# I want a horse so bad!



## BlueJayWay (Feb 8, 2010)

Oh it's worth the wait. =]
I know the feeling you had, I wanted a horse of my own so bad it would break my heart. I never would of imagined meeting the horse of my dreams, one that loves to cuddle and take care of me, our personalities are so similar. It was fate. 

I'm glad to hear you are waiting to become more experienced. You are already starting to be a good horse owner! I have seen many horses ruined by people not even knowing how to put a halter on, let alone train a 'baby', or not having the patience to learn.


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## ponycrazy (Mar 7, 2010)

BlueJayWay said:


> Oh it's worth the wait. =]
> I know the feeling you had, I wanted a horse of my own so bad it would break my heart. I never would of imagined meeting the horse of my dreams, one that loves to cuddle and take care of me, our personalities are so similar. It was fate.
> 
> I'm glad to hear you are waiting to become more experienced. You are already starting to be a good horse owner! I have seen many horses ruined by people not even knowing how to put a halter on, let alone train a 'baby', or not having the patience to learn.


Okay, Thanks sooo much! This really helped!! Thanks so much for the support 

Thankss,
ponycrazy


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## iridehorses (Oct 22, 2007)

It's worth the wait, Ponycrazy. I was in my mid 30s before I was ready to buy my first horse and, nearly 30 years latter, I still remember Fagan. I made a lot of mistakes with him - the first being that he was the wrong horse to start with. We used to call him a 5 gaited horse - walk, trot, canter, spook to the right, spook to the left - but I learned a lot from him.

Your time will come, probably sooner then mine did, and it really will be special.


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## foreignmusic (Mar 7, 2010)

While you are waiting for your first pone, ride every horse you are allowed to. THIS will put experience and reality on your young butt while on a horse and you will be able to safely enjoy most ways of going on any horse. It will also make you a desireable find for a trainer, a creditable rider for a show team , if you might like to go that route : ).

It is awesome to finally have a horse of your own but as you wait for what you need, think about how well you will be able to care for him/her, how fun your rides will be, and eventually how much "stuff" you have to have! New horses in the yard are always exciting but know that a lot of preparation before they get there makes it work even better. Much for you to do beforehand that can secure that this will be a fabulous adventure for you. Dare to dream, it will take you forward : )

Hang in there, it IS worth it!!


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## ponycrazy (Mar 7, 2010)

foreignmusic said:


> While you are waiting for your first pone, ride every horse you are allowed to. THIS will put experience and reality on your young butt while on a horse and you will be able to safely enjoy most ways of going on any horse. It will also make you a desireable find for a trainer, a creditable rider for a show team , if you might like to go that route : ).
> 
> It is awesome to finally have a horse of your own but as you wait for what you need, think about how well you will be able to care for him/her, how fun your rides will be, and eventually how much "stuff" you have to have! New horses in the yard are always exciting but know that a lot of preparation before they get there makes it work even better. Much for you to do beforehand that can secure that this will be a fabulous adventure for you. Dare to dream, it will take you forward : )
> 
> Hang in there, it IS worth it!!





Thanks so much!!!!! It's good to know, and I know I am still very young. haha  And I realize how much "stuff" you have to get, haha, like the other day I was looking things up, and my jaw dropped. haha. It's good to know that it's worth it .

thankss,
ponycrazy


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## ponycrazy (Mar 7, 2010)

iridehorses said:


> It's worth the wait, Ponycrazy. I was in my mid 30s before I was ready to buy my first horse and, nearly 30 years latter, I still remember Fagan. I made a lot of mistakes with him - the first being that he was the wrong horse to start with. We used to call him a 5 gaited horse - walk, trot, canter, spook to the right, spook to the left - but I learned a lot from him.
> 
> Your time will come, probably sooner then mine did, and it really will be special.



Thanks for the reassurence!!  it means a lot!!


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## farmpony84 (Apr 21, 2008)

Do you take lessons yet ponycrazy?


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## ponycrazy (Mar 7, 2010)

farmpony84 said:


> Do you take lessons yet ponycrazy?



