Satisfaction in purchasing a horse comes from knowing the kind of horse you want that you want and continuing to search until you find that horse! You want quality even even if you have to pay more for it. Remember that a horse is not a necessity so the market is in favor of the horse buyer. Refuse to buy a horse that is not exactly what you are looking for. Do not let a fancy pedigree fool you and mask a poor quality horse! A poor horse will mean added expenses and dissatisfaction on your part. Things To Consider Horses are very expensive, to purchase and to keep.  A lot of time is required for daily care.  Cost Of A Horse Costs vary from nothing to thousands of dollars. The price of a mature, unregistered horse with a bit of training and reasonable conformation varies from about $200 to $500. A registered horse with show potential and additional training usually sells for twice this price. Horses are long-term investments. Purchase the best horse that you can....remember, a good horse doesn't eat any more than a poor-quality horse. Feed and bedding, shoeing and vet costs range from fifty cents to $5 per day. The price of tack and equipment usually ranges from $150 to $500, this usually depends on the kind of saddle you want to buy. Maintenance and new equipment could possibly be $25 to $50 a year. any personal items must also be added into these costs.

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Services and Facilities Necessary

A good stable is the most important item here and will probably be the most expensive. The Zoning laws in various suburban areas might prohibit keeping a horse or building a stable there.
Boarding stables, if they are available, may be costly and very inconvenient. You must also add in the cost of a farrier and vet services, and find feed services (hay most of all) and bedding and other supplies that you will need.

Also, find out where horses may be ridden.......bridle paths, horse trails, any show rings and also training facilities. You must find an exercise area and it your horse needs to be moved there, a trailer or other type of vehicle is necessary.

Ideal Age For A Horse

It must be remembered first that any prospective horse's condition and training are much more important than the horses age.  That said, the prime age for a horse is between seven and nine years although this is not necessarily the ideal age for a horse. They often are quite active right into their late twenties if they are cared for properly!

One can often purchase a top-rate older horse for the same price or even less than he would pay for a younger horse of a lower quality. Most older horses can't perform as actively as they did when younger though but they can have many more useful years of service left to give an owner!

When buying your horse, the age, sex and training of the horse and maybe even it's breed should be matched to what will be expected of it. 

A horse should be chosen also according to the age, experience, training and interest of the ride. Untrained horses and untrained riders are a terrible combination. Young children should not be expected to mount large horses and adults should not expect to ride ponies.

When buying a horse from a dealer, first find out about him. Check around with other horsemen who are know him or who have dealt with him. A good dealer has a good reputation and will stand behind his sale.

Male or Female

In general, stallions are unsatisfactory as pleasure horses and can be downright dangerous when being handled by an inexperienced horseman. A stallion's rider can never totally relax on his horse!

A gelding or mare is better suited to the pleasure rider's needs. In the area of dependability, a gelding excels. Mares on the whole are more excitable, especially when in heat.

If you want to raise a foal then you must buy a mare. For breeding to be worthwhile the mare that you purchase should be top quality. 

Check the horse in its stall

When you first go into the stable, watch the horse. Is it laying back its ears when you approach it? This is a sign of anger may mean that the horse is bad-tempered or has been spoiled. If the horse shows interest and holds its ears up, this is a good sign. Horses have keen hearing. A horse should be interested in everything that goes on around him.

What does the horse do as you are approaching his stall? If it is a box stall, he should go to the rear or the stall then turn and face towards you. If he turns away from you, he may kick.

Does he horse stand quietly when his handler goes into the stall or does he try to get out? Does the owner approach the horse's head or does he himself seem to be a bit leery? Does the animal turn away, not wanting to be caught? If this horse has been trained properly, he should be easy to catch, his ears should show no fear or mistrust, and the owner should not be afraid either.

Learn Something From The Horse's stall

Take a good look at the bedding. Is there any sign that the horse has been eating it? Eating the bedding is a very bad habit. It makes feeding the horse difficult because a horse that eats his bedding will tend to fill up on that and it has very little nutritional value.
Has the horse been bedded with a different type of bedding than the other horses?  If so, the horse may have some type of respiratory ailment. Ask the seller why straw was not used.

Notice if there's a path around the edge of the stall? "Stall walkers" are difficult to cure.

Health Records

Has the horse been treated for parasites in the last three months? Has it been vaccinated within the past year for tetanus and equine influenza?
Watch for runny noses and listen for coughs. Has the horse been tested for swamp fever? Most horses that are purchased should be tested and shown negative.

