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Location: Southern Illinois | HEY GUYS!
I used to be a long term steady member but have lost my log in info and havent rode in 4 years.
I'm wanting to get back into it. Silly me, sold my trailer, all my stock, and had kids...
And now my daughter is 2 and showing signs of being a horse addict like her mother.
Any of you ever "started over"?
What'd you do? What steps did you take first?
I still own my gritty little 11 hand barrel pony, my crippled old first horse, but those are the only ones I got still and obviously not good for me. ??
Any suggestions and/or advice would be great!!!! |
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| Welcome back and congrats on having a horse crazy daughter!
When getting back into horses, it depends on your goals where you should start. I was out of the horse owning business for a few years while I worked towards my career goals, so when the time came for my husband and I to get back into it, we figured out what we wanted to accomplish: have a few nice mares, raise a couple stellar foals a year, start and campaign them, and me hopefully find time to compete again (and not break the bank in doing all of this). Luckily I kept a couple saddles and all of my bits, so I didn't have to start back entirely from scratch in that aspect.
If you're wanting to compete and win, it may be beneficial for you to buy a finished barrel horse, but that caliber of horse may not be suitable for your 2yo daughter. If your goal is to ease back into riding and allow your daughter a chance to bond with a horse, a well broke "been there done that" horse may be the best option. If your barrel pony and older horse will be safe and sound for your daughter, then you could focus on finding the right horse for you. I would start by writing down what you hope to achieve with getting back into horses, even if it's just continuing to love on the ones you do have and allowing them to be beacons of hope for you and your daughter for awhile while you get the other details sorted out.
Edited by madredepeanut 2018-03-26 3:28 AM
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 Extreme Veteran
Posts: 599
| I took a 7 year hiatus - same thing. Sold EVERYTHING and had 2 kids. With that long of a break, I have become a nervous rider!!! I’ve been back in for about 3 years and am still nervous. I have 2 babysitter horses for myself who are competitive enough that I still hold them back. I’m positive I will get back to being confident, it’s just taking sooo long.
My first horse I bought wasn’t finished. I kept him for a year before realizing that we were not good for each other. We both needed confidence and we weren’t going to get it together.
My next was a 9 year old finished 2D horse. I was finally running in the 3D with him last year but he injured his DDFT.
I also bought a young futurity horse who I’m riding now. She has a wonderful mind and always wants to please. This weekend I finally let her set the pace without holding her back (although I did get in her way), and we were at the bottom of the 3D.
I love that they both have more to give and are willing to wait on me.
My non-riding 10 year old son can walk and trot them a little bit in the arena at home, but that will be all he could manage....if he truly wanted to ride, I’d have to get him something else. |
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Location: Southern Illinois | My main goal is getting something safe for my daughter and having something I can ride with her on until she gets older and decides whether to stay with it or give up. Then we can switch to higher caliber horses.
I wouldn't mind finding a nice young horse to bring up for myself and season while she's got a safe one. I didn't stop riding completely, so the nervousness wouldn't be there. I've always had young horses so I feel like it would help me transition back into them.
She's 2 and I would like to get her a saddle for Christmas, what size seat should I look into? I don't want to spend big right away in case she just isn't into it. I still have my saddles. |
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 My Heart Be Happy
Posts: 9159
 
Location: Arkansas | Welcome back, and good luck with which horse you pick!
And if that's your daughter in your avatar, she's a cutie! |
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Location: Southern Illinois | Yes, that's her!
She's a spoiled child. ?? |
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My Heart Be Happy
Posts: 9159
Location: Arkansas | SOTurn3 - 2018-03-27 10:24 PM
Yes, that's her!
She's a spoiled child. ??
Oh, I thought those were the only kind of children  |
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 Expert
Posts: 3815
Location: The best kept secret in TX | SOTurn3 - 2018-03-26 6:13 PM My main goal is getting something safe for my daughter and having something I can ride with her on until she gets older and decides whether to stay with it or give up. Then we can switch to higher caliber horses. I wouldn't mind finding a nice young horse to bring up for myself and season while she's got a safe one. I didn't stop riding completely, so the nervousness wouldn't be there. I've always had young horses so I feel like it would help me transition back into them. She's 2 and I would like to get her a saddle for Christmas, what size seat should I look into? I don't want to spend big right away in case she just isn't into it. I still have my saddles. Always get a saddle that will fit them and trade up. I got my little one a ranch saddle with seat rig fenders. I bought a 10" for my little one who was 2 at the time. She will be 3 in August. She can ride it for another year before it may get too tight. I think I paid $695 for a packaged deal during Christmas. Came with a nice felt pad, a breast collar and some type of kid rope bag with a rope a gloves and some other little goodies. The saddle has full bars on it so it won't pinch a full size horse. (She's in to dinkeys now tho so I guess we will see how it fits the donkey LOL)
They have a trade in program for used ranch saddles that applies to the kids saddles. When they outgrow them, send or bring them back and they trade you for one that fits with a little money on top from your end. it's worth it to get one that fits them so they feel safe and are secure. Takes the fear out of riding in my opinion when they feel secure.
Forgot to add: If she doesn't grow out of the seat size but she grows out of the fenders, they have junior fenders that will fit. Ask them about fenders for a 2 year old. They ship the saddle with kid fenders and toddler fenders so the saddle can grow with the child. 
Edited by IRunOnFaith 2018-03-28 8:37 AM
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Getting back into it...