Horse Education (for inexperienced owner)

[B&B Happy goats]

He said yes but he’s still not thrilled. Hoping he’s more happy with his decision as we prepare for them.

I’ve tried reassuring him that they don’t have to have a million dollar set-up.

That's ok, I am still happy for you, maby he will just surprise you and love them to, lol...may want one for himself !

 

[Rammy]

I favor Tennessee Walkers for their smooth gait, but they can be spirited. I also like Quarter Horses because they just have common sense. I love Appaloosa horses, if I could get a gaited black leopard spotted Appaloosa, I would think I died and went to heaven.

Registered horses are nice, but not required. You can't ride papers and they generally cost more.

Breed is not going to matter as much as temperament and training. An older horse can be the best for a beginner. I learned to ride on an 18 year old Palomino mare when I was a kid. Can't count the times I fell off her, LOL. Don't be afraid of buying a senior horse, they have been there, done that. The years spent with an older horse can be the most valuable start in learning how to ride.

You don't want a young, inexperienced horse. You don't want a "spooky" horse, that means one that is scared of everything and jumps out of it's hide every time the wind blows a plastic bag in front of it. A spooky horse can be any age. I don't ride my 31 year old Tennessee Walker mare anymore, but I guarantee you, if I saddled her up and went riding, she would be hunting boogers all the way. Culvert monsters, car/truck monsters, barking dog monsters, goat/cow/sheep monsters, kid on a go cart-anything and everything. Once she spooked at a bird, jumped sideways, dumped me and ran back home. So you need a CALM horse that is unfazed by "monsters" LOL.

Geldings are not thinking about sex. Stallions are out, period, don't EVEN consider one. Mares come in heat, some are just fine, some get cranky, some flirt shamelessly with geldings and neigh if there is a stallion in the neighborhood. That doesn't mean that a mare is not a good horse, just letting you know that they can have their "days" LOL.

Size is determined by measuring the withers, the top of the shoulder blades to the ground. It's that little hump between the neck and back. Horses are measured by hands, a hand is 4 inches. A small horse or large pony is 12-13 hands, a medium horse is 14-15 hands, a large horse is 16-17 hands and anything over 17 hands is probably a Clydesdale or Shire. The mare we just bought is 14.3 hands, that would be 14x4=56+3=59 inches or 4 feet, 11 inches at the top of her withers. If you are tall, you might want a 15-16 hand horse. My old gelding Joe (my avatar is his blue eye) is 16 hands, with my crapped out knee, it is a struggle to get on him. He is retired now, so it is a moot point. For your DD1 I would say get a 13-14 hand horse, small enough for her, but big enough for you. For you and 14-15 hand horse.

Tack; riding English or Western? For your own pleasure or going to show, compete? I call my style of riding Western Schlump. I just schlump around for my own enjoyment, don't care about competition or showing.
You can find tack on Craigs List, classifieds or sometimes the person selling the horse has tack to sell too. It is good to know what bits the horse you are buying is used to and does the best with.

Feed; I feed a 14% protein all purpose pellet. "Sweet" feed has molasses on it, horses like it. But some horses get a "sugar rush" on sweet feed like a little kid that is ADDHD and bouncing off the walls. Ask the seller what feed the horse has been fed and ask for enough for several days feeding if you are going to feed a different feed so you can mix it and switch slowly. Suddenly switching feed can give a horse colic. Colic is an upset tummy, horses cannot vomit, so the gas builds up, their tummy hurts, if not caught and treated, the horse can die. For a colic case, drench with mineral oil and walk the horse. Walk some more, You want to hear farts, you want the horse to poop, keep walking. I got off the feed issue...…

Hay; we feed a grass hay. Other parts of the country have other hay types available. You cut hay, so you know what is good hay or not. Horses are not ruminants so require a better hay than cattle.

space; I have 3 horses on 2 1/2 acres. It is mostly wooded, so no grass. We keep a round bale out for them.

Ride the horse you want to buy. Is it easy to catch? Does it try to bite? My old gelding Joe played a game when I tightened up the cinch, he turned and tried to bite me. I shook my finger and AAAHHHNNNTTT! he'd squint his eyes, toss his head up like I hit him, game over. yeah, he was/is spoiled rotten. But you really don't want a biter, it hurts. Does the horse kick? Buck when you first get on? Is it healthy and will the seller agree to a vet check before you purchase it?

What SHE said...

 

[Rammy]

