Might get a foal as a first time horse?

[hollandloplover]

Hey,
I am looking to maybe buy a filly so i could breed it. I want to hand train it. This would be my first horse EVER!!! I haven't really learned about horses that much but i know how to ride so i think i could handle this. I have some books on how to break young horses and have gotten alot of stuff ready just in case i come home with a horse some day. I would like a stallion but am still unsure. ANy info on how to break a horse is greatly appreciated!!

 

[freemotion]

I know you are excited about the idea but I ask you to seriously reconsider. I worked on at a breeding and show stable for many years and trained many horses from foals to the show ring and it is not a job for the inexperienced. Actually, it is safest with at least two very experienced people. Your first horse should be a well-mannered, well-trained animal so you can get the experience you need. Riding is only a small part of horse ownership.

I AM experienced in this and yet I won't buy a foal. You have several years of care and expense and work before you even know what kind of horse you'll have. It is far, far more cost effective to get a horse that is ready to ride. Like thousands of dollars more cost effective.

Please trust me when I say that you will enjoy your first horse so much more if you get one that you can safely work with and ride right now. Save the foal-raising for later, when you have more experience. Maybe you could get a part-time or even a full-time job on a breeding farm and get some experience in working with the youngsters so you will be ready when the day comes.

 

[hollandloplover]

Nah i think i will stick with getting one. All i asked for was some info on breaking them.

 

[chubbydog811]

Nah i think i will stick with getting one. All i asked for was some info on breaking them.

Haha...Good luck with that mess! Look into getting a good trainer at the very least to help you with your potential filly (not an it, but a she, might I add). Like free said, it takes years of horse ownership before you can get a full understanding of how to train a foal - or any horse at that (and some people still can't do it very well). Green/young/untrained horses are much harder to deal with than the half dead school horses that most barns have.
I have had many foals - either born here, or that I bought, and even for my 13+ years of experience (NOT just in the saddle, but on the ground too), it was very difficult - though well worth it, and it showed how far my training abilities have come.
By the way your post came across, I will go out of my way to say make sure you get a really young one that hasn't even been halter trained so that you can get the full idea of what we are talking about.

 

[redtailgal]

I trained horses for awhile, my main job was to work with the babies. I would teach them ground manners, how to properly lift their feet for dressage movement, and eventually teach them to carry a rider. Did you notice that I said teach them and not break them?

It is most definately not a job for the first time horse owner. Lack of experience is dangerous for both the person and the foal.

While books do give lots of good informations (usually), I would pretty much guarantee that none of the horses ever read those books.

Dont jump into this, take your time, find a local stable that will let you work and learn for awhile before you buy a horse. Make friends with some other trainers, so you will have help later when you are ready.

 

[goodhors]

Have to agree with the others, foals are NOT for the first time horse owner. You might as well PLAN to be hurt, because you will be making wrong decisions, timing for reward and discipline will be WAY off. Your horse will most likely turn into a spoiled brat who will be hard to handle, giving YOU the directions instead of the other way around. Horses work by dominance in the herd, and I will bet that unless you way overdo the discipline, horse will be Number One in the herd of you two.

So foal will grow to be a problem horse, hard for ANYONE to deal with as it ages, and when horse FINALLY meets a trainer, she will probably have a painful learning experience to progress, IF POSSIBLE, into a nice animal.

So consider your first foal a "throw-away" horse, while you spend your time messing it up, maybe not getting you TOO badly hurt. Then you end up selling it cheap, because horse is no fun to deal with.

Could save yourself several years, injury, money, by going to take lessons in handling, riding, training, BEFORE purchasing even a well-broke horse. You can use that well-broke horse RIGHT AWAY to have fun!

First time horse owners, even if they have a big horse book library, have to change their thinking so much from book smart to real-life with live horse. The live horse NEVER read those training books, may not respond like the book says. Then what do you do?

Nice you can have a horse, but don't make it a baby foal of any gender. Get a quiet adult horse and learn from it.

 

[PattySh]

RECONSIDER. I have ridden and owned horses for years (I'm 52). Having trained 6 foals myself (3 unhandled pmus, 1 mini and 2 13H ponies born here) it is serious business not to be taken lightly. Even very experienced handlers get hurt, and seriously. You want to start out with a well broke patient older horse, sized appropriate to you, that has excellent ground manners and a forgiving nature because you are a beginner. before you bring a horse home you want a mentor to help you either a friend who is very horse savvy who will let you share a safe horse (not another beginner you want some experience here)or a round of lessons in a barn that allows hands on with the horses, maybe volunteering some extra time to learn the ropes well before thinking about owning a horse. You need to be 100% sure of yourself handling a well trained horse, grooming, feeding, leading, turning out, tacking up,riding etc etc before even thinking about your own horse. If you decide to jump in a get one anyway without any experience consider this, I have been jumped over when leading a foal and knocked to the ground (more than once), had my arm yanked when leading a yearling and bone chips hurt like hell for months, Had a huge draft cross foal almost fall on me several times while cleaning/trimming her feet (if I didn't know horses I might have been really badly hurt!), I have had a broken ankle with pins and head injury from getting dragged by a young horse (I was 17 at the time), I have been thrown and kicked a few times. One foal had a seriously dangerous kicking habit that took months to fix. I was kicked in the chest once and I was knocked out in the pasture for quite some time), had my feet stepped on many times, even my mini foal took me out at the knees a few times and he had to be cured of biting! need I go on? Horses are large sometimes dangerous animals. Foals are very flighty and challenging. They can develop dangerous habits easily with unknowledgable owners. Horses can be awesome but PLEASE spend alot of time around them before you go out and get a horse you can't handle and really get hurt.

 

[kstaven]

Have to agree on this one. Hire a trainer and work with them. Either that or buy lots of medical and life insurance.

 

[SuburbanFarmChic]

I have a friend who does nothing but train young horses. She wears a kevlar vest when doing so because she's had ribs broken before from one of them just acting up and being stupid. And she is CAREFUL but... stuff happens.

 

[carolinagirl]

Nah i think i will stick with getting one. All i asked for was some info on breaking them.

you are not going to learn how to break a horse by reading on a forum. If you want to learn how to break one, see if you can volunteer at a horse farm.