Feet And Legs

Watch the horse when it is led from the stall. Be alert for even any indications of limping, stiffness or the horse favoring one leg or foot.
Look at the feet and legs. A horse is no better than its underpinnings and healthy feet and legs are essential. A problem with one foot or leg is reason enough to reject this horse.

Are the legs nice and straight?

Is the hoof well-shaped and does it form good angles to the wall.

A healthy horse has a correct gait from the first step. Many unsound horses can appear to be sound after being warmed up for a while.

Check the fetlocks, pasterns and hocks. Swelling should give you serious doubts about the horse's soundness.

The Horses Head

Many times an inexperienced buyer pays too much attention to the head. Merely because the head is appealing does not mean that the rest of the horse is okay. When the horse is led from the stable and our into the light, watch his eyes. His pupils will contract quickly if his vision is normal. They should be very clear with no cloudiness and no tearing. The eyes should be wide-set and large.
If the incisors don't meet and the horse has a parrot mouth or undershot jaw, it most likely cannot eat properly.

The Horse Working

Before you make your decision about this horse, have it worked until it is warm. Take notice of it's breathing. If the horse's wind is broken you will spot it now. If the horse doesn't seem to want to leave the stable and strongly resists or attempts to bolt for the barn, this horse is barn sour. Don't buy the horse unless there is someone in your family who is an experienced horse handler.

Notice the horse when it is being ridden. Does it take the proper leads when asked to? 

 Does the horse move out freely with ample flexion in it's knees and hocks, or does it need a lot of prodding? Does he require restraint? Does he have to wear any correctional equipment? It may be needed to prevent the horse from engaging in bad habits.

Take a ride on the horse yourself but keep in mind that most horses will not perform at their best for a new handler. Although riding him yourself will give you the opportunity to discover small details or to ascertain something that you might have suspected. Does this horse handle easily? Is he responsive to leg pressure? How sensitive is it? Does it accept being handled by a stranger or is he overly upset?
If there are several reasons for rejecting the horse and his performance is poor, look somewhere else to make your purchase.

Feeding Your Horse

The goals is to furnish your horse with a daily supply of nutrients in the correct amounts and to use feed that is palatable, easily to obtain and economical.

Horses are consumers of forage. Under natural conditions, they spend several hours a day grazing. Basing your horse's feed on adequate amounts of good quality roughage will minimize any digestive disturbances such as colic. Supplement hay or pasture with the right amount of the correct concentrates to meet proper requirements for energy, protein, minerals and vitamins.

Horse Concentrates

Oats are the first choice of feeds. They are medium in energy, require little or no processing and have more protein than most grains but they are variable in energy content. You should try to avoid oats with a light weight per bushel because of their low energy and high fiber content. The best oats usually come from the north central states.

Corn is fine for horses but it's highly concentrated in energy so take care not to overfeed it. Wheat and grain sorghum are less suitable for feeding horses. Wheat is most dangerous because it causes colic by impacting in the gastrointestinal tract.

Recommendations

Only quality feeds. 
Balanced rations. 
Half the weight of the ration feed as quality hay. 
Feed higher protein and mineral rations to a horse that is growing lactating mares. 
Feed legume hay to younger growing horses, lactating mares and out of shape horses. 
Feed non-legume hays to adult horses. 
Regulate hay-to-grain ratio to control the condition in adult horses. 
Give salt separately, free-choice. 
Feed calcium and phosphorus free-choice. 
Always keep teeth functional. Horses that are five years old and older should be checked yearly by a vet to see if their teeth need filing. 
Feed according to weight, not volume. A gallon of different grains may vary one hundred percent in nutrient yield. 
Minimize fines in a prepared ration. If the ration is ground too fine, some horses will be reluctant to eat it and the chances of colic will increase. 
Offer plenty of good water, no colder than 45 degrees F. Horses should be watered at least twice daily. 
Never feed grain until tired or hot horses have cooled and rested.  It is best to wait one or two hours. 
Feed before work. Hungry horses should finish eating at least an hour before hard work. 
Always feed confined horses at least twice daily. If horses are working hard and consuming a lot of grain, three times is a must. 
When feeding hay, give half the hay allowance at night, while horses have more time to eat and digest it. 

Page Two of Horses

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