Going to be getting a horse soon; need advise on how to pick right...

[duckluck]

I had a Morgan that I loved as a teen/ young adult. I used to ride him 50-60 miles a week and was training to do endurance riding. I eventually had to sell him (out of my control) but he went to a great home.

Fast forward 13 years; I was fortunate enough to find a riding buddy who has taken me out for the last year and a half roughly two times a week, I have also got to take some lessons at her place. Fast forward another year and we are now living on the same property as said horse friend! She has 4 horses but they are older and hers.

I think I am finally ready to get another horse! I have been dreaming about the day when I could get another one. So, I have been looking on craigslist and on some local ads and also the equine rescues. I want to be very particular about the horse I acquire as I really want it to be the right one for me. I plan on keeping this horse until it dies of old age!

I am a very confident intermediate+ rider and I REALLY want to do some of the local endurance races. There are quite a few 15 and 20 milers around here. So I am POSITIVE that I want an arab or arab cross. But I am running across a couple problems (maybe you folks could help me out)... 1. I am a big girl, 5'9 and 180 pounds (trying to lose), which is pretty big for an arab, and especially because they say the weight with you and tack should not exceed 20% of the horses weight, so I would need at least a 1000 pound arab? 2. I have inquired about a lot of arab ads, but EVERY single one has said "yes it's an arab, it'll be good for endurance"... I get it, but how do I REALLY know that that one is a good one and not just another arab...

I would love any help/ suggestions/ advise or anything else! Thanks in advance!

My best advice when looking at horses is, go with what your gut feeling tells you. If someone else (trainer or whatever) tells you something is for you and you really feel it isn't, don't buy it. You have to buy what YOU like and want...after all, you will be feeding it and riding it.

Look to see if the people you are buying from might be open to a week or month long trial so you can see how the horse works out for you, even if you have to pay a fee to lease it for a period of time. I can tell you from having been on both sides of the fence that no seller wants their time wasted without compensation, but no buyer wants to buy something that isn't a good fit either. If you are buying locally, this is much more likely to work for you because then the people selling the horse won't have their horse far away. Good luck!

 

[duckluck]

Thank you guys for the info! Great to know!

I found a 3 y/o Gelding that I am absolutely in love with... unfortunately he is out of my budget right now so I guess I will keep researching and saving my pennies!

The horse market it is the tank right now...negotiate!

 

[duckluck]

Hey Cindy,

I just talked to a trainer that said Basks are extremely high tempered and hard to deal with, has this been your experience?

Has not been my experience, and I had an own son of Bey Shah. That guy was kind of lazy. I also had a daughter of Baskin Robbins, by Mon Ta Basko by Bask, who was higher tempered but she was also half Saddlebred. She also was a 50 mile endurance horse too with great recovery time, so there ya go.

 

[duckluck]

I know a variety of people who compete in endurance with everything from QH's, to appaloosas and thoroughbreds. I've seen people use paints, ponies, tennessee walkers, etc. Honestly, I think any well conditioned horse with decent confirmation can compete in endurance riding (unless, like another poster mentioned, you want to go to the very top level competitions. Though I still know someone with intentions of going to Tevis with an app and her app is excellent. I have no doubt she will kick butt!).

I wouldn't immediately choose a single breed to focus on. It's usually better to keep an open mind, even if you are mostly looking for arabs. If you want a larger horse with some arab blood, quarabs are a nice mix. After shopping for horses on many occassions, I've learned many lessons about horse shopping and usually end up with horses who are not the best looking, but have turned out to be amazing horses to ride.

An important note (which many of my horse friends fail to follow) is when you look at the horses, bring a horse knowledgeable person with you. Even though you have horse knowledge and experience, it is always best to bring a second (or even third opinion) along. If you are looking at a more pricey horse and are in the serious stage of choosing, consider a vet check (especially since you want a sound, athletically stable horse). Also, beware of horse dealers. I've lucked out a few times with dealers, but I knew what I was looking for and had experience dealing with them. A friend of mine had two bad experiences with the same dealer and the dealer was so smooth talking I couldn't even talk him out of buying the horses he did.

