What's the best age to get a horse?

Question

For children

Answer 1

When children are old enough to pet, groom, clean and ride independantly. Along with provide to the horse's expense independantly (cleaning stalls or babysitting, something financial on the side to learn horses are not cheap as I learned when I was 11). I still have my horse and I have three now as an adult.

Answer 2

Depends on your children and the horse. If your children have ridden before and are experience you can get a 6-7 year old horse. If you kids are young or inexperienced I suggest a 9-10 year old horse. If you get the horse too old 15-20 the kids are gonna have enough time with the horse to get experience, most horses die at 25-30 years old, however there are some that live to be 40.

Some horses are mature and calm enough to put an inexperinced rider on them at 4 or 5. It's a horse to horse thing. Also how and when the horse was trained is a big factor.

My horse just calmed down enough to trust her with young kids and she's 8. A friend of mine has a horse thats 3 and she can put young kids on the horse no prob. Good Luck! Always incourage them to do their best!!!!

Answer 3

If you getting a horse for your children I would go with an older horse one that is any where between 9-15 years old. Because older horses are more quieter, usually well broke and are good beginner horses for children or anybody who doesn't have much riding experience. Children can be any age. I know people who start putting their kids on horses as early as 2 years old. If you want your kids to learn the responsiblity of taking care of the horse I would wait until your kids are around 8 years old or older before getting a horse.

Answer 4

If horses age is what you're asking for, then the older the better. It needs to be experienced with children and well broke. Quarter horses are a good, laid back breed. Now there is always an exception to the rule so take someone experienced with you when you go look at the horse. They live about 30 years so you don't have to get feel you have to buy something young. My oldest horse is 16 years old and she's as spunky as when she was 8. I also learned to ride on a 20 year old mare and she could still get up and go.

Answer 5

do you mean what age the kids should be? or what age horse?

I feel for kids an older horse is better. They're calmer, senisible, well schooled, and mellow. Horses can be dangerous animals and to a child new to horses, he/she may get kicked or bitten without expecting it. I'd recommned a been-there-done-that horse who's in his teens.

The age of the kid: it doesn't matter as long as you're willing to do all the care and give 100% supervision. As the child hits their mid teens they should be able to handle daily care with only limited supervision.

Do be aware even if the horse is the "kids'" horse, it's still your responsibility. You'll be reading a lot of care, feeding, etc books. You'll need to know what laminitis is and how to spot colic. You'll have to learn how to tell a good farrier or vet from a bad one.

Best of luck to you! :-)

Answer 6

After a year of instruction and horsemastership, I got my first horse at 12. We moved her to our house when I was 14, and I was responsible for all of her care. I don't think I would have been mature enough before that age.
We got my son a horse when he was 5, but he wasn't fully responsible for her until he was 10. So, you can see that it will vary, depending on the child's maturity level (by the way, he was on a horse with me as soon as he could sit up).

Answer 7

When selecting horses for children , I often select older horses mostly mares , I have picked a few geldings and I look for an age of 8 to 15 years of age . I also lean toward getting gaited horses instead of quarter stock . When purchasing a horse your child and you should look at AND spend time with it if possible . Look for any bad habits and watch the behavior of horse to see if it's compatible with your child .Most of the time the horse will let you know .

Answer 8

It would depend on how much involvement you would like to have. Do you want the child to carry all responsibilities? If the child is under the age of 12 and shows an interest in wanting a horse, it's best to start with riding lessons and care/management classes. Every child is different and only experience and dedication will determine their right age to own one.

Answer 9

Well it depends on the horse and your kid. I would say fr child age from 11 or 12 but if your child isn't ready because of experience or maturity and responsibity then I would wait. For horse age anywhere between 9-15 because older horses are calmer and then your kid doesnt have to bother with training them which can be hard.

Answer 10

Not sure if you mean the horse's age or the kid's age.

Kids should show they're old enough for responsibility OR you have to be willing to be REally, really involved. I wouldn't go younger than 10 unless you plan to do all the work yourself.

For the horse's age, for kids, 12+ is good-- the younger, the spunkier-- though with plenty of exceptions. Its more of a case-by-case basis than anything. Look for "bombproof" horses or "deadbroke" horses.