Can you educate me a little more about horses?

C

Courtney x o .

New member
Iv been riding for about a month ( english ) and I think its time to step it up a notch.
Iv been using ariat boots and a helmet from my friend at the barn which she just got and opened it in front of my eyes and I know she has never had a fall while that helmet on her head.
I have found a 16.6 hand mare and Im educated about horses about
Bell boots
Saddles
Helmets
Clothing
Boots
But is there anything I really need to know?
Any tips you would like to add?
Also vet check , passed , etc
The mare is 8 1/2 years old.
They are wanting to give me the mare because They are a old couple and their daughter has grown up and they are just too old for it now,
does that seem like a good thing?
Also on the hay , etc
how much does all the hay for a 16.6 hands ( dunno extact weight )
water , brushes , add up too? a month
the board is 300-500 depending on what you choose.
I really need to get my own helmet , but i cant seem to find a tack shop anywhere near here over an hour away, is there any trusted websites like chicks saddlery or an websites like those that you trust to buy from? any ebay stores you trust?
anything really helps. im really educated but im learning and still need advice!


Thanks for listening to the long story of questions,


Courtney


x
Wait a minute ,

I checked the papers.

Its 16.3 not 16.6
idk why i thought 16.6
thats probably because I was on page 166 of my book :S
Oh and.
My whole mothers side owns barns throughout the states
They've been involved with it since they were little.
and I am ready.
Iv only been taking lessons on a horse for about a month, but iv been around them for years, i just never really did anything.......
Oh & PS
iv taken care of a filly for a month while my friend was away.

I know wayy more then i listed but I just didnt feel like listing it ALL

I was just looking for little tips as in shoeing , and what worm preventive would be the best. iv seen some really horrible dewarmer and worm preventive
( and sorry for the spelling on preventive )
 
Don't buy a horse yet, seriously.
At the start its all, oh i want a horse so bad etc, but if you want the horse to be happy and healthy, i suggest ALOT more riding, join a ponyclub or something, do ponycamps etc, and LOAN! lots of loaning before you buy,!
 
I'm going to be really honest here. You should not get a horse. You will most likely be unable to care for this mare and I think any animal lover would want a horse to go to a good home. First off.

Bell boots are nothing when you have a horse. They are the least of your worries and sometimes you don't even need them. They are only for horses with shoes. Do you know how to correctly fit a saddle? I doubt you do because you may be able to judge if a saddle needs a riser or something basic, but to know if it is actually going to correctly fit is an art and takes an experienced eye. Helmets are extremely basic. I have 2 of them sitting in my closet right now, 1 of them hanging by my saddle at the stable, and my GPA in my tack trunk. They are very important, don't get me wrong, but do being educated about helmets isn't going to help you with a horse. Clothing isn't either. So you wear long pants, a boot with a heel, shirt. You only seem to know stuff about what the rider needs, not really the horse.

As for your question. There are TONS of things you NEED to know. starting with: 81/2 years old...for a month rider. That's just a tad young of a horse for you. If I had a 1 month rider I'd give her some 20 yr old, been everywhere, completely bombproof horse.

Moving on to the food. You need to know the weight to figure how much hay. You can't know by size. They need tons of water. At the stable i'm at, theres auto waters but when we go to shows I always have two huge buckets of water available usually I fill them up 4 times a day.

Brushes aren't that important. Yeah you buy em and then you have em and your done till they fall a part which takes a while.

Say the boards 400. That's 4800 bucks a year and that's ONLY for the board. What about training? Lessons? Farrier? Vet? Grains? Supplements? I easily pay 2 grand a month. I doubt you'll be showing but just a basic B show costs like 800 bucks.

You don't know where a tack shop is and your going to buy a horse. Don't you see a problem with that at all? Saddlery.com. Go there. They have a huge variety.

I've answered your list heres mine.
Does she have shoes?
Front, backs?
Do you know how to take care of hooves?
takes more then picking their feet. They need to be trimmed about every 6 weeks and then if she has shoes she needs those replaced as well.
Does she have thrush?
Any therapeutic shoe?
Is she on any hoof strengthening supplement?

