My Journey to Finding a new Four-Legged Friend- Part 1/2

Hey everybody,

my name is Emma, I am from Germany and part of the HoH team. I recently brought home my new horse and I would like to share my story on how I  found and bought Witha. 

It all started with a very sad event. In May, my beloved 13-year old mare Sweety, which I have had for 10 years, died. I was completely devastated. I missed my Sweety dearly, but also the stable environment and the people. It was very weird to have so much time on my hand all of a sudden, because as we all know, the stable is where horse people spend the majority of their time! After two months of grieving, I decided that I did want a new horse. 

Let me tell you, it is not easy to find a horse, especially if you have special requirements.

I started to ask friends from the stables and also looked online. First of all I needed to be aware of what kind of horse I should be searching for. I decided to look for a horse which can do both disciplines, dressage and jumping. An allrounder so to speak. The age was not as important to me, only this time I did not want a three year old.

Everyone is searching for the perfect horse with perfect movements and a nice and expressive character, but it is hard to find a horse which has it all.

I was very hesitant to actually go and try out some horses, but in the end this is the only way to find one. I looked at the website ehorses frequently and every time I found a horse I liked, I contacted the owner. In total I looked at around 10 different horses. Even though some were really nice to ride, it just did not feel right. Sometimes I did not like their appearance and the way they looked at me and or I felt like they lacked character.

It was especially difficult at times, because I kept comparing every horse to my previous one and obviously there is no way you will find a horse which is exactly the same. I got increasingly unmotivated every time I came home from an unsuccessful test ride, because it is always a huge effort and I kept wondering if the right horse was even out there…

After I had tried around 9 horses, a friend sent us an Ebay link of a 5-year old Oldenburger mare named Witha. At first glance she looked very pretty, which was also very important to me. Additionally, the pictures showed her doing dressage and jumping as well as rides on the beach, meaning she had been getting a wide-ranging training.

I drove there to test ride her and already fell for her when I first saw her. She had a beautiful little head and big, dark eyes. She was surprisingly easy to ride: Trot and canter felt great and I also tried a few small jumps. Even though, she had issues with her balance, straightness and the longitudinal bend and also barely had any muscle, it just felt right to me.

She was the first horse that was comfortable to ride and had a nice character at the same time. The owners offered me to take her to an eventing park, in order to try her in another environment and to jump her properly and a little higher. This is why I visited her a second time the week after. She was really calm at the park for her age and jumped very well.

Based on the good experience I had with little Witha and as I was already head over heels for her, I decided that I wanted to continue with a vet check, to make sure she was healthy. Meaning, I basically made the decision to buy her. However, it is important not to keep your hopes up too much because the vet check can also turn out badly. Which unexpectedly was the case….

....To be continued

I hope you enjoyed the first part of Witha's story! Stay tuned for the second part!