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BEGINNER HORSES ~ OR "BOMBPROOF" HORSES Every good horseman HATES the term "bombproof" because horses are living things and nothing is "bomb-PROOF!" That being said, we do our best to find horses as close to that as we can. Out of 10 nice horses we have, at at least 8 are too side sensitive to carry a rider who hangs on with his lower legs, or rides in "happy frog" position of hanging on with the heels. They will pick up speed with a beginner rider, just because they think the heels indicate they should go. They are nice, they are solid, they have no vices, but they are not SAFE for a beginner beginner to ride, to learn on, or to take home without supervision. Some of these would work if they were in a training barn, where someone with knowledge can catch and correct mistakes, or where someone can jump in and set the rules when the horse tries to take advantage of the beginner...because lets face it...the HORSE knows more about horses than the beginner does, and that fact becomes apparent (to the horse at least) very soon after the two are left alone together! Most of the time we recommend lazy horses for beginners. They are slow and quiet. If the rider can't ride or is timid, they stop. This is MUCH better than running off!! Eventually a rider will get frustrated and mad, and will become assertive....they forget to be timid and they start to exert some authority. Also, since the horse isn't moving, they feel confident...this is just what you WANT them to feel!! When they get assertive, the horse moves, and a lazy horse will keep moving to the level of forcefulness on the part of the rider. It may be a lot of work, but it TEACHES a lot, without danger, and again, a lazy horse will never run off! Every couple of dozen horses, we find one that just genuinely LIKES beginners, or kids, and is willing to work with them. These rare finds will be careful and quiet with children or beginners, but they are not basically lazy, so they will move to the level they feel it is safe for their rider. They go willingly, but they stop willingly and carefully and they are good at reading whether the heels in are for the balance of the rider, or because the rider not only WANTS to go, but is capable of staying there! Everyone WANTS these horses and they are hard to find, so they aren't cheap no matter what they look like!! We are lucky right now to have a GOOD SELECTION of these horses right now. Sugar, Selene and Dogwood are that really RARE combination of quiet horses that have enough athletic ability to jump well, and they will teach and pack their riders. Bombay is a beautiful sporthorse, and Draper are two gelding that will do the same thing! Floyd, Jingo, Titan and Montgomery are quiet geldings who will work quietly and carefully for any level rider, but move on when they are asked, and Vera is a GREAT mare who has been very successful in camps doing just that! I think this is more of this type of horse than we have ever had at one time before.
Our list is always changing, but we update fairly quickly, as Kandi is a web master and maintains sites for several farms and horse associations. We specialize in matching horses to riders
Our Philosophy ~ You can shear a sheep many times, but you can only skin it once. We are proud that many of our customers return to buy other horses, or recommend us to their friends. That's because we don't "SKIN" those who purchase horses from us! WE HAVE THE BEST PUBLISHED GUARANTEE IN THE HORSE BUSINESS, PLEASE FEEL FREE TO READ IT.
Our horses are fairly priced, in fact you will find our prices very low for comparable horses. Generally our horses priced from $2500 to $5500. We have good, solid large ponies, safe trail horses, working horses and finished show horses. Our horses are for beginners, novice riders, "recycled riders" (People who have ridden in the past and are getting started again.), riders who want solid show horses and anyone who wants a nice, horse that is a joy to ride and isn't going to try to KILL you every time you get on it!!!! And we have enough horse experience to be able to evaluate horses and find out from them what their preferences are!
We do offer delivery, see below.
What makes our horses different? Recently a fellow horseman commented that I seem to have a good market for horses in the $2500-$5000 range, even though, for most other farms, that seems to be the hardest price range to sell. Below $2500, horses sell, and above $5000 they sell. He wondered HOW I was doing so well in that range. The answer is simple ~ I LOOK for horses in that price range that will fill the needs of recreational riders. High-end barns have high priced horses. If they get a bad one, they mark it down to sell it and it ends up in that mid-price range. But if a horse wants to kill you for $12,000 he is still going to want to kill you if he is priced at $3500!!!!! Often "horse traders" will mark up a junk horse because the buyer seems to be willing to pay a higher price. But if a horse is junk, and untrained, he is still going to be junk and untrained if you raise his price!!! I SEARCH AND LOOK SPECIFICALLY FOR GOOD, SOUND, WELL TRAINED HORSES WHICH WILL MEET THE NEEDS OF MY CLIENTS. I HAVE TO LOOK AT DOZENS AND DOZENS OF HORSES TO FIND ONE I THINK WILL WORK. THEN I TAKE IT HOME AND EVALUATE IT. IF YOU VISIT THE FARM YOU WILL ALWAYS FIND HORSES THAT ARE NOT ON THIS SITE BECAUSE THEY DON'T MEET MY STANDARDS. Some of them will, with training, some of them wouldn't and they will go back to the guys I bought them from. They will not sell here where I will have to stand behind them. I guarantee every horse I sell and there is no point in selling a bad one, or one misrepresented because I will just get it back!!! I buy from good horsemen I've known for years, guys who know good horses and with whom I have a good working relationship. I pay more for my horses than I would from sales, but I don't get stuck with horses that aren't good. I don't have to lose money on the bad ones. I just take them back. In the long run, it keeps me from having to try to unload a bad one to get him off my feedbill, or from raising prices to cover bad buys.
