Buying your kid's First Horse

Buying a first horse is always very exciting and also nerve racking because you want to make sure you find a good fit for your family. If you think you are ready to buy a horse or pony there is a few things to check off on first. Without going into a lot of detail here are somethings to check off before buying - Has your child been taking lessons (for at least 1 year) - Are you and your child able to halter, lead and saddle horse - Do you have a safe and secure place to keep a horse - Does your child's riding instructor feel you are ready for a horse

Once you have checked off this list you are ready to start shopping. With any hobby there are many different opinions on what you should look for in a horse or especially in a first horse. Consider what your goals are with this horse. Are your children still learning how to ride? Will you just be riding at home or will you want to show the horse? For now, let's say that your children are still riding and you are only interested in riding at home for now. This is what my client Michelle was looking for when she reached out to me about getting a pony for her girls.

We found Gizmo, a little halflinger / quarter horse cross. When we went out to look at him they said he had been sitting, unridden for a while because they were getting out of riding. I rode him around first and he did well, quickly realized he was a little buddy sour and did not like to back up and instead would offer the tiniest little rear. I immediately wanted to say oh no, no absolutely not, this won't do. But I put the girls on him and watched how he rode for them, and offered them the same little bit of sass but not anything dangerous. I thought about it for a minute and when talking with Michelle we agreed that it wasn't anything the girls couldn't handle and his sass would provide a bit of a good challenge for them to work through. There are many people that seek to find a super quiet, laid back horse for their kids first horse and while there is a lot of value in that, if your child has been taking lessons and has a good foundation of riding skills, getting them something that is going to test them and make them think about what they are doing rather than just being on auto piolet is really where your child can grow as a rider. So long as they still have a good instructor for guidance when they are having trouble. Gizmo has been so fun to work with, with Michelle's girls. There are days he is a perfect and an easy going gentleman, and there are days that he makes them work for what they want. He provides a nice balance for learning. If you are shopping for a horse or pony for your kid I highly recommend finding something that has a little bit of it's own opinion so that your child can grow and learn from them.

Train with Care, Ride with Confidence