The Horse

Virtually Horses

Before you consider buying your first horse you must put some thought into how you intend to keep and look after it.  Read our Horsekeeping and FAQ pages as a bare minimum, but if you are serious about buying then you should be putting a great deal of research into these things.  The initial cost of a purchase price is only a very small part of the cost of owning a horse.

Sometimes when you are taking riding lessons, your instructor or someone else will offer you a horse to buy.  Don't be afraid to go through the entire decision making process even though someone you know says that this is the 'perfect' horse for you.  Also don't be afraid to just say 'no, thank you'.  If you know in your heart that you aren't ready for or simply don't want the commitment of your own horse, don't take one on just because it's there. 

On the other hand if you have been thinking about owning a horse ...Make yourself a list from each of the questions and comments below and you should end up with a clearer

When you have made the decision to purchase a horse, there are a number of things that you should consider and do to ensure that you make the best decision you can.  Additionally, it is only polite NOT to waste the time of people selling a horse if you are 'just browsing'. If you make your list it will help you to achieve both these goals.

What do you want a horse for?

Before you even begin your search, have a good think about what you want to do with your own horse.  Do you have a sporting passion? Dressage, jumping, eventing? Or are you only interested in hacking out? Would you like to show your horse?

If you are interested in dressage or jumping and this is your first horse, then you need to find one that already has good training in these skills.  If you wish to hack out, then this sort of training isn't so important but you do need to know how the horse will behave on roads, in company and on its own when away from the paddock.  Most people want a combination of things and you should rate how high on your list of priorities each of these items are.    You may find the perfect dressage schoolmaster who is a bit of a scaredy-cat when hacking on his own.  If this suits your priorities the horse may still be suitable, since you can work on his weaknesses in your own time.  But if your main priority is riding in the local forest and you don't have anyone to ride with, this will be a problem.

Horse Basics - Age...

One of your first questions when looking for a horse may be, what age horse should I buy? First and foremost you are looking for a healthy horse that suits you, so don't be too inflexible on age range.

Horses are 'babies' up to about the age of 3 when they are broken to saddle and still growing till 6 years old.  A mature horse is in the prime of its life between 6-18yrs old and don't bypass horses that are over 20 years old, most horses are fit and full of life well into their mid-20's (and many are quite capable of living full working lives much older than this). 

When looking for a first horse, especially for a novice or nervous rider you're probably better to look for an older horse that has 'been there done that'.  If you are looking for a reliable schoolmaster, then you are looking for a horse that has had a thorough training and possibly retired from its competition career.  For most sports this will be around 16+ and  If you just wish to have a reliable hack, then a horse in the 10+ age group will probably have had a lot of contact with various situations (traffic, animals, scary objects) and make a reliable companion for many years.  Don't fall into the trap of assuming that a 15 or 16 year old is a worn out old horse - remember Charisma was competing in Olympic 3 day eventing at 16 and for many horses this is the peak of their lives.

Younger horses may appeal if you are thinking of a competitive horse.  Certainly they will appeal to the wallet as young horses tend to be cheaper.  Remember though, that this is because most horses under the age of say 6-8 are not fully trained nor physically developed and will not have a great deal of experience in the world. 

Always remember that all horses are individuals and there will be some 4 year olds that are calm and wise beyond their years and some 24 year olds that act like skittish children, don't count a horse out because of its age but do think about whether you have the skills and experience to train a youngster and\or deal with any 'growing up' behaviours.  Do start out with a basic age range in mind when you are looking at advertisements, my personal preference for novice riders would be the 15+ age range.

What can you afford?

There is no point in looking at the ads for lovely warmbloods that cost $10,000 if your budget is $2000 so immediately set yourself a budget and make sure you can stick to it. 

Be realistic with your budget.  Your first horse(s) will probably be your most expensive (excluding competition horses) because as a novice rider you need to have the horse as well trained and mannered as you can find.  Look at some of the sales sheets before you go looking to see what prices the type of horse you are after is selling for - don't turn straight to the cheap section and think that the bargain basement horses will 'do'.  You may find a real gem but if not then what are you going to do?

Do NOT waste people's time by looking at horses that you cannot afford, assuming that you can bargain a seller down to half the advertised value.  Certainly, most sellers are willing to haggle over price, but I believe that price is that last priority for a first horse buyer.  So find your ideal horse first, ensure you have the cash to pay full asking price and if you save a few dollars by haggling, good for you.

Where to look?

There are many places to look for horses for sale, start by asking at your riding school, the instructors may know of a horse suitable and may be able to help you out with your search and if you ask nicely, might help you try out a few.

