Buying a young warmblood as a foal can be a scary but very fulfilling thing to do. How many times have you heard people say "I purchased a 6 year old and I am having to retrain him because he was just pushed to fast" or "when I rode my new horse at the trainers he was really well behaved, now I have him home it's a completely different story!". There a many good reasons to buy a young horse.
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| Sandi Gillott's Ribbleton Felipe by Fishermans Friend / Ribbleton Esperence (El Bundy) |
At Ribbleton, we pride ourselves on raising just a few top level Hanoverian foals each year. This allows us to ensure that sufficient time is put into each young one. The result is young horses that not only have the pedigree to give them great looks, movement and conformation, but they are also excellent to handle. Temperament and trainability of Ribbleton young horses is of the highest priority.
Bringing up a young horse is an experience that each horse-person should do once. Its an amazing journey to watch and be part of the development and growth of your young horse and is a cost effective way to own a quality horse. There are two ways that you can buy a young warmblood from Ribbleton:
1 Ribbleton has a selection of young warmblood horses from foals to 3 year olds for you to choose from. They can be seen on our website and you are welcome to visit our visit our stud in Dural, NSW (30km from Sydney city) to meet them in person.
2 Breed your own own foal to a Ribbleton mare: For a limited time you have the opportunity choose a Ribbleton mare & the stallion of your choice to breed a foal! This is a great way to share in the amazing journey of breeding your own foal whilst knowing that an experienced stud has your best interest in mind. It's also the most affordable way to get yourself a top world class warmblood with payment plans available.
Now, I'm sure you have heard all studs tell you why their horses are so good. So we decided to go out to some of our recent clients who have all purchased young, unbroken horses from Ribbleton to see what they had to say about Ribbleton and the advantages of buying a young horse.
* What advantages do you see in buying an young horse (weanling to 3 year old) versus a horse under saddle?
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| Robyn Pearce's Ribbleton France by Fishermans Friend / Ribbleton Ruby (Rotspon) |
Robyn Pearce (Vic) - "For me the big draw cards in buying a young horse are;
- I get to put my stamp on him right from the start - I'm not retraining other peoples mistakes.
- I can afford it. To buy a horse like Ribbleton France at say Novice/Elementary would probably cost $35,000 to $45,000 - way out of my budget.
- And the total pleasure of knowing that you did all the training yourself - what a great journey!"
Anita Bezuch (Vic) - "I believe one of the most important things of buying and owning a young horse is that you know their background and almost everything that has happened in their lives. The foundations of a horse that is growing up will affect the way they react to pressures of breaking and handling later in their training. Generally, if they were happy as a youngster, the whole experience of training will be predictable and pleasant. So far, this is the case with Ribbleton Porsche. It is very easy to "bond" with a young horse when you have endured the many hours of handling and training together."
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| Dee Symons Ribbleton Ferrari by Fishermans Friend / Aunty Blue |
Dee Symons (Vic) - "Ribbleton Ferrari would have been out of my price bracket if I had not secured him as a 2 year old and more so again if he was under saddle so purchasing at this age has huge advantages in what the buyer gets for their money. You've just got to be patient! Another advantage is the bonding time you have with your young horse on the ground and knowing them from such a young age and watching them grow and change is something you only get once. While purchasing a horse under saddle leaves you with no waiting time good horses are not easy to find and do have a decent price tag to match when and if you do come across them."
* What advice would you give other people looking to purchase a young warmblood?
Megan Joerg (NSW) - "Look at the mare carefully. Temperament is paramount, not only the stallion but the mare as well. I always look to the performance record of the stallion. If he has been nowhere and done nothing then how do you know if he will pass on a good temperament and trainability to the foal? Always look to the mare and her breeding and educate yourself about the "families" that do well together. If you are using a thoroughbred mare then you should pay close attention to her conformation. One of the reasons I picked Ribbleton Felix was his dam's excellent conformation. When I look at foals I also watch the mare very carefully to see how she moves and reacts to people. The foal often takes his cue from his dam so it is vital that she shows a sound, sensible nature. The plan for Felix is in the dressage direction. He is certainly bred to event as well so I might have a problem keeping my daughter's hands off him! A lot depends on him. I like all my young horses to grow slowly and not rush their education."
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| Anita Bezuch's Ribbleton Porsche by Prince Noir / Glenmurray Charm |
Anita Bezuch - "I purchased a young horse because I did not want the "baggage" sometimes associated with poor horsemanship and handling. I have owned many horses that have had issues (usually not their fault) and I did not have the time or patience to deal with them. I had an experienced team of horse friends who were happy to assist with bringing up a young horse so I decided to buy an unbroken warmblood. The breaking process was easy due to the previous handling of Ribbleton Porsche. The breaker only had 12 rides on him and then handed him back for education. Porsche had always been in a happy, pleasant environment and therefore he is extremely affectionate and respectful of humans."
* There are a lot of warmblood breeders in Australia, why did you choose Ribbleton?
Dee Symons - "Ideally I wanted a Hanoverian so that put many studs out of contention and it was important to me that the sire of my horse was out in the world competing rather than just be a breeding stallion. Ribbleton produce a small number of foals so the attention and handling they receive sets them up to be very personable and easy to be around. Ribbleton Ferrari had begun ground work with Paulette giving him a good foundation to continue with so for a buyer this is a great advantage."
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| Megan Joerg's Ribbleton Felix by Fishermans Friend / Aunty Blue |
Megan Joerg - "Ribbleton appealed to me because of the selection of mares they have. It is not a big stud but the mares are carefully picked. I learnt in Switzerland that the stallion can only do so much. In fact it is very difficult to buy mares in Switzerland, especially from certain "mare" families. The fact that Ribbleton pay close attention to the mare's breeding influenced my decision to purchaes a foal from them. Aunty Blue, my Felix's dam, is a fabulous example of a thoroughbred."
Robyn Pearce - "All of the horses at Ribbleton were really well handled, even the foals (without being spoilt). They were easy to catch and had had their feet regularly trimmed and rugs on. Paulette has them really soft and confident to handle, they are a real credit to her. After we purchased France she float trained him for me so that he was completely happy on his big trip to Victoria. The truck driver even said that he used France to lead another nervous horse onto the truck after their night stop. He was really impressed by him and his training."
Anita Bezuch - "I initially rang Ribbleton when I saw the advertisement for Porsche to find out some background information. Paulette was extremely helpful, honest and friendly, needless to say, I purchased Porsche when I was convinced that he had the perfect upbringing. I met Porsche's dam and siblings. It was very useful to see his family in the flesh and all the young horses were friendly and well behaved."
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| Erin McKay's Ribbleton Freemantle by Fishermans Friend / Ribbleton Ruby (Rotspon) |
