I intend buying a horse soon, and wondered what I should buy. I intend hacking and entering local shows, but nothing fancy. What would you recommend?

Well, there is a seemingly bewlidering choice out there! To begin with, consider what breed and size you need. How tall and how heavy are you? Don't "overhorse" yourself - if you are a 5 foot lady then 14.2hh is perfectly adequate. Taller or heavier people need a more substantially built horse.

Then there's the question of where you will keep your horse. Do you have the facility to stable it? If so, then you can go for a thoroughbred or an Arab - one of the so-called finer breeds - without fear of harsh winters. Strictly speaking, the finer breeds are more successful competitors but there are sometimes other drawbacks, such as sharpness and more highly-strung tempraments.

If you hope to keep your horse in a field for most of the year, a native breed is your best option - a cob or Irish Draught, for instance. These are hardy and tend to be more placid.

Age is also important. As a general rules, horses are backed at three and broken at four years of age. Any sooner and there is a risk of weakening his bones, which are not fully formed until he is four or five. If you buy a five year old, he should not have done much. If you want a horse with some experience you should look for one aged between 7 and 10. This means you will have a young horse which should have many years of riding ahead, but one that has done something.

Now, will it be a gelding, a mare or a stallion?

As a general rule, a gelding will respond to a request with: "I'll be glad to..."; a mare is more inclined to say: "Make me do it..." while a stallion will say: "I may if you ask nicley!"

Most people avoid stallions - they are hard to handle, generally.

Mares can be tempramental when in season but have their qualities too, one of which is their ability to breed if desired.

Geldings are the best bet for general use, being even tempered and willing to please. So, weigh it all up and then consider how much you want to spend. A 5 foot 2 inch lady who wants to hack out and enter the odd competition and who has a field with a shelter but no stable would do well to look at 14.3hh cob geldings around £1000 - more or less, depending on where you live.

Make sure, when you go to see the horse, that there is someone available to ride it. If possible, arrive a little earlier than arranged or avoid arranging a specific time to visit. This will allow you to see the horse as it is. Some sellers ride a horse hard before the prospective owner arrives and then it has the appearance of being quiet when in fact it could be demonic! Ask the owner to ride it. Ask to see it ridden in walk, trot and canter - a horse that walks and trots happily may buck in canter! An owner who refuses to ride her horse must have a reason - check it out!

If you are happy, ride it yourself. Put it through the three paces and check your brakes! Does the horse stop readily in walk? Will it stop in trot? How readily does it stop in canter? A horse with no brakes is a scary animal and not one you'd want to hack out on!

Presuming that all is well, go home and think about it. You can ask the owner to give you 24 hours - some owners actually loan the horse on a week's approval. Don't buy on impulse!

If you are still keen after sleeping on it, go and see it again. Don't seem too keen - and do make sure you take someone knowledgeable with you - it's easy to fall in love with a horse but it takes experience to find the faults. A lot of heartache can be spared if you take advice.

Oh, and I presume you know what owning a horse involves! Unless you can afford full livery, you will need to devote a lot of time to your equine friend - in all weathers, too. You will need to check on your horse twice a day, ensure he has clean water at all times and you will need to groom and check his feet several times a week - whether you ride or not. If you have the money and the time, you will enjoy your well-chosen horse for many years. Good luck!