If you decide to get a horse
Contents
If you decide to get a horse
People often ask me if it’s worth getting a horse. I always answer: definitely NOT worth it. To begin with, if you have such doubts in principle – whether to start or not – there is hardly a clear understanding of what difficulties horse ownership is associated with. But perhaps you are “sick” with horses to such an extent that the decision is already ripe … Then it is useful to take note of several important points.
Financial issue
Keeping a horse in a city is quite an expensive pleasure. You can buy a horse for a small amount available to any person. But to pay monthly for a stay in the stable, vaccinations, clearing or forging hooves, a trainer, a trainer, if necessary, a veterinarian … As well as buying ammunition, feeding and saving for unforeseen expenses – not everyone can afford it. In addition, in many clubs it is customary to pay extra for all additional services: giving dressings, walking in a levada, and so on. As for the horse’s “wardrobe” – it often needs to be updated, since halters and blankets tend to tear, brushes are lost, and an expensive saddle can be trivially stolen (unfortunately, such cases are not uncommon in our country).
If you live in a private house, everything is also not as simple as it seems. You need space for the horse and forage, a working area with suitable, even, non-sticky ground, and a sufficiently large area for walking. It is necessary to think about the purchase of sawdust, about waste disposal. In addition, it is very undesirable for horses to live alone – which means that either a second horse or at least a pony (donkey, goat) will be needed as a companion.
In summary, the minimum monthly cost per horse should be approximately double the cost of lodging.
And if the horse becomes seriously ill?.. And if you are fired from your job? It is better to think over the “airbag” in advance and calculate all possible options in order to avoid big problems. Not every horse can be immediately sold into normal hands, and even finding a tenant is not a very quick task, which has many pitfalls.
Time
It is also one of the fundamental factors of horse ownership. The horse needs attention EVERY DAY. It needs to be cleaned, monitored for health and general condition, to provide sufficient exercise and work.
For a healthy horse, in addition to paddling, it is advisable to move 1-3 hours every day, at least 5 days a week. Great if the horse is provided with a long walk; but in this case, you can’t just leave, arranging a vacation for the horse for a month. Even if the animal spends two days in a row without activity, this can immediately affect its behavior. Some horses in levadas barely move. If you have a small levada with poor ground or a horse walking alone, it is likely that he will use very little energy on a walk.
It must be understood that even a one-year-old foal needs to be given a lot of attention and strength so that it grows into an adequate beast. If you bought a calm and trained horse, it must be maintained in proper shape. Without stable, balanced loads, a horse can become seriously ill, because for the proper functioning of all body systems, it needs movement. But even an “ideal” horse can quickly turn into a monster if you make systemic mistakes while working with it or look at some little things of behavior through your fingers. To correct your actions and direct efforts in the right direction, you will have to regularly seek the help of a professional.
In principle, finances can compensate for the lack of your time: you can hire a handler who will deal with the horse in your absence. But then the question of his qualifications arises. By entrusting a horse to a non-professional, you can get a lot of unpleasant surprises. Again, in order to control the work of the bereator, it is necessary to have time.
Опыт
Believe me, experience is a MUST for successful and happy horse ownership! In its absence, there is only one option: to replace this aspect with finances. So that a coach is ALWAYS near you, teaches you, prompts and follows every step. A horse is not a hamster or even a dog. This is a large, shy, dangerous animal that can cause unintentional harm not only to you, but also to people around you. This needs to be understood and adequately assessed.
Some people think that you can get a foal, raise him in love and affection – and he will answer the same. Alas, this is an illusion! Often it is with young horses that huge problems arise due to the lack of experience of their owners. A horse of any age, first of all, must know and clearly observe DISCIPLINE. Otherwise, your cute foal will turn into a killer horse very soon. And this is by no means a joke! This is the sad experience of dozens of unlucky horse owners. Remember: in order to raise an adequate horse on your own, you must ALREADY be able to work with young horses. It is unlikely that you want the fruit of your experiments to have to be sold to a butcher after a while, simply because few people need uncontrollable horses spoiled by unlucky private traders.
