# Buying new horse...which one?



## kcscott85 (Jul 28, 2010)

Regretfully, I'm selling my horse Jester and am in the market for a new one. A bit of a back story for those of you who don't know it: I rode for 17 years, and competed in eventing up through the intermediate level. I was schooling for advanced when I had a freak cross country accident and broke my back, resulting in a 7 year hiatus. I bought Jester in August of 2010, but he's up for sale because he's not going to be what I want. I want to eventually compete and I thought I would do hunters, but to be honest, it's just not exciting enough for me. I would like to get back to eventing- nothing as advanced as before, and mainly just for fun now. Jester will be a fantastic hunter horse with more training. I want a horse that already knows what to do, training-wise. I'm going to look at these 2 this weekend and wanted to know any opinions, thanks!

DreamHorse.com Horse ID: 1653657 - Bundy Bear

Video: 



 
DreamHorse.com Horse ID: 1663436 - Skye

Video:


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## Super Nova (Apr 27, 2010)

I really like the first horse but that could be because he was better presented??....didn't get to see much of the other horse.

Super Nova


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## kcscott85 (Jul 28, 2010)

You're right, I love watching BB's video. It shows off a lot more than Skye's. 

Both of them have been schooled up through training level in eventing. However, Skye has the competitive advantage because she has actually competed up through novice. While BB has been schooled through training, he has never been shown in an event. He was shown in hunters before his owners got him and switched him to eventing.


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## Rhivia (Mar 6, 2010)

I don't do eventing so I could be completely off, but I like the second horse better. The first horse is cute, but looks kind of inexperienced and seem like he might be a handful at the canter. I could be wrong though, it just seemed like when they first went into the canter the rider was fighting to get a hold of him. Also, why was she standing up in her stirrups at the canter? If the horse was having trouble relaxing, I always think to sit deep in the saddle - not take my weight off entirely...

I could be entirely off base lol.. maybe you could enlighten me - is there a reason she'd riding like that? She just seems a little out of sync. 

Both horses are nice. The second horse looks very sweet and willing, but as you've already said, there isn't as much footage of her so it's more difficult to tell.


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## Elana (Jan 28, 2011)

My first question would be why is the first horse being ridden in a mechanical hackamore? Not to say he does not go along nicely.. but I would want to know. 

I think you may find BB is a bit long in the back w/o a rider. He is also a bit on his forehand. From they little I could see I would prefer Skye....


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## Super Nova (Apr 27, 2010)

Rhivia said:


> I don't do eventing so I could be completely off, but I like the second horse better. The first horse is cute, but looks kind of inexperienced and seem like he might be a handful at the canter. I could be wrong though, it just seemed like when they first went into the canter the rider was fighting to get a hold of him. *Also, why was she standing up in her stirrups at the canter? If the horse was having trouble relaxing, I always think to sit deep in the saddle - not take my weight off entirely...*
> 
> I could be entirely off base lol.. maybe you could enlighten me - is there a reason she'd riding like that? She just seems a little out of sync.
> 
> Both horses are nice. The second horse looks very sweet and willing, but as you've already said, there isn't as much footage of her so it's more difficult to tell.


Well from what I could see I would agree with standing slightly and getting off the horses back so he could free himself up a little to move more forward as he looks a little sucked back......this will give him a chance to warm up before sitting deeper in the saddle....

I would only sit deeper if I was dealing with a horse that was going more forward than he should.....then I would sit deeper trying to slow the horse down a bit.

Super Nova


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## my2geldings (Feb 18, 2008)

My question to you, is how much experience do YOU have right now as a rider. I think from a project point of you and getting back into eventing, the first horse is absolutely lovely and to be honest probably a much better resale value BUT does look green. He seems very obedient, lovely on the bit and very responding to the leg. You can tell that horse has had quite a bit of professional work. You can also see the rider always riding with very light contact and always willing to do the work for you. Very responsive to his rider and very alert-super cute looking horse. The horse does seem to have an absolutely lovely temper which is HUGE in what you will achieve riding wise.

The second horse is clearly more experienced, but does seem a lot more headstrong, and really not a fan of his confo compared to the first one(just from the looks of it-have no idea-for sure what its truly like without proper confo shots). The horse looks more like a backyard trained horse by a brave teen and just went for the shows-not always bad, but doesn't seem to have the same solid basics as your first contender-however has much nicer striding and not as constricted looking.

The best thing you can do, is go out and try them both, because I think that alone will be enough to determine which horse is best suited for you. You will be able to compare your riding expertise and the horse's experience with what you know and like. Hoping with the kind of injury you've had, that you're gong to working with a trainer?


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## crimsonsky (Feb 18, 2011)

i like the first horse better - his walk is nice and he's moving out nicely at the trot. i've only gotten that far in the video because i had to post - can someone tell me if they see what i see with this lady and her hands? it looks like she's seesawing on his mouth. maybe i'm just having visual issues here. lol. 

either way - i like him much better thus far.

wait... i forgot he's in a hackamore. seeing as i've only ridden one horse ever with one (and that was oh... 20 years ago) i have no idea what the normal contact, etc would be for such a thing.


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## ~*~anebel~*~ (Aug 21, 2008)

Of course the first horse is sucked back. Look at that bit and the rider is seesawing with her whole upper body. Not to mention the very noisy hands.
Definitely an inexperienced horse that would need some serious re training, however he is a bit more uphill than the second horse.
The second horse is far more seasoned and I would have no problem putting an ammy on that horse. Bold jumper and super obedient and soft in the flat work. Looks to be nice and sound as well (I have my doubts about the first horse) however I would still get a full vet check.

Good luck!


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## Rhivia (Mar 6, 2010)

Super Nova said:


> Well from what I could see I would agree with standing slightly and getting off the horses back so he could free himself up a little to move more forward as he looks a little sucked back......this will give him a chance to warm up before sitting deeper in the saddle....
> 
> I would only sit deeper if I was dealing with a horse that was going more forward than he should.....then I would sit deeper trying to slow the horse down a bit.
> 
> Super Nova


Thank you for this clarification! I ride an ex-barrel horse that is very forward at the canter, so that would explain how I got the idea. That does make a lot of sense.


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## kcscott85 (Jul 28, 2010)

My2Geldings: I've been back to riding for about 7 months now. It's frustrating because I can remember HOW to do everything and how everything is supposed to feel, but somehow I don't feel like I'm doing it right. I am working with a trainer, and she's fantastic. My biggest obstacle right now is fear, but as I'm getting more conditioned to being in the saddle again, it's slowly going away. 

Anabel; I agree with you on the 1st horse's rider. What makes you think he isn't sound though? I know I'm out of practice, but I don't really see it.


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## apachiedragon (Apr 19, 2008)

I don't know if I'm seeing what anabel did on the first horse but to me he looked off in the hind end at the walk in the beginning. He seemed to work out of it for the trot so I'm wondering about arthritis. (Or it could be that I look for lameness so much, that I see it where it isn't...)


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## ~*~anebel~*~ (Aug 21, 2008)

In the beginning in the walk there was something, whether it is hind end, left front or a neck injury. The horse is also rather stiff in the hocks and anything that requires a ride like that just to be sort of round is probably off. Just a wild guess mostly but you would be surprised what the demeanor of a horse can tell us. The second horse is far more eager.
_Posted via Mobile Device_


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## Katze (Feb 21, 2011)

The first horse looks REALLY stiff, like he's wound up too tight on both ends, the second horse looks like she needs alot of leg to keep her moving forward, but didn't see much of her confo, so can't say if she's better or worse then number one.


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