Buying enough horse

Help Support CattleToday:

jim

Active member
Joined
Apr 13, 2004
Messages
32
Reaction score
0
Location
Central Texas
I'm 6'1" and weigh about 235 lbs. With the saddle, I'm guessing that the weight for a horse to carry would be over 250 lbs. Is there a certian minimum size horse that I should buy? What is fair to the animal? I don't care what the looks are like, I just want a big enough horse so that he can handle the load.
 
I would look for something over 16 hands. The size (height) won't be as much of an issue as the muscle mass. A smaller, very muscular horse can more easily carry your weight than a tall, fine boned horse.
 
I'm 6'4" and 270 (wish I was 225) but my 15.2, quarterhorse mare does just fine for me. She is muscled a little on the heavier side for a quarterhorse, much heavier than a thoroughbreed. For people our size, we need to make sure the horse has feet and legs to support us. I have a 15.1 QH mare only 3 and not so muscled, she carries me fine but her feet are tiny. I don't ride her much, I'm afraid I will break her down. I'm having her worked by a 130 lb trainier and will save her for my 105 lb wife. But I had her on light trails a few times and love her. Make sure the legs are sound, straight, even at the knees and under her, not post legged....Vet check. Oh yea I keep talking about my mares and referring to "her".... buy a gelding! unless you plan to breed...than buy something worth breeding.

Just my opinion
Alan
 
An old rule of thumb I always heard was 20% of the horses weight for the person, but some of our cow horses are rather small and work with grown men 8 hours a day.
 
rules of thumbs are OK but use some common sense. Don't leave a big horse in a stall all week and then expect to ride rough trails for hours on weekends. Rode a 13 hand mare of my daughter's that she rode the wheels off of every day,( I'm 175) she didn't break a sweat. My horse is 15 1/2 and at beginning of season I start her hour or 2 at a time, fall rides she can go all day. Consider if you're riding a couch potatoe or a semi-pro soccor player.
 
jls":15b1we73 said:
rules of thumbs are OK but use some common sense. Don't leave a big horse in a stall all week and then expect to ride rough trails for hours on weekends. Rode a 13 hand mare of my daughter's that she rode the wheels off of every day,( I'm 175) she didn't break a sweat. My horse is 15 1/2 and at beginning of season I start her hour or 2 at a time, fall rides she can go all day. Consider if you're riding a couch potatoe or a semi-pro soccor player.

I could not agree more.
 
Thanks for the advice, I appreciate it!

Any suggestions as to breeds to consider or avoid? Whick is likely to have good hard feet?
 
I'll through my two cents into this hot topic... I too am a Quarter Horse fan, they seem to be less likely to kill you. I have had Arabs, too hot, all but Polish Arabs are too small, but they have rock hard feet, they dominate endurance riding. But all the Arabs I've seen are TOO HOT and crazy compared to Quarter Horses. Thororoughbreds are bred from Arabs, only real big...nuff said. Paints are Quarter Horses with color, but they seem to have their minor moments, but not a bad choice at all, the more white on a horse the more skin problems. Apps are hard headed, but not a bad choice, although not my choice. Morgans, ranch types are fine, saddlebreed types are too hot, going to Saddlebreds too hot. Remember, hot = crazy, crazy = your pain.

We have Quarter Horses and Paints, my wife has one nice in hand, crazy under saddle thororoughbred. We are knowledgable in some areas new to some areas of horses, always learning. But thats one of the fun parts.
Can't go wrong with a good Quarter Horse.

Just because I'm killing time, I'll throw in some advice you didn't ask for. Go with a Gelding, mares can have mood swings during heat, Stallions are dangerous if you don't know how to handle them and don't know what to look for when handling them. I would also go with a horse that is 8 to 16 yrs old, not too young to be crazy, not too old to be broken down.

And last of all if you go with a Quarter Horse check to see how much Thororoughbred blood it has, Some QH have a lot of thororoughbred in them (appendix Quarter Horses, i.e. racing Quarter Horses)

This may stir things up(?) Just my opinion
Alan
 
A good Quarter Horse is probably a place to start.. however, there are a lot of other things to consider.

Primarily, what are you going to do with the horse? Trail ride? Show? Breed? How much time a week will you spend riding? If you're just looking for a horse to ride a little on the weekends, a good "broke to death" older horse would be a good choice. You don't have to retrain every time you ride an older horse. If you're looking for something to compete in some event, you may want to get a trainer involved. They will know more of what's for sale, and what the potential is.

You can always look in the classified ads.. but if you're relatively new to horses, it would be a very good idea to take a knowledgeable horse person with you to help you.
 
TheBullLady":2ge9ipwo said:
A good Quarter Horse is probably a place to start.. however, there are a lot of other things to consider.

Primarily, what are you going to do with the horse? Trail ride? Show? Breed? How much time a week will you spend riding? If you're just looking for a horse to ride a little on the weekends, a good "broke to death" older horse would be a good choice. You don't have to retrain every time you ride an older horse. If you're looking for something to compete in some event, you may want to get a trainer involved. They will know more of what's for sale, and what the potential is.

You can always look in the classified ads.. but if you're relatively new to horses, it would be a very good idea to take a knowledgeable horse person with you to help you.

Pay "VERY CLOSE ATTENTION to the LAST PARAGRAPH."
 
You've gotten some good advice from the folks here. When you do find a horse you are interested in, be CERTAIN to take the horse to the farrier for a checkup and to the vet for a checkup. That's only fair to you, the seller, and the horse.
 

Latest posts

Top