Day three of horse shopping ponderment.
Yesterday, I asked what sort of horse I should be looking for, a show horse or a hand-holder. [Yin] The verdict seems to be for the good-time horse, with a few votes for Why Not Both. Finding a horse upon which to have fun sounds all sane & logical, but I can still go zero to fuss from a standing start. If I were as serious about my riding as I claim, why wouldn’t I jump at the chance to have two big-time show horses?
Angst aside, the next step is finding said beast. When I began on Monday [Crowdsourcing], I said I would not complain. I won’t. But the underlying causes of the whining do constitute obstacles to be dealt with.
The area I live in doesn’t have the density of horses that Lexington has.
More travel time per horse viewed equals less horses to be seen per unit time. Therefore, I need to prescreen. A 6yo that looks good in pictures is a non-brainer to go see if he lives 20 minutes away. What if it’s an hour? Two? The next state? How do I decide which ones are worth the drive?
Pictures and videos can rule out the unsuitable: an adorable draft-cross who made the earth tremble when he cantered, a horse going prelim and hauling like a freight train on the arms of the professional rider aboard. [Putting] That reduces the pool but still leaves the essential question.
Previously (apologies for not being able to dredge it up) a comment recommended using trainers websites to get a general idea of what they have. When I try that at Mr. BNR’s barn, I get 6 horses all of who are described in vague and glowing terms. They can’t all be perfect. Even if they were, they can’t all be suitable.
I have trouble getting people to take me seriously.
Get help you say. But I have no existing relationships with trainers, and the ones I do talk with don’t feel an overwhelming compulsion to return my calls/emails. Short of wearing my bank statement pinned to my chest, I can’t force someone to take an interest.
My past decisions didn’t always work out.
If I had advisors, I probably wouldn’t trust ’em. My worst horse-buying decisions were ones I had “help” with. So, for better or worse, Hubby & I are relying on our own judgment.
With horses all around, how do I decide what direction to head in?
BTW, As I go on & on about this horse being a backup, is anyone else thinking of For the Moment, Lisa Jacquin’s super-star horse who she started with, “as a temporary ‘project’ until something better came along.”? Horsetalk
[And another postscript. Googling for the spelling of the title led me to discover the PC-storm surrounding what I learned as a harmless rhyme. Sigh. I don’t want to hurt anyone. I debated changing. OTOH, EENY shows up frequently in the NYT crosswords. Any word that is good enough for Will Shortz is good enough for me.]
Related Posts
Horse Shopping day 2: Yin or Yang?
Horse Shopping day 1: Crowdsourcing
Shopping for Rodney in Horse Illustrated
Horse shopping online: Putting Myself Out There … On Horseback.
Truck Shopping
Update, July 2026. So, according to the introduction from Across The Universe by Natan Last (Pantheon 2025), Shortz may not be the best arbiter of cultural appropriateness. In 2019, there was an kerfuffle over word choice. For example, GAY EROTICA was flagged but EROTICA was okay. Eventually, people objected. Shortz issued a statement. I had already decided not to use this expression. In other news, now that have mentioned this book twice, I should admit that have not finished it. I enjoyed what I read before it disappeared back into my TBR pile. [Crossword Consistency]
Virtual Brush Box 
A comment on an earlier post suggested that I go to barns to maximize the horse/travel ratio. Excellent theory. However, last time around all we would get at a barn was one message in stereo. At one place, the horses were all variations on a theme. We were so impressed with the way they went that the trainer’s name is now a reason for us not to go see a horse. At another barn, the seller was so impressed with the way I rode the first horse that I was not allowed to ride the rest. (And wasn’t that a fun two-day drive,) Finally, there was Rodney’s barn. We went up to look at 40 lovely horses and only saw one. I’m being catty. It is a good idea to keep in mind.
You’re being realistic. Anyone who says they love horse shopping is a masochist.