Advice

Buying a Horse 101: the ins and outs of the purchasing decision

On January 3, 2023 by Erika Eckstrom

So you are thinking about buying a horse? Here is my unbridled advice for the novice horse shopper.

THE CHALLENGE OF BUYING A HORSE

I often say that it’s actually a lot easier to buy 10 horses than to buy 1. When you buy 10, your odds of liking at least one of them goes up, but also if you’re buying 10 it’s usually for a group of people and everyone will have a favorite. Buying just one, and your only one, is much harder. 

Each horse will have their particular specialties. Whenever anyone asks me who my favorite horse is, I ask them “My favorite for what?” because it’s very hard to find a horse that will be the best at everything. Will someone feel like they can do everything with the same horse – yes, definitely. But that doesn’t mean it will be perfect at every skill. 

Everyone says “know what you’re looking for,” but you’ll be surprised that you really didn’t want a 16.2hh pinto Sport Horse, but really just needed that fantastic little chestnut Quarter Horse that did it all, every time. In reality, know what you want to actually do with your horse. Know specifically what skills you want to do with your riding and search for the horse with those particular skills. Be careful to not just shop by type and looks.

It can’t be said enough but before purchasing a horse you need to KNOW YOUR GOALS for horsemanship, for riding, and for the partnership. When you know what you actually want to do with your horse it will help you define which skills 

• Typical Ride:While your goals are where you are headed, what will you ACTUALLY be doing with the horse on your typical ride?

• Discipline:
  Know what discipline you want to ride and choose a horse with not only characteristics for that discipline but also one that enjoys the type of work.

• Trail or Arena:
  Horses tend to be 50% faster on trail than they are in the arena. So if you have a horse that is the perfect speed in the arena, be prepared for tighter reins on trail. If you horse is just right and on the buckle on trail, you’re going to have a bit of a kick ride in the arena and may need a crop.
  While many people would think that you find something in the middle and compromise, keep in mind that it would mean that you are never really in that optimal perfect zone in either location. Figure out your priorities.

• Riding Frequency:
  How often will you REALLY ride? Be realistic and know if you are a seasonal rider, a weekend warrior, or someone who will ride multiple times a week. Don’t make promises that you can’t keep. Most horses need AND LIKE to be ridden regularly. Others don’t really care and don’t need the upkeep to keep their skills and fitness honed.

• Riding Intensity:
  Do you just want a 3-mile trail ride or a 30-minute arena workout when you ride? Or are you planning to do full jump courses or 20-mile trail rides? Some horses are built to last under hard work and others aren’t really made for that. 

• Continued Training:
  Are you someone who will be able to keep your horse’s foundations honed and fix problems as they arise, or do you need a horse that is user friendly and doesn’t need the regular schooling? Be realistic about not only your capability for schooling, but your desire to school as well. Horses require lifelong continued education. 

• Safety and Independence:
  Do you want to head out into the wilderness? Do you ride alone? Or do you plan to stick with a group or riding partner? Are you just staying in the arena? Do you plan to jump? Can you sit a spook?

Beyond the skillsets, there are just general horse traits you need to keep in mind. 

• Personality:
  Extrovert or Introvert? Snuggly and in your space or aloof and maintains personal space? Social but potentially distracted by other horses or more focused on the rider but less sociable?
  
• Intelligence:
  There are different types of intelligence. Curious, inquisitive, problem-solving horses learn from scenarios developing skills that will keep them safe and handle whatever the world throws at them – including you. A curious horse will also learn how to keep themselves safe from your mistakes and imperfections as well as they question you and your skills.
  However, a more unquestioning yet intelligent horse will tend to learn a job and stick to it reliably and be happy perfecting the same workout over and over.
  
• Dominance:
  Competitive horses are bold and daring. But dominant horses constantly need clear boundaries. A horse less concerned with rank will be more respectful, less testing and more likely to acquiesce without protest.
  
• Fearlessness & Bravery:
  Fearless horses are unconcerned. Brave horses are afraid but conquer fears with the support of partnership.
  
• Breed:
  Horses can break breed stereotypes, but every horse will have some level of characteristics from their breed.
  
• Speed:
  Would you rather be frustrated kicking or worried the horse won’t stop? Do you need quick & nimble, strong & forward, paced & consistent, doddling but reliable, etc.…?
  
• Size & Shape:
  There are many stereotypes about size but know what you need versus what you like.
  For instance if you going to be out on trail a lot – perhaps a shorter and easier to mount horse would better suit.
  Or perhaps you are a heavier rider or a more beginner rider – a big boned and muscled horse (despite height) may do you better.
  Or if you are looking to work in a particular sport, say eventing or jumping, maybe that extra height would make the obstacles easier to jump.
  
