19 of 22

Yes

Write now Article Tools

What is "Free" horse? Have you ever truly seen one? In more than 40 years working with horses I can honestly say I have never seen one that is truly free. Whenever you take a horse from someone for no monetary exchange, I will guarantee that you will immediately incur some kind of expense, be it veterinary bills, farrier bills, the needed purchase of equipment or even the transportation of the horse from its current home to yours and of course as soon as you do get it home, it will want feeding.

Having said that, I still think that you cannot dismiss the "Free" horse out of hand.

There are many reasons that people want to give their horses away and there are many reasons that others will want those discarded equines. By assuming that the horses being given away are ill, old or unrideable we are further assuming that the recipient does indeed want to ride them. An article by John Lyons recently talked about us not imposing our perspective onto others. Taking this lesson to heart I believe that we have to adhere to the old saying of "Horses for Courses", i.e. for every horse there is a suitable home. The key is to find the right place for the "Free' horse

I breed Reining horses and when my babies are weaned, they need a companion to relieve the stress of missing their mothers. "Babysitters" do not need to be ridden and a "Free" horse or pony will work well for this task as long as it is sociable.

Then there is the stress relief practitioner. I still have the first Reining horse I bought nearly 20 years ago. She is now 24 and in March I will have 3 generations of her bloodline. She carried me around the Reining show pen until she was 13 and then became one of the best trail riding horses I have ever known. She hardly ever gets ridden these days, although she still has plenty of spunk when she does. But just going out to the pasture and talking to her; telling her the problems and issues of the day; seeing her turn those deep, brown eyes onto me; feeling her nuzzle into me - these are the best stress relievers in the world. Although this mare was not free when I got her, many people want to share the companionship that these old horses can offer, without having to ride them.

Then there are the projects. I was asked to try my skills on a horse that was destined for the meat packers. He had been rescued from severe abuse 8 years prior and had been so afraid of people that he would not let anyone near him and had come very close to seriously injuring several people, including "Professional" trainers over the 8 year period.

I worked with him for 18 months to get him to the point that I could ride him and another year before my husband could ride him too. He rode English and Western, jumped really well, did some pretty cool dressage and my Reining trainer even got him sliding and spinning in a 3 day clinic. He was my companion for 10 years before his death at 25 years old and he had never done anything to hurt me throughout those years.

If you are looking for your next show horse then the chances of finding it in a "Free Horse" advert are pretty slim, but it's not impossible. Just be sure you know what you are getting and what you are getting into. Buying a horse is the cheapest part of horse ownership. Keeping a horse costs the same whether you paid a small fortune or nothing for the horse itself. But one thing I know to be true the love, companionship and assorted rewards each and every horse can offer a human Priceless.

Learn more about this author, Heather J Powell.
Click here to send this author comments or questions.

Add your voice

Know something about Should you take a free horse??
We want to hear your view. Write now!