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Re: [RC] Was Frigid Digit Now Buying Horse Sight Unseen - Laney HumphreyIMHO, a 13 hour drive is a small price to pay for being certain that the horse is just what you want. Start adding up what it will cost you if the horse isn't right: upkeep, shoeing, ordinary vet care, riding time, angst, worry, guilt, and finally the effort you'll have to put into selling him. Some people can ride anything and get along just fine and they are usually trainers. The rest of us get along well with only a pretty specific type of horse. A lesson I learned several horses ago, was to think long and hard about how a horse is described when the describer is not like me and doesn't ride like me. It's a problem both when the seller is a very experienced horse person with whom all horses are angels and when the seller is inexerienced and therefore can't really describe the horse in any meaningful way. The horse I bought had been with a very strong and confident rider who could support and carry the horse through anything. I'm a very good but not strong rider and my best efforts at supporting that horse weren't enough to make us feel comfortable with each other. Her insecurities never came up with the stronger rider because the rider was the dominant leader and the horse felt comfortable.A couple of weeks ago, I posted about my enjoyment of Jane Smiley's, "A year at the races." In it she suggests that a horse'e personality can be described in 4 dimensions: the horse is either 1) dominant or submissive, and 2) curious or afraid, and 3) friendly or aloof, and 4) energetic or laid back." Describe yourself along those same characteristics and it become obvious why some types of horses are bad matches. You say you don't want to sell another horse that turns out not to be suitable. That tells me that you should be making every effort to make sure the horse is suitable! Don't skimp!! Remember, "ride your own ride." What I mean by that is, don't fall into the trap of thinking that the horse will be right for you because it was a good ride for someone else unless you know that person well enough to know that they are very much like you. Good luck! Laney Dabney Finch wrote: Will the owner let you have him for a brief trial period before you complete the purchase? (We've bought almost all of our endurance horses sight unseen on that basis, and we will only sell a horse to someone after they've had a trial period.) =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= Ridecamp is a service of Endurance Net, http://www.endurance.net. Information, Policy, Disclaimer: http://www.endurance.net/Ridecamp Subscribe/Unsubscribe http://www.endurance.net/ridecamp/logon.asp Ride Long and Ride Safe!! =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
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