Comments on: How to Get a Prepurchase Exam for a Horse

on 11/22/2005 -Don't ride your horse the first day give it time to get used to the arena or pasture. -Spend a few hours getting it settled in. (brushing,leading, and stall cleaning ext.)
-If the horse has a new name spend time petting the horse and saying it's name.

on 8/8/2006 I actually don't let my customers ride their new horse until they have interacted at the ground level and taken the horse on numerous hand-walks throughout a period of anywhere from 1-2 weeks. Sometimes even longer if it's a young, green horse that has perhaps never lived anywhere else besides where we bought them from. I want the bonding at the ground level to take place first, and I also don't want the horse to feel that all their new human has is expectations of what the horse can do for them (such as riding them) and have no interest in them otherwise. Once a horse has settled in, settled down and also begun to bond with their new human (and the pair develop a mutual respect for one another with the human in the leader spot), then the chances of anything negative occurring dissipate. Then the chances of positives occurring instead of negatives become greater.

on 1/30/2008 Dont be blinded by the horses color...grey is pretty but accompanied by melanomas; safety is paramount; if you cant afford a veterinary prepurchase exam, you cant afford a horse. The purchase price is minimal; the constant monthly board, feed, blacksmith, vet are the costs that will get you