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Buying a horse that's right for you.

111K views 219 replies 151 participants last post by  poncHo4321 
#1 ·
Okay, folks, I think it’s time we get realistic about buying horses and what you need to look for when you are buying.

FIRST AND FOREMOST, recognize your experience and ability for what it is. Take a scrutinizing look and quit lying to yourself. If you can semi-confidently w/t/c around an arena on a school horse, that does not mean that you are an experienced rider capable of taking on a green horse. You need to be looking for a finished horse that knows his job but needs a rider that can ask properly. That way, when you are riding correctly, he’ll do the job right and he’ll let you know when you are riding poorly by doing the job poorly.

Between the horse and rider, there needs to be a combined ability level of expert. What I mean by that is this, if you are completely new to riding, then you need a horse that has been everywhere, done everything, and has proven himself cool and calm in even the most exciting of situations. You need an old schoolmaster. As the rider’s ability and knowledge increases, they can safely begin to ride horses that are less than finished.

There is a good reason for the old saying “green+green= black and blue”. A new rider paired with a green horse will almost always end up with one or both of them hurt and/or ruined. If the horse knows nothing, then the rider better damn sure know what a good horse is and know how to create one.

Next, make a list of what you want and need in a horse. If you are wanting a good trail horse that you can relax on and gain some confidence with, then don’t take a second look at the reject barrel horse that is being sold because he flipped over backward and broke his last rider’s leg.

Make a list of the things that are a necessity, things that would be nice to have but aren’t a “must”, and things that will be avoided at all cost and stick to it.

Example:

Must haves: Neck reining, trail experience, arena experience, good stop, good leg yield, calm with crowds and large groups of other horses, okay with kids, clips, ties, loads, not spooky.

Nice but not necessity: Solid flying changes, consistent sidepass, patterned on barrels or poles, started in dressage/reining/cutting/jumping/etc.

Avoid at all cost: Cribbers, biters, kickers, buckers, buddy or barn sour, aggressive with other horses in turnout.

Stick to your list, no matter what, and don’t compromise. Don’t horse shop with your heart because your heart will fool you into thinking that you can handle something that you are not ready for. Don’t shop strictly for color, either. While there is nothing wrong with having a particular color in mind, don’t compromise on the conformation, temperament, training, or ability just to get the color. You’ll be much happier with a plain chestnut that has a great personality and is a proven winner than with a buckskin that bucks you off in the ring and bites when you try to pet him.

“But Sparky is so pretty, I’m sure I can help him to get over his problem with rearing”. No, you can’t and you’ll end up hurt if you try. Leave the beautiful Sparky for someone who has dealt with a rearing horse successfully before. The fact is, the first time you handle a horse with a particular problem like rearing or bucking or bolting, you need to have someone there who is experienced who can tell you what to do and give advice on what works and what doesn't.

If you are on your own and have never dealt with an aggressive horse or a horse with a serious and dangerous vice like bucking, bolting, or rearing, don’t bring one home with the hopes that you can figure it out as you go along. Even more importantly, don’t bring home a monster with the deluded idea that you can “cure” him with love and end up with a “majikal bond”. It doesn't work that way. The horse will get worse and you will get hurt.

“I want to get a young horse so that we can learn together”. That is the most naive and asinine idea that there ever was and someone will end up hurt. Young horses are completely unpredictable and unpredictability with an inexperienced rider or handler is always dangerous.

It happens all the time and I can currently think of at least 3 open threads about this exact thing and the stream of them seems to be never ending.
“I’m a beginner and I am trying to train my horse but they are doing <insert misbehavior here>. What do I do?”

I know that many people who know nothing about horses tend to jump in head first without checking to see how deep the water is and that’s why I’m writing this post, in hopes of maybe educating some people so that they can save themselves, and an innocent horse, a lot of trouble.

I enjoy books and movies like The Black Stallion, National Velvet, My Friend Flicka, and the like as much as anyone but I think it’s time we get realistic. Love doesn't train a horse. Nobody can take a horse that has behavioral issues like bucking, bolting, rearing, biting, kicking, charging, etc, etc, etc and re-train it to be a perfect, respectful companion with nothing but hugs and kisses and sugar cubes. It simply doesn't work that way.