And remember, all of our horses are guaranteed IN WRITING! For a full explanation of our guarantees ~ IN WRITING AND POSTED ON THE PUBLIC DOMAIN ~ CLICK on the "guarantee" above.
WHAT DETERMINES A HORSE'S PRICE? Recently I had a woman write me and say she wanted something with a good mind, family safe, but she didn't want to spend much and so it didn't matter if it was registered. It is not the registration that costs, it is the TRAINING that makes a horse worth what he is worth. We deal mostly in registered horses, not because we are snooty, but because most well trained horses ARE usually registered. People don't put the money into training unregistered horses, so many of them are broke by uncle Billy Bob, who learned to ride on his grandaddy's farm!!! He doesn't know a thing about REAL horsemanship, but Billy Bob had a good seat and more guts than brains, so he jumps on "Sparky" and starts kicking and flapping and Sparky takes off, probably bucking and plunging. Eventually "Sparky" stops and so Uncle Billy Bob proclaims him "safe." HE ISN'T!!! Sparky will hurt you, not out of bad temper, but because Sparky is ignorant. He doesn't know what you want, and in the beginning he is half scared. Later, he will just get resentful when he finds out you can't MAKE him do it. TRAINING is what makes a horse safe, and it has to be good training, even if you don't want a show horse. It has to be training where the horse UNDERSTANDS what to do and WANTS to do it. That kind of training is usually only afforded a registered horse where the money invested will help increase the value of the horse. So, the value of a horse is determined by a number of things. Training being the major variable. Natural temperament is another. 95% of my calls are from people who want something safe and quiet ~ it's what we specialize in. Unlike most sale barns that sell what they find, we actively SEEK OUT horses with good training and good temperaments. Some horses, just like some people, are just better horses than others. They WANT to be a good horse, they WANT to please and cooperate with the rider. That is a characteristic that cannot be trained into a horse, but one which raises the price because it makes the horse trustworthy. Supply and demand also play a part. Think of buyers as a pyramid.
Unfortunately, the available horses are in the REVERSE order. Green, young horses, often referred to as "having potential" need one of the first, or second group of riders, but there are LOTS OF THEM, AND THEY ARE CHEAP, especially in today's market. Horses with some motor are also plentiful, but again, there aren't as many riders who want them. EVERYONE WANTS QUIET, HONEST, RELIABLE HORSE and they are harder to find then a water hole in the desert ~ they're out there, but you better know where to look!!! (Every year we send back about 30% of the horses we bring in because they aren't suitable for on of these bottom two groups where most of our customers are. And this is AFTER our suppliers have evaluated horses and brought us only the best of what they find.) So, our less expensive horses are going to have a little more motor and our "bombproof" horses are going to be more expensive. If they are just trail horses, they are less expensive, but they aren't going to show as well in the ring because they aren't "sophisticated" (Which means they are used to working in the ring and doing schooling patterns, cantering circles slowly, staying on the rail ~ which isn't natural to a horse.) It is easier to take a ring horse out on the trail if he is well broke than to put a trail horse in the ring. You don't lope circles out on the trail, you don't need a lot of steering, because you make turns not circles. The horse seems to drift or wander because it no longer has a marked trail, other horses or simply the perspective of open ground. The rail of the ring cuts that perspective. He has no trail, no other horses, no line of sight and he has no idea that the rail is the guideline. So he drifts into the center and appears untrained. These are often GREAT trail horses and they do well outside the ring. AND they are cheaper because they don't have the duel purpose of being able to do lessons and ring riding. Take them out in the field and ride them, you will find some great bargains if all you want to do is ride on the trail. Other things which will increase the price are: Size (16h+), and Color ~ Palomino, Paint, Gray, roan (especially blue roans) and especially Buckskin. Training also affects some other common urban myths. 1) "I don't want a mare, you know how funny they can get." I have geldings, and I am happy to sell you a gelding, but to say a well trained mare can't do her job at that time of the month is an insult to all working women, who know their job, and do their work 365 days a year. If a mare is TRAINED, she comes out, does her job, and I don't care if she wants to be cranky in her stall!!!! I literally could not tell you when ANY of our mares are in season. 2) "Will this horse go out alone?" Again, training. If you buy a trail horse that has only been on the trail, chances are he has some bad habits. Our horses come out alone, go to our ring, which is a good distance away. They can NEVER be in front ~ ITS A CIRCLE, YOU CAN'T LEAD IN A CIRCLE! Other horses come up and work, other horses leave. TRAINING means the horse doesn't care. He isn't going to care on the trail if he is in front, in the rear, or gets left behind. And he will go out alone. We do periodically trail test our horses ~ AND WE HAVE NEVER HAD ONE THAT WASN'T GOOD ON THE TRAIL, FROM THE 4 YEAR OLDS ON UP! If they are broke in the ring, they will be broke on the trail!
