horse owners please?

Question

im 12 years old and i really want a horse, my mum is just about to sell her house and when she does she said i can get a horse but only next year. I got so exited but then thought about all the care. espeshly as i am going to school.i need to know all the care and ups and downs. i do know it is a big responcebility but i will put all my heart into looking after it!I will look after it in the morning, before school. and when i come back from school. I wake up at 5:30 anyway so waking up would be no prblem. but how much work does it require?
Can you give me as many details as posible please. I really need to know so i dont jump into getting it when im not really up for it.

Answer 1

I got my first horse when I was your age, but I board her at a nearby stable so I don't have to worry about feeding her. The lady that owns the barn loves all of the horses to death, and takes excellent care of Sky (my horse) while I am at school or away somewhere else. I know that you realize how big of a responsibility this is, but really think it through. If you are going to get one, you need to know a lot about horses, so you can know how to properly feed, take care of it, and of course, how to ride. If you haven't already, I would highly reccomend taking lessons. I took lessons for years before I got my horse. One other thing you need to realize is, if you do not board the horse, you will have to be outside rain or shine, even when you are sick. You will need to find a reliable farrier and vet to help keep your horse in good health. My horse had an abcessed foot a few weeks ago, and I wasn't able to go see her because I was camping. This is when having somewhere to board comes in handy. You know that your horse will get all the care that it needs even when you are away. I am happy to report that my horse is doing good now, and soon I will be able to ride again. I am very thankful for that. Regardless of if you board or not, you will need proper grooming supplies and tack. You will also need to know how to groom and tack up a horse. So, overall, I would reccomend partial or full board because looking after it all on your own would pretty much dictate your life. This means no going over to friends houses at night unless you have someone to look after your horse, and the same with going on vacation. I wish you the best of luck!

Answer 2

If you're a beginner you should take lessons first, at least for a year. After that you should lease a horse for another year, then you can get an idea of how much work it is going to take to care for your own horse and it will also give you an idea of what kind of horse you want for whatever kind of discipline interests you. You don't want to end up with a horse you can't ride or doesn't suit your needs. Buying a horse is the easy part. It's the searching for the right one and then the lifetime daily care required that makes it hard.

I know the last thing that any wishful horse owner wants to see is "You shouldn't own a horse just yet. Take some lessons first." However, please realize that more beginners and inexperienced horse owners ruin more horses beyond what you would expect. They buy a horse on some slight movie driven idea of how it's suppose to be, then they get hurt when the horse doesn't follow what's expected.

It happens all the time.

So take your time and get some lessons for a year. It'll also give you confidence, which horses can quickly take away. After that year, go and get that horse you've been waiting so long for. :)

Good luck and I hope you eventually find the horse of your dreams!

Answer 3

This mostly depends on what kind of place you keep the horse in. If you keep it in a stable and do the work yourself, it takes a LOT of work. You will need to feed it 2 times a day, excercise it, water it very often, and clean out the stall at least 2 times a day. If you have a pasture to put it in with enough land to hold a horse, then you wont have much work at all. It can eat the grass, you can feed it oats or some feed 1 time a day, maybe throw it some hay. It can excercise its self, and you may still want to clean the pasture like on the weekends so that the grass will still grow well. At least spread it (the manure) around. You will also have to make appointments and pay for a horse shoer, a vet for yearly shots and any emergencies that could arise, you will need tack, and then you will have to oil and clean the tack every few months. It can be a lot of work depending on how you house the horse... but no matter what, I think it is worth it.

Good luck! Oh, and if you do plan on keeping it in a stable, why dont you go volunteer at one before you get your horse to see if you are up for the work?

Answer 4

There is a lot to do with buying a horse and taking care of it. The first thing I would do is contact your local 4-H club. (I'm in America, so here you do that by caling your county extension office, I don't know about anywhere else.) Ask them if they have a horse club and start going to meetings. The people there should be able to help you. See if one of them is willing to go with you to look at stock. It never hurts to have a second opinion, especialy when you don't know what you're doing! Next try talking to local veternarians. They should be able to help you with what kind of vaccinations you'll be needing and feeding issues. Don't think that you have to go with the first one you meet, shop around until you find one you like and that listens to you! After that, do some research online. Figure out just what you want to do with your horse (i.e pleasure ridding, jumping, speed...) what you want to do affects not only what kind of horse you'll need to get (and how much you pay for it!) but what kind of tack you'll need.
Finaly, and most important of all, TAKE YOUR TIME!!! Be sure that the horse you buy is the horse you need. I recomend taking lessons for a while before you buy anything. Do not let yourself be pressured into buying something that you don't think you can handle. It'll get you and the horse hurt! And don't buy something and think that you can just "grow into him" it doesn't work.
Hope this helps you out!

Answer 5

The best answer for you at this point is to board the horse where someone knows how to take care of it. This way you don't have to worry about being sick, or going on vacation.

But if you and your family think you can handle a horse you need to learn a lot before you get one.
First off, you need to be sure you can ride. You didn't say if you took lessons or not, and how long you've been riding.
Secondly, you need to know how much a horse is going to cost every single year. For around my area, Western NY, it will cost about $200 per month to feed, vet, trim feet, and bed it's stall. That adds up to $2400 a year. That's not including the cost of buying the horse. Every area has it's own costs. You need to find that out for your area.
What would happen if you were sick? Would you family take care of it? What if your going on vacation? Who will look after it.

