by Siobhan Shier

Created on: February 03, 2009   Last Updated: June 25, 2009

Have you owned a horse before? Do you have a surplus of income? Are you willing to spend thousands of dollars on vet care? Do you have at least one full hour of extra time in every day? If the answer to any of those questions is no, then that should be your answer to whether or not you should take a free horse.

At the stable I worked at a few years a go there was a trainer who was working with a horse who had severe problems, including cow kicking when she tried to mount (kicking forward with her hind hoof). A lot of the horse's issues stemmed from the fact that the owner gave her horse a treat every single time it misbehaved, thinking that she was calming the horse when in fact she was reinforcing the very bad behavior. The trainer was a good one and was making progress with the horse but the owner didn't pay like she was supposed to and the trainer had to stop. The owner decided that she was going to give the horse away to a family with a young girl. The family asked the trainer about the horse and she told them in no uncertain language to not take the horse. The owner told the family the trainer was crazy. The family in the end decided to take the horse because no matter the warnings, the horse was free.

The little girl ended up severely injured in a hospital.

Don't take a free horse unless you know exactly what you are doing. If you do want to take the horse, get an outside opinion.

A horse is not a dog. It is not a mouse, nor a cat, nor any other household pet. Horses are classified as livestock and they cost money, time and expertise. Do not take on a free horse just because your child wants a pony or you want to help it out. If you want to help the horse out of the goodness of your heart instead of taking it on, have the owner take it to a horse rescue facility and commit to pay for its upkeep for the duration of its time there. Horse rescue facilities have experts who can take care of the animal if it is sick or has behavior problems.
If you are set on having a free horse, but don't have the experience, then find someone who does. Ask around at local barns to find a reliable trainer and then pay for their time to look at free horses. They can ride them, try them out, and help you with the horse when you still getting the hang of things. You should try to keep your horse at a barn that the trainer works at so that you can always call on them if there is a problem or if you need a little extra help. Just remember, having a horse is not an easy thing. Though you wont be spending money buying the horse, you will spend more money and time than you thought possible.

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