Trialbyfire

Oct 29 2009, 05:13 PM

Aack! Am I ready for this??

So I have an option to lease a horse for a month to try. In order to take him from his current lease situation we need to commit to the month, no matter how long we keep him. So by the time we ship him in, pay the lease, I might as well board him for the month and actually ride him! It's more than keeping him at my own barn, but with yesterday's rain my arena looks more like a swimming pool than a riding surface, and hard to know if it will dry before it freezes for the winter!

Sadly I know very little about him except that my trainer trusts his owner implicitly and they have done business together for years and are good friends. My trainer calls him "very attractive" and I think she means as a prospect, not that she thinks he's handsome. He is a 15.1 bay. I think he's 12 but I forgot. I don't know his breed, I don't know his name. My kids are horrified that I don't know these important details.

I do know that he is sound; he wears front shoes and not back; he has packed a number of young riders around the short stirrups; he has an auto change. Very rarely fresh, doesn't spook, likes to be turned out but has traveled enough that he can be boarded with no adverse effects. No maintenance supplements, meds, etc. We've talked about all the costs. (Somewhere in there I guess I should have asked his name ) In buying a horse from this particular trainer I would definitely set up a situation where my kids could trailer in to shows and show with her barn even he's not boarded there, which I have a feeling...is a good thing and worth a few extra bucks.

So...not too much information yet but I will have a month to play with him to see what we think. Starting in two days.

If we buy him.....I have a feeling he will never be *MY* horse. My 11 year old has told me (if we buy him) that she will ride him and I can ride my mare together in our arena, and after she canters him she would be willing to walk around on my horse while I canter on him if I want. (So generous).

More to come!!

Trialbyfire

Oct 30 2009, 05:39 AM

Thanks everyone! I woke up at 3:00am and didn't fall asleep again until after 4:30.

This horse is out of our price range but my trainer thinks that we can talk them down a lot (she's already told me her ideal number that is well within my range). My trainer has told them "she'll never pay that much" and the words "make an offer" have already been put out there, but I'm still anxious over that. Luckily my trainer is sort of a battle-axe so I won't have to be the negotiator. It has occurred to me that I must be wrong in thinking that her trainer friend owns the horse; I am sure he can't be the owner or we wouldn't be paying a lease on the horse for the month (I can't imagine he'd be messing around with a piddly little lease fee).

I had irrational nighttime thoughts that we'd somehow ruin this fancy horse (even though he's probably not that fancy and we are unlikely to ruin him just because he's not from FUGLY horse of the day.) But I think a thorough barn and barnyard cleaning & maintenance is in order, if only to make me feel better!

Trialbyfire

Oct 30 2009, 05:39 AM

Thanks everyone! I woke up at 3:00am and didn't fall asleep again until after 4:30.

This horse is out of our price range but my trainer thinks that we can talk them down a lot (she's already told me her ideal number that is well within my range). My trainer has told them "she'll never pay that much" and the words "make an offer" have already been put out there, but I'm still anxious over that. Luckily my trainer is sort of a battle-axe so I won't have to be the negotiator. It has occurred to me that I must be wrong in thinking that her trainer friend owns the horse; I am sure he can't be the owner or we wouldn't be paying a lease on the horse for the month (I can't imagine he'd be messing around with a piddly little lease fee).

I had irrational nighttime thoughts that we'd somehow ruin this fancy horse (even though he's probably not that fancy and we are unlikely to ruin him just because he's not from FUGLY horse of the day.) But I think a thorough barn and barnyard cleaning & maintenance is in order, if only to make me feel better!

Trialbyfire

Oct 30 2009, 05:39 AM

I had irrational nighttime thoughts that we'd somehow ruin this fancy horse (even though he's probably not that fancy and we are unlikely to ruin him just because he's not from FUGLY horse of the day.) But I think a thorough barn and barnyard cleaning & maintenance is in order, if only to make me feel better!

SnackPack

Oct 30 2009, 09:11 AM

The only issue I foresee is if they won't accept your offer, you may have two daughters who have fallen in love with him by the time he needs to go back.