Finally - I am going to get a horse!!!

doratheexplorer

doratheexplorer

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Apologies if this gets rather long-winded! ;)

Right, so finally I am able to get a horse :) . I have just about finished my first year at uni (super easy to keep a horse near-by - lots of lovely livery yards full of lovely students!) And I can also now afford to keep one at livery back at home etc.

Now, as I have never had a horse before, there is obviously a lot of stuff to be thinking about etc, for example, the livery, I have not started seriously looking at either horses or liveries, but what do I do first?! if I find my ideal horse fairly quickly, then how long does it take to sort out livery, is it just a case of visiting the yard, and if they have a space for me I just move in??

On to equipment, in an ideal world I would get a horse with its entire wardrobe, but if thats not possible how do you go about getting stuff?? most importantly a saddle? not sure how much fun riding a brand new horse who doesn't know me would be bare back!!

Thank you for any advice recieved!! sorry its so rambley, but my mother is sick of hearing me talk horse!!!!

Home-made lemonade and some left over BBQ stuff for reading :p
 
How very exciting!!

The saddle is the one item you want to spend money on. If badly fitted it could make your horse sore/cold backed/difficult to ride. So if money is limited I would spend it on getting the saddle properly fitted, rather than an expensive saddle. The next key item is the bit - check what it is being ridden in.

Regarding everything else - try putting up a notice in the tack shop/feed merchants/blacksmith van saying that you are getting starting up with ahorse and does anyone have any rugs/bridles/brushes they would be prepared to sell you! Bet you will be inundated.

Have fun!!
 
We did it entirely the wrong way when we got our first horse, arranged for him to come in a weeks time and had no where to keep him! :D It worked out fine with an arrangement with a local farmer :)
If I were you I would go and look at local livery yards to see what suits, but remember you can always move if when the time comes you decide it isn't what you want. If I were you I would start the search for a horse now, as it can take such a long time to find the right one, and if you find it straight away you have all summer to play :D With regards to wardrobe, if it comes tack that can be a bonus, but tbh we have nearly always ended up having to replace saddles, as often the ones that come don't fit that well and don't fit the new rider :)
Good luck with the search and have fun :D
 
way that's fab :D !!

My advice, fwiw, is to go and check out the livery yards asap, and explain the situation - and they will probably be able to suggest horses by word of mouth while you're there. Never know, may kill two birds with one stone - YAY !!!!

Good luck, sm xx
 
How exciting!

I would start looking around a livery yards now, explain your situation and probably talk to some of the liveries there, I am sure some yards will be very happy to help you out.

I am on the horse hunt too, I am lucky enough to have a space ready and waiting at a yard that does not need it at the moment and the yard owner is saving it for me. And as someone else said, they may know of some horses locally that may suit you...who knows!
 
Great news :)

We looked at a local livery yard as soon as we knew we were going to buy a horse. YO had a couple of spaces and great facilities. So, we knew we wanted to go there. The YO had been great all along, giving us advice on different horses we were considering and also keeping her ears open for horses coming up for sale.

However, it took us ages to find the right horse and by the time we did the spaces had gone.

The YO took pity on us as we were new to horse owning and emptied out an old foaling stall/ feed room and let us 'camp' there. Eventually a proper stable came up and we moved across the yard.

We were lucky when we bought our horse, she came with tack, rugs and a couple of feed buckets - as we were totally new to horse ownership this was a great start.

We have replaced stirrup leathers, the girth, rubber stirrup treads, but the rest of the tack is fine. It is only a Wintec Saddle, but is comfy for the horse, me and my daughter :)

Rugs have been bought as we've gone through the different seasons and realised we needed a greater variation.

I think you need to know what livery options are available in your area, so that when you find the right horse you can act straight away.

Happy horse hunting :)
 
Just a thought, but if you found a good yard with spaces, could you pay a retainer for the stable, or just pay the going rate - expensive I know, but a yard I am hoping to go to does this as they are so popular.
 
Yes absolutely can pay a retainer on a stable at most livery yards :)

Saddle is the most important as mentioned above - of course in an ideal world the horse you buy will come with a saddle, however that doesn't mean to say that it will fit YOU, or the horse for that matter LOL!

Therefore you are going to need in the region of £700 to £3000 for a saddle, depending on your tastes ;) :p Sure you can buy a cheaper saddle, second hand or synthetic, but personally I think leather is best and new. A good saddle to look at is Kent And Masters - they are fully adjustable so if your horse grows/muscles up/loses weight/etc you can easily refit it. They are made like Thorogood but are leathers and my friend has the GP and it is super comfy. This saddle won't break the bank either.

Next you will need a bridle and a bit - second hand is fine here and bridles start at quite a cheap price :)

Rugs - you do NOT need to go mad, although a lot of people have massive rug fetishes! I have the following, and do just fine...

1 x MW TO rug with attached neck

1 x MW stable rug

1 x LW stable rug

1 x Rain Sheet and a detachable hood

1 x fleece cooler

1 x cotton sheet

With the above you can layer., etc and you have enough to keep your horse warm throughout winter :)

Grooming kit

Feed bucket

You may need to buy your own wheelbarrow and tools, depending on the yard you choose.

