When choosing your first horse, there are things that you need to know about horse psychology.
As an example, horses are prey animals which means that their whole life revolves around not ending up on a predator's dinner table.
Understanding this mindset will help you understand why a horse acts the way he does.
Horses are often afraid of the silliest things that make absolutely no sense to us, but makes perfect sense to them.
Horses like humans, have different personalities.
Some are nervous, some are sweet and some are just downright mean.
When you are thinking about choosing your first horse, you must consider your personality and how well you will get along with the prospect in question.
If you are a timid rider, then a nervous horse is not for you.
Horses read body language to determine the status of their surroundings, and if a horse sees that his fellow herd member (you), is nervous or upset then he is going to pick up on that and become nervous himself.
This will cause him to spook at things that he normally might not get upset about.
His nervous behavior will make you nervous which will make him more nervous, thus creating a vicious cycle.
There are three things you must know when choosing your first horse: 1.
If you are an inexperienced equestrian, hire a professional.
If you are considering getting a horse, you should already be taking lessons.
Talk to your riding instructor.
Most instructors are more than happy to assist you when you are ready to choose your first horse.
These people have years of experience regarding different riders and the horse that would be suitable for them.
They probably know where the good horses are that are currently for sale.
2.
THERE IS NO SUCH THING AS A FREE HORSE.
Beware, the free horse.
It might sound ideal in the beginning, but if you are not experienced in horse care, training or behavior, this can be a very costly mistake.
Free horses are usually a problem that someone is trying to offload.
Horses that are healthy,well trained and suitable for beginners are extremely valuable and no one is going to give them away.
Many free horses are diamonds in the rough if you know what you're doing.
But that's the key, if you have never successfully trained a horse, you will probably end up with a behavioral problem that you can't fix or worse that is downright dangerous.
You will end up spending a lot of money (more than if you just bought a horse) in training and or vet bills.
Horses with medical issues quite often are given away as well.
3.
Buying a young or untrained horse is not a good idea for the same reasons mentioned for not getting one for free.
Young horses are very reactive and can be dangerous if not started correctly.
You also can't begin training a horse under saddle until they are approximately 2-3 years old, which means you will be waiting awhile to be able to ride.
When you choose your first horse, young or untrained horses should be eliminated as a possibility.