Horse Crazy by Susan Kiernan-Lewis

wrong with them--they might well be a good investment.
(Which isn't to say that you'll get any financial return on your
investment, of course.)
    Once you've decided you want a horse, can
afford one, will spend the time with it and are at a riding level
that will allow you to ride unsupervised, then you simply need to
decide the kind of horse you want.
    A pony? A jumper? A very quiet one? One with
some spirit to him? How about a sense of humor? One that rides
Western? English? How about the sex of the horse? There are some
riders who swear that mares, for example, are flighty, bitchy, much
more unpredictable than normal and relatively worthless as mounts.
Many horse people keep mares strictly for breeding purposes. They
can be a bit, shall we say, moody. (Well, the horse person too, I
suppose, but I'm referring to the mare.) Then again, you'll meet
people who swear by mares (not at them). But if you're a beginner,
it's probably best to rule her out as a riding companion.
    Once you know the ideal horse for you, you're
ready to go out and try to find something that might be remotely
like him.
    First, the want ads. Check your city paper,
check your local Farmer's Market Newspaper. Check any of the local
horse and tack shop papers (available at the tack and feed
shops.)
    When reading a horse want ad, you should be
aware of the language often used.
    "...16hd Arab mare with lively eye and
striking coloration..." usually means "hard-to-handle with ugly
coat." If you see the word "spirited", just substitute the phrase
"wild-eyed-with smoking-nostrils".
    "Needs experienced rider" means
"bronco-busters only". And never, but never, test-ride a horse
named "Flesh" or "Certain Death." They didn't get those names
because they were cuddly as foals.
    When you call a want ad, after having
deciphered it, it's smart to have a written check-list on hand of
all the questions you need answered before you make arrangements to
drive out and actually see the animal. (Unless you live in the
middle of horse country, chances are, each horse prospect will not
be located as conveniently as your local McDonald's.)
    The up front expense of buying a horse is, of
course, just the beginning. You will also need to decide whether
your new horse can afford to be a stall horse or a pasture horse. A
pasture horse lives and sleeps out in a field and is brought in
when he is to be ridden, groomed, fed, or whatever else one cares
to do with one's horse. Sometimes, when the weather gets very cold,
the horse might be brought in and tucked into a warm stall for the
night. Sometimes, he's bundled up in a New Zealand rug (the very
warmest, most durable horse blanket in the world) and kept out in
the weather. Sometimes, depending on what the year-round climate
is, the horse is just out there, growing woolly coats and making
the best of it.
    There are lots of reasons to keep you horse
in the pasture. Money ranks right up there as the number one
reason. It's cheaper to keep your horse in the pasture. If he
doesn't lose weight as a result, or get thrashed by the other
pasture horses, or do regular head-butts with the barbwire fences,
it's likely a fine place for him to be. A pasture horse gets to run
and kick up his heels on lovely days, snooze in the woods to stay
cool on hot days, doze toe-to-tail with his buddies, amicably
flicking flies off each other, eat endless grass and generally
enjoy himself.
    A stall horse, on the other hand, has a
somewhat different life. A horse who resides in a stall rather than
a pasture, is typically fed in the morning, turned out (usually
mid-morning) to a paddock where he can romp with his friends,
brought in around mid-afternoon and fed again. Depending on his
schedule, he can easily be fed three or four times a day, not
counting the flakes of hay tossed his way throughout the day, or
the grass he enjoys in the paddock.
    A stall horse has a nice, lean, warm, light
and airy stall (hopefully) to call home...and that doesn't come
cheaply.