# Where to begin??



## Bubbas Boys (Apr 11, 2013)

My family and I are wanting to start gathering info on how to start with getting horses. I have this image of us as a family riding down our timberline together. I have never been on a horse or even around them. My wife was as a kid but didn't have them. Want to start with what to plant next spring and what kind of fencing to be thinking of. I want to be ready before we even think of getting one. Should I learn first and teach the family to ride or all together? What is good age for kids to start? What breed is recommended for newbies? Any and all advise would be great. Thanks!!


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## dizzy (Jun 25, 2013)

Your best bet is to find someplace in your area where you can all ride and take lessons. And, it should be someplace that is hands on. There is no one breed that is better than another for learning on, it depends entirely on the horse.

As to age, to a point, that's going to depend on where you take lessons. They may have a minimum age. And that age could be due to insurance.


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## Teej (Jan 14, 2012)

Riding lessons with a trainer who will also teach you how to groom and tack like Dizzy said. Then look around for a neighbor with horses that look like they're healthy and live in a healthy environment. While this person may not be able to give you the instruction in riding you need I'd bet they're pretty knowledgeable on horse keeping. Ask if they would be willing to use your muscle in exchange for them sharing some of that knowledge with you. If that is agreeable with them then I'd stick with just you at first and then as they got to know you and your work ethic a little better tell them you'd like for your wife & kids to learn as well and see what they say. Better to learn ahead of time if you all have the commitment to do this and it not just being dad who does all the work while the rest of the family plays.


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## aoconnor1 (Jun 19, 2014)

I agree with the first two responders. Lessons at a hands on stable for the whole family for as long as needed, then find a rancher or farmer with horses that would allow you to work in exchange for learning how to care for them.


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## haypoint (Oct 4, 2006)

Autumn horseback rides down that leaf covered two-track with the family is way over on the dream world side of things. Assembling the farm equipment to grow oats, plow, disc, plant, bale, haul, store hundreds of bales of hay, while reserving acreage for pasture, above and beyond what your food animals need. Once the horses have destroyed the often too small pasture, you, like everyone else, will be feeding hay year around. A far more cost effective and a happier time could be had by getting lessons for everyone at a local stable. If you still want to further this dream, find a Dude Ranch and do a week or two out on the range. You asked and this is my opinion.


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## copperhead46 (Jan 25, 2008)

While I'm not a jaded as cranbrook, there are so many things to consider besides learning to ride. You either have to own or have access to good pasture and you will have to have a good horse vet close by. Horses don't require a lot of feed, if they have good grass and hay, but each one is different. If you get a pony for anyone, you will have to be able to separate her and watch her intake of rich green grass, due to founder tendencys in ponies. They do need some vacinations and depending on where you will be riding, you will need a farrier, on a regular basis, and that gets real expensive if you have 3 or 4 horses. Also, saddles and bridles and blankets cost a bunch. I don't want to discourage you, but many people get a horses (or horses) and then find out what a money pit they are, then they are stuck with horses they don't want and have to sell at a loss. Find a stable, learn how to care for a large animal, and hopfully you will be able to enjoy a good and lovable animal for a long time.


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## where I want to (Oct 28, 2008)

There was a guy who never rode until his thirties. After his second surgery to repair his leg after the unsuitable gelding bucked him off, he told me that riding wasn't as easy as it looked in the movies. 

I second, third and a million times suggest you do the lesson thing first. Any thousand pound animal, no matter how cooperative, needs some level of understanding to handle safely. They are costly, unless you have a suitable year around pasture. And I figured that I did horse chores of about 3 hours for every hour spent riding. 

Semper Equus Keepus Brokus.


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## Maura (Jun 6, 2004)

I don&#8217;t see why you would need to own your own horses unless you are a horse lover. Once your family has taken lessons, and more lessons, consider renting horses for those rides in the country. There are groups that get together, bring their horses, and trail ride. This may be something you&#8217;d enjoy, but no reason to buy your own and take care of them if you aren&#8217;t really into horses.


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## sidepasser (May 10, 2002)

Lessons first, then see if you can work at the stable. Learn how to properly take care of a horse (it is not as easy as people think), and you will also learn about the expense of it all:

vet bills - oh yeah, you will have those and they are not cheap even for shots, worming, coggins test, teeth floating, and the odd bellyache here and there.

Farrier bills - I spend 110. a month on shoes for my mare, every month, 12 months a year. (and that is cheap considering what I spent for my draft mare).

Pasture and Maintenance - fencing isn't cheap, pasture isn't cheap. Horses cannot live on WEEDS, Lord love a duck, I have seen so many people think "it's green so they will eat it..well no, not unless they are starving!"

You will soon require a truck and trailer..why you ask? Because pony may need to go to a vet or a vet school for treatment at some point..or you may want to take pony off the property..

