Buyer's remorse is when you bought a bigger TV than will fit in your entertainment center. Not that big a deal. Horse buyer's remorse, on the other hand, takes the wind out of your sails faster than a summer hailstorm.
To not only find the right horse, but know before you get home that he's 14 years old instead of nine or cribs, you just need to do your homework and take your time. Read on for some veterans' tips on becoming a happy horse buyer.
On the hunt
NFR champion heeler Patrick Smith, who bought his first horse ("a plug") for $900, advises keeping your eye out at area ropings. If you see something you like, ask the owner if he'd be interested in selling or tell him to look you up when he does want to sell. Then keep your eye on the horse so you know where he ends up.
Be prepared to spend some time searching. Dennis Watkins, who roped at 19 NFRs and currently coaches ropers in Bakersfield, Calif., has been hunting a horse for four months for one customer. His client is on to something-it never hurts to get someone to look around or go with you that you trust and who knows what you need in a horse.
That's what you "need" to rope well-not "want" for appearances. Buy a horse that fits your style, Smith says, and then don't try to change him.
"Start small," Smith says, "You'll know when it's time to move up because you'll get to where you catch and your horse doesn't get you there fast enough. That's when you upgrade."
If you're just learning to rope and a horse gets you there before you're ready, you're bound to panic and start pulling on him. Then he gets scared and you're left with an aggravating domino effect.
"I don't care how pretty or cheap a horse is, he has to fit your style of roping," Watkins says. "I've gotten on horses I knew were excellent horses but they didn't fit my style."
Regardless of whether you like one to run further in there or rate off more, you need one that's not too broke, Watkins says, especially if you're a novice, because you want a little room for error. On the other hand, you need a horse broke enough that if your left hand drifts out (who does that?), your horse will respond when you bring it back in.
A rope horse will work better and last longer if he uses his hind end well, most pros agree. And a horse whose style is to leave the box flat instead of running with his head and front end elevated is a better bet. Also, a trend toward smaller head horses has come out of the fact that a shorter-strided horse can help you keep speed on your rope.
The reason tough heel horses are more plentiful than wicked head horses, Smith thinks, is because they just last longer. A head horse that can stand dead still, blow off the corner as hard as he can, and not duck will get asked for his life every time, where a heel horse can kind of coast out of there and turn in using a common pattern.
Seeing the whole picture
Watkins is always seeing his clients get hung up on a horse's price. Or his papers. Or his demeanor. Remember that a horse might be beautiful, but work like a pickle in the arena and vice versa. For starters, Watkins says, the price doesn't make the horse. If he fits you and his cost is realistic, that's a good purchase. He isn't saying you can't buy a $3,500 horse and turn him into a $15,000 horse-he's just saying don't try.
Neither should you let age be a limiting factor in your search. In J.D. Yates' opinion, a rope horse doesn't hit his prime until he's 13 or 14 years old. Look at the average age of NFR horses and you'll find it's the oldies but goodies that have the goods.
Papers aren't everything, either. Don't think Charles Pogue hasn't tried some of Scooter's relatives unsuccessfully.
"I go by the way a horse looks and then I get on him and go by the way he feels," says Watkins, who once fell for a gorgeous, catty Doc O'Lena gelding that could fly. Planning to make a world-beater on the heel end, Watkins finally cajoled the owner into selling and paid a good chunk of money for the horse. He camped on him for two years-then sold him as a mediocre head horse.
"He should have been way better than he was," Watkins says. "But that happens. And you can come across one you don't think is anything and he turns out to be real good."
If you're hunting a prospect, keep in mind that a horse doesn't mature until he's 5, Watkins says. Make sure he's had a job and learned to be a horse before you go to roping on him, and know that at the top level, it will take a good year or two of hauling before he's proven.
This from the guy who rode a 5-year-old at his first NFR in 1974. The colt he got for his 15th birthday went on to become an AQHA star.
"Usually it doesn't work very good," he says, "because they're going to make mistakes."
Ultimately, you should let breeding and looks take a backseat to how a horse feels to you and whether he responds when you ask him to pull off a steer or step in close, Watkins says.
