Do You Ride Horses? V.4

[Verdana]

Hi! Quick me update:

Living my best life! Bob is now my Regular Horse and he is just Fantastic!



I am jumping a bit more now that my dressage's looking less like a shambles. Couple weeks ago I got to take Dave around (big piebald 16'3 Irish Draft type, heavy on the draft with some hidden sport) and he was great fun. Had such a pronounced sense of humour! He clearly has a Bit he does first ride where he pretends to be this Big Slow Stoopid kick ride but when you tell him to sharpen up, he's actually this wonderful canny schoolmaster who Can jump anything but chooses Not to in the name of teaching. I'd ride him again. Last night I got to jump Bobby for the first time! He's Green 8 (such a good boy but sometimes reminds me he's only 8 with a bad case of Giant Doofus Baby) so we kept it small and cheerful. He did great! For a horse that moves like a rhino, he sure can fly when he tries! We enjoyed ourselves.

There's also a New Horse who I'm excited to get to know better:

[*~GECKO~*]

Hello!! I'm very interested in either buying or leasing a horse.
Could anyone give me some pros and cons for both? I've been doing my own research, but I'd like some personal stories/experience/etc.

Also, does anyone have tips or recommendations for owning/leasing/riding a horse when you have a disability? Some days I have very limited strength and mobility in my hands and fingers. I'm particularly worried about not being able to cinch the horse properly/tight enough for riding on days I don't have the strength. I could ask for help if someone is around, but I don't know if that'll always be the case
Is there anything else I should think about when being around horses with my disability?

I did not grow up around horses, but I did go to many summer horse camps as a preteen and have been avidly researching & soaking up everything I can about owning and/or leasing a horse. Any newcomer tips would be appreciated (anything that I haven't already read from hundreds of articles online)
Thanks in advance! <3

hey there!

first of all, please, please don't jump right into ownership/leasing !! most barns i've seen will ask for previous experience, before leasing, for a good reason. i would recommend going into lessons first to make sure you can be around the horses. you'll want to be able to catch, groom and tack like the back of your hand. going into an ownership will be really expensive, and you definitely won't enjoy it if you aren't 100% sure with what you're doing. learning about ownership/ leasing through books, videos, etc. just isn't enough, you'll need your own firsthand experience. taking lessons generally is better and i'd recommend at least a year or two of that, so you get to learn how to ride and handle different horses.

when i came to my barn, i met kasha, a 26 y/o mare. we took two lessons together before i asked if i could lease her, mostly for the purpose that the lessons weren't teaching me anything and i needed my own time to really learn her. that was two years ago, now i'm going to be taking lessons again in order to learn to ride a different trickier horse. however, since then i've ridden at least four different horses at the same barn, and before that, i'd already had four years of experience with probably over 10 horses, at the minimum. point being is take your time !! leasing and owning is fun as long as you have the appropriate experience (and definitely work your way up to ownership ! owning a horse is NOT like owning a dog or a cat, and it's not to be taken lightly.)

[huskyhiccups]

snip

hey there!

first of all, please, please don't jump right into ownership/leasing !! most barns i've seen will ask for previous experience, before leasing, for a good reason. i would recommend going into lessons first to make sure you can be around the horses. you'll want to be able to catch, groom and tack like the back of your hand. going into an ownership will be really expensive, and you definitely won't enjoy it if you aren't 100% sure with what you're doing. learning about ownership/ leasing through books, videos, etc. just isn't enough, you'll need your own firsthand experience. taking lessons generally is better and i'd recommend at least a year or two of that, so you get to learn how to ride and handle different horses.

when i came to my barn, i met kasha, a 26 y/o mare. we took two lessons together before i asked if i could lease her, mostly for the purpose that the lessons weren't teaching me anything and i needed my own time to really learn her. that was two years ago, now i'm going to be taking lessons again in order to learn to ride a different trickier horse. however, since then i've ridden at least four different horses at the same barn, and before that, i'd already had four years of experience with probably over 10 horses, at the minimum. point being is take your time !! leasing and owning is fun as long as you have the appropriate experience (and definitely work your way up to ownership ! owning a horse is NOT like owning a dog or a cat, and it's not to be taken lightly.)

