I have ridden horses in the past mostly trail horses. I have a love for horses and would like to get one of my own. I know there are different styles of horses, gaited horses, for one that my frien said I would need training on how to ride that type of horse. Being new to horses and in the desert is there a better bread for my area???? I would live to go riding on the trails.

I have to ditto 48horthfarm and while the words sound very strong, they are very accurate.

All too often us long timers see folks desire for horse ownership cause ultimate heartache for the new owner and much hurt (mental and physical) for the horse because the person has "bit off way more than they can chew" on a daily, life-long basis.

That can mean financially, time required to care/clean the horse and it's living area, and just general basic knowlege of the minimum of proper horse care.

Taking care of an 1,100 lb piece of livestock (horses ARE livestock even though we don't treat them that way), is not even on the same planet as caring for a dog or cat.

Regarding gaited horses - that's a personal choice and one that the person's physical condition may play a huge part in.  Due to severe lower back injuries, I went to gaited horses 21+ years ago in order to keep riding.  I was told to never ride again but that wasn't an option and found riding a gaited horse was the answer.  Mine lived with me in SoCal's Low Desert for five years before retiring to Middle Tennessee so, as with any horse, proper care in desert life is required.

Hopefully you can find a good and honest instructor to guide you along and who won't say, 30 days into your lessons, "boy have I got a horse for you".  That would be right up there with someone trying to sell you the Bay Bridge in San Francisco:)

If you progress to the point you think you are ready to buy a horse, I still might not do that.  I might be more inclined to ask the instructor about leasing a horse. 

That way you are responsible for the care and keeping of that horse but have the opportunity to walk away if the daily grind of horse keeping doesn't work out for you.  If you need to board the horse, it will give you the safety net of realizing whether or not you really can afford to pay for board, hoof care, annual shots, and unexpected medical emergencies.

The horse is still safe with it's original owner and your hurt won't be near as bad knowing you have to give the horse up because it already has its original owner to go back to.

 Hope this helps - good luck in your quest:)

Hi Debi

 Back when I first started the forerunner of this website, I wrote a series of articles that together were a Beginner's Guide to Horses.  They're still on this site and they are still informative to people like yourself who are thinking of getting a horse.

Taking Riding Lessons

Buying Your First Horse

Horsekeeping

In them, you'll find links to other articles I have written for the beginner, on subjects such as horse boarding options, grooming, safety, leasing a horse etc.

As others have suggested, and as I mention in my article, the first thing to do is take some lessons. then you can start thinking about whether your are able to make the committment, and it's a huge committment, to buy a horse of your own.

I have "loved horses" all my life...I even took lessons several times over the years...and whenever anyone offered me a leg up I rode around a little. I think I pictured life with a horse pretty much like life with a big big dog.  So when I retired, I decided to take the plunge.   I looked at ads and pictures and I got a Tennessee Walker gelding.  Talk about reality coming into focus. He was pretty and his owner said he was a wonderful trail horse etc etc.  (She'd owned him less than a year...red flag, red flag).  I never thought about how, if you put the horse in the pasture, you have to catch and saddle him before you can trail ride.  I loved the thought of owning a horse but this horse did not love the thought of having a person.  And I had inadequate skills for anything more than a school horse.  I thought I could just show up and he would do the rest, right?  Riding is a few hours a week.  Owning is 24/7, 365 days. With all the worry, money, sweat and frustration that 24/7 entails.   I bought an expensive series of training tapes and did hours of ground work.  I pumped every owner in the barn for information and watched them handle every sort of horse emergency and barn and pasture mainenance.  Seven years later I consider myself a pretty competent horse owner but I have shed lots of tears and wasted a lot of precious time by not knowing what I was getting in to.    I still have the TW but he still takes a lot of patience and is still hard to saddle.  This year, I bought a lovely 21 year old mare who loves people and is always ready to do whatever, whenever, and can't seem to find anything to spook about ever!  Joy! This is the horse I should have bought back when I thought I knew it all.   Please take the time to do it right the first time.  It wont take you 7 yrs. but you do need to take some time to really learn what it takes to own even a non-competition horse.   How to house them, what to feed them, equine health, grooming (should have seen me when I heard about cleaning a sheath!), symptoms of illness, how to deal with behaviors or emergencies, and, yes, the characteristics of different breeds. Then, when you go looking to buy a horse, you wont have to ask anyone what to get because you will have enough experience to know what kind of horse will suit you and your environment.  Horse ownership is only wonderful when you are a wonderful owner.  Best of luck in finding the perfect horse for you.

 Hi Sunray, welcome to the forum and thanks for chiming in here.  I'm glad you finally found the right horse for you, but sorry you had to go through 7 rough years before you found her.  Sharing your experience here will definitely help others who are considering plunging in to horse ownership unprepared.

i second the riding lessons, then perhaps leasing instead of buying.  i have lots of horse experience and got a couple horses 3 years ago after being away from horses for many years.

the main one i chose was supposed to be 5 years old and quiet and nice on the trails.  after getting him home and finding he didn't have a clue how to be ridden, i started him over.  once his coat shed out and i could read his tattoo (he's a standardbred), i found he had just turned 3 and had come straight from the track.  obviously he'd had no time to learn how be a riding horse in there.

so, there came the experience of training a horse from scratch.  i thought he'd be green and that was okay, but, he was not even close to green.

then, fast forward to now.  he has a torn tendon.  got it doing nothing special.  but, it will take about 8 months to heal!  that's several weeks of stall rest, then one 20 minute walk a day, increased by a minute every week.  so, the vet bills on this x the cost of boarding him in a stall (as opposed to my own free pasture) x the time it takes for daily care = alot of unexpected cost and work.  which is fine for me, but, i am just sharing it with you as a story about possibilities.

a healthy horse is a huge thing to take on.  then they do things, like injure themselves.  or you get a surprise and find the horse isn't trained enough for your needs.  and, it's tough to rehome a horse if he isn't what you want.

just so many things to take into consideration.  which is why i agree with taking lessons and then leasing to make sure that it is a situation that does fit into your lifestyle.

if you take the time to develop your riding skills and spend time around a barn where you will meet lots of other horse people, you will end up finding a very suitable situation for yourself; whether it's taking lessons regularly, leasing a horse or buying one.

good luck and enjoy.

 I really do appreciate all the replies. That is why I have joined the forum to do some learning about horses adn yes taking some riding lessons before I do actually purchase a horse. It might take awhile as  am a busy lady. I will go to the links provided. Thank you so much.