If I could do it all over again, here’s what I would change
Posted by Bill on Jul 05 2010 at 01:29 pm | Tagged as: General, Horse Ownership Costs
Many of you have followed the Our First Horse blog for the more than four years we’ve been around. You’ve read about us starting with our first horse (Valentine), purchasing our second horse (Moonshine) soon after and later our third and fourth horses (Romeo and Cash). We started out as total newbies with a nice horse barn and a decent fenced property and gradually, slowly we gained knowledge and experience. And I’d like to think along that way we gained wisdom, as well. It’s a piece of that wisdom I’d like to share with you today.
Someone once said that hindsight is 20/20 and this we have all proven in our lives. After more than four years of horse ownership, I’ve come to the conclusion that we’ve made some poor decisions, especially early on. I love all of our horses and have no interest in selling any of them. We’re emotionally attached to them now. But even though we can ride any ride-able horse and even though we know how to take care of them, we’re in a way still beginners, unskilled and without a lot of time. I had an epiphany recently. For people like us who don’t have much time but love horses enough that they want their own, it’s better to buy a well-trained, excellent horse right in the beginning. What we should have done was spend $5,000-$10,000 each on two already-trained, good horses. There, I said it. Our horses are great but they need a lot of training. The trouble is, I need training, too, and I don’t have a lot of time for me to learn, become an expert and then train my horses.
So if I could do it all over again, I’d start out with better trained horses. I’m certainly not giving up on our horses and we will invest time and money into training them. But there are days I wish I could just saddle up any of them and head off on the trails (we can mostly do this with Romeo). So my advice to you if you’re a beginner looking for your first horse - save your money and invest in lessons for you (critical) and a well-trained horse.
For those of you with horses, do you agree/disagree? What would you do differently in hindsight?
I totally agree. I did invest in a well trained horse but skipped the training for myself and now I tend to confuse my horse. I know she knows what to do I just don’t know how to tell her in the way she has been trained. Frustrating! No time or money now for lessons for myself.
I tend to agree, but finding a well trained seasoned trail horse is an insane process. Between people who will lie about a horse’s ability (no matter what the price) and bringing yourself up to the level of a well trained horse (after all, a beginner can mess up a well trained horse), it can be a tough line to travel.
I do think beginners fall in love with a horse outside their ability. Most of us are better off with a steady eddie horse, but we are drawn to the black stallion. A good trail horse is not easy to find, not by a long shot.
Time teaches you so much. And some lessons you just have to learn along the way.
Hey! Has it really been almost 4 years??! I know I’ve been around for at least 3 of those years. I joined in even before I bought my first horse.
Now I’m on my second horse!
Congrats for hanging in there all that time, and for sharing the things you’ve learned along the way.
I totally disagree that paying more for a horse guarantees a better, more well-trained, and more beginner-safe, rideable horse.
I spent close to $4,000 for my first horse, believing that same thing….that more money means a better horse for a beginner.
hahahahahahaah!!!!
I learned the most painfully hard way that that idea is just not true. After surgery, severed ligaments, broken bones, surgery, and a year of healing, I sold that more expensive, “beginner-safe’, trained horse, and I found a $900 backyard pony to call my own.
I don’t know her background except for the previous owner, who owned her for only a year and didn’t really much care for my mare.
That last lady was looking for a fast, powerful horse for ‘extreme mountain riding’. She said my mare was stubborn and lazy. She also said she had reared on her when she was trying to get her to move.
I’ve since learned that my mare isn’t lazy, but rather, very smart. She will give everything she has, if her rider asks politely and kindly. She doesn’t have a mean, evil bone in her body.
The problem she did have though, is that her previous owner neglected her dental care. My vet showed me the 2 inch long hooks in the front of her mouth (along with steps and waves and hooks, too) that were constantly being battered against the Tom Thumb snaffle bit that her previous owner had been using. Imagine that kind of pain.
My poor mare had nowhere to go but up…to escape that horrible pain.
I’ve had my sweet Apache mare now for over 5 months and I’ve ridden her in several official Competitive Trail Rides. I’ve ridden her all over the mountains here and up in northern New Mexico.
She has never offered to rear on me…not once. She is willing to do anything I ask of her: cross water, climb up and down steep mountains, ride through vines, have my slicker tossed all over her head and anywhere else it happens to land, pull a log, cross a tarp, a blanket…anything at all.
She is kind to our dogs, our llamas and our goats, too. And this mare of mine will carry my kids safely and calmly, and stop quickly if they lose their balance. She will let me and my kids hang on her and hug her all over without moving an inch. She has the patience of a saint.
And I only paid $900 for her.
I could have bought 4 of her for the price I paid for my first “beginner-safe, well-trained” horse that almost killed me.
But Apache is worth far more than $900.
She is worth her weight in gold….and then some.
She just goes to prove that you don’t need to pay a huge sum of money for a well trained horse.
The horse just has to be willing, patient and a have a big heart.
