Thinking about getting my first horse

[Livinzoo]

When I was 14 I went trail riding with a friend and her mom. After wards her mom was asking about a certain horse that was not in use. The stable owner said that that horse was too small for most adults but too much for most children. She looked at me and said that horse would be perfect for her. My friends mom than asked if it would be good for her daughter. The lady said no. LOL

I'll listen to your words of wisdom about getting a horse with more miles. But my heart is set on a draft. A smaller draft, but a draft. The hard part will be finding the one to fit my needs. I would also like to learn to plow with a horse.

 

[equine chick]

Good luck to you! Please let us see your horse when you have it. Please know we have your interest at heart.

 

[Kelly G]

Siggy plows happily for hours! He drags my arenas and the turnout pasture (about 2 acres). It's fun, good exercise, and he's doing one of the things he was bred to do. He also is a top-notch driving horse - he will go on and on happily trotting with his ears up.

Today we loaded him up (and Stanley) and trailered to a park close to our house and trail-rode all day. Siggy is always a hit whereve we go - he's a great embassador for our lesson program...he's always glad to meet people and he NEVER has a grumpy day. I love this silly horse...

...and I'll never be without a drafthorse!

 

[Kelly G]

PS....I purchased my drag from TSC last year. It was expensive, but well-worth it. I see a plow in their catalog. Good luck!

 

[twentynine]

If I might hazard an opinion here!

I took my butt whoopin a few weeks ago, concerning the purchase of a horse, since that time I have recieved a great deal of good advice here. Also, I have come to the conclussion that maybe I started off the wrong way, it will eventually be okay, but in the mean time it is going to be a whole lot of work.

Jan. 8th my wife and I purchased a 4 year old paint gelding. He is/was very docile, so that worked out for us. But we should have never ever bought a 4 year old horse---- why? Because we were inexperienced and a 4 year old horse is still in need of some serious training. Training I might add, that I am/was not experienced enough to provide. He is saddle broke, he is trained to rein, but he is rough to say the least. So instead of going out and enjoying the horse every day I have to think about how and what to teach him. Learning about horses in the total emersion method is for sure not the relaxed way to go about it.

I had to learn about horse feeding, and it is much more than simply throwing a bale of hay to him. Protien, fat, fiber, easy keeper, beet shredds, grain, sweet feed, mash, treats, water and on and on and on and on. I was forced to learn as best I could about these things OVER NIGHT. Still don't know much, but I know enough to keep myself from doing the horse harm. Thank Goodness Cody the horse is/was not prone to having problems.

I had to learn about horse feet, that just because they had four hooves doesn't nessecarily mean that all is well. Farriers-- the guys who come and trim the hooves, well they are truly as rare as hens teeth, and twice as hard to find.

Training, gosh, I don't even know where to start and stop, other than holy smokes, it never ever ends. And the big one, my first lesson--- you at least have to be slightly smarter than the horse inorder to train the horse. Sad to admit but Cody has proven a few times now that he is deffinitely ahead of me on the learning curve. But so far my motto "do no harm" has worked.

Saddle, bit and actually putting a leg over him. My head spins when I think about bits, snaffle, curb, egg but, broke, twisted wire, o-ring, curb strap, brow, headstall, reins, cinch, off billet, seat, handle.

Coggins, wolf teeth, vaccinations, worming. Got it all done and then come to the realization, that it is never done, like doing laundry, always something to do.

My opinion and advice to you--

Get yourself an older horse, something that has been around long enough for some one else to take all the corners off.

And before it is said---- I ain't got no idea how a draft horse would compare to the paint gelding I have. I only know is that it would have been much simpler if I would have been better prepaired and bought a horse that had more training. As it is we are both green (me and the horse), it is truly going to be a blessing if I get this horse trained without ingraining some bad habit into him or me ending up bleeding a little. But up to this point the horse is still docile and I am still walking.

 

[greenfamilyfarms]

We want one, too, but are waiting until we get our barn more suited to the needs of a horse.

 

[Chickerdoodle13]

We had a belgium mare a few years ago who was the sweetest thing. She wasn't all that large, but she did have terrible feet. We didn't have her long because we found out she had ringbone in her front leg and we could not ride her. Very sweet horse, and quite beautiful as well. I just caution you to check the feet! This goes for any horse, but drafts of any size especially. Larger drafts have hooves that seem to have a tendency to crack and dish out. This is not the case with all of them, but the few I have come in contact with have had some issues.

ETA: I'm not trying to discourage you at all from getting a draft. It's just that I've come close to making the mistake of buying a pricey horse with terrible feet. However, it's often the quality of the feet that mean the longevity of the horse. If you bring someone else along with you to talk with and give you second opinions when shopping for horses, one of you should be able to pick up any issues. Horse people can certainly be sneaky when it comes to selling an animal with an issue that they no longer want!

 

[Cara]

It can also be difficult to find a farrier to work with a draft in some areas.

 

[duckluck]

Quote:
Have to agree to disagree on this one: draft HORSES do eat quite a lot and are much more expensive in terms of farrier bills. In most places you will be lucky to find one at all who will service a draft horse. Draft PONIES, however, can be very inexpensive to feed...Fjords, Haflingers, Gypsy Vanners, etc as well as the cob breeds. I have owned both and can tell you that a draft horse can easily eat 1-2 bales of hay a day all by itself. My cobs, however, are easy keepers...they are not pony sized but are still considered a draft pony type. There are many in-betweens and I think something in between would be well suited to you, but you should definitely know the horse you are buying. A Dept of Ag auction might even have confiscated horses that they have little background on...here, the Dept. of Ag can enforce humane laws. You'd be better off applying to a rescue in this case, so you would have someone who has gotten familiar with the horse.

 

[duckluck]

Quote:
Yes, most drafts do have a tendency to dish out in their feet...this is true no matter the size of the animal because of the size of their feet. Their feet are often grown this way on purpose too, whether to fit a certain idea or type of shoe. They can pretty often be trimmed as a normal foot through the use of hoof mapping and natural trim technique, however, there are also certain problems that present themselves as dished/distorted hooves. Unless you are trained to recognize these, best to have any prospective purchases examined in a pre-purchase exam by a vet and possibly a farrier. Make sure you use a vet hired by you of your choice, not the one who works for the owner selling the horse!