Also know your plants in your field, plus any that your horse could potentially reach. Look on the Internet for a list of toxic plants for horses and then be sure you don't have any accessible. The list is long and varied depending on where you are located.

Make sure your horse has adequate shelter. Stalling a horse is fine, but horses do so much better being able to move about freely in a pasture. If you have the land, then provide good stout buildings for the horse to be able to get into. Run-in shelters are popular, just be sure they are deep enough to get the horses out of the elements. Most of the time, even though my guys have big run in stalls, they stand out in the elements. I guess they are waiting for the bogeyman that eats horses!

Before you get a horse, check out the vets in your area. Hang around stables and boarding facilities and talk to the people about who the best vet is. Then call and be sure this vet is taking new clients. If they aren't- and oftentimes they are not, try and see if the clinic will recommend another vet. The same goes for the farrier/blacksmith. He is going to be an important part of your life from here on in, so ask around and be sure that you get a reputable farrier.

Now, go shopping. Not for a horse, but just for supplies. Don't buy anything yet, just take a paper and a pencil and either online, or in your area, go shopping for the following items:

Grooming brushes- there are so many to choose from. Right off the bat you will need a dandy brush, a body brush with stiff bristles, rubber currycomb, hoof pick, tail and mane brush,  & sweat scraper. Pick up a bucket to carry these around in. Cheapest way to go at first. Later as you get more advanced in horse care, you will be adding other brushes, then you can get a grooming caddy to carry these tools in.

Lead rope, and rope halter. Your horse will come with a halter, but you will need a lead rope. The rope halters are nice, because they are adjustable and will fit most horses with a little creative tying.

Before you even get on a horse, you need a riding helmet. How much is your head worth to you? Bicycle and motorcycle helmets will not do, you need a riding helmet designed for horse back riders. You may not look cool riding in one, but you will look a lot less cool in the hospital with tubes coming out of your body or layered in bandages. Look to spend anywhere from $70.00 to a couple of hundred dollars for a good riding helmet.

Food pans and water buckets or a water trough. We use an old bathtub for our watering trough, and in the stalls we have 33 gallon trash cans. (The stalls are quite large).

You want to find out about hay in your area. Who is the main supplier for stables near you? Grass hay is best, but some people will feed alfalfa to their horses. Mine, when you feed them alfalfa it makes them hot (meaning spirited and very energetic) They could practically climb trees when they eat alfalfa. Also check out the feed stores near you and get an idea about prices. Hay prices will fluctuate in the season. Low during haying season, you can sometimes buy it out of the field from the farmers for $1.00 a bale, and going up as the supply runs out. I have seen hay tonnage prices all over the map since becoming a horse owner. Anywhere from $65.00 a ton to $165.00 a ton! A ton is not a set number of bales. It is based on how much the hay weighs and how big the bale. A ballpark weight for a typical bale of hay in my area is about 75 pounds.