I was looking around for a safe horse for my 14 year old and I had stopped at a guys house cause he seen to have a lot of them, I had ask if he had any child safe well broken older horses (my child does know how to ride as I had tought her} any ways he told me he had a black gelding that's about 7 or 8 years old and the only bad habbit he had was kicking other male horses and did not buck to his knowledge, he all so said that he rode the horse with no bridle but with just two small ropes on the horses halter and no saddle and no problems, well I had gotten on the horse and it started to buck a few times because it wanted to have its way, so I stayed on him cause I knew how to ride and stated to canter and when I pulled back on the horse to slow him down he bucked me off, I did not get badly hurt cause I know how to roll off but I did hurt my 3 left fingers and they are swollen and blue and can't bend I am kind of score all over but not bad from the fall, this happened on the 12th of jan 2007, I have not went to a dr, yet but may go Monday. I did not sign any papers or any kind, I feel that he lied to me about the horse that caused me to get hurt, do I have rights to sue? Or is that any thing I can do, He has a older about 17 years old horse that might be more suitable and suppose to be nicer he said and is picking him up to day for me to try out, what can I do? Any advice?

Unfortunately, there is nothing you can do as far as your fingers are concerned. You choose to ride the horse at your own risk on private property.
I would however suggest you have it looked at by a doctor.
I would not trust this man with buying a horse from him. It appears he was somewhat untruthful about the horses nature - now he's trying to push a 17 year old horse on you and who knows what's wrong with that one.
He may be looking at your interest to buy as his opportunity to get rid of his problem horses.
I have a 20 year old quarter horse mare that I've had for 17 years, she's wonderful, but as she has gotten older, there has been more health maintenance to keep up with and now is requiring a much more expensive sweet feed/Oats and hay for older horses because grazing in the pasture and reg feed does not keep the weight on her anymore. I also have a 16 year old appaloosa that I've had for 16 years who is completely blind and also requires much more care. It's cost for owning older horses (or any horse) can add up too.
I would suggest buying a horse in the age range between 6 and 9 yrs old. In my opinion, if well trained, will make a more enjoyable horse for a first time horse owner.
Visit a stable in your area where people board their horses and ridding lessons are taught. There you will meet a whole horse loving community that will be able to help you better than just showing up at Joe smoes house wanting to buy a horse. A horse community will look out for you and your child's best interests as well.
Good luck.
Kae

Don't GO BACK looking to buy another horse from this man!! Why would you even get on a horse taking for granted that "we only ride him with a leadrope" Its evident you haven't learned a lot about horsemanship (heaven forbid you are passing your "knowledge" on)This horse didn't buck you off, you FELL off. If you think he was trying to get his way, its obvious the horse wasn't properly trained and you aren't properly trained to know what you are doing either... BAD COMBINATION!!
Take your kid and join 4H. That way you and your kid can learn together for gosh sakes... DONT BUY ANYTHING ELSE until you are better prepared.

A safe horse is an oxymoron. Even the best horse may cause injury down the road. My best horse would buck if he saw something he thought was a danger to him. A beam of sunlight coming through a knothole in the barn was apparently a ghost or goblin ready to eat him, at least that's how he acted. Most state have enacted equinne laws because of the inherent dangers of riding.

Lying to sell a horse is not that uncommon unfortunately. I remember many of times when the ad would say that the horse was 16 hands and I would get there and it was 15 hands maybe, or that they were good for beginners, and I would find that the horse actually needed an experienced rider.

This owner already has shown you that he is not above lying to get the horses sold. This should be a red flag to you. There