Am I ready for a horse?

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Lexie6528

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Sorry if I’ve written this in the wrong area, I’m new to the forums thing XD
But anyways, I would like to know if I’m ready for a horse from others point of view. I’m 14 years old and have been riding for around 5 years. I can confidently walk trot canter gallop deal with problem horses and jumping courses of up to 90cm. I know a lot about horse care, being educated on all the main illnesses spotting lameness horse feed racking up grooming the list goes on. I currently have a mare on loan which was meant to be part but has turned into 7 days a week. She’s in DIY livery and her owner is very rarely down so I’m left to care for her on my own this including turning out mucking out changing her rugs doing her feed hay ect. She’s not the easiest horse and is very green in the school which were currently working on.
I’ve been loaning her for around 6 months but don’t like the boundaries which come with loaning and would much prefer my own. My parents are in a financial state where they could afford a horse and I have went through the costs of livery vet farrier feed etc and also shown some local yards to them.
The only downside is they are not horsey so would not be able to help but I have many horsey friends and an experienced trainer who could help me in choosing the right pony/horse.

thank you for reading this far, I would much appreciate any replies :)
 
Thanks for your replies, yeah I’m going to keep my loan for now as her owner is very critically ill which is why I’m doing her 7 days a week and I would feel too bad to leave her when she’s in this state.
Also the yard I would he looking at boarding at is where my trainer is based with her own pony so I would always have assistance from her in the case I needed it :)
 
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I’d be thinking does the livery yard hour planning to use have the option of full livery and can you afford it?

looking after a horse 7 days a week is a big commitment, especially when you will have exams coming up in a year or so, as well as (presumably) having to rely on parents for lifts.

I would say steer clear of “problem” horses. Whilst you may think you are experienced with them, they probably come in far worse a form than you’ve experienced to date. (When I was looking for my first horse I thought I would be fine with ones that said “not suitable for novice rider”. In hindsight I wasn’t, and it was a good job I ended up with a fairly amenable one.)
 
Thanks again, yeah I would be looking for a horse who is advertised as being suitable as a first horse, and me and my parents have came to the agreement that I bike or walk to the yard unless it’s raining or weekends. The yard I would be looking at is the same yard where my loan is so I know the people there, and we would be looking at DIY livery but the yard does offer part so if I became too much I would be able to go to part livery instead.
As for my loan currently we were also looking for a horse who hadn’t done much and wasn’t picture perfect so I could get a little more experience. She has taught me so much and also how to deal with rearing as I had experienced bucking in a riding school but she’s a big rearer which has taught me a lot more in that aspect :)
 
Go for it & good luck. You seem to have considered as much as you can . Things will always crop up that you haven’t dealt with before or even thought about but that happens to all of us.
 
You sound very sensible, thoughtful and well prepared but like the others I think you need to wait until the virus has passed to commit to buying. I'm sure the owner of your shared horse is extremely grateful and relived to have you stepping up when they are unable to look after it.

My parents weren't horsey either but still bought me my first pony 50 years ago, we both survived the experience although I probably did spend most of the first year being bucked off and chasing after her after she landed me on the floor.
 
Thank you, my parents have said they wouldn’t buy while this virus is still around and on top of that most yards wouldn’t accept new people while it’s still happening :)
 
You're never really ready, but I'd certainly wait until after the Corona situation has calmed down at least, both for your sake and that of any sellers/your trainer (it's a good idea to take them with you for viewings). ? please update if/when you get one of your own. And there's bonus points for pony pics of course....
 
Yeah thanks, will do I’m sure I won’t have my own for a while yet while waiting for this virus to go and also my search criteria!
it would be a please to show some photos ((;
 
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