# connemara or irish sports horse?



## sylvie.hettema (6 January 2015)

So I was planning on buying a young horse to break in myself, and I was wondering whats best, an ISH or (a big) connemara. I would mainly be doing hacking and jumping, but I may try cross country or hunting too. Any pros and cons to either horse would be really helpful (e.g ... better at jumping, or some  health problems the breed is prone to etc) thanks    
Edit: or any other breeds that would suit hacking, jumping, cross country/hunting


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## Shay (6 January 2015)

Pretty much any breed - and no breed at all - has the potential to suit what you want.  Although anything can also have conformation issues which make is easier - or harder - to work.  But breaking a horse is not something to undertake lightly.  These are prey animals with prey responses that are actually bigger than you (although part of the trick is to never let them find that out!) Unless you are massively experienced and  with the time, money and facilities to do this properly then give this some serious second thoughts.


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## sylvie.hettema (6 January 2015)

Well I have an experienced friend who has trained his own 2 horses who can help, I have the facilities and I understand it will be hard but I think inam capable


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## Shay (6 January 2015)

No offence intended - I don't know you, you don't know me.  But I do know horses and how much work is involved.  I confess its not something I would take on - I've seen too many ruined for poor early handling.  I know my (grown) daughter would love to back a horse herself - but it is a good 2 - 3 years before you can do anything much with a youngster and sometimes 8 or 9 years before they are good and solid.  I can't deny the lure and the appeal of something you have made yourself.  But you have to be prepared for a very long haul which can be a bit limiting unless you have others to get out and about on in the meantime.   Or of course back to sell on as a business I suppose - but that's a different kettle of fish!  Just be sure of what you are getting into....


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## sylvie.hettema (6 January 2015)

I totally understand and agree, and I will have to continue thinking about it for a while. If I were to buy a youngster, it would be at the youngest 4, and I would definately get some help in breaking it in  im still quite young and im pretty sure that I would check everything with my friend who has 2 (almost) perfect horses that he broke in himself. But as I said, I will continue to think about it and im going to ask lots questions to people that have broken their own horses, and see if it is really something I could handle, or if maybe its not such a good idea after all...


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## be positive (6 January 2015)

Shay has made some good points but if you feel you have the experience, facilities and above all good support then there is no reason you cannot follow your dreams, many people do well starting their own, many do less well but often start out thinking they know it all, as long as you are in no rush and start with the right type of horse you could be enjoying it for many years. 

As for breed or type I would say look firstly for something with a really good temperament, ideally with a known history, even better if you can buy from its breeder and meet the dam and any siblings, take conformation into account, especially the feet, no foot no horse, a young horse that has been handled well but not spoilt, is bold and confident to deal with but not pushy will be easier than a nervy one, dont fall for something that is poor and you feel sorry for unless it still ticks all the boxes, take your time and look at several, the right one will jump out at you whatever the breed.

The backing is almost the easiest part, educating a young horse and making it a well rounded, confident character that can go out and be a useful allrounder is what takes the skill and time, if you feel up to it start doing your research and look forward to years of fun, probably plenty of tears, frustration and hard work along the way just the same as most horses, even buying a ready made one is no guarantee.


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## sylvie.hettema (6 January 2015)

Thanks, some really helpful points  ive not been riding too long, but have been part of the process of training a 3y/o quarter horse, but I am still questioning my skills, even if it has been my dream to train my own horse, the worst thing I could do is buy the horse and soon discover that im not capable and I dont know what would happen then, I guess I would have to keep trying.But yes, I will definitely be buying lots of books about training, even if I dont buy one. My main confidence is coming from youtube channels e.g 'gezzcanezz') who (4 years ago) bought a scruffy pony who was only 3. He had had little-no handling and she had little experience, but 4 years later and he is an amazing horse and I guess that is what I hope to achieve, whether that is possible I have no idea...


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## AdorableAlice (6 January 2015)

ISH with a leaning to the ID.  Avoid anything with Cruising running through it.  ID's tend to be forgiving.


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## nianya (6 January 2015)

When you say you've not been riding too long what does that mean and what have you done to this point?  How are you on ground work skills for instance?  And how far would you like to be able to take their training?  Starting a young horse who you plan to just take on pleasure rides is far different from finishing one who you intend to compete with.

I also have seen too many good horses acquire very bad habits from poor early handling, a lot of them end up abused and sold to a series of people because people believe they have a bad horse.  I have also seen a lot of people who thought they could train, get badly hurt doing something experienced trainers know not to do.  If you really want to train, have you considered apprenticing with an actual trainer to learn the skills from the ground up and gain experience with lots of different horses under someone else's guidance?  It's a profession after all, you wouldn't decide to try dentistry by pulling a friend's teeth for them because you'd seen a video of someone who did it right?


