After seeing yet another horse this weekend, I’m starting to feel a little mentally exhausted by the sheer volume of horses I’ve considered. Not that I don’t recognize how privileged I am to be able to even consider buying a horse, because I know there are plenty of pony-princesses like myself out there who cannot yet realize that dream. But even acknowledging how fortunate I am, it still gets a little overwhelming from time to time.

Horses come from everywhere it seems. I have one auction that I absolutely love, and considered going to, but it didn’t work out this year. The majority of the horses I have seen I found (or someone pointed/tagged me to) on facebook. I also search warmblood-sales.com like a fiend, as well as dreamhorse.com – my two personal favorite databases for horse sales. And two horses so far have come about through friends/acquaintances in the local horse world.

I’ve so far looked at 11 horses. That’s if I remember them all correctly. [Note: After publishing this I did remember at least one more, but I’m too lazy to update the infographics, so there]

Breakdown by gender

It’s no surprise that since I’m a gelding kind of gal that the majority of the horses I’ve looked at fit that category, But I have branched out a few times otherwise.

Age, I’m less picky about, though I’m fairly determined to stick within my 3-10 age range. The mode for this set of horses would be 3 year olds, likely because a nice 3 yr old is more apt to be in budget than a nice 6 or 7 year old.

Breed also tends to vary a little bit. I’ve now seen two Thoroughbreds, 3 Warmblood crosses (mostly part TB), and 3 “pure” Warmbloods, which I’m considering as either a registered warmblood, such as a branded Oldenburg, or a cross of two registered warmbloods, such as a Holsteiner X Trakehner, with little or no TB/other breed influence. The “other” category gets pretty interesting- this including the Teke, a Connemara cross, and a Dutch Harness horse cross gelding.

Obviously I haven’t yet found my match, but the quality of horses I’m seeing is on the up and up. Maybe because new horses are hitting the market? Maybe because I’m so sick of driving that only the really strong candidates will make me strap myself into my car for more than a 45 min drive? Who knows.

They keep coming, and I’ll keep looking until I find the one. He’s (or she’s) out there though, I’m sure.

Yeah, I meant to put a pause on things, but it hasn’t really worked out that way.

Yesterday I saw a quiet hunter jumper with a great canter. Today I see another unstarted three year old (and a mare, no less! *gasp*). Sunday I’ll see another one, this time a well schooled dressage horse.

Those spots though!

For all you Teke fans, I’ve decided to hold off on him unless I learn a bit more about him. Though my greedy trigger fingers are dying to make him my next photography model, I’ve got to be smart and not get in over my head.

Gorgeous shiny creature is gorgeous.

It’s of course hard for me to share more details at the time, but suffice to say that it appears the horse hunt continues!

I feel so sorry sometimes for the people in my life right now that are sending me horses. I am so picky! I’ve been asked what I am looking for, and really, it covers all bases.

I’ve now seriously contemplated two different unstarted 3 year olds. If you have seen instagram, you got a glimmer of the latest- a 3 year old Akhal Teke stallion. Very, very sweet horse that was obviously intelligent and athletic. This is a breed I had read about before, and is often featured in articles like this because of their oh-so-shiny coats. I have to admit, seeing that horse come out into the sunlight, it really was rather dazzling.

I also got to sit on a super fancy warmblood gelding over the weekend, a giant floaty creature with the most amazing suspension in his gaits. But it takes more than fancy gaits to be an eventer, and so I decided he was not quite the right fit for me.

I’ve got a couple more contacts/horses I’m expecting information on before I make another move. But tonight, I look forward to heading out to the barn and walking Riley about the property. It will be nice to start some semblance of a normal routine again! That is, if anything with horses can ever really be described as normal. Or routine, for that matter.

So I did not come away with a new pony yesterday. I so wanted to, I mean, we had the unicorn horn ready and everything.

To someone else, he may have be considered to pass the pre-purchase exam. But there was one question mark that came up, and no one could guarantee how it would go in the long run. So with the memory of having to retire a 9 year old horse fresh in my mind, I walked away. Ben and Jerry and a glass or three of wine consoled me. I’m disappointed, but I feel like I made the right decision for myself.

The search continues!

I know that PPE’s don’t always go the right way, hence my being all mysterious about the potential creature until it’s over and the verdict is in. I’ve also allowed myself to keep [casually] looking at horses online as well, though nothing is quite tugging at my heart strings in the same way said creature is.

However, I came across a rather sweet mare that caught my eye. Her unusual color, nice front end, and let’s not even mention that tail. Even though she doesn’t quite fit what I’ve been looking for, I couldn’t help thinking that this sweet horse looks like a really cool cat who deserves an amazing home.

Since I have no exciting update that I can actually talk about right now, I figured today’s post may better serve the general horse community by spreading the news about a nice looking pony who needs a new human. For more details, check out her listing with the Equine Welfare Society here.

What is it about a horse that makes them the one for you? Do they just fall into your lap? Do you just know when you see them for the first time? Or does it take spending time with them or in the saddle to know if it’s the right decision?

