The Novice Horseman Blog

Let’s talk horse breeds.  There are soooo many breeds and color breeds to choose from it’s mind boggling to a novice.  Take your time, figure out what discipline you want to pursue (riding, jumping, halter, trail, etc).  While any breed of horse can do just about anything, I would suggest that you read up on the different breeds.  There are lots of books and magazines at the book store and on the web.  I could go on for a long time about the breeds but you should consider this more homework.  Choose a breed that will be best for your desired discipline.  An example would be if you wanted a miniature horse, your desired discipline shouldn’t be dressage or trail riding.  If you want to show in the quarter horse shows, you shouldn’t get a loud spotted paint.  Talk with your riding instructor or horse friends.  Talk with the people at the shows.  Unless you are smitten with a certain breed, picking a breed will probably be a tough task.   

Don’t just consider a pure bred.  There are lots of show circuits and fun shows that you don’t have to have a pure bred horse to show.  You don’t have to have a pure bred to ride the trails.  If showing in the breed show is not your cup of tea, you might even consider a grade horse.   What is a grade horse?  This is a horse that can’t be regisitered in a recongnized breed registery.  This could be a solid colored paint that the owner just didn’t want to register.  This can be a cross between 2 different breeds that don’t recognize the other in their registries.  This could be a pony breed that the pony just grew too tall.  There are a lot grade horses and all of them have the same potential as any pure bred horse. 

I will say right up front, I’m partial to the quarter horse.  This would include the Quarter horse & any breed that recognizes it for acceptable breeding.  Why you ask?  The only reason I can give you is this is what I grew up on.  I personally own a Quarter mare, a Paint mare and a Palomino gelding.  They are all mostly quarter horse in their breeding.  They are not a small horse nor are they too big.  I like their temperment and they are versatile.  With that said,  these qualities can be found in any breed.

You can have just as much enjoyment from your equine friend no matter what his breeding.  The key is picking the right horse for you.  Have you read my slogan? 

Success is not what horse you have . . .  but what you do with that horse.

Have you done your homework?  Have you figured out your budget?  I truly hope you didn’t skip that assignment.  You are finding out that even if you have your own place, owning a horse is NOT CHEAP!  It’s better to find out the cost of horse ownership on the front end of this process.  You don’t want to find out in a couple of months that you have to sell your dream horse because you under estimated the cost of upkeep.  It is far more important for you to make your mortgage payment and feed your family. 

If you’ve found that your finances are in order and you can afford the maintenance of a horse, you are going to ask what horse is best for me?  For a novice owner, there are sooo many choices.  There are also some that you should steer away from for now.  I’m going to break this down into several posts.  This way I don’t have to try to condense the information too much.

In my Jan 9 2008 post, I suggested a mature horse.  By this I mean a horse that is an 8-15 year old, I would even go as far as a 20 year old for the right horse.  Why?  Because these guys have been around a bit.  They probably have years of training/riding and unless they are the nervous type, they are well out of that fidgety young horse mentality.  Beside this, there are a few other manners that they probably have learned with age.  They should have good ground manners, they have probably learned not to lean on the farrier, and they shouldn’t try to hurt the vet at shot time.  If the horse has been shown or was a ranch horse, it will probably load in a trailer easily.  I absolutely can’t emphasize enough just how much that is worth.

You want to find a horse that has a kind soft eye, not one that only shows the whites and has that wild scared look all of time.  You want a horse that stands quietly no matter if it is tied to a fence, on crossties or tied to your trailer.  You want a horse that respects you, your space and your authority.  You don’t need a horse that strikes at you, tries to walk over you, or challenges your leadership.  You want a horse that is reasonably trained.  While it doesn’t have to be a "push button" horse, it should be a well broke horse.  You want a horse that is healthy in both body & mind.  You and the horse should have mutual trust for each.  Without trust, you will never develop a rewarding relationship, you will never become a team.

Where do you find a horse like this?  Like in the post mentioned above, your riding instructor may know of a prospect.  Try your horse friends.  They may know a youth or amateur who has outgrown their current horse and is looking for more of a challenge.  Horse shows, especially the big breed shows, always have horses for sale.  Use caution here though.  You may find a good prospect.  But if the owner is from out of town, they may want to sell while at the show.  This could make it more difficult to test ride the horse a couple of times.  It would also make it very hard to get a pre-purchase exam (I’ll discuss this more later).  Working ranches will also have dispersal sales.  This would be a good place to pick a nice ranch horse.  This is also an instance where you need to be careful and taking a knowledgeable horse person with you would be best.  They could help steer you away from a horse that may not be right for you.  There are the classified ads in both the paper and on the internet.  And finally, there are the bulletin boards at feed stores, tack stores and livestock sales.

Remember what I said about being in too much of a hurry.  You don’t want your dream horse to turn out to be your worst nightmare.

Get ready . . . get set . . . Show!!!!

Yes it’s finally that time.  Are you out there already showing your horse’s best side as well as yours?  Good for you.  Or are you just getting started and have absolutely no idea what you are supposed to be doing?  Don’t fret, the newby jitters get everyone at first.  Just ask anyone in the warm-up pen or show ring.

But let’s back-up a bit.  Did you remember to get that all important Coggins test first?  Or did you forget to ask the vet when he was out giving the routine shots?  Well it’s not a complete disaster, but until you get this particular test done and the test result papers in your hand, you can’t show.  Not one single show I know of will even let you unload your horse without it.  Or, I should be more specific, not one show will let you unload or show without a negative Coggins.

If you board your horse, the barn management probably requires a yearly Coggins.  So you may already have it.  Just make sure you have an official copy from the vet (not a photo copy).  If you forgot, just call the vet & set-up an appointment to have this test done.  It’s just a simple blood test.  Most shows in my area will accept a Coggins test if it was done within a year.  There are a few shows that will require a Coggins done within 6 months.  Now the really big national or world shows may also require health papers that were issued within 30 days prior to the show.  Be sure to check the show rules for the particular show you are going to for any other vaccination requirements.  If you are traveling across state lines, be sure to check what each state will require.

If you can’t remember everything, try making a list.  Put things in order of importance in the the month it needs to be done.  If you are techincal, keep the list in your PDA, laptop or whatever type of electronic device is your preference.  If you are not technically inclined, keep a notebook, day-timer or calendar handy with all of the important things on it.  You can check them off as they are done.  You will also be able to add, change or delete anything as needed.  But the most important thing about your list is to look at it.  Look at it more than just the time it takes to make it.  Look at the list at the very least once a week .

With all of the health papers in order, this will be a little less stressful when going to a show.