ADOPT A HORSE

If anyone has any questions about adopting a horse, leave a message below and we will be happy to answer it! We are professionals!

MONEY ISSUE

In order to have a horse, money is a nessesity! Caring for a horse is very expensive, and unless you live on a farm, your mother is a vet and your father is a farrier you need money. You need money for vet bills, farrier bills, boarding bills, show events, tack (bridles, saddles, girths that fit your horse), and possibly dental bills. Even if you try to find the cheapest things to purchase, all the bills add up. If you think that you don't have enough money, you should try saving up your money. Try doing activities that might get you some extra cash. If you still don't seem to have enough money, you should try leasing a horse. Almost every schooling barn offer horses for leasing. It's cheaper and it's like having your own horse.

VET/FARRIER CARE

You should take your horse to the vet often. Sickness, as well as physical problems occur often (laminitis, etc.). If your horse is lame or has an ulcer, you can treat that by yourself, and it could save you money. Everytime the vet comes to your horse, it costs money. Farrier care is needed often too. You NEVER want your horses hooves overgrown. If they are it can cause MAJOR feet problems. Once a month for hoove trimming is NOT going to work. If your horses feet are overgrown, it can cause them a lot of pain, and it will prevent you from riding. Make sure that your horse is healthy and happy. For more information sign our guestbook.

Before you get a horse, you must know things about horses. Like what it eats, what they need, when they have disorders or sicknesses, whether they are too tired to work or not, etc. You must make sure that you know what to do once you ride a horse. If you don't know what thrush is or don't know that too much mud, or too hard of a ground can damage your horse's hooves, then you probably should think about studying more about horses. You should know which types of food do what for your horse, and you should be a good rider because your horse needs excerise atleast 60 minutes a day. So start studying and buy a horse when you're ready!

Space

You need to have space for a horse before you buy one. No, that doesn't mean that you need to live on a farm. A horse needs about 10 acres to gallop around and play. It also may need a stall to eat, sleep, and rest in. Although, some horses prefer the fields, so a stall is only for some horses. You can either board your horse at another barn, or keep it in your own farm. Horses need a lot of room, because they like to play often. In the field, horses must have water, and hay/grass provided to them. Some toys may be nessesary too. There also must be a run-in shed or stalls in the field so that when it is very windy, rainy, or snowy, horses have some shelter.

Safety

Safety+Horses=Very Important! Horses need to be safe in order to be healthy! You should do a full body check on your horses each day to make sure that they have no thrush, injuries, broken bones, laminitis, or other things that could harm your horse. You should also make sure that horses' fields have no glass, sharp items, broken fences, enough hay/grass, enough water, and make sure that the run-in sheds are sturdy. You wouldn't want your horse to cut itself on sharp items, starve, become hydrated, or have a run-in shed fall on them. You may worry sometimes and think to yourself "What if this happens?" Everyone worries about it. Sometimes these things may not happen. So don't stress out. If you are really afraid, keep your horse indoors during the night, or if they don't like the stalls, block off certain areas if there are a lot of trees or hazardous items in that area. A loving owner has a safe horse!

Companions

Horses may get lonely at times. That is why you may see a horse and a donkey, or a horse and a mini in the same field. Horses don't need other horses to  be happy. Horses will bond to any animal that is in the same field as them. Some horses may bond to dogs, cats, birds, sheep, or goats! It is very important that horses have company in their fields. Horses should have atleast one other donkey, horse, mule, or miniature horse in their field. A horse with company is a happy horse, and a happy horse, is a happy show horse, and a happy show horse makes a happy owner! But remember, if you get a horse, you need to make sure that there are other horses (etc.) in the field with them, or else you may have to adopt another animal to be a companion. Make sure that when you get a companion, you have checked over all of the things mentioned on this page. All the animals below make great companions:

- Donkeys  - Ponies  -Mules  -Miniature Horses  -Cows  -Miniature Donkeys  -Other Horses

Other companions could also be:

-Sheep/Goats  -Dogs  -Cats  -Pigs 

The first 7 animals above are the best companions, although horses may bond with the last 4 also.