TAKING IT SLOWLY - THE SMARTEST WAY TO BUY A HORSE
Once one makes the decision
to purchase a horse of his or her very own, a strong temptation to act quickly
often manifests itself. The excitement
of owning a horse is tremendous and the desire to go from "future horse owner"
to riding the range on one's very own steed is so strong that the very idea of
patience seems almost laughable.
The smart horse buyer,
however, will find a way to resist the urge to act immediately, however. He or she will, instead, embark upon the
horse purchase journey responsibly and carefully. Taking it slowly, and moving through the
process deliberately and with a great deal of consideration is difficult, but
it provides numerous advantages over impulsive decision-making.
Instead of immediately
finding a horse and whipping out a checkbook, the smart buyer will first
investigate area stables and will find one at which he or she feels at
home. The stable, and the instruction
received there, will serve as a kind of "Horse College"
at which he or she will receive a superb education in riding and horse
care. The future owner will develop an
understanding of his or her needs and a fuller comprehension of what it will
mean to own a horse.
After spending a suitable
period learning the ropes, the search for a horse will commence. Again, the smart buyer will resist the urge
to buy the first horse that crosses his or her path. Instead, he or she will begin by carefully
assessing what kind of horse will best suit his or her needs and expectations. He or she will then take the time to
investigate all possible leads for finding the right horse.
Instead of rushing to find a horse that comes close to meeting personal
requirements, the buyer will accept that finding the right horse may take more
than a few days. It may require
countless visits to ranches and stables in pursuit of the perfect partner. He or she will scrutinize every prospective
horse and will not be rushed to find "a horse, instead looking (and
subsequently finding) "the horse."
Once he or she finds the
right horse, a full examination of the animal will follow. Barring a negative assessment by a trusted
veterinarian, it will finally be time for the buyer to join the centuries-old
club of horse owners.
That kind of deliberation
may seem unnecessary. In the amount of
time it took the buyer to find an purchase the right horse, other more
impulsive individuals will have already found, and will have spent months
riding, their horses.
However, for every success
story among the rash actors there are scores of disappointments, errors and
frustrations. Those who act quickly when
it comes to purchasing a horse often act mistakenly. Buying a horse is a matter of great
seriousness and it warrants a well-reasoned and serious approach. Those who follow a more considerate path are
far more likely to complete their buyer's journey with a perfect equine
partner.
If you are considering
buying a horse for yourself, you need to be prepared to encounter a series of
difficult and important decisions. You
can either act "in the moment" without a great deal of consideration when you
reach these critical junctures or you can opt to respond in a calm and reasoned
fashion. Mistakes born of haste may not
seem that significant at the moment, but in the long run they will add up to a
great deal of wasted effort and unnecessary expense, not to mention the very
high risk of disappointment when you find you don't really have the horse of
your dreams.
Those who approach the horse
buying process more carefully may suffer longer without an animal in the
stable, but when they do get their horse, they are able to develop a wonderful,
positive relationship with an animal that fully meets or exceeds their lofty
expectations.
Which way will you approach
horse buying? Will you act rashly in
pursuit of instant gratification or will you find it within yourself the
ability to resist that urge and to move through the purchasing process smartly?