Like I’ve said before, I think horse shopping is a lot like dating. Sometimes you know when it’s a clear ‘no’ (cue Meghan Trainor), and sometimes it’s a ‘yes’ (but don’t we all make mistakes sometimes?), and sometimes, of course, it’s a ‘maybe’. Just like I would probably swoon if Adam Levine came up and swept me off my feet, but that doesn’t mean he’s the right match for me in the long run. So what is it that makes it clear to us when we really have met our four-legged other half?

I don’t have a good answer, but I’m hoping I’ve found it. I’ve got a pre-purchase exam scheduled for next week, and I’m daydreaming that this is the answer I’ve been looking for. Keep your fingers crossed.

I had a lovely, horse-stuffed weekend of visiting friends and getting to share some amazing moments with them.

Other moments from the weekend, while amazing, were, let’s just say, and little more of the jaw-dropping nature:

That would be a three year old Irish Sport Horse gelding having a rather rambunctious moment, at my poor mother’s expense. If I seem nonchalant, standing there watching, its only because it happened so quickly that I don’t think anyone really had time to react. Sorry, mum! Needless to say, even though in reality this gelding was a sweet and talented horse, we decided it was likely a bad omen that he nearly stomped my mother to death. Pass.

In other equine developments, I will hopefully have some kind of news to share next week, so stay tuned. And if you want to see the whole video of the dramatic moment posted above, check out instagram.

Many of you have seen by now that the Chronicle of the Horse picked up my ISO ad after it started gaining attention in the couple facebook groups I posted it in (Eventing Horses for sale & Dressage Horses for Sale). At last glance it has garnered almost 900 likes and over 70 shares between the various groups- needless to say it’s been the most “viral” content published on this blog.

Since initially posting my ad on facebook, I’ve received dozens of horse suggestions in the comments of the ads and in my inbox. Some were truly amazing offers that were hard to turn down (really really hard to turn down), others were not so difficult to politely veto. Most of them 15h mares. Not that there is anything wrong with 15h mares, but when you’re looking for a 15.3h+ gelding, they don’t exactly meet the requirements. Then of course there were the droolworthy horses that meant every requirement, and their owners just stopped by to dangle the carrot in front of me with a “Oh, well, if your budget was only 4 times as big…”. I’m exaggerating. Sort of. Not really.

Dangling aside, it’s been really something to once again be thrilled by the equestrian community. To have complete strangers share my post and support me in my search is something I never dreamed would happen. To have friends left, right, and center shoot me suggestion horses is damn near delightful, and I have definitely followed through in going to look at a couple of them. To have people reach out and relate to having to retire a loved partner and live through that anguish with you is truly humbling. Horsepeople in general may be a crazy ass bunch, but man, they have heart.

So I suppose I just want to say thank you again, because I am so grateful for all of you going on this crazy, hilarious, sparkle and fairy dusted hunt for the perfect unicorn. Thanks for making this such an adventure, and I hope you’ll stick around for the ride. Happy weekend, y’all.

Yesterday I went to look at a completely different type of horse- an unstarted three year old warmblood gelding.

Looking at babies varies from looking at horses under saddle. It requires channeling your inner tween, in that you have to look past the horsey equivalent of pubescent pimples and gangly legs and envision the future Brad Pitt within, but also be very adult about the process, in this case stuffing the “ermahgerd baby poneh” response temporarily into your back pocket.

Former baby

When looking at youngstock, brain still reigns king. A tractable disposition is everything to me, and so its even more important to see those ground manners and basic abilities- being caught from a field, lead around, cross tied, picking up feet, etc. In addition to this, I also want to see how the baby reacts to new and different stimuli. Yesterday, we used body clippers. I’m watching carefully to see what the horse’s instinct is- is it turn and flee? stomp this dangerous buzzing beastie to death and human be damned? or stand still but do its best dragon impersonation? Especially because I want to compete at new venues, and event, a bit of bravery, or at least sensibility, is key.

Collective marks for Second Level Test 1

Besides all these little but important tests, it’s also helpful to see them move. Sweet and smart and sensible is nice, but there are plenty of other scores in the collective section besides “Submission”. So getting the baby out and trotting, watching them walk, and seeing their canter is all going to indicate whether or not a young horse is a suitable prospect for any sporthorse goals. The trot should have active hocks, the canter should have a reaching hind leg, and the walk should be 4 beat and true. Moving like a junkyard robot is probably not the best attribute for your future dressage horse.

The last thing to consider, and this applies to looking at any horse, is your gut. As silly and sentimental as it sounds, I put a lot of stock in this. When I look at a horse, does my heart go trip-a-trap? Do I feel in my gut that this is a good match? If I’m going to pull out my checkbook, being a bit twitterpated is a must- goodness knows there will be plenty of good and bad days ahead as you learn and grow together, so always best to start from a place of love and gushy good feelings.

Overall, the process of horse shopping is a balance of emotion and logic. Not unlike dating, you’re looking for a longtime partner that you will invest your blood, sweat, and tears (not to mention a hella lot of money) into, so you do your best to choose the right one.