Re-riders: When is it time to get a horse?

[Chaila]

Maybe we should start a re-rider club for those of us who bought greenies or the "wrong" type of horse for a middle aged lady!

[ASBnTX]

*raises hand*
Put me in the club! I bought a 2 year old, pretty much totally unhandled Saddlebred gelding after just a few months of lessons, after being out of riding for 15 years! I did stay in lessons while I did ground & manners work with my baby for almost a year and a half. He's 5 now and I get compliments all the time on what an amazing job I've done with him. He is my dream horse, but it's not been without some bumps, bruises, bouts of lost confidence, and tears along the way. He's taught me more about horsemanship in three years than I had ever learned in my previous 12 year experience. It's been quite the learning curve for me! However, I do NOT recommend this path to anyone! It's working for me because while my horse wasn't the most confident and tended towards being pretty hot, he has heart of gold and has been VERY forgiving while I've figured things out. We have an incredible bond. Unless you are extremely lucky and find one of these, I can imagine that it's a tough row to hoe!!

[kdow]

Just to reassure people, I'm not planning on taking the plunge into horse ownership in the near future - I don't even let myself look at sales ads. (Or broker's listings, even worse. Or the entire Canter website... )

I'm still finishing my college degree and I'm still waffling about graduate school and where I want to end up living (though somewhere with more horse activity would be nice...) so I even thought several times over about getting a dog, never mind a horse.

I'm just curious because of how frustrating I'm finding it - a lot of the recommendations I've seen for places have been places with good trainers, but not lesson barns or even trainers with a horse they could use for lessons, or else like I said the lesson barns are aimed at kids and I think it is a different sort of situation re-teaching someone (even if you start from 'scratch') than teaching someone totally new. So I was wondering if there was some re-rider secret I was missing out on or how it worked out for other people.

(I don't even want to really look for a lease right now, because I don't really feel comfortable being specific about the type of horse I'd want to lease - I'd like SOME experience now on horses to see if I still prefer the more 'sensitive' but sane types, or if the intervening years have left me a little bit happier about the ones who are a little 'duller'.) (Not meaning dull as in stupid, but like the difference between power steering and not.)

Anyway, please keep the stories coming, they're quite interesting. (Plus, all of you who've gone and gotten something green are providing great justification for when I do take the plunge and end up with a Canter cutie and nice high training bills instead of something more been there, done that. )

[quietann]

I took the plunge about 18 months into my re-rider career, after a 25 year break. I'd been riding a friend's horse for free but the friend's daughter wanted him back for competition, and I rushed into buying. I didn't do it the right way, and ended up with a horse that needed training before I felt safe riding her... JUST when things with her were getting really good (as in, she was well trained, we'd worked out the dominance issues and decided we like each other after all, and I was no longer getting asked if my 11 year old horse was a green 4 year old!), she went lame, and is now recovering from suspensory surgery. I might get on her in December if I am lucky. BUT -- like many others who got a very inappropriate first horse, I would not trade her for ANYTHING.

I've since discovered the world of free leasing, and wish I'd done that before owning, just to be able to try some different kinds of horses before buying. In a good free lease, yes, you are covering the expenses, but if something happens (horse goes lame, you lose your job), you can give the horse back, and the residual costs are limited. Right now I have a project pony and she's an intellectual challenge as well as something that's really helping me as a rider, while I get to feel good about helping a pony who might not have a place in the world otherwise. I am no trainer, nowhere close, and have some strict requirements for safety, but it's turning out to be a good choice.

[Lori B]

(I don't even want to really look for a lease right now, because I don't really feel comfortable being specific about the type of horse I'd want to lease - I'd like SOME experience now on horses to see if I still prefer the more 'sensitive' but sane types, or if the intervening years have left me a little bit happier about the ones who are a little 'duller'.) (Not meaning dull as in stupid, but like the difference between power steering and not.)

I think you have some mistaken notions about leases. While there are leases where you take custody of the critter and board it somewhere of your choosing, taking all responsibility for day to day expenses on a fixed contract basis, I was talking about what is more often referred to as HALF leases, which ends up meaning, "pay $X per month to the owner for 2-4 rides a week", horse stays where owner is keeping it, owner still rides it some and pays board & farrier. These arrangements are GREAT because typically they are month to month, or at least, every one that I have ever done has been. So it's the perfect way to get the experience you are looking for.

I would be less particular and more focused on placing a$$ in contact with equine. Then you can start to figure out what you want.

[jenm]

Maybe we should start a re-rider club for those of us who bought greenies or the "wrong" type of horse for a middle aged lady!

Great idea!

[Vesper Sparrow]

My hiatus before riding again was 35 years, and as a child I had only taken intermittent and very rudimentary lessons at h/j barns and ridden friends' horses.

I took lessons (first Western, then Western and English, then switched completely to English) for about a year and a half before leasing. Taking lessons was purely accidental--a friend wanted me to join her--but I quickly became hooked.

Leasing worked out very well for me, easing me into the realities of horse ownership.

