Am i ready to buy a horse

[horselover02345]

Sorry everyone, i forgot to put this in the thread, when i did my first horse riding lesson with my school it was in November 2013 and that included stable care, we did the horse riding at the same place again in February 2014, then in June 2014 i started at the place where i am now. When i was little i always wanted to be a vet and horses, cats, dogs and small rabbit like animals were my favourite, i would always find a chance to stroke one if i was at a relatives or a farm. I also do have a good experience with difficult horses, tuttie has found several oppotunities to try and buck me off, and another horse called Rosie is very difficult and fights with other horses.

 

[horselover02345]

you seem to have signed your post? Always be safe online!

the name at the end goes with the link, its not my names its the name of the horse

 

[Theocat]

OP, you shouldn't get a horse now, but you CAN start doing all the preparation for one. Can you work as a helper at your riding school? Many of us on here will have done all weekend, every weekend as helpers - it's a great way to learn if you're prepared to work hard and learn. Read as much as you can about horse care. Talk honestly to your parents about costs - show them some threads on here - so they know what to expect. Ask for pony camp / own-a-pony days for every birthday and Christmas.

If your current yard is an hour away, that's too far for daily visits - a closer yard might be easier for you to help at without putting your parents out too much.

 

[Luci07]

I think your attitude speaks volumes and I am really impressed at how you are approaching this.

I would echo trying to find either a closer yard where you could help or more courses. Right now, you will learn so much if you ride as many different horses as possible. When you do finally get your own horse, then you lose that and you really do learn so much riding a variety of horses. Slightly off field but is there an animal sanctuary you could help at to gain experience?

If your parents do decide they can afford a horse for you, then you would be best to keep it in livery with a good experienced yard. There is an option known as working livery whereby you pay a lower fee but the riding school would have use of your pony on X days a week.

I never joined the pony club..perhaps someone else on here can advise on if it is any use for a non pony owning child.

Good luck OP. With your attitude and thoughtfulness, you will certainly own your own horse at some point and will be a good owner.

 

[rachk89]

No you aren't ready because you are basing your decision on what colour the horse should be as a criteria. There are others on here that do that but they are older and know what they are looking for so can do that. You are 12 and have less than 2 years of experience with horses. You could end up picking a bay horse because it looks prettier than a grey and end up in hospital.

Continue with lessons do the own a pony for a day or week thing and loan eventually. Do not go into the horse buying scene with a specific colour in mind until you know what you are doing. You can afford to be picky then currently you can't and you need that safe schoolmaster type even if it is the grey colour you hate. It also doesn't bode well that you don't like the effort involved in keeping a grey horse clean. Horses are hard work and I think you should loan one until you realise that.

What would you do if it went lame for months and you need to change bandages every day for months and you can't ride or afford lessons as well as the livery? It could easily happen even with a schoolmaster.

Not trying to be nasty just want you to see the reality of the situation. I have had almost 2 months of where I couldn't ride my horse and I have only had him 6 months. Is that a prospect you are fine to face? Are your parents ok with the vet bills and the extra cost of care for the horse while you aren't there? The stable would need to be cleaned during the day while you aren't there so you would need to pay for that. It all adds up my livery bills while he was lame were hell.

 

[horselover02345]

[QUOTE
If your current yard is an hour away, that's too far for daily visits - a closer yard might be easier for you to help at without putting your parents out too much.[/QUOTE]

Its either that or a 2 hour journey, it isnt that far its 2 buses away and i usually get there on a Saturday way to early so i do help with grooming and mucking out stalls, traffic on the way there can be bad as its rush hour but the bus has its own lane so its quicker.

 

[horselover02345]

No you aren't ready because you are basing your decision on what colour the horse should be as a criteria. There are others on here that do that but they are older and know what they are looking for so can do that. You are 12 and have less than 2 years of experience with horses. You could end up picking a bay horse because it looks prettier than a grey and end up in hospital.