Yeah! For like 3 month and a half months. I plan to continue for a loooooong time though


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## ponycrazy (Mar 7, 2010)

ponycrazy said:


> Yeah! For like 3 month and a half months. I plan to continue for a loooooong time though



Okay, this was worded very badly.  what i meant to say was that yes, I have been taking lessons for 3 and a half months now, I know that is not that long, but plan to continue lessons for a looooooong time coming. 

Sorry for the bad grammar before ,
ponycrazy


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## BlueJayWay (Feb 8, 2010)

> And I realize how much "stuff" you have to get, haha, like the other day I was looking things up, and my jaw dropped


My jaw dropped today at the bill for my horse's stuff. xD
My horse is getting to be high maintenance. I have alot of stuff but I'm never done shopping. =[


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## ponycrazy (Mar 7, 2010)

BlueJayWay said:


> My jaw dropped today at the bill for my horse's stuff. xD
> My horse is getting to be high maintenance. I have alot of stuff but I'm never done shopping. =[



oh  but is it worth it. right?


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## BlueJayWay (Feb 8, 2010)

> oh  but is it worth it. right?


Aw, haha yes!! Totally worth it. He's a keeper so I'm willing to spend the extra dollar on him. 

As well as what you do with the horse.


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## Equus_girl (Jan 25, 2009)

Oh, it is so worth the wait!! I have waited over eight years for a horse and have studied and learned all I could about them. I've ridden whenever I got the chance and looked after other people's horses. Now in three weeks I am getting my very own horse. I think I will appreciate her even more now after the long wait than if my family had gotten me one when I was twelve. Just get all the experience and riding you can, never give up your dream and someday you will have a special horse friend of your own!


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## equiniphile (Aug 16, 2009)

I don't know life without horses....I grew up with them. I can tell you that when my mom got divorced, she leased our horses out to a couple who had open stalls. I got to see them only twice a year. That was in 1st, second, and third grade....God it sucked. I helped my mom get back on her feet and completely cleaned out our barn, which had been used as a stable for the years the horses were away, and helped bring the horses back to our property when I was in 4th grade. It was so amazing to have them back....I had to dig up a ton of money to help pay for the roof to be redone ($3000....ouch) and we had to put new stall partitions up and fix the pastures, but it was SO worth it. Keep holding in there....you'll get there eventually. I have a friend who's in the same boat. She wants to buy a horse and board it at my house, but her parents are making her pay for a year's worth of care for him! I totalled it to be around $3500....she's desperate. You'll get there eventually, and man, is it worth it when you're laying on your horse under the sunshine with your eyes closed while she's grazing beneath you....


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## farmpony84 (Apr 21, 2008)

My husbands jaw dropped today when he saw my shot bill for 2 of my horses! ($300). I remember it used to be like $70 bucks to get everything for one! LOL.

Pony, you are on the right track, lessons are very important. What you aren't going to learn in lessons is HOW to REALLY take care of a horse. But you are going to learn alot from this forum on the day to day care. You'll also learn what's considered an emergent issue and whats a doctor at home type deal. 

my suggestion to you is to NOT pick a one particular type of training method. When I say that I mean, don't become an ONLY Parelli or NH person. Take some of those methods and use them, but pay attention to some of these older cowboys, they know alot, use some of the traditional methods, also listen to these dressage chicks and the hunt girls. And don't be surprised when some of the "backyarders" come up with some pretty interesting techniques. 

Keep an open mind and take in everything! Read all the books, especially the "Feel good" ones about the teens that get their own horses......!


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## ponycrazy (Mar 7, 2010)

farmpony84 said:


> My husbands jaw dropped today when he saw my shot bill for 2 of my horses! ($300). I remember it used to be like $70 bucks to get everything for one! LOL.
> 
> Pony, you are on the right track, lessons are very important. What you aren't going to learn in lessons is HOW to REALLY take care of a horse. But you are going to learn alot from this forum on the day to day care. You'll also learn what's considered an emergent issue and whats a doctor at home type deal.
> 
> ...




