My Lifelong Wish

[maria1008123]

Sat, Jan 8, 2011


Ever since I turned the age of six, I have been obsessively hooked on the idea of having my own horse some day. My room is swamped with horse pictures, posters, Breyer models, and christmas wish lists that never came true. Now that I'm a teenager my friends are all about boys and drama while I subsequently would much rather the friendly nicker and neigh of a horse to greet me when I enter the barn after a long day of school. A horse would be there to offer me friendship, kindness, and respect. He would be the type of friend who would actually keep my secrets...

So far I have been asking my Mom and Dad constantly for a horse on my 15th birthday. My Mom thinks it could be a very good posibility if I work at the barn to take some of the cost of the boarding away. I haven't heard anything promising from my Father. Each day I sit and wait, hopeing, praying that a horse is just days away...

Please, If anyone reads this. Could you please share your story with me. I would greatly appreciate your help and support.

Thanks, Maria

[htrimm08]

Im pretty sure 95% of us here know exactly how you feel lol

Im 19, I got Benson (FINALLY) oct 2009.. like you I've wanted a horse since the first time I sat on one.. pleaded and begged my whole teenage life for one, every birthday and christmas.. and there were a few times that it almost went through, more than a few horses that I had my heart and head set on getting, for one reason or another (usually the parents lol) it just didn't work out

I am sooo glad that it worked out like that, so glad that I ended up with my boy, hes perfect for me and we work so well together. So don't worry, don't push it just because you want one REALLLYY BAD, don't go for the first pretty horse to catch your eye, take your time, do your homework and it will all work out

[ariana]

Just do your homework (as heather said) and pretty much prepare yourself as much as possible! This could make your parents more willing, and even though your not into the horse world because you have one of your own, your still in it because you really care

It took me and my sister 5 years to get my pony! We begged and begged and we made all the plans for getting one (place and all) we just didn't have the money. Thankfully, we didn't get the one that alomst went through because it was a green horse and at the time me and my sister thought that green broke, meant really well trained! We kept going to clinics and horse camp and when we did have a good amount of knowledge and we found this spunky little pony that was only an hour away, we finally got our wish! It's pretty much just being logical and knowledgable about what you are getting into and if you're parents don't get it for you. Save up, you'll get your horse one day

[maria1008123]

Thanks Heather and Ariana! What you said was a great help for me. Congrats on finally getting your horse! I suppose I will have to try what you did. I will wait and save up as much as I can and keep asking my parents for a horse companion.

But I have only a few questions to get started off. If you could please help thatd be great!

-Green Broke.
-What breed of horse is the best to start off with.
-What type of bit is the best for starting off.

Thanks!

[maria]

I've been very lucky with how much my parents supported my riding, but I did have to prove to them it was worth all the sweat and tears (and money, haha). I full leased a pony through junior high, then switched to Connor in high school. After leasing him for a couple years, my parents bought him for me as a surprise! That was the beginning of my grade 12 year. They told me that they weren't going to tell me I owned him until I proved my good grades, but for various reasons I got him before that. HOWEVER, my grades did have to stay up, and because my parents were paying for his board, lessons, shows, clinics, pretty much EVERYTHING-I was expected to help out around the house, and babysit my brother when needed, no questions asked.

The thing I find most with 'parents vs. buying horses' is the fact they are afraid that there child will grow out of the sport, or lose interest, and then they're stuck with this "massive money consuming beast" that they have to try and sell. I know that you feel like you won't go through that, and I sincerely hope you hang on to that love through high school and beyond. But that fact is, I know people who said the exact same thing as you, and, in some cases, their parents bought them horses. However they then lost interest, and the horse suffered for it. Plus the parents were stuck paying for something their child didn't even want anymore, or saw as a "smelly burden"

Another thing you have to look at is how close you are to university. You see SO SO SO many adds for horses either for sale or lease saying "owner off to uni, no time/money for horse". You don't want to be one of those people (and neither do your parents!!!), especially if you'll only get a year or two out of the horse before you graduate high school. At the time my parents bought Connor, I was planning on doing a program in Guelph, and you had to have your own horse for it. Whether I leased him or owned him by that time, we worked out that he was going to be the one I was bringing up with me, it just turned out due to kids and a family, my trainer/his owner sold him to me.

As for questions to ask, don't worry so much breed, defiantly not what bit, and green broke means 'just started under saddle', so you don't want that for your first horse. Obviously you don't want something too hot (like tb, arabian, etc.) depending on what level you're at, and you also don't want a horse that has to be ridden in a harsh bit. But details like that should be left to an experienced person, or trainer to look at. As for YOU yourself looking, you mostly want to look for temperament, age, and what the horse is used for, or you want it for.