Then start looking in the local horse sales magazines and papers.  Here in NZ your choices are; Horse Trader (monthly), Sale Ring (Horse & Pony, monthly), Trade & Exchange (twice weekly).  I'm not sure if 'Loot' contains a horse section - check it out. 

Online sources include :Trade and Exchange - you can either buy an online subscription or search for free through the older listings, EquineNet(NZ), Horses Online(NZ), Find A Horse Online

Horse Auctions, rescue horses and race horses off the track are also options which can provide you with a gorgeous looking 'bargain' horse BUT be warned these horses are rarely (if ever) suitable for novice owners.  Rescue horses tend to come with a lot of emotional or physical 'baggage', ex-racehorses need quite a lot of retraining and auctions do not let you get to know your horse prior to buying and can be a minefield even for experienced horse people.

Buying

When you are looking do get help and advice from experienced horse people that you trust.  If you are taking lessons your instructor may be prepared to help you when you look at a horse (make sure you ask up front whether he\she would like to be paid for this time).  Make sure that you are both clear on the sort of horse you want.

On the Phone:  Have a list of questions when you are phoning about horses advertised for sale.  These should include :

• The vital statistics (even if they're in the ad) - age, height etc
• Why is the horse being sold? 
  • Also ask how long they have owned the horse - if the answer to the first one was something like 'overcommitment' but they've only owned the horse for a month or two I'd be suspicious.
  • Do you know the horse's history prior to that?
• How is he to handle\ride?
  • Quiet and could be handled by a learner \spirited and needs a confident rider\can be hard to handle, needs a strong rider - If either of the last two, I always try to find out what this means. Some horses are ok on a long rein on roads but hate to go strange places, or love to hunt but cannot stand the sight of a dressage arena (they recall being asked to do things they can't do) etc try to find out what the horse enjoys and what it fights about. ARE THESE THE SAME THINGS YOU WANT?
  • How is the horse - on the roads? - hacking on his own \ with others. with water? i.e. bathing, walking through it, at the beach, in a forest? with dogs or other animals ? -
  • What bit is the horse ridden in?  - this may indicate a rather more hard to handle horse than indicated - one without brakes or with a hard mouth.
  • What is the horse like at shows? Is he calm or more spirited? - when was the last time he\she went?
  • Is there anything the horse is particularily scared of?
  • Is the horse good to tack up? (if not this may point out pain issues)
• What things has the horse done? and ask follow-up questions about the answers given.  For instance if the seller states that the horse is safe to be ridden out alone ask how often it is being hacked out currently (now, not last year) and by whom\what sort of rider.  Minor quirks for an experienced rider can be devastating for a novice.
  • How many riders has he\she had? (some horses are frightened by the feel of a new rider)
  • What type of riding do you do? i.e. hacking, dressage, western, 3 day eventing, jumping etc
  • What type of training has the horse had? Does the horse have a trainer? Can I call the trainer?
• Where is the horse currently kept? In a paddock or stable? With others? Does it panic if left in a field on its own for a while? When he\she's in the paddock is he\she the boss horse or one of the herd?
• Does the horse load into a float or truck easily? How about unloading? Will I be able to try this when I see the horse?
• Ask about the horse's health and temperament, how he behaves for the farrier, what vaccinations etc
  • Does the horse have any medical problems?
  • Has the horse ever been lame?
  • Has the horse ever foundered?
  • When was the last time the horse's teeth were checked?
  • Is he\she currently on any supplements (ask if you don't know what they're for)
  • What do you feed the horse? - How easily does he get fat\lose condition? - in winter or summer? -  Is he\she aggressive around food?
• Has the horse ever hurt anyone? - ask this straight out if the owner seems to be avoiding any of the previous behavioural questions.
• Is the seller willing to provide the horse on trial (or let you ride it on trial at the seller's property).  If the seller is only willing to offer a trial on their land ask if you can hack the horse out and\or take it on a trip away, with the owner if necessary.

After you've asked all your questions over the phone and decided that you'd like to take a look at this horse here are some of the things you will want to try:

- Catching him in the field
- Picking up his feet - check out their condition and how he behaves, while you're down there check his legs for lumps, bumps and scars.
- How does he behave when being unrugged\tacked up?
- Ask the owner to ride him first (you'll need some flat land preferably ), watch him being ridden at walk, trot and canter, jumped if you are going to jump him (or learn to jump)

When you ride, get an overall impression first. Will he walk calmly on a long rein for you? Does he go forward nicely from the leg? or does he shy away? Is he heavy in your hands or does he halt and slow down easily when asked? If you want to jump, you'll need to jump him somewhere.

