How to Buy Your First Horse
Be sure the horse is healthy and well-suited to your purposes before purchasing him.
- Difficulty:
- Moderate
Instructions
Things You'll Need
- Books On Horsemanship
- Local Horse Magazines
- Prepurchase Exams
- Horse Brushes
- Horse Halters
- Horse Reins
- Horse Saddles
-
-
1
Determine your purpose for buying a horse. For example, do you want to jump or ride trails, ride for pleasure or for competition?
-
2
Choose the type of horse best suited for that purpose. For example, a racehorse may not adjust well to life on the trail.
-
3
Find a horse by visiting a horse breeder or local stable. Ask professional trainers for information on where to look for a horse. Examine ads in horse breeding and riding magazines.
-
4
Seek help from a professional trainer when selecting a horse.
-
5
Obtain a prepurchase exam from a veterinarian.
-
1
Tips & Warnings
Read a book on horsemanship to learn what to look for in a horse.
The only way to be sure the horse is healthy and fit for his intended use is to get a veterinary exam before you buy him.
Typical purchase costs vary greatly, depending on the horse's age and level of training. They can range from hundreds to thousands of dollars or even more.
Consider leasing a well-trained horse before buying your first horse.
Remember that keeping a horse is a luxury - you may pay up to $200 a month for a pasture situation and anywhere from $200 to $800 a month for boarding in an organized stable, depending on what's offered (feeding, cleaning, exercising, training).
Related Searches
Comments
-
Love this site.
-
Aug 08, 2006
Before you go off spending thousands of dollars buying a horse, especially for a child, consider leasing a horse for about 4 to 6 months. See how much time and money it takes to take care of a horse. Between boarding fees, veterinary care, farriers, and food, your looking at $2,500 for 4 months. That's not including if something serious happened to your horse, then you could be looking at thousands more! A serious injury, like a broken leg, a disease, blindness, or a strained, pulled, or torn ligament or muscle, could keep your horse lame for months, years or forever, and can cost up to $50,000 or more to fix. Any of these could be caused by just a tiny mistake, or landing wrong off a jump, or even not cleaning your horses stall or living area properly. -
Jul 16, 2006
I recommend a bomb-proof, quiet pony to start with. When you are looking at ads, check for things like: good to catch, shoe, box.This will tell you that the pony is good to catch from the field, get shod by the farrier and be very good at getting in a horse-box or trailer. Always try to ride the pony when you see it and ask for a trailer, which means that you can take the pony home for a week or so and decide if you want to buy.
-
Jun 30, 2006
I completely agree that you should not buy the first horse you see. Once you have some experience and know what to look for (in the way of temperament and conformation), then things change a little. For instance, I have owned horses for several years and have decided to trade. The very first horse I looked at turned out to be my dream horse! So, you never know. But, first time buyers should always bring along a knowledgeable horse person when looking, consider temperament over looks (or at least equal to looks if you are looking for a show horse) and look at the horse several times. Above all, never feel pressured by the seller when they say things like "I need a commitment now, someone is looking at this horse tonight and I can't hold him for you." If something is meant to be, it will happen. This "someone is coming tonight" is not always necessarily true either. Trust your gut. If anything makes you feel uncomfortable, do not buy the horse. You will congratulate yourself on your wise decision several months from now as you sit on your dream horse and enjoy a glorious canter across an open field.
-
Jun 30, 2006
It is mentioned previously above in the article that off track Thoroughbreds are unlikely to adjust to life on the trail, and in some sense this is very true. Off track Thoroughbreds may seem ideal because they are in peak physical condition when you buy them, and they are significantly cheaper and can be worth more than most horses, they are retired normally due to a mild injury, behavior, or little potential, and many go on to become wonderful pleasure and performance horses. That being said, life on the race track is a lot different. I recently bought a gelding directly from the race track. Before buying, I spent months attending clinics and researching race horses to add on to a decade of experience. First off, a racehorse is in a stall around 22 to 23 hours a day in an incredibly busy race stable, often times they do not adjust quickly to frequent, long turnout and quiet stables. A lot of times people think that they are doing their horses a favor letting them stretch their legs after their trip, but you must understand that these horses literally live to run. They hardly ever see turnout, chances are they'll be startled or take off and run straight into your electric fence. I'd suggest hand walking for a bit until the horse has calmed down. No grass for now, get them settled in and spend time with them. If they relax, then you can try letting them out (preferably in a small paddock or pasture) for a few minutes. Baby steps. A lot of people will immediately try and get their off track Thoroughbreds nice and fat - don't. They are currently eating three times more grain than the average horse, they are literally "high" and need some time to calm down. Cut their grain intake and add some hay. Try to adjust to their schedule for the first week and gradually switch to your feeding times. When your horse comes "down," then you can put them on a high fat diet. I also suggest some downtime before you jump into training (if you bought the horse literally from the race track). Gradually increase turnout, try to spend a few hours every day with him, take him on walks around the barn, even around the pastures/on trails, by hand of course. Don't worry about them getting too fat, they have seriously intense metabolisms. Often times they are given various drugs to get them hyped up, in fact it is unbelievably common, so they will need time to come down. Watch them closely during this period. It is possible for a horse to go anemic through withdrawal. However a loss of appetite may be evident, but normally it will all clear up. Cross-ties have never been introduced to race horses, in fact, lateral contact is something that will confuse them. They may dart back and forth trying to figure out what to do. Grooms normally have someone stand in front of the horse while they are being tacked. In addition, people mount race horses by getting a leg-up, rather than putting a foot into the stirrup. This is normally done with someone standing in front of the horse or while the horse is jogging off to the track. If someone is in front of the horse, the horse is taught to walk or trot off right after they move out of the way. Be prepared, and try using this method for a little while. Race horses will also not normally respond to pulling back on the reins when being exercised. A jockey does not use his/her legs (the stirrups being so short), they brace themselves using the reins. So while you're trotting around the ring trying to pull back to get them to slow, they are going to show you what they've learned and speed up. Naturally, since they are not used to leg pressure, they will not be too keen on lateral movements. It's best to reinforce this idea on the ground before getting in the saddle. Even more, they do not have the muscling needed to collect up. So please do not throw an English saddle on them (much heavier than a racing saddle) and force your horse onto the bit. They are also not balanced very well. I suggest a lot of ground pole work on the lunge with the saddle, general lunge line work, and a lot of uphill trotting, and maybe cantering, before you start with any collecting and frame-work. Many off track Thoroughbreds may have had injuries that prevent them from racing. However, the demands of racing are ten times that of other disciplines, and many can compete perfectly healthy at even three day eventing. You will notice that your off track Thoroughbred has nearly flawless ground manners. They are taught to stand for many veterinarians, trainers, other medical practitioners, and will behave incredibly nicely. My gelding is wonderful. He is gorgeous, intelligent, willing, and sane. and I got him for a very cheap price (below 2000 dollars). Off track Thoroughbreds are everywhere. You can adopt a very nice horse, buy it from other riders, and/or buy directly from the track. They can be used for a variety of uses. I personally event with my off track Thoroughbred, and he is wonderful. It takes a lot of work, but they truly are wonderful riding horses. I've met several who are used as 4-H horses, been trained to high performance in both western and English, and are ridden purely for pleasure and trail.
