first time

[summer_hey]

i am wanting to get my own horse mostly for a companion but would like to at some point learn to ride him, i dont really know how to go about looking for a field &stables, i wouldnt want to put my horse anywhere, and would prefer it to close to my home which is blackpool, do i get a horse or a pony for my first horse?
please horse lovers can you advise me what to do.

[aliw]

It is unkind to make a horse live on its own, as they are used to be living in a herd environment.
If you are going to learn to ride him, are you really ready for a horse? People don't realise how much money, thought and commitment owning a horse really is.
You should get some lessons if you don't know how to ride, and get some experience before you consider owning a horse.

[eventerbabe]

I don't mean to sound negative but if you can't ride and have no experience why on earth are you thinking about getting a horse??? as aliw pointed out they take up an awful lot of time and money and you really need to be a lot more experienced before thinking about taking on a horse. and its very unfair to keep a horse on its own. they are herd animals and like company

[summer_hey]

i have had lessons, and i have had experience my mother had a horse when i was younger, i was considering, maybe going to the ILPH to adopt one, i have been donating money to them for the last 4 years, i just need to know where to start and where to go, looking after my mothers horse was one thing but getting it right first time for my self (you can not make mistakes)is another thing, im looking for advice.

[vjoy23]

Well maybe you could look around for a loan?? Quite often the owners would prefer the horses to stay at their present yard, which would be great as it mean you're killing two birds with one stone.

If you found a horse to loan you could carry on and have lessons on that horse and gain experience. That way it totally prepares you for getting your own. I only suggested a loan as it cuts out the initial cost of buying a horse and if you're not 100% that your ready for a horse of your own you can always give it back.

[eventerbabe]

my advice would be to go to a local riding school and get some lessons and stable management experience first, to get back into the swing of things. the ILPH would probably not let you loan a horse from them if it was to be kept on its own

[cvb]

summer_hey

do you work ? I work fulltime and commute. So that means that in the winter my time with my horse is confined to (dark) evenings and bitter weekends.... its not many hours out of the 24x7 potential. Yes its more in the summer, but still not a high percentage of the horse's life... (or of mine, sadly :( )

And there's all the "non-contact" time in just caring for the horse when you're not actually WITH it but cleaning out stables, fetching food, mending fences, cleaning/mending equipment and so on.

Plus a horse needs mental and physical stimulation. If you were sat in one space the whole time with nothing to do, how would you feel ? If they are wild, they have other horses to interact with and miles to roam in - and their priority is survival (feed, water etc). A domestic horse is confined to a much smaller range and less natural "herd" structures.

If you want a "companion" horse - are you planning to spend majority of daylight hours with it ? And who is the companion - you, or the horse ?

[summer_hey]

sorry i think i made you all miss understand me, i dont not want to jeep the horse on its own, my daughter is wanting to get a horse aswell, she isnt as experienced as me, but she is willing to go to a riding school to learn.

[eventerbabe]

Sounds like you both need to carry on with lessons, do a lot more research and have a re-think about a horse in a year or so's time.

[summer_hey]

ok, maybe your all right, thanks anyway

[cvb]

summer_hey

yes, we didn't get the full picture ...

I think overall you will find most folk will advise doing it the other way around. A horse is a considerable investment in terms of time and money...

As an example, would you go buy a car when you have never had driving lessons or been in one ?? Probably not.

There are all sorts of welfare and safety reasons why you will get the "wait" advise. Both for the horse AND for you. And we like our "pro-horsey" folk alive please !

But there is also the simple reason that until you get involved, you won't really know what to look for. Either in terms of horse OR facilities.

A lot of folk here have started with lessons, moved on to a share or loan, and THEN gone on to buy. That way they have seen it all from the inside, and know who to ask for advice.

[shirley]

No one on this site would ever put anyone off buying their own horse as every horse deserves a brilliant owner to love them, cherish them and have the most wonderful relationship ever with them. However look at making your aims become reality so as you succeed - by that I mean build them up bit by bit. Take the best of all the advice you have been given and make them as steps to acheiving your aim. Have some lessons, let your daughter have pony weeks at local stables, loan a horse one day, then two days, three days etc, find an instructor to teach you whilst you loan your horse, take the loan horse to local shows, jumping etc. This way you will make lots and lots of contacts in the horse community in your local area. Get the experience you need over a little time and start learning all you can about horses, read the horsey magazines - there are several ones to choose from that come out each month. Get on line and search internet sites, sort out the type of horse / pony that is best for your type and ability of riding. The right horse will come along when the time is right, finding someone very experienced is what was best for us.
We started out letting our daughter have lessons at local riding school, then she did pony weeks at every school holiday, joined the local pony club and hired a pony from the riding school to take to rallies etc. After some time she wanted a pony of her own and after lots of searching we decided on a foster one. We stabled her some 15 minutes car drive away from us and both hubby and I learnt about horses under guidance of the yard manager, who also gave our daughter lessons. Well the foster did not work out for various reasons. In the meantime I had been having lessons at riding school and it was decided to get something for me and my daughter to ride. So that is what we did. It took us only another year to get my daughter her own pony and now we have a youngster who we are helping to bring on. In all that time I have read and read, gone to seminars, clinics all sorts of things to do with horses health etc. Done BHS Horse Owners levels 1 2 and 3 and learnt all I can at each point. I am still in experienced as far as others on our yard are, but I have not yet killed a horse because of my lack of care, they are happy, healthy and loved. But the one thing we have done is take our time and I am certain that laying up our experience and knowledge has been the best thing we could have done.
I would not know be without horses they are very much part and parcel of my and my familys life.
Hope this encourages you to keep going and good luck with the horses you get - getting the right ones is importent.

[Bay Mare]

Hi

I can only add to the others that it would be much better both for you and your potential horse to take some lessons and to get some practical experience around horses before you go and buy one.

I am rather evangelistic about this at the moment as I know too many people who have bought horses or ponies not knowing enough about them and have ended up getting rid of them again very quickly. Some of them think that getting a horse is like getting a dog and are then shocked when they have problems.

I recently bought my own (in September) and it was a HUGE shock to me despite working at riding schools and doing my NVQ in Equine Studies. I thought that I knew enough to buy a horse ... ok, I'm not as bad as I felt that I was at first but it IS true what people tell you, when you are solely responsible it's a lot more daunting and a HUGE learning curve. I hate to think how I'd have gone on with less experience and less knowledge (not that I'm super fantastic by any means).

Horses are too special for us to potentially spoil even if it is unintentional.

Please get some more experience and some more lessons. Apart from anything else it will make your experience of owning MUCH better in the long run :)

[kedwards]

Hi and welcome to the board!

I hope you didn't find this thread too discouraging. I think it's wonderful that you have a renewed interest in riding and horses, and that you want to bring that joy to your daughter as well.

That said, best to start lessons again first, so that you are back into the swing of things before looking. Plus, a good instructor can be a wonderful resource when it comes to finding and choosing a horse.

Best of luck!