Horse 101 questions for amatuer Buyer

Hello ladies and gents. I am getting setup to hopefully get a horse before the year is out. I have my shed setup and have to do the stable yard and pasture. I have been doing alot of thinking lately and went to ride some horses, some of which I was thinking about buying. One yesterday hadn't been ridden in 2 yrs said the owner. When we went to put the bridle on, it took us between 5-12 minutes. Got the saddle on and was some hesitation as well. I petted her real good and played with her a little for bout 30 minutes through the whole process and then some before I attempted to mount. When I did go to mount, she wasn't having it. She tried to avoid me and stuff and knew what I was attempting to do. We finally got her to let me mount her after the owner held her. He led her around in a circle for as much as she wanted to and after about 10-20 minutes I started riding her.

I was in the horse pasture and his other 3 horses were in there as well and it seemed as if the one I was riding , her mind were more on the other horses more so than anything. The other horses often followed us as well, or hung around. She to me needs some work definitely because she stopped alot and didnt want to advance without taking the reigns and tapping her hind quarters a little. She also tried to kick some and stuff while I was on her. She is a nice paint mare, about 12 yrs I believe but not sure I want to get her. I really want something that I can just get on once or twice a week and don't have to worry about all the attitudes and stuff lol. I have a few questions I will post in a few but just wanted to state some things here first. I was told yrs ago when I was acquiring about a horse that I needed to get something older that was more settled and wouldnt have to worry about all the moodiness and stuff.

My questions are:

Would any horse, no matter how old, have days where when they don't want to be ridden they will just act up out of the blue? I want to be able to say if I don't to ride during a 3 wk period, if I go to her I want to be able to saddle her up and stuff and not have to worry about her forgetting what I am attempting to do.

Should a well trained horse know and not forget the basic teachings of what you are attempting to do? I know they say you should talk to your horse and let them know what you are doing by sort of showing her with your hands and stuff.

That's all I can think of at the time but any pointers you guys want to share with me you can as well. I have been told alot of little pointers and things to keep in mind when messing with horses so I know a good bit of things, but I know I will learn much more when I get my own and have an oppurtunity to be around em everday and get used to her and her to me.

If you're looking for a horse you can just ride once in awhile without any hassle, I would say to cross off this mare.

All horses are going to have cranky days where they just don't feel like doing anything, but a well trained horse should get over that fairly quickly when the saddle is put on and he knows it's time to work. Saddling and bridling should not be an issue, they just may be a little more lazy for example.

It takes the right horse to be able to let it sit for awhile and then get on and act like you rode it yesterday. If it has a solid training foundation though, it should remember the basics like walk, stop, turn, etc.

If that's the type of horse you are looking for I agree that you should look for an older been there done that type of horse that doesn't need a lot of training upkeep.

it seems so many people today that are tring to sell horses often do shady things just to sell one like dope up the horse before you ride so it will be calm and when you get it home and such it acts up lol. One of my friends said that happened to a friend of his. I wonder if I can even find one at a reasonable price without it having some problems. I did talk to a guy that seems to have a good reputation and shows horses and stuff but he wanted 2500 for a nicen paint horse. My limit is would be about $700-800 max, and at that price I would want just that, a horse I can go to whenever it is and they act if I just rode em yesterday. I mean I don't mind a little bit of hesiation but not for it to seem as if the horse just aint feeling it at all and is green.

It depends where you are at. Some places you can get a pretty broke horse for 800 where others you can barely get a green broke colt.
Do you happen to have a trainer or experienced horse person you are working with? I like to bring a trainer or someone else along with me when looking at horses to make sure I don't fall in love and buy something not suited for me. They also tend to have connections and know of horses for sale or can notice suspicious behavior with a prospective horse.

my dad has worked with a guy back in his younger days that used to opwn them so he knows some and also have some an uncle who knows alot and has friends who are in clubs and stuff. So between my dad and uncle they pretty much know a good bit. My dad didnt go with me yesterday but he was there with me at the same guys house before and we rode some of his other horses. His other horses rode much , much better than the one yesterday but he doesn't want to sell those. I did ask him about one my dad rode the last time. It is the daughter of the one I rode yesterday. She rode pretty good and he said it was his wife, but I asked him to see if she would sell. He nor her don't really ride so she might as well lol.