So you’re ready to buy horses and you don’t know where or how to start? The first thing to do is take a deep breath and slow down. Assuming you already have all your horse equipment, there’s one more thing to do first. Before you can even start looking at horses to buy, you need to figure out what you want your horses for. Will you be trail riding, showing in dressage or hunter/jumper, or maybe even doing eventing? Are you prepared to break and train a horse or do you need one that is already finished and ready to go?
Another really good thing to figure out first is how many horses you can fit comfortably on your property. The general rule of thumb is one horse per acre of pasture (you can’t count the acres that the barn, your house and your lawn sit on). Also remember that horses are a herd animal, and you can’t have just one solitary horse or he won’t be happy. Horses need companions. If you can’t buy more than one horse, you will need some goats or a mule to keep him company. However, if you do buy two horses, sometimes another problem arises! You go to take one horse out of the field to ride him, and the other horse goes on meltdown because she’s alone. Really, three horses are optimal, if you have enough pasture and can afford it.
Most of the time it is possible to buy horses for little or no money. Many horses need new homes because their owners can no longer afford to care for them. Try checking craigslist.org for horses that need a home. You can also go to the local horse auction, but beware! You will want to buy all of them just to save them. The horse auction can be very depressing. Additionally, you don’t have the option of returning the horse if it doesn’t work out.
Most places that sell horses professionally will let you buy a horse and return him within two weeks or 30 days if he turns out to not be as advertised. You will pay a bit more money (or a lot more money) for a horse from a professional breeder, but it may turn out to be worth it. If you’re shopping for dressage horses, going to professional trainers and breeders is definitely a good idea.
Another place to look for good horses to buy is at the local tack shops and feed stores. All of them have bulletin boards and people post flyers about horses that are for sale. If you buy a horse from a private party, make sure you get a two-week or month trial period first. If they won’t let you have that, then walk away. That’s a sure sign that something is wrong; and even if there’s nothing wrong, it’s not worth the risk.
Buying horses is a lot of fun but requires a lot of research too. Make sure you do your homework and end up with the exact horses you need and want so you can enjoy them for the rest of their lives.
