Yes, we are horse addicts around here. And yes, we haul a lot of hay. Welcome to our barnyard!
At the last BLS horse sale my little cowgirl and I picked out a few horses we wanted to bring home. While I was there I decided to do a couple articles about buying horses and pass on a few tips I have learned from my many horse buying experiences, and hopefully help you avoid some mistakes I have made.
The first thing I usually do is find one that catches my eye. This cowgirl and Biggie blue were “love at first sight.” She always seems to cream off the horse sales!
The Western Original says to start at the feet and work your way up when you are looking at horses.
I don’t need to explain that this is a foundered pony. (this is just a photo I found online.) You all know that. But don’t think just because a horse has long feet they are foundered or ruined. Natural feet are not always a bad thing and many times one visit from your farrier will fix a lot of cosmetic damage.
Rule of thumb. Watch them walk. You will learn a lot from that.
After feet, move your way up legs. Look for crookedness, big knees or other signs of lameness. Again watch them walk. (Also found online.)
I will throw in, I have owned many horses that were not Perfect in the legs and they rode and handled fabulously. It is my opinion that most people don’t use their horses enough for a slight blemish to make much difference.
But be sure to look and know what you are buying.
Look over the horse. How does the neck and shoulders tie in?
How balanced is the horse overall?
Does the horse have two eyes?
Ok, yes. Seriously. Look. It sounds more obvious that it is sometimes. A horse will naturally keep its good eye turned toward you as you are looking at it. And sometimes it is a little hard to spot a missing eye.
I bought this pony mare, and it wasn’t till I got it home that I realized it only had one eye.
And it took me several days to learn it was a gelding.
Yes, you can make fun of me. But learn from my mistake.
If you can, and you are somewhat knowledgeable, check their teeth. It is an art and a science, but people can tell how old a horse is by looking at their teeth. Some people. Like the Western Original here. Biggie Blue is coming three.
After you make your selections, pay for them. Horses need health, coggins and a brand inspection to travel between states. We are headed down to Wyoming so we had to get our paperwork straight.
The brand inspector takes a final look at our horses and we are ready to head home.
Now the real work begins.
Thanks for joining us here at the barnyard! Be sure to check out the first story in this series: Billings Livestock Horse Sale.
New Dalmatian Puppy Pictures 3/13/14
Come back and join us here soon!
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