9 times out of 10, that horse that you brought home because he was free or just really cheap will cost you much more money in the long run (between trainer costs and hospital/vet bills) than if you had just went ahead and spent a bit of cash on a well broke horse to begin with.

The most important rule that any potential horse buyer can follow is this: DO NOT buy a horse that is beyond your ability to handle and/or ride.

If you are a complete beginner, then you do not want to go buy, adopt, or take home the first horse you see that’s “pretty”, especially if it’s an unhandled yearling, or worse, a stud. A free horse is never free and if a young, pretty horse is being given away for free, then there is some reason for it. Normally, it's not a good one either.

Maybe the horse is unhandled, in which case it is certainly not suitable for a beginner; maybe the horse is lame or sick, in which case it is not suitable for a beginner because there are many things that come with caring for a lame or sick horse that a beginner doesn't know or understand and that could cause more suffering on the horse’s part.

More often than not, young horses that are green broke or advertised as “broke” are being given away for free or very small charge because they are dangerous or have serious vices or behavioral issues. None of those things are suitable for beginners.

Also, let me clarify one thing. Just because you have been taking lessons or riding broke horses for 5 or 10 or 20 years, that does not automatically qualify you to buy an untrained horse and train it yourself. There is a very big difference between being able to recognize/ride a made horse and being able to create one. A person should work their way up to working with untrained horses.

All children and beginners should start out with a horse very much like this one, very well trained and responsive but at the same time, docile and a bit lazy.


As a person gains experience and ‘feel’, then they can begin working their way up to green horses. The best way to do this is by working under a trainer or hiring a trainer to work with you.

I had been riding for about 10 years before I ever set foot on a horse that was less than finished. It was about 5 years after that when I successfully trained one from scratch (under the watchful eye of a professional trainer). I trained one other on my own a couple of years before that but I’ll be the first to admit that it was a mistake. I wasn't ready and the horse paid the price. Thankfully, I had the means to give him a forever home so he didn't end up on a killer truck.

I’ve been riding now for about 25 years and training (mostly my own horses until recently) for a little over 10 and I still don’t know how to handle certain things that come up with green horses: for instances like that, I still have my professional trainer to turn to. To believe that someone who had been riding a schoolmaster for 5 years would know when to push and when to back off on a greenie by themselves is ludicrous.

There are a great many things that simply cannot be taught over internet forums or chat rooms.

Will be continued in next post...too much text.
 
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#2 ·
Continued...

I guess, let me put this simply.

If you are new to horses or fairly inexperienced, these are horses that you should avoid at all cost:

· Unhandled
· Green Broke
· Studs, no matter how “un-stud-like” they are
· Weanlings or yearlings, especially if they are also unhandled or a stud
· Pretty much any horse under the age of 5. No matter how docile they seem to be, they are still young and often green
· Any horse with a serious vice like the following:
o Bucking
o Bolting
o Kicking
o Rearing
o Biting
o Pawing
o Charging

If you are looking for a good trail horse, don’t buy a show horse that has never been outside an arena. Its amazing how quickly a horse that is Dr. Jekyll in the arena can turn into Mr. Hyde when confronted with a horse-eating tree or, heaven forbid, a mud puddle.

That same train of thought goes the other way as well, if you are looking for a show horse, don’t buy a horse that’s never been ridden anywhere other than the trails. While trail horses are often very nice horses, 99% of the time, they simply aren’t show quality and you’ll end up disappointed that you never finish in the ribbons.

Don’t get discouraged, sometimes it takes a long time to find the right horse for you. I’ve known several people that spent over a year horse shopping just because the right one didn’t come along. If you think that you must have a horse right now, then you need to grow up. Demanding instant gratification is the trademark of a spoiled child and it doesn’t do anyone any good, especially the horse.

If something happens and you end up with a horse that you realize is far too much for you to safely handle without help, you have 2 options:

1) Get a trainer. Find a good trainer that can work with both you and the horse and, maybe someday, you’ll have a horse that you can trust.

2) Get out. If you are over your head and can’t afford a trainer, there aren’t any close to you, or you aren’t willing to pay for one, then you and that horse need to part ways ASAP. If there is something wrong in your relationship with your horse and you either don’t know what’s wrong or don’t know how to fix it, then more time together isn’t going to help.

