Have you ever considered a lease, or half-lease? That way you could get a feel for horse ownership, but it wouldn't be so expensive. Finding the *right* horse is a big undertaking, believe me, I've been there. I bought a horse without my trainer's approval and it didn't work out between us. I sold him after a year. He just wasn't what I was looking for. So the moral of my story is, if you are set on buying, I would highly recommend bringing a trainer with. I thought I knew a lot about horses (I had been taking lessons for years), but I made a big mistake that time. If you leased a horse and it didn't work out, you wouldn't be stuck with a multi-thousand dollar mistake.

But congrats, horses are great! Just remember, the purchase price is the cheapest part. It's the upkeep that will drive ya to the poor farm!