3rd horse - should we or shouldn’t we?
Posted by Bill on Sep 06 2007 at 02:16 pm | Tagged as: General
We’ve been toying with the idea of getting another horse. We have two now and our barn is setup with three completed stalls. Here’s our reasoning: we could use a practice horse, one that’s well broken (bulletproof, as they say). Our horses are awesome but they need work. Sometimes one of us just wants to go for a ride. A third horse would let us do that. Also, once we whip our horses into shape for trail riding, what’s the kid going to do? We can’t just leave him home. He needs a horse to ride, too. And speaking of the kid, he’s a little afraid of our two horses. They’re young and energetic. He’s heard of my fall on Moonshine and Mikki’s wild ride on Valentine. If we had an old, broken horse for him to ride maybe it would increase his confidence. Plus, we’d love for him to have the experience of owning a horse as a kid. Not many kids get to do that. I know I wasn’t able to but I would have loved it.
The cons…well probably the biggest con at this point is the expense. Horses are cheap but maintaining them isn’t. We’re hoping to get a good deal for our winter hay in the next week or two and we’d have enough for a third horse. Supplemental feed is reasonable. The shoeing is expensive, though, as is medical care, as needed. We’d need aother saddle, but that’s a one-time expense. And then there’s the age thing. If we get a 20-25 year old horse, it could live 10 more years, or 1 more year. Also, the kid hasn’t especially expressed an interest in having his own horse. I fear Mikki and I would be stuck taking care of it. It’s not hard, since we’re already caring for two others, but I want to teach responsibility.
What do you think? Should we do it? Not that we’ll listen to advice or reason, since we tend to purchase/acquire animals on intuition emotion anyway. But I’d love to hear your thoughts.
You are asking a horse lover if you should get another horse? That’s funny. The answer is ALWAYS yes. But seriously face the fact that you will end up caring for it. Kids (unless you have an unusually motivated horse lover child), simply do not have what it takes to care for a horse. I would get a horse that has been there and done that. It doesn’t have to be old. Maybe 10 -12 years old with lots of trail miles on it. A horse that is on the lazy side not one prone to taking off. A horse whose natural disposition is not snarly lazy but calm lazy. I would love to have an extra horse. I hate riding alone and I have a hard time finding folks to ride with although I belong to a trail preservation association and ride fairly often in groups. It’s when you are alone that bad stuff happens. Scary stuff. Horses do better in groups being herd animals. They tend to behave themselves and not be so wacky. The high strung ones think, oh maybe that culvert is not a bear seeing as 4 other horses passed it without freaking out and that same horse if you were alone would bolt and the lazy horse thinks, man I better move out as I need to stay with the herd.
Maybe you could lease a horse? Then, if your kid doesn’t take care of it, you could just stop leasing it.
As a kid with two of my own horses I would say yes, but I would also say no, just because it takes a lot of time to keep horses in shape and the more horses you have the more time you spend. It’s only fair to have horses you really ride, so they feel like they have a job. (Every horse needs a job!) Do you have the extra time?
The lady I leased my horse from had a horse that she had bought for her 11 yr. old son. He wasn’t that interested, but she got it anyway (her 3rd horse). He rode it once, then it became a very expensive pet for the next 3 years until she sold it.
How about a dog instead? I also like the lease idea. My lease consisted of just “taking over” expenses plus a $200 deposit on all tack that came on loan with the horse.
Hi Bill,
I bookmarked your site about a year ago, as we are thinking of getting horses ourselves, though we don’t have the funds yet. I have so enjoyed reading about your experiences. Regarding the third horse, I’d go for it, but I would not call it the kid’s horse, just our third horse. If he’s not interested now, it’s not really fair to get him a horse, then expect him to care for it. Rather, it’s your horse, and if he wants in, he needs to do some reasonable amount of work for it. It is nice to have an older, quieter horse you can just go ride anyway, and also, if you have non horsey friends who would like to ride with you, you have that option.