hiya!! don't worry, please! I'm following the advice I got on the previous page(s) & from the FB group I mentioned before. I did not realize how silly (to put it nicely) it actually would be for me to just jump in to owning/leasing. I guess my mind just jumped to that extreme because of the lack of options in my area (extremely rural).
Also, like I mentioned in a previous post, I'm familiar with catching, grooming, tack, anatomy, etc. (I did leave a few of those out on my previous post but I sorta hinted at it) when I was at the horse camps. We were responsible for waking up early with the staff, catching the horses, cleaning/mucking stalls, feeding (measuring, etc.), grooming, and tacking! One of my favorite memories was learning to properly clean and trim hooves. I'm not sure the proper words so bear with me here, but they never let us actually "trim" the hooves (just showed us tools, explained why/how they're used, things to look for, and so on) since they were already neatly trimmed, shoed, etc. but we did get to use picks and such to clean out mud, grass, etc. c:
We were all pre-teens or early teens and had the staff there to help educate us and make sure everything was done right, but it was such valuable lessons and I look back on those moments very fondly. It's a huge reason as to why I would want to own/lease one day, but you all make a very good and clear point that I need the experience first, and I promise I'm taking it to heart!! <3

snip

hi! i also have a disability, but i've had horses for 8 years now. so its entirely possible! i started with a lease and board so i could potentially get help with daily chores and so i had something to fall back on if i wasn't able to commit to ownership. i ended up being fortunate enough to have my own place eventually, and currently have one horse and pony by myself. i do have a support system incase i have a very bad day or i get sick enough that i'd need hospitalization, but i do nearly everything myself.
i have a open solution for stabling(unsure about what the english word for it is!), so my horses can go inside and outside as they please which i've found limits how much mucking i have to do so i have more spare energy for other things. the horses are also far more calm and easier to handle imo, the more outside time they have. (enrichment does wonders)
but as others have said, lessons are the best place to start :)

i've personally not had too many issues with cinching, if the saddle fits as it should it doesn't need to be super tight. rollers on the buckle definitely help sometimes though

Thank you so much for the help!! I totally forgot about the rollers, but I remember them from my horse camp! I also recently have been reading about the importance of proper fitted gear, so that definitely eases my worries! c:
I'll have to look into the open stabling thing you mentioned! I'm not sure if any in my area do it, but when I get to the point to be ready to lease/own, I'll definitely remember to keep that in mind! The place I originally was looking at to own/board a horse had an option to pay a little bit extra for their farmhands to help care for your horse, so I know I at least have that option if I need! ^.^

[Verdana]

Just a note on contacting horse people: they can be really terrible at email and text. You want to catch them on a call to actually get things done, or arrange a meeting at their stables asap. Once you're there and meeting their horses things tend to move a lot faster lol

I have also been pondering 'how to shop for a horse' and I think a 2nd opinion is always valuable. My current barn has two instructors. I would want both of them to handle and examine a horse before I tried it, but there's one of them I'd definitely want in person first, and one whose opinion I could happily get from cellphone pictures and videos to start. Both are excellent lifetime Horsewomen but they're very different people. The barn owner has decades of horse and life experience and I think could give me a good read fast with fairly sparse information. The other lady is younger but her in person energy is much more influential and so I'd really want her to put her hands on a horse (I'd probably have her ride everything before I do if at all possible lol) before she told me what she thought of it. And that comes entirely down to who they are as people and how they work with animals. And knowing that about them has come from watching them teach and handle their horses (and in the second woman's case, having seen her ride a few times).

I hope that's useful in your journey!

[darwins]

guys (': i bought my first horse!
i love him sm already

im focusing on him and working with him for now but i may go pick up that little mustang
if he's still there in the late fall/early December.

[Sulin]

I think this would go here but I have a couple questions:

I want to get into cattle roping and was wondering what kind of horse I should save up for to best practice with?
Is there specific tack I would need to have while training?
What size lasso? (I have a one but it's on the shorter end of the stick y'know?)
Does anybody know if they have like practice classes?? if that makes sense
I don't have the land for a horse but if I found some place to board them around me, does that work??
I can't think of any more at this time but if anybody has any advice that would be nice!

(lmk if this shouldn't go here)

[darwins]

I think this would go here but I have a couple questions:

I want to get into cattle roping and was wondering what kind of horse I should save up for to best practice with?
Is there specific tack I would need to have while training?
What size lasso? (I have a one but it's on the shorter end of the stick y'know?)
Does anybody know if they have like practice classes?? if that makes sense
I don't have the land for a horse but if I found some place to board them around me, does that work??
I can't think of any more at this time but if anybody has any advice that would be nice!

(lmk if this shouldn't go here)

I would suggest finding some ranches in your area. Ask if they need help (they almost always do) and are willing to take someone on who wants to get more experience in roping (assuming you're an experienced rider and are just looking to develop that specific skill). Or you can ask the boarding facility about their trainers and follow up with them.
Boarding your horse is fine, you might also be able to keep it at the ranch if you end up working for one (which might also save you money).

Just use the rope you have until you feel confident enough at roping to spend money on new tack.
You can practice on a wooden bull dummy. If you don't have one of those, you don't need to spend money to buy them...
Practice on a cone, or whatever you have at your disposal.

