Get the latest Flash player.
Summary: Learn tips about buying a horse in this free equestrian-care video.
Views: 1,313 | Tags: care, riding, picking, cleaning, pets, horse, horses, ponies
About the Expert
Sharon Booth Sharon Booth is the founding breeder for Goldenrod Performance Horses. She has been breeding , training, riding and showing horses for 35 years. Producing equ... read more
Hi! I'm Sharon with Goldenrod Performance Horses. We are going to talk about buying your horse and what to look for. First we are going to look for a horse that is balanced. You want a horse that is even from their head to their neck, their neck to their haunches and with good strong legs and a good mind and good movement; that there is nothing wrong in the movement as far as being lame or short strided. You want to look for a horse with a good clean eye and intelligent look for them, their ears are forward. You don't want them to be looking down all the time or lazy looking thinking that there might be something wrong with that horse's attitude or with their health. You also want to look for a horse that is not extra flighty so that they are trainable but not too flighty that they are so excitable that they won't listen to you. You also want to look for a horse with good sound hoofs so that you know as far as you are going to travel with him, that those hoofs are going to hold together. In general, you want to look for a younger horse. If you are a new person in the horse business, you want to look for an older horse that knows more than you do so that the horse teaches you more about having that horse. If you are looking to start raising horses and you are looking for a brood mare, you certainly want to know her background. In a brood mare, you want to have good confirmation and so there is no crooked legs or anything that might be thrown into her colts. So that when you find a good stallion, you have a good fold. If you are looking for good stallion material, then you want to look for that very perfect horse in good mind and body that has excellent confirmation because the stallions are the perfect horse that should be allowed to reproduce. So as we go forward, we want you to look for a horse that is in color. Some horses are a different color and some horses are large, some are heavy and some are light. So you need to look for the different breeds. Do you want an Arab? Do you want a Morgan? Do you want a quarter horse or a warm blood depending on where you are going with the horse and what you are looking for or just a good sound horse that is wonderful on the trails. So as you go forward, be sure to consult your friends, trainers or somebody that knows about horses so that you will find the right horse at the right price.
Anyone who needs to view this video about buying a horse has absolutely no business breeding! I was surprised that there was no mention of a pre-purchase vet exam. This video attempted to cover too many topics for this clip! I think a few lessons on conformation (what are good legs, how the neck ties into the shoulder, slope of shoulder, etc.) and how it impacts the work a horse is suitable for would be most helpful to first time buyers.