Horse and Hound surveyed their readers, asking if they had ever bought a totally unsuitable horse, 76% said yes , what do you think about that result?, have you ever bought a horse that was not what you wanted? what did you do about it? sell it on or persevere? after our input I'll post the break down of what that H&H readers did.
pen [You must be registered and logged in to see this image.]

Well, me personally, I've almost always ended up with everyone elses rejects for whatever reason. Soooo, as a result, I've always been prepared to put in the time and the hard work.

My first pony that I bought myself when I was 13 was off to the meat man at 5 yrs old because he was uncontrollable and nasty. After 18 months of being bolted with, thrown off and vicously bitten on a regular basis I had the makings of a cracking, speedy drifting/colt hunting pony. He was a very classy, 14.1hh NFxAnglo Arab and he was by far the best looking pony I have ever owned and more importantly, he taught me how to 'ride'. I paid £130 for him with full wardrobe and it 'had' to work because I couldn't afford anything else!! Lost him to colic at 24, he never really calmed down.

I do think that people sometimes expect the relationships the gel far too quickly and often aren't prepared to put the time in, as a result the trust is not there when the relationship is under pressure. There's no substitute for the bonding process and I honestly haven't come across one yet that I genuinely disliked.

Having said all that, if you really can't cope/aren't happy, it's not fair on horse or owner so probably best to make a sensible decision and move on. Don't like horses being moved on every few months though because of owners not bothering to make an effort, sadly this is far too common. What also shocks me is the number of instructors that seem to tell clients to sell their horses if they don't see almost immediate progress , very sad.

So, in answer to you question, no I don't think so.

i mostly agree with lottie, having had rescues and rejects too mostly because i couldn't afford normal prices.

when i have got a handy horse rossette on a mare who was previously banned from the same show as dangerous, who had put previous owners in hospital, caused endless accidents due to panic & was sold to me cheaper than the meat man offered ( her only other offer) that to me is a win.

i used to compete in adult classes on ponies ( long ago when it was still allowed) i have done adult unaffiliated show jumping on a 12 hh welsh! of course we couldn't win but i competed against myself, if i thought i had done my best round that did ok for me.

but often the competance/courage/ experience level of the owner is far to low for the horse they have, it matters not a jot if it is a shetland or a monster size some of the most challenging i have known have been tiddlers, the mix has to work same as in any relationship, for example :-

i was asked to help out a kid with a 12hh welsh, the pony was honest, young & darn sharp, the kid had talent but little experience, so they kept getting the stride, speed, direction wrong and scaring the hell out of each other, the kid & had gotten stiff & nervous from falling and getting scared, this was making the pony jumpy too, needless to say neither had confidance in the other!

instead of fun the girl was dreading riding, she did not know what was wrong and the pony was confused, her parents who had no experience were on the point of selling the pony.

i took the kid and put her on my old welsh pony, he had the experience at over 20y to put her right when things went wrong, he had been a succesfull junior jumper in his day, done X country, games the lot & was strong enough to take no sh*t from any kid!
despite his age he could do a class or 2 at the smaller height but he was not up to a fast jump off....no problem, neither was she!

however a couple of clear round rossettes, a couple of low places too, handy pony, games & so on later...she was finding the old boy a bit too slow and sedate for her.

the kids pony was lent to a girl just within age limits who had a youngster coming on but not ready to compete, she gave the young pony the grounding in basics and the confidance to go with the rider.

within 8 weeks the original pair were back together, she had learned enough from the old pony & the young pony had developed confidance and some experience,

if she had bought an old steady pony she would now be bored with it, but she had got too much too soon with her young pony.

the following season she was on a 14.2hh part arab (another of my miss match problem rescues) & finding 4 ft rounds simple,

too often i think pride makes an owner continue to battle incompatability long after everyone else can see its not meant to be, the feed & tack industry make a fortune from selling tackle and feed addatives which are good in the right use but often bought with high hopes for instant success only to disapoint.

as to trainers!......Don't get me started!! too many know nowt say alls offer them selves as trainers waving papers from this n that institute/society.
certificates do not make an instinctive teacher, they can show competance in the theory but not intuition, to see the root cause of a problem, to find a way to change it which works in individual cases can not be shown on a certificate.
some trainers are frankly rubbish, they may be an excelent rider, may well have won loads but that alone does not make a good trainer.

how many olympic competitors have trainers who are super winners? how many have trainers who seem to never have won much themselves but their methods produce winners in others?

i consider myself ok to help out with basic problems, especially any due to previous treatment issues, but i would not advise on dressage tests, racing or fishing as i know next to nowt on any of them!

as to have I ever bought the wrong horse?.... YES!!
i think i got the wrong sort when i rescued my bretons... WHY??
well they are big chunky weight carriers, - me? i am tiny all 4 ft 9 & 1/2 inch of me so why do i need 2 big bruisers?
answer i don't, but when its me or the italian meat run its a no brainer choice isn't it?

what i wanted was a smallish horse/big pony,or even a bigger donk! [You must be registered and logged in to see this image.]
i prefere the lighter builds, pref older and steady to plod about on, so i now have 2 un-broken big chunkies....oops!

anyone want a swap??? [You must be registered and logged in to see this image.] [You must be registered and logged in to see this image.]

bye [You must be registered and logged in to see this image.]

