colts, kids and time

[Chuckie]

i'm hoping to get some input from you'all that spend a LOT of your time with the ponies. here's the scenario: a friend (and a good friend at that--i have POA as to when too much life-support is too much), has purchased a colt, coming 2-yr old, with the idea that the colt comes here, is treated as one we own (for the kids, with the best of intentions), but the REAL owner buys hay, grain, vet bills, etc. none of this is in writing, the colt isn't here yet, but it's imminent.

how much SHOULD i get in writing? i could hire an attorney, but i'm guessing that with all the experience on this board, who needs one?? except for the details...

now, what i'm thinking is that i could possibly trade the colt off for a while to a feedyard to get some miles on him (a yard i truly trust to not ruin him, BTW), and they MIGHT let us have an older horse for the summer. we really don't have the time or the facilities to do a colt much justice other than completely breaking him to the basics: foot-handling, washing, clipping, the ground work stuff. THAT i'm really good at..

but who needs a 2-yr old with inexperienced kids and adult? looks like a wreck to me! any input is, as always, much appreciated. and i don't know the colt at all, BTW--he's about 300 mi east of here, but i do have a certain amount of trust in the breeder. be patient--i may not get a chance to reply to you for a day or two, but PLEASE post thoughts. thanks!!!

 

[Brad S]

You're right about inexperianced kids and a green colt not being a good fit. Some real nice horses will learn to cope with kids, most will learn to put the indian sign on them. 2 is too young to go to a feedyard unless you have a real good horseman riding pens.

If he is about 24 months, I'd plan on a short month of training then turn him out to grow for 6 - 9 months. If you're more disciplined than me you can ride and train a young horse, but remember how young he is.

If the horse owner is horse savy you don't need to write down anything, more with the less he knows.

 

[Denny]

my wifes sister called me on sunday to see if I would boared 2 horses for her.She wants to buy them but doesnt want the hassle I said "NO WAY" I did that for a friend once NEVER again.My sister in law has 70 acres plenty for 2 horses I told her to build some fence she also wants to buy a 2 year old I asked her if she was nuts she knows zero about horses her kids even less her husband is a pile of s--- so I know she wont get any help there.I told her if she wanted to pet a horse and ride every once in a while drive out we have plenty to ride and the kids horses are bombproof but they cost alot but are worth every penny.My father in law has 2 cows and would like to have more he has no land no nothing the cows were his late brothers I have had them since 1998 they have only had one heifer calf so far and one cow died so he is still at 2 he helps out to cover cost but its still a pain in the ass.These people want to have the animals but not any of the daily duties I would'nt do it for ANYONE if it were'nt for my wife those 2 cows would either get bought or gone....

I would not get mixed up in someone else's dream of owning a horse all it does is cause hard feelings in the long run you may learn to hate the whole deal sometimes the money could be 10 times more than enough and it would'nt be enough.

I would point them towards aboarding stable thats those peoples business.

 

[Soapweed]

chuckie, I would head this deal off at the pass before it gets any further. Some situations are win-win for all parties. This one looks to me like it would have the potential to be lose-lose for all parties.

Looks to me like there would be a chance of you and your kids falling in love with the horse, but the "real owner" would still be the real owner. If I were you, I would just buy the horse right off the bat so someone else couldn't pull the rug out from under you about the time you get the horse going real good. If your friend is too expensive on the price of the horse, just turn it down. There are plenty of nice two-year-olds out there, available at a very reasonable price. Better yet, buy a nice gentle proven horse, even if it costs more money.

 

[Chuckie]

you guys are SO good--i just need some back-up that i'm thinkin' right.

i did "board" some horses here when we first moved here; they ended up chewing the barn to pieces, i had to threaten to turn them loose because the owner wouldn't bring hay, and i was not going to watch them starve on MY property (i had NO money to buy hay for them or i would have). then, of course, they loaded up and were gone, the people still owe me money that i'll NEVER see, and that'd be just for the amount we agreed on, not the damage to the barn they did...

anyway, i think you're right, brad s. and soapweed and denny. between the 3 of you, you covered my main concerns. i have a fair amount of horse experience, but the time deal is always a factor. the kids have some, but always a BROKE horse..i better go before my stupid thing logs me off. i'll let you all know what happens when it happens! lol

 

[Faster horses]

Yep, all GREAT advice you got there.

Pat Parelli says, "Green on green means broken bones." If something like that happened you would feel terrible. And it would be the horses' fault. Not really, but that is who gets the blame.

Also, good advice about riding a 2 year old. 30 days of LIGHT riding is plenty. Their knees closing is not absolute until they are 27 months old. If their knees aren't closed and they got ridden hard, they could be ruined.

Let us know how you got out of it!!!

Good Luck!!!

And you asked some good questions. Forewarned is forearmed!!!