Getting my first horse!

[carolinagirl]

watching a video of someone else riding a horse is not going to tell you a thing about how the horse will ride for you. If you can't go ride the horse for yourself, you really need to forget all about it.

True, absolutely true, BUT watching a video can give an idea of whether it is worth a 7 hour drive TO go see the horse -- or, more accurately, whether or not it seems like that would be pretty-guaranteed to be a waste of time. (Videos aren't great for ruling "in" a prospect, but especially when the rider is relatively inexperienced can often be quite useful in ruling *out* prospects)

Pat

yep...you are right. GREAT for ruling a horse out, but not so much for ruling it "in".

 

[michickenwrangler]

I would avoid anything that says "Barrel horse" or "endurance horse" for a beginner. They are trained to go, go, go, go, go and the signals they are often trained with are VERY different than most lesson horses. My horse is a 19 yr old endurance horse and I wouldn't trust her with a beginner, especially on a trail ride with other, unfamiliar horses.

Most likely, anything labeled "forward going" and "barrel horse" means high strung, sensitive and fast. Not a good horse for a novice.

And DO NOT rule out an older horse in his/her late teens, early 20s. They still have a useful life ahead of them and often are very solid horses for first time owners/novice riders.

 

[dianneS]

I second the older horse thing. I am a big fan of been-there-done-that, older horses and they do have a lot of miles left on them. Age is just a number!

Is this horse going to be an only horse, or will he/she have a companion of some sort?

Not all horses can be kept alone and will do whatever it takes to break out and find another horse for company. I have a friend who has had her horse for well over ten years now and he still breaks out of the fence and goes looking for other horses! He's 25 years old too. My friend finally, after all these years, got the poor guy a companion.

If I was going to be getting a single horse, I would certainly ask any seller if their horse could be kept alone or has ever been pastured alone? Some horses can go berzerk when they suddenly get dumped off of a trailer at a new farm and look around and go "where is everybody"? It can make a seemingly calm and quiet horse suddenly nervous and skittish.

 

[secuono]

I second the older horse thing. I am a big fan of been-there-done-that, older horses and they do have a lot of miles left on them. Age is just a number!

Is this horse going to be an only horse, or will he/she have a companion of some sort?

Not all horses can be kept alone and will do whatever it takes to break out and find another horse for company. I have a friend who has had her horse for well over ten years now and he still breaks out of the fence and goes looking for other horses! He's 25 years old too. My friend finally, after all these years, got the poor guy a companion.

If I was going to be getting a single horse, I would certainly ask any seller if their horse could be kept alone or has ever been pastured alone? Some horses can go berzerk when they suddenly get dumped off of a trailer at a new farm and look around and go "where is everybody"? It can make a seemingly calm and quiet horse suddenly nervous and skittish.

There is a large horse boarding farm next door, so she will be able to see and chit chat with them. We have been thinking of getting a lazy friendly mini for her as a buddy. I've read mini donkeys might work, but from experience at work, best not to mix them. At work we have 3 horses, 3 donkeys and 3 bull cows. All nine stay in their own 3 groups.
If we did get a mini for her to wander with...4acres with 1 horse and a mini horse. How much hay do you think they would need a day with access to the grass all the time[spring/ summer]? 50lbs total?
I ask because I can't find where someone said how much hay for her in the winter.

 

[patandchickens]

If we did get a mini for her to wander with...4acres with 1 horse and a mini horse.

Realize that it is a gamble trying to keep a mini or other founder-prone breed on grass. It might work; but there is a pretty nontrivial chance it might NOT work, and then you have the mini needing to be drylotted and the horse back to not having a companion.

How much hay do you think they would need a day with access to the grass all the time[spring/ summer]? 50lbs total? I ask because I can't find where someone said how much hay for her in the winter.

There is just no way of answering accurately b/c it depends so much on what your pasture is LIKE.

As some sort of reference point, I can tell you that I have just stopped haying the horses (like, they got their last serving two days ago) but honestly would rather have had a bit more in the barn so I could keep going another week or two so's to keep them from hitting the newly-come-in grass too hard too fast. With the land and pasture I have, I will not need hay until somewhere between mid-October and late November depending on weather and suchlike. After that, they will be on 100% hay (plus ration balancer) til next spring's grass comes in again.

For a typical 1000 lb adult horse who is neither pregnant nor lactating nor in substantial work, you would figure putting out 20-30 lbs of good hay per day per horse as a ballpark figure. Maybe a third of that for a mini. A bit less in warm weather. These are ballparks and need to be tuned according to your hay, your individual horses, and how much they waste.

Pat

 

[secuono]

There is a mini and a standard up the road on 2acres on grass during the day. Current owner has her mini, 2 standard horses fully on grass. Maybe I can find a mini fully on grass for sale and that one may work on our grass?

 

[patandchickens]

There is a mini and a standard up the road on 2acres on grass during the day. Current owner has her mini, 2 standard horses fully on grass. Maybe I can find a mini fully on grass for sale and that one may work on our grass?

You can do what you want. I am trying to make you aware that minis are on average significantly more prone to founder than full size horse breeds, that there are a pretty considerable number of minis out there who will founder on grass, and that if you are going to get one anyway it would be smart to have a plan B for if you end up with problems. (Once a founder-prone breed has actually *had* an attack of laminitis on grass, it is best to just retire them to a drylot because it will most often recur).

Yes, there are plenty of people with minis on grass. Some of them happen not to have had a problem, which is not a great predictor of no problem in future (especially when moved to another property). Many other people have minis on grass that HAVE had laminitis problems and may indeed be chronically founder-y but the people either do not know or do not especially care. <shrug>

I'm just trying to give you this information, that good care for minis pretty much ought to involve RECOGNIZING their elevated chance of not being able to tolerate pasture, and HAVING A PLAN B for if that happens.

Pat

 

[dianneS]

I have a mini. He was my mare's first companion. He worked out great for her since she's a real motherly type of mare who loves babies, minis, ponies and anything little. Not all horses get along with minis and my vet has several horror stories of big horses trying to kill minis.

Realize that it is a gamble trying to keep a mini or other founder-prone breed on grass. It might work; but there is a pretty nontrivial chance it might NOT work, and then you have the mini needing to be drylotted and the horse back to not having a companion.

This is true. When I got my mini I made sure that he came from a farm where the owner had all his horses on good pasture 24/7 and had no issues with founder. This guy bred minis for 24 years and had more than enough pasture, just like me. He had bred generations of minis this way. My mini is on pasture 24/7 and he has never had an issue. BUT I went into it knowing that I might have to dry lot him if ever I had a problem. Fortunately we got lucky.

 

[secuono]

It was just a thought. Maybe we can find a small pony...or she will make friends with the sheep whenever we get them.

 

[dianneS]

It was just a thought. Maybe we can find a small pony...or she will make friends with the sheep whenever we get them.

Ponies can be prone to founder too, but a horse can make friends with sheep or goats.

Just be prepared when bringing a new horse home to a property with no other horses, that he/she could really freak out at first. My mare was a completely different horse for nearly two months before she realized that she was going to have to get used to being alone. I thought I had made a terrible mistake and was lied to about this horse's temperment. Turned out, she was just really freaked out by the new surroundings and no other horses. She eventually calmed down and became the mare I fell in love with. Getting her a companion really helped keep her happy and healthy but he wasn't a necessity by the time we got him. He was more of a luxury at that point, but I'm glad I got him for her.