As to buying a horse. Make sure you do not get a young, untrained horse. Find someone to help you look for a horse. Some areas have Horse Sales Constultants. You can also ask your instructor to help find you one.
If you don't have a riding instructor, I suggest finding one, and taking lessons.
Also, ask if you can volunteer around the barn. Clean stalls, groom horses, clean water buckets, clean tack, clean cobwebs. Become useful, and see if you really like doing this EVERYDAY!

Well, I hope everything was answered. It's a tough job. It never ends. I have to take care of horses everyday, birthdays, holidays, and sick days. The winters are the worst with frozen bucket to add to the job.
Good luck!

Answer 6

Really if you are this excited about it I don't think you will be able to get in over your head. To me having a horse is in a lot of ways almost like having a dog. You have to groom them, feed them, take them to the vet for shots, worm them, get their hooves trimmed (your mom will have to call the farrier and make the appointment) make sure they have a good dry clean place to relax in for the night. Make sure they get enough exercise. Making sure the horse has enough food and water is only the basics! Don't let some of these people scare you off! If you have a real love for horses then no job will be to big for you! I have been around horses all my life and have never been around a trainer or 4-h club or took lessons of any kind so don't go getting all complicated on her!

Answer 7

Your horse will need shelter as well as freedom. You need to be prepared to muck out a stable, as well as pick up the poo in a field twice a day. Worms are a huge deal in your horse, and worming is usually very successful, however, it will be even more successful if you clear all the droppings the same day as they are dropped. Also, if you leave it a few days, it will take you ages to clear if you only do it once a week. This results in a lot of backache, believe me!

You will need to give your horse fresh water twice a day, as well as fill haynets twice a day, and make feed up twice a day. You will need to ride between 4-6 times a week, whether it be hacking, schooling, or jumping. Try not to do too much schooling or jumping as your horse will get bored. He will much prefer going out for walks and a few canters up tracks from time to time, but always make sure you have someone with you.

Remember you will always be responsible. Think, day in day out, going to do your horse. Not being able to go out with your friends as often as you want because you have to look after the horse. This may seem fine now, but believe me the reality wears off. I work at a rescue, and we see many different sorts of animals including horses and dogs come in to us as the child has got bored. They all assured their parents that they would care for the horse all the time, and that there would be no need for the parents to do anything. Not until they get fed up, want to go on a school trip, want to go out with mates.

It is a lot of responsibility. Don't get me wrong, it is very rewarding, and shows are good fun. But can YOU and You on YOUR OWN cope with all this work every day of the year. Christmas day, your birthday, wintery days, rainy days, boiling hot days?

Answer 8

My honest opinion is for you to go to a riding stables and take lessons on a horse. During these lessons, you will learn: style of riding, skills of riding, education upon care and needs of the horse, medical attention and you will also learn various do's and don'ts with mistakes that humans will make no matter how "good" of a owner they are.

The best way to learn something is to experience it. You don't have to buy a horse to experience what all goes into a horse and learn about horses.

I did lessons for kids your age, some younger and some older who had the desire for a horse. Some went on to get their own and some realized being a horse owner isn't for them.

Then after wards, you can start to have a horse leased to you which will gain you a lot of responsibility. You won't own the horse, but you sure will be paying and using the horse as if it is your own. The horse I had leased to me was given to me due the couple who was too will to take care of him anymore. He was my western pleasure leased horse since my two that I own are my halter and barrel performance horses.

good luck.

Answer 9

daily:
AM - get up and feed. Check for injuries that cropped up during the night. May need to call the vet.

PM- feed and check for life threatening injuries that sometimes crop up when you're not around.

Sometime in between, pick out the stall if you have one.

Periodically check for dehydration by pinching the skin on the neck. If it takes a while to go back, then your horse is dehydrated. Call the vet.

Weekly:

Check stall for potential injury causing things while you're stripping it and thoroughly clean it, replace bedding and fix whatever needs fixing.

Walk the fence line to make sure the fence is still standing, and check in the pasture to make sure there is nothing obvious for your horse to hurt himself on. This is most important after a big storm, otherwise you don't really have to do it every week.

You need to make sure you have a shelter for your horse even if there is no stall, and that needs to be cleaned regularly too, unless he doesn't like to poop in there, mine don't. Pasture is important.

Find out how much you can afford in feed, and buy the best you can afford. remember: you will need hay, even if the pasture is big, you still need hay in the winter time. Determine how much hay you will need and call around to different people to find the best quality for your money. Also dependent on how much work your horse is doing. Grass mix is fine for a horse that isn't doing much. Mine get a grass/orchard mix. Its best to buy all you need and store it. In fact, buy extra.

Don't buy more than a month's supply of grain at one time in summer. It can and will go bad before you can feed it. If you decide on a sweet feed, and you have really hot, humid summers, just get 2 weeks at one time. If you can find an old freezer that doesn't work and store your grain in that. Cuts down on the varmints getting into it.

Finally, see if you can volunteer at a local stable. It will give you an idea of how much work its going to be, but on a much larger scale. One horse is easier to take care of then many horses.

Answer 10

Horses require a lot of care and time to keep up with just the basic needs.
You will have to feed it twice per day and provide hay for it and scoop the poop (never ending job) You will have to groom it and clean its feet. You will have to apply fly spray and worm it. You will have to have a farrier come to trim it's hooves and a vet come to give it shots and float it's teeth.
You will have to ride it to keep it exercised.
And it all has to be done every day rain shine or snow or what ever the weather.
I spend more than two hours per day just looking after mine and that does not include any ride time. That would be more on top of that.
I love my horses but they are a lot of work and a huge time commitment. I would rather be doing that than sitting watching tv or on the computer so for me it is worth it.