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Magazine Must Haves For The Novice Horseman

I just received my Horse & Rider magazine.  This is just one of my magazines that I read front to back.  There is an article in this issue that you, as a novice looking to buy a horse, MUST read!!  The article is “7 SIGNS YOU SHOULD WALK AWAY FROM A HORSE FOR SALE (OR SELLER)” by Bob Avila.

This article tells you what bad habits to look for.  The article goes into bad attitude, this would be cranky, rude or impatient.  It tells you about being barn sour and also about not respecting your space.  There is a small section of information about lameness.  There are also signs to look for in the seller.  This article is only 4 pages long, but it does give you information that you will need when you go to look for that dream horse.  READ IT!! & READ IT again!!

And when you are done with this article, read the one from Clinton Anderson on getting your foot shy horse  to let you handle those ticklish feet.  Oh and don’t miss YOUR HORSE YOUR LIFE for a few pointers.  There are some really good common sense things a novice horse owner may not know.  There are also on going articles on conformation, riding & horsemanship.  AND THIS IS JUST 1 ISSUE!!!

If you don’t have this magazine . . .  go out now & get it at your local bookstore, drug store or grocery store.  It is well worth your time and effort for this one.  This is just one MUST HAVE magazine for any novice.  It is just full of information.  There is also EQUUS.  I highly recommend this magazine for the latest in  horse health.  Practical Horseman & Dressage Today are outstanding magazines for the owner who leans more towards English riding.

These are the magazines that I subscribe to for the latest information in health, riding and horse related products.  Over the years, I have gotten an enormous amount of information from these magazines.  There have been articles on legislations that effect the horse world.  There have been articles on which hay may be better for your horse, oats vs sweet feed and which plants in your pasture are deadly to your horse.

If you don’t have a subscription for any of these, check out the MUST HAVE MAGAZINES in the right column of my blog.  Just click on the magazine that you would like to subscribe to.

Subscribe today, don’t miss another issue!

February 21, 2008 By Dara In Barn, Beginners, Blanket, Bridle, Clothes, Dressage, English, Horse Care, Horse Shows, Jumping, Lessons, Pasture, Riding, Saddle, Shoeing, Tack, Trailer, Trainers, Vets, Western No Comment

What Horse To Look For – Part 4

It’s been a few days.  Have you read up on the type of horse that is right for you?  I do hope you’ve spent some serious time on this subject.  You don’t want to go into horse ownership on just a whim.  To make it work out for both you & the horse, you have to be as prepared as possible.  So in all fairness, it’s time to talk about what a novice should not consider as their first horse.  That’s not to say you should never consider one of these next types, but maybe you should wait until you are a little more experienced.

I already talked about my #1 horse a novice should not consider.  That is the stallion.  I won’t go into stallions much more  than I did in my previous post.  Stallions need absolute distinct differences between what is breeding routines and normal everyday routines.  You need to be to the top dog . .  horse. . . with a stallion.  They need to respect you as the herd leader and you need to respect them for what they are.

My #2 horse a novice should not consider is a foal (weanling) or 1 year old.  But you say they are sooooo cute & irresistible.  Just remember foals are babies . . .  big babies . .  big babies growing bigger.  Their nutritional needs are more  than an older horse.  This will end up in a higher feed bill.  As with all babies, they take an enormous amount of time to raise and train properly.  They absolutely need to learn who the leader is.    If you don’t have the time EVERY DAY to spend with a foal/yearling, you are not doing yourself or the foal any good.  You have to teach these guys everything a good horse should know.  The only real discipline you can do with a baby is halter and if they are 1 year old maybe longe line.  You can’t ride them until they are closer to 2 years old.  Remember these are growing babies.  They need consistency and repetition, repetition, repetition.

The #3 horse is the unbroke or green broke horse.  I want to teach my horse myself you say.  Green horses need consistency in their training, which means either you or the trainer needs to do something with them at least 5 or 6 days a week.  Training a horse needs a steady hand that is also gentle and forgiving.  A cool temperament on the rider’s part is an absolute must.  If you can’t keep your cool when stressed, trying to train a green horse will be a disaster. If you are a novice, you are still learning.  It is better to get a horse that can teach you.