• Training:
  Know what level of training you require. Do you have the skills to use that training? Do you actually want training or do you want forgiveness?
  
• Athleticism:
  How athletic of a horse do you want/need? 

CHALLENGE OF BUYING A BEGINNERS HORSE

But also, it is always harder to buy a beginners horse than it is to buy a horse for an advanced rider. Why? So many reasons.

One is that everyone’s definition of a beginner rider and a beginner horse varies so much. What some people consider safe another might consider terrifying.

Is a beginner horse a horse that: 

• is slow?
  Sometimes a horse that is slow is actually lazy and laziness can be a dangerous thing for someone without experience.
  Or sometimes they are slow because they are just un-athletic – but that too can be a problem because they may lack balance and strength to compensate for a beginner’s  bounce, ballast and own lack of balance.
  And sometimes they are slow because they are in pain – arthritis, navicular issues, need different shoes, muscle myopathies, or other reasons – and the first rule of horses is that you can’t train pain and that pain is very unpredictable.
  
• is incredibly well trained and has all the buttons?
  Obviously you don’t want a beginner to ride a horse that doesn’t know the job, but what happens when the horse knows significantly more than the rider?
  Most people need a Ford Focus not a Ferrari.
  Along with that training and all of those buttons comes expectations for the rider. The more buttons that a horse has, the more likely that a novice rider can by accident push all of them at once causing at best confusion, at worst frustrating contradictions of commands. The more the horse knows, the more they expect the rider to push the buttons with finesse.
  
• is forgiving?
  This is probably the one factor I would say defines a beginner horse. This is a personality trait and type, not a skillset. It’s not necessarily about how much they know but how forgiving they are for a beginner or novice’s mistakes. Can they read through all of the typos and grammatical errors in the commands to get the gist of what the rider is saying and understand – and will they do it? 
  And can they retain their training – can they sort through the errors for a long period of time without either burning out or needing refreshers and re-trainings or will they slowly forget what they know because of the confusion. 

Once the definition of a beginner horse is defined, the next issue is that there are quite frankly, less of them. They just don’t exist at the same rate that more sensitive or more flawed horses do and therefore they are harder to find. Horses as a species are incredibly sensitive and decry inconsistencies – and what we are looking for is a more easygoing personality that will overlook our flaws and perhaps even make allowances or turn a blind eye to our mistakes. 

When you do find one of those unicorns, they are then harder to value. Because while they are probably incapable of going to the olympics, older, have some level of serviceably sound lamenesses that need management and may look a bit more unimpressive than the fancy show horses…., the rarity of the traits that they do have are hard to find, hard to put a price on and quite frankly invaluable. 

So there we start. It’s hard. 

SHOULD YOU BUY A HORSE

In general my answer to everyone is: No. 

My feelings about people and horse ownership is actually the reason I own so many horses at our stables. We own all of them so you don’t have to own one. It is much easier for a staff of a few and a community of many to support horses to their best lives than it is for one person to do it. 

My reasons:

• Horses are Expensive:
  They cost money, they eat money, they break stuff that costs money, the need land and space which costs money, they get in trouble and get injured which costs money.
  
• Horses take a lot of Time:
  The reason my horses are fit and ride safely is because they are worked with so often.
  Our horses usually only get a couple days off each week and they ride year round. The ones that work incredibly hard get a month off in the off season.
  Most people are only capable of riding their horse twice a week, not daily.
  
• Horses take Handling:
  Even when you are not riding horses need regular handling. Beyond the basics of care and feed, horses need the many mundane handling routines to keep their manners and keep their health.
  Every time you lead a horse in and out of a paddock you are training them to mind their manners.
  Every grooming is an opportunity to inspect them for wounds and health issues and to make sure that they allow you to touch them all over so that when there is a veterinary emergency you’ll be able to touch and care for them.
  
• Long-Term Commitment:
  Horses live for 30+ years. Many horses are ridable into their 20’s, but that can leave a decade of your horse under your care but un-ridable.
  What happens if something happens to you or your lifestyle and you cannot ride anymore? Or care for it? Or afford the horse?

WHEN YOU SHOULD BUY A HORSE

• Frequency:
  If you routinely ride twice a week or more.
  
• Specificity:
  If you have ridden many different horses to know exactly what you do and do not want.
  
• Independence:
  If you typically ride independently outside of lessons.
  
• Intensity:
  If you ride at an intensity that would be unfair to impose on a school horse.
  
• Technical Discipline:
  If your goals require your horse to have a level of communication and technique that gets muddled when ridden by others.
  