All in all you should be able to buy everything other than the horse for £1000 - £1250 :)
 
Weezy said:
Yes absolutely can pay a retainer on a stable at most livery yards :)

Saddle is the most important as mentioned above - of course in an ideal world the horse you buy will come with a saddle, however that doesn't mean to say that it will fit YOU, or the horse for that matter LOL!

Therefore you are going to need in the region of £700 to £3000 for a saddle, depending on your tastes ;) :p Sure you can buy a cheaper saddle, second hand or synthetic, but personally I think leather is best and new. A good saddle to look at is Kent And Masters - they are fully adjustable so if your horse grows/muscles up/loses weight/etc you can easily refit it. They are made like Thorogood but are leathers and my friend has the GP and it is super comfy. This saddle won't break the bank either.

Next you will need a bridle and a bit - second hand is fine here and bridles start at quite a cheap price :)

Rugs - you do NOT need to go mad, although a lot of people have massive rug fetishes! I have the following, and do just fine...

1 x MW TO rug with attached neck

1 x MW stable rug

1 x LW stable rug

1 x Rain Sheet and a detachable hood

1 x fleece cooler

1 x cotton sheet

With the above you can layer., etc and you have enough to keep your horse warm throughout winter :)

Grooming kit

Feed bucket

You may need to buy your own wheelbarrow and tools, depending on the yard you choose.

All in all you should be able to buy everything other than the horse for £1000 - £1250 :)
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Good Lord, if that doesn't put Dora off I don't know what will! There is absolutely no reason to not buy a synthetic saddle, there are some good ones about, or a secondhand leather one. The secret is to make sure it fits, it really doesn't matter what it's made of. And as for rugs, unless the poor thing suffers from sweetitch, I can't see that it will need any rug, other than perhaps a cooler, at this time of the year. It is much better to get the horse and then decide what it needs as and when it needs it, ours have been in overnight all winter and gone out most days without a rug and they, even the oldie, have done fine.
Enjoy your horse search OP!
 
Glad to hear your horses were fine without rugs when it was -10 at night for 6 weeks, it even dropped to -17 here, it didn't get above freezing for most of Jan, not many horses cope with the extremes of temp we have these days without being rugged :) Of course, one can buy cheap rugs or second hand, but this can be a false economy.

Fact is she is better off knowing NOW what money she will need to find so she can adjust the budget for her horse if necessary.

I did say that I prefer leather saddles, she can buy what she wants, and of course there are second hand saddles around, but as she is a novice she would be better using a Master Saddler (recommended ;) ) to sort that part out and if the budget stretches there is nothing nicer than having a new saddle for your new horse!
 
Owww i just wrote a very long reply and it didnt post so ill have to do it again.

Anyway how exciting ... id say you should def find a yard first you dont want to find the perfect horse and have to rush into finding a yard that might not be the right place for you, also when your looking round make sure to ask the owner if they no of any horses for sale. Also when i got my first horse my yard owner came with me to provide a more experienced second opinion which was really helpful as she was able to spot things i might not have done.

As for tack even if the horse isn't being sold with tack its always worth asking if they would consider selling with tack for a bit extra. Both mine and my mums horse have wintec saddles which i find very good and easy to care for and dont cost you an arm and a leg. If you want a leather saddle go for it just be prepared to pay more. Also please make sure you get a saddle fitter out even if the horse comes with tack you dont no when it was last checked.

I wouldnt worry to much about rugs as your buying in summer mabye just a cooler, then buy the rest when it gets closser to needing them then you can buy rugs depending on if they are being stabled or turned out 24/7. personally ours are out all year just make sure they have adequate thickness over the winter, i would suggest getting a stable rug even if they are turned out as you never know when your horse might have to be stabled due to injury or sickness, but again id just buy the basics and spread the cost of the rest over time based on when you need them.

Good luck let us know how you get on
 
Weezy said:
Glad to hear your horses were fine without rugs when it was -10 at night for 6 weeks, it even dropped to -17 here, it didn't get above freezing for most of Jan, not many horses cope with the extremes of temp we have these days without being rugged :) Of course, one can buy cheap rugs or second hand, but this can be a false economy.

Fact is she is better off knowing NOW what money she will need to find so she can adjust the budget for her horse if necessary.

I did say that I prefer leather saddles, she can buy what she wants, and of course there are second hand saddles around, but as she is a novice she would be better using a Master Saddler (recommended ;) ) to sort that part out and if the budget stretches there is nothing nicer than having a new saddle for your new horse!
Click to expand...

Ours were indeed absolutely fine, they were eating good quality hay bulked out with straw, so that they were able to eat all night if they so desired. They WERE unclipped and were out in all but the very worst of the falling snow without rugs. Just up the road, we live very high up in the Pennines, there is a Standard-bred stud. All those horses, youngstock included, were out, all winter, with very little natural shelter and not a rug in sight. They were given plenty to eat and ALL have come through the winter looking well. The first of this year's foals have just been born. We do get a few 'bunny-huggers' passing who think that this is cruel but the proof of the pudding.....
 
First thing I would do it find a horse I like but don't rush, view/ride/ trial he/she then find a stable, a lot of people get the stable first but round here there is normally some were to go, get insurance, once the horse is settled have a saddle fitter out unless you are getting tack with he/she, plenty of on line sops, ie ebay for things like head collars and rugs.
 
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