Also, how old should a horse be when I buy it? What ages for a horse is considered old? I really want to know.
That depends on the horse. I have a horse that was essentially crippled by the time she was 8, but I also have a few others in their twenties that have more physical ability in them than some of those half their age. When horses get older, just like people, their bodies start to slow down, but how fast it goes depends a lot such as (but not limited to) conformation, what they were fed during their life, and how hard and soon they were worked.
A horse can be any age to buy it, but it depends on what you want it for. Right now, though, going off of your questions, I suggest you take lessons for a year or two and really study everything you can about horses before you make that commitment to buy a horse. Not knowing what you are doing can kill the horse, and you may find that you actually don't like horses all that much after a while.
I consider horses over 17 to be older (but that really depends on the person), though I don't think they are by any means useless then. It just means they may need a little more attention than a 4 year old would. Depending on how the horse was taken care of during it's life though, they might not need any more attention than a 4 year old.
You should not start to really work a horse hard until about the age of 6 or 7 as they spend the first 7 years of their lives growing and bones and tendons are necessarily soft in order to allow for such growth. It makes me sick when people in the US back young horses at the age of 2!
pets question and answers,www.5d2d.com There is no upper age limit - horses are living much longer than they used to due to better feeding and veterinary care, but for a first horse I would buy a 10 year old. I made the mistake of getting one aged 4 - but had no help from instructors or horsey friends, my dad just bought the cheapest one and I was left to get on with it! Spent more than enough time in hospital with broken bones and sprains! Nearly put me off for life!