I am boarding my mare..I absolutely am loving it. First time in 46 years that I have not had to "leave to go feed, fix a fence, haul hay, pick up feed, wait for the farrier, wait for the vet, haul to a trainer, haul to my instructor"..it is worth every bit of the $550. a month that I pay out. And that is no typo..that is realistically what it costs here to have the type of facilities I have access to: indoor arena, miles of trails, two outdoor arenas, stall, GOOD pasture, good hay, and feed, blanketing in the winter, fan in the summer, horse held for the farrier and the vet when required, etc.

Having a horse is EXPENSIVE, so get some lessons and see if it is something you want to jump into. If it is, then have your farm "horse ready" before you ever buy a horse.


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## aoconnor1 (Jun 19, 2014)

sidepasser said:


> Lessons first, then see if you can work at the stable. Learn how to properly take care of a horse (it is not as easy as people think), and you will also learn about the expense of it all:
> 
> vet bills - oh yeah, you will have those and they are not cheap even for shots, worming, coggins test, teeth floating, and the odd bellyache here and there.
> 
> ...


Gotta agree here. I just spent 6000.00 in 6 weeks on two emergencies at my vet. Seriously, it is expensive. I have a lot of horses, so my bills are outrageous, but even having one or two is costly. Consider the brushes, combs, hoof picks, medical supplies for those little nicks and bumps, and the vet bills for those bigger nicks and bumps. Fencing is expensive, no barbed wire for horses, and smooth wire is a no no also. Who will watch them if you go away on vacation or emergency? A good farrier can range between 60-125 for one full set of shoes, and a trim can be anywhere from 25-45 per horse. And they need to be trimmed or shod every 4-6 weeks, sometimes the trims can go 8 weeks, but that is the max.

I'm not saying not to get a horse, but you need to be very realistic in the cost and care of horses. It is hard work, you can't skip feeding them if it's raining or snowing, they have to have good shelter and good hay year round. Please seriously consider it.


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## dizzy (Jun 25, 2013)

Aoconner, I hear ya on not missing feeding due to the weather. I do self care at a barn almost 11 miles away from me. The only time I have missed a feeding was one day last winter when the BO called me and told me NOT to come out, that she'd feed. Otherwise, I'm out there no matter the weather. I cannot tell you how many days, especially lately, when I've been wishing more and more that they were in my backyard.

I have one that has to be fed 2x a day-he's missing teeth, so I don't normally come home between feedings. During the spring and fall, it's not bad. But, during the winter and summer, or anytime there's a lot of rain, I keep wishing that I could just go out, take care of them, then go back in my house. I do have an 8x12 shed out there, so when the weather is bad, I hide in there until I'm able to give him his 2nd feeding.


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## aoconnor1 (Jun 19, 2014)

dizzy said:


> Aoconner, I hear ya on not missing feeding due to the weather. I do self care at a barn almost 11 miles away from me. The only time I have missed a feeding was one day last winter when the BO called me and told me NOT to come out, that she'd feed. Otherwise, I'm out there no matter the weather. I cannot tell you how many days, especially lately, when I've been wishing more and more that they were in my backyard.
> 
> I have one that has to be fed 2x a day-he's missing teeth, so I don't normally come home between feedings. During the spring and fall, it's not bad. But, during the winter and summer, or anytime there's a lot of rain, I keep wishing that I could just go out, take care of them, then go back in my house. I do have an 8x12 shed out there, so when the weather is bad, I hide in there until I'm able to give him his 2nd feeding.


I feed all of mine twice a day. Every day. Today it is raining, I am still in the house drinking my second cup of coffee, watching for any break in rain. Ain't gonna happen, so I am gearing up to go out in it. It is the same on a sunny day or wintry, blowing ice storm day. The horses have to be fed, so up I get and out I go And I love it!!


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## Alder (Aug 18, 2014)

The older I get, the more I like 4-wheelers. This from a 50 year horse owner. 

Lots of good advice here, and the best is to take lessons at a good barn that can teach you all to ride and care for horses. It's good to have background before leaping. You may find that the dream of riding the timberline is yours alone, and the wife and some or all of the kids don't like horses or are afraid of them. You may be amazed at the costs and the potential disasters of owning horses. The infrastructure needed, vet care, dental care and hoof care plus time spent caring for a basic, healthy horse is way more than you imagined. Throw in health issues, or injuries, and well...yikes.

Or you may find that you all have the "disease" and wonder how you managed to live without horses this long. That's the really scary outcome. 

Good luck.


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## where I want to (Oct 28, 2008)

Alder said:


> Or you may find that you all have the "disease" and wonder how you managed to live without horses this long. That's the really scary outcome.
> 
> Good luck.


