When looking to buy a horse, one of the first decisions is whether to get one which is untrained, partly trained, or fully trained. Most people, especially if it is there first horse, will be better off getting a horse which is already trained for whatever they intend to use if for. For example, if one intends to use the horse for basic riding it should already be trained for riding, whereas if you are using it for show jumping, it should already be trained in show jumping.

Buying an untrained horse or partly trained horse is less expensive (at least, at first) than a fully trained horse. It also offers you the opportunity to participate in its training, with the trainer of your choice. However, there are a few important risks with this approach:

- Cost of Training. The cost of training depends on individual circumstances and is hard to estimate, but it is under-estimated far more often than over-estimated. Aside from the direct trainer costs, unless the trainer comes to you, there are the additional costs of either stabling the horse with the trainer, or transporting the horse to the trainer for each lesson. Many people find that by the time the horse is fully trained to the level they require, it would have been cheaper to have bought an already trained horse.

- Accidents. Accidents can easily occur during training, even with a good trainer. These may result in vet costs or worse.

- Incorrect Training. Some trainers are not as good as others. In addition, many trainers will rush training or under-estimate the amount required, to get the contract at an acceptable price. This may result in an incompletely or incorrectly trained horse.

- Feel of the Horse. Two horses, with the exact same training, will feel differently to a rider due to the individual characteristics (build, personality, movement) of the horse. With an already trained horse, one can ride it before buying to know exactly how it feels, whereas with an untrained horse one can only guess what it will feel like after training.

- Health Evaluation. Part of the pre-purchase health checks is to ride the horse and to watch it carefully as it is being ridden in each gait. These particular checks cannot be done with an untrained horse.

Due to these considerations, buying untrained (or partly trained) horse can be both more expensive and more risky than buying a fully trained horse.

Unless you are a professional trainer (or working under the close supervision of one), you should not train a horse yourself. Otherwise there is the risk that the horse will acquire bad behaviors or habits, which can be difficult and expensive to correct.

You should also be wary of buying a partly trained horse based on the seller’s commitment to fully train it. Having made the sale, many sellers will rush the training and cut corners, in order to minimize their costs and receive payment as soon as possible. One should only make a purchase commitment when the horse is fully trained and you have ridden it to ensure that you are completely satisfied with the result.

As an experienced professional and owner of Horses for Sale, Doug Stewart has written this article based on his personal experience.

If you have decided to train your own horse instead of hiring a professional trainer then you have a lot of work ahead of you. It is very rewarding to train a horse because not only will it raise your own confidence, but it will also raise the confidence of your horse and form a strong bond between you. If you have never trained a horse before, there are many resources that can provide you with all of the information you need in order to be successful when you train a horse. One of these resources is Horse Training Secrets Revealed. This guide will teach you absolutely anything you need to know when training a horse. It is a valuable resource that I would recommend to anybody who wants to take on the task of training their own horse.

An important thing to remember when training your horse is to be patient. Remember that every horse is going to learn at a different rate and pushing it is only going to frustrate you and the horse. So keep this in mind when you begin training. Some horses take a very long and intense training and these horses are often called problem horses. Some people will give up on these horses or call in a trainer to help. The good thing is, the guide I mentioned earlier can help you personally deal with these hard to train horses.

Horses are very beautiful animals, and a great addition to any farm. Whether you want a horse to ride casually, race, or perform well in agility courses the horse will need to be trained for all of these tasks. Picking up a good guide can provide you with all of the skills to train the horse yourself, without the expensive help of a professional trainer.

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