Continue with lessons do the own a pony for a day or week thing and loan eventually. Do not go into the horse buying scene with a specific colour in mind until you know what you are doing. You can afford to be picky then currently you can't and you need that safe schoolmaster type even if it is the grey colour you hate. It also doesn't bode well that you don't like the effort involved in keeping a grey horse clean. Horses are hard work and I think you should loan one until you realise that.

What would you do if it went lame for months and you need to change bandages every day for months and you can't ride or afford lessons as well as the livery? It could easily happen even with a schoolmaster.

Not trying to be nasty just want you to see the reality of the situation. I have had almost 2 months of where I couldn't ride my horse and I have only had him 6 months. Is that a prospect you are fine to face? Are your parents ok with the vet bills and the extra cost of care for the horse while you aren't there? The stable would need to be cleaned during the day while you aren't there so you would need to pay for that. It all adds up my livery bills while he was lame were hell.

I don't want a horse just for riding! If i have a fall and cant ride i am willing to not ride for however long, as long as i get to work with them. If my dad doesnt book the horse riding one week and i don't go i will run around the house like a horse or read horses books (withdrawal symptoms XD)

Also im not against greys, infact i greys are actually my favourite colour horses also yes grey horses can be hard to groom.
I did say in the thread that i dont have the money yet but when my parent can afford to buy and care for a horse that i would consider buying one. I have looked up horses on horsemart especially schoolmasters.

 

[rachk89]

I don't want a horse just for riding! If i have a fall and cant ride willing to not ride for however long, as long as i get to work with them. If my dad doesnt book the horse riding one week and i don't go i will run around the house like a horse or read horses books (withdrawal symptoms XD)

Also im not against greys, infact i greys are actually my favourite colour horses also yes grey horses can be hard to groom.
I did say in the thread that i dont have the money yet but when my parent can afford to buy and care for a horse that i would consider buying one. I have looked up horses on horsemart especially schoolmasters.

Be prepared for the lovely little extras horses can throw at you cost wise like destroying rugs for no reason. I am on new rug #10 now I think in 3 months which is roughly £500 as I try to buy cheap ones but can't all the time.

If you do get a grey make sure it enjoys baths. Mine doesn't and so stays orange a lot of the time. He is getting his face cleaned tomorrow though whether he likes it or not.

 

[Irish gal]

I do think you are ready horselover, because I can tell that you want to spend all your time with the pony and you will learn as you go, especially with the guidance of a good yard owner where the pony will be living.

I'm afraid your big problem is going to be more of a practical one. You must be in a very big city like London if the nearest yard is that far away. This is a bit of a nightmare scenario pony-wise as you will have to have him on full livery which will cost a fortune. Then there's the problem that it will be hard to get to see him every day as it's so far away from you. Are you absolutely certain that there is no other yard that would do livery closer to you? There are yards that are not riding schools. Do some google searches (type in livery and the name of your area) and ask someone who keeps their horse on livery at the yard you go to, one of the grown up liveries there will surely know.

I do sympathise as I was very like you at your age. I got my first pony at 12 after years of campaigning for one and convincing my parents. To raise the money I ran raffles (bet my neighbours were sick of opening their doors to find me selling tickets!!) But I was dead lucky as although I grew up in a city there was a cattle mart across the road with fields that I was able to rent - and all of this allowed my dream to come true. My father paid £100/year to keep the pony there - a fantastic bargain so I was really lucky.

Where there is a will there is a way! For now keep on doing what you are doing and learning all that you can. Talk to the liveries at the school and find out how they manage, ask them about getting a share and to let you know if they hear of one. I have no doubt that as such a committed horse lover you will definitely find a way to make it happen, it will simply take time and devotion like all worthwhile endeavours. Good luck with it!

 

[Joanne_Stockport]

It's great that you are thinking about getting your own horse but you need to gain more experience before !

