I started barrel racing about 1 1/2 yrs ago.  Fell into a very nice horse which I am sure all of you know that is possibly sold ($$ way too good to pass up no matter how much its killing me!) 

So my question is.... I keep being told that I am stupid that a great barrel horse is hard to find.  I think to myself that there are many great horses and surly I will find, or make, another 1D horse right?  Is it really that hard?  Please tell me I did not just make the biggest horse mistake of my life!! 

Wish I could

But a fit is hard to find but if you enjoy making one and moving on to the next then you did not make a mistake.

I'm not an old timer or an expert but I do know that a horse that fits it hard to find. They sound good on paper or on the Internet but making a match is much harder than it seems.

Not sure if it's a mistake as we all have to live and learn but I do know that money certainly isn't everything. I was offered 5,000 for a mare with no papers one year and I had to pass on it. That was more than I paid but it would have taken more than that to replace her.

Good luck............

i have to agree with the others. there ARE many good horses out there, and there are possibly many horses you could 'get along with'. but finding one that ''FITS'' is a different matter. it's nice to know that when you take your seat, your mind and bodies become one. that you can tell how each other feels and what each other are thinking simply by looking at one another. a really good horse is kind of like a really good man, something everyone wants, very few have, extremely hard to find, most are already taken, and if you could acquire one - it would probably cost you more than you could afford.

if you follow thru on this decision, i wish you the best of luck. it really just depends on how much work you like, it takes a lot of it to make a good one.

 I hate that word "STUPID"    You did what you felt you needed to do & there is nothing wrong with that.As for it's hard finding a super horse.Tell that to Christy Peterson & Charmayne.Those horse are out there & I hope you find that special one & laugh in the face of those who called you Stupid.

Although we did great..  I never felt that "click" with this horse.  I think what I am having a problem with is listening to everyone getting to go somewhere.. And I am stuck riding my 3 yr olds.   My gut and brain say i am doing the right thing.  My heart tells me different!  That is why I am split.  Maybe she will not pass the vet check for some petty reason!  

Another reason.  I had a great horse that someone out of the blue came up and offered me a lot of $$ for.  I refused.  6 months later the horse came down with EPM.. Got over that and we have now been battleing cancer with him for the last 6 yrs.  I told myself after that one I would not turn down another great offer.  Not that I wish the vet bill on someone else but I feel that maybe its a sign. 

I am trying to look at it that God is blessing me and quite complaining! 

Was just really hoping that someone would just say.. There is always another great horse and you probebly have it in your barn and do not know it yet!!!  LOL

There is always another great horse and you probebly have it in your barn and do not know it yet!!!  LOL

There ya go.... hee hee.... can't make a mistake without taking chances and that same horse I talked about above went down less than a year later working cattle. Thankfully vet expenses were part of the job so we didn't have to pay for it, but it makes ya wonder !!!!!

I can see both sides...

Had a nice gelding I thought was going to make a nice rodeo horse, turned down three times what I paid for him... he got hurt, turned into a nut, and I lost my tail on the whole deal.

All that being said... I don't guess I learned my lesson because I turned down a lot of $$ for my colt, cash buyer, but he's just coming along SO nice that I would have a hard time replacing him...

So... go with your gut, and if you make a mistake, you make a mistake.  There will be more horses, more buyers, etc.  Everything happens for a reason, and if you do something you end up regretting, chalk it up as a lesson learned and go on.

Don't guess I was much help, but good luck with whatever you decide.

The same thing has always happened to us.  We had a really nice head horse, (family raised no money into him), some one offered us $25,000 (for a rope horse, we thougth "are you crazy, he's a rope horse, but no, he'll make more for us in the long run") then 1 month later, breaks his leg coming out of the box, we had to put him down.  Lesson learned.  What is meant to be will be, everything happens for a reason. 

Another thing is, I had a really nice barrel horse and a nice colt that I loved.  I didn't have that connection with my good horse either, so gave her to my sis in law (who loves her to death and is winning off of her) and my colt come up to be a really nice horse and he's now my 1D barrel horse (it just took a really long time - LOL). 

