MikePA hit it pretty well, but I will add a few things....
If you have never taken care of a horse before, you might want to consider boarding it near home for six months. This gives you an opportunity to learn a lot from other boarders and the owner of the barn. We did this when we first bought our horses. Although we had both done a little riding before, we learned an enormous amount of information in six months.
Another consideration is that once you have horses, it is very difficult to pack up and go away for a weekend. We're fortunate to have another horse family right down the street to help out when we go visit the daughters in the next state.
That said... our two horses are 'family members' and we find it very theraputic to go clean the stalls, etc. [img]/forums/images/icons/smirk.gif[/img]