What should I look for in buying a horse?

Question

I am a first-time horse buyer and would like to know what to look for and how much to pay for a horse. I have some experience in caring for horses, as I boarded one, but I have never ridden one! I read books & watched owners ride their horses, but never took any lessons. I have my eye on a 15hh paint gelding (quarter horse). he is 3 years old, and has had training for trail and has went through a desensitizing program. so he is very well behaved (gentle) and broke. he is listed for $2000. he is up to date on coggins,worming,shots, and farrier. is that a reasonable price, or should i try to work it down? the owner is going to do payments with me so what would a reasonable down payment and monthly payment be? I am going to be riding him at a walking pace, I am not into barrel racing or anything like that. Anything else I should know ?Thanks!I might do private lessons with this horse if i buy him, so I can learn to properly saddle and ride him!

Answer 1

Eh, people with little experience buying horses always bugs me. No offense, but you seriously won't realize how much work it is until you have him home 24/7, lol.

My suggestion.. Volunteer at a stable and take lessons for a year. I did this for 4 years and the knowledge I gained was just awesome. I now have my own horse, a filly that will be 2 in March - I got her free and she is an incredible girl.

He does sound like a decent gelding, I'm not sure about the price as I didn't pay anything for my filly, but is there anyway the owner can hold him, and you can buy him when he's 4, when you both have more experience?

Riding isn't as easy as it looks, nor is owning a horse, by FAR. I've been so busy since I got mine, my head is spinning :P

Whatever you choose to do, though, good luck!

Answer 2

First of all you really need to take lessons before and after you buy this horse. Maybe you should lease a horse first to learn more about them and it would be less of a responsibility, I strongly suggest this. Otherwise, you should always go look at a horse before you buy it. Call the owner and ask if you can come over and "try out" the horse. Ask for them to get it out and tack up the horse in front of you so you can see how they behave in that process, and see if they take the bit easily or they don't like for the girth to be tightened, or if they pick thir hooves up etc. A really big thing to look at is the bit the horse uses. If it is a snaffle, that is really good, but if it is a kimberwhick or pelham or other harsh bit, it usually means the horse is hard to handle. The horse should stop when asked very easily. When it moves into a trot or canter, it should go smoothly and not leap into the next gait. You should ask the owner to jump the horse for you even if you don't plan on jumping, you may want to in the future, watch to make sure the horse doesn't increase in pace (without being told to) before the jump, jump the jump higher than the jump really is, hit the jump or knock it over, refuse the jump, or land faster than it went into the jump (unless asked to). Always have the ower ride the horse before you so you can see how it behaves, then if you feel comfortable, you should ride it, never buy a horse without riding it first. That is a resonable price but I think you can find a much better quality horse for that price. A good age is in between 8ish to 18ish. Quarter horses are very calm horses especially for first time owners. Try to stay away from thoroughbreds as they are very excitable. Try dreamhorse.com and go to search (at the top of the page) then type in the search criteria. Horsetopia.com is also good. I hope this helps, good luck!

Answer 3

My suggestion is to take lessons before you get a horse. If you can't go riding with them,you're missing out on a very large part of horse/owner bonding.

However,that is a decent price,so long as he has good overall health. A reasonable monthly payment would be $200 for 10 months,in my opinion,assuming there's no down payment (or there's interest involved).

I still would highly suggest you go and take lessons for at least a year before you consider buying a horse. 3 years old,no matter how tame,is young for a horse. He's just out of colt-hood. That means he'll be frisky,playful and most likely stubborn. Older horses (10 years and up) are usually better for beginning riders in most cases. It's why many lesson horses are age 8-12. They're also usually mares. Some geldings can be somewhat unruly even if they're trained very well.

I think there's a saying something that relates something along the lines of 'even without their stallion parts,some geldings still act like stallions'. Keep that in mind. =)

Good luck.

Answer 4

It sounds like you've done your research :) I'd suggest checking out the horse, if you haven't already, in person before you even think about buying. You can usually tell a horse's general temperement by how he reacts to things. Ask the owner to take him out and ride him and see how the horse does. $2000 is about right for a horse this young who probably hasn't had much training other than being broke. If he seems calm and reliable, then $2000 is a good price. If you can tell he's spooky, poorly trained, etc., you can talk down the price, but I'd suggest searching for another horse if he seems unreliable.

Now keep in mind, three years old is extremely young for a horse (basically he's only nine years old in human years). Even if he's well-broke, he may be unpredictable. Are you prepared for that? Also, another thing you might have forgotten - he's only three years old and he's still growing. He may reach just under 16 hh by the time he's fully grown, which is pretty big for a horse. Can you handle that?

Like you said, I'd highly suggest taking lessons. Private lessons on your own horse is a plus, because then you learn how to deal with his particular behavior.

