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
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.