It is completely different to have your own horse then to have a riding lesson once a week.
You will need to be able to commit (and your parents as you are minor) a lot of time, effort and money.
Most horse needs to be ridden regularly (more than once a week) think more like 3-5 times a week.
Are your parents willing to spend that much time travelling to the yard for you?

Part livery and full livery are also very expensive, are your parents willing to commit to pay a big chunk of their earning just to pay for your horse?
(not to forget, riding lessons/insurance/vet/dentist/ farrier, etc.)
Are you able to recognise if a horse is ill or lame?
How are you going to deal with that?
Who is going to schedule all the vet ,dentist, farrier appointments?
You should also try to learn about feed.

It sounds like you are only been riding in an arena?
You need to gain more experience going out hacking.
If you have only been riding while have a lesson, you need to gain experience riding on your own.
I would suggest you part loan first, that will give you an idea on the amount of commitment you will need for your own horse.
It will also give you the opportunity to ride on your own and go out hacking.

You still have plenty of time to get your own horse (I got my first horse at 45 years old) !

 

[EQUIDAE]

[QUOTE
If your current yard is an hour away, that's too far for daily visits - a closer yard might be easier for you to help at without putting your parents out too much.

Its either that or a 2 hour journey, it isnt that far its 2 buses away and i usually get there on a Saturday way to early so i do help with grooming and mucking out stalls, traffic on the way there can be bad as its rush hour but the bus has its own lane so its quicker.[/QUOTE]

Do be aware that if your horse is on DIY you will need to visit twice a day.

 

[gnubee]

I think you need experience riding more of a range of horses first before you get your own, leaving aside the other potential issues. At the moment it sounds like you only really know 2 horses which doesn't give you a lot to go on when deciding what you want in your own horse. It also doesn't leave you very well equipped to deal with the personality changes one horse can go through as it gets fitter, does less work (particularly an issue when buying one from a riding school), or even as the seasons change. In getting your own horse you also realistically put a limit on your ability to build experience with a range of horses. Rather than looking at not having your own horse as a problem, try to treat it as an oportunity to learn to. Ride everything. Talk to your instructor about which school horses would be appropriate for your experience level and learn how to ride them well. Find out which horses they use to teach beginners to jump and get used to riding those in the flat so you are ready when the time comes. If more people ensured they had taken everything they could from a riding school environment before buying their own there would be a lot fewer unhappy owners around who have chosen themselves a horse they can't handle or don't enjoy.

 

[horselover02345]

I think you need experience riding more of a range of horses first before you get your own, leaving aside the other potential issues. At the moment it sounds like you only really know 2 horses which doesn't give you a lot to go on when deciding what you want in your own horse. It also doesn't leave you very well equipped to deal with the personality changes one horse can go through as it gets fitter, does less work (particularly an issue when buying one from a riding school), or even as the seasons change. In getting your own horse you also realistically put a limit on your ability to build experience with a range of horses. Rather than looking at not having your own horse as a problem, try to treat it as an oportunity to learn to. Ride everything. Talk to your instructor about which school horses would be appropriate for your experience level and learn how to ride them well. Find out which horses they use to teach beginners to jump and get used to riding those in the flat so you are ready when the time comes. If more people ensured they had taken everything they could from a riding school environment before buying their own there would be a lot fewer unhappy owners around who have chosen themselves a horse they can't handle or don't enjoy.

I know quite a few of the horses except my main riding horses are the 2 i mentioned as the other ones are poorly behaved and you never get anything done in the lesson because they mess around. I have ridden around 8 of the horses(others are for staff or too big for me), most of these horses besides Tuttie, and Alice and another horse called Morgan, are a bit iffy and usually have a off day. The stables also got some new horses which are a good size for me but they need to be trained a bit, the old owner said that all of the horses beside the shetlands are not aloud to jump due to a risk of injury so i can either learn to jump on a kind of green horse or a cob pony who is around the same size as alice. I have helped out at the stables on wednesday and today (saturday), they gave me a free ride on rosie, who is a bit wild.
Here are some of the horses, im not riding them.

