Before buying a horse you need to consider how much it's going to cost you. Everything is going up because of gas prices. 2 years ago you could buy a roll of hay for $25.00 and today that same roll will cost you any where from $45.00 to $85.00 depending on where you live and who you buy it from. The first thing you need to do is shop around to get the best price for your money. I would look around and try and find a farmer with hay in the field still.
Talk to him or her and see if you can't purchase it out of the field BEFORE he has to move it with his tractor. And usually the more you buy the cheaper it is. See if one or more of your neighbors with horse want to buy with you. Someone wanting 25 or 50 rolls versus someone only wanting to buy a couple will have a better chance bargaining. If you get a good price with him get his name and number for when you need more and you will need more unless you sell your horse.
The same thing applies to feed. There are lots of feed stores and brands of feed you can feed your horse. And ask the owner if you can get a discount if you buy more. You can go in with the same neighbors you bought the hay with.
So you've decided you can afford a horse. Now is a great time to buy. Right now you can get a broke, calm horse for less than $1000. If you don't have a lot of horse experience then I suggest you find someone with some horse sense to go with you and evaluate the horse you are looking at. It will be worth paying them to make sure you get the right horse for you. A horse might act find on his old owners property and then when get him home change completely.
And there is nothing worse then spending your hard earned money on a horse you can't handle or is sick or lame. If you don't have a lot of experience it might also be helpful to take some riding lessons before you start looking and after with your new horse. A riding instructor is a great person to take with to look at a horse especially if you have been taking lessons with that person. They will know your level of experience to help you find the right horse.