For more information on these instances, see this thread…
http://www.horseforum.com/horse-training/playing-hero-when-stick-when-realize-50485/

Anyway, I think that’s about it…unless I think of something else or anyone else has something to add.
 
#5 · (Edited)
Amen!!

I was so lucky with Lacey. I shouldn't have been anywhere near an older, relatively green, out of work for years, anything when I got her and I totally did the whole "Poor Lacey! She's so pretty! I can fixez her!!" thing. It was a terrible choice. However, since she is such a good girl, she managed not to kill me while I learned how to train her. But we're pretty much in the luckiest 1% of relatively green horse/rider combinations.
I even had the audacity to think that I was experienced when I got her. Sure, I had been riding for 9 years and had helped retrain horses with a few mild issues and I did/do have a natural feel for what "the right thing" is in a given situation, but I had no idea how to handle a horse like Lacey. No idea.

On the plus side, because of her good nature, I am much more confident that I could take on a green horse and get it reasonably broke to be a trail horse. However, I'm still like a piano player that can play scales really really well but doesn't know any songs that are harder than "Chopsticks". I know nothing, I can just ride well.

I think that's another thing people forget - old does not mean broke or even calm. Lacey was 23 when I got her and she was too much AND she was pretty darn green for her age. She's pretty fully broke now but she'd still be too much for a real beginner (without me being around). An very confident advanced beginner could handle her by themselves but they'd have to be pretty darn tootin' confident and not do anything she disagreed with.

It's a wonder we're both still alive.



Wonderful post!!
 
#10 ·
Haha. Maybe I'll post it up in my stables billboard. :wink: Just like the beginners Mom and 11 year old daughter that are trying to get rid of their 3 year old that they couldn't handle and bought a 4 year old with 90 days under saddle instead.

Or on my forehead might work nice. For when people ask me why they have so many problems with their horses and why they are not dead broke. Or when they ask what I think about the 'pretty' barely ridable free horse for them just because its pretty. :lol:
 
#12 ·
Thanks guys, and thanks to whoever stickied it already (I'm assuming M2P?).

Wallaby, you are one of the lucky ones for sure. I think a large part of your success though is that you seem to have a natural feel that not too many are born with. You have no idea how happy it makes me to hear you talk about Lacey considering how it could have turned out.

Liz :hug:, thank you :D.

Sheza, give the little guy a bit of credit :wink:, he's only 5. One thing I liked about that horse is that he seemed to know when it was okay to speed up and when he made the decision that they were going plenty fast already.
 
#16 ·
SO glad this was stickied.
I would say about 60% of the horse people I know have horses that were aquired for the purpose of trail riding, but are now pasture pets because they bought a horse beyond their experience to be able to handle. It drives me bonkers. If you are a timid rider or a newbie, why did you buy that young green horse??
I know someone, honest truth, who got a yearling filly and would sit in the stall with her and send her loving vibes, thinking it would make her easy to train. This horse is now a dangerous 7 yr old that bites, rears, and is a general bully. And by the way, the horse is a MINIATURE.
You Cannot train with love alone.
Yet, in their defense, the aforementioned horses sure are pretty.
Excellent post, smrobs.
 
#17 ·
Beautifully put!

My very first horse was much like the dead broke you describe, lazy, and could be described as boring. (I loved him still though. he WAS a good horse for an 8 year old). Then when I was 13 I got my mare (my once in a life time horse). She was alot hotter than what I was used to. She'd never been ridden in her own 13 years of life (Atleast that's what I was told), She was a bit hard to handle, mainly because no one bothered to handle her, and needed a stud chain to control her, etc etc. As a 13 year old, I was probably in way over my head. Working with her every day, I finally managed to get her to be a good horse. Granted, for anything I couldn't handle, I had my father (a man that'd been working with horses for 40 or so years at that time) step in. After a year or so, maybe a little less, we took her to a fun show, and she did beautifully, we were in the ribbons in both of our classes. 3rd in equitation and 4th in pleasure.

