I'm off to look at a 2 yr old Arabian next weekend.

Very excited but this is my first time buying a horse intended for riding.

(Tilly was on loan a year before I bought her and Fid just had to be a nice person on ground as she was a companion).

Anyone any idea of specifics to ask / look for?

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Oh super exciting! Really hope it goes well for you. :)

My personal list is kinda along these lines for young'uns. Kinda depends on the horse (is it wild in a field or has it been really well handled, etc) and on who is selling (breeder will know waaay more details about the dam and potentially the sire than someone who deals in youngstock), but just to give a vague idea.

- What level of handling have they have thus far? Have they had their vaccinations, feet trimmed, etc - and how have they been for all of these?

- If it's a 2yo that is relatively well handled rather than just from the field, then you can probably get a sense of whether they tie-up well, are happy lifting their feet up etc. Just get a feel for 'who' they are and how they deal with meeting people.

- Look at their natural foot balance and confo for basic issues like asymmetrical feet (one upright/or down at the heel, etc). Learned that lesson the hard way.

- What kind of career have their parents had? Did the dam work or is she a career broodie? (slightly pedantic but I like mares to prove that they can physically stand up to a ridden job before being given the 'tick' to produce foals)

- Watch them move - what you're looking for depends on your personal goals, here. But at the base of it just checking for soundness, balance, and asymmetries in movement. Again, this kinda depends on level of handling as raw 2yos that have just been chucked in a field and had minimal handling probably won't trot up in a straight line sensibly. If you can get a walk trot up, ace. Loose schooling (not sure how likely that will be for a 2yo unless it's a professional  yard) or loose in  field can be helpful but equally a lot of the time youngsters can be pretty lit up in this kind of scenario which doesn't necessarily give you a clear idea of their natural movement when not under the influence of adrenaline lmao. Obviously not looking for anything fancy or well-trained at 2, but you wanna know that it can move fluidly without discomfort.

I think... that's probably it? Never viewed anything younger than 3yo but have prepped yearlings for sale so 2yos are in the no-mans-land in between for me.  xD

Thank you, that was a detailed response and what i was lookingfor. Tried to reply previously but arm was achy.

This is him as a foal https://prnt.sc/affPG_-rJC8r

Breeder is selling. He leads, catches, stands for feet to be done. 

Dam.doesnt appear to have done anything.

Sire is ridden.

I'm looking for a happy hacker with a little jumping/dressage - 70cm max, prelim dressage.  Maybe some endurance. 

Tallah arrived on Monday - he settled in really well after a 4 hr journey. Today he cantered down to the gate when I arrived.  He's quiet and calm and already he and my 2 mares (who are in an adjacent paddock) are spending lots of time together. 

I'm over the moon with my new boy. I've made myself wait to let him have a few days before I spend time handling/grooming him but it's been hard.  I've given him some scratches and spent time in the field. 

https://i.imgur.com/n3NI3pn.jpg

https://i.imgur.com/u8HKmNi.jpg

https://i.imgur.com/hIv96RK.jpg

https://i.imgur.com/twbXbOC.jpg

(My friend is not an Arab lover, met him and saw an Arab for sale today and would have gone for it if she wouldn't end up divorced as she already has 3 horses).

Eek, I totally lost track of this but he is cute as heck!

Honestly, the horse world over here (esp. the dressage/sport world - speaking as someone who has mostly worked within that sphere) can be so prejudiced against Arabs, but I've worked with and ridden a few and they can be such lovely horses with such gorgeous movement (super intuitive and smart, too!), so I have no clue where that comes from.

He's absolutely gorgeous, enjoy him and please feel free to share as many photos as you fancy with us folk on HP ;)

What a stunner! Echoing Uta here: in Australia, arabs and coloured breeds are prejudiced against at higher levels also. I've never understood it 🤷‍♀️

My Anglo mare was a giraffe during all the dressage and hacking trials, but a firecracker during the SJ and XC trials. They are such gorgeous horses, I look forward to seeing more pics of him! X

I love Arabs! The ones I've experienced were also very friendly and huge people pleasers! My favorite horse at my lesson barn as a kid was an Arab gelding. He was so sweet and loved me! My riding instructor always told me he should have been mine. He's the reason why I have an upgrade breeding Arabs on here!

My very best advice for young ones is to go as slow as humanly possible. Just when you think youre going slow enough (in terms of training) go slower. In terms of reptition. Make the thing they just learned become SO boring that theyre literally dying to go to the next thing. I've made mistakes of going a little too quickly in the past. I just bred my first foal (hes 2 weeks old now!) and I'm vowing to myself to take it as slow as my ADHD brain can possibly comprehend! Easier said than done. I remind myself every day to make it boring for them (and just because it's boring to ME doesn't mean it's boring to them!) 

Also congratulations!! What fun to start with young ones :))