I’m new to horses but would like to know more about them. If you know anything at all about them, tell me! Some things I ‘m interested in:

Prices (of horses, supplies, and stable renting)
Training
Breeds
Daily, monthly, yearly chores
Health, diseases, and medication
Equipment (I’m interested in riding English, so what would I need?) Also any brands you recommend
Signs of a healthy horse
Signs of a good stable
Diet

Well, if I missed anything, be sure to tell me of it. You don’t need to answer ALL of that, but if you want to, fire away. I would never want to get a horse not knowing what it needs. Thanks you so, so much.

Like dogs, cats or any other kinds of pets, horses can be fun, sage and enjoyable companions. However, just as a dog must be trained and treated properly, or he will become a nuisance, a horse must be handled correctly if he is to be useful, safe and happy.

The key is to understand why horses act the way they do.
You then need to know how to tell them what you want them to do in way that horses can understand.
Since horses don’t understand human language, your actions teach your horse what you want and how to behave.

Horses are very big, powerful and fearful creatures.
If they are frightened, they will try to run away from whatever scares them. They can be scared and startled by many things that don’t bother people.

Things that may frighten a horse are:

Loud noises
Sudden movements
Things that move toward them suddenly
(like a piece of newspaper blown by the wind)
When a horse is nervous or frightened, he will often calm down if someone gives him confidence by keeping him under control.

Be kind but firm, soothing him with quiet words. If you act frightened or nervous, your horse may become more frightened himself. He will feel that something must be wrong if you are frightened.

Horses obey humans through habit and training. They don’t know that they are bigger and stronger, or they would realize that they don’t need to obey us. When you handle a horse, you are either helping the training or hurting it.If you always handle horses properly, using the same rewards and punishments they are used to, they will keep their training and remain obedient.
Poor handling by abuse, cruelty or spoiling, untrains horses and spoils their behavior.

Horses are trained by reward and punishment.
They learn how to obey commands and to do or not to do certain things, by connecting these things with pleasant (reward) or unpleasant (punishment) feelings.

A horse can only pay attention to a reward or punishment for about 3 seconds.

This means that the pleasant or unpleasant feelings must come immediately after the horse has done something right or wrong. A few minutes later will be too late. He won’t understand why he is being rewarded or punished.

When buying a horse -

Owning a horse is a big responsibility. It requires a commitment of both time and money. The new owner should be prepared to spend time grooming, exercising, and caring for the animal, or assume the responsibility to see that the basic care will be performed daily. Unless the horse is kept on the owner’s property, travel time to and from the stable must be considered. The costs of owning a horse can add up quickly as you provide shelter, feed, medical care, shoeing, and riding equipment.
Before buying a horse for their children, parents would be wise to reinforce the child’s commitment. Arrange with a local stable for lessons for your youngster. Give your child the opportunity to participate in supervised care of a horse for a month or two. If the youngster "sticks" with the chores of horse ownership, he or she is probably responsible enough to own one.

Before you purchase a horse, decide where you will keep the animal and how much it will cost. In many instances the purchase price is not as much as the annual boarding fee. If you live on property that can support a horse – legally and physically – be sure that you have adequate stabling. If you live in a cold climate, you might want to consider boarding the animal, at least during the winter months, at a stable with an indoor arena. Riding in freezing weather is unpleasant and can even be dangerous for both horse and rider.

Sorry if some of that was a little basic, but every little helps?

I’m new to horses but would like to know more about them. If you know anything at all about them, tell me! Some things I ‘m interested in:

Prices (of horses, supplies, and stable renting)
Training
Breeds
Daily, monthly, yearly chores
Health, diseases, and medication
Equipment (I’m interested in riding English, so what would I need?) Also any brands you recommend
Signs of a healthy horse
Signs of a good stable
Diet
Which gender is better and why

Dressage and show isn’t really important to me, I’d just like to know about general horse care.

Well, if I missed anything, be sure to tell me of it. You don’t need to answer ALL of that, but if you want to, fire away. I would never want to get a horse not knowing what it needs. Thanks you so, so much.
5 days ago – 1 day left for voting

Hay for food
Paint is my favorite breed
a horse is around 3,000