~Lisa
Thanks for the comments and insight! Lisa, maybe you got lucky or maybe I’m way off. But your point is well taken - the money doesn’t guarantee anything. You can get lucky with a $900 horse and you can also pay a lot of money for a horse that’s not right for you. I guess I’d summarize my feelings by saying that if you’re a beginner you can’t expect to go cheap and end up with the perfect horse - unless you’re lucky.
I agree with you! And I also think that many people in your situation come to that same epiphany, or they end up giving up on horse all together.
If someone new to the horse world asks for my advice/opinion, I always tell them they should buy a dead broke horse to learn on, even if it’s 18-20 years old, they usually still have 4-5 good years left in them to teach a beginner the ropes and by then they’re ready for retirement and the rider is ready to move on to a more advanced horse.
I agree. I am going on 10 years in newbie status! Okay, maybe I can say I am an “advanced beginner.”
Yes, we bought the wrong horses and became emotionally attached. The good ones went to the kids, so I was always on the proverbial greenie. Finally, I took lesson WITH my horse. Just once a week for a couple months. It really made all the difference in the world. Then my trainer kept her for a month and moved her along in the learning curve a bit. She is now my most reliable horse.
Even if we would have spent the $$ for a well broke horse, I didn’t know what I didn’t know. In hindsight, I recommend that newbies take lessons on a lesson horse first so they learn to ride & then find a horse for their level.
But, we are only brilliant when the time has passed.
Congrats on your 4 yrs!
Nope…not lucky at all. With time and experience comes wisdom. I paid my dues, so I don’t consider luck a part of any of it.
I’ve worked hard to get where I am right now. I’ve taken many lessons to rebuild my confidence (of which I’ve blogged about this past year since my horse accidents) and move past the fears that my first horse created inside of me. I’ve also taken lessons on steady eddie horses to learn how ride better, which, like Tammy said, helped me better understand which type of horse is a good fit for me.
In my case, my time spent with many different horses helped me to actually notice the hidden gem within a horse that was basically a throw-away horse.
And I do know that there are many horses out there, who have the potential, or who are already ready to prove themselves, but have been forgotten in the back yard. I see this often just from my time spent volunteering at my local horse rescue. I see the horses that come in with nothing wrong with them, except neglect because the owner couldn’t afford to feed and vet them anymore. Or the kids grew up and the parents don’t ride horses. But the horses are well trained, good horses that have just been without a job for a long time.
I’ve watched these horses come in and then get adopted for less than $1,000 and their new owners come back to tell us how wonderfully surprised they are at how well-trained and behaved their rescued/adopted horse is. I don’t think that can be called luck at all. It’s a beautiful thing.
Think of it like the mutt you see being given away in the free ad or at the shelter, compared to the pure-bred, fancy-pants over-bred dog. Personally, I’ve had more problems behaviorally with the pure-bred dogs than the well-behaved, gentle mutts who are just grateful to have been given a home.
Do you know that you can actually tell from reading a horse’s posture, body language, and the way that it reacts to certain stimuli, if that horse is a good fit for you, or not.
For me, it’s also in the eyes. I know now to look for a kindness, a gentleness, a willingness and an intelligence within those deep round orbs.
I suppose some folks might get lucky, but I think with any horse purchase, it requires dedication and work from the horse buyer, too, if they want to find a horse that’s a good fit for them.
I think what I’m trying to say, is that a horse is like a human. We can’t expect it to be perfect and come fully operational with all of it’s buttons and knobs in working order.
There is always some tweaking to do, and something new to learn, for horse and for rider.
But if the horse has a willing heart, is kind, gentle, patient, and is also intelligent, and if you’re willing to invest your own time, and even money, to become a better rider and horse owner you do have the opportunity to have the perfect horse for you…….without having to spend thousands of dollars either.
~Lisa
I don’t know - you learn a lot more by making all the mistakes. People thought we were nuts when we bought our 10 year old daughter a 5 year old horse.
Well, maybe we were nuts. But that is what she wanted. She found the idea of owning a bullet proof show veteran horse “boring.”
Now at age 9, the horse is really just coming into his own. But I think she is a much better horseman (horseperson?) for the experience of bring along the horse, with adult oversight in the form of a weekly lesson, but otherwise pretty much on her own.
I took lessons at a boarding barn for a year. After a few months of lessons I started half leasing a horse at my barn. Then I moved up and half leased several different horses as my abilities improved. I looked for a horse and kept several at the barn on trial. I developed relationships with the barn owner and the other boarders, and learned as much about horses, horse care, and anything else horse related as I could. I finally made a decision and bought at well trained, 7 year old Quarter Horse last week. I had had her on trial for a month and had her vetted. She is young but sound, healthy, sane and well trained. I’ve taken her out on trails, to shows, in arenas, to team penning, and I haven’t found anything she spooks at yet. She wasn’t cheap, she was $5500, but I know that barring any unforseen circumstances we are a very good match and will continue to be for many, many years. I take weekly lessons and my coach lives on site if I have questions. My horse is quick, she reins and spins, does rollbacks, and stops on a dime. She is not a boring horse even if she is well trained. I don’t think I will ever outgrow her. I am never afraid to ride her, and I trust her. I consider it money well spent. My two cents.