13/06/2026
Some very wise words here. Long read but well worth it 🙂
I thought this might resinate with some of you x
Buying Horses….
When do you know what you’ve actually got?
So you finally found your new horse, you have compromised along the way, age, height, type and everything in between but when do you really know what you’ve bought?
I’ve researched many equestrian topics and one of the most surprising was that horses in nature would pair for life. Why do I mention this? Because how long does it take for a horse to accept its new environment and when do we realise that maybe this horse maybe quite different with us than it was when we tried it. Whether you were rushed into the purchase through one viewing or you have seen the horse multiple times what you thought you bought isn’t always the horse you wanted.
So what is it that we are prepared to accept and what is it that we’re not and is there such a thing as a horse without any physical or mental issues? The keyword is acceptance and sometimes this acceptance leads us into deep reflection of what we truly want as oppose to what we thought we wanted.
Some of us crazy people decided we would breed our own and whilst I wouldn’t change any of them I certainly didn’t get what I truly wanted,this can put emotional strain into making decisions when it comes to keeping horses and how many you can realistically afford to keep! So I guess you could say when it comes to horses, life is easier if you are prepared to compromise then not becoming deeply saddened by the loss of what we thought we had.
Understanding that your horse may have been ridden by one rider for some considerable time plays a big part in allowing your horse to adapt to not just new surroundings but a whole new way of being ridden and handled. It’s important to understand that when you buy a schoolmaster or something with more experience, this can often only last as long as the horses training is maintained. Equally it can be that as an experienced rider/trainer you want to put your own stamp on your new dancing partner.
Finding the right balance of support around you isn’t just crucial if you lack experience but also to support you in this new partnership, be that a physiotherapist , nutritionist , vet, body worker or indeed a coach. Building a 360° view of your horses development physically as well as it’s demeanour and how it responds to certain questions or environments is key to find the path to work together.
I highly recommend keeping a journal not just for appointments such as the vet, physiotherapist or the farrier but also for training session . Keeping records of your first outing or show, schooling away from home or simply hacking with a friend will help you build a picture of how your horse felt and reacted and how you are progressing as a partnership. This can also be backed up with photos, physio reports, test sheets and training progression.
Just like us when we need to build strength, mobility and physical capability we need a benchmark so keeping information and adding pictures of your horse standing from both sides and from the front and the back, looking down through the back gives us a real sense of progress and a record for future reference.
In the past I have offered advice on how to progress laying out progression goals over so many months, creating a flexible but targeted goal to build a confident and happy partnership. This is just one of the support tools that can help you track progress, stay positive and maintain positivity and logic when meeting challenges.
I rarely see a horse that doesn’t need some kind of support be that through a training program to improve muscle function and enhance proprioception, as this can be challenging if you don’t have specific knowledge of correct functionality of the horses body in training .
Horses that have been produced professionally have often had a guiding rider with knowledge and good timing to help them reach performance levels.
When a horse has purely been produced to be sold having competed or trained to a certain level they often don’t run with full functionality and can be at risk of certain body and limb lameness. It’s also possible that these horses would pass a full five stage vetting without necessarily being picked up with minor imbalances through their bodies that would create enough worry to fail them.
So we have bought the horse we thought we wanted to discover they aren’t quite what they seemed. We now realise that we need to support them, develop them, strengthen them and arm ourselves with skeletal and muscular development knowledge, often returning to basics to unravel poor posture and movement patterns to release their potential.
If we accept that this is likely to be part of the ongoing journey that creates our knowledge and our horses sound and happy future it doesn’t feel such a heavy load. I draw constantly upon the knowledge that I have gained through many horses and I have been lucky enough to be involved with this process many times. Once embraced we become a true horse person that doesn’t just see the external but reads what they see. To understand them is to gift them with safety, greater soundness and for them to be more at peace with their human.
“Time is what we owe them.”
A parting thought… If you are told it will take six weeks walking to help your horse always give it more time, never less.
And if you ever ask me how long will it take the answer is…..the horse will let you know.