Another note, is you may want to buy a horse that is already trained rather than green. I think a common misconception is that it is better to buy a young horse so the horse will know you and your commands, but I've found that is not always true, especially since this will be the first horse YOU have owned in some time. Sometimes having to be responsible for the training of a horse can be very draining and ruin the fun of just jumping on and riding. I enjoy refining a green horse every now and then, but starting out in the beginning with a young horse with no saddle time can be exhausting and frustrating. I think you would be much happier with a trained riding horse between the ages of 6-12. You will still have many years with a horse that age, but they should be more mature and level headed (Out of the foal mentality, I mean).

It may also be worth it to spend a little more to get exactly what you want. There are a lot of free and cheap horses out there, but it can be difficult to find a diamond in the rough with that selection. Don't be afraid to spend a few thousand on a horse that is perfect for you. It will be WELL worth it in the end and still cheaper than ending up with a less expensive or free horse that needed training or has problems down the road. (Mind you, not saying there is anything wrong with a free horse, but I find it is more difficult to find a perfect horse when you are looking at horses people are looking to give away for one reason or another. I've gotten a couple great free horses, but I consider that luck more than anything else. I've also had some really crummy free horses with lots of issues)

Best of luck in looking! The shopping process was never really a lot of fun for me, but once you find a horse that works for you, the actual riding part is always a blast!

I'd lean more toward ixnay on the second or third opinion unless those opinions are farriers or vets, but that's just me. Sometimes the "peanut gallery" just distracts too much from the shopping process, and they are going to give opinions from their eyes, and you need to be looking through your own glasses for what you want to buy. Just seen too many people get distracted by what their friends want and not what THEY want.

 

[duckluck]

Had to give my 2 cents. I have a Bask bred gelding and he is a high energy horse but he never tires out even at 19yrs old. He is not hard to deal with at all and he lives his life wanting to please his people. His main fault is he is very sensitive to pain of any sort so would not cut it as an endurence horse. Heaven forbid he should scratch himself! He has amazing lung capacity and recovery time, it does give him a "tank" look along with his nice short back at only 14.2hh but don't let that fool you. I also have a Egyptian bred stallion who has sired a couple endurance/extreme trail horses. He gave them super hard hooves, straight and strong legs, and a "Lets go!" attitude. Keep in mind that (IMO) it is easier to hold a horse back on the trail then always have to push them forward constantly.

When you go look at a horse try to get them out of the arena or their comfortable pasture it may give you a better idea what attitude they will have on the trail. Some things I would look for in an endurance horse would be this:

* short strong back, shorter back horses can carry more weight comfortably.
* GOOD HOOVES are a must! Make sure they have had no prior problems.
* Willing attitude
* No major conformation faults (as mentioned earlier)
* good legs
* comfortable ground covering strides
* a balanced build, neither uphill or downhill.




Bay horse is the Bask gelding and the black is our Egyptian bred stallion they were 17yrs old in this pic.

Nice!

One of the toughest parts of having Welsh Cobs and being a breeder of them for the time that I was, was, my heart has always belonged to the Arabian horse. Mind you, I have been involved with Welsh for 21 years now. People think I flipped my cork when I got a bee under my bonnet and went up to MN last year and bought an Arab out of the clear blue, but they just don't know how it is...my first love was an Arabian horse and once they get into your blood, they kind of ruin everything else for you! Nothing is ever quite the same after that!

 

[duckluck]

Wow, thank you guys for all the great info!!!

Chickenmamma, your horses are beautiful!


I found another one I like, I think we will go look at him next week.

10 years old, well broke, sound, no vices, and has had some prior endurance training... let me know what you think...

