Buying an older first horse

What age was your first horse when you bought him? If you do not have one yet but are planning to in the future, will you choose a young horse or an older one? 

A good number of the horse owners I know have chosen to get a younger horse. A horse with whom they will be able to grow as an equestrian. A horse they will be able to train themselves – with more or less success… A horse who has his whole career in front of him, in show-jumping, endurance, dressage, whatever. Buying a young horse can seem to be the logical choice. 

Those horse-owners I know are not necessarily representative of what is usually done in the equestrian world. I did a little survey on Facebook, asking people what the age of their first horse had been. Out of 285 people, 81 one had had a senior first horse (aged more than 15 years old), 77 had had a horse between 10 and 15 years old, 71 had had a horse between 5 and 10 years old, and 56 a horse younger than five. 

Of course, the survey wasn’t professionally done, the numbers don’t differ widely and more elements (such as the equestrian background – horsey family or not – or the age the person got their horse – children being apparently more likely to have an older schoolmaster type of horse and pony) should have been taken into account. 

Still, a lot of people will buy a young first horse. And as I’ve said before, it has been the case with a lot (if not most of) the horse-owners (not professional equestrians) that I know. Sometimes, that young horse is an off-the-track thoroughbred – because they’re cheap, and pretty and the owner is certain they have a good enough level to retrain and control them. Sometimes, that young horse is a VERY expensive Friesian, Lipizzaner, Lusitanian, PRE, because they’re fashionable, because anyone looks good when riding a Friesian, and because if you’ve got money, why not let the world know. 

I will not go into the disastrous results the combination between those green young horses and those owners, who thought themselves better riders than they were, sometimes led to. My point is that buying a young first horse is not always the best of ideas. 

To tell the truth, I used to think that my first horse would be a young one (Thoroughbred: cheap, pretty). Fate decided otherwise: when I got my horse, he was already 14 and was being retired from his second life, as a lesson-horse – he had been a harness racer during his first. I’d known this horse for several years and had wanted to buy him for a long time already. His age did not matter – though I did find myself regretting he was older, and thus closer to retirement. 

However, owning him has led me to reflect that it was a good thing that my first horse was not a young one. Why? 

First, and though there are exceptions, an older horse tends to be better trained than a young one. Or at least, he will have seen more of life and of the world. Older horses will often be less high-strung, less nervous. They know the ropes and that’s a good thing. Because riding well does not mean you are able to train well or even care well for a horse. What I discovered as I made the transition from one-day-a-week rider to seven-day-a-week owner is that those two situations are a world away. Dealing with a young, green horse would have called for way more experience than I have. And this experience I am gaining, little by little, as I care for my senior horse. 

Secondly, having an older horse does not mean that you can do no training. On the contrary: each moment you spend with your horse is training, whether you are conscious of it or not. You can make an older horse “your own” just as well as a younger one. 

Of course, the fact that an older horse has, simply, lived can come with disadvantages. An older horse has a past, sometimes happy, sometimes downright awful. Sometimes they have been trained using methods which do not fit with your own. Sometimes, an older horse’s mind will have been moulded by habits, by abuse, etc. into a certain shape. And you have to work with that. An older horse is never a blank canvas. And that can be frustrating at time, but also rewarding. What better feeling than to realise that this horse with a past finally trusts you? 

And we must remember that buying an older horse can, in some situations, be giving another chance to an animal who would not have had one otherwise. 

I did not choose to buy an older horse. I chose to buy my horse, a horse with whom I already had a bond. But he has led me to realise that it was the best thing that could have happened. I had a phase, before owning him, when I was very nervous of riding. Frightened even at times. This phase passed, but there’s no guarantee the fear will not come back. So isn’t it for the best that my first horse is level-headed and steady (most of the time)? He is helping me gain confidence and experience while testing my skills. I am able to make mistakes without jeopardising his training too much. And most importantly, I am able to have fun. 

Unfortunately, old age comes with a number of problems and illnesses. Some horses can be ridden well into their twenties, but others have to be retired much earlier. However, some young horses also end up being retired early, due to injury or diseases. There is never any guarantee about the duration of a horse’s potential career. 

But the end of a ridden career does not signify the end of a relationship: last week’s interview with Vicki Jayne Yates was a testimony to the value that should be given to none ridden equines. The bond between a human and their horse should rest on other foundations than just riding. 

I have not given up the dream of having a young horse one day, maybe even a foal I will train from scratch. But if I have one piece of advice to people preparing to acquire their first horse, it would be this one: do not underestimate the way an older horse could enrich your life and make you grow into a better horseperson.