Yeah, I am a hunter. And I do have many books on "feel good" stories . And I know a lot of taking care of horses because my friend has a horse and she teaches me like everything about how she cares for him  And thanks for the advice, I will be more open to other techniques. 

Thanks,
ponycrazy


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## paintluver (Apr 5, 2007)

Getting a horse is totally worth the wait. I just got my 3rd (But in reality he is my first horse that I know isn't going to be taken from me.... Long story) But anyways.
You are really doing the right thing by getting lessons. I wish I could have gotten real lessons. I got some from my friend's mom, but they weren't "real" don't get my wrong, I can ride and be comfortable, but I just never got the actual lesson experiance.


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## Melly (Mar 4, 2010)

My mother is always saying, 'Melanie - why this obsession about horses?' because she and dad don't like them, but I just know I am meant to be with them. I'm patient. I'll have them for the rest of my life.


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## iridehorses (Oct 22, 2007)

Melly, my mother is 92 and still doesn't understand my obsession with horses. If it's truly in your blood, it will be there for life. Patience.


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## equiniphile (Aug 16, 2009)

I'm not totally in agreement with the whole "get lessons or you can't ride" thing. I think if you're going to be doing fences, you need an instructor. I never had an instructor though, and I'm a pretty good Western rider. My English needs a touch-up as I just started learning that on my gelding. Ifyou're just doing flat work, I don't think you necessarily NEED lessons. IF you have a good, reliable horse. If you need help cooperating with your horse, sell the horse or get a trainer to help you build a partnership. Of course, I've had my mom to help me learn when I was three, so I guess I did have a type of lessons


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## Kayty (Sep 8, 2009)

It's certainly worth the wait, but the 'feel good' horse books are as far from the truth of horse ownership as you can get!! It's a very long, hard and mega expensive road. 
I was having weekly lessons and reading every book about horses I could possibly find, buying as many barbie and toy horses as I could get and making my own stables from 4 years old! I went until I was 10 or 11 until I convinced my parents to let me get a horse. Typically, neither of my parents had a clue about what was involved with horses. So thinking in terms of money ,we bought the cheapest pony we could find. $800 for a little 12 year old welsh mare that had done next to nothing other than have a couple of foals for the stud she lived on, and very limited education.

I got bucked off that pony many a time, had plenty of tears and tantrums and my parents realised how **** expensive and painfull horses can be!

Since then, I have however progressed as a rider and horse person, I have had a number of horses, taking them off the track to re-educate, working for a dealer riding her nut cut 'turn over' horses etc. And have finally got myself in a position where I have been recognised as a successful young dressage rider by making it onto the State Dressage Squad!

It is very much worth it but you HAVE to know that it is just so expensive, and not easy at all. You have to bare in mind that you can find the horse of your dreams, pay $5000 for it, get it home and when it gallops in the paddock it may fall and break its leg Your $5000 has disapeared in an instant. 

I definitely know how it feels to want a horse so much that it hurts! After having been very involved and competitive with horses for some years, I sold my last horse wanting to move on again at the end of 2008. I have been looking for a suitable horse ever since and still have not found one. Be glad you've only been waiting for a couple of months  I have to pay for everything myself, and it is a HUGE committment. I'm also at university so that makes it even harder for me to find a suitable horse for dressage, not having as much time to ride and work means less money and I need a quieter horse. 

Good luck, but take it easy. Don't rush into anything. When you start looking for horses, don't just go and ride the first one, think it's pretty and buy it. That's what I did and although I didn't turn out too bad, I still regret that I didn't keep looking ratehr than pestering my parents to buy me THAT pony. All the kids at pony club were on their beautifully educated, quiet ponies that would do anything and go anywhere. And I was always there, being carted around the grounds, getting bucked off, bolted with, never able to compete in any of the pony club events, holding up the classes because my pony was being naughty.... get a nice quiet one to start with and build on it from there is all I can say


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## Jessabel (Mar 19, 2009)

It's absolutely worth the wait. Once you finally have a horse, it feels so good that you start to forget how bad it was not having one. But for now, you can get your horsey fix by taking lessons and working at a barn and whatnot. 

