If you are anything like me, your first horse was a really “pretty” horse.  I didn’t know too much about looking past the beauty of such a noble animal.  The whole fairy tale of riding the white stallion across the green rolling meadows; you know my hair blowing in the wind as my dress cascaded behind me in wavy layers over the massive rump of my mount.  Whew! That’s quite romantic now isn’t it? Well I didn’t pick a white stallion as my first horse.  But I did pick a sorrel mare with four white socks and a big white blaze with a flaxen mane and tail.  Oh she was a real beauty.  I was so taken by her beauty, this fine Quarter Horse mare, that I didn’t even RIDE her first!  Nope!  She was beautiful and cheap. She just had one little red flag that I didn’t even consider because she was so pretty!  She had been “cowboyed”.  But the seller told me the mare had come a long way in her training and was doing well. I thought to myself…well, I’m not a mean person, the horse will figure out I’m not mean and she will be fine.  So…I bought her!  I brought her home and to make a long story short, there was nothing romantic and fairy tale-ish about the day she had run away with me!  There went my dreams of cantering fluidly across any kind of any terrain, rolling or whatever!  I was crushed and had lost what little confidence I did have in my abilities with horses! 

 This is what happens to many people that I have met.  They wake up, fall out of bed and want a horse of their own!  Horses are easy we are told!  WRONG!  They are NOT easy if you don’t have any idea about how they think, feel and learn!  By the time people come to me for help, they are already unconfident on many levels.  Or worse yet, their horses are out of control and they are afraid of them.  

With all that said, this article is meant to give you an important “guideline” on what to look for in a horse!  A guideline based on what “I” personally have learned over several years.   

Lets start this out very simply by telling you what I tell people when they come to me and want to “check it all out”.  They’ve never owned a horse before but want to go buy one because their friends have one!  First things first…. DON’T GO JUST BUY ONE!  Please don’t.  I suggest finding a local stable that offers lessons.  But be choosy.   Don’t just go to a place that has the horses all saddled and ready to go when you show up.  That’s not a real lesson!  A real lesson in my mind comes from an instructor who will show you how to catch, groom, saddle, bridle, move the horse around on the ground, talk to you about what’s important to the horse in his world.  Then you’ll learn how to ride the horse.  Riding dynamics, how to get the horse to respond to your reins and legs.  Take more than a handful of lessons.  Take enough to become a balanced, confident, rider.  It might take you a summer.  It might take you a whole year or longer.  

If you get passed all those lessons and STILL want to pursue the idea of owning a horse, I suggest free leasing one.  Now you’ll feel the horse idea hit you in the wallet.  There are a lot of fees involved in owning horses.  Boarding fee, farrier, dentist, health care, buying the equipment…the saddle, bridle, pads, grooming supplies etc.  The idea behind leasing a horse is you are not committed to actually owning one, even though it may feel like it, because you have the bills associated with ownership.  However, the horse does, in fact, belong to someone else.  Allowing you time to consider the total commitment of actually owning your own.  So you can still get out of the lease if it becomes overwhelming in one way or another.  This will give you are real taste of ownership without owning.

After you’ve leased a horse for at least a year or until you are educated in ownership and the commitment to it and you STILL long for your own…THEN by all means, go on and get one!

How do you choose the right one?  There are lots of factors. How much money do you want to spend?  You’ll have to choose breed and the conformation of the horse.  There are lots of things to consider.  But the one that I feel, is overlooked the most is the “matching” of horse and rider.  People usually overstate their abilities.  I know I SURELY did!  I had no right buying that mare that ran off with me!  She was NOT the horse for me at that time and where I was in my horsemanship!  Which was pretty much ground zero if I want to be bolt upright honest here! 

You have to be really super honest with yourself.  Are you a confident rider?  How many horses have you EVER ridden?  What type of personality are you?  Are you bold, straightforward, uptight, emotional, shy, have a temper, competitive, loud, boisterous, or quiet?  Are you confident in yourself?  Are you a leader type person?  What type of riding do you like?  Trails, jumping, showing, horse camping, western or english style, roping…what do you like to DO with horses?  Maybe you just want a horse to brush and feed?  Maybe you like driving them in a cart?  Maybe you don’t need a huge draft; you need a miniature horse to pull a one-man cart!   Are you a weekend rider?  Or a once a month rider if it’s not raining.  Are you a person who rides everyday or 3 days a week?  What is your commitment to riding?  