The last horse I’ll talk about would be one fresh off the race track.  These horses are trained for speed.  While they can make excellent horses, it will take a lot of just quiet riding time to retrain them for gaits other than running.  I would also watch for injuries to their legs.  I tell you this from experience.  My 1st horse was off the track.  While I knew of the injury to her legs that ended her race career, she had another leg problem that took a little time to show up.  I would definitely have a pre-purchase exam on an ex-racehorse.

This is my list of the top 4 horses not to consider if you are a novice.  You can buy one of these if your heart is set on a horse from one of these groups.  Just remember that you will probably need the help of a professional trainer not only for the horse but for you also.  You can make it work, just don’t expect miracles overnight.  Any of these will take a lot of time and even more patience.

February 17, 2008 By Dara In Beginners, Horse Care, Horse Shows, Lessons, Riding, Trainers No Comment

What Horse To Look For – Part 3

 

Let’s talk horse breeds.  There are soooo many breeds and color breeds to choose from it’s mind boggling to a novice.  Take your time, figure out what discipline you want to pursue (riding, jumping, halter, trail, etc).  While any breed of horse can do just about anything, I would suggest that you read up on the different breeds.  There are lots of books and magazines at the book store and on the web.  I could go on for a long time about the breeds but you should consider this more homework.  Choose a breed that will be best for your desired discipline.  An example would be if you wanted a miniature horse, your desired discipline shouldn’t be dressage or trail riding.  If you want to show in the quarter horse shows, you shouldn’t get a loud spotted paint.  Talk with your riding instructor or horse friends.  Talk with the people at the shows.  Unless you are smitten with a certain breed, picking a breed will probably be a tough task.   

 

Don’t just consider a pure bred.  There are lots of show circuits and fun shows that you don’t have to have a pure bred horse to show.  You don’t have to have a pure bred to ride the trails.  If showing in the breed show is not your cup of tea, you might even consider a grade horse.   What is a grade horse?  This is a horse that can’t be regisitered in a recongnized breed registery.  This could be a solid colored paint that the owner just didn’t want to register.  This can be a cross between 2 different breeds that don’t recognize the other in their registries.  This could be a pony breed that the pony just grew too tall.  There are a lot grade horses and all of them have the same potential as any pure bred horse. 

 

I will say right up front, I’m partial to the quarter horse.  This would include the Quarter horse & any breed that recognizes it for acceptable breeding.  Why you ask?  The only reason I can give you is this is what I grew up on.  I personally own a Quarter mare, a Paint mare and a Palomino gelding.  They are all mostly quarter horse in their breeding.  They are not a small horse nor are they too big.  I like their temperment and they are versatile.  With that said,  these qualities can be found in any breed.

 

You can have just as much enjoyment from your equine friend no matter what his breeding.  The key is picking the right horse for you.  Have you read my slogan? 

 

Success is not what horse you have . . .  but what you do with that horse.

February 6, 2008 By Dara In Beginners, Dressage, Horse Shows, Jumping, Lessons, Riding, Trainers, Western No Comment

What Horse To Look For – Part 2

 

I talked about the mature horse and their many good attributes for a novice owner in my last post.  Let’s talk about the next choice to be made.  This choice is a personal preference.  This choice is gender, whether to get a mare, gelding or stallion.

 

The first on my list for a novice of what not to buy would be a stallion.  Yes I know, they are so majestic and powerful.  You may be like me and grew up on Walter Farley’s "The Black Stallion" books.  I actually thought as a young girl that a stallion was my ultimate horse.  Well, I grew up and found out that stallions are hormones on 4 legs!  During breeding season, any mare in heat that comes within 500 ft of them is fair game.  Breeding season is as long as there are mares in heat.  In today’s world, that is all year long.  With breeders trying to get the 1st foal of the year as close to Jan 1 as possible, mares are artificially stimulated with lights in the barns starting as early as November.  Stallions are actively breeding from Februray through June or July.  When you throw in August & some of September, this is almost the entire year!  If you are a kind soul and have trouble with discpline, if you are hot headed, or if you are just a bit scared of horses in general, a stallion could be a dangerous animal.  I know I will hear from stallion owners that say they have the best mannered stallion in the world.  I will agree that I have come across some very outstanding stallions.  I still say a stallion is not a good candidate for a novice.