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## Kallibear (7 January 2015)

sylvie.hettema said:



			Thanks, some really helpful points  ive not been riding too long, but have been part of the process of training a 3y/o quarter horse, but I am still questioning my skills, even if it has been my dream to train my own horse, the worst thing I could do is buy the horse and soon discover that im not capable and I dont know what would happen then, I guess I would have to keep trying.But yes, I will definitely be buying lots of books about training, even if I dont buy one. My main confidence is coming from youtube channels e.g 'gezzcanezz') who (4 years ago) bought a scruffy pony who was only 3. He had had little-no handling and she had little experience, but 4 years later and he is an amazing horse and I guess that is what I hope to achieve, whether that is possible I have no idea...
		
Click to expand...


I'm afraid this makes me want to run off screaming 'Nooooooo!'

There are so so many things that can wrong and sadly the market is full of 'problem' horses to atest to that 

It sounds like you don't have your own horse right now?  In which case the first port of call is to loan or buy yourself a good horse who knows it's job, has no 'issues' and has been trained correctly by a good professional.  Then the horse is able to fill in any gaps in your knowlege. Believe me,  you'll have far more fun with a good established horse than a problem or green horse! Well trained does NOT equal boring!

If you survive that, without teaching the horse any bad habits or ruining it's training, and would still like more of a 'challange' then you could think about selling the horse on to get something more green. A well trained, well behaved horse always sells well and hopefully you won't have ruined it but will have improved on it's training.


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## Orangehorse (7 January 2015)

Welll I totally agree with Kallibear but in the meantime I would recommend a book by Josesphine Knowles called the ABC of Breaking and Schooling.


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## nikicb (7 January 2015)

I have a Connemara x ISH.  He is 15.3 pushing 16hh.  He was foaled in May 2007 so scarily is now 8 officially, but has had the past 6 months off due to injury and has been a slow physical developer.  That said he has been a saint ever since the day I bought him when he was still 4 according to his date of birth, but 5 in horse years.  However, despite his incredibly forgiving nature even he has pushed boundaries.  I have owned horses for 35+ years and had several youngsters, but still had to take this purchase 'seriously'.  He is incredibly good natured but will take advantage if he can.  I regularly have to remind my house/horse sitters not to be taken in by his amenable nature.  Give him an inch, and he will take a mile.  Never nasty, but he pushes boundaries constantly. This doesn't mean I treat him with kid gloves, but I do make sure his routine means when he goes to the field, comes in, goes on the lorry, stands on the yard, etc. etc. he behaves and knows what is expected of him and doesn't dive for grass etc.  

Sorry that is a bit of a ramble, but all I am saying is if you take on a youngster and want it to work out, consistency, consistency, consistency.  Good luck.   

And a picture of my boy, just because.....


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## tashcat (7 January 2015)

Both lovely breeds.

I can highly vouch for connemaras - such a lovely natured horses on the ground as well as to ride. Had an irish sports horse who was a lovely chap, but I haven't had such a bond with any other than my little connemara.

I'd recommend not limiting it though - why not search for both, and see which horses you can find that will suit you best: trying and testing will give you more of an answer!


Edit - realised I misread the post and you are buying a youngster to bring on yourself. In which case I've noted that both my boys could be a little stubborn and ready to test me: I would certainly never want to break one in myself. Lovely as they are I think it takes a lot of skill and the ability to avoid caving in to a horse who knows how to play the game. So my advice would be to be wary when forming a close relationship because it can hinder rather than help the training.


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## Pigeon (7 January 2015)

I have to say, unless you've owned green broke youngsters before and know what a green horse can be like, don't try and break in your own! In all honesty, that's asking for an accident!  Perhaps get a Saturday job on a training yard to give you a realistic idea of what it will be like? And then re-assess a couple of months down the road?


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## oldie48 (8 January 2015)

We've owned a connie, a connie/TB and an ISH, all bought as rising 6 year olds. They were all lovely and turned out to be talented with nice temperaments. We are pretty experienced and my daughter was a confident competent rider. We also had good professional back up. I wouldn't have wanted any of them to have been brought on by someone who hadn't even owned their own horse as they all needed firm consistent handling. As to starting them, frankly it's a job for people who know what they are doing as sadly when it's done badly, it's the horse that suffers long term! Sorry if I sound a little harsh but I've sen so many nice horses and ponies spoiled by inexperienced people.


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