[rizzodm]

Another slow day at work finds me horse shopping on line. I came across a lovely Winterprinz gelding 6yr for 15,000. However by the description he sounds a bit pushy and only has seven weeks undersaddle and not been riden since August. Do you think 6 is too late for a fresh start?

[Gimbalist]

All depends on the horse. If he is sound and has good conformation, decent personality, he could be a great horse. Would see just how bossy he is. Does he learn quickly or do you have to repeat several times.

Some times, a bossy horse just needs a good leader. If you are a confident rider with skills, it's worth a look.

[Mouse&Bay]

I like them not started and very green. Gives you a blank slate to work with. Much better to have too little done with them (especially warmbloods) than pushed too much with lots of wear and tear at a young age.

[mbm]

i personally would be very careful about purchasing a mature horse that lacks training if you are not a very good rider or dont have access to a very good trainer.

i know a couple winterprinz horses who were started late/babied and they are not an ammie horse and take very good pros to ride/handle.

[rizzodm]

He would be sent to a trainer for a min of three months.

[equinekingdom]

if you've got a trainer working on him, go for it!! have you gone to see him? videos??

[alto]

Another slow day at work finds me horse shopping on line. I came across a lovely Winterprinz gelding 6yr for 15,000. However by the description he sounds a bit pushy and only has seven weeks undersaddle and not been riden since August. Do you think 6 is too late for a fresh start?

6 is just fine
BUT I'd do a very thorough vet check no matter what explanations are offered by the owner ...
Also make sure to push him pretty hard to see what he's going to offer for resistance.


ETA
If this is the horse, the lack of forward would give me pause, as well as all the gear the trainer found it necessary to use ... the liberty video, he runs the show & he doesn't naturally engage the hind end so I'd want better movement video (unless he's close enough for a day trip)
I suspect he'll need a confident consistent, feeling rider that is able to re-direct while he's still thinking about his next move.
Consider whether you'll like him just as much (& more) if he's v.e.r.y difficult for 1-2 years rather than just several months, & then always a "special boy" thereafter - I suspect he will always have rather a high opinion of himself

[Eclectic Horseman]

Why is the horse 6 years old with so little training? IME, the explanation might be an injury that could come back to haunt you. Also, be very careful that the horse was not poorly started as a youngster and then left alone because of badly managed behavior problems. It is one thing to have a green 6 year old. It is entirely another to have a green 6 year old that has lots of experience bucking riders off...

[Lucassb]

Personally I don't care for horses that get to be that age without doing much. By six, that horse has learned he doesn't have to work for a living and that can be a really difficult issue to overcome - if you ever do. I'd keep looking, personally.

[equinekingdom]

we have two horses that came to us as 6 year olds, or just turned 7 rather, having had hardly any training other than a little bit of under saddle and ground work. Both have come along fabulously. They are both doing basic dressage work, teaching a couple of lessons to kids/adults, can w/t/c both directions, almost know their leads completely, working on lead changes, and jumping 2'6". It's definitely more of a challenge having horses that age that haven't done much, I think it tends to make them more stubborn and willful, but then I also don't have much experience training them when they are younger than that.

I do, however, think that horses that age still have lots of potential to be amazing!