 

The actual 1st choice for most would be the gelding.  Geldings are castrated male horses.  They are, for the most part, even tempered.  Yes they have personalities and even they can have a bad day, but what creature doesn’t.  You will also run into some that are unruly and bad tempered, but that is true of even the mare or stallion.  Most geldings aren’t bothered by the mare’s heat cycle.  My experience with the geldings that I’ve owned is that they are looking for a playmate.  They don’t care if the buddy is a mare, stallion or gelding.  They are all about playing.  Life is good for them.

 

My personal preference is the mare.  My mares have all been sweet natured.  They learn fast and are always wanting to please.  They seem to handle each individual that rides them better.  (Remember in my About Me page, I told you my horses are school horses.)  They do have a down side.  They have a heat cycle every 28 or so days from spring to autumn.  Some, one of mine included, cycles all year long.  Some mares will tease anything in the pasture or stall next to them.  Some mares can get very witchy at this time, but then again so do some women.  You don’t have to breed your mare.  They are more than just a baby vessel.   

 

Like I said above, the gender question is purely a personal preference.  In my book, you can’t go wrong with either a mare or gelding.  The stallion, on the the other hand, is best left to the more experienced and the professional.

February 5, 2008 By Dara In Beginners No Comment

What Horse To Look For – Part 1

 

Have you done your homework?  Have you figured out your budget?  I truly hope you didn’t skip that assignment.  You are finding out that even if you have your own place, owning a horse is NOT CHEAP!  It’s better to find out the cost of horse ownership on the front end of this process.  You don’t want to find out in a couple of months that you have to sell your dream horse because you under estimated the cost of upkeep.  It is far more important for you to make your mortgage payment and feed your family. 

 

If you’ve found that your finances are in order and you can afford the maintenance of a horse, you are going to ask what horse is best for me?  For a novice owner, there are sooo many choices.  There are also some that you should steer away from for now.  I’m going to break this down into several posts.  This way I don’t have to try to condense the information too much.

 

In my Jan 9 2008 post, I suggested a mature horse.  By this I mean a horse that is an 8-15 year old, I would even go as far as a 20 year old for the right horse.  Why?  Because these guys have been around a bit.  They probably have years of training/riding and unless they are the nervous type, they are well out of that fidgety young horse mentality.  Beside this, there are a few other manners that they probably have learned with age.  They should have good ground manners, they have probably learned not to lean on the farrier, and they shouldn’t try to hurt the vet at shot time.  If the horse has been shown or was a ranch horse, it will probably load in a trailer easily.  I absolutely can’t emphasize enough just how much that is worth.

 

You want to find a horse that has a kind soft eye, not one that only shows the whites and has that wild scared look all of time.  You want a horse that stands quietly no matter if it is tied to a fence, on crossties or tied to your trailer.  You want a horse that respects you, your space and your authority.  You don’t need a horse that strikes at you, tries to walk over you, or challenges your leadership.  You want a horse that is reasonably trained.  While it doesn’t have to be a "push button" horse, it should be a well broke horse.  You want a horse that is healthy in both body & mind.  You and the horse should have mutual trust for each.  Without trust, you will never develop a rewarding relationship, you will never become a team.

 

Where do you find a horse like this?  Like in the post mentioned above, your riding instructor may know of a prospect.  Try your horse friends.  They may know a youth or amateur who has outgrown their current horse and is looking for more of a challenge.  Horse shows, especially the big breed shows, always have horses for sale.  Use caution here though.  You may find a good prospect.  But if the owner is from out of town, they may want to sell while at the show.  This could make it more difficult to test ride the horse a couple of times.  It would also make it very hard to get a pre-purchase exam (I’ll discuss this more later).  Working ranches will also have dispersal sales.  This would be a good place to pick a nice ranch horse.  This is also an instance where you need to be careful and taking a knowledgeable horse person with you would be best.  They could help steer you away from a horse that may not be right for you.  There are the classified ads in both the paper and on the internet.  And finally, there are the bulletin boards at feed stores, tack stores and livestock sales.

 

Remember what I said about being in too much of a hurry.  You don’t want your dream horse to turn out to be your worst nightmare.

February 1, 2008 By Dara In Beginners, Horse Shows, Lessons, Riding, Trailer, Trainers, Vets No Comment