If you do decide to buy him, try to work out a trial with his owner. Bring the horse to your barn and try him out for a couple weeks. this will really give you a feel if you are ready for this youngster. Also, get him checked out by a vet to make sure he's sound before you purchase him.

All in all, it's really up to you to make the decision. Remember - he's not the only horse for sale. If you don't feel a special bond with him, look for another. You won't like riding horses if you don't like the horse you ride...well good luck! =)

Answer 5

For price yes, for a beginner rider, I would say no to him. What I would highly suggest doing is getting riding lessons first so you can get the basics down. A 3 yr old, while it might be good for a rider with moderate experience, if you have never ridden, he may completely take advantage of you after he realizes you won't (or don't know how) to stop a certain bad behavior. I started out with buying a dead quiet 2 yr old already started under saddle and did all the training, thinking that it didn't look so hard. 6 yrs, 2 fractured ribs, 2 broken toes and a ton of bruises later, I have a relatively quiet mare that I show 1st level dressage in. No one else can ride her because of how different my cues are from everyone else, but she does well for me.
I would suggest for your first riding horse getting a trail or show proven older gelding or mare. I would not go with one under 7-8 yrs for sure. Green riders and green broke horses usually do not go well together. Reading books and watching lessons is not the same as actually riding. That is what I thought when I started as well.
One more personal example.
My mother bought a horse at the same time- a quiet 3yr old that was ridden once or twice before she got her. She fractured most, if not all of her ribs by now, and lost her tail bone. She will never go in to get x-rays, but her tail bone is not where it is supposed to be. The horse is fine now, but it took 4 years before she finally quit bucking.

Answer 6

You should learn to ride & handle a horse first. Ask to ride the horse a few times before buying. Most training begins at 3 so he's probably not the perfect "rideable" horse. My daughter's 1st horse was a 3 yr old mare. We paid for boarding & pro training. Everything was great til she got it home. Once in a pasture with cows, it was a matter of weeks before she was mean & stubborn. She bites, kicks, runs away when called, she's awful!
We recently got a 4 yr old paint stud (bombproof!) The day we got him we spent 40 mins with the owner, saddled him & rode him for 30 minutes. I have never had such a sweet horse.
The mare was $800, tack was $300, trailer, $550, training & boarding $600, also vet, farrier & feed costs. The paint was $300 had him delivered for $40 Paying a lot won't gaurantee a better horse.
We found him on petfinder.com.

Answer 7

That seems like a resonable price. We bought a 5 year old pinto qh gelding for 1600 and hes nice and calm, but hes not exatally the best ride. He was fine for the first lesson I did with him but then I tried using him for a camp with 4 other horses and he freaked, but I guess thats kinda my fault. Even knowing what I know aobut him today I still would have paid that much cause he has a the greatest personality and a great build
With our other horse what we did was free leased her for the summer so see if you can lease the horse for a little while before you actually decide you want him. With my horse she is a complete pain in the @$$, not rideable and very grumpy, but we knew she needed to stop movingg around so we gave her a forever home and she is finally starting to put her ears forward when she sees us
If you cant lease him, at least ask to ride him.

Now do you mean you havent taken lessons before? Or just that you are planning on continuing your lessons with him, cause you shoul ddefinetly take lessons before buying the horse

Answer 8

That is a resonable price but i think you should take lessons first and learn how to actually do the whole nine yards since a horse is a huge responsibility. And it's not fair for the horse if you give it away a couple years later, right?
So learn first, not just studying from text books but actually going out there and DOING IT.
That horse sounds nice so if it's possible, maybe ask the owner of the horse to give you a few lessons and talk about what kind of habits the horse has and stuff!!

Answer 9

First, test ride the horse before you buy him. Just to be safe. It is good if the horse is current on all. BUT DONT GET A THREE YEAR OLD!! I am 11 have been riding my whole life, do, barrels, jumping, Cutting, every thing you can think of & i train, pleasure & under saddle. When I start 2 year olds, I get bucked off & all. Now I have a 6 year old I have been training for only two weeks & he is a but at points! 2000 means the horse is not trained a WHOLE LOT. try at least a 15 year old horse that has done it all. 2000 is a great price for ANY horse at all. trained or not. but please, take my advice for your safty, dont get this horse. How about you try, www.dreamhorse.com & www.agdirect.com
I found a few of mine on those sites! oh, and before buying ANY horse, get a vet check done. & you need to try to ride at a trot.

thanks
Happy Holidays!

Answer 10

First of all if you are going to ride this horse you need some kind of help starting up. You NEED to learn this stuff!! You dont need to take private lessons, you could get a friend who knows a lot about horses to teach you, but i think private lessons would be best for a beginner. I think that is a good price for that horse, you should get him checked out by a vet though, just in case. If you need any advice on riding or anything horse related you can email me at [e-mail].