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Honesty is the best policy...
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One of the hardest things in the horse world is to find yourself the right horse, once you've decided to purchase and own
one.
Horses are not static. If you buy a motorcycle, it will be exactly the same when you wheel it out of its parking space
as it was when you left it there. This is not true for horses.
Here are some tips to make the search easier.
Tip 1: Know Thyself
Make a list of the things you realistically expect to do with a horse. If you work outside the home full time, cut it in half.
If you work outside the home and you have a family, cut it in half again.
Be brutally honest with yourself. Make a list of the things you are good at with horses. Make a list of the things you
cannot deal with: a horse who is constantly nosing you for treats annoys you? Write that down. A horse who is fearful about
picking up its feet for the shoer makes you impatient? Note that. Be very honest about what you will and will not handle.
Not that you won't make some compromises, but it's good to know up front what your choices are.
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Here are a few things that are not important to decide:
Color
Height
Gender
A word about breeds:
If you have chosen a specialty, such as dressage or team penning, there are certain breeds that tend to excel in given
sports.
If you are looking for a weekend pleasure horse, I suggest you keep an open mind about breed. There are some generalizations
about breeds that you may find hold true, but many simply do not. There are exceptional individuals in every breed: calm Arabians,
flighty Quarter Horses, rock-solid Thoroughbreds with tons of cow sense.
So make a list of what you want in a horse. For example:
1- Sensible - not easily spooked, and recovers well if startled
2- Young - some experience, but young enough to give many years of sound service - 4-6 yrs old OR: Seasoned - a campaigner
with many years of experience - a 12-15 year old or older
3- Forward - one you never need to coax to move out
4- Training style: English, Western, specific sport
Once you've set up some criteria, start shopping!
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Listen first, whisper later...
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