Buying Your First Horse
- By Paul Hegarty
Buying your first horse is an exciting adventure!
Whether some one is buying the horse for you or you
yourself have the money to buy a horse, you ought to
carefully consider several factors.
A horse is a big investment of time, money,
responsibility and commitment. A horse is not simply
a pet you can welcome into your home and abandon when
you go on holiday. Some one has to feed and care for
your horse every day.
From a very early age I was begging my parents for
horse riding lessons and soon there after for my very
own horse. Neither of my parents were enthusiastic to
pay for a horse. I continued with riding lessons
never giving up hope and dreams of one day having my
own horse. A number of years passed by and I received
a small inheritance that enabled me to fulfill my
dream. All I thought of was the big picture, a horse
in my back yard, any horse, just get me a horse!
I learned through some tough times that there is far
more to owning a horse than first meets the eye. I
have listed a number of questions that I have found
through the years to aid me in my decisions and thus
to not be so hasty and have regrets with my choice of
horse.
The first aspect to consider is why are you buying
the horse? "I love horses" is a great
answer, but it doesn't really help you select a
horse. Here are some questions to ask yourself:
What do you want to do with the horse? Do you want to
simply spend your days going on trail rides
(hacking/outrides)? Are you interested in competing
with your horse? If so are you interested in western
or English riding, jumping, dressage, eventing or
showing? A horse destined for trail riding could cost
far less than a horse who has the potential to be a
successful competition horse.
Do you want to have the horse for several years or
just a horse to learn with until you can afford
something better?
You also need to consider the age of the horse.
Thoroughbred horses are usually under the saddle at
age 2 and Warm bloods are started around 3 years. If
you buy a young horse it may have only had ground
work introduced such as lunging and long-reining, in
which case you would need to have someone back the
horse. That is to put the saddle and bridle on the
horse and work up to riding the horse and teaching it
to move forward. Are you experienced enough that you
would not need to pay someone to do this, or do you
know someone who would help you for free? The answers
will make your choice easier.
Your horse guide. Get information on buying, owning
and caring for your horse, learn about Buying a
Horse.
Paul Hegarty is the owner of learningfromdvds.com.
Price compare Educational DVDs, read reviews,
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