I wasn't going to say this but it so true. And I think that may have triggered the responses here. The original expression of the beautiful dream of the family riding through the woods in the fall. 
I don't think I ever once thought that distantly about horses, not that I didn't relish the wonderful places horses took me over the years. That was always a byproduct of the fascination with the creatures themselves. Their size, their beauty, their smell, their open and bluff natures. I'd have wanted to be near them if they only went around a ring. 
A couple of days ago I went to the vet to get meds for an allergic bug bite allergy that one of my horses gets every November. As I was leaving another large truck pulled in and a woman got out and walked oner with that torso bent forward walk that spoke of a bad back or hips. I instantly felt a warm attachment to her as a fellow horse person of a certain age.


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## reubenT (Feb 28, 2012)

you can't keep me away from horses. Don't even try. I can sit and watch a boring breed show for days on end and not get tired of it. And the more I learn the funner it gets. 

My mother got a plastic horse on springs when I was 1 year old, it was my favorite ride for years, I think it programmed my brain. But I knew ziltch about horses in my growing up years, not a clue. When I started trying to learn about them at about 20 years old I went hunting at the library, found a book called "the family horse" That was a real good book to get me started. Although it was out of print by the time I found it 28 years ago, I copied it on a copy machine. But it took me at least 20 years to really get a good feel for horses, their handling, training, etc. I would spend lots of time watching horse shows, watched the wild horses at the BLM corrals plenty as well. helped with backup work putting on a state horse fair for several years. Always tried to get in on all the training seminars I could. And bought plenty of training videos. 

Horses have a herd social system, and every human who gets near even one horse is stepping into that herd system whether they know it or not. Since we are vulnerable little humans and can't run kick or bite near as hard as they can, we have to figure out how to interact with them and keep ourselves safe. The best way is to learn how to quickly become herd boss. First we need to learn how to "hear" what they're saying. Horses are talking to each other all the time, mostly by what we'd call body language. By watching them a lot and observing all they're interactions with each other and with the people handling them, we can learn to see what they're saying fairly well. Then we need to learn the technique of handling them/talking to them that will tell them. "I'm your herd boss, stay with me and I will keep you safe from all those scarey dangers out there" Along with that message we will need to tell them. "I'm your herd boss, respect me or you'll be sorry" Some need more of one message and some more of the other, since some horses are big bullys and others more like scared wimps. Most being somewhere inbetween. They need to learn to trust me, respect me, and then do what I say. 

Basically that's the way to be safe and have fun with them. Those who don't learn will be risking dangerous situations. On the other hand my horse can keep me safe if we have a good relationship, and be a very nice companion. Interestingly, when a horse finds a good reliable herd boss they can depend on, they're happy to do whatever that boss asks. They will look to the boss to make all their decisions for them. And if that boss is me, my horse will be quite happy with me. And I with them. At least that what a lot of them are like. There will be some who are always checking the boss out to be sure they will maintain their boss status. But most of the time once the boss status is obtained it's permanent and unquestioned. 
Now there are quite a few places to get horse handling info at, lots of trainers selling videos. But after many years of listening to many of them I finally came across one who is less known than the others and I think much better at explaining the system. Although perhaps not so well organized, and maybe some of his presentations a bit boring. But I've heard that watching a good trainer can be boring at times. And I think his training technique is the closest to the horses own herd system as anyone I've ever seen. After seeing his demonstration, when visiting a horse farm in FL, I saw a mare using the exact same technique on her foal as this guy teaches us how to use. Plus his videos are nonprofessional home made and he sells them much cheaper than the rest. He's more interested in helping people learn than making money. He's at marvwalker.com
I started with all the others and then found Marv. I got it backwards. Once I heard Marv then all the others started making a lot more sense. Because with the other trainers instruction I just wasn't getting the basic idea that all the different training ideas should build on. Marv explained it plain enough I finally caught on. 

Watch this video and you may get some idea how fun it can get. [ame]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4fFMNDYvRGg[/ame]

and perhaps another. [ame]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vl4-Hhos67A[/ame]

But Jean does something different. [ame]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qncbDfT5KsU[/ame]

LOL I can't stop.


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## Westexas (Apr 10, 2013)

Wow! Thanks for sharing those videos, and I enjoyed your post also.


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## offthegrid (Aug 11, 2009)

copperhead46 said:


> While I'm not a jaded as cranbrook, there are so many things to consider besides learning to ride.


 I agree. But, start there - because you might find you don't like it as much as you thought you would. Or maybe that your family doesn't?

Or...maybe you DO...and then you can go from there. If you have the money...you can make it work.  It's when people DON'T have enough money to make it work properly that it all goes to hell. Good horses are not cheap. But, cheap horses are usually not good. Same applies to pretty much everything else - fencing, hay, trucks, trailers, etc.  