I started by part-leasing a BTDT ex-eventer in her twenties and she has been a great teacher. I ended up taking her on as a free lease. About a year and a half later, I bought a coming three year old (sign me up for the middle-aged re-riders with green horses clique) and continued to ride my old mare while my young guy was in training (I also rode him three times a week in lessons with the trainer). My young guy is now my main ride and the old mare is my trail horse. Before I looked at horses, my trainer had me ride various school horses so we could figure out which type I liked best.

When I started riding again, I swore up and down I would never own a horse, but you know how those promises end up... I now have two.

[BeaSting]

I started riding again about 18 months ago after a 12 year hiatus. It was rather sudden. One day I decided I needed to ride again. A week later I had a month to month lease on a nice 5 yr. old Paint gelding. After the first ride, I realized I needed a major tune up. Sought help from large h/j barn, they sent out a trainer to work with me and Paint. I dropped the lease after two months (Paint was wonderful, and would have worked out for me, but the barn he lived at was terrible.) I continued with 3 lessons a week continuing to look for a lease, until a friend offered me her green 4 yr. old Appy gelding to use while she had shoulder surgery. When she took him home 8 months later, she gave me his dam to keep. We've had a few issues, but we worked them out, and as things turn out, she's the perfect horse for me.

In my previous riding lifetime, I preferred trail riding, and did quite a few judged trail and hunter paces. Most of the horses I rode at the time were either very young ( 2 to 4 yr.) homebreds or much older (19 - 24yr.) rescues. I "dabbled" at other disciplines - took jumping lessons for 4 months, some basic dressage, tried team penning (fun!), reining and barrel racing.

As a re-rider, I still mostly trail ride. I board at a h/j barn that has a new dressage trainer - so it's very likely that I'll "dabble" again.

[pAin't_Misbehavin']

Maybe we should start a re-rider club for those of us who bought greenies or the "wrong" type of horse for a middle aged lady!

Hooboy. I should be a charter member.

You know the worst part? I finally took enough lessons, and pony finally had enough training, to where we were a pretty good match.

After only seven years.

And you know what happened then? He went lame. Now I haz an eleven year old permanent pasture ornament.

all of you who've gone and gotten something green are providing great justification for when I do take the plunge

Nope. Won't ever go there again!

[kdow]

I think you have some mistaken notions about leases. While there are leases where you take custody of the critter and board it somewhere of your choosing, taking all responsibility for day to day expenses on a fixed contract basis, I was talking about what is more often referred to as HALF leases, which ends up meaning, "pay $X per month to the owner for 2-4 rides a week", horse stays where owner is keeping it, owner still rides it some and pays board & farrier. These arrangements are GREAT because typically they are month to month, or at least, every one that I have ever done has been. So it's the perfect way to get the experience you are looking for.

I was thinking that even with a half/part lease, there's some commitment involved - like six months or something. I'm a bit surprised you can just do month-to-month because it seems like it'd be hard to budget, as a horse owner, if you did it that way. Though I guess if you can afford the full cost yourself and are just trying to offset costs a little, then anything you get helps.

But anyway, I wouldn't want to get into a multi-month commitment (even on a part-lease) at this point unless lesson barns really and completely fail to pan out, because I do want the experience on different horses. Month-to-month might be worth investigating, though, since there's less risk if a horse really isn't working out.

(I probably have self-confidence issues involved, also, since people are talking about free leases and I'm thinking "but why would anyone let ME ride their horse for free?" because I didn't compete when I was riding before, so I don't feel like I can say 'well, this is the level I was at.' I am a terribly bad salesperson when the item for 'sale' is my skills.) (That may be part of the issue with leases, too, thinking about it - lesson horses there's some expectation that stupid beginners will mess things up from time to time. A horse of your own, well, clearly you're free to mess up to your heart's content. Someone else's horse that' you're just leasing - eep!)

[cranky]

Another middle-aged re-rider on a green horse here (although, I don't think I can call her that green anymore).

I started riding pretty young, but it was once-a-week riding lessons for many years. When I hit about 13 or so I was able to do more riding in the Summer, but the rest of the year it was not possible (more riding options where the family was in the Summer, otherwise we were stuck in suburbia where riding barns were few and far between.) Owning a horse was never even the remotest possibility as a kid.

Anyway, so I gave up riding for 22 years or something while I lived in the Big City. Moved to NH about 5 years ago and almost 2 years ago I decided to start riding again. I tried a couple of barns, but ended up settling into my current barn pretty quickly as I felt comfortable there, felt that I would be able to reach my goals, respected the knowledge, experience and training/teaching style of the trainer/BO and because they are a solid eventing barn (the discipline I wanted to pursue).

I half-leased a horse of my trainer's after riding with her for a couple of weeks. Did the half-lease for about 6 months and then bought my horse Ruby (at the time a relatively green, 5 year-old ISH) about 6 months later.

Once I started riding again, I knew that it was only a matter of time before I bought my own horse. It was something that I had wanted since I was about 5 years old after all. I also felt that I had sacrificed my riding for my career for 20-some-odd years and so now it was finally my time.