For experience to be positive, it must be gained BEFORE you buy a horse. If you really can’t wait, there is an option to take the animal on a full lease. This is where you can experience all the delights of horse ownership “on your own skin”. The main thing is that if it gets hard, you can get out of the game without any damage to yourself and the horse.
Life
Before buying a pet, it is advisable to have at least a basic knowledge of what it needs to have a happy time. The ideal option is to stay in the stable with the possibility of unlimited walking in the pasture, in the company of friends. Unfortunately, this is not always possible. But daily walks, at least in the levada, must be present MANDATORY! Preferably – the whole daylight hours, or at least 4-6 hours.
A horse should ALWAYS have access to hay, even if it spends all summer grazing. The horse eats about 10-
If you keep a horse at a country house, remember that you need to feed it on a schedule. Usually, morning feeding takes place at 7-8 am, afternoon feeding at 13-14 pm, and evening feeding at 21-22 pm. If you left late or simply forgot to feed the horse, he will not appreciate it.
Visits to the stable require enormous time and emotional costs. It takes about four hours to clean the horse, work it out according to the “minimum” program and do all the necessary procedures. Add here the road to the stables and back … So half a day passed imperceptibly. If your horse doesn’t have a permanent handler, multiply that by six days a week. By the way, if you plan to wash your horse, clean your ammunition, or just ride for more than forty minutes, there is a good chance you will spend 8, 10 hours at the stable… What about your family? And if you have or will have children? .. And going to visit, to the cinema? What about household chores or unscheduled shifts at work?
Be prepared for the fact that the horse will actually put an end to all other activities and hobbies. To harmoniously fit a horse into your life, you need to have a clear understanding: why do you need this animal. Here, again, finances play a decisive role (the ability to hire a caretaker), as well as experience to avoid energy-consuming mistakes and miscalculations. When buying your favorite horse from the rental, which you rode for one hour twice a week, please note that the time of your stay in the stable will increase by 5-10 times.
It is very important that your family members support the idea of buying a horse. Even a hamster becomes a member of the family, and this is a HORSE. If you keep an animal at home, such factors as manure, wet sawdust appear (which are not in demand among summer residents, but they also need to be put somewhere!). It is necessary to provide the horse with a territory for walking, the necessary feed … There are quite active and noisy horses that easily break the boards in the stall, neigh, and if they accidentally break out of their hands, they will ruin and trample the neighbor’s garden with pleasure.
Do you think things are easier if the horse is in the city stable? All the same, the smell of horses and a certain amount of natural debris will get into the car, into the house, into the family … And what about the saddle pads and blankets? Perhaps I will surprise you, but they need to be washed, and quite often. In the bathroom? In a typewriter? Think about it ahead of time.
Perhaps you are still very young and you are overwhelmed with enthusiasm. But be prepared for the fact that the horse can become a “bone of contention” in your family. Firstly, it is a “black hole” in the budget, where solid sums of money fall into. Does your significant other or your parents approve of this? If you provide a horse, but spend all your salary on it, think what will happen if the situation in the family suddenly changes? Sponsors, unfortunately, are also not eternal … It is better to rely only on yourself from the very beginning – both in terms of finances and in terms of time.
Consider the possibility of jealousy. I repeat that a horse is a huge time investment, over many years of life. Are you REALLY ready for this? Will you be enough to take care of your family and children? Believe me: no horse is worth sacrificing your family for it.
Even if you already live separately from your parents and are still alone, what will happen when, in addition to the horse, which has already become dear and beloved, someone else appears? You should think about the same if you decide to buy a horse for your child. What will happen when he plays with the horse?