@Baymule has a lot of good to say.
There are a ton of good horses out there, different breeds. But yes I agree a nice calm aged QH is great to learn on. (not all lines of QH are calm) For kids you need something forgiving and not flighty, undersaddle and on the ground. While I don't see my kids being able to handle our Morgan riding on trails he doesn't kick or act stupid around them. They can feed and have even rode him at home. He's just head strong and tests his riders, especially women... no buckin or rearing just tests you and does what he wants at times. He's 19... so age doesn't always equal calm and easy going. My halflinger, Richie is a sweetheart, loves attention and food and has excellent ground manners (honestly that's the reason I brought him home as he didn't ride great for me that first tme). He's 10. He took awhile to trust me. He "started" often our first summer of trail rides. Mostly a pause and a small response to everything from chipmunks to me zipping my zipper. He didn't do that at all this year. Now Daisy our grade QH mare has started, lightly spooked once... in about 20 rides. The kids can catch her, handle her anywhere. Worse thing she'll do is eat grass... She's 14. So look for a good horse, not necessarily a breed.
In fact I would suggest some lessons for your daughter before you buy. Yes it's an investment but if you can find someone with a good lesson horse, to see if your daughter likes it enough to pursue it longterm. She can learn the basics and most instructors know of many good horses for sale. You might look at a lease also. I knew after John rode Daisy for 20 minutes she was awesome, but we did "lease" her prior to being offered the chance to buy her. (we got lucky and "free" leased her, meaning we were responsible for her care while we had her, but no money exchanged hands).
I will say plan on 2 also. It's not as fun to ride by yourself (or as safe if you're riding around the farm). Which is one reason I got out of riding horses for a good 15 years. Plus horses are herd animals. I do know of some that do just fine by themselves and it's a good thing for them to know. And I don't reccommend a "rescue" horse for a first horse, just too many times you don't know their history. Get a been there horse that needs a "semi" retired home. And if you want to trail ride get one that has done that, if you want a show horse get one that has been shown, basically don't get a horse without experience in what you want to do and then need to train it. Not all horses make great trail horses or show horses.
We currently have just under 2 acres of pasture, orchard grass and red clover planted last year. I have lean tos and dry lots which is where they stay most of the time and during the grazing months they get 4-8 hours pasture. Ponies and halflinger get less as they're very easy keepers and Richie the halflinger did founder prior, he's one of those sensitve to the sugars. So we do keep grass hay around for him all the time. In the spring I start them on pasture once it's 5-8" tall and gradually increase the time they on on it. My Minis never have had issues doing it this way. The minis and Richie get a grass "balancer" it's not a grain but a minerals and vitamins in a pellet form. Daisy and Duke (morgan) are on a senior pellet (I don't feed any feed with molassus) Forage based diets are best in my opinion and many horses don't get grain. In fact Daisy didn't get any before coming here.
I give my own vaccines, they are usually 40-50 per horse per year. We don't shoe, but they get trims every 8 weeks. 20 for the minis, 35 for the riding horses. Just got Daisy and one Mini's teeth floated, usually around 100/head and their teeth should be checked annually. We rotate paste dewormers, every 3-4 months.

Her too.

 

[FestiveOne]

Okay all y’all enablers! DH has agreed to a horse or two once things settle down a bit. Maybe sometime next year.

This leads me to having no idea where to start. I’ve ridden a few times but would classify as a beginner and so would DD1.

I need info on breeds, genders, size, age, tack, feed, hay, space requirements. Teach me!

@Baymule @promiseacres

Find a local barn, take lessons, hang out and offer to work ie do stalls, groom, feed etc. Horses are A LOT of work. Having them in your yard is restricting. And boarding- especially in some areas, is expensive. Feed costs are going up as well. If you are going to move forward. Look at Standardbreds, they have a been there done that attitude, are versatile, kind and smart.

 

[Baymule]

Find a local barn, take lessons, hang out and offer to work ie do stalls, groom, feed etc. Horses are A LOT of work. Having them in your yard is restricting. And boarding- especially in some areas, is expensive. Feed costs are going up as well. If you are going to move forward. Look at Standardbreds, they have a been there done that attitude, are versatile, kind and smart.

Welcome to the forum! We are glad to have you here and hope you stick around and tell us about yourself and your animals.

 

[greybeard]

He said yes but he’s still not thrilled. Hoping he’s more happy with his decision as we prepare for them.

I’ve tried reassuring him that they don’t have to have a million dollar set-up.

Once he see's how much easier it is to move the cows and calves from horseback, he will be more than accepting of the prospect.

 

[Rammy]

I worked in a hunter/jumper barn for three years in exchange for lessons and also earned money for my first( and only) saddle. Learned alot and also got my first( and only) horse about that time. Took care of a former teachers pregnant mare and had first dibs on her foal. Raised her from day 1 and trained her myself with the help of more experienced horse people and would do it all over again.
Got halter points on her to start my showing experience. One show I took her to, this trainer brought his fancy pedigreed out the bleep to the show thinking he would get some quick halter points on his big muscled up yearlings. I beat him with my backyard not so fancy QH mare. Her pedigree had Joe Reed and Decka Center, not Impressive.
So if you are looking for your first horse, dont worry about pedigree. Get a good gentle horse with a good temperment. And find a good instructor to help you learn how to handle a horse on the ground. If you get and have thier respect on the ground it makes them easier to handle. If you have a friend who is experienced with horses to help you with choosing a good sound horse.

 

[Wehner Homestead]

Find a local barn, take lessons, hang out and offer to work ie do stalls, groom, feed etc. Horses are A LOT of work. Having them in your yard is restricting. And boarding- especially in some areas, is expensive. Feed costs are going up as well. If you are going to move forward. Look at Standardbreds, they have a been there done that attitude, are versatile, kind and smart.

First off, .

Second, you made some good points. That’s good to know about the Standardbreds.

Your information is good for someone without much Livestock background. We raise Show cattle, dairy goats, chickens for eggs, and a few pigs for our freezer each year so the workload isn’t daunting to us. Additionally we raise and put up all of our own hay so we don’t have to worry about a source. Our current set-up isn’t for horses. I’d have to tromp through knee deep mud all winter to get to the gate of their pasture if we got them before we are prepared. Once our alley behind the barn is rebuilt, the mud won’t be a problem as it won’t be a tromp area for cattle. I’d also like to get a run-in shed built for when the barn stalls are full during calving and kidding and so that the horses have shelter without being put into their stalls.

Breed or pedigree isn’t most important. I just know that there are more high strung breeds in each species and that’s what I was wanting breed information for.

We don’t intend on starting with a young horse and a very good family friend has agreed to help us evaluate horses when we start looking.

We were Christmas shopping on Monday and stopped at a Western store and looked at gear. They had a really nice used saddle for $450. Couldn’t justify buying it right then but sure wish I could have!

I think all of the horse stuff will be on hold until spring other than further developing the alley plan and accesses.

 

[Baymule]

Planning ahead is the very best plan you could have!