Also, if you mind me asking, how old are you, and where are you located (for example would you be looking to board in town, out in grand-falls area, etc.)? If you want more advice, or have any more questions don't be afraid to PM me

ETA: One thing parents LOVE about horses, is a) it usually keeps you away from crazy partys, drinking and drugs. and b) dating possiblities are severly reduced when you smell like horse all the time, have hay in your hair, and tell everyone you "are practically married to your horse" lol!

[1234]

-Green Broke.
-What breed of horse is the best to start off with.
-What type of bit is the best for starting off.


Sorry to be blunt, but if you're still asking these types of questions you're definitely not ready to own a horse. Keep doing lessons and maybe try leasing first!

Green broke means in simple terms that it isn't trained well or has just been started. It knows the basics.

There isn't a particular breed that is best to start off with. Some would argue not to get a "hot" breed, but it all depends on the horse and it's training.

About the bit, it should be matched to horse and rider. You should have someone experienced help you with this in person, but when in doubt go as simple as possible, like a loose-ring snaffle.

[katharine]

Green broke means that the horse is beginning to accept the saddle, bridle, bit, harness, rider ect.
This does not mean however the horse is fully trained.

There is no "best breed" really. For example, I know apps that are extremly sweet and a great ride but I also know some, (including mine XD) that tend to have a bit more fiery personality and tend to put up more of a fight. It's the same with any breed though... people have different opinions. Kind of like dogs. Some people hate rotweilers because they are dangerous and others love them claiming they are a sweet as can be! So when you're looking for your horse don't look at pretty breeds look at if they have good training, if they are sound, if they are quiet , what discipline they are trained for and whatnot. For your first horse I probably would reccomend a school horse from a riding stable. Sometimes you can evern leases them ( basically it's like your own horse without all the work and money) These are usually great all rounders. They are usually on the older side and sometimes aren't as stunning as the big goregeous show horses. But they are safe, forgiving and they can teach you a whole lot of stuff, as opposed to training a horse that's only 2 years old and has never had a saddle. But as far as breeds go... quater horses are usually the best breed for starters IMO.
Use a snaffle to start off. You don't have much control when you first start to ride so a snaffle is the more gentel bit on a horses mouth.

As for my story,
I got Hershey when I was 13. I had only been riding for 4 months.My parents picked out my horse and gave it to me for a christmas present after years of begging for a horse. He was definatly not the first horse for me. He hadn't been ridden in 2 years and I could barely halter him let alone bridle him. My first ride didn't go so well... Hershey reared up and i flew off XD I had soo much trouble with him and I always used to come home crying because I could never get through a ride without staying on. He used to rear kick whatever he could to get me off.
There were soo many times I wanted to sell him and it probably would have been the better option but I was too attached. I had concussions, black eyes, once hershey fell ON me. It wasn't fun stuff. But after a while we stuck with it. I got an amazing rider to help me with my horse and now he's all I could ask for and more

[nicole]

I begged for a horse all my life. My parents put me in lessons when I was 5 and my dad said if I stayed in lessons or anything to do with horses he would eventually let me have my own. After a few years I stopped doing lessons but I still went down to the barn almost everyday and mucked out stalls clean the field took groomed the horse took her out for walks almost everyday I kind of treated her like my own horse! Finally my dad built me a barn and got me my own horse when I was 13 so it was back in 2009. So just keep showing your parents that your not going to drop out of the horse world and keep going to the barn and do whatever because I think what parents are worried about it that the kid will drop out of horses and dont want their horse anymore and then the parents would be stuck with a horse

[Emily Walsh]

If possible, your best bet would be to get in lessons. I have been doing lessons for only a year, and I'm sooo glad I did. I know, NOW that I am not ready to handle a horse on my own yet(I'm way to nervous a person). It will also show your parents how serious you are about getting a horse, and would be a great leap toward that possibility.

Also, if you get in lessons, constatly nag the instructor's why are you doing this? and whats that for? It really helps you learn why certain things are done. Beware might be annoying, but I usually compenate by helping out before/after my lesson haha(after I know why whats being done is important/how it's done).

Jan 9, 2011 13:32:49 GMT -3 maria said:

ETA: One thing parents LOVE about horses, is a) it usually keeps you away from crazy partys, drinking and drugs. and b) dating possiblities are severly reduced when you smell like horse all the time, have hay in your hair, and tell everyone you "are practically married to your horse" lol!

And this my girl, is exactly why Dad laid off nagging me about "wasteing" my money on horses.

[Alecia&Bam ♥]

I was like you, im pretty sure most of us horse lovers are, i loved horses since the first time i saw one. I did the same as you, begged, and begged, then i stopped, i gave up kinda. Then i was looking though the classifieds when i came across a horse, very cheap just wanted a good home, so i had my own car by then, had a job, and went with cash in hand. Bought her (although you should look into it longer, trust me), i boarded her for two years, just recently i took her home, and now she's part of the family.
"ETA: One thing parents LOVE about horses, is a) it usually keeps you away from crazy partys, drinking and drugs. and b) dating possiblities are severly reduced when you smell like horse all the time, have hay in your hair, and tell everyone you "are practically married to your horse""
Thats what really made them comfortable with me having a horse, although i have manged to keep my boyfriend for the last two years.

