Advice please - livery at RI or neighbour

[valiant]

I would appreciate and thoughts and suggestions on my dilemma.:confused:

I have been riding since May last year so is very new to horses. I have however taken the plunge and bought 2 horses which I will keep at home. The first horse is arriving in November and the second one in January. My dilemma is what to do with the first horse until the second one arrives as I don't want to keep him on his own.:confused:

I can either have him at my next door neighbour (with her horses) for next to nothing or a few km's away at my RI's yard. The pro's for the RI is the comfort zone of her being there, round pens, arenas, grooms to help etc. The cons is the cost of it! If I keep the horse at my neighbour it would be cheap, close by, but without real facilities (roundpen etc)and feels very scary to me. :eek: The horse has been ridden but is green, so I do need regular help and lessons from my RI.

Must I pay the price of the RI to get used to him under controlled circumstances or is it waste of money (rather have extra lessons?). All my friends that own horse advice to have him at the neighbour's place, but I just don't know:confused: :eek:

Please help!

[Afellpony]

Firstly, may I ask why, (as you are so new to riding) are you buying a horse that is 'green'? Then you go on to say you are buying another one later. Since you've posted on this board, I assume you'll be open to suggestions. Personally, if I was new to riding, I wouldn't buy a 'green' horse. As you have not had much experience, you need a horse that has been there done it and got the t-shirt so to speak!!! Secondly, are you able to cope with 2 horses? Will they be living in or out? If I were you, I would wait until you've been riding at least 3 years before you even think about getting a horse of your own. They are a high maintenance animal and, even if the horse lives out, you still have to feed it in winter (or all year round if it's doing any work), visit once a day at least, see if it's putting on too much or too little weight. You have to recognise the signs that a horse is ill, lame, too hot or too cold, worm it regularly. They are not an animal you can take on without any help if you've not had much experience. Sorry to go on but I've seen too many neglected horses that have been bought by inexperienced riders and owners who think they will be able to cope. It would be far better to keep them at livery until you're familiar with looking after them.

[icnmary]

As a green rider who bought my first horse 2 years ago, having an experienced horse person around is more than worth the money. I know that it can be expensive, but I think it's best in the long run, particularly if the horse is green. If I hadn't had the RI around for those "sketchy" moments, I might have been put off horses all together. Horses will test you at every opportunity and knowing how to respond keeps them on the straight and narrow and makes the whole experience much more enjoyable and safe.

[Guest]

Echo AFELLPONY, I'm afraid.

But if you are determined to get these horses then I'd have them both at a livery yard.

[Whatanejit]

Definately keep them at your RI's place. You will learn so much there and it will be worth every penny in the long run.

Please, please do this if you plan to go ahead with these purchases.

You may want to keep them both there for up to a year before you bring them home Valiant given the other two comments above.

The learning curve is huge but fun and so much easier when you have got help.

[Est]

I would pay to have the first horse with the RI. The confidence you will feel from having facilities and lots of experienced people around you will be worth far more than the actual monetary cost.
When I bought my two horses, I was fairly inexperienced on the practical side of things as I had only had a handful of lessons as a child, followed by irregular lessons as an adult.
Although I had the riding basics in place, enough to be safe for basic schooling and hacking, and a huge amount of theoretical knowledge, handling and caring for your VERY OWN horses is a totally weird feeling even for people who have been riding/involved with horses for years.
Every horse will test you out, even the really nice ones, as they want to know where they stand in relationship to you, who is in charge, who is calling the shots, do they *really* have to let themselves be caught/tacked up/groomed etc. If you are also trying to become competent, quick and experienced all at the same time, it is an overwhelming amount of factors to juggle.
Although my horses were both superstars, they had their moments (the mare especially was quite green), and if I hadn't been surrounded by people who were friendly, supportive and able to offer timely advice, things could have gone very wrong - it takes literally a few moments for the balance of "power" to shift in a human-horse relationship, or for an inexperienced eye to miss the signs of illness etc.
Thanks to my wonderful friends on the first livery yard, I was able to build my experience in a safe environment, and as a result I have some fantastic positive memories of my first few years of ownership.
Pay to have your horse with the RI, and by January you will be so much more confident and competent. I would even go so far as to say it would be worth paying to have the second horse with the RI for a few months, as again that strong initial foundation to the relationship can make or break the next few decades of horse ownership. Then look at saving money by moving - although by then you might be addicted to the nice facilities! Leaving my last yard with its indoor school was a real wrench :( :D
Good luck valiant and I hope everything goes well :)

[Wobblydeb]

Hey valiant :)

I agree that it will be money well spent, keeping your first arrival at your RIs :) First impressions count, and getting it right at the outset will make life much easier if you then decide to go it alone.

[valiant]

Thanks all for your comments.

Re the buying horses in the first place; although I'm new to this all, I'm extremely conscientous (sp?) and prepare very well for any new venture in life, more so with horses. I also have a very good support system in friends and family with lots of experience close by. I'm not in any kind of rush towards aims and goals and will take the time to do proper groundwork with both horses. Please don't be worried that I'll ever neglect any of my animals, on purpose or through lack of knowledge. Sometimes you just have to follow your heart and intituion in doing stuff. Buying the horses was a very well thought out (and at times agonising) decision, but I still believe the right one for me.

Although the horse is green, he is from a solid breed and breeder, wellknown for their temperaments - I wouldn't have done this with a TB!

Especially Est, thanks for your lenghty reply, it covers my concerns and "feel" exactly. I did/am considering keeping both at the RI for a few months, but it will extremely expensive. Hopefully by then I'll feel confident and competent enough to take them home!