Wow, thanks for the insight and the comments you guys.
I’m not sure how to go about leasing a horse but I have come across a few we could buy very inexpensively. It seems there isn’t a big market in east Tennessee for old broke trail horses. And one advantage we have there is our large animal vet friends. As easily as we get attached to animals, I’m pretty sure we wouldn’t buy an old horse without having him/her checked out first.
Cyndi brings up a good point about whose horse it will be. We should call it our third horse since the kid isn’t interested right now. If he shows initiative and works for it, I’d be happy to call it his. And it would be nice having an easy horse to ride on a whim and an “extra” for horse-less friends who come over.
I’ve got to say, I’m leaning towards “yes” right now but please keep any comments coming and thanks for taking the time to type a note.
I think a third horse is an awesome idea. However, I think you should save the money, and go visit family and friends for a vacation. Then if you are still have that desire for an addition to the family, then I am all for it dude.
I say go for it (I’ve posted here several times before under a different url, still the same Peggy though).
We started out with 2 horses, now we have 4. Our trainer personally thinks if you find a horse that is 12, it will be well broke enough for you to figure out if he/she is going to be a nice quiet horse.
First off, my advice (not that you have to take it) would be to look for a gelding. Mares are more moody (this, coming from someone who owns three of them lol).
Secondly, have you considered which breed? I never would have believed it before, but it makes a difference. Quarterhorses are WONDERFUL horses for children. Very docile, gentle, and real people pleasers. There’s a reason cowboys almost always use quarterhorses and it’s not just for what the horse can do, it’s also because of their personality and how easily and readily they learn.
I personally wouldn’t take on a horse any older then 12-15 years old, but then again, I know of one pinto that was adopted at 23, and is now winning many many ribbons for jumping at the local shows. So I guess it really just depends on the horse. Good thing you have vet friends though! That helps a LOT!
Have fun! I hope your son falls in love with which ever horse you get! Our five children, ages 16 down to 7, spend so much time with the horses that they never have time for getting into trouble.
Goodness gracious, Laura, no - no more dogs!! We’re worse about dogs than we are about horses. When we moved here we had one dog…now we have 4. I don’t know how that happened…but no more dogs!!
Norman, I hate to tell you, but a horse is way cheaper than a vacation on the other side of the country.
I’m leaning towards “yes,” too, and if it’s meant to be, it will happen. In the meantime, we are getting a round pen this week, so even our two “pasture ornaments” will have jobs very soon, Pony Tail Club. Won’t they be surprised! More in an upcoming post.
Finding a horse to lease is not hard. There are gobs of teenage girls going off to college who dream of selling their beautiful horse, but can’t take it with them. Dreamhorse, Craigslist are great sources. Dreamhorse even has leasing as a search item.
But about getting a 3rd. In reality if Kid is not passionate now that there are two horses in the barn, a third horse will probably not bring that about. Your time and money is better invested in getting kid lessons of different horsey types to see if he/she can find the right discipline that suits him or her.
I am only one person and I have three, so I cannot argue against it, I love having three personalites, but yes, it is expensive and a long term commitment!
We’re considering putting in a round pen, so I look forward to anything you might share about this!
I think you should get the third horse because I know once you get him, kid will learn to love him.I think your right about the whole responsibility thing. You want to teach kid responsibility and that is the perfect way to do it. It is also good to have that trait when you get older.
Having a third horse is a huge committment (we have 13!) but I also know that my kid has no interest in the horses all on his own (now 14) but when we’re out there working them & out riding he wants to be right there. He’s not got enough gumption to be out there on his own but he does love being with us.
Leasing a horse is probably the best idea, but that too can be expensive because there’s still vet bills, etc. Make sure you get a GOOD contract.
Finally, what has helped my son get connected to the horse is by getting lessons on *his* horse… which means finding a trainer that will come to me. It helps horse & rider bond and learn each other in a structured environment no matter how “bombproof” the horse is.