Finding a good horse can be difficult, but once you narrow it down to a couple horses that you want to look at, your choice becomes somewhat easier. The first thing that I would recommend is that take an experienced horse person with you to check out any prospective horse. The next is, ask questions. Here is a list of questions I would ask if I were buying a horse.

How old is he? This depends on what you want the horse for;

do you want a younger horse that has lots of energy for jumping and running, or an older more subdued horse for trail riding and lessons? A good age for someone buying a horse for the first time is from eight to twelve, that way he is mature, but not too old. I am not saying to avoid a steed that is suitable and is six years, but remember this, the younger the horse, the less experience and training he has.

What is he trained to do? What kind of riding do you want to do? Then find out if this animal trained to do it. When buying a horse for the first time, do not buy an untrained horse or one that is “green” broke; these are young horses and they are not for beginner riders. Buy a horse that is trained for the riding you want to do.

Does he have any vices (kicking, vip porn biting, or cribbing)? If the horse bites or kicks people, do not take him. These are bad habits for a horse to have and you will find yourself afraid of your own horse. This is why you handle him in his stall or pasture before buying him; you can see how he reacts to you. Cribbing is a stable vice, and so is wind sucking. They both involve the horse sucking air and bits of wood down their throats. This is not a reason to avoid buying the horse, especially if he is perfectly suited to your riding needs, but he will need cured of this problem. You can buy a cribbing collar, which will stop him from cribbing and wind sucking, or you can paint his stall doors and pasture fences with no-chew pepper spray. There are a multitude of things available to stop horses from cribbing.

Does he get along with other horses? If you have other horses, or are boarding him at a stable with other horses, you need to know how he acts around them. Is he a bully? Does he get bullied? If he is a bully, he may have to be stabled alone, and that could create problems for your or your boarding facility; same for if he gets bullied easily. If he is especially aggressive with other horses, and unless he is going to be kept alone, it is probably best not to take him.

How does he behave for the farrier? Horses need their hooves trimmed every four to six weeks, so you will see the farrier pretty often. You need to know how he behaves, does he stand quietly or need tranquilizers to get his feet trimmed and shod? If he needs tranquilizers, it is not a good idea to buy him.

Has he ever colicked or foundered? Colic is a stomachache which can kill the horse because horses cannot vomit. A horse that overeats can colic. Ask if the horse has colicked before, and if he has, from what? Some horses are very good at undoing latches and turning themselves loose into the feed room. This is not a “do not buy him” sign, but you will want to know if he needs a special latch on his door to keep him from getting out and eating too much grain and colicking. Founder is also a disorder having to do with overeating. Founder when the horse’s feet become hot and painful. He will usually lean back on his back legs to avoid standing on his painful front legs. This can kill a horse, and a horse that has foundered before is very likely to do it again. The feed schedule has to be very carefully monitored and depending on how bad the founder was, the horse may not be able to do any hard work under saddle. Try to avoid buying a foundered horse.

Has he ever been lame? An injury to the horse that put him out of commission for a couple weeks constitutes lame. If he has been lame, what happened to him and for how long was he injured? If he had a bruised hoof or an abscess (a runny black liquid on the bottom of his foot), that is not too serious and as long as he is fine now, you are safe to buy him; but if he has foundered, try to avoid it.

Has he ever been sick? Sickness is not a reason to worry, unless of course the horse is sick at present time; some illnesses never go away and are just unnoticeable. Do not buy him if he has EPM, this is dangerous because the horse can fall over at any given time and hurt you. EPM stands for “Equine Protozoal Myeloencephalitis” and it is contracted from possums. Horses die from this because they lose coordination in their muscles and fall, and have trouble getting up. Have the horse checked over by a vet before buying him to make sure that he is not injured or sick in any way.

Has anyone ever been thrown off the horse? If so, why? Was it the horses fault? Or the rider’s? If the horse bucked someone off or reared and they fell off, ask about the situation. Did the horse spook? Or was it misbehaving. If it was a spook, ask what spooked him so that you know what spooks him in the future.

What makes him spook? Find this information out so that you can be ready for the situation. Many horses are terrified of umbrellas, some do not like water, and others are scared of loud noises. Ask how he reacts to something that spooks him and you will be able to tell if you can cope with his spooking. If you cannot, do not buy him. A fear of something like umbrellas can be worked through, but a fear of water will probably take considerably more work.. Some horses just hate water. Buy him only if you are willing to work through his problem or can have someone else work through his problem.

Is there anything in particular that he dislikes? Some horses hate clippers, baths, or a certain kind of treat. Some even have allergies to weeds. You can buy the horse with these problems, just be aware of them. Avoid whatever it is the horse is allergic to, and he can be worked through a fear of clippers or bathing.

Does he have registration papers? This is really not a deciding factor. A horse’s registration proves nothing except his bloodlines and those do not matter when buying a horse for the first time. If he is calm, easy to handle, and is a good mount for you, you should buy him. Do not base it on whether he has registration papers or not. But it is good to know whether or not the horse has papers, especially if you want to show horses in a specific breed class.

Why are you selling him? Sometimes people sell horses because they have too many, are going off to college, or are just getting rid of all their horses. These are all good reasons, but be aware if they are getting rid of him because he is a problem in some way; you do not want a problem horse.

How does he act when you bathe or groom him? Some horses do not like baths or do not enjoy being groomed. Just be aware of this, and if you are okay with it, he is fine.

When was he last ridden? A horse that was last ridden a year ago is not a mount for a beginner. Make sure he has been ridden recently and ask to try him out so that you see how he rides and if you can handle him.

How often does he usually get ridden? Most people ride their horses once a week or so and for some horses that may be often enough. Just ask how often he has been ridden and try him out before you buy him. Do not get him home and then ride him for the first time. Some horses are very calm on the ground and hard to handle in the saddle.

How does he load into a trailer? You are obviously going to have to get your horse to his new home, and to do that, you are probably going to have to load him into a trailer. You may also plan on showing the horse later on, and he will need to be trailered to shows, so he needs to load into the trailer quietly and not fight once he’s in the trailer.

How does he behave tied? If the horse is calm to handle, you may think that he will tie easily, but that is not the case. Some horse hate being tied and will fight to a point of being dangerous when tied. Have the owner tie him and step away with you watching. Make sure the horse is calm and stands still without dancing around or looking panicked.

What is his history? Has the person who is selling him had him all his life? If not, when did he acquire him? Try to find out as much about the horse’s background as you can, it will help you understand him better; especially if there is something he fears, it may be due to an accident that happened long ago.

Who has been riding him? Ask the riding level of the person who has been riding him. Chances are, if it was a young child or an elderly person riding him, the horse is a good horse that takes care of his rider. If it was an experienced rider, there may be a reason for that, such as the horse is hard to handle.

These are all questions that you want to ask before buying a horse. You also want to ride the horse, and handle him in the field or stall to see how he acts, or if he runs away. Be aware that if a horse’s head is drooping and it seems that he has no energy, he may be sick or drugged. Watch for signs like stumbling over his own feet and not noticing anything around him; sickness or drugs are more than likely the causes. Buy horses privately; do not buy from an auction, especially for a first horse; buying at auctions is best left to the professionals.

Since this is a lot to remember when you are at a stable looking over a new horse, I have included a checklist an the end of this book that you can print out and take with you to look over a horse. Make sure you go though the whole thing and do not just get swept up in the excitement of getting a dream horse.

• 16/03/2019
• un messaggio di: Amore
• Da: fbaglinda6