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Tips When Buying Your First Horse

February 22nd, 2009 | No Comments | Posted in Pets
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So you’ve got a love of the outdoors, you’ve taken some riding lessons and now you want to buy a horse. Just like any other animal you’re bringing into your life, this is a serious undertaking. However, because horses are not a household pet, there are unique considerations when buying one.

Here are some tips to help you find a horse that is right for you.

Education

Educate yourself on all things related to horses. Read as much as you can but also be around them as much as possible. Volunteer at a stable and see what taking care of a horse is really like. Take extensive riding lessons. Learn how to recognize a horse’s disposition and temperament. Also, talk to people in the horse community by going to horse shows. Talk to trainers and vets to truly understand the magnitude of what you are about to undertake. Can you afford to make the time and money commitment of being a horse owner?

Know Yourself

You have educated yourself on the responsibilities of being a horse owner and you have decided to go ahead with this venture. The next step is to make a list of what you are looking for in a horse.

What type of riding do you enjoy? Would you prefer a calm horse or a horse with a lot of spirit? Decide on a breed, age, size and gender that is the right combination for you. Your exposure from riding lessons and being around stables will come in handy when making this decision. However, for a first time horse buyer, it is probably best to stick with geldings and mares.

Expenses

At the beginning, there will be a lot of upfront expenses ‘ the actual cost of the horse along with tack and supplies. Next, you will need to calculate the monthly expenses. Monthly expenses could be from boarding cost or maybe you’re keeping the horse on your own property. If you plan on keeping the horse on your own property, estimate the cost for feed, hay, bedding and general upkeep. Also, don’t forget the housing repairs for fences and stable. And then there are other reoccurring bills such as vet bills, farrier bills, and other maintenance costs. You should have a good idea in your mind after talking to people in the horse community.

Stick With the Plan

You’ve done your homework by educating yourself. You’ve created a checklist of what you’re looking for in a horse. You’ve also calculated that you can afford to keep a horse. The horse you’re looking for might not come instantly but don’t let emotions cloud your judgment. The important thing in purchasing a horse is just to stick with the plan!

By: Mariam Ma

About the Author:

Mariam Ma is a freelance writer for Drop In Bucket, a great source for horse care supplies such as horse fly masks and horse fly sheets to keep those pests at bay.

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Useful Tips For House Training a Dog

February 9th, 2009 | No Comments | Posted in Pets
tips buy house
House training a dog can be defined as a training or guidance which ensures a dog that it is too considered a house member and is liked by other home members. Start your house training a dog by making him free to wander here and there in the house. Do not tie the rope, or whatever you use in the neck of your dog all the time. A dog feels relaxed in this way and feels that it is too free like other members of house to wander here and there.

When your dogs do anything wrong, you should not scold it or punish it as the dog becomes afraid in this way and cannot be your friend and just hides itself when sees you. You should give house train the dog in the friendly environment. You should give toys to a dog at your home so that it may play with them and may feel happy. Give it a ball to play with, and you should yourself too play with your dog so that it may become your friend. Your dog must have seen all home members and should be able to recognize them.

A dog can remain healthy if it gets healthy food on time. Therefore, give it proper food for eating daily on time. Be sure that your food is healthy for a dog. There are many packed foods having necessary nutrients are available in the markets for dogs which help them to be brought up. You may buy any food from the shop and give it to your dog if it enjoys eating it. Always give food to a dog in a clean utensil and do not let your dog to throw its food in its surrounding area. In this way, you can develop habit of keeping clean surroundings in a dog during house training a dog.

If you go outside daily with your dog, your dog becomes able to recognize its own house if it goes outside the house alone, and you do not know about its absence. When it will have seen surroundings of its house, it will come automatically inside the house as soon as it recognizes its house. It is another important success factor for the successful house training a dog as your dog does not go at any unknown place but comes back in its own house.

In short, pamper a dog instead of scolding it, give it neat and clean place to take rest as a dog always like to take rest only on a neat and clean place instead of dirty place, spend some time with it daily, give it training in the kindly way about getting rid of its bad habits if it has bad habits, give healthy food to a dog, show it that you love it and can protect it from its enemies. If you will follow all these mentioned useful tips, you will become surely successful in house training a dog.

By: Andy Ayres

About the Author:

Andy Ayres is a dog training specialist and helps dog owners solve problems with their pets.

If you want to stop your dog’s excessive barking then learn how a bark collar can help or look here for the most popular bark collars.

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