A little off topic, but I think it would be great for you to start off leasing. I really wish I had gone that route before buying my first horse. It's a great way to prepare for actual ownership. Best of luck. :wink:


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## Selene (Mar 18, 2010)

*Keep trying*

I started riding when I was 5 and when I was 10 I wanted my own horse because I had learned everything in lessons. 

My advice is to take lessons, you only need the basics to be able to go out and ride, and if you or your parents can't afford it, you could take online lessons (which dont seem to make much sense actually, I believe in the hands on experience), or you could work at a stable.

I went to a stable for lessons, but my mom said that we couldn't afford it anymore,they had 18 horses, with one stablehand, who also had to get ready for midterms, so I said that I would come down and help her a few days a week if she would give me a free lesson everytime I did.

Because I just wanted to be aorund horses so bad, even if it meant mucking out 18 stalls a day. 

And it turned out to be really fun, I mucked the stalls, fed the horses, brushed them, gave some of them baths, cleaned tack, and even fed the cats....anyway my point is that it didn't even seem like work because I got to spend the whole day with horses, when I would normally be sitting in front of the TV complaining about how there's nothin good on it, that's what I did the summer break before .

But after I learned everything I needed I started wanting my own horse, 
but we couldn't afford it. So when I turned 12 I started petsitting (got paid 200$ for watching 2 dogs for 10 days). 

My neighbor who has two dogs heard and knew that I wanted to be a vet, she had just gotten a job and her husband works so her dogs were all alone from 8:00 to 6:00pm.

I am homeschooled so she asked me if I could go over during the day and walk them. 

I do any missed work after school and I get paid 9 dollars an hour.

I looked up rates for leasing at all the barns near me and learned that I could quarter lease a horse for fifty dollars a month. 

So I told my mom what I wanted to do, and she was so proud of me for getting a job and sticking with it through the winter (I am sure you all heard about the giant snow storm, yeah we were right in the middle of that, plus I have to walk about four acres to get to her house), that she agreeed to pay for half of the fee.

So we went down and now I can ride the trails once a week because thats as much as my mom can drive me.

This summer I am going to take a CPR class and will be putting out babysitting flyers. 
I can charge 5-6 dollars an hour per kid, my mom said she would pay for half if I can make enough money to board my own horse. 
So I am getting close to having my own horse!

Just stick with it, my advice is to get a job and get some lessons, if all your interested in are the trails then take western - if you want to learn to jump and stuff like that take english. I

f you like animals start petsitting cuz trust me there are a lot less of those than there are babysitters.

If you want to babysit, you pretty much have to take a CPR class, that way you have an upper hand against all the other girls (of course I'm not sure how old you are, I am just assuming by the way you type  I can usually tell) who are bored and want a summer job.

Beleive it or not, its a lot easier than you think to get a horse for free, or very inexpensively, there are a lot of people who cant afford their horses anymore, and a lot of poor horses who get abandoned so please look innto that if you raise enough to board a horse someday.


Good luck!
Selene


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## ponycrazy (Mar 7, 2010)

Selene said:


> I started riding when I was 5 and when I was 10 I wanted my own horse because I had learned everything in lessons.
> 
> My advice is to take lessons, you only need the basics to be able to go out and ride, and if you or your parents can't afford it, you could take online lessons (which dont seem to make much sense actually, I believe in the hands on experience), or you could work at a stable.
> 
> ...





Yeah, I do take lessons because other people have also said you learn a lot from lessons.  I am an english rider. And yes, I really want to make enough money to do so. Thanks so much for the tips how to make money,

thanks so much for your advice Selene,
ponycrazy,
Britt


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## farmpony84 (Apr 21, 2008)

ponycrazy said:


> Yeah, I do take lessons because other people have also said you learn a lot from lessons.  I am an english rider. And yes, I really want to make enough money to do so. Thanks so much for the tips how to make money,
> 
> thanks so much for your advice Selene,
> ponycrazy,
> Britt


The other thing with lessons is... it gets you on a horse!:wink: It also gets you around people who have horses and sometimes that opens doors... to riding oppurtunities and leases....


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