OK, so you have defined who you are and what kind of person you are.

NOW, the horse.  Horses can be nervous, pushy, bold, brave, steady, confident in themselves, confident in their environment, confident learners.  Horses can be hard to handle, because of learned bad habits from previous poor handling.  OR they can be the opposite or all of the above.

The NEXT thing you have to consider when buying a horse is, do you want a horse you can just get on once a week and not have to worry about to too much.  Or do you like developing them?  If you like to work with horses, you might get along with a horse that NEEDS to be dealt with on a regular basis.  If you are a person who likes to just go on a leisurely trail ride, you’ll not want to purchase a horse that requires work or training. 

So the best thing I think I can do is tell you what I would and would not recommend as matches between horses and riders.

I would NOT recommend a nervous, shy, unconfident rider to purchase a nervous unconfident horse.  I would however, look for that steady eddy, which would be a horse that will give the rider confidence in their abilities as a horseman, while they are learning.  If you are a competent, confident rider, but you only ride on the weekends you might also buy a steady eddy.  A horse that doesn’t require much “maintenance” in riding to stay steady as long as YOU know how to ride him.  If you are a confident rider who has lots of time to develop a horse, then go ahead and get whatever horse suits your fancy.  You could own the steady eddy, but you may get a bit bored, as he may not challenge your abilities in developing your horsemanship.  But, then again, maybe you don’t want that challenge!  You could buy the horse that needs to have a confident rider to help HIM be confident.  But let me add this…you will need LOTS of understanding of the unconfident horse!  People who say they have experience for unconfident horses, but they really don’t are a major wreck in the making!  I know this because I DID IT TOO way back when I bought the QH mare!  And even after that!  You have to ask yourself if you have the time, patience, knowledge and ability to actually help the horse learn good habits.  Not instill bad ones.  If you don’t, do not buy a horse that requires it.

Can you see all the different variables in a decision to buy a horse?  Its a far cry from buying a new pair of shoes! The most common answer I get when I ask people what kind of horse they are looking for…they say “bombproof”.  I have YET to meet a bombproof horse.  That is a subject of its own.  So I won’t get sidetracked on it.  But please understand that I do not consider ANY horse to be bombproof or a typical “beginner or kids” horse.  Horses have a mind of their own.  If you want “bombproof” get a stuffed horse.  Or buy a motorcycle.  Sorry, that was probably a little harsh.  But, trust me, it will be a lot less hassle for all parties concerned AND the horse himself!

In summary, in my personal opinion and experience, there are lots to be considered when thinking of owning a horse.  The biggest overlooked consideration is matching horse and rider.

First take some lessons, and then lease one.  If you still have the bug after that, then go ahead and buy one.  Consider what kind of person you are.  How much time do you have to devote to the horse on a weekly basis for riding or developing?  Purchase a horse that compliments you as a person.  One of you has to be grounded or both.  If the rider is new and is unconfident; the horse needs to be seasoned in good habits and a teacher for the rider.  If the rider is a competent confident rider, the horse could be the opposite if the person knows how to develop the unconfident horse with good habits. However, a confident rider that doesn’t know or understand the horse, can also be a wreck!  But for sure, if neither of you is grounded…then you are definitely asking for trouble. 

Horse ownership can be you biggest dream come true or it can be your worst nightmare.  After I learned what I know now and continue to experiment and advance my personal horsemanship, my horses are a real dream.  They are fun and they give me personal joy every time I’m with them.  Which is practically every day.

So take your time and most of all…be HONEST with yourself, your abilities and your goals.  Never be to proud to ask for help and never figure you have it all figured out.  Because as soon as you think you do, you’ll learn the hard way that you don’t.  And that’s NOT fun!  Horses are supposed to be FUN! And they surely can be if you just take your time and don’t rush into it!

Good Luck!