The search for a horse

There are many things to look for and consider when getting a horse. What discipline do you want to use him/her for? Whether or not you want a he or she, in horse terms a gelding or mare. What breed do you want? Making sure the horse is broke out well and has no bad habits is one of the hardest things to do when in the market. When I started looking for a horse I knew I wanted a gelding (open to mares still). I dint care what he looked like or what breed as long as they had some speed to him so I could train him in barrels. The first horse I went and looked at was a 12 year old quarter horse gelding with a back coat. He was great under saddle, everything I wanted. He even knew the barrel pattern already. I was going to pick him up for $800 when I got there he was drugged so that means he won’t get in the trailer without being partially sedated. A horse that has to be drugged to get in the trailer is almost a hopeless cause especially since I would be trailering him every weekend.  I held off going to look at the horses for a little and just calling owners on the phone and once they said one thing I didn’t like about the horse or I felt they were lying to me I told them I wasn’t interested. Then after about a month of searching I found one worth looking at in midland. When I went to go look at him to be honest it was a little weird….it was an elderly guy who had a cane and breathing problems. He insisted we go look at his other horses before he gets out the one I was there to look at so we did and then his son showed up who seemed to be a little off to but they were both nice. We finally got Gus out and saddled up, his son got on him first and rode him around a little before I got on. When I first got on him it was not conferrable, the saddle to big for me and the stirrups to long. Once the saddle was re-adjusted it was much better and I was able to control him much better. I rode him around the pasture for a little while then went along the trails and I knew by the end of my 30 min ride that he was the horse I wanted to get. So the next day me and my dad came with the truck borrowed his trailer, filled out a bill of sale paper and loaded him up and away we went I bought my first horse J