Horses

Just wondering if anybody here enjoys horses or anything Equine related?

I enjoy horses, more so for pleasure riding. Currently we have 2. A Standard Bred, and a Belgian (draught).

Anybody else?

I'd love to have access to a horse, only ever ridden a horse once, like ten years ago. How expensive is it to buy and maintain a horse?

Dawn: It's a lot cheaper than one thinks. I come across horses for pleasure ridiing ni the $1000-$2200 all the time. You can pay any price really, but anything really, really cheap will probably have problems (lameness etc).

Boarding a horse is where it costs money. Most places are around $250-$600 per month. If you can rent some nearby land, it'd be cheapest. Feeding a horse is roughly $3 a day. Trimming, shoeing is varied, but about $75 for shoes to be on.

Vet bills are normally cheaper than dogs, as well!

It's interesting when I think about owing a horse - I would like access to a horse to learn more about what horses are like; to see how intelligent they are; and to get over this fear I have in regards to a horse biting me because their heads are large and anything large with teeth makes me have my guard up. I suppose I need to assess all these things in regards to horses to decide whether I actually want to own one.

If you're boarding a horse separate from your residence, then does the boarding service take care of exercising your horses?

Boarding outside your own place, usually the Stables will do what is called "Turning Out", basically letting them out/in so they can graze or get some excercise.

The safest place around horses, is on them. They can bite, headbutt and of course kick. I've seen a few dogs get kicked into oblivion and I certianly would not want to be on the recieving end.

Horses a very intelligent. They pick up on things rather quickly and remember things that bother them, such as people rough handling them trying to bridles on etc.

All horses have different mentalities, some are just passive, some are leaders, some are shy, some are just dangerous.

The weakest part of horse is their stomachs. It's such a sensative area and even a change in diet can cause Collic, which can kill, or at best, keep you up all night walking the horse around in circles.

In all horse ownership can be cheaper than dogs, if you can either keep your horse at your place or find a good, cheap place to board.

Most people prefer different breeds, but a smaller Standardbred is good for novice riders. Something in the 14 Hands height. Our Standardbred is quite tall, over 16 hands high (HH). The other Draught is pushing 16 HH.

For me, buying a horse, or any animal is not a small decision. I tend to become very connected to any animal in my proximity that shows intelligence. As such, buying a horse would sort of be like getting into a relationship, especially when you are in essence the animal's parent from then on. The more intelligent the creature, the more I have to think about whether I want, and whether I am ready, to engage in it.

In regards to a horse, I don't think I would be able to commit to purchasing one, unless I had a chance to interact with it to see whether I click with it's personality first. I would also prefer buying it from when the horse is young. Have you ever bought / reared a young horse? Is there a difference in how the horse's personality turns out (how well they handle) as a result of rearing it from a young age rather than buying an adult and training the adult?

In regards to your question of buying a foal, in which case the answer is yes.

Horses are like puppies. If you were to buy a Foal, you could train it the way you like, and it would be totally dependent on you. We've owned horses before, that were broke by other people. They ride fine, but the people before may have been rough when handling it, ie:

Say grabbing a ear to pull the head down to put the tack on, so of course the horse could become ear shy and it may be difficult to put the tack on.

Everybody trains their horses different, each horse owner is different in their approach.

If you're interested in buying a horse, try going to different stables and talking to trainers and see if they could recommend a horse for you. Most sellers will let you take the horse home and see if you get along fine with it, before you cough up any money.

Money is also a issue. They range in all sort of prices, from $500 up to millions. Most cheaper horses may have problems, so vet bills will be higher, albiet I've bought horses on the cheap side and they turned out to be great. Best idea is to bring someone familar with horses with you, so they can identify any exsisting problems. Nothing is worse than buying a horse, only to find out it's seriously lame and reduced to being a field horse only, not even good for pleasure riding.

A lot of people (mennonites) around here sell cheaper horses, figuring if they get $700, great, if not they turn clip clop into sausage.

And no, horse meat is not disgusting, but getting ones head around the fact it's a horse can be difficult.