The "free" or "fixer upper" horse and newbies an expensive but common mistake.

Lol sounds like your learning what the phrase "horse poor" means all to well ;) got to love a story that turns out good :)

HB, I have to disagree with you on this. It greatly depends on owner and a horse.

NEVER look at a horse in the eye when looking to buy!! They will sucker you in everytime.

Almost every phone call I get about a horse misbehaving is from someone who bought outside their skill level. And a lot of them bought "pretty" instead of "dependable". People buy a horse thinking about what they are going to look like on it, unfortunately getting on it is a whole different ball game than imagining getting on it. I just went out to a ladies house who adopted an Arabian who is 8 and a QH who is 23 from a local rescue. She is leery about getting on the QH even. The Arabian is a wonderful horse BUT she does typical Arabian things. She snorts at new smells, she is very springy in her step, she is a little more go than whoa. But she is BEAUTIFUL and because she is so pretty this woman just had to have her. The horse once saddled continually refused to stand still...this is not uncommon for horses to do, it is a bad habit but it can be fixed. Now for a beginner a horse that is snorting around, whirling madly in circles the thought of getting on it is frightening. For me who rides a lot of horses, not so scary. This horse is just being an excited, not ridden enough, horse/brat. So I got up on her, rode her in the pasture, and the lady was thrilled to see the horse ridden. She just thought it was the cats meow. I evaluated the horse told her what to do with her. Told her the horse is a mover...even at a walk you feel like you are at a trot...I loved the horse but I also feel comfortable with moving at a faster pace than a beginner may. To make a long story short I was out there about a month ago...she still won't get on her and the lady is coming to swap her a more laid back horse.

Well, my mare is stubborn, spooky, and snorts...a lot, but she's being professionally trained ($$$), and well taken care of ($$$), spoiled beyond belief ($$$$$), and extremely well loved (priceless). She's loving her fellow herdmates and loves having room to run, and is being exercised and worked daily. She went from being scared of everything and everyone to learning trust and respect. She's got a long ways to go, but has come so far in such a short amount of time. It's been frustrating at times watching some of my friends just get up and ride or head out on trail and we can't go (yet), but I know we will eventually get there and time and patience are two things I have a lot of. Money...I wouldn't have done it if I couldn't afford it. I made sure to do my research well in advance and very thoroughly to better my budget and make sure I wasn't going to go outside my means. I'm glad I can afford the professional training! I noticed a difference in her after just a few days of her being worked with. I'm also glad I'm confident as she's done some things that would scare some newbys, but I am never over confident as she's still an animal with a mind of her own...

I'm not arguing it's untrue. I'm just saying it's not always true: there are exceptions out there. I'm not trying to encourage people to buy horses beyond their abilities (yes, I do think it's not smart), but for some (should I say very few?) people it still works out.

When I was younger, I bought outside my skill level. I was called to shoe and trim horses outside my skill level too. Well at times it wasn't pretty, and I made mistakes and got scraped up and bruised, but I think I'm a better horseman for it. You have to make mistakes and learn from them. Yes it's dangerous, and I Don't like seeing kids handling or riding horses they aren't ready for, but eventually you have to step up and take a challenge or else your skill level and knowledge will plateau. If I'd have only taken on gentle user-friendly horses, I would be good at handling and riding broke horses, but I'd also be one-dimensional.

True you do eventually move up. There is a trick to it though and I guess it does depend on your own personality. I have never been afraid to try something new AND if someone says "you can do that" I say "Oh watch me do it" ;) But alot of people aren't like that. Some people really enjoy the "thought" of horses and are disappointed in the "reality" of horses :( I like to see people enjoying their horses. I really hate when they spend most of their time on the other side of the fence, or worse getting bullied around. Cause if there is one thing I know about a horse...it is they KNOW when you are outclassed and they WILL exploit it whole-heartedly to their advantage. The "free" or "cheap" horse who is just a pity case that you take on just cause you feel sorry for it is a BIG gamble. Like another poster said...you end up having to get a good trainer ($$$$)...if it has anything abnormal going on healthwise you got vet bills ($$$$)...if they haven't taken care of its nutritional needs they probably didn't worry to much about having its feet done ($$$$)...that "free horse" can add up to costing more in the long run than just buying what you need straight up. A true money pit.

My horse is a rehab project who was going to slaughter, but after 30+ years in horses I saw the potential in him and thought he was worth the effort. I knew we could be in for a long, expensive, time consuming road. Cheap can be expensive if you can't train/retrain yourself.

I know a gal who got a rescue from a similar "rescue from slaughter" situation as her first horse. He put her in the hospital the first time she tried to get on him. She could use professional help, but it will probably cost double what she paid for the horse for a month's worth of training. And then you have the hospital bill, time missed at work, board for 8 months on a horse you can't ride...

It is tempting to "save" all these poor horses and goodness knows there are plenty out there. But for many it is worth spending a little more for a horse you can enjoy right away if you don't go into the situation of a fixer upper horse with wide open eyes and a lot of preparation.

I wonder how much the pepperoni guy has contributed to this problem of new riders/horse owners being completely overfaced........