Help with buying a horse

[elalexander]

We are thinking about buying a 3 month old filly. Beautiful animal 3/4 arabin 1/4 1/4 horse. Brown with a black mane and tail with a white blase on her forehead. Bad thing is I have to talk to the town mayor tomorrow. We have 3 acres boarded by 3 other people who own 6 acres above me 1.5 below me and over 25 behind me. My question is what do I or will I need for shelter, water, pasture etc. I know this won't just be a great big dog. Any help is welcome and our town ordinace may not allow it but in the past several others on the edge of town have been allowed to own horses. I know Timber and Dallas and many other's of you have horses. Vicki and me love them and seems that we may be able to get one . Our three granddaughters are going bonkers over pony rides. Each summer we take a trail ride but have never had to take care of one, let alone own one. Any input would be greatly appreciated.

 

[riptides]

We prefer two acres per horse.

Hope you have a good supply of hay and a dry place to store the hay.

Your going to need:
Shelter, food and water.
Both for your family and the horse.

A lean to should suffice for the horse. I have built many in my time from HD and Lowes. I prefer T1-11 and their basic metal roofs.

Hope you have a place to store hay, feed and horse equipment. Saddles, bridles, lunge lines, combs, brushes, picks.

A place to exercise the horse would be nice, a round pen perhaps.

Maybe get a cat too for mice protection in your storage area.

This can get expensive fast. Pretty soon your looking at more horses, trailers, tow vehicles, more land, less house, and a bigger barn!

Good luck.
-Mike Z.

 

[Dallas_Lilly]

We are thinking about buying a 3 month old filly. Beautiful animal 3/4 arabin 1/4 1/4 horse. Brown with a black mane and tail with a white blase on her forehead. Bad thing is I have to talk to the town mayor tomorrow. We have 3 acres boarded by 3 other people who own 6 acres above me 1.5 below me and over 25 behind me. My question is what do I or will I need for shelter, water, pasture etc. I know this won't just be a great big dog. Any help is welcome and our town ordinace may not allow it but in the past several others on the edge of town have been allowed to own horses. I know Timber and Dallas and many other's of you have horses. Vicki and me love them and seems that we may be able to get one . Our three granddaughters are going bonkers over pony rides. Each summer we take a trail ride but have never had to take care of one, let alone own one. Any input would be greatly appreciated.

Horses can be allot of fun but are almost always allot of work when taken care of properly. A 3 month old filly will be a tremendous amount of work. My suggestion to you would be to get a horse that is already broke to ride. Your grandaughters would enjoy a broke horse allot more. Even if somebody was to train this horse for the next three years and it was an excellent horse, a 3 year old horse still has some spunk to it and we be no good for green riders. Do yourself and your grandaughters a favor and get a broke horse that already has been through the paces. Green horses and little kids generally do not get along to well.

Food and shelter can vary from region to region. I do not have pasture here in arizona, nothing grows tall or green enough. I feed my horse pellets for the most part. The good thing about pellets is you can give them a consistant amount of food. Baled alphalpha you never know just how much you are feeding them. Shelter can be simple, just something to keep the dry and the wind from getting to them.
If you have any questions fire away.

 

[Soundguy]

Ditto what riptide said.

We keep hoprses and other livestock.

If your land dosn't have shade trees.. at least plan on building an 8x8 or 10x10 leanto with a tin roof.. and perhaps 1-3 sides boarded in.

You will need a water stock tank.. and either fill it dailey.. or have a float valve... a large animal will drink 5-10g of water a day.

If you can give it 2ac of grass, that's good.. in winter you will need hay.

You can get vvarious growth and exercise and generic sweet feeds at farm stores. For a single horse.. you may not need to keep alot at one time... We have multiple horses and animals.. so we usually buy a ton at the time, or more fromt he feed co-op to save money.. etc.

Check your zoneing.. if it is not A-1 or similar.. good luck on getting the variance.

An exercise pen can be made from moveable panel sections that cost about 80$ each and chain together for EZ movement so yuo don't kill a piece of your pasture... figure a minimum of 6 panels.. and preferably a panel with a ride-thru gate.. etc..


3mo.. I hope you know how to train them... green equine are hard to handle.

I'm working on a young mule right now that was never trained and was abused... he's strong, stubborn , and fearfull of humans. Progress is made very slowly as he regains trust, and learns skills..

