Should I or am I Out of My Mind -to get a horse-

[dreamcatcherarabians]

perchie.girl :

Wow Dremcatcher. I have seen your horses and they are to drool for.

My last horse was half Arab half Standardbred. The only horse I ever raised from a foal.

Your injury is similar to one my rommate/caretaker suffered up at my house in the desert. She is recovering. One more surgery to realign some ligaments and she should be done. Non horse accident but just one of those freak things. Hang in there you will get better and better.

My Riding ending injury was snapping my ACL ligament falling off the mounting block steps while trying to get on my 17.1 hand Percheron baby girl (she was actually 8 at the time). She was soo sweet though while I was writhing around on the ground under her feet cussing a blue streak she just planted her feet and looked at me.... "Whachat doin down there Ma?"

This is the same mare that had previously bolted with me and dragged me about twenty feet (rope wrapped around a foot All my fault) before the harness broke. At 55 now I stick to driving a little and puttering... never did show much Takes way too much of everything out of me.

Thanks Perchie, I kind of like 'm too! I love to show and will show every chance I get, whether it's a back yard show or World Champs, I'm just competitive I guess. That's the thing that really killed me about getting hurt. The stallion I was showing the weekend before I got hurt was qualified for Nationals and had a very good shot at the Hunter Pleasure Futurity win (my trainer and I thought so anyhow). That injury knocked us right out of the show....BAM! no Nationals, no futurity nothing for the rest of the year. I can finally get a boot on my foot, HALLELUJAH! so will be giving it a go again in April. So things ARE getting better and better, it's just been a very long time. And especially for an injury that SHOULD have crushed bones and for some reason didn't break a single one, it seems like it's been forever some days.

So like I said, not to try and scare anyone off, but wierd stuff just does happen sometimes. And I think you should know the good and the potential for disaster when you get into something like horses. As someone said earlier, it's the horses that end up paying when we make bad choices.​

 

[Baymule]

ShadowRooster, what have you decided? I hope you keep your dream to own a horse. Learn all you can, then buy a good safe older horse that has been down the trail. They are out there. Just don't buy a colt or a 2-3 year old that is greener than you are. You are not out of your mind and you should have a horse. Let us know what you do and keep us informed. You can always come here for help when you hit a bump, and in horse ownership, there are many. Good luck to you.

 

[drdoolittle]

I think the first 2 people answering this post (ND and welsummerchicks) had very, very valid points---------and they are only trying to make sure you know ahead of time what you are getting into. I sure wish I had had advice from them before I got my first horses a few years ago-----I would not have rushed into it the way I did. I've loved, loved, loved horses since I was only 3 years old, and finally decided to get some at 40. It became a complete disaster, because I didn't take the time to volunteer at a boarding stable or horse rescue like I should have. Yes, I read everything I could get my hands on from the library and here online, but that's nothing compared to actual experience. Because I didn't know what I was doing, my favorite horse, a wonderful, sweet gelding named Charles ended up breaking his leg, and had to be put down. I did save a mare from starvation or going to the auction, and thankfully, a rescue near me agreed to take her and she's since been adopted by one of the workers there. There were so many mistakes made, from the area we decided to use for them (clay substrate), the size of their pen (way too small, although we do have a pasture we had planned to fence for them too), the farrier I chose (too hard to get ahold of and pin down), and choosing to buy horses that were 2-3 years old and not broke much at all. The biggest mistake was thinking that horse ownership in real life is like it is in the movies---it's not. Please, if you truly want a horse, do the right thing and listen to welsummerchicks and ND------spend a few months volunteering at a horse rescue or somewhere that boards horses, and get some riding lessons before you even start looking around at horses to buy. Yes, there are a lot of horses in need of homes, but they would be better off in the hands of someone who knows what they are doing.

 

[WIChookchick]

Quote:
Dr. Doolittle makes the exact points ND and Wels are trying to make.

You have time now, weekends, evenings, before your move. Volunteer at a therapeutic riding center, or a horse rescue. It will break your heart to see those horses come in.
BUT you can learn the hard lessons, the correct way. How to deal with a horse that has been through a very bad experience, and watch that horse come around to be a good and nice horse.
Also take a year and lease a horse at a boarding stable. It gives you the experience of caring for a horse and riding a horse, but if you cannot for whatever reason keep up the money or time.
You won't suddenly have to sell or rehome it.
My friend and client volunteered at a therapeutic riding place, and he had owned horses, shown them in his childhood, up to about college. It didn't prepare him for actual horse ownership. He bought a green broke pony for his
grandson, who had never been on a pony, he bought an orphaned MFT, and didn't feed him correctly (he is fed correctly now). And a year later ( I came into the picture about a month after this) he purchased two QH/Paints from a riding academy.He didn't try them out first or see how they rode, or see how they went out by themselves. He went off what the seller told him and pictures. One of the horses was actually dangerous to ride outside of a group or an arena. I found him a well broke gelding, who was a little bit of a hard keeper, but goes out alone, and anyone in his family can ride him. I have worked for him for a year and a half now.

I tell you this to tell you to educate yourself, to get hands on experience. To learn to take an experienced person with you to look at horses, to learn to ask the right questions about a horse. To know when a horse might be injured, or sick. To know how to rotate your pastures, how much to feed, how little to feed if need be. To know how to treat wounds, give shots, deal with flies, where and what to do with the piles of horse dung that will pile up. And what you have growing on your property that can be good and very bad for your horse.
All those little things you don't think about that can turn around and cost you money, time and make you not want to have a horse.
But having a friend that can help you, learning the ropes, and learning if horse ownership is something you can really deal with by leasing before buying. That is the smart and responsible thing to do.

I hope this helps. I try to educate people about horses, and my husband didn't know much about horses, and now 10 yrs later can drive a truck and trailer, care for our horses and knows what is beyond his scope.
I am still learning, we all learn. Little things, they add up and can help you to help people.

 

[perchie.girl]

Quote:
... The more I learn the More I find out I dont know. I have had horses now 43 years...

Of all that time I have only cared for my own horse on my own property for a total of 4 years. There are 39 years worth of education/experience I dont have....

 

[dreamcatcherarabians]

perchie.girl :

... The more I learn the More I find out I dont know. I have had horses now 43 years...

Of all that time I have only cared for my own horse on my own property for a total of 4 years. There are 39 years worth of education/experience I dont have....

There's the key to the whole thing right there. The more I know, the more I know I don't know, but I'm willing to learn and keep an open mind.​