A good horse can be priceless in the joy it brings. A bad one isn't worth having at any price. Recognizing the difference before you buy is a key to safety.
Kat Man Shine, or "Shine" for short, is an advanced Quarter Horse that Amanda Cushman rides in American Quarter Horse Association trail classes. Amanda, a high-school junior at Huntsville, Texas, didn't start off with Shine. Her skills and horses have been advancing together since she became interested in riding at age seven. Shine is her fourth horse.
Amanda's instructor, Nancy Cahill of Madisonville, Texas, has helped her find the right steeds to match her skill levels. Cahill has been training horses since 1968, when she was a little younger than Amanda is now. She puts on clinics for kids and adults and has trained many champion horsemen, including a three-time all-around champion in AQHA. Cahill was named AQHA horsewoman of the year in 1996.
Amanda's folks, Chris and Diane Cushman, stay on the sidelines and help where they can.
"We clean. We haul. We bathe. We help however she needs us to," Chris says. "But I don't tell Amanda what to do about horses. I'm not the professional." Nancy's stables are where Amanda does most of her training.
"The first horse I got was a good one to learn on," says Amanda. "You could do anything on him, and he wouldn't care. They call these bomb-proof horses."
"That horse wasn't a great one, but most of all he was gentle and the best insurance policy they ever bought," Cahill says. "Amanda made hundreds of mistakes on him, and when her skill level finally exceeded where he was, we got her the next step up."
Most accidents happen when you're not on the right horse for you and are faced with the wrong conditions. "A horse that's not well trained is a recipe for a wreck," says Cahill.
No horse is absolutely foolproof, and you should always use common-sense precautions. But the following steps will help you find a gentle horse:
1. Match the skill levels of horse and rider. An inexperienced person of any age needs a forgiving horse. More experienced riders can handle horses with a little more spirit.
2. Make sure the rider has been exposed to good horsemanship. Lessons are the cheapest way to decide if a person-young or old-wants to ride. Essentially, you're learning from the instructor's horses before you buy.
3. Determine the rider's goals. Do you want a nice horse to ride down the road? Are you headed for serious competition? Match the horse to the goals.
4. Know your price range. If you have experience, you may want to get a young horse and train it to save money. But a young horse and an inexperienced rider are the worst possible combination. Cahill cringes when she hears parents say they want to buy their kid a young horse so they can grow up together.
5. Ask lots of questions of the right people. The rule for used cars and real estate applies: Don't believe the salesman. When you've got your eye on a particular horse, ask questions of people who have watched him work and who know about the owner. Get help from someone who is qualified.
6. Choose the right breed. Yes, there are differences in breeds, although families within all breeds can be nice. Individuals of every breed can be real stinkers, too. Cahill likes the Quarter Horse because it tends to have a forgiving nature.
8. Avoid auctions. Unless you know the horse and owner, a sale is not the place to get a horse. "A sale is often a dumping ground," Cahill says.
7. Give the horse a few appropriate tests. Saddle the horse and see how it reacts. Then ride in a small area at first to minimize the chances of something going wrong.
"Ninety percent of what goes wrong is your fault," Cahill says. "You have to be smarter than the horse."
Watch the horse for soundness and willingness to respond to the rider. If you want a horse for trail rides, check to see how well it crosses water.
One of Cahill's rewards for what she does is working with outstanding youngsters.
"We have great kids showing horses because they spend so much time with their horses," she says. "This isn't particularly a cheap habit, and it's definitely a time-consuming one. But the rewards offset the time and expense."
