Horses?

I have fought my children as long as I can my two boys and little girl have been on me to get a couple horses. We by know means whatsoever live on a farm although we do have chickens, the normal family pets, couple hunting dogs and a small garden on our 25 acres. So I have fenced in about 2.5 acres maybe a little more with 48 inch field fence with a strand of barbwire at the top total 54 inches in height planted some Bermuda grass and built a 20x14 barn. I'm just curious if the acreage is good enough for two and if the barn is an okay size. I also have a friend who's mare just foaled a couple months ago and he wants to give us the foal not sure if this is a good idea or not any guidance on having horses will be much appreciated.I also have rode a few horses but would not call myself an expert rider. We live off a dirt road so we will be able to ride a good bit our 800 acre hunting club is on the same dirt road so hopefully there will be plenty of opportunity for exercise.

For grazing you need a minimum of two acres per animal of good producing ground, otherwise you will be feeding hay daily along with the rations. Barn is optional has long as they have an area to get out of the wind in cold weather.

From what I have heard and seen a horse is sort of like a boat........

My friend with a few horses says he thinks horses just try to find ways to kill themselves.....

he almost has it right. A horse spends 99% of it's time figgering a way to kill itself or kill you.

Be prepared for $1k for a colic, $8k if you're going to take them to surgery for a colic with the chance they may not make it.

First, don't get the foal. You have no experience training a horse and it would be years before you get anything out of it.

Second, 2.5 acres will not support two horses without a lot of supplemental feed. Feeding two horses isn't going to be expensive (relative, I am currently feeding 6).

How old are your children? You might want to start with some riding lessons. They need to learn to ride and you can't teach them. Then, if they still are interested, I would consider getting them one.

Remember, you will have vet bills, feed bills, farrier bills. All those things continue long after everyone stops riding them. They are consistant and don't go away.

Vet, just for once a year is going to be several hundred. That is not counting sick horses. More if you don't have a trailer to take them to his office. Feed bill, a horse eats more than you think. If they are on good pasture, it is one thing. You are going to go through at lest a couple of bags of feed a week. Fairer, figure at least $69 every 6 weeks.

If you want to buy some, I have a couple I will sell you. My son has outgrown both of them.

By the way, if someone says the horse they are selling is "kid broke", ask them how many kids it has broken.

I could give you a dozen things to do and look for when buying a horse, but I don't think you are there yet.

Like a lot of other things it will be cheaper to rent one than own it. So what I would do is go riding some with them to be Sure that is what they want. A horse is something that keeps on spending your money.

Please do not baby your horses that is how it gets expensive. My horses stay turned out and I very seldom have any problems with them. It's kind of a get tough or die at my house. Your fence and barn will be plenty sufficient. I agree with the above about 2.5 acres not supporting 2 without some added feed and hay. I repeat treat them like a horse.

I hate em.

Make friends with someone who has them or take your kids twice a year to a riding farm. I promise you you'll hate everything about a horse in short order if you own them.

The only way to own them and really enjoy them is to be born into a wealthy family or win the lottery. Either way, somebody is hired to care for them and all you have to do is ride em.

Most people that have a horse doesn't have a good place to ride them. I know on our hunting club land we don't want them out there. It is sort of like joy riding a 4-wheeler or dirt bike.

Doekiller, you need 7, and as luck would have it, I just happen to have one for you! 16.5 hh, Thoroughbred, great-great-grandson of Secretariat...put him on you right, too!

This is his pedigree...
http://www.pedigreequery.com/sassamafrass

My parents are horse poor. My dad decided several years ago that he would get some horses. Mind you he hasn't ridden a horse since I've been alive. 30 years. Now they have 7-8 and they stay broke trying to feed them. They have 12 acres of pasture. I always give them a hard time about the horses because now they never even ride them. You can't give them jokers away. Horses are useless unless you have a specific need for them.

Im with Fur. Never cared for them my grandpaw had 2 of them and road them a buddy has about 6 that they ride.I'll tell you'll be better off to take your kids to your friends house that has the horses. They're dangerous on both ends, ruin pastures by pulling up grass by the roots, waste a ton of hay, and they're always needing something done. The closest thing a horse reminds me of is some women, dangerous on both ends, ruin your man cave, waste alot of money and are always needing something done, hair, nails, etc.

MsLonster's great-uncle Ron was Secretariat's jockey. He is now in a wheelchair, horse accident.

Lonster

Buy a 4 wheeler. More fun to ride and if you get thrown off its your own fault.

Just an FYI, You can rent horses to ride at oak mountain state park. Probably a lot cheaper in the long run imho.

I agree with all of the above. I also have a good horse and saddle I would sell if you are interested. You can baby them and dump a lot of money in them or realize that they lived on the open range with no human interaction just fine, and put them out to pasture. If not riding on rocks a good trim will be fine for the feet. 2.5 acres most likely will not hold them over summer without additional feed.

Boy, this thread brings back memories. My dad is a horse guy. When I was growing up he went to farrier school and became certified in corrective shoeing. We later moved to a farm and got our own horses. My dad has always enjoyed breaking and training horses too. Often times using me as a saddle dummy while working the horse on the end of a lead rope. Many of my memories are the reason I'm not a horse guy. If horses were so damn good, Henry Ford would've never invented the automobile. Good luck if you decide to go through with it. I'll just close by saying that undertaking such a commitment just because your kids want to do it may not be the best reason. It's one of the bigger commitments to make as far as pet ownership goes.

Don't eat anything unless your riding them, don't bite you while you're trying to feed em, won't step on you, won't poke their belly out while you saddle them, won't run through a fence on their own and poke a giant hole in their chest, won't run off in the middle of the night when the transformer blows up, won't constantly get out and go eat the neighbors damn herb garden. I could go on forever. My stepdad took a couple of real nice horses from a "friend". I felt sorry for him until he got rid of them. Ended up with a really nice barn though.

I need to put on a horse owner clinic. Y'all make this hard on yourself. Mine stay in the pasture all the time. I don't feed them or do anything other than go catch them when I need to ride one.

There are 2 kinds of horses! Performance horses and yard ornaments.

Performance horses are ridden at the very least every 3rd day and require constant attention. They are an absolute joy to be around and handle.

Yard ornaments stand in a pasture and eat. They require constant attention but rarely receive any and then are blamed for acting like fools when the fool who owns them expects them to be a performance horse.

Horses are a responsibility just like any other pet but they are expensive to maintain and require constant attention if you intend for them to be anything other than trouble.

shove money in one end and get all the chit you want out the other end.