Simple answer No. But it depends what people want for themselves. Me, I look for potential and if that is in a fixer upper, then so be it.

[You must be registered and logged in to see this link.]Well, I'm not speaking from vast experience, having only ever owned the two we've got.

We bought Blue, our Shirex cob mare 2 1/2 years ago. 'd never owned a horse and my wife had had an Exmoor pony as a child. neither of us had ridden for many years. Bluey was advertised as a happy hacker and, due to being 19 years old, was cheap. She has turned out to be the absolute perfect choice for us. She has great manners, is virtually bombproof, though she does have her moments, and has taught me a lot that i thought I'd learnt back in my teenage years. we later found out that she cost a lot of money when she first came to the islands and had won just about everything she'd been entered in, especially dressage.

Rhubarb, our Norman Cob filly is too young for us to really know how things will turn out. We got her back in August and have only done bits of groundwork training with her so far. No rush because she's not 3 yo until March. She's been a bit spoiled by the family who rescued her as a yearling. Roo is a bit too confident with humans and we had one or two issues of her trying to be boss, which is not good with any horse but with nearly 16.3hh of untrained draught horse could be quite dangerous. We've stopped all hand-feeding of treats and make her step away from the fence before having her bucket. Fortunately the respect is starting to build now and we're hopeful that will continue. If Roo turns out to be like a younger, more lively version of Bluey we'll be well pleased.

As a couple of you have mentioned, when your horse-buying budget is limited, you have to be willing to accept there may be some issues and put the time in to overcome them.


Bill.

P.S. Salee, I'd love to have your Bretons but I wouldn't swap my girls for the world. I the draughties!

I agree with so many comments in this thread

its surely not so much "wrong horse" as its with the "wrong people " [You must be registered and logged in to see this image.]

All the time. I am not a particularly confident rider, (although I would get on anything when I was younger). So a nice steady horse or larger pony is more my bag, but somehow I am always attracted to very spirited horses. I love my boys absolutely and will never part with them and we have built up a strong bond.

I bouhgt our 8 yr old French horse which is a thoroughbred for my partner to ride, he is 16.1hh and typical thoroughbred, high withers and bony back, but I think maybe he may not be able to carry my partners weight (14stone, 90kg). But he is otherwise perfect, he adores my other horse and he him and they are so well suited personality wise, so from that point of view he wasn't the wrong horse. We will just have to swap horses as my horse although smaller is a little chunkier and we are certainly guaranteed to have some exciting rides.

[You must be registered and logged in to see this image.] so spill Pen what did H&H readers think ?

In answer to the question "Have you ever bought the wrong horse?" 76% of the respondants said "yes"
In answer to the question "If yes, what did you do about it?"
2% passed the horse on to someone else.
26% persevered until things improved.
47% sold the horse to buy something more suitable.
9% still own an unsuitable horse.
16% does not apply.

I think it must be absoloutly awful to own a horse that is not what you wanted, for whatever the reason, and to be afraid to do something about it because of what other people may think, it's not fair on the horse either. I don't think there is any shame in admitting defeat, horses can have big personalities and just like we can't get on with everybody we can't get on with every horse. I think as long as your honest when you pass the horse on, even if the person you got it from wasn't, then do it! I have been very fortunate with the horses I've owned and do own, but then I didn't actually get my own horse till 1996, for the 15 years before then I'd taken care of ,and ridden other people's ....and in that time boy! did I see some "mis-marriage's". We have a new horse arriving tomorrow, I really hope that we all get along, but if we don't.............. [You must be registered and logged in to see this image.] I will not deny him the life he deserves with someone who will enjoy him.
pen.

Good luck with your new horse Penny, I hope he is the right horse for you both.

Hmmm, can see all sides to this, my first pony my parents bought me, not having vast sums of money, was probably unsuitable for the job, but she sure taught me to ride and I remember her very fondly!
Second purchase totally unsuitable bought on a whim, she was beautiful, but a mental x racer tb, 15,2 hh, and crazy. Not a good purchase for a small 15 yr old just off ponies! Weaved, reared, bolted, but quite beautiful to school. Tried many things and eventually got it all working, then for some reason she broke down, she is now a companion.
I was musing the other day that I have has my latest purchase 3 years now, the time when I move on to the next thing. But not this one she is perfect, my best purchase, I did use the wedding fund to buy her, and I know that is not the answer.
My Dad says not to have regrets and I dont regret any of them, if I had not had the insane one I ould never have found 'the old bag' and the sweetest if simple old lady, and a fantastic hunter! And then I would never have found Cleo, everything happens for a reason and its what you learn from the experience.

Thanks sarap, sorry, just seen your good wish message . Time for an update 10 days in! !We've managed to do something every day with Ibis, not always under-saddle, so far so good.. but it is early days. I really do hope it works out because I'm already falling for him but at the end of the day he's got to be right for my OH, I've got my mr.right. [You must be registered and logged in to see this image.] pen