Thursday, April 21, 2016

HOW TO FIND THE BEST HORSE FOR YOU!




It is very important to have the proper knowledge and/or guidance from an experienced equestrian when searching for your first horse. You may end up buying a horse for all the wrong reasons. Many people make the decision to purchase their first horse based on its good looks or the appeal of a cheaper price. While both the looks and price of the horse may be a contributing factor to your decision they should never be the ultimate reason you purchase a horse. 

The very first decision you need to make is what do you plan to do with the horse - what discipline do you plan to ride? Listed below are just a few of the many different things you can do with your horse. Many horses are very versatile and will be able to perform in many different disciplines. 


  • ·        Trail Riding
  • ·        Competitive Trail
  • ·        Endurance
  • ·        Competitive Showing
  • ·        Jumping
  • ·        Eventing
  • ·        Dressage
  • ·        Reining
  • ·        Rodeo
  • ·        Speed Events 


Because you are new to the equestrian sport and most likely new to your chosen discipline, it is very important for your first horse to be fairly experienced in what you plan to do. For example, if you are planning to competitively jump your horse, you do not want a horse who has never seen a jump before. This could end up with you and your horse getting seriously injured.  Let’s say you are looking for a horse that will be easy to ride on the trail.  You want to be sure your horse has experience first.  Many people assume that horses are easy to ride and you can just jump on, say “Giddy Up”, and ride on with no problems.  Trail Riding can actually be very scary for a horse who has never gone trail riding before. Horses can hear and see a lot better than we can.  Because of this, they are more likely to see or hear something they believe is scary and take off running before you even know what is going on.  Keep this in mind while searching for your new horse.

There are many websites that allow people to list their horse for sale.  With the advanced search options you are able to choose the breeds, age, gender, disciplines, distance and many more options which may be of interest to you.  This is a great way to see what types of horses are for sale in your area.  Here is a list of a few popular websites. 

·        www.dreamhorse.com
·        www.horsequest.com
·        www.equinenow.com
·        www.horsetopia.com
·        www.equine.com
 
I highly recommend using the advanced search options as they are a very helpful tool in narrowing down what type of horse you are looking for.  For example, if you just use the basic search options and choose a breed of horse and your state of residence, your search will bring up every Quarter Horse in the state of Missouri.  After you have narrowed your results, pick out 10 – 12 of your favorites from the information that is given on the advertisement and I would encourage you to call or email the contact person from each ad and ask them to give you some more information and ask them questions that may not have been answered from the advertisement.  I have put together a few sample questions below.

  • ·        How many years of experience does this horse have in ____ Discipline?
  • ·        Where did you purchase the horse? What is the background?
  • ·        Does this horse have any vices I should be aware of?

o   Stands quite for the fairer
o   Stands quite for the vet
o   Loads and unloads from the trailer
o   Can I clip the horse
o   Stands quite while being bathed
o   Is the horse sound?
o   Is the horse up to date on Coggins and Vaccinations? 

At this point you can rate each horse between a 1, being the worst and a 10, being the best based on all the information you now have.  After rating each horse pick out the top 5-6 horses.  These are the horses you will want to see in person.  Make sure to take an experienced equestrian along with you to help point out any potential problems these horses could have.  As you are scheduling your appointments with each person be sure to ask them to leave the horse unsaddled until you arrive to see the horse.  Many people end up with what can be called a “Cold Backed Horse”.  Typically this means the horse has an issue with being saddled and can become unstable.  This is a problem that can be fixed; however it is not something you need to try and handle with little experience.
Once you arrive, you and your experienced equestrian should look over the horse’s body condition - ask the horse to pick up each foot and take a look at it. Walk the horse around and watch his movements to make sure you don’t see a lameness.  If everything seems to be okay at this point you can ask the owner to saddle the horse and ride him around to demonstrate each gait and different maneuvers the horse knows.  It is also very important that you ask the owner to ride the horse first.  If the owner has a problem riding the horse for you normally the horse has an issue being ridden.  After the owner has ridden the horse and everything still seems okay it is time for your experienced equestrian to ride the horse.  I always suggest for this person to ride the horse next to learn how the horse responds to different ques and get an overall feel for the horse.  They will be able to help advise you if this horse has the right mind and temperament for what you are planning to do.  Now it is your turn to ride the horse! While you might not be able to tell if this horse is going to be perfect for what discipline you have chosen, you need to be sure that you and this horse will get along.  One of the most important factors of buying a new horse is that your personality will not clash with the horse’s personality.  You want to be sure that you and the horse like each other and will have a good bond.  

After riding and seeing each horse on your list you should now rate and narrow them down again.  You should pick the top 2-3 horses from the group.  For this group of horses it would be wise to schedule a time for a veterinarian to do a physical evaluation on each horse.  This way you can be sure the horse does not have any health issues.  If each horse ends up with a clean bill of health then it is time for you to pick your new horse.  If you are still not sure which horse you like the best you should schedule another day with the owner to visit and ride the horse again.  Then you should be ready to purchase your first horse!