From: Aveline
Dear Jessica, Thanks for sending Horse-Sense every week. I really enjoy reading it and have learned a whole lot from it. I am 15 years old and have loved horses since day one. I have been riding for 6 years but don't have my own horse because my parents can't afford to pay for it. So I have taken it upon myslelf and gotten a part-time job. The way things are going, I am hoping to start looking at horses this fall. And I have learned a lot of important things about horse buying from Horse-Sense =) But something has made me not so sure if I should get a horse...
I take lessons with a great instructor and would board my horse at her barn. I make enough money to be able to pasture board a horse (plus pay for vet bills and worming and hoof care etc. and a put a bit aside for emergencies). But I am concerned about the pasture. I ride a horse who is kept there and so I have had the opportunity to look it over. Let's just say that there is not much grass, it has all been eaten down by the horses that are there. The horses are fed hay most of the year but not during the summer.
I really would rather not move to another barn because I really like my instructor. Out of 4 instructors that I have had I like her the best by far. So is it okay to keep horses in a pasture where there is little grass if they are fed hay? I'm guessing that I would also need to feed a horse grain because of the type of riding I do (jumping). Another thing I am concerned about is that my instructor smokes. I heard that is very harmful to horses. The only time I have ever seen her smoke around horses is outside during lessons. Is that a bad thing for the horses? Out of the 4 different instructors I have had, 3 have smoked. So basically is it worth it to have to deal with the two problems but have a good, nice, helpful instructor or not have to deal with it but have a bad instructor or no instructor or no horse? Thanks for your time, Aveline =)
Hi Aveline! Congratulations on getting ready to keep your own horse, that's a big step. It sounds as though you are really ready, though -- you've been around horses and taken lessons, and you've certainly given this a lot of thought. Well done!
If the pasture can provide enough nutrition to keep the horses healthy and at a good weight, they can do without hay during the summer. But pasture maintenance is an art! A good pasture has to be seeded and the grasses allowed to take root, then the pasture must be maintained. Maintenance means cleaning up the manure, mowing it regularly, and putting out only the number of horses that the pasture can support. This depends on the quality and amount of the grazing -- it might mean one acre per horse -- or ten acres per horse!
If the pasture exists only to provide running room and time outdoors, then it doesn't matter so much about the nutrition, because if the pasture is just a glorified mudlot or drylot, then the horses should be getting hay and possibly grain in any case.
Talk to your vet -- you need to find a good vet and get to know him or her NOW, since you're starting to look for a horse. You'll need a good vet to do a pre-purchase exam on the horse in any case, so you might as well begin by finding a vet that you will enjoy having as a partner in your new horse's health and fitness program. ;-) You'll be able to get excellent advice about feeding programs for horses in general, and about designing a feeding program for YOUR particular horse when you get him. Overfeeding is just as bad as underfeeding -- and sometimes worse! So you'll want to get all the information you can, before you begin.
If you're not in a hurry to OWN a horse, you might want to think about leasing a horse rather than buying one, at least for the first year or so. Any extra money you get could go in your horse account, and you'd have more choices later on, and you'd also have a better idea of exactly what kind of horse you want. Sometimes a year's lease can give you a new set of ideas about the kind of horse you will eventually want to BUY. And leasing would also give you more time to inspect the other area barns -- visit them all, watch their instructors teach some lessons, talk to the boarders, and get an idea of which places you like best, and which facilities and instructors will best suit your needs. Then, when your lease is up, you'll know what you want to do.
Whatever you do, feel free to get in touch whenever you have questions.
Jessica
P.S. About the smoking instructor -- it's a horrible habit, but smoking IS addictive, and it's terribly hard to break that habit. As long as your instructor doesn't smoke IN the barn or near the barn, and doesn't allow anyone else to do it either, I don't think the amount of smoke she produces during an outdoor lesson will hurt you or your horse. Most of it won't GET to you or your horse! If it does, and if it really bothers you, you might ask her if she would mind not smoking during your lesson -- but again, realize that this may be difficult for her to do.
If your instructor is safety-oriented, competent, ethical and a good teacher, why not stick with her? Go and watch other instructors teach -- if you do this and still like YOUR instructor best, then that's probablly a good sign that you should stay with her.
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