New to Horses & Forum

[linnymarie]

Hi Everyone,

I'm so happy to have found this forum.
I have wanted a horse all my life ever since I was
a little girl. I am now 59 years old!!! and still want
a horse! I cannot believe this desire has never
left me.

Looks like hubby and I will be buying some acreage/hobby
farm in the near future and therefore the possibility of
getting a horse some day looks promising.

I have hardly any knowledge of horses except for what I read
on the internet, videos, and in books. I have trail ridden a few times... that's about it.

I realize I need to learn a LOT and will likely be taking
riding lessons and horse care some day but in the mean time just
want to hang out here, make some friends, and learn a few things.

Thanks for sharing everyone. Looking forward to getting to
know you all.

Linda

[PaintGal]

Welcome to DE!

There is plenty of good info here and a whole lot to read. Soak up everything you can but do plan on taking lessons before you actually buy a horse. There is no substitute for hands on experience.

Don't hesitate to ask questions though!

[Hook]

Welcome aboard from a fellow Canadian, Linda.

Good luck on your purchase of a hobby farm. You are in for a fantastic journey.

[walkinthewalk]

Hello Linda and welcome[]

This is a really Outside The Box thought and maybe a long shot but:

Are there any boarding barns or training barns close by that you could talk to the managers about helping out a little bit with daily chores -- as a volunteer?

Maybe you could fill in on weekends or a couple days a week when somebody needs a day off.

Believe me, you would get more hands-on experience than you ever dreamt of and a real heads-up advance warning about horse ownership.

Especially if you plan to have a horse on your own property, as that means you're responsible for that horse's well-being 24/7, 365 days/yr. Including those times you may want to leave on vacation or have a family emergency that requires you leave town.

If the "sticker shock" still isn't too much after all that, there's always the possibility somebody might want to part-lease their horse to you<---provided the horse is gentle enough for a new horse person.

You could take lessons off the lease horse and be learning in advance of horse ownership. Oftentimes folks end up buying the lease horse or the folks at the boarding barn can point the person in the right direction of buying a horse that is suited to your personality and riding ability.

One of the mistakes new and "aged" (I'm 65 so I can say that -lol) make is they have a vision in their head that does not match their temperment to handle a horse nor their true riding ability.

We are not all Roy Rogers' and Gene Autrys' lol lol

I am in no way trying to dishearten you, just trying to present the facts. I've been riding since I was two, but I belong to a horse forum that is made up of mostly older women whose desire to own a horse mirror yours. They are a help group for each other and there are a few of us seasoned riders who try to offer solid advice.

I could tell you stories that would curl your toe nails because they listened to the "vision in their head", instead of the reality of what experienced horse folks were trying to tell them.

Lastly, PLEASE don't rescue a horse when the time comes. Rescuing something starving/abused/neglected is a magnamonious effort but best left to experienced horse folks. There are too many unknowns, not only from a health perspective but from bad habits the horse may have developed due to being abused and/or starved[]

Ok, that's it for my Two Cents - a big welcome to the forum and please ask a lot of questions[]

[tuffy2712]

Welcome to the forum!!

[Arenadirt]

Hello Linnymarie,

Welcome!

I was in almost your exact situation some 15 years ago. Had been around horses almost all my life, but never owned one. As I came to find out, even though I had been around them for 45+ years I knew nothing at all about them, really. For me (and my wife) the lifesaver was two-fold:

* Hands-on experience like walkinthewalk suggests (there is no substitute). We were lucky that some truly exceptional trainers built a facility right across the river from our acreage. We spent time cleaning, grooming, feeding, riding (and falling off) horses of all descriptions, all levels and all types of training.

* Read, read, read. We devoured all the books by Christ Irwin, Monty Roberts, Mark Rashid and more, and that was the best imaginable investment of time.

Those two factors combined to allow an overall equestrian experience that ranks up there with anything in my life. And this forum has been a steady supportive presence for me for what seems like forever now. Love these folks, and heed their advice; much of it was won through pain and injury.

Hoping your experience is as rich as ours has been!

[BethAnn]

Welcome glad to see another member!

[Colleen]

Welcome tro [de]. OMG you sound like me. Well we have the acreage now just need some money to build a barn etc. I have learned so much here on DE, everyone is so helpful. Take lessons!!! who knows maybe we will have our first horse at the same time.

[EZ2SPOT]

Welcome to the DE! Sounds like you have a good plan for getting started, and I hope you are able to get a horse soon! There's some good advice above; and you might want to board a horse for a while before taking one home. I've seen so many people buy horses, and have no idea of how to take care of them!

A good number of people here on the DE came to horses later than some of us, and just look at them now!!

EZ2SPOT

[fracturedbones]

Hey Linnymarie, welcome to DE!

Never too late to act on a horse dream! And we here at DE are full of advice![]
I had always ridden, never owned my own horse until later 40s. Same age as you now.

I took riding lessons and helped someone with their horses for a 1 1/2 years before owning,, so had a good idea of what I was getting into.
No regrets, but here is the reality check:
Spend more time doing horse chores than riding
No real vacation in 5 years (cost of horses, hiring someone to do the care). It's a trade off I"m ok with.
You need to be a home body to keep them at your own place unless you have family help or can hire help.
Benefits are builds a good bond with your horse.
I love the smell of horse manure too!
Nothing beats looking out your window to see the fuzzy faces.

Half leasing an older very broke horse is a great way to start, and taking lessons with someone not just for riding skills, but learning care, training, etc REALLY helps.

What type of riding do you do? Any special breed you are interested in?
Look forward to hearing more about your dream!!