huskyhiccups wrote: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.)