Health
Oddly enough, horses are rather “fragile” creatures. The saying about horse health does not reflect the real state of affairs. First, horses need round-the-clock supervision. The animal can lie down in the stall so that it cannot get up on its own. Or eat a moldy blade of grass or a product that causes fermentation (fresh bread, cabbage), which will provoke colic. And colic is fraught with torsion of the intestines … By the way, with colic, the animal needs to step back until the attack passes completely. Sometimes you have to walk the horse all day or all night. Are you ready for this? It is not always possible to quickly find a person who, even for money, will agree to take on some of your problems.
It is STRICTLY FORBIDDEN to water the horse within 1-2 hours after work. Within an hour BEFORE and AFTER work, grain should not be given to the horse. It is not uncommon for horses to have digestive problems. In this case, the animal may need special muesli or top dressing.
As for the hooves, they also need regular and competent care. Horse “pedicure” is called trimming and is carried out every 1-1,5 months by a professional farrier. You can learn how to trim yourself, but here you will need to re-read a mountain of specialized literature, have a head on your shoulders, hands from the right place, good health and a person who will show and explain the basics, and will also periodically monitor the quality of your work. If the horse is trimmed illiterately, it can limp for a long time. Some horses require shoeing, which costs significantly more than trimming …
It is also very important to choose the right ammunition. The saddle, iron and other components of the equipment should ideally fit this particular horse so as not to injure his back, mouth and psyche.
Maybe you’ll get lucky. You will buy a perfectly healthy, kind and obedient horse. But it also happens that a dream horse, two weeks after the purchase, steps on a nail, gets stuck with its foot in the fence, or simply rolls around unsuccessfully. Are you ready for the fact that the animal will not be riding for a month, two, three? There are such diagnoses in which it is recommended to walk a horse in your hands for at least an hour two or three times a day, and this situation can last six months or longer …
I do not set myself the task of catching fear, or “cawing” your horse a serious injury. I just saw dozens, hundreds of cases when horses, due to their health or behavior, ceased to be riding. If a person bought such an animal for a “ride”, such an alignment led to great disappointment.
In addition, a sick horse is extremely difficult to attach to good hands, even for free. Let us recall the famous phrase of Antoine de Saint-Exupery: “We are responsible for those whom we have tamed.” Think carefully again: are you ready to be responsible for a “hamster” weighing half a ton? Who lives not a year or two, but 25-35 years …
A bit of psychology
Do you still want to get a horse? .. Then go ahead! I only ask you, be sure to enlist the support of an experienced person who will correct your actions and the behavior of your horse day after day. Otherwise, horse ownership may not bring the fruits you expected.
However, it is worth soberly assessing the advice of strangers, calmly weighing and considering their recommendations. Unfortunately, there is a place in the equestrian world for people who act only for their own benefit: it is not uncommon for a coach to persuade his student to buy a horse, even helpfully helping with the choice. And as a result, the “happy” owner can’t cope with the animal, he is forced to ride another (of course, trainer’s) horse, while the trainer successfully rides and competes on the “purchase”, receiving money both for work and for renting his own horse …
It also happens like this: the coach persuaded you to buy a horse, and then … disappeared somewhere. And you are left alone with a whole load of problems and tasks that you are unable to deal with.
Always try to analyze everything that happens and form YOUR OPINION. Feel free to defend it in front of others. Be firm in your decisions, but make them sober, backing up the hypothesis with knowledge, having processed a sufficient amount of theoretical material.
Tip:
There is a very correct question: “Why?”. Ask it as often as possible. Both to yourself and to those around you. Feel free to ask the instructor about this (preferably not in the process, but at the end of the workout). It makes sense to take any action only when you have received a clear and meaningful answer.
I’ll give you an example. Once a student asked me: “Why don’t we bandage horses’ legs?” To this I asked a counter question: “Why?”. “Well, others bandage …”.
Don’t do something just because others are doing it! You don’t need to get a horse because it’s trendy or you just feel like it. First, clearly and reasonably answer the question: why?
If someone gives you advice on feeding, trimming hooves or work, always ask this person: “Why?”, “Why?”. Ask for as much detail as possible to justify your answer. Because if you act blindly, not fully understanding why and why something is needed, you may face completely unpredictable consequences.