https://scontent-lhr3-1.xx.fbcdn.ne...=76e3fb82edd24012d0957ea173e2e4f2&oe=570A8EF6
From far left to right: Tuttie, Satty,(i forgot its name),morgan,ruby,layla, willow, bentley

https://scontent-lhr3-1.xx.fbcdn.ne...=30805a457c83d630fbc4129a276f0d48&oe=57082253
From Far left to right: Willow, Tilt, Alice, pebbles, Rosie

 

[concorde]

Horse lover, you sound very keen but you need some basic facts so you can help your parents to decide if they can afford to fund a horse for you.

Do your current yard offer livery ?
How much do they charge for full livery ?
Do they do DIY livery , and how much do they charge ?
If you had a horse on DIY livery would your parents be willing to take you to the yard twice a day to care for the horse ? ( yes , that's everyday unless you pay someone else to do it )
Present those facts to your parents and see what they say.
Meanwhile get as much experience as you can.

 

[rachk89]

I know quite a few of the horses except my main riding horses are the 2 i mentioned as the other ones are poorly behaved and you never get anything done in the lesson because they mess around. I have ridden around 8 of the horses(others are for staff or too big for me), most of these horses besides Tuttie, and Alice and another horse called Morgan, are a bit iffy and usually have a off day. The stables also got some new horses which are a good size for me but they need to be trained a bit, the old owner said that all of the horses beside the shetlands are not aloud to jump due to a risk of injury so i can either learn to jump on a kind of green horse or a cob pony who is around the same size as alice. I have helped out at the stables on wednesday and today (saturday), they gave me a free ride on rosie, who is a bit wild.
Here are some of the horses, im not riding them.

https://scontent-lhr3-1.xx.fbcdn.ne...=76e3fb82edd24012d0957ea173e2e4f2&oe=570A8EF6
From far left to right: Tuttie, Satty,(i forgot its name),morgan,ruby,layla, willow, bentley

https://scontent-lhr3-1.xx.fbcdn.ne...=30805a457c83d630fbc4129a276f0d48&oe=57082253
From Far left to right: Willow, Tilt, Alice, pebbles, Rosie

You have to remember though that you are riding horses that are used in riding schools. What you consider to be a 'bit wild' will probably be nothing compared to what a non riding school horse will do. You have only been riding for 18 months, and only ridden at one riding school. The horse that you call wild too is also been ridden bareback in that picture you put up. You generally cant ride an even slightly wild horse bareback and nor would any decent riding school allow anyone to, so I doubt its a bit wild. If you also cant handle the ones who mess around in lessons, then you're in for a big surprise if you buy your own. It might be fine for a few weeks/months, but it will begin to test you eventually and you have to be up to that challenge. Riding schools can make you believe you are capable of handling any horse, when really you cant.

I think even if you had the ability to handle a horse right now, you dont have the time. Like others have said, you'd need to go twice a day to check on it, and you're at school, thats if it goes on DIY. Maybe you can make a deal that they turn it out and bring it back in etc and you just do mucking out and help at the weekend to cover costs, but not all places will be so generous. Either way, you've got a lot of costs to consider, not just 'am I ready for a horse'.

Its horrible to have to wait, believe me I know, I waited 21 years. But its better to wait than to make a mistake.

 

[horselover02345]

You have to remember though that you are riding horses that are used in riding schools. What you consider to be a 'bit wild' will probably be nothing compared to what a non riding school horse will do. You have only been riding for 18 months, and only ridden at one riding school. The horse that you call wild too is also been ridden bareback in that picture you put up. You generally cant ride an even slightly wild horse bareback and nor would any decent riding school allow anyone to, so I doubt its a bit wild. If you also cant handle the ones who mess around in lessons, then you're in for a big surprise if you buy your own. It might be fine for a few weeks/months, but it will begin to test you eventually and you have to be up to that challenge. Riding schools can make you believe you are capable of handling any horse, when really you cant.