(She actually has two to choose from).


http://www.horseclicks.com/handsome_10_yr_old_gelding_ready_to_go/horses/275965


http://www.horseclicks.com/9_yr_old_tall_grey_gelding_craves_work/horses/298679

One advantage you have is location...you are just about in Mecca as far as Arabians go because of where you are in the country.

Hmmm...I guess the description pings wrong off me...when I bought my last one here, he was an only horse owned by one owner...I'd say try him, but take the weekend to do it if you're going to be serious about it. This is what I did, mainly because of time frame and flights I had to worry about last year: tried mine on a Friday night for about 3-4 hours. Changed his tack from the owner's and tried him over some obstacles he wasn't familiar with in the arena. Liked him enough to prepurchase exam, so had the owner's trainer arrange that for Saturday morning. Trailered him to a clinic about 70 miles away (only clinic with digital xray machine) and had him radiographed where I wanted a closer look. Went over xrays with vet and liked what I saw still (also bearing in mind I have formal training as a farrier and have looked at my share of xrays) especially since this horse had rarely, if ever, trailered out by himself. Got back to the farm and had the trainer take me out on a trail ride past dark, where I made him take the lead for the entire ride, something else he wasn't used to. So I basically threw a whole lot of stuff at him he wasn't used to and he still passed muster, so I bought him that Sunday, flew back to Chicago and arranged commercial transport for him, which he also handled well. I'd say I'm pretty happy with mine, but the moral of the story here is, don't just ride what you try once, and don't let them rush you. The horse market is bad enough right now that if they want to sell bad enough they *will* give you your time as long as you are genuinely interested and don't strain them like you are looking for free "pony rides" week after week. In my case, they knew I was serious because of my money tied up in flights and hotels and then the vetting, but you may not have that in your favor depending upon where you have to go, so you will need to use your personality. And if you have a trainer, I can't imagine them advising you to do otherwise.

 

[duckluck]

I always thought it was the individual horse! There is a breeder up here that breeds arabians that have A LOT of bask in them and my trainer says she has worked with quite a few of them that are almost unmanageable, and very dangerous. I am taking her word for it! I saw one of the pedigrees and it has one or two basks in EVERY generation.

Ummm...how about considering their situation before their pedigree? Maybe the breeder just breeds them and lets them do what they will like so many do, and then sends them off to the trainer to be dealt with? You did say "quite a few"...there are few breeders who can handle "quite a few" without full-time help.

 

[WhiteMountainsRanch]

Quote:

My trainer said she has worked with several different people over the years who had gotten this particular line of Arabians free or very cheap. Apparently this guy breeds halter arabians and the ones that don't make it up to par are just given away or sold cheap. So she does have some experience with these lines. She also looked at his video and saw some body language she didn't like.

 

[WhiteMountainsRanch]

Thanks for all the advise guys! I will definitely keep looking and keep all this info in mind!

I may just end up using the one that I've been riding here for a while.

 

[res]

.... Apparently this guy breeds halter arabians and the ones that don't make it up to par are just given away or sold cheap....

Well, there's your answer right there... Halter Arabs are "trained" to be fiery and wide eyed in the arena. They are conditioned to show off. Some of them can turn off the juice and re-engage their brain when they are not being shown, but others seem to get "stuck". So, please do not judge all Bask horses by what your trainer has experienced. Some Arab, Morgan, Saddlebred, Tenn Walker, etc. show horses have experienced pretty severe training methods to achieve the show ring look, so they can be pretty traumatized. Not to say they can't be brought around, but it takes time and the right approach.

The term "trainer" is not something that immediately means knowledge, respect and education. I've met my fair share of "trainers" that do not have a clue what they are talking about. As your experience with horses grows, you will learn to weed out what is right and wrong. Just keep an open mind and never stop learning, and always question things that don't seem right. NO ONE, no matter how long they have had horses, knows it ALL. Sometimes people get stuck in a rut of "their way or the highway" and that is when they stop learning....