Soundguy

We are thinking about buying a 3 month old filly. Beautiful animal 3/4 arabin 1/4 1/4 horse. Brown with a black mane and tail with a white blase on her forehead. Bad thing is I have to talk to the town mayor tomorrow. We have 3 acres boarded by 3 other people who own 6 acres above me 1.5 below me and over 25 behind me. My question is what do I or will I need for shelter, water, pasture etc. I know this won't just be a great big dog. Any help is welcome and our town ordinace may not allow it but in the past several others on the edge of town have been allowed to own horses. I know Timber and Dallas and many other's of you have horses. Vicki and me love them and seems that we may be able to get one . Our three granddaughters are going bonkers over pony rides. Each summer we take a trail ride but have never had to take care of one, let alone own one. Any input would be greatly appreciated.

 

[elalexander]

Thanks for the input. I don't know how to train/work with a horse...never had one. The co-worker saling this filly said just as Dallas did. He just don't have the time to work with it. My sister boards a horse down state and I know her vet bill ferrier bill, stable bill, and on and on adds up quickly. We are thinking that if we can get a varience we can have a horse and keep it here which will let us spend more time with it as well as save a few bucks each month. The Granddaughts saw this "baby horse" and fell in love with it. We kind of sort of thought it might be like letting them grow up with a puppy. Sounds like we are thinking wrong. After we go to town hall I'll let you know whats next. Again, thanks for the feedback.

 

[Z-Michigan]

I'm a bit late to the party but agree with the all the comments earlier. The last thing I would consider would be a 3mo baby for people who haven't owned AND trained horses before. You can pay a trainer to train it, but the cost will be enormous and likely substantially more than the increase in the horses's value. The best bet for a usable horse for beginners would probably be something at least 15 years old that has been ridden gently for most of its life. If it's 15 and healthy it will probably be expensive; want cheaper and it will either be older, which is OK, or not so healthy, which is not OK.

As others have noted, 2 acres per horse is pretty good pasture and should meet their summer food needs. I would probably do just 1 acre and plan to feed some hay all year so the pasture doesn't use up every last inch of your land. Horses are happy living outside, especially in a climate like MD, as long as they have some shelter. The lean-tos noted would be perfectly fine from the horse's perspective; problem is that ignorant neighbors or town officials might think it's a cheapo, inadequate way of doing things. You'll have to figure out if that's an issue. If it is, I would build a small horse barn with just one or two stalls and room for hay storage, and have the stalls open directly into pasture so it works (for the horse) as a run-in shed, but looks like a "real horse barn" to others.

 

[Soundguy]

I have a sugestion.

1, find a horse rescue, or talk to animal control.. Many times animals are taken away from abusive or neglectful owners and you can get them that way.

Also.. look into getting a pony.. or better yet.. mini horse / dwarf/.. etc. Something Class A. which is 36" max or less.

This provides for a 'dog' sized 'pet' horse for a growing child.

I've had a few mini equines ( still do ). they are a much easier keep on feed, hay, shelter, pasture maintenance, and slightly less on the farrier / vet bills.
Cheaper to buy.. and you can get one a few years old and already trained.. or just get a young one as a pet and no skills. Mini horse can be neat.. ours pulls a small cart/ drives really well.


Soundguy

 

[schmism]

my neighbor has been into horses for YEARS.... hes the resident horse dude that all the people in the area call on when they need advise.

He has told me more than once before of friends/people he has advised when they asked him about which/what kind of horse to buy.

Hes first and most serious point do NOT buy a horse under the age of 6 or so as your first horse.

3 month old that isnt broke is NOT the horse you want to get your feet wet on.

Id start with a nice calm 10 year old that is good with people and kids. after dealing with him/her for a bit then step up to a 2 year old.... then move to that 3 month old....

NOTE persionally dont have horses and never have, but the above is the advise my VERY EXPERIENCED neighbor has said over and over when telling me about various horse stories...

 

[tallyho8]

I agree with the others. Unexperienced riders, owners and trainers should get an old trained horse in good health. It is way to difficult to learn how to train horses and train horses at the same time.

A young horse is very dangerous to have around young children as it cavorts around the pasture and kids will quickly tire of a horse they are unable to ride or even safely pet or brush.

And, however much you figured it would cost you to keep that horse, double it!

 

[Jimbrown]

My vote. Absolutely do not buy a 3 month old colt with your experience. You will never train it. It most likely will become afraid of people or mean or both. For grandaughter/s you need and old well traind horse I would look for one at least 10 yrs old. Or a well trained pony. Even if you get the horse free you can expect it cost at least $200 a month by the time you lump everything you need together. I will bet that it has not been halter trained and lots of luck getting it into a trailer.