Should I look at buying a horse?

This is sort of an aimless question/rant, I kind of know I need to make the decision myself, but I'd like some advice anyway!

So I've started riding again. About a year ago I fell off and broke my arm and didn't ride for about a year. I had been leasing a three year old (not the horse I fell off) but I gave it back because the fall really knocked my confidence. Now I've started again, and I love it again. I'm currently taking lessons at a riding school but I'm actually getting pretty bored of it right now.

I'm in a Ladies group as all their other lessons are with children/teens I don't really want to do that. I'm just feeling a bit frustrated. The horses aren't great, dead to the leg and seat, they stop fine but that's just because they hate moving. They're well enough looked after but they are used for mainly kids and beginners and the instructors just say use a crop its the only way to get them moving, but I don't like doing that, and feel it kind of detracts from riding/learning if none of my aids work. Even if we were to work on it all lesson the horse would be exactly the same the next week. Besides the lesson isn't great, just a lot of pointless trotting around the arena, five or ten minutes of cantering, today we touched on leg yield but this was stuff I did 8 years ago and I'm starting to feel that $40 for this isn't quite what I want.

So I'm thinking about getting my own horse but I don't know if its a great idea. I'm 22, and to be honest I have no idea where I will be in a year. I'm in my last semester at university but want to do post-grad after this. I probably can scrape together the money for a horse and upkeep. Agistment is about $45 for a shared paddock at the school with some hay, or free on a friends property. Not sure which way I would go, because coming into winter the school has two indoor arenas, and is only like 2km from my house, where as the property is probably 15-20km and only has an outdoor arena. Either way, I am paying $40 now a week for lessons, and $40 a week for violin lessons, so I could probably do it.

I just don't know. I love riding and I kind of feel like I am throwing money down the drain right now for lessons, and I want to ride more, but I don't want to get a horse and have to move in six months and have difficulty keeping it. Plus, as we all know, it is a huge time sink. I'm just so sick of living life to these standards where we have to be responsible and save money and be careful and then years later you realise you never did what you wanted to do. I've always loved horses so much, it was all I did as a kid, and I'm good at it and it makes me happy.

I don't know, sorry, bit of a rant. What do you think? Should I consider buying a horse, or wait a little longer or what?

Have you considered a lease? You get more ride time, share the responsibility of the horse and you're not stuck with the horse if things get financially tight in the future.

Even a free lease, if you really want the full responsibility of care, might be a better choice. It's as if you own the horse, except you don't... so if things change, the horse goes back to his owner.

Yeah I have but leasing isn't popular in my area at all. In Australia we only tend to do free leases anyway (I find) but they seem to be quite uncommon outside of the major cities. If you do manage to find one its often with an untrained horse, and to be honest I'd rather spend the money than risk my safety.

The only reason I got my 3 year old on lease was because it was a lease with option to buy sort of deal, and from 500km away. But thanks! It's a good idea, if I could find one suitable I'd go for it.

Why do you hate riding with teens for lessons? I am 25 and I ride with a bunch of teens for lessons and one adult, as long as you are all on the same level you will still be getting a valuable lesson.

If I was you, I would not buy a horse right now. You have no idea where you are going and who know if you will even get a full time job after you graduate. There are too many "I don't knows". Have you talked to the person you take lessons from to see if they do any lease programs or if they know of anyone willing to lease?