Does she have arthritis or anything that would require regular vet visits?
Do you know what colicing is?
Is she prone to it?
Does she need her hay soaked to prevent it? etc.
Are her teeth in good condition?
could you even check her teeth and know that she really is 81/2?
Have her teeth been floated recently?
Is she prone to hives?
Does she trailer in case of an emergency?
Do you have access to a trailer?
Does she need therapeutic work?
Any history of being lame?
What would you do if she was lame?
Do you have a trainer?
Can you afford your trainer to help you every day seeing as you can't possibly train a horse?
What breed is she?
Whats her weight?
What is she trained in?
Who did the vet check. The owners vet? cuz that would be bad.
What experience does she have?
Is your boarder going to supply grain and hay?
What bit does she have

Do you have:
A fly sheet
a medium weight blanket
a heavy weight blanket
a saddle that will fit her
a bridle
a bit
polos
brushes (curry, soft, dandy, mane & tail, hoof pick at the minimum)
couple saddle pads
fly spray
shampoo
rubber scrapper
lunge line
lunge whip
halters
lead ropes
quilts
standing/shipping wraps
rubbing alcohol
triple A
adhesive wraps
betadyn
rubber gloves
saddle cleaner
etc etc etc

can you:
put a saddle on
put a bridle on
take apart a bridle and put it together again
wrap polos:
standing wraps
shipping wraps
brush correctly
look at a horse and see that he's lame without having to ride em
fit a bridle, halter
control a horse spooking at some random thing
anticipate whats going to happen
handle a horse yourself


wooow and the list goes on and on. Those are the BASICS of having a horse. That would be for a person who goes and rides a couple times a week, no shows, no hard training, nothing but a few trails. What if you go in one day and she throws a kick at you and every time you go near her she kicks again. Would you have the voice to stop her?

You seem to care a lot about what your doing. What boots your using...what helmet..what clothing. When you don't have a horse...all you have to do is get dressed and go over to your lesson and get waitored on basically. When you get a horse. You don't have help always. You don't have someone telling you if thats right or if thats wrong or paying the bills on the horse. Its all you. And sometimes thats not whats best for the horse. I understand your probably excited about riding and stuff but your just a baby in the horse world and you need to learn mo
 
No offense, but you probably need to ride longer than just a month if you want to own a horse. Maybe you can ask them if you can lease he horse and keep it on their property. These are things that you ABSOLUTELY need to know to own a horse...

RIDING
You should know how to...
Walk
trot
canter
jump (an 18 inch crossrail at the VERY least)
how to do a headset
post
keep your heels down
keep your butt in the saddle at a canter
keep your hands at the correct position
keeping your legs from "swimming"
how to flow with the horse, smoothly

CARE
mucking stalls
how to tack and untack
how to get the correct girth length
how to bathe a horse, properly
how to groom
the correct amount of food
know how to lead the horse around

ect
ect
ect
ect
ECT!!!!!

there is a lot that you need to know, so you will definitely want to take lessons longer and learn about all of the barn chores that would need to be done. good luck! :))
 
Have you considered in-barn leasing? I think it would be perfect for you and will bridge the gap in your knowledge before you take the dive into horse ownership. You seem to have learned a lot about RIDING and not so much about handling and horse care. Anyone who owns a horse will tell you they are accident prone babies and if you own one you really need to know basic first aid and when to call a vet. Horse's digestive tracts are very sensitive, so you will need to know the signs a horse in distress.

Hay is expensive. There is a national shortage. Price will depend on where you live and how far it needs to be shipped. The horses height has little bearing on how much it will eat. I would look at the horse's breed, work load, body type and metabolism to determine how much and what kind of hay to feed.

There is no such thing as 16.6 hh horse. Your horse can be 16.1, 16.2, 16.3 or 17.0, 17.1, 17.2, 17.3 hands.

I would suggest you keep taking lessons on as many different horses as you can, and look into leasing for the time being. Make sure it is an in-barn lease so you can have another set of experienced eyes on you and the horse while you learn about ownership and horsemanship. There's a lot more to it than riding!! Keep your chin up and never stop learning.
 