Goals and objectives
It is necessary to clearly define the purpose of the future horse. Do you just need it to stroke your velvet nose and take a walk once a week? Or do you plan to compete – way even at the amateur level? The choice of an animal that will not disappoint you later depends on what goals you set.
Do you want quiet walks in the field? Then you are unlikely to need a young tournament fighter who is eager to jump and requires serious daily workloads. Even if he has very beautiful eyes and a proud posture, think about whether you can handle such a horse, will you be calm and comfortable on it? Maybe you should look at older horses with a calm temperament?
Another situation: now you are jumping meter hurdles and want to compete in intra-club competitions. Is it worth picking up a horse for your current level? Will you outgrow it in six months, when you want to jump 120-130, but it turns out that the horse is not capable of this?
When looking for a companion horse, pay special attention to temperament. Sometimes, buying a beautiful horse from somewhere in bad conditions, you can get a “crocodile” with a full set of bad habits that will have to get rid of for several years.
I note that in dealing with absolutely any horse, leadership character, the ability to dominate, to insist on one’s own is important. Horses feel great slack and quickly sit on the neck. If you just love a horse, but are not able to identify clear boundaries for what is permitted, this can lead to sad consequences, such as your injuries and hopelessly spoiled behavior of the animal.
The same qualities must be possessed when dealing with stable staff. In order for your horse to get everything he needs, sometimes you have to endure real battles not only with the grooms, but also with the horsemen and with the owners of the stable. Sometimes more experienced horse owners try to impose their opinion on others, which is far from always correct.
You should carefully consider the choice of people who will work with your horse. Look for those who share your views on the equestrian world. Be firm in your demands. Do not allow self-control.
There may be a situation where the handler will teach your young horse to jump because “he has talent.” But if the limit of your dreams is calm walking walks, you should reconsider your relationship with this bereator and set tasks for him more clearly, discarding the excess.
It is great if there is an experienced person who is ready to support you, help with advice and deed. But the absence of such a person calls into question the expediency of the whole undertaking with the purchase of a horse …
In conclusion
And yet – the world of horses is amazing and multifaceted!
If you sincerely want to understand these animals, tirelessly work ON YOURSELF, spare no physical and emotional strength, reinforce love with discipline, and affection with respect, you will never be disappointed in horses, and communication with them will never get boring.
It doesn’t matter what you choose: horse riding or working on the ground, sports or natural relationships. In any case, I wish you to find yourself in the equestrian world, to enjoy and invaluable experience from every day spent with horses!
It is not always worth getting your own horse for this. It is horse ownership that often shatters bright dreams that you and your beloved horse, bound by boundless trust, fly into the wind together with your beloved horse … You must understand that your own horse is a huge problem. And in order for this problem to bring joy and satisfaction, it is worth once again carefully weighing all the pros and cons, and … go to gain experience. Because when the decision finally matures, you will definitely find a way to harmoniously fit the horse into your life.
Ksenia Krotova, horse riding and hippotherapy instructor, author of the book “Horse, rider, instructor: how to understand each other?”
selfish 10 April 2017 cityThe article is wonderful, magnificent and wonderful, and only three times I wanted to correct something. These are costs beyond the stay – well, after all, not necessarily twice as much as the stay itself. I have about the same. As for colic: walking all day or all night is another optimistic option. A three-day watch in the clutches of a nightmare – that’s what’s terrible. Well, the “battles” with the nachkon and the grooms are somehow dumb. It is very important for KMK not to fight with them, but to establish good relations. The groom, according to my observations, often transfers his attitude towards his owner to the horse, and for a horse this is very important. Yet he sees the groom more often than the owner. Answer
- Claire_McLeod 26th of January 2018
From my own experience, I can say that yes, the battle with grooms, nachkons for hay and water and a competent amount of concentrates is eternal. Response
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