Finding horses for sale is a large undertaking, as is the purchase and care of the animal itself. To ensure you are happy with the horse and are able to give it a good home, think carefully about a few questions before you even start to look. With something this long-term and expensive, you do not want to make any mistakes. You need to understand exactly what purpose you wish the horse to serve. It is just for fun to ride around your land, or is it for racing, for competitions, or for breeding?
The life expectancy for horses ranges in between twenty-five and thirty years. Some have been noted to live quite long, the oldest being in its fifties. Between three and fifteen years old are when horses are in the best condition for physical activity. Show horses and race horses tend to have shorter careers. Any smart horse buyer would get a guaranteed age of their horse by documented papers and pedigree and by inspecting the animal in person.
Check the teeth for signs of age. No seller could ever hide a horse's real age from its teeth. The more worn down they are, the more years they have been in use. Hooves may not be as true an indicator of age, but it can give you some idea of the use of the horse, both in its past and future. Cracked hooves or poorly nailed shoes can indicate rough treatment and limit what the horse is physically capable of doing.
Age categories are not only important because it gives you the span of longevity you can expect, but it will also ensure that your horse competes in the correct category for maximum performance. You could be disqualified if you unknowingly entered a horse from the wrong age group into a race, or have your horse compete against animals more powerful due to their age.
Training it, for whatever purpose, goes easier if the animal is younger. This is the same for any animal. You can impose the correct behaviors and skills on it. The one thing you should avoid is trying to train the horse to breed at any age younger than three. If you can wait until it is six years old, everyone will be much better off.
Their skeletal system has not finished growing until this point so it could make labor difficult, especially since horses are pregnant for almost a full year. This is a lot of pressure on the body for a horse that young. You also do not want to do anything to derail your training in this early stage.
Horse breeding requires a great deal more knowledge. You need to understand the genetics of horses. The goal of breeding is to get the finest horses possible. Some breed horses with very developed flank muscles to others of the same build to get an offspring that will have huge power in its legs. Others want tall horses with very long legs to help with jumping. Others go for speed, or general size, or particular coat colors. It takes a lot of work but could end up getting you a huge profit by putting horses out to stud.
On the other hand, many people just want horses to ride in their spare time or start taking lessons with. With these, you do not have to be so picky. You would definitely want to find out three things: pedigree (just in case), temperament, and age. After that, it is merely a matter of price range and your own personal taste.
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Posted under Horses
This post was written by Charles Goodall on April 11, 2010