About 3 years ago, we were wrapping up the finals @ a Jr Rodeo Assoc. My 8yr old daughter had just won the Buckles for the Finals in Barrels and the Year-End in Barrels, she also had the fastest Pole time of the week. As we were loading up horses I had a lady come up to me & say "I want to buy your horse", for her daughter to High School Rodeo on.  I told her the mare wasn't for sale. She insisted, she wanted to buy our horse. I kept politely telling her the mare wasn't for sale, She finally took out her checkbook & wrote a check for 30K, and asked me if that would buy the mare. 

That was one of the hardest decisions I've ever made.  My daughter was standing right there with tears in her eyes while all this was taking place. as I stood there looking @ the check & looking @ my daughter. I kept telling myself we could get another one.  My wife says its one of the stupidest things I've ever done,  but we've still got the mare.  She's not running in the 1D, right now but she'll be back. I don't think I could have replaced her for that.

Look at it this way, the check might have bounced.

As a Dad you did the right thing.

I've had more than one of those once in a lifetime horses. I've been blessed and I know it. Not ashamed to say so.

I had the opportunity to sell the first (actually my mom did) real great horse I had ever run. I grew up in a single parent family and my college was always going to be a problem financially. My mom had someone offer her $25K for my gelding my Sr. year. She wanted to sell him to help pay for my school. She told me she was taking him to Lousiana for someone to try and I packed up and moved out spring break (the same weekend she told me that). Took the horse with me. We didn't speak for months. I raised that horse from the day he was born and taught him all that he knew. 3 months later he got cut on the fence in my boyfriend's pasture. Nearly cut off his entire front right foot. I was told I would be lucky if we didn't have to put him down and he would never run again. That was in 2000 and he's running high 20's in poles again and 1-2D barrel times now. Its taken a long time to get him back to where he was, but he's nearly there. He's got the heart.

I passed up the opportunity to sell him, but there was more to it than just the fact he's good, there's a lot of sentimental value in this horse. He's a great horse, though no longer what I would consider NFR quality. I NEVER regret passing that opportunity up

I have another horse sitting here that is better than the one above and probably has an even bigger heart. He'd run on 2 legs if I asked and still place high(trust me, he practically has). Getting him to where he is proved to me that its possible to have more than one "great horse" in a lifetime.

I think finding the right horse has a lot to do with the rider, their style and their ability. If you are picky and not able to adjust much to match your horse, its going to be harder to find "the horse" where-as, if you can  adapt well to your horse, you are more likely to find several that fit into your program.

I guess this depends on what you want to do. A truley good horse is so rare, and if you dont need the money and feel like you dont want to start from square one and rebuild then dont sell him. A great horse is a blessing and a gift, and Im sure you know that.

If you are a supreme talent, and have a gift for turning out good horses, and many of them, then sell for the bug bucks! 

I have had 3 good horses in my 44 years of life, and this mare that I bought as a yearling who is now 9, will never leave my place, wherever I am. She is my great horse, IMO. We are one, and I told her I will never sell her for any amount. She has been 1D for most of her barrel racing carrer, last year we were 3D tho, and it killed me. I think I have her figured out, physically, and me mentally, and I will never give up on her. I have a few ladys that would jump at the chance to own her,  they know she is my lifer, but it makes me proud how people love her. I think she has many more fans too!

All smarmey feelings aside, if this is your dream horse, then KEEP him!! Its is a short life we have here, and why not be happy? Its only money after all? And THAT my freinds, is coming from someone who has none.....  (money that is!)

Have fun! Isnt it what its all about?

I must be one heck of a very lucky person because I have had MANY GREAT HORSES, and never had to pay an arm and a leg for any of them!

Shoot I can think of half a dozen right off the top of my head.. All top 1D horses, all WPRA money winners and all but one was a 20 second or less pole horse! 

The only one that was absolutley not for sale is the gelding I started from scartch and brought up. Turned down $60,000+ for him and have never regreted doing so.

Don't fret another good horse will come along and if not  we will line you up with one