First of all, a 16.6hh horse doesn't exist- only 16hh,16.1, 16.2 and 16.3hh then 17hh and on and on... Also, I would consider taking lessons for more then a month before you own a horse. Thats a lot of questions, but I'll try my best. You need to be educated about riding, the use of aids, and stuff like that. You could take clinics on general horse care, saddle fitting, braiding. You want a really wide range of knowlege because something odd always pops up in the horse world! Get your trainer to help you learn this stuff. It will come with experience as you probebly know you cannot read a book and know how to polo wrap the next day! Take all the chances you can handle. For helmets I suggest apple saddlery, dover saddlery, tack room inc. As for the situation you are buying the horse in, yes it does seem sensible, but ask if you can ride the horse first, and do what you would normally do with it if you owned the mare, make sure to bring a helmet and riding clothes, some gloves, and a trainer. Ride the horse and see if you like it. Usually the hay/grains and water would be included in your boarding fees. I pay $395 for my board, anywhere around $400 is usually decent. Brushes would be around $30, if you got everything. I would be wise to invest in some horse shampoo! Also, clippers if the board people don't already offer it. (I pay $50 for a full body clip, so I am thinking about buying some clippers for $120 and clipping my own horses). For your boots I suggest Ariat Challenge #2 feild boot zip. Everyone here owns them, and we love them! As for helmets, don't go with the $40- they break in a day. Spend around $150 and make sure it is ASTM and FEI approved. Hope that helps you a bit, and good luck with it all! Oh and my farrier is $90 for front shoes only.
 
Wow everyone is being extremly rude! I think it's a great idea to buy this horse and become further educated with horses! I like these websites:
http://www.statelinetack.com/
http://www.horseloverz.com/home.php

If the horse you re looking in to buying and it's nice and laid back then go for it! Ecspecislly if you have your instructor to help! Also here is a good helmet off State line tack:
http://www.statelinetack.com/item/international-ath-helmet-with-dial/SLT653518/

Horses do cost alot of money but it's worth th awesome experience! Congratulations! Be safe and have fun! =]
 
There is absolutely no such thing as 16.6.
One "hand" equals 4 inches. So it can only go up to .3 before it switches to a new hand.
16.3 is the tallest a horse can be without switing into 17hh+.
 
firstly no such thing as 16.6hh horse but you now know that so moving on...

You say you know about
Bell boots
Saddles
Helmets
Clothing
Boots

To me the imporant things are
Do you know basc vet care, signs of colic etc
Can you tack up? Lead a horse correctly? Lunge a horse?
Walk? Trot ? Canter? (or jog/lope)? Jump?
Float a horse? (not the driving but loading and unloading?
Plus lots lots more...

Unfortunantly when you say "im really educated" but make begginner mistakes you come out looking sillier than an honest person saying "Hi I have only just started out, I know some things but I am really eager to know more, can you help?"(which may be what you ment) That sounded a little mean and is no way ment to be, it's only my reaction to what your saying.

Good Luck though, keep learning and enjoying, I would get some more experience before owning a horse, even though a free one has just come by. The cheapest and easiest part is buying the horse it's all the other stuff that is hard.
 
there is no such height as 16.6 in horse height first of all so honestly if i were you i would wait a while and take more lessons before you consider buying a horse of your own. owning a horse NOT including the board will cost you over $2,000 a year easily and thats if you dont have any emergancy expenses. each horses food needs are slighlty different and depend on access to grazing, metabolism, work load, age etc. but i would figure on between half a bale to a bale each day just to be safe plus grain if the horse requires it. some places offer feed included in the board so you will have to check. having a horse of your own is a HUGE responsibility and you should probably ride for more than a month before you decide to get one of your own. if you want a good internet site to get some gear of your own try www.statelinetack.com
 
there is no such height as 16.6 in horse height first of all so honestly if i were you i would wait a while and take more lessons before you consider buying a horse of your own. owning a horse NOT including the board will cost you over $2,000 a year easily and thats if you dont have any emergancy expenses. each horses food needs are slighlty different and depend on access to grazing, metabolism, work load, age etc. but i would figure on between half a bale to a bale each day just to be safe plus grain if the horse requires it. some places offer feed included in the board so you will have to check. having a horse of your own is a HUGE responsibility and you should probably ride for more than a month before you decide to get one of your own. if you want a good internet site to get some gear of your own try www.statelinetack.com
 
Uhm, if by 16.6, you mean 16 and 1/2 hands high, you would write it as 16.2. Just that right there tells me you don't know enough.

Other points of concern are your asking how much to feed (it depends on the horse, the activity level, the quality of hay, and supplements, any grain, and any turnout.), and that you've only been riding a month and feel that it's "time to step it up a notch".

Try three YEARS of lessons, then go back and consider purchasing a horse!

Oh, and I recently worked this out for someone else, but the average annual cost of a horse( not including actually purchasing the horse, tack, anything for you (riding gear, show outfits, etc...), show fees, lessons, training, replacement equipment, and the like) is:

$7,085. And you have to have all that IN HAND before you buy a horse! So if you don't have that in hand before you buy the horse, and have the ability to have that same amount in hand as of January 1 of the next year, you can't realistically afford to own a horse.
 
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