I think even if you had the ability to handle a horse right now, you dont have the time. Like others have said, you'd need to go twice a day to check on it, and you're at school, thats if it goes on DIY. Maybe you can make a deal that they turn it out and bring it back in etc and you just do mucking out and help at the weekend to cover costs, but not all places will be so generous. Either way, you've got a lot of costs to consider, not just 'am I ready for a horse'.

Its horrible to have to wait, believe me I know, I waited 21 years. But its better to wait than to make a mistake.

Rosie, the one that was bareback will listen to a rider like the one who rides her because she knows that she is a advanced rider, i rode her on saturday and we were suppost to trot then come past then canter instead she went straight to canter and wouldn't stop at the end i called her 'wild' as a term because she doesn't listen and sometimes acts like a big pain and a bit green like willow. Also Rosie does that with most riders except the only people i have seen ride that horse by them self are the people who work there, even the good riders in my riding lesson have to bee on a lead with her. I said i don't have the money yet to buy a horse and to look after it , i would probably do part livery or full livery if they do it. I think i will just stick with looking after the horses on the weekend until i'm really ready to buy one. Thank you for all the comments, also i have ridden at 2 riding schools, the first one with my school for 12 weeks which did include stable management.

 

[horselover02345]

It's great that you are thinking about getting your own horse but you need to gain more experience before !

It is completely different to have your own horse then to have a riding lesson once a week.
You will need to be able to commit (and your parents as you are minor) a lot of time, effort and money.
Most horse needs to be ridden regularly (more than once a week) think more like 3-5 times a week.
Are your parents willing to spend that much time travelling to the yard for you?

Part livery and full livery are also very expensive, are your parents willing to commit to pay a big chunk of their earning just to pay for your horse?
(not to forget, riding lessons/insurance/vet/dentist/ farrier, etc.)
Are you able to recognise if a horse is ill or lame?
How are you going to deal with that?
Who is going to schedule all the vet ,dentist, farrier appointments?
You should also try to learn about feed.

It sounds like you are only been riding in an arena?
You need to gain more experience going out hacking.
If you have only been riding while have a lesson, you need to gain experience riding on your own.
I would suggest you part loan first, that will give you an idea on the amount of commitment you will need for your own horse.
It will also give you the opportunity to ride on your own and go out hacking.

You still have plenty of time to get your own horse (I got my first horse at 45 years old) !

A few of the horses have been lame when people have been riding them and a horse called irenee who was lame practically all the time (she got put down R.I.P), I have seen the horses limping. And 2 other horses had colic which i know how to recognise. Alice had a infection i her eye, that's why she has the blinker things on in the pic. i don't know when the farrier comes , the stables is closed on a friday and most of the horses dont have shoes, only about 8 have shoes, the vet came when one of the shetlands got colic but i dont know when they com on a regular basis. I know about feed, oats, bran, hi-fi, haylage,pony nuts, etc. The school is near a park but the school have to pay alot for the use of it so i dont think they will use it yet its in a very wierd place so they dont ahve any trails, plus the horses are not use to being on the road. Im guessing some of you don't live in london but childen get free travel on the bus. I ma willing to ride a horse more than once a week, im not one of those people who think they ride there horse once a week and everything is fine. I have got free riding lessons for helping on the yard in the holidays.

 

[horselover02345]

Horse lover, you sound very keen but you need some basic facts so you can help your parents to decide if they can afford to fund a horse for you.

Do your current yard offer livery ?
How much do they charge for full livery ?
Do they do DIY livery , and how much do they charge ?
If you had a horse on DIY livery would your parents be willing to take you to the yard twice a day to care for the horse ? ( yes , that's everyday unless you pay someone else to do it )
Present those facts to your parents and see what they say.
Meanwhile get as much experience as you can.