Be prepared to forgive miscommunications! Remember, you FEEL different from his last rider, you probably RIDE different its going to take time to build a rapport, what you need to know now, is whether this horse is safe for you, willing to learn what you want and physically able to do so. Does he feel like he's trying to work you out and making a few mistakes, or does he feel like he just wants to get rid of you as quickly as possible...?

Check; Does his back swing nicely to allow his legs to stretch along at the walk? Are his legs moving forward evenly at the trot? i.e. do his rear and front diagonals move forward at the same time? Listen, is there a nice 2 beat? or does he have a '4-beat' trot? If you want to do a little dressage (or a lot) check whether he looks to have 'extension', look for the front legs being used in front of the shoulder (even without being asked for extension). Do his back legs track up? Watch at the trot to see where the back hooves hit the ground - is it behind or in front of where the front hooves just left? Is he straight, look from front on, is he pigeon toed or do his front legs swing out (dish) when moving forward? When you looked at his footfalls for tracking up were his front and rear hooves in the same track? or is he not straight through the back? Does he canter off both legs?

Note anything that doesn't seem right and discuss it with the vet if you get to a vet check stage.

Can you have a trial period? You may be able to take him home or you may be able to trial him at the owners. Make sure you agree on terms, if you are taking him, get it in writing before he leaves the premises - who is responsible if the horse is hurt? (or worse) expenses while on trial, transport to\from, when is the trial period over and who will arrange return if you don't want the horse.

If you have been able to sort out a trial period use it well to do all the things you might want to do with the horse, hacking, dressage, lunging, travelling etc. Anything that you didn't get to do in the first meeting you should try during a trial.

If the owner won't let you trial - don't be put off by this, many owners have had bad experiences with time-wasters who trial horses with no intention of buying or even had horses injured or stolen while 'on trial'. 

Ask the owner:

• Can you ride the horse again? - be specific about how keen you are on the horse and let the owner know whether you are serious about potentially buying or not and what you are unsure about i.e. you like the horse but would only buy if he can be hacked out alone safely and must try that first.
• Can you try loading him in a float\truck?
• Can you try him on a hack? (alone or in company)
• If you wish to jump, you need to try this (if you didn't already in your ride) Don't forget to jump him both at an arena and on open ground.
• Can you try him in strange places with strange horses?
• Can you lunge him? 
• If you can't have a trial period it is important that you are able to try as many things as possible.
• If the owner won't won't show you something - be suspicious! If you cannot trial a horse and have any doubts - walk away. 

If you decide to buy arrange a pre-purchase vet check - costs around $NZ230 and may take up to an hour. If x-rays are required, this will cost more. You'll get a written report at the end and if you've done all of these things, you should be pretty happy that you've done the best job you can to find the right horse.

What do you need to have before you buy?

In fact most of us build up our 'horse gear' after purchase.  Partly this is because many items must fit your horse and therefore cannot be bought before the horse.  However you can start purchasing some items prior to finding your perfect partner.  This will save you time and effort and give you some peace of mind when you bring your new horse home and will also let you spread out some of the expense and perhaps take advantage of specials at the local tack store (or online outlets).

Typical pre-purchase items would be:

• Halter and lead rope (s) - if you buy webbing these are generally adjustable enough
   to cope if you end up with a 'cob' instead of a 'full'. Don't buy fancy leather until
  you have your horse and know his head size but you'll need something on day one!
• Begin your First Aid Kit
• Grooming equipment - brushes, curry combs and rubber massagers, hoof pick,
  sponges, buckets, tack box\carry case
• Saddle cloths\pads - These come in rough sizes (pony\ horse or sm,m,l) You may also want to get travelling boots if you are fairly clear on the height\size of your horse.
• A helmet, jodphurs etc for yourself if you don't have your own already
• Feed bowl, haynet(s), mineral lick\general multi-vitamin supplement,
  rodent proof storage bins (rubbish bins are good for this)

Depending on the season and your circumstances you may also want to source a supply of hay.  How much you buy will depend on your storage and transport availability as much as anything but generally getting a good supply from the farmer will save you a lot of money over buying a bale at a time from the feed stockist.  To work out how much hay you may need take a look at our feed table on the FAQ page.

Books to help you out

Here is a selection of Books from Amazon that may help you out.  I haven't seen or read them all so if you have I'd love to hear your opinions.