Went horse shopping for my new boy- loads of photos and breeds.

Trio

Trio

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Jan 5, 2007
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The New Forest
horse shopping for my new boy- updated with photos

Have decided to get another horse so that i can semi-retire my chap- he's had problems with his suspensory and has the start of arthritis. He's fine for hacking out so he's going to teach my OH how to do pub rides when i find my new boy!!!

Had a very hectic few days charging around Wiltshire/Hampshire and Dorset to find my new dream boy.
So here we go-

first stop - andalusians in Wiltshire- this boy was stunning, 4 years old,16.1h very well bred and had a price tag to match but dished with all 4 feet whic looked a bit weird. i know its common in andies but hadnt seen it before.
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sorry about the phone- someone kept ringing and i was trying to turn it off!!

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Then i tried a 7yr old,15.1 andalusian called Nepal- he was lovely as well-no photos of me riding him but we did take videos of all the horses but don't know how to upload them!!

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Next - went off to the criollo farm in Wilts- Went out to the fields first (didnt manage to get phots as i didnt realise we were going there straight away- the gaucho that took us didnt speak English) but didn't see anything i was struck by- they were all leopard spots or paints and i like solid with no massive pink muzzles (as i've had problems with my boy Jo's nose )

So anyway i was taken back to the yard where they showed me 3 polo ponies- criollo x thoroughbred and they were lovely. They then started tacking all these horses up and we all went off to play a chukka of polo on the polo field.
I was on this chap first:
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He 's 5years, about 15.2h and called Gato .

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My friend was put on this mare- she was gorgeous and if i wanted a mare i would have gone for her.

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And i didn't get a photo of the last one i rode as it was all a bit manic with 6 gauchos, me my friend and monique all on polo ponies raring to go.

Had loads of fun on the field and they taught me how to hit the ball etc lovely horses there , very well looked after and the place is great.
 
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Then the next day went to a place that specialises in Warmbloods, Friesians and Criollos
so went to a field and this guy caught my eye: He's 15.2 ish, 6 years old, Warmblood and has been broken but nothing done to him for a year.

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So we went and brought him back from the field and took him in the school where i couldnt get him to move at all. 3 of us urging him on got a wlak out of him until he got near some other horses and then stopped. After a bit he had a bit of a broncing fit where i came off him, so we decided to lunge the lad instead. Very nice gait and could be a fabulous horse eventually .

Then went on a western trail ride with the owner and my friend who'd come along. We tacked up 3 criollos- these guys here..

The grey is his own criollo called Nico, the coloured a ranch horse he uses for corporate stuff called Charlie, and the dun a 6 year old criollo called Nico as well.
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went out for a fabulous ride- very fast , galloped around all the fields - the horses were amazing went from walk to canter by moving the rein an inch up the neck and stopped when you sat deep in the saddle or said Whoa, turned on a sixpence, no nonsense, no spooking, fast, fun and energetic. Converted my friend to western as she loved it as well.
 
Soooo.....do you have a new neddy? :D
Ooh the suspense is killing me!!
ETA: WOOPS, getting ahead of myself * goes off to read second post * :eek:
 
After the ride after a nice hosing- he got a bit sweaty!

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[:D]

And last but not least the Friesians!
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a mammoth 16.2 gelding- absolutely lush but terrifingly big!!

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So well done to those who reached the end- i have made a choice on one of these horses- any guesses as to which one- and what do you think of him (if you guess that is!!) ??????

Checking with my yard that i can have another space now i'm keeping Jo and if all ok then getting him vetted this week and if all ok he will be delivered in time for my week off
 
Wow, what fun - that sounds like the right sort of horse shopping, plenty of good active trying out :)

My guess is you're getting the dun criollo, but I would be hard pushed to choose between all of them :D
 
It's been a bit of a nightmare trying to decide what's most important to me in riding- the temprament is paramount of course and i wouldnt get a horse i didnt "like" temprament wise,
but i also love
hacking out for hours (so thought of criollos/arabs as they're endurance horses),
jumping & XC (warmbloods and ID/TB),
be able to do pony drifts and point 2 point (local new forest one)
possibly start polo (am a member of our local club but need a horse to start playing )

The ickle criollo lad should :confused: be able to do most of what i want- will hack out for hours- massive amounts of stamina and speed, safe and sensible disposition, incredibly sure footed, the criollo are supposed to be resistant to many diseases such as lammi (heard this from people who own them and import them and my friends had them for years for polo and the only case of lammi was a criollo x TB she had) .
I have no idea if they can jump but he's extremely light on the forehand and uses his backend really well so should be able to do a small course.
and the bonus with him is that he is so chilled out but very forward going (we were straight into a canter as soon as we left the yard :D) . Definitely sold on the breed but he's got to pass a 5 stage vetting first!"! :eek:
 
So a bit of an update- decided against the little dun- kept praying onmy mind that he was only 14.3-15h- not a major thing but i've always ridden larger horses and it was bothering me.
So i went back to the place in wiltshire and rode 7 of their Argentinian TB x criollos and then went back again yesterday .Have totally and utterly fallen for this chap. He was the first one i rode last Sunday . He needed new shoes so i didnt ride him but he's being done Friday and then i'm going to take him out for another spin to be sure he's "the one". If ok then i put a deposit and get him vetted next week- and then get him the following week- so excited.

What do you think of him- he's very skinny now but he only came over in April- he's 4 years old, about 15.2, he's an Argentinian thoroughbred x criollo and he plays polo (and he's going to teach me how once i fatten him up a bit).

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i think he's got such a sweet gentle face (he's very gentle and calm especially for a 4 year old)
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Looking excited at being moved around! very underdeveloped neck but nothing a bit of work wont solve.
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me saying goodbye till saturday- didnt want to leave him and cant stop thinking about him now- arghhhh

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So any comments on him welcome (i don't own him yet so be honest!!)
 
It may be just his weight but he does look like he could have some muscle wastage on his back, may be worth getting the vet to really check that, other than that a really sweet looking chap :) just be careful that when he's not fully fed up that he is still as senible ;) he may still grow a little, so if you put some time into getting him some good muscle he should look even more handsome :)
 
lol- thanks i think he's handsome even it he is underweight at the moment . I noticed the back thing too- hoping its just that he's young and skinny rather than any underlying problems but will point this out to the vet - will get him 5 stage vetted next week if all goes ok on saturday.

also the place where i'm getting him from offers a years exchange warranty on their horses and they honour this- i know 3 people who've had horses from them and one of them changed her horse 3 times as they were too fizzy once home so that kind of gives me peace of mind that they do try and match the person to the horse carefully.
 
they all look fab where on earth do you find all those fab horses to look at lol

hope this lad passes he looks ideal
 
lol- i've been all over hampshire. dorset and wiltshire- been to dealers rather than private sellers as you can try more than one horse at a time.

The latest place- the criollo farm in Wiltshire they let me try out 9 horses- all of which were lovely but only 1 was perfect for me- last one in the photos :D

Going back there again (for the 4 th time) tomorrow to try him again as he was being shod today and if i still like him will have him vetted mon/tues and hopefully bring him home at the weekend.

joey-olop- i loved the WB too- he was my favourite right up to the point where i got on him and he did an impression of a rodeo and threw me off!!! If someone had the experience to reschool him and bring him on he would be a wonderful horse as he's got such a lovely nature but too much for me!!

I've tried so many breeds out, TB, ISH, WB, andalusians, criollos, criollo x , Friesians, NF, cobs and the criollos were my favourite for speed, agility and calmness- great horses and am looking forward to hopefully being the owner of one- maybe a 15.2h bay 4 yr old gelding ;)
 
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