You can get lucky sometimes...but not always. 

Find a place to take lessons and see how it goes. Don't be afraid to look around if you don't love the barn/trainer. Different programs work for different people - it's your money and your time. Talk to different people - trainers, vets, etc., and get suggestions about where to ride.

Have fun!


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## aoconnor1 (Jun 19, 2014)

reubenT, great info. Loved the videos. Thanks for the post!


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## Akita (Nov 14, 2014)

You've gotten a lot of good advice already, but I would add, if you do decide to buy, get a nice older (teens to early twenties) BTDT GELDING that you have had farrier and vet checked.
Sad to say, there are quite a few dishonest people in the horse business who will sell an unsuitable horse to anybody with money. Dh & I picked up a nice AQHA stallion a few years ago really cheaply from a beginner rider with 3 toddlers. Fortunately, they realized they couldn't handle him before anybody got hurt. Stallions and beginners do not mix.


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## reubenT (Feb 28, 2012)

It is possible to obtain and keep horses exceedingly cheap, but it takes some land for pasture and hay, the equipment to make the hay. (or in southern climate sometimes pasture can last all winter if there's enough) A good dose of horse sense. And serious dedication. That's how I've done it. (Also spent some money on rare occasions to get a real nice horse, or some high quality tack, but that was just personal interest stuff) Otherwise if pasture isn't available and feed must be bought it can cost a good bit to keep them. Especially if you add up building a barn, buying truck and trailer, farrier, vet, feed and hay, saddles and tack, on and on it goes. My trucks are bought well used and sometimes dead, (picked up a nice chevy 4x4 crew cab dully a year ago with dead engine, havn't got a new one in it yet but will soon I think, my old dodge is retired to firewood duty, it was rolled twice before I bought it in 1994) my trailers are bought as almost junk and restored to function in my shop. (like the 20 ft gooseneck stock trailer I bought for $1000, and then welded in a new frame and sawed locust lumber for a new floor) several of my horses cost me only $125 adoption fee, one I swapped some lumber for. 3 I bought from private individuals. And now a retired trainer I know wants to give me a nice mare. 

By accident my first equine was about the best to learn on. A retired logging mule. (accident because I didn't know a thing about them beasts, neighbor mentioned there was one for sale, I went to look and bought him) The second was a bit more challenging, a young draft. So I started out with driving more than riding. It is real easy for an entry level person to get one they can't handle, It takes some experience to take on a horse that's young or needs training, or one that's very energetic. Even many that are trained aren't perfect. Which is why any person who is going to have a horse needs to know some basic training techniques so they can handle and ride without ignorantly causing problems, and will have some idea how to alleviate behavior problems that may arise. 

After learning a decent amount I adopted some wild horses, first attempt I learned quite a bit but was not successful training them, second attempt was much better, I knew more and was successful. They can be fun and rewarding, they are a lot of work, and they can be a bunch of trouble. So try em cautiously and see if they hit the spot for ya. You can either decide they're not for you, or be OK with em for awhile, or fall in love. For me it was a gradual development. The early mind programming from childhood wasn't on the surface, it took time to wake it up. But the more I spent time with horses and the more I learn about them the better I like em. Until I felt like I'd enjoy being a full time trainer. Except I didn't want the pressure of having to make a living at it. So I decided to make a living somewhere else and just play with horses.


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## crittermomma (Sep 26, 2013)

I love my geldings to pieces, but I agree with everyone else - they are a lot of work - farrier, shots, hay, fencing, more fencing, and MORE fencing! They chew wood and get into things like ornery kids. I used to board my horses and now I have my own place - I shout out a LOT of respect for those who do horse boarding!


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## CountryMom22 (Nov 27, 2014)

Your education needs to come before barns and fencing. These animals can do serious damage to you if you don't know how to handle them. Not because they're "bad" but because you don't understand them and their behavior.

Start with lessons at a barn where they encourage you to hang around and help out. Clean stalls, groom wash buckets etc. This is all part of the package. If you don't enjoy this aspect of horses you will be disappointed in the experience because you will be spending far more time caring for them than you will riding them.

With beginner riders of any age you want to find a "baby sitter, bomb proof" older horse who knows the ropes. Take an experienced horseman with you when looking because it is easy to fall in love with the completely inappropriate animal and be miserable when you get him home.

Also, check in your area for pricing for feed, vet visits, farrier services etc. to get an idea of what the basic costs are, and then figure more. It is always more.

Read, read, read! And watch, watch, watch! Watch lessons, don't just take them. I learned more from watching other people take lessons than I learned during my lessons. You can gain knowledge without being on the horse yourself.

Good luck in whatever you decide. Horses are awesome but a huge commitment of time, energy and resources. Do your homework before you jump in! 

P.S. Horses are also addicting!


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