Buying Your First Horse: A Guide to Preparing For, Finding, and Purchasing a Great Horse

by Mary Guay

What are the expenses? Should you keep your horse on your property or at a stable? Where can you find the best horses? How will you negotiate with the seller, and what contracts are involved? Follow... This description may be from another edition of this product.

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0965466965
• ISBN13: 9780965466967
• Release Date: January 1997
• Publisher: White Papers Press
• Length: 192 Pages
• Weight: 0.65 lbs.
• Dimensions: 0.5" x 5.5" x 8.5"

Customer Reviews

The best book on the topic for novice horse people.

I've been teaching riding and horsemanship for about 23 years and have often felt the need for just this book for my novice students and the hundreds of Pony Clubbers I've taught (and their parents!). No other book that I've found (and I own over 900 horse books) comes even close to the helpfulness and usefulness of Guay's book. The author leads you through a series of decisions based upon _your_ situation, skills/experience, finances, and goals. Unlike most "how-to-buy-a-horse" books, this book doesn't go much into details about conformation, breeds, bloodlines, etc., as those are pretty much irrelevant for first-time horse owners. Instead, Guay takes the reader through the process of deciding, first, whether one should buy, lease, or just take lessons--including the financial and responsibility issues. If the decision is to buy a horse, she focuses on what is most important: finding an individual horse whose disposition and training make it suitable for that particular rider. She also strongly recommends getting help from an experienced horse person, preferably one's instructor.This book is not meant to be a comprehensive guide to horse ownership. It is aimed at novices, not experienced horse people. For example, the author often covers what to experienced horse people may seem to be simple common sense, but which all too often can get novices into serious trouble. Guay emphasizes safety above all, both in selecting the horse and in riding and working with the horse.Even though the book is aimed at novices, it should also be in every instructor's or trainer's library. We may forget what it's like to be a novice and looking for our first horse. Guay's book can help us understand and see things from the perspective of our students, and help them find a good horse for THEM, rather than what WE might buy.

Wonderful Book for buying first horse!

The book was very easy to read and gives good advice on expenes, boarding, leasing. Any first time buyer should read this book. As much as I would like to buy a horse now, I learned that I am better off leasing a horse until I can find more time. Leasing has been a wonderful way to go and I still get to enjoy being around horses.

A must have book for anyone about to purchase a horse.

This book was our "bible" while in the process of shopping and purchasing our new horse. It spelled everything out very clearly, and was very well organized. We followed it to the letter, and as a result ended up with a wonderful horse. The book was also very informative on boarding both at home or away. Don't purchase a horse without reading this book.

"Buying Your First Horse is **SUPER**!!

Mary Guay covers the decision process better than anyone else I've read, and I have over 800 horse books. It will pay you back much more that the purchase price as it helps keep you and your family from making mistakes that you could avoid - and, more important, helping you find the RIGHT horse for you. I think this book is tops and just the thing for people thinking of getting a horse." - George Slusher, Examiner, Instructor and Clinician with US Pony Clubs, and Manager of Compuserve Horses Foru

I'm glad I got this book before I got a horse.

I am a total horse novice. My daughter loves horses and is now getting old enough to take lessons. When I found out how much it costs to lease a horse or even board one that we bought, I started to consider buying a horse and stabling it at our home, which is in a rural area. This book opened my eyes to all that is involved in owning a horse, no matter where it is stabled. It is extremely comprehensive, covering every aspect I wondered about and several I didn't even consider. I highly recommend it for anyone like me who is inexperienced in the world of horse ownership and thinking of taking the plunge. I'm sure having it will save me many times the cover price