Before you buy your child a Horse!!

Caution! Caution!!

You might be an experienced horse person and you know what you are doing when you go looking at horses for your young rider. Then again, you might not be! Either way, I want to give you some advice. It is your child, you want to find a horse that will be "KID SAFE!". I can't remember how many times I have been asked if my just started 3 or 4 year old is safe for a child. I always say the same thing. If your child has a couple of years of riding experience and will be with a Trainer, then one of my "Ready to Finish" horses might work for your child. But I more often than not will tell a parent that they ought to get together with a "REPUTABLE" Trainer, Breeder or Horse Broker and tell them what you are looking for. Yes, you may have to pay a "Finders Fee", but a child is worth it. And we all know that the purchase price is the cheapest part of horse ownership. No one, I mean NO ONE, wants to see a child get hurt.

I try very hard to be honest with my perspective buyers. I ask them to come and meet the horse, ride the horse and come back again to ride the horse. Like any other animal, horses have their good days and they have their bad days. If you are looking at buying a younger horse, expect to have to deal with a bad day here and there. Young horses are in a learning stage, everything they do is new to them. If a Seller tries to push a certain horse on to you, be wary and be cautious. Have a trusted "Horse Savvy Friend" help you. If you don't get a 30 day trial, then it truly is "Buyer Beware". You need to make sure you can live with this very large animal you are taking into your care. You also need to make sure that your child is "SAFE" on this very large animal.

If you are buying your first horse, I suggest a Horsemanship Class at the local Community College. It is a cheap way to get up to speed on the needs of the animal and it can also save you a lot of money in the long run. Horses are individuals, each one different from the other and what works for one, may not work for another. Having the information you need is critical to the Horse and the Owner. If you are boarding, learn the type of care the other horses get. Ask someone who already boards.

I allow a 30 Day Trial, it is not a simple contract. You, the potential buyer, become solely responsible for my horse when it leaves my property. I do a Vet Check, at your expense, before you take "custody" of my horse. I haul my horse, no one else does. You also pay "FULL PRICE" if anything should happen to my horse. But, if you can deal with those terms, you get 30 days to try my horse out.

Another option that I highly recommend to Parents and first time horse owners is a Care/Lease or Use/Lease. You get to take the horse home in a Care/Lease with strict guidelines as to its' care. In a Use/Lease, the horse usually stays with the Owner until you decide to purchase it.

Let's talk about the Horse Broker. There are many experienced Horse Brokers, some charge more than others. Some have a bigger list of horses to draw from. The job of a Horse Broker is to find your list of criteria for your horse, right down to one white stocking, if you are specific enough!

Whatever and However you choose to go about buying or obtaining a horse, make sure you know the limits of the person who will be riding it and know the limits of the horse.

BE SAFE!!