Q: How Do I Choose a Horse for My Daughter?

Posted by Laura Thompson Apr 7, 2009

In February, a doting father wrote to me about buying a horse for his seven-year-old father. He explained that he wanted to build a barn on his property and purchase a horse for her to ride at home. He wondered what exactly he should look for, given the conflicting advice found on the Internet.

When buying a horse for your daughter (or son), it is important to consider first his or her level of experience. Has your child taken riding lessons? Does he or she know how to care for a horse? How will you determine that the horse's needs have been met on a daily basis?

For a young child (tween and under), parental involvement is absolutely essential if you are keeping the horse on your own property. Feeding, watering, turning out, veterinary schedules, farrier visits and everything else involved in horse ownership is complex, and usually too much for a child to handle on his or her own.

Generally, I advise parents to board their child's horse at a local stable for at least a year. This might actually be more cost-effective than boarding at home, even if it isn't quite as convenient. During that year, your child can learn the basics of caring for a horse.

Other Things to Consider:

• Age. For a beginning rider, it is best to purchase a horse that is at least 9-10 years of age.
• Disposition. Spend time with a horse before you buy it for your son or daughter. Make sure the horse is quiet and gentle enough to support a young rider.
• Health. Take a look at the horse's veterinary records and make sure it is vetted before writing the check. Health problems can lead to serious monetary losses down the road.
• Breed. It really doesn't matter what breed of horse you buy for your son or daughter. Some experts say that certain breeds are better than others, but you will always find exceptions to the rule.

For a young child, you are looking for a baby-sitter (called a "packer"), a horse who will take care of your child even when he or she screws up. In addition to a calm disposition when being ridden, the horse should also be gentle on the ground, easily led, tied, shod, groomed and tacked up.

And although you are looking for an older horse, you don't want a geriatric case, either. Look for a horse with plenty of energy and sound legs, and don't forget to ask the veterinarian about respiratory and pulmonary problems. Loosing a horse is devastating for a child, so you don't want to buy a horse and have it pass away a few months later.

Have a horse question? Send it to Horses@Suite101.com and Laura Thompson will provide an answer, either in a private e-mail or in a blog post.