Family horse or two

[Waterfall]

Hello, the subject of a horse has recently come across at the dinner table and me and my wife don't think its a terrible idea. I was wondering if there is a breed of horse or some quality in one that should be looked for.

We have the acreage for them and they will need to be cold hardy, which if I recall most are. My wife has more horse knowledge but she's very busy with work right now.

 

[FlaRocky]

Hello,

What are you wanting to do with your horses?? Trailride, horsecamp, long 3-5 or more hour rides, show, work cows or what??
Do you want a smooth gaited horse or one that trots? This will help to be able to list some breeds for you to check out. Hope this helps.


Maye

 

[Waterfall]

Hello,

What are you wanting to do with your horses?? Trailride, horsecamp, long 3-5 or more hour rides, show, work cows or what??
Do you want a smooth gaited horse or one that trots? This will help to be able to list some breeds for you to check out. Hope this helps.


Maye

Well I've never gone beyond a Gait in speed, lol. My Wife is a skilled horsemen or she was years ago.
I doubt we would do much more than trail riding for a few hours at a time. I suppose a horse with a nice trot would be needed. I don't think a real tall horse would work. My kids are in their mid teens and are beginners for riding skills. They have only ever either used Quarter horses from trail rides on vacation or horses my Wifes parents have which are older Paso Finos with lots of training and daily use.

 

[FlaRocky]

You and your family need to sit down and look up 5-6 breeds you think you might like and contact the national breed associations for each one for more information and breeders in your area. Then start making barn and farm visits to find the ones you want. One of you might find a Quarter horse and one might find a APHA paint that they like.

Good luck on your search and have fun,

Maye

 

[WhiteMountainsRanch]

You can google different types of horses, just type in "horse breeds" and all kinds of stuff will come up.

http://www.horsebreedsinfo.com/

Sounds like you guys need to be looking for a calm, sound, maybe older, well broke horse (or two) for the family, and that stuff is more important than the actual breed.

 

[Waterfall]

You can google different types of horses, just type in "horse breeds" and all kinds of stuff will come up.

http://www.horsebreedsinfo.com/

Sounds like you guys need to be looking for a calm, sound, maybe older, well broke horse (or two) for the family, and that stuff is more important than the actual breed.

Yeah, thats what we've been doing but we just wanted some other horse peoples opinions. We will probably be voting tonight.

 

[yankee'n'moxie]

Well, I can't give advice for YOUR FAMILY, because I don't know you. But, in general, I like paints, and Quarter Horses. BUT I currently own a ex-pacer Standardbred. I love him, and he worked for ME because racers have extremely good ground manners! He is very respectful of your space and stuff, and he is completely desensitized as far as barking dogs, cars, plastic bags, etc. I retrained him for saddle, but it was SOOO easy, because they are trained to expect and not be worried about the unexpected. I had SOME horse sense/experience before I got him, but he was/is my first horse.

Just something for you guys to talk about, if your wife could help with the retraining. But I cannot say that I recommend this. You may want to go with a well trained, older horse, for your needs. Good luck!!

 

[Waterfall]

We decided on two older horses for now. Once we get some better training we may get younger horses with less experience.

One is a 10 year old Gelding Chestnut Paint but he's all Chestnut with a white stripe on forehead, which stops just before the nose. He stands a 16 hands which is slightly highly than I was interested in but he more than makes up for it in gentleness and excellent training. Nothing seems to phase him, he is beyond mellow. He is trained in Western Pleasure and is great around kids of all ages.


The secone one is a 8 year old Norwegian Fjord Gelding. He is much more up my alley in size. He's more energetic than the Chestnut but he still has a good nature about him. He stands at 14 hands and is Dun with the same colorings as most Fjords. He is trained in English and Western pleasure riding. He also had some harness training for a buggy.

The sad thing is that most of these horses are being sold because the owner either lost their job or had hours cut so the can't afford their horses. The horses came at a great price and I know if it were a few years before these would of cost much more.

 

[WhiteMountainsRanch]

Great!! How exciting! They sound like VERY good choices!!!

I can remember when I got my first horse, I was SOOOO happy!

Please show us pictures and update us on how they do!

 

[FlaRocky]

Good luck with your new horses. You will learn a lot from them. I am glad you bought some with seasoning.
Post some photos soon.

Maye