horse bred here is going to be my only chance.
I have always mostly bought 3 or 4yo but my current horse was purchased as a 2yo.
he was FERAL, un handled since weaning and had been running with a band of 3 other coltsā¦we had a pretty good idea of what we wanted (more old fashioned type, bay brown black chesnut,colt, but werenāt fussy on height) and he has so far been everything i wanted.
we took a bit of a punt as there werenāt that many Charmeur colts around at this point to compare type and temperament but he is a solid 16hh, leg at each corner with a superb canter and a scopey trot. he is HOT as we thought he might be but is still entire and not stalliony particularly.
he is an absolute joy to ride, light and supple, an easy ladies ride but again that is partially fluke and partially that they guy who broke him did a super job.
as a 5yo he is competing 1st/2nd and schooling 3rd.
all that said it has reinforced to me that Jazz line horses can be hard work and next time round i might go for a bit more of a solid rideability in the sire, my boy wouldnt be a novice ride even if gelded.
next one ill probably buy as a weanling.
My last two I bought as foals at foot. Each was born on the farm where I was boarding my other horse at the time.
The first one turned out great. I could not have a horse closer to my ideal if it were possible to custom order horses with the characteristics of your choice. He is fairly strong minded, but I went in with a stronger idea of what I expected from him behaviour wise and he learned. When he was 3-4 I decided that while I had enjoyed the foal journey I didnāt want to do it again and planned to buy a 3yr old the next time. I wanted a horse I could do anything with, and we have done a wide variety of things, including dressage. We are still going strong after 19 years.
āāāāWhen I was faced with losing my QH (the purchased as a barely started 3yo prior to the above foal) and I was thinking about the next horse I swung back to the idea of starting with a foal again. I planned to wait for several years after my QH passed, but the next one appeared early and looked like a good chance of being what I wanted - which I knew would be difficult to get. I had ridden his dam, wanted a foal by his sire, and the genetics favoured a smaller horse.
He has been tough in many ways, easy in other ways. He is 9 this year and it has only been in the last 15 months that I have been able to finally get him into a solid, consistent program. Before that it seemed like I could ride him for three months and then something would upset the apple cart. But he has made a ton of progress in the last year and I am glad I stuck with him. I almost didnāt. At this point we are showing Training, tipping over into First. It has been a long, hard road to get this far, though I have learned a great deal and had to be creative with training methods. I donāt know how far we will progress. For now I am enjoying riding him.
āāI donāt think I could do the foal/baby thing if I didnāt have another horse to ride. If you have youngsters in your field already, do you have a horse youāre riding? That would help me decide between another prospect and a horse to ride now.
Hi, The reason to buy a youngster (the best reason, maybe) is that you want to have the experience of raising a baby. I did, but I also dreamed of competing on a dressage-talented horse I could not otherwise afford. Horses donāt always conform to our plans. Mine thankfully became a tall horse (which I need) but he got injured ā something you need to budget for and prepare for, because babies and youngsters DO get injured. Like others have discovered, your chosen discipline may not be their chosen discipline. I love my horse, and Iām learning a lot, but I needed lots of training help, which I should have anticipated. His temperament is easy, but my riding style and his phlegmatic personality make us not-the-best match. If you contemplate a baby, make sure you are the kind of person who can ride any horse type well.
I am another who got tired of sitting on somebody elseās not-disclosed-mistakes and decided to go the baby route.
The first one turned out fabulous, the second one not so much. And yet, in my earlier years all I did was babies as that was all there was to ride!
Now Iām a bit older, the ground seems harder, and Iām contemplating what the heck Iām going to do as my current ride (a leased horse) is older and retirement is looming. I do not have the budget to buy what I need to be sitting on. I do have a good trainer to help.
I also have learned I need to be way more picky about what I will/wonāt put up with, and that is making it harder to find a new mount also. I never used to care about - as stacyek says - āthe kind of person who can ride any horse type wellā. I just rode whatever was out there. Now, I wonāt.
So. Whatās your personality like? Can you roll with whatever you get? If it doesnāt work out, what are your avenues to find horsey another home? If you have lots of options, then a baby isnāt quite so big a gamble.
My first horse was a yearling APHA filly.
I broke her around 2.5, so we sat around and did ground work for a good year or so.
She was awesome. Totally worth it, I love babies and youngsters.
But, I did end up selling her at 5 because she did not like jumping (though she was a beautiful hunter). And then a year later they told me she died of an HYPP attack (they bought her knowing she was n/H, I did not know it when I bought her, long story).
But, still worth it for me.
Didnāt work out for me. I bought a long yearling and he just grew and grew and grew. He was just under 18 hands when I sold him at 5. He was a good baby and not tricky to back. Actually a very lovely balanced boy but I never clicked with him personality wise. Between that and his size I decided to let him have a dressage career with someone else. I borrowed money and bought a just started horse who is 16h. Love his personality and Iām so much happier. Hopefully my big baby is happy in his new circumstances as well.
I donāt think I would by a baby again.
I should clarify my above post - I ride sport ponies, so the risk was more that the baby would be too small, not too large (which would have been a serious problem as Iām 5ā1") and the bloodlines are half-welsh, which are in general a hardier sort than a full bred WB. So again, it does depend a little bit on what youāre hoping to own in the end.
