Before you buy a horse or pony....

Ahhh yes....  Owning your own horse or pony - the stuff little girls dream of doing.

However, before you take on the responsibility of an equine companion there are a number of things you need to consider.  Buying the horse or pony is the easy part....!  It's also often the cheapest part.  Once you have that gorgeous 4-legged creature home, the expenses can start to mount up!

Here are a few things to consider BEFORE you actually buy your dream horse or pony:

How much do you actually know about horses?

Sure, we all know they're a grazing animal with four legs, a head at one end and a tail at the other.  The following are a few other interesting, and important, things to know about horses and ponies:  

• What you may not be quite so aware of (YET) however is the fact that you shovel money in one end and pick it up off the ground, considerably devalued, at the other end.
• Horses (and ponies) are quite delicate creatures, despite their size and bulk.  Did you know, for instance, that they cannot vomit?  They have a one way valve at the bottom of their oesophagus which allows food into the stomach but doesn't allow it back up again.  So whatever they swallow must make its way right through their entire digestive system.  Now that's perfectly fine if all they swallow is good quality food and water!  Unfortunately it's not so peachy if they swallow anything harmful.

Do you know much about feeding them?  

It sounds easy - they just eat grass don't they??  Well sure they do BUT here's another little fact - a horse needs to consume at least 2% of its body weight in feed PER DAY (and that's dry weight so any liquids added to their feed doesn't count).  A 500kg (1000 lb) horse therefore requires a minimum of 10kgs (20 lbs) of feed per day just for maintenance.  If they're in work, pregnant, feeding a foal .... that goes up.  IF you plan to have your horse survive on grass then you better make sure there is enough of it to provide him or her with the amount of food by weight s/he needs each day.  Remember, grass contains water but it's 'dry' weight that matters. 

Then there is the 'what' part of the equation as in - what do you feed a horse or pony, which you also need to know about because you can do a lot of damage pretty easily by feeding them the wrong stuff.  And 'damage' with equines is usually associated with an expensive vet bill!

Do you know much about their general care over and above feeding them?  

Hoof care, dental care, worming, vaccinations, how to tell when they're not well and have some idea of what could be wrong.

Do you know how to handle one?  

Horses are big and can do mere humans a lot of damage if not handled correctly.

Do you know how to put gear on correctly?  

Halter, bridle, saddle, rugs etc.  There is a right way and a wrong way to do all of these safely and you need to know the right way.

Do you know how to work around and with them safely?  

There are things you can and can't do safely around horses.

So whilst horse ownership sounds like a great thing to do, it comes with many, many responsibilities.  If you aren't prepared, or equipped, to properly carry out those responsibilities then my top tip would be to learn first then think about purchase.  Approach a local riding school and either take lessons or ask if you can help out in return for some advice and / or lessons.