Just don't give up on you dream, everyone starts out somewhere, and if you give up you won't go anywhere.

[jpoole]

I didn't get my first horse until I was 20, it was just then I was realizing I wasn't ready to own one, but dear old Buck just fell into my lap. I always loved horses, volunteered at rainbow riders for a while, went on trail rides in the summer etc, but kind of got out of it all during highschool.

When I was 18 I put myself in weekly lessons for about 6 months, then leased a friends horse and took lessons for another 6 months or so. I had a bad fall in a lesson and broke both of my wrists, which caused me (and especially my parents) to re-evaluate the whole riding thing. It made me really think about what I wanted to do, the risks involved, etc. I realized I really had no interest in showing or competing. I just loved being around horses and hoping on for a ride from time to time. I contined leasing after I got my casts off, stopped lessons. At the time we moved my lease horse to the racetrack to use the arena, that was when we started helping out with a neighbors race horse that was too slow to race. At the end of the season they told us he would be sent on the meat truck, unless we wanted to keep him. We adopted him, planning on re-homing him, but I fell in love with those big, sad eyes, and thats it I guess, he's been mine ever since, that was two and a half years ago. We've definitely had our ups and downs, but I love him so much I can't regret any of it.

Lol in saying that NEVER rescue for your first horse, especially a racehorse or a stb. They have TONS of potential, but in the wrong hands the horse and owner usually end up suffering.

Take as many lessons as you can, ride as many horses as you can, lease if possible, and research, research, research. And most important, ASK QUESTIONS. Be open to other peoples suggestions, as long as they are knowledable, even if you don't like or want to hear what they have to say its usually for the best. Its so sad when young girls come on this site asking questions, for example, 'I'm thinking of getting this horse, what do you guys think?". As soon as someone says something bad about the horse they get upset and ignore what is usually good advice. One of the biggest mistakes is jumping into ownership without getting experience first. I still wish I had taken more lessons and ridden different horses while I still had the chance, but things change when you have your own horse, its a huge financial commitment and time consumer. Once you own a horse, you may not be able to have lessons as often or have the chance to ride other horses. So take this time to plan as much as you can, get tons of experience, and take your time looking for the perfect horse for you. Don't buy the first one you look at, even if you think your in love, take as many knowledgable people with you and take your time, as exciting as it is. It will make horses in your life SO much more enjoyable, you won't have to deal with the worries of sick or injured horses, ones you can't ride, aren't built properly or have nasty attitude issues. Which all just take the fun out of what we all love so much! Lol sorry for the long post, got on a bit of a rant, but you get the idea : )

[maria1008123]

Thanks! That was very informational! But very very useful! I have had a fair amount of experience with horses. I have seen a mare give birth. I have ridden different breeds of horses. I have even tacked and groomed them. But how can you really convince your parents 100%?

[shelly]

^^ That does not mean you are experienced.
How many years have you been riding seriously? Have you ever had lessons from a real instructor? Do you have any experience with real horse care (feeding, healthcare)? Do you have a suitable place to keep the horse and do you know what qualifies as a suitable place? Do you have an experienced horse person nearby to help?

Don't take this the wrong way, I'm not trying to pick on you. There have been several people who've come on here claiming to be super experienced with horses and ready for a horse of their own when in reality that's the exact opposite of the truth. So this always sets off warning bells when this subject comes up and people want actual proof. (And dont' be surprised if some come across kind of snappy, because it can be frustrating dealing with such people.)

Where are you located? Many people on here are more than happy to give people a hand and let them spend time around their horses and help them obtain experience and give good advice.

[Alecia&Bam ♥]

Good questions Shelly, if your located near corner brook, you can drop by and visit my horse!

[Jess]

Taking lessons, leasing or just spending time with someone knowledgable and their horse is the best thing you could possibly do.

I don't know if you are planning on keeping a horse a home, but think very hard about that. This summer I moved my geldings from my friends place up to our own barn that my boyfriend and I built. I wouldn't trade it for the world, but it is a huge amount of work and responsibility. Between my boyfriend and myself, we're up long before daylight to feed and turn out, and there long after dark to feed again and clean stalls, scrub buckets.. We've been at the barn long after midnight in pouring rain and one degree temperatures soaking wet to fix a leak. And that's not to mention weekends spent lugging hay or bagging sawdust or putting up fence. Plus I work and go to school, he works full time. Like I said before I absolutely love it, but if you're not prepared for that big a commitment nothing will turn you from horses quicker.