Buying

I. Overview
Buying a horse can often be fairly tough. You never know what you may get, and it is best to avoid auctions if you are a novice. An auction leaves room for cheaters, and because you are only looking at the horses from the stands, you have no idea what you're bidding on. Instead, choose a horse from someone with a good reputation and who is not holding an auction.
II. Points
1. Gelding, stallion, or mare?
Obviously, if you are a novice, you will not want a stallion--no matter how gentle they are. Mares can sometimes be fractious, and so that leaves the gelding.
Geldings are certainly the best horses to be owned by novices. Mares, although still good, as mentioned in the former, can sometimes be fractious, especially when in heat. Find out from the owner what the mare is like in heat. Unfortunately, mares don't have short estrous, or heat periods. The heat period lasts from April to around August or September, so this can often be a problem, especially if you have a gelding or stallion (even geldings present a problem). Choose well.
2. How old?
For the novice, a horse 12 years or older is generally best. Around 17 or 18 years is the best, because these horses have "been there, done that." A younger horse should not be purchased until you have plenty of experience, and a horse under 4 years is dangerous to the novice.
3. How broke?
A horse for the novice should be very well broke and should have plenty hour's worth of rides on him. It is hard and often dangerous to break a young horse, and you must always be prepared for a blow-up, because green (inexperienced) horses often act up.
4. What size?
If you are an adult, size does not at all matter. For a youngster, however, you want a smaller horse, or, even better, a pony. Shetland ponies are perhaps the best ponies for young children. If you get thrown off, it is not far to the ground, and the ponies are extremely kid-friendly, to the extent that they will allow their young master to do anything with them--as long as they are kindly treated. For an adult, you should get a horse such as a Quarter Horse or Morgan. For a middle-aged child, you may want a small horse. The child would outgrow a pony too quickly. On the other hand, do not get a Quarter Horse for a small child, even though they may be gentle. The horse is simply too large for the child. The child needs something he or she can manage, and he or she cannot manage a large horse as easily as a pony their size.
5. What breed?
Breed does not really matter, but there are breeds that are generally naturally gentle, such as the Morgan, Quarter Horse, and Shetland Pony. Such breeds as Thoroughbreds and Arabians are too fractious.
6. Overall Temperament
A horse should seem very calm, but extremely alert. They should be good around other horses, because a bossy horse can be quite some trouble.
III. What You Should do Before You Buy
First, examine the horse. If you wish to have a show horse, check that the conformation is good (explained under "Conformation" in this encyclopedia). Next, touch the horse's belly, legs, head, rump, and everywhere else, to see if there are any touchy places. Open the mouth. A horse that is too touchy may not be good for a novice. Check the horse's overall health. Pinch skin between your fingers on the neck. If it springs immediately back into place, the horse has passed this test. If not, or if it springs slowly back into place, the horse may be dehydrated. If the horse allows you to open his/her mouth, press your finger against the horse's gums and take it away. The blood capillaries should immediately return to the gums. If they don't, the horse may be sick. Check for scars. Have the horse trotted toward you and away from you or have them turned in a tight, fast circle to the left and right to check for lameness. If the horse's head bobs up and down excessively, (it will go down with the injured leg and come up with the uninjured leg) have the leg checked for lameness before buying. A lame horse won't do you any good except for being a companion. You'll never be able to ride it. Then, lead the horse yourself. Turn them this way and that and back them up. If they show some resistance, they may be disrespectful and be a nuisance later. Disrespectful horses are hard to work with. Finally, see how the horse is with other horses, and with children if you plan to give it to a child. If the horse is broke, you may want to ride it. If you are allowed to do so, try walking in figure eights, trotting in figure eights, and cantering in figure eights. If you will use the horse for jumping, try jumping it. The reason figure eights are best is because it proves to you that the horse will not break out of a circle if asked not to do so. The horse should be very light on reins, and it should not take much at all for you to turn them or whoa them. Also, back them up. The turns should be cut cleanly by the horse. You should only need a loose rein on the horse, which means that when trotting, for example, the rein is really loose, and you needn't pull back on it or kick the horse, because they will continue trotting all day as long as you want them to. A horse like this is super grand.
Overall, use your good judgement to choose your horse. Don't get too excited and over-ambitious just because the horse is cheap, the breed and sex are correct, etc. It's the temperament that matters, not anything else, because you'll only be able to live with a certain temperament.