I caught the horse-buying bug when attending my trainer's adult eventing camp in Aiken last year and started looking then. My trainer found Ruby in Aiken and she has worked out really well for me, but I did pay for a couple of months of training when I first got her and again over the Winter. I also have 2 lessons/ week on her too. As others have said, I think finding the right trainer (and the right barn) is really a significant factor in finding the right horse and in having the right partnership with the horse that you find. Definitely find a half-lease first, it will help you ease into to it and polish your skills and figure out what you want.

[MelanieC]

My half lease has a two-week notice on it. I have no problem with that, doubt it will be an issue (owner has discussed us both showing the horse, etc.) and actually like it that way, just in case, but at the same time, it also means I'd LOVE to have my own horse so I could make long-term plans.

I really like the idea of getting a greenish horse and training it up, but fantasy and reality sound like they might be quite far apart. Still, I really prefer the idea of buying something between 5 and 10 years old at the oldest. That way if all goes well (i.e., no one goes lame, etc.) we'll have lots of time together.

[Mayaty02]

As a re-rider it is VERY frustrating to be horseless (to the point that I am literally boiling over with frustration), not being able to find a suitable lesson horse that makes riding enjoyable, nor a farm that is interested in dealing with a horseless adult re-rider. I would absolutely have a horse right now if I had:

A. the time
B. the spare change
C. a real solid idea of what the heck I want to do with said horse.

Until I have A and B, I can't do much about C....so right now, I'm riding whenever I can, potentially looking into half leasing as a next baby step towards horse ownership.

I say then if you have A, B and C, then definitely have fun, keep your goals in mind, and enjoy riding as many horses as you can, while you can.

[kdow]

As a re-rider it is VERY frustrating to be horseless (to the point that I am literally boiling over with frustration), not being able to find a suitable lesson horse that makes riding enjoyable, nor a farm that is interested in dealing with a horseless adult re-rider.

It's not just me!

(I do suspect part of my problem is that the horsey part of the state is from the middle to the east, not the western end, but still.)

I'm sure I'll find a solution, it's just making me nuts right now.

[rulex]

re-rider here, just started taking weekly lessons 7 months ago. i feel lucky that my trainer does have one school horse that is a good fit for adult re-rider types. however i have been looking for a half-lease for a couple of months and am starting to get discouraged from not finding anything. as trainer put it, all the horses she knows of right now are either too green or too old, and while i could handle the greenies i'd be training them rather than getting to work on my own riding. so when you run into that, it's easy to start thinking of just buying a horse. however it's not a commitment i want right now. i still want to dabble in a few different disciplines and try different things, and although it's hard to know what the future holds, i could be taking some breaks from riding. so i think leasing is the better option for me for now and if i could just find a nice horse to half-lease i would be all set!

[tpup]

Wanted to add...before you take the plunge of ownership, there are a few options I did that really helped me prepare.

My teacher used to allow practice sessions in addition to my weekly lesson. She would allow me to come out once a week to ride for an hour (or more) in her ring, somewhat unsupervised. She was on the property if I needed her and could usually see me from where she was doing her daily chores in barn and paddocks, but I was able to practice/ride on my own. She charged me half the lesson rate, but was more flexible on length of time....I usually stayed longer than an hour lesson-time. It was great, gave me confidence and that particular horse was awesome.

I also found ads and even placed an ad about myself with my experience and availability, to ride older horses that were retired and just needed exercise. I rode a 27 year old darling horse, mostly W/T in owner's ring, once a week. I tacked up, groomed, handled him on my own. She just asked that I pay a small amount monthly ($50 maybe?). I also rode a young horse free with trainer supervision, that just needed work on rhythm and straightness. She was only 4 and she did dump me once, so I still would recommend older, more experienced horses.

So just some ideas - put yourself out there and you might be surprised what you can find for free or little money to gain experience.

[kdow]

Wanted to add...before you take the plunge of ownership, there are a few options I did that really helped me prepare.

My teacher used to allow practice sessions in addition to my weekly lesson. She would allow me to come out once a week to ride for an hour (or more) in her ring, somewhat unsupervised. She was on the property if I needed her and could usually see me from where she was doing her daily chores in barn and paddocks, but I was able to practice/ride on my own. She charged me half the lesson rate, but was more flexible on length of time....I usually stayed longer than an hour lesson-time. It was great, gave me confidence and that particular horse was awesome.

One of the places I have yet to check out seems to have lesson horses but also offer some kind of partial lease program for some of them, or possibly coordinate partial leases for some of their boarded horses. Not sure exactly how it works, but it's one thing I'm going to look into.

The one plus to being a re-rider is that at least now I'm not dependent on where my parents are willing to drive me. That was a big problem when I was younger. (Luckily my parents were quite supportive in a non-pushy way, but they did have their limits as to how far they wanted to be driving once a week. Particularly in the winter around here.)

(Though there's something very cozy and warm about stepping into a fairly closed up barn on a cold cold day, with the heat generated by the horses just enough to take the edge off the chill and then at the end of the ride untacking and being able to tuck your hands up under the mane where there's that little pocket of extra warmth.)