When buying a horse, there’s many things that you need to consider, especially if it’s your first horse. You need to ask yourself:
- Can you afford to keep a horse?
- What do you want to do with your horse?
- How much experience do you have?
- Where are you going to keep it?
- How much do you want to spend to buy a horse?
- What breed of horse do you want?
- What size horse do you need?
In fact, I better stop there otherwise I’ll never stop! The list of questions you need to ask yourself is endless!
You should know if you can afford a horse & I’m sure you can work out where to keep it (horse boarding stables), so I’ll go through some of the more commonly asked questions about how to buy a horse that you may not be able to answer by yourself.
What Age Horse Should I Get?
The age of the horse you end up buying will usually depend on how much horse experience you have.
If this is your first horse, even if you’ve been riding for a few years, I would definitely NOT recommend getting a young horse that’s either unbroken or just broken in (green broken).
Green broken horses are VERY different from a horse that’s been ridden for a few years and they need someone who knows what they’re doing to guide them in the right direction & not be scared to discipline them if needed.
Green or inexperienced horses + Green or inexperienced riders = Not a good mix!
In most cases, a horse around 10 years or older is a pretty safe bet when buying a horse for the first time, but it’s probably a good idea not to go much over 17 or 18 years old – you don’t want your horse to drop dead on you 6 months after you bought it!
There are some exceptions to this, but it’s a pretty good rule of thumb to follow.
Stallions may be stunning, but they need to be kept securely away from mares.
Should I Get a Mare, Gelding or Stallion?
Ok, first thing, cross the stallion off the list straight away…do it right now!
A stallion (a male horse who still has his crown jewels) is something that only experienced horse riders and owners should consider.
Firstly, stallions can be very different to handle than mares or geldings – you can’t ‘tell’ most stallions to do anything, or try to be bossy with them, you need to treat them with the utmost respect (mind you, you should be doing this with any horse). Secondly, unless your neighbour or fellow horse boarders all want their mares in foal, you’ll need very good (& high) fences and they probably won’t want to go riding with you when their mares are in season.
So that leaves us with a mare or a gelding (a male horse without his jewels)?
Whether or not you like mares or geldings is really a personal preference. Some people will say that mares can be ‘bitchy’ and difficult to handle, especially when in season (which some can be), but in the majority of cases, this isn’t true.
There are ‘bad’ mares, but there’s almost as many ‘bad’ geldings – sorry, don’t like saying horses are ‘bad’, as their behaviour is usually as a result of how we handle them.
So don’t let anyone tell you not to get a mare. I can safely say from personal experience that the vast majority of mares are absolutely brilliant horses. In fact I had someone say to me once:
A good mare will beat a good gelding any day!
…& having had several good mares (& quite a few geldings) I can definitely vouch for the fact that this is true!
New Forest Pony
What Breed Should I Get When Buying a Horse?
Any breed that’s quiet and suits what you want to do!
No particular breed is quieter than another. There’s horses that are ‘hot’ or ‘fizzy’ and horses that are quiet in any breed.
You might hear from people not to buy an Arab or a Thoroughbred for your first horse, as they tend to be a bit ‘hot’, but if you find one that’s quiet then don’t hesitate. Don’t let a horse’s breed put you off going to look at it, if everything else seems ok!
Buying a horse is a big expense and comes with a big commitment, but think carefully first, keep these things in mind and you should be able to find yourself a friend for life!
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Horse Buying News