The yard do offer livery, there are 3-4 stables that are free, i don't know how much they charge, they do DIY livery too, i do know how to get to the stables my self i know it better than my parents, i am trying to get as many riding lessons as possible trying not to get ill on the weekends so i can't miss lessons.

 

[horselover02345]

*Chaqun a son goute* comes to mind, I would never ever go near - view or buy a bay / black / chesnut or coloured as I find the colours plain and boring unless it is a pinto - tobiano - appy etc as i find those colours attractive but traditional colours are a no- no.

The only horses I would view for myself are DUN/ Buckskin - Palomino or grey - or might consider Roan. I like unusual colours

I like darker colours but grey is my favourite, at my first riding school i rode a 14 hh pony called fudge and he was my favourite, i do find solid colours plain two but if its the best horse out of my favourite colours then i would get it.

Lovely fudge and little archie
https://scontent-lhr3-1.xx.fbcdn.ne...=9703df2395037e2eebee5c20d7ec42c2&oe=570D1AE6

 

[Maesto's Girl]

I remember desperately wanting my own horse at 12. I'd ridden since I was 4 and spent every weekend and school holidays in the yard looking after several of the horses from when I was 8. I thought I knew what I needed to do...after all, I was helping with grooming, tacking up, leading (when I was older), turning out and general care. I could ride all of the horses there without issue so I thought I was ready. However, rather than dive in to buy a horse, I decided to have one on full loan so I could work out just how hard owning your own horse is. She was beautiful but it was hard work. Not only that, she was in no way a RS horse....and actually wild. She had been trained by a previous owner to bolt so I had to put in a lot of work with schooling and hacking before she calmed down a bit. Unfortunately, she broke her leg so we had to let her go when I was 15 but it taught me so much...and that I wasn't ready.

I have had a brief period of riding infrequently since then, however I have recently started training again - and even now, whilst my riding is still good and I can tackle those tricky ponies & horses, I still wouldn't be comfortable owning one just yet...but it is on my radar.

Perhaps, as you mention, a few stable/own a pony days would be beneficial to you, and then when you are more comfortable, a part-loan of a non RS horse?

 

[emmad96]

Personally, I do not think you are ready, especially if your parents are not horsey. I am 20, and I only recently in the last six months was able to get my own horse/s. Now that I have a horse, I am so so glad that I didn't get one when I was still in school. They take up a lot of time, effort and money. To give you an idea, some nights I finish work at 8, and I won't get home from my horses until 10, and they are only a five minute drive away. That is riding one of them for 20 minutes as well.

I am lucky that my two horses are very very easy keepers, and that my grazing is only $12 a week per horse, which includes full use of out PC grounds.

Wait until you are older and know more about horses - trust me, riding school horses are very very easy compared to most other horses. I have a 25yo ex movie/stunt horse and even he has his quirks and can be completely fine one day and spooky and jigjoggy the next, just because he ate some lush grass, or the wind is blowing or he's just feeling hot.

 

[laura_nash]

I got my first horse in very similar circumstances, as a 13 year old who had been riding a year but horse-mad for longer. I lived in Leeds, so pretty built up, and my parents are as non-horsey as you can possibly be. On the plus side though my parents were supportive, particularly financially. I think they were just glad to finally get me to stop asking for a dog, as the idea of one in the house filled them with horror. Plus it kept me away from boys etc (very effectively).

I had her on full livery for the first year until I had got the hang of all the practical little things like feeding, rugging etc, I knew the theory inside out. I also helped out at the yard in return for lessons. If you do get your own you mustn't stop having lessons, in fact it is more important when you are first getting to know a new horse to have regular ones. I got an older ex-riding school horse from people I knew and trusted, horse buying is fraught with dangers and if your parents aren't horsey you really need some knowledgeable help with that part.

The only real downside I found was a fairly major falling out with my circle of friends who weren't horsey and couldn't understand that I was now busy pretty much whenever I wasn't in school. Of course I made lots of new friends at the stables, but it did cause me trouble at school.