• Funds:
  If you have the long-term sustainable and disposable income to support emergencies

ALTERNATIVES TO OWNERSHIP

• Lessons:
  If you only plan to ride once a week and improving your own skills is an important personal goal, not only is it more economical to ride in lessons but you will receive more benefits in your riding. In addition, the horse’s fitness, schooling and welfare is maintained by the barn, reducing your responsibility to upkeep the horse and allowing you more opportunity to hone your own riding.
  
• Leasing:
  When leasing you contribute to many of the expenses affiliated with horse ownership through a monthly fee that enables you use of the horse
  
• Loaning:
  Loans give you the experience of ownership without the long-term commitment of ownership. You commit to the care and feeding of the horse for a set period of time during which you take on the full costs of ownership. 

• Horse Share:
  When two parties share the full expense of ownership. These are essentially shared ownership agreements where both parties own the horse and chip in to cover the costs of care.
  
• Fostering:
  It’s an unfortunate truth that many horses are abandoned, neglected, or simply unwanted by their owners. Horse rescue organizations frequently seek out foster homes to help manage horses surrendered to their care. If you have the facilities and space to keep a horse at your home, horse fostering may be the perfect solution. Rescue organizations usually cover many of the costs of ownership, while foster families cover food, shelter, and other standard care.

So my advice….

Don’t buy a horse just yet. Take lots of lessons. In lots of different barns. There are many different ways to ride.

All of the various barns and instructors will teach you something different. And ALL OF THEM will teach you to do the same thing differently, too. 

Growing up I got passed around a lot from trainer to trainer because I wasn’t interested in shows. Learning under so many different people I learned that there are many ways too unscrew a bolt. In fact a ratchet and a wrench do the same thing! But they are slightly different and you need both the wrench and the ratchet in your tool box, because you never know which one will be the right tool for the job.

Beyond riding, EVERYONE of ALL AGES should also become “A Barn Rat” and start volunteering in barns. Generally speaking barn rats are the teenagers that take the bus to the barn after school and just immerse themselves in everything barn. They clean stalls, they feed horses, they hand walk lame horses, often they groom horses, they help with the kiddo lessons because kids are tough to juggle, they welcome people to the barn while instructors are busy, etc…

These Barn Rats become the most scrappy, versatile, knowledgable and sensible horse people. Their riding improves leaps and bounds too thanks to their horse sense, knowledge and feel of the horses.

And if you really want a horse…
Here is my advice for that:

• Don’t go shopping alone!
  If you do not have experience, or if you do have experience but you never seemed to have gotten it right, don’t be afraid to bring someone with you. Ask a knowledgeable person to join you as you go to look at horses, and this doesn’t mean your aunt who owned a horse or two when she was younger. Feel free to reach out to your instructor or a local stable owner. You may need to pay them for their time but their critical advice will be invaluable.
  
• Are your emotions in check?
  Many people buy horses on emotions only. This is not a good idea. When it comes to buying a horse there is no such thing as love at first sight. You don’t want to fall in love at the first meeting, you want to bring him home and let him earn your love and respect. In choosing between love and respect, always choose respect because love can be built on that foundation; however, love without respect is doomed.
  
• Don’t overlook the older horses!
  Horses in their prime are aged 5-12. That said, an older horse who has seen the world makes a great first time beginner horse. Horses live well into their 30’s, but many beginners shy away from a horse in their late teens and twenties because “the professionals aren’t buying them.” Unless you are jumping 4’ fences or going to State Level barrel races there is no reason to avoid them. They are perfectly capable of long trail rides, local shows and popping over smaller fences. Many older horses are healthy and sound and can be ridden athletically well into their senior years. In fact, routine exercise keeps them going even longer.
  
• Auctions
  Horses that are auctioned off usually wind up there for a reason, rather than being sold through the general market, and it’s not a good idea for the novice shopper to find out why they ended up there. For the most part, these horses are mystery horses and not much is known about them. You won’t have much chance to ride them or talk to their owners. Unless it’s a reputable breeding farm where reputation is at stake, stay away from auctions, at least until you have had more experience.
  The only luck I have ever had at auctions is specifically for Amish Haflingers. No other breed, no other scenario.
  
• Buying a horse that has “potential”
  Buying a horse with “potential” is like playing Russian Roulette. That is what equine potential is – a gamble. You may have to fork out a great deal of training money (on average $600 per month + board) to get that potential out. Weigh this against the asking price of the horse, your goals and your abilities before you jump on a horse with “potential.”
  
• Buying a horse that is green
  A novice with an untrained horse can be a terrible combination. You may end up spending a lot more money on training (and medical bills) than you ever dreamed possible to get that green horse to be broke.