Help getting a horse?!

[Celtic Hill]

Quote:
Just because someone was raised with horses doesn't mean they know anything. My mom was raised with horses, my grandmother lived on a farm where they had work horses and she worked them. My mom worked at the biggest tack shop on the east coast growing up. Can she handle horses? Yes. Could she teach me how to be a okay rider? yes, enough to get me around the ring safely, but it dosen't mean im riding.

Did your mom show "A" rated shows where skill is needed? Dose your freind show nbha, or just local fairs? Im sorry no teen age (or in their 20s) trainer is going to teach you much because they have not been around long enough to have the experience.

at this point I would tell you to get a mini, but even they have more issues the most big horses, because i don't belive you have the resources or knowledge to own a horse. I HATE when threads turn into this, BUT were all saying this not for you but for the horses.

 

[Chickerdoodle13]

Your friend is telling you breeds that would be good for a first horse, but there really is no "right" breed for a beginner horse. My first horse was a paint and she was really spooky when we bought her. A friend of mine used an arab mix as her first 4-H horse and it was a great horse. Some of my pther friends use thoroughbreds and depending on the personality, they can make wonderful beginner horses. Setting yourself to one color, breed, size, or gender horse will definitely limit out a lot of other really good horses. Last time we went horse shopping my dad ONLY wanted a gelding. We passed by a lot of good mares (I'm a mare person) just to find a decent gelding...and he was far from perfect.

Also, remember that every time you ride, work with, or even just hang around your horse you are training him/her. Just because you get a trained horse to begin with, doesn't mean it will always stay that way. Beginner horses can definitely be untrained or retrained in a not so good way. This is why Celtic Hill is saying it would be a good idea to find someone to train y ou how to RIDE, not just sit on the back of a horse and stay on. Once again I'll bring up the fact that 4-H is a great way to make contacts and find people willing to teach you. Just getting on a horse and telling it where to go can make a horse very lazy, stubborn, and disrespectful fairly quick. A lot of trail horses that are ridden by inexperienced people are the most stubborn things in the world. All they know/want to do is one thing and it is difficult to get them to do otherwise.

Even little things that you wouldn't really think is a problem can cause problems in the future. Things like letting a horse invade your space or rub it's head against you can definitely get you hurt. A lot of people treat their horses like pets and not horses and they end up with horses that are rude and will walk right over you. Your horse can certainly be your pet, but you need to also learn boundaries and how to keep up the respect between both of you. From my experience, horses constantly, constantly test you.

Since you have a while to wait until you can save up that money, I would definitely join a horse 4-H club and look for a good barn to take lessons at. Unless your friend has an extensive background in riding, I would not count on her to teach you very much other than to stay on and perhaps the very, very basics. However, if this is the case, you will never learn what to do if the horse isn't acting like an angel, or if the horse decides to rear, buck, etc. Even the best trained horses have their bad days and your friend will most likely not be able to teach you that even if she herself knows how to deal with the situation. She just hasn't had the teaching experience. A good trainer will teach you these things and much much more.

 

[Chickerdoodle13]

Just wanted to add:

For a well trained beginner horse, expect to pay somewhere between $2000 and $5000. Two thousand is actually very cheap around here for a well trained beginner, trail safe horse. My family has paid much more for less than that.

Every once in a while you might find a "gem in the rough" so to speak, but this is very rare. I've never come across a free or cheap horse that wasn't A) A two year old B) Not well trained or green broke or C) had some type of medical issue. I certainly speak from experience here, as we've had all three during the course of my lifetime. It would be better to spend the money on a good horse than regret it later on. This horse will be with you for a long time, so you want to make sure it is right for you. Remember, a bad horse experience early on can ruin horses for you for the rest of your life.

 

[cafarmgirl]

Quote:
Just something else to consider. I don't know where you are in CA but we grow hay in the central valley. Hay prices are heading through the roof already this season. I'm sure boarding cost's will rise accordingly.

I know it seems like there's a lot of negativity on this thread but the bottom line is if money is an issue, at all, then it's not the right time to buy a horse.

I got my first horse after I was out of school, married and working. He was a very healthy fellow, old ranch horse, but he did sand colic on me once, even with preventive care, and that cost me some big bucks and him a couple days in the equine hospital. It's just that things can turn ugly, and oh so expensive, with horses in the blink of an eye.

I hope you have some good guidance and whatever you end up doing it works out for you and you enjoy your horse experience.
(maybe just take some more time to think about the whole owning-my-own horse thing for a while!

)

 

[patandchickens]

Just as an aside -- I seriously contemplated getting a horse when I started grad school. (At this point I'd been riding for 14 years, done some teaching and training for pay, etc). The owner of the barn where I grew up riding offered me a horse I had worked with a bunch that last summer, for just meat price, partly to be nice but mostly because she was badly clubfooted and not really saleable. She could jump like a deer tho and was very fun.

So at this point, and I was in my early 20s and making an actual (if small) guaranteed salary, mind you, I looked around and found a couple of basically pasture-board situations within easy driving distance of the university, and tried to work out my living-expenses budget and all that. Since obviously I did *want* to get the horse, I was being as realistic-while-trying-to-pretend-objectivity as anyone else who does these things

My figures showed that I could afford to keep her... just. Like, *barely* just. Somewhat uncharacteristically <g> I decided I'd better pass.