Quarter horses are performance horses. You can also show them in the AQHA shows if you choose to.
Honestly though if you're not planning to be a big shot at roping and win a bunch of money and prizes, a good, stout cowy grade horse would do just fine too and it wont cost nearly as much as a 20k performance horse.

The horse I just bought has cow experience. He's stout and has a great temperament so I could definitely do some roping or cutting with him after training. He's an appy and cost me 6.5k. But you could also find one that's a less flashy grade horse for anywhere from 4k-10k. If you have training experience, you could buy a project horse for 2-5k.

[Sulin]

I think this would go here but I have a couple questions:

I want to get into cattle roping and was wondering what kind of horse I should save up for to best practice with?
Is there specific tack I would need to have while training?
What size lasso? (I have a one but it's on the shorter end of the stick y'know?)
Does anybody know if they have like practice classes?? if that makes sense
I don't have the land for a horse but if I found some place to board them around me, does that work??
I can't think of any more at this time but if anybody has any advice that would be nice!

(lmk if this shouldn't go here)

I would suggest finding some ranches in your area. Ask if they need help (they almost always do) and are willing to take someone on who wants to get more experience in roping (assuming you're an experienced rider and are just looking to develop that specific skill). Or you can ask the boarding facility about their trainers and follow up with them.
Boarding your horse is fine, you might also be able to keep it at the ranch if you end up working for one (which might also save you money).

Just use the rope you have until you feel confident enough at roping to spend money on new tack.
You can practice on a wooden bull dummy. If you don't have one of those, you don't need to spend money to buy them...
Practice on a cone, or whatever you have at your disposal.

Quarter horses are performance horses. You can also show them in the AQHA shows if you choose to.
Honestly though if you're not planning to be a big shot at roping and win a bunch of money and prizes, a good, stout cowy grade horse would do just fine too and it wont cost nearly as much as a 20k performance horse.

The horse I just bought has cow experience. He's stout and has a great temperament so I could definitely do some roping or cutting with him after training. He's an appy and cost me 6.5k. But you could also find one that's a less flashy grade horse for anywhere from 4k-10k. If you have training experience, you could buy a project horse for 2-5k.

Thank you so much this helps a ton!

I am not an experienced rider I just have ridden horses for fun before. I would love to get better at riding but also with that skill. I have a couple ideas on where I can get some help with training for riding and roping. My god I would love to work at a ranch, I have been looking for one that needs help that is closer to where I live in case of emergencies (I have diabetes and we don't want to be like an hour away from home).

I would actually like to get good enough to preform, whichever breed of horse hits the best home run would be great.
I would never mind the look of the horse as long as they have a great temperament and aren't a pill to train. I do not have much experience so I'm pretty sure I'd have to pay a lot more to train and get the horse.

[sunny*days*ahead]

^As for equipment, you'll definitely want a roping saddle. (:
There are usually practice days for a lot cheaper than the actual rodeo, you just have to hunt them down. Facebook is a good place to look, as well as just contacting local ropers/roping ranches and letting them know you're new to the discipline and are looking for places to practice on actual cows once you get the skill down a little better.

If you haven't worked with cattle before, I'd recommend watching a lot of videos (or better yet, attend the practices just as an auditor a few times). They are a much different beast than horses, and I found out the hard way when my husband (a cattleman) brought home our cows for the first time. Lol!

ETA: You might also look into ranch sorting, if you're wanting to get a little more cattle experience. They will have practice days just as described with roping. (:

[Sulin]

^As for equipment, you'll definitely want a roping saddle. (:
There are usually practice days for a lot cheaper than the actual rodeo, you just have to hunt them down. Facebook is a good place to look, as well as just contacting local ropers/roping ranches and letting them know you're new to the discipline and are looking for places to practice on actual cows once you get the skill down a little better.

If you haven't worked with cattle before, I'd recommend watching a lot of videos (or better yet, attend the practices just as an auditor a few times). They are a much different beast than horses, and I found out the hard way when my husband (a cattleman) brought home our cows for the first time. Lol!

ETA: You might also look into ranch sorting, if you're wanting to get a little more cattle experience. They will have practice days just as described with roping. (:

Thank you so much! I was looking through some earlier and there are a couple on the cheaper end but still with amazing review which is good.
I was looking into that and I found that we have a couple places near us that offer training in both horseback riding and roping! Some of them even offer the boarding I was talking about earlier. That would be very helpful to find slightly cheaper options in the beginning. I'll have to look for contact info on some of the places I found!

I haven't worked with roping cattle before but I have worked with cattle for other purposes before. Omg I love watching roping videos lol and just rodeo videos in general, I'll have to look at the more teaching ones though. They are! lol

Thank you again, I'll have to look into that!