Episode 108- 3 observations from almost buying a horse.
December 9, 2020/
I almost bought a horse. In this episode, I discuss many of the factors that went into my decision to NOT buy the horse including logic, emotion, daily life, time invested, purchase price, resale, etc.
I know everyone’s situation is different but I think that listening to how someone else is making decisions can be helpful.
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WHY IS MY HORSE...?
Ha! All my horse purchases have been emotional ones although sometimes I try to justify them thinking that they can pay themselves off by being used in lessons, but I don’t run a horse business.
I know the addiction, if it weren’t for my husband, I’d have as many horses as our farm could hold and I’d likely be using a big line of credit to float things along.
I like what you said about dominant horses not always being great school horses if the student wants to connect with them. I had one lovely but very dominant mare, who was brutal/dangerous when ever horses were switched around and she had a mind of her own.
It’s really nice to hear you talk about what you look for in a prospect, as when some of us make emotional purchases we forget to think all these things through.
I appreciate your perspective and being a trainer I can see how you must look at the decision from a logical standpoint. I’ve always, or almost always, made my decisions emotionally. I always feel for the horse and fear that if I don’t buy the horse the horse will not get a good home. Not necessarily true I know, but that’s where I go. I’m more the type of buyer that your Mom is. If I were to be given 30 to 40 years back to my life, I would try to look at horse purchases from a logical standpoint. Once I buy a horse, it is home for life and I do make the adjustments necessary to accommodate whatever needs/vices the horse may have. Not wise, but our horses are well-cared for a loved and have a home where they otherwise probably wouldn’t, so I guess there’s something good to be said for this. ❤
Great advice for buying a horse: know thy goals! Actually, this advice applies to almost everything in life. So once again our horses teach us wonderful life lessons. I like that you identified three measurable goals and then closely dissected each of these. What makes this effective is the simplicity of your evaluation system. Will this new horse meet my desired goals? Thank you for your podcast and training tips.
Merry Christmas!!!!
Stacie,
I really enjoyed the “I almost bought a horse” podcast. I just went through something similar. I ALMOST let emotion pull me into buying a yearling. It was helpful to hear that even a professional like you goes through the same battle. Thank you for sharing!!
She arrives next WEEEEKKKKK !!! 😀
I bought a horse for personal use. I was training him for 5 years before I made the purchase so I really knew what I was getting into with his dominant personality and lack of training as a young horse. I still love him and once I owned him I committed to getting help from a professional trainer which as given me more confidence and hope that he will be a great ride some day. I know I didn’t look at it with a large amount of logic or I would have bought a horse that was already trained and seasoned for trails. I still enjoy my rides on him and I keep working with him to make him better each and every time I am with him.
I love that you can ask for opinions from your friends, and not blow off the ones that maybe not line up with what you are hoping to hear. My biggest fault is believing horse sellers and not believing in my own gut feeling and then ending up with a horse that takes so much time and effort that I lose that joy of owning and riding. I have a couple of nice horses now, but I have spent years getting this far! Thanks for all your help!
I really enjoyed this podcast and hearing the whole thought process that went into not buying this horse. I wish more people could listen to this and learn from it.
I did like hearing your process. Of course my process never includes a business decision! haha My last horse I bought because my friend said I needed to save him and fix him. It didn’t hurt that he is a beautiful Buckskin. Yes, I did use my emotional side and bought color. When you talked about the possible horse was a cribber and that would need to be revealed. I thought of the fantastic Palomino I bought. Went to look at him, spent about 3 hours, watching the owner ride, then doing ground work, then riding him myself. Thought this was going to be a great horse for my then 12 yo timid rider. I called said yes I want him. Drove 3 1/2hours to pick him up. Money has exchanged hands, papers have been signed. Now they can’t find a current Coggins. I said okay I will still take him. Loading him on to the trailer, the sellers says “Oh by the way, he is a mild cribber”. Okay, I say. He is the worst cribber I have ever met. But he is a fantastic ride and took my son through 9 years of 4H. I love him in spite of his crbbing.
I have bought dozens of horses in the ladt 40 years and have always used the same process you used.
Your analysis was very productive. Cudos to you for not following your furst friend’s advice since many times that leads to disappointment especially with the turnout and cribbing issues you discovered.
I enjoyed listening even though I am now retired from competition and running a horse business.
What I liked most about this podcast is Stacy’s transparency in how her horse addiction affects her decision in purchasing a horse. How she reached out to three friends to get their input and each friend offered her three different perspectives and each perspective was right on.
What I learned is you can look at it from an accountants perspective in how a working equine could depreciate over a 2 year period (unlike writing off a tractor over 30 years). What I liked is how Stacy walks you through to pros and cons of purchasing this horse. We have a crib bet for sale and it is definitely tough to move him.
What I liked most about this podcast is how you asked for 3 different opinions and shared their answers with us, your transparency in your horse addiction, and the key elements in your decision to say no and why. Great podcast for us addicts. Thank you
Love it! Most trainers are horse addicts. This can be bad especially if there is a husband and wife team that both love horses. Haha. As in our situation. It is very difficult to not let emotion drive the decisions. In our case we have clients wanting to give us their nice horses. We have started looking at it financially and if their papers are not Royal and the horse cannot be used (dual purpose) as a brood mare & a lesson horse for example… we graciously turn them down.
Evon
It have been a follower of yours for over a decade.