I will be the first to admit that I honestly wouldn't want to repeat that experience, the top to bottom again if I had the chance to reverse it. She was originally too much horse for me, but with a bit of work, became the perfect horse for me. I will also admit, that my pariticular situation is *Far* from the norm, and should definitely be avoided. Now however, I am very confident I can handle a horse like her again on my own. (Note that we were both 13, the horse and I, and I am now 23, so that was over a decade ago.)
 
#19 ·
At the barn I recently started boarding there is a BEAUTIFUL Percheron mare.
The BO was telling me about her, and apparently she belongs to a young girl who had never before owned a horse.
The girl was told by an obviously misinformed person to buy the biggest horse she could find because they were the most gentle.
So, she went out and did just that, ending up with a 19.2 mare, way out of her league.

On a trail ride this past weekend, she fell off at the trot and cried the whole walk home(on foot.)
:roll:


The point of this post: Seek help from an EXPERIENCED person when buying a horse if you yourself aren't experienced!
Posted via Mobile Device
 
#21 ·
I agree with your post, but the people who need it are the people who aren't likely to see it - or to evaluate a horse when buying.

I got into horses at 50. If I had to do it over again, I'd hire a good trainer, have her watch me ride, then give her a budget and pay her to find a good horse. And that is tougher than it sounds, since A) a horse can be very different around one environment, or be like my mare, who is a sweetheart 9 times out of 10, but on that 10th time :shock::shock::shock:, and B) sellers lie. Not all sellers, but a lot.

Sometimes it isn't the seller's fault, in the sense that a horse might be great with an experienced rider and behave beautifully, but will take advantage of a new rider.

To make matters worse, you have horses like my gelding. With someone who has ridden a year or so, he's great. With a brand new rider AND me standing near watching, he keeps an ear on me and behaves according to my expectations. With a new rider and no one around, he administers a riding test - not violent, but he'll disobey and see if the new rider corrects him. If not, he'll then do what he wants.

So if I rode a horse in front of its owner, I NOW would check to see if it is paying attention to its owner. If he keeps an ear on the owner, then I'm probably not seeing the real horse.

Like most who take up riding and buy a horse as an adult, I didn't appreciate the complexities of a horse's personality - or owner's! Looking back, when someone is selling a horse that was used for endurance racing, then left unridden for a year, certain phrases jump out as warning signs: "racing" and "unridden".

And while it is possible to get a good horse who was "donated to charity", I'd add that to the list of things a beginner shouldn't want to hear. 3 of the 4 horses I've owned were donated to raise money for a charity, and 2 of those 3 have, WITH PROFESSIONAL TRAINING, turned into very good horses. Just remember to add $2000 in training to the asking price!

And the third? She's in my backyard now. The trainer we've worked with will be here in 30 minutes for a session of training me to train her. I still have soreness in my hip from a bolt/tumble 2.5 years ago. And I adore her. She is the horse that made me want to ride, and has forced me to take lessons, read books, pick people's brains, hire a trainer...she was one of the worst possible horses a beginner could buy. She is 10 now, and at our current rate...well, if I'm not killed or crippled, then we ought to have things worked out by the time she is 15.

And yet, when I was buying her, she behaved fine for my youngest daughter - who now refuses to ride her for any reason!

Like I said, if I had to do it over again, I'd hire a good trainer, have her watch me ride, then give her a budget and pay her to find a good horse. And then hope she was honest, and a little bit lucky.
 
#23 · (Edited)
smrobs, your new thread is so very much needed and I do so hope those who should read all of it do so. However, as someone else said those who need to read and learn from it are the least likely to read and learn from it.
I would, in this case like to be so very mistaken.

As you said there have been about 3 posters who have taken on horses beyond their level of experience or knowledge. Horses do not recognize us humans as such, but as two-legged animals. Horses do not know the concept of being pals or buddies liken to the dog-human relationships.

With my 58 years of experience with horses I have found I can still learn something new about them.
 
#25 ·
Bravo! Very well said. Well deserving of a sticky!!!!

I see entirely too many first time horse owners that have black stallion syndrome and jump in way over their heads. Here's a couple more thoughts to add...

-Don't buy a horse that the current owner isn't willing to ride first.

-Watching the RFD channel or a couple dvd's does not make a person qualified to train.

-the old adage "Don't look a gift horse in the mouth" only applies to things not horse!
Posted via Mobile Device
 
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