but who would be perfectly happy frolicking amongst the daisies. Another option is to get an utterly adorable miniature horse. These have all the advantages of full-size horses, but they eat much less, and they make awesome pets.
Horses for riding
The most common mistake first-time horse buyers make is to“ over-horse” themselves. Be particularly careful to evaluate advice from your horsey neighbours, as quite often, experts can be blinded by their own knowledge, experience and expertise, and are unable to put themselves into the boots of a real novice.
For a couple of years, I had almost unlimited access to a really beautiful thoroughbred mare whose owner was too scared to ride her except the day after I’ d taken her for a long, fastcrosscountry hack. She was well schooled, and had the sweetest temperament, but she was a bit twitchy until she’ d had a chance to let off steam – exactly the sort of horse your show-jumping, polo-playing neighbours would consider a really easy ride, but that you may find absolutely terrifying on the wrong day.
Do not be seduced by the glamour of a beautiful, lively and independent-minded Arab or an elegant, super-high maintenance and probably neurotic thoroughbred, or a magnificent, sleek and very powerful warmblood.
Ideally you want a horse that’ s been loved, well schooled, and regularly ridden. You can sometimes strike it lucky with retired show jumpers or eventers, but choose carefully because – even in their dotage – these can be“ a lot of horse.” Your best bet, really, is a horse that someone else has been hacking for a few years, a calm but not dead-on-its-feet, tractable horse that will respond to kindness, and not take advantage of your inexperience. They exist – you just need to keep looking until you find one.
Just like with dogs, breed is no guarantee of temperament or ability. You get some very calm thoroughbreds, but there are some horse breeds that tend to make better all-rounders. Here in South Africa we have two fabulous indigenous horse breeds. The Boerperd is a hardy, beautiful breed that, with good training, makes a lovely riding horse. The smaller but similar Nooitgedachter, which is bred specifically for its calm temperament, may be a bit on the petite side for bigger adults. Again, like dogs, some of the best horses are those with a pleasingly diverse ancestry and a serendipitous combination of the best of all breeds. Really, it’ s all down to perseverance in looking, diligence in trying out and checking, and taking advice from the right people.
Look in its mouth
Looking in a horse’ s mouth before you buy it is about as useful as kicking the tyres before you buy a car. Rather get a vet to check it out. Even if you’ re just going to keep it in the garden for decoration, you must ensure it has all its inoculations, which will be on its passport. Yes, all competition horses( including racehorses) and many other non-competition horses have passports, which serve two purposes. The first is to positively identify the horse, and the second – possibly more important – is to document all its inoculations. If you are the person to introduce African horse sickness to your estate, you will be very, very unpopular.
Red tape
Buying a horse is not in the same league as buying a car or a house in terms of red tape, but you should, at the very least, draw up a good, unambiguous contract that carefully outlines costs, delivery and terms, and accurately identifies the horse – preferably with its passport.
And now … You’ re ready to ride off into the sunset. Cue atmospheric Ennio Morricone music …
Resources
You may be lucky and find a suitable horse in a nearby yard, but you will probably need to look further afield. Horsetrader( www. horsetrader. co. za) is a dedicated site offering horses and horsey goods for sale. It’ s also worth checking out HQ Magazine( www. horse. co. za).
Jennifer Stern
www. estate-living. com | 31