Horse Buying Tips When You Have Little Money

Summary: If you don't have a lot of cash to spend, you may want to look at older horses or smaller horses or atypical breeds. The new drugs that are available for arthritis can keep an older horse going for years.

Money (or lack of it) can complicate looking for that exact right horse. If you don't have a lot of money to spend, don't be shy to look at older horses, smaller horses or atypical breeds no matter what level rider you are. If you only have "X" amount of money and it's not enough, stick with that guideline of getting a horse that's doing what you want to do and start looking at the older horses. Ulkoovet

There are a lot of older horses out there that are being sold for less money. Because of the wonderful drugs we have available for arthritis, and some of the wonderful techniques of shoeing, now these older horses can go for a long time.

I think it is easier to buy a 16,17 or 18 year old horse that you can ride for several years than buying a cheap young horse that you're going to have to pay a trainer to ride for a long time. You'll probably get more enjoyment out of that older horse and just in that time try to work on your finances and know that the next horse you get might be a little younger. cash advance payday loan

I find it interesting that 20 years ago the horses that were competing at the Olympics in dressage were 16 to 22 years old. Anything younger than 16 was considered, "oh my God, they took that horse too fast". Now the horses are getting there much faster, but I find it amazing to think that there were 22 year old horses competing in the Olympics and winning. So we forget that a well cared for, older horse can really go. The best thing you can do for an older horse is to keep it working. Hosa CPR803 9.9' 8 Pair Mono RCA (M) - 1/4" (M) Snake

So, don't be shy to look at older horses if they fit your requirements. Obviously if you want to jump 3 or 4 foot courses you probably not going to be able to get that 18 year old horse. But if you're just learning how to walk, trot, canter, do a little lateral work, learning how to do a little reining maybe that 18 year old horse is going to give you 4 or 5 good years.

That's one way to get the best out of your money.

Another approach to consider when you are "cash strapped" would be to buy a smaller horse. In the last 15 years we've seen a trend towards "bigger is better". Because of the influence of the Warmblood dressage horses, the Warmblood hunter horses people have gotten very involved with getting bigger horses. Those horses have been very inflated in price. At the same time there have been a lot of really nice smaller horses that have been selling for a much more reasonable price because they're not the current trend. So for the last many years, if you couldn't spend top dollar then you were going to maybe looking at something small or an atypical breed.