Horses: Are You Ready to Own One?

I was raised in Texas and contrary to popular belief not every one in Texas owns a horse but lots of people do and I was one of them. Actually, by the time I was about 15 I had 5 horses; Cocoa, Baby, Thunder, Blondie and Buddy. Well, actually Buddy belonged to my best friend but he was usually pastured with my four horses so I took care of him a lot too. There are three ways to tell if you are ready to own a horse: One, are you willing to get up early every morning, early being, say, before 8am? Two, are you willing to slog out to the barn in all kinds of weather? Rain, snow, sleet, wind, blistering heat? And three, are you unafraid to get dirty, smelly and possibly have to deal with blood, sweat and pus, yours or the horses', on occasion?

If you can truthfully answer yes to all of the above then you may be ready to own a horse. I say "may" because even if you are ready, willing and able to do all the hard, smelly work you may not be in a position to own a horse. Consider the following.

Horses are expensive: Not only to buy but to keep and care for. You ever hear the expression "eat like a horse"? Well, no phrase was ever more true. Horses eat and eat and eat and then they eat some more. They have to. Their stomachs need lots of roughage to stay in working order. And that is where the early mornings come in. Horses need to eat on a regular schedule not when you finish the movie or whenever you happen to wake up. They have to eat in all kinds of weather no matter how unpleasant it may be for you. They are also big animals and need lots of fuel (food) to maintain their health and energy. Consequently, horses need exercise. Preferably on a daily basis.

You can't just stick a horse in a stall and leave him there. He needs to be able to move around and he needs interaction, ideally with other horses but at the very least with humans. Horses that are kept cooped up often develop behavioral problems such as cribbing (chewing on things) or anti-social tendencies toward other horses or even people. Horses are very social animals and need stimulation. So, the question is: can you afford a horse and do you have a proper place to keep it?

The work involved in owning and caring for a horse is hard. The kind that involves physical labor, again, this labor will have to be performed in all kinds of weather on a regular, daily basis. Along with the feeding, you will also have to keep your horse well groomed and clean and his feet will need special attention. Although not all horses need to be shod yours may need shoes depending on what you intend to do with him. A horse being ridden on soft, regular ground on a "for pleasure only" basis may not need shoes. But all horses will have to have their hooves trimmed regularly. Unless you know how to do this yourself or you are willing to learn you will need to hire a farrier to do it; yet another expense.

Horses produce tons of manure and this too will have to be dealt with and removed from his stall. If your horse is pastured the manure may need to be spread or removed too depending on how big your pasture is. Horse manure, like all manure, stinks. And you will get dirty while you are feeding, grooming and cleaning up after your horse.

I suppose though, if you have read this article and you still want a horse and you haven't been deterred by any of the hard facts I have just presented then you may, very well, be ready to own a horse.