Most of our horses fall into a specific TYPE, but that is like having a room full of 3rd graders and expecting them all to be alike. Some are further ahead, some have more talent one way or the other, and some are just smarter, or lazier, or more willing than others. We suggest you come out and try them. We can tell more once we see you ride, and get some feedback. Describing the fit of a horse to a rider by email or over the phone is nearly impossible because the terms are inexact. My all time favorite was the woman who emailed me about a half a dozen horses over the course of a few months. Each time she wanted a photo of the horse with a 12 year old boy on it! Now, first, I don't happen to have a 12 year old boy handy, nor do I know where to borrow one, but I don't think that reflects on the suitability of my horses! Second, I have seen some 12 year olds that can ride the sox off of a horse, (Tim Whitney won the National Stock Saddle Seat FINALS at 14, and he had been riding winning reining horses for years by that time.) while others have never SAT on a horse. Third, boys at 12 are all over the place in terms of their growth, co-ordination, development and maturity ~ go to any school and take a look ~ that age for boys is probably one of the WIDEST ranges in child development!!! We need to talk about your level of riding, what you want you want the horse to do. HOWEVER, we do have some success with matching horses and sending them, Although most of our buyers come and try horses out, we have had a lot of success with people who talk to us and tell us what they are looking for and we deliver or send the horse to them sight unseen. We have sold horses overseas, and to states as far away as Wisconson, Florida and Maine, and they have all been happy with what they received. Also, you will find that I can help you buy horses that have the traits you require but I hate to see people pay for talent and training they don't need. For example, we had a mare that is AQHA Western Pleasure finished. She will GO on the trail, she is kind and sweet for a beginner, but you are PAYING for that very slow lope and low, solid head carriage. If you fall in love, fine, but the price is the same whether you are going to USE all of her talent or not. We will always try to be honest with you if we think we have a less expensive horse that will meet your needs. If you fall in love and want to buy the more expensive one ~ fine, you have good taste, but we will never try to step you up into a more expensive horse than you need.
Trials ~ We are frequently asked if we do two-week trials on horses. We generally don't because we have good horses priced well and they sell well. We use most of our horses for lessons while they are here, which not only tests our horses' temperaments, but keeps our lesson program going. I am a small farm and I have my hard earned money tied up in them. If I start sending horses out on trials I end up with $10,000 or more out on trial that I can neither use for lessons nor sell. The cost of that high inventory would have to be passed on to all of my customers and I am not willing to do that. And it is a risk...not only can a horse be injured, he can also pick up some very bad habits in a very short time. Since the horse is good, we can get them back and get them corrected, but it does mean that I have to put in extra riding before the horse can be show to other customers. However, we consider trials, AT OUR DISCRETION, as follows:
Delivery ~ Due to the rapidly rising cost of fuel, delivery is available, but the rate is now $3.00 a mile. We are very sorry about the increase! To avoid disputes, we use Mapquest, which admittedly DOES make some mistakes. However, we feed your address and our address into the site, and everyone agrees to accept this third party figure on the mileage. So, if you want to know what the delivery charge would be, use the address where the horse is to be delivered, and our address of 30 Marshall Rd, Ruckersville, VA 22968. When you have the total number of miles for the trip, multiply by $3.00, and you will have the charges.
Old horses for young riders, old riders for young horses.
If you don't see what you are looking for, take a look at our "sold" page and get an idea of what we have sold in the past. If you see something you like, email us and we can keep an eye open for something similar in the future, and let you know when it comes along. |
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Copyright © 2003 Hidden Creek FarmThis site is updated several times a week, including whenever we add or sell a horse, or when we learn something new about a horse. We are constantly riding, trying, testing, showing and trail riding our horses so we know what they really are before we sell them. |
All of our horses have been trained classically (often called a horse
whispering technique, or
natural horsemanship). They have soft, educated mouths, will give to the
bridle, and the horses for more experienced riders respond to leg
and shift of weight. They all have a lot of steering and brakes and don't
fight the bridle. Many of them have low head carriage. Sometimes riders who are not used to this style of horse
have a little trouble feeling comfortable. They have trouble trusting and
riding on a loose rein, or they feel like the horse is trying to buck when the
head is down. But once you learn to ride a horse that
is well trained, no matter what you are using them for, you will LOVE them.
We want both you and the horse to be comfortable and to develop a rich
understanding of how to work as a team. We specialize in matching horses
to riders, and will be glad to give you lessons on your horse, or any horse you
have an interest in purchasing.