And you know what? As it became clear over the next year or two, no WAY could I ever have afforded to own her. I was just being way too optimistic about my other expenses and about the various one-off costs of horse ownership. If I had bought her at that point I would have been behind on my rent in probably six months or less and would've been desperately trying to find someone to take her off my hands (easier in the 80s than now, but never easy for a horse with an obvious defect)

So it is a real good thing I did not buy her. Alas.

(Six years later, when I got my degree and got my first "real" [postdoc] job, I finally got to buy a horse of my own. By which time I *could*, barely, afford it. In the meantime, I spent grad school riding other peoples' horses, sometimes for pay but mostly for free BUT with the horses' owners paying for me to have lessons and clinics on them for better performances at the shows and horse trials they had me riding the horses in. And I learned far FAR FAR more than if my riding education had, to a large extent, ended after college

)

Pat

 

[flnatv]

I haven't read everyone of these posts, but I will put my 2cents in when it comes to horses, kids, people selling them.
Be VERY VERY VERY wary!!!
I purchased my first horse of my very own at the age of 35... had an experienced horse person with me as well... turns out once I got her home... she had been drugged and was unridable from that point on... ended up finding a rescue for her and even the lady who ran the rescue could not ride her. She was one that you could climb on, climb under, calm when eating, etc... but you could NOT "ride" her.

I ended up letting my daughter volunteer to work for a girl giving riding lessons. Learned everything we could from her and when we started looking for a horse for her... spent 6 months looking, test riding, etc... only to purchase a horse she had at the barn. We were determined to get an older gelding, turns out the best fit was a 2yo gelding that my daughter latched onto and was riding bareback... my daughter was 5 at the time. Their bond is one of the strongest I have seen!

Please, please take your time in locating the right horse that fits your and your personality. It may take a long time so don't rush it or it could turn into a nightmare.

Just some info from someone who has dealt with dirty horse sellers, calm horses that are unridable, and watching a true bonding relationship between owner and horse.

Good luck!

 

[flnatv]

Guess I looked over the finances... I haven't had much issues on monthly money.... feed, farrier, etc.
The big expenses come with the unexpected....
We boarded him across the street for about a year and he came down on a t-post.... 6inch long gash, 3 inches deep.... many stiches and lots of money.
He then tore his eyelid off.... don't know how... that was probably the most scary.
Lastly, we moved and I hired someone to put up poles and roof for the barn... they guy left the gate open, the horse got out, and was hit by a truck!!!! I am a very responsible owner, but not only did I have to pay for the horse, I had to pay for the truck.

THINK VERY SERIOUSLY about expenses... not just the everyday ones.

 

[Avalon1984]

Quote:
Hello Pat,

I read all your suggestions to this lady and I wanted to thank you for it as they are some of the best suggestions I have heard in a long time. For what it’s worth, here are my 2 ct’s. I own 6 horses which compile my small breeding operation and one pleasure horse for riding. Have been in the horse business for 12+ years. It makes me uneasy to think about people that still ask for free or cheap horses. It is unrealistic. Anybody that has put some serious work, love and quality care into a horse would not give it up for free. Yes, there are exceptions to the rule but I am finding that most of those horses, as previously said, are sick or untrained. The point you may not understand is how dangerous it can be to deal with a horse that is not well trained. It may be acting just fine on the ground but it may also act the complete opposite when you get on. I speak from experience. I have been thrown off at full speed by a draft, I have been kicked in the gut, head, leg, ran into a tree, I have been trampled in my back…the list goes on. It is just so important to emphasize that it does not take much to break the human body and all it takes is one instance. Let us all save you the experience of ending up in a wheelchair way too young after being thrown from / kicked by a horse. I would rather pay a lot of money (and $2,000 may not even get you there dear) to get a fully trained and healthy horse than to try and save money in the short run and pay later. Yes, things can happen with a well trained horse but your odds are one heck of a lot less compared to getting one that hasn’t received the same training. Rabbit diapers will not help if the horse colics, founders or has other health issues and I can speak from my area: vets do not do payment plans anymore. You cannot pay right away, your horse will not receive life saving care. And don’t think for a minute that vet care is cheap. If all were ever to go well, my horses cost me $2,000+ a year in care each. And I don’t board them but take care of them myself. I am out there every AM and PM and riding time has been rather scarce. And mind you, that is in case nothing ever goes wrong. Once you start having things go wrong it adds up very quickly. Your “income” calculation is cute and all but unrealistic. Take it from the people here that have real jobs and believe it or not, there are other things aside from your horse that will use up your money real quick: car, food, school, insurance, medication, gas for the car, etc. But since you seem to have everything so perfectly figured out you probably included all that 

I understand you may be very enthusiastic about this and obviously you choose to ignore the well meant ( the word is “realistic” not negative) comments from people here WHO ALREADY HAVE HORSES and who have been trying to explain to you the financial and time commitment that horses require so let me put it this way: those $2,000 will not even begin to pay for your hospital bill if you fall in love with this cheap horse that is so nice but just so happens to bolt when spooked and will run you into a tree. Not to mention what could happen if somebody else got hurt by your horse…better get good insurance: life and liability.

Purchasing a horse is the cheapest part of horse ownership!

 

[DuckLover179]

Will one of the mods please close this topic? Thanks!

 

[reliant601]

Also don't forget when a horse gets loose and cuts up there leg they won't be able to be ridden depending how bad the injury is and especially the vet costs and caring for the wound as well.

I've had this happen with one of the horses at my barn last week it wasn't too pretty.