Should I consider buying a foal?

Question

The idea of buying a foal hadn't presented itself untill now. I am a first time buyer and was wondering if this is a good or bad idea. My current trainer would be able to help me train the foal. I was going to buy my own horse so that I could start showing him or her in 2007 but I do have other horses that I can ride for a few years untill the foal is older and ready to start training under saddle. Your advise will be greatly appreciated!!:)

Answer 1

No, No, No, No, No. VERY VERY BAD IDEA. And if your current trainer lets you, a first-time buyer, purchase a foal, then they aren't worth the money you're paying them and you should find another, more ethical trainer. The only people who should be buying foals are people with money and time to burn, or extremely experienced horsepeople (meaning 10+ years). I'm a trainer, 25 years experience, and I see too many novice riders get injured by young horses, who are usually also ruined in the process. Usually when the trainer lets a novice buy an unbroke horse, it's to ensure they need that trainer for a long, long time. You need what is called a "made" horse of between 8 and 15 years, thoroughly schooled in your chosen discipline--and you should expect to pay 5-10K to purchase, substantially less to lease. Prospective buyers should really lease a horse for a year or more to test the waters; only that kind of day in, day out responsibility can prepare you for owning. And please trust me, a foal is only romantic and cuddly for a few months. After that, they are fractious, unruly, unpredictable, and very expensive.

Answer 2

If you are a novice with horses, you'd have to really do your research on equine behavior and ask lots of questions to your trainer. Foals take lots of time and patience. Do you have enough time to dedicate to your foal? You mentioned you have other horses to ride for a few years until the foal is ready to start...Just so it's clear, foals need to be handled as much as or even more than an adult horse. You don't just wait till the foal is ready to break. You need to dedicate every day or most every day to teaching the foal ground manners.

But if you are willing to do this, then go for it! Just keep in mind, EVERY second you spend with the foal is molding him into the horse he will become. Believe me - I've seen a foal gone bad. The filly was sooo sweet and was very calm and submissive. The owners loved her so much, but they simply didn't know much about equine behavior. Their slight mistakes, over time, resulted in an extremely dangerous yearling that walks all over if you try to lead her, and she doesn't tie, clip, bathe, etc.

Ruining a foal is easy, and you can do it without realizing it...even if you love the foal very much. If you are an experienced horseman, then go ahead and make it a project. If you are a novice, either do a lot of research and get lots of help from your trainer, or learn on an older horse.

Good luck and have fun with it! :) Oh, and ignore what I see some people saying about fillies. I currently own an 8-month old filly whom I've had since birth. She leads better than most adult horses, backs, side passes, and disengages her hind quarters. I think I know what I'm talking about. A good mare is better than a good gelding :P

Answer 3

If you are an experienced horse person and have experienced help, raising a foal is a delightful experience. You can raise it t o your own liking, and form a bond that you could not with an older horse. We have a mare we raised from birth, and the friendship and love that is there cannot be replaced. She is a true family member, not just a horse, and working with her and riding her is a partnership, not a master/slave deal.
This way you can control how the foal is raised and see that is respects you as well as loves you. You will "know" the foal better than you could ever know an older horse you buy, and you can oversee its nutritional program to your satisfaction. If you have the experience and the help, I say go for it - you won;t regret it.
Having said that, I'll say raising a foal is not a good idea for those who are not horse-savvy. It's best to start with a trained horse if you are not experienced.

Answer 4

i u will be a first time owner then it might be better getting something older... even though u have a trainer having something older to start out with will help u learn more bout caring and responsibility of owning one(wether u r experienced rider or not). it does not mean its a good idea to start with a foal. if u are a experienced rider than find something that is trained or at least half way trained(knows the basics-saddle, walk, trot, lope, turn, back up) since u have someone to help u. if u are not that experienced( like less than a couple years) than get something broke for what ever ur riding preference(english, western)(barrels, pleasure, jumping,.....ect...). safer for u and the horse. more comfortable... make sure when u do start lookin for your first horse, make sure u have ur trainer help u fimd one just right for u.... be careful, some people will do anything to sell a horse even if it aint what it seems(sound, trained...ect...) they could drug the horse if it is lame and u wouldnt know till a few days..... if they say it is broke, make sure u see someone ride it to make sure its not been ruined and broke like they claim..... good luck in whatever u buy...and dont always trust what the seller says..... u and the seller may have a different definition on what is "broke"

Answer 5

BAD IDEA! BAD IDEA! BAD IDEA!

I've seen this way, way too often and been forced to deal with the results.

Buy an older horse that is a veteran in the discipline you want to show in and enjoy your horse owning experience. After a few years if you want to try training, give it a go.

Occasionally, a first time horse owner can buy a foal or young horse and turn it into a good horse, but I've never seen it happen in 30 years of horse training and 15 years of teaching horsemanship. Even when I've been helping the first time owner.

I've seen people hurt and good young horses end up in killer pens with vicious bad habits. I've seen people so afraid of their horses that the won't even approach the fence to feed them any more.

I've spent months rehabilitating horses that were the victims of well meaning, but ignorant first time owners. There have been some I couldn't rehabilitate. Ask any rodeo stock contractor - many of the horses in their bucking strings were purchased as young animals by inexperienced horse owners and spoiled.

Choose an older horse that knows how a horse is supposed to behave and will be forgiving of your mistakes. You will make them. The learning curve on that first horse is phenomenal and the horse pays for the experience you gain. Give yourself a chance to learn before taking on a foal.

Answer 6

The progress you make is a lot slower when you start green with a foal. My first horse was a 4 month old wild filly- 7 yrs later, I am finally doing 1st level dressage, but no one else can ride her because she is messed up in her cues. They work great for me, but no one else understands them. I got this horse free for ground training 10 or so foals for my aunt though, so I did have a lot of ground training experience, just absolutely no riding.
If you are going to continue to take riding lessons and your trainer feels confident with you owning a foal, it would probably be ok. It is hard to say either way without seeing how you interact with horses. If you are a dominant type of person with horse experience, even though you have never owned one, I would say go for it. If you just started out with horses in the past year or so and only see horses once a week for lessons, I would say hold off and try a more experienced horse first.

Answer 7

I have to totally agree with SLA. First time owners should not be raising foals and trying to train them. What experience do you have to pull from on this venture? Answer, None. You need an experienced older horse that you can depend on and that can help teach you. A young horse needs a strong horse person to teach it how to approach certain things in like. An older horse will not require that as he/she has already be taught that lesson. As a first time buyer you want a horse that will be steady and give you a pleasant first experience. Older horses will be ready to ride now, with out spooking, their vices are eliminated long before you get them, and all you have to do is climb on board and enjoy the ride. With a young horse it will be a long while before you can do these things. Endless hours of training, and the spooking at new situations, dealing with vices, it seems like a never ending journey to mature a young horse. Weigh all of this advice carefully before you decide. But I would stronly suggest an older horse.

Answer 8

Foals are a lot of work. You need experience to raise one. I'm not saying that it isn't worth it, it's just a lot of hard work. And if you are going to be using it for riding you need to remember that you cannot ride it for a couple years. And it will need A LOT of training as well. But if your willing to make the commitment I think that buying a foal would be a good idea. There are many benifits to buying a horse while it is still very young. The horse will be more attached to you and will probably respect you more since it has been with you for most of its life. This is a VERY good thing, your horse must respect you and you must respect it, otherwise there will be no chance of you getting along. You HAVE to be willing to make a huge commitment, as with buying any horse.

Answer 9

A foal is a great treat, but if you do just one thing wrong, or discipline it at the wrong time, YOU WILL RUIN THAT HORSE!!!!
It is extremely hard to retrain a horse. If it's your first horse I would suggest a 10 year old or older. After you have gotten through 1 or 2 horses then you could think about getting a colt or filly.

Answer 10

I assume you're not talking about a filly. A filly will always come into heat all her life, but a gelding won't have that problem...I'm sure you already know that. I owned horses for years, and a gelding will give you the least problems in the long run.
I do suggest that you don't geld him too soon, but wait until he's fully mature. That will prevent him from having that thinner "gelding neck."

I wouldn't advise owning a stallion unless he has had the best training and you have the experience to handle him.
Follow your trainers advice and start training your foal as early as possible.

You didn't say what breed you're going to buy, but in my opinion, one of the most beautiful breeds is the Arabian. That arched neck, long mane and forelock, and small muzzle just gets my heart beating whenever I see one. You will have great pride when you ride as people will always ooh and ahh when they see you. I know, because I used to own a white stallion with blue eyes...he always created a stir.

Here's something I'm sure you'll find very interesting.
An old horse trainer I met years ago told me that he had discovered something very important in his 60 yrs with horses.
He said that the swirl of hair in the middle of the horses forehead was an indication of the horses intelligence. He said that it should be directly in the center, swirling clockwise, not off center, or swirling counterclockwise.
Pass this info on to your trainer and ask him to make a note of this with the horses he works with.
Good luck.