Help with buying a horse

[riptides]

My wife has always used the term "bomb proof" with our horses.

You can imagine what that means as far as personality and tempermant.

-Mike Z.

 

[Jimbrown]

This horse is 5 years old. My wife got him when he was three. He has had extensive training by her and a professional trainer. There ain't noway I would get on him and noway a 10yr old could ride him. My wife has been riding since she was 10 or 12.

This one is 12 yrs old and I do ride him when i have too. He is a trained roper and cow horse. My vet bill this month for dogs and horses over $1500. Mostly for a rattlesnake bite. Anexperienced knowledgeble 10 or 12 yr old might be able to ride him. Someone who has never riden and has had no lessons would be in sever danger of life and limb.

 

[Toiyabe]

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.

Right on. Feral horses can stand out in the sun, rain and snow their whole lives without any shade or shelter, in harsher environments than MD. They also regularly go at least two days without water.

The BLM horse facility I pass every day on the way to work has at least 10 horses to the acre and no shade, no shelter, not even for the newborns who are occassionaly dropped straight out onto the snow-covered ground.

Not saying they don't appreciate space, shelter and fresh water, but they don't need to live at a Horsey Hilton.

 

[mwechtal]

We are thinking about buying a 3 month old filly. Beautiful animal 3/4 arabin 1/4 1/4 horse.

The Arabian part of her could make her quite a handfull. Especially at that age. Mixes do usually have a better temperment.

I would be carefull about ponys. Every one I've met, which admittedly is only about 5, have been quite nasty. Especially the Shetlands. Welch are a bit better, but they're shaped like a barrel, so the kids legs stick almost straight out. ;-) A lot of the experts do not recommend ponys for kids.

Shelter isn't a big deal to the horses. It may be to your neighbors though. My Quarter Horse used to stay out in all kinds of weather. The cows would be using the lean-to, but she would stay out in the snow. She would also stand under the barn eaves as the snow melted and dripped on her back. This would build up a nice thick layer of ice on her back. (I never said she was the brightest penny in the drawer.) The only time she went in there was in a real driving rain.

If you keep off roads while riding, you may be able to get away without shoes. It depends on the horse, frequency of riding, etc.

Mike

 

[Z-Michigan]

My Quarter Horse used to stay out in all kinds of weather. She would also stand under the barn eaves as the snow melted and dripped on her back. This would build up a nice thick layer of ice on her back. (I never said she was the brightest penny in the drawer.) The only time she went in there was in a real driving rain.

My wife used to have a brown horse that acted similarly. In a heavy, heavy snowstorm it would stick its head under the lean-to. So you'd have a white horse with a brown head.

 

[dmccarty]

How about just buying the grandkids riding lessons for a few months and see what happens? The lessons will be cheaper than keeping a horse.

My wife bought a horse. It was a great price for a good horse. It was her dream and she had been taking riding lessons and while I knew buying the horse was a mistake and said so, she bought it anyway. It was her dream.

It turned into a very expensive nightmare.

The long story short is that she only rode the horse a few times since we where trying to have kids. And we did. She could not ride while pregnent a afterwards there was no time.

The old stereotypes of the horse thief and horse traders are still valid in the 21st century. For example, one stable was having the horse's hoofs trimed to put stress on the horse's front legs to make it appear she was lame. They wanted to buy her for nothing. It costs us lots of money to "heal" the horse before we guessed what was happening. Nothing we could prove but once we got the horse away from that place she was fine.

Then we sold the horse for what it cost us to buy her but we spent a fortune in between the buying and the selling. I'll just leave out the tale on selling the horse...

Later,
Dan

 

[Z-Michigan]

And we have our own recent tale of woe on selling a horse. For every 10 normal horse people, there are probably 100 whacked out nutjobs. And 50 of those 100 will seem like nice and normal people until it's too late. Beware.

 

[elalexander]

Wow. Thanks for all of the "horse sense". What great information. We just got back from our meeting with the town officials and even with all of the undeveloped land behind us we are still in city limits and therefore cannot own any livestock We had to ask. Anyway, my sister boards her daughters mare in Rockville and she suggested we go to the stables nearby and work a few weekends and see if we like that. Jenny, my sister and Jesica work at the stables on weekend to help defray some of the cost of keeping their horse. Also, we can still go on trail rides etc and have all of the fun you horse owners get to have and we can do it without the cost of ownership. Plan C or D is to hit the lottery, buy a farm, get a new tractor, and get a horse or two

Thanks for all of the great experiences you each shared. 'preciat it.

 

[Spiveyman]

Ditto Ditto Ditto, as one who loves horses, please don't start with a young horse. There are plenty of horses 7, 8, 9 years old out there, who have perhaps been trail horses or something that would make great first horses. Keep in mind there are two lives at stake here (or more depending on who rides him/her). You don't want to endanger yourself or other riders for sure, but also keep in mind that you are shaping that horses life as well. If it is not properly broken and trained then you will not be happy with it, and when you try to sell it you'll have a hard time finding it a good home.

I'm not a sappy tree hugging animal rights activist or anything, but I truly love horses and always find it sad to see a horse that hasn't been properly taken care of. Also, I don't care for the 10 horses/acre plan. Sure they can survive, and not all breeds need the same space, but it's also sad to see a horse standing in a mud pit because the owners have more horses than land.

The money part, I bought my first "real" saddle on Ebay from someone who's ID was "horses8mymoney" I thought that was a joke, and it's funny, but it's real too. They get expensive and they need attention. That's another thing, one animal like that is not the best idea. Horses are pack animals and desire time with other like animals. Your horse will be happier if there's some other critter out there with it. They also desire time with you, LOTS of time. Don't underestimate the time and money commitment you are making when you buy a horse. Can I suggest that you pick up a copy of "Horses for Dummy's" I'm not saying you are a dummy, I read the book when I started out with them and it was a great place to learn the basics.

Also, pony's, not sure why they got such a bad rap. I'll include a picture of my three year old on Shorty, the best natured pony on the planet. We just gelded him so that the stalion will leave him alone, but you can find them with great dispositions. There's no way I'd endager my 3 year old, but look at that smile! I have experience with pony's, quarters, and a thoroughbred that can't handle the long races. They are cheap here in KY.

Good luck, and go for "bomb proof" on your first one. That phrase is used a lot out there. I have a buddy who raises saddle breds and he starts young banging things around, rattling sacks around them and such to get them used to strange sounds. They are pretty daggone solid, but no matter how experienced the horse, you never know on a trail when it will see something new and get spooked. It happens.

Here's some pics of the pony, me on the thoroughbred with my Billy Cook Wade Rancher, and a stalion Quarter nick named Buba.

 

[elalexander]

Thanks Spiveyman. After our meeting today we can't have a horse intown. I also was going to ask for some good books on horses and my wife jokingly suggested Horses for dummies...didn't know they had one. Are we somewhat upset, you bet. This has been in our dreams forever. To wake up and see "our" horses grazing on "our" land. However, we can still ride them and take our graaddauhghters to see them and when they get old enough they can even ride them. We had just thought with where we know live and so much undeveloped land behind us we could have a horse of our own. After reading some of the stories and vet bill nightmares it may be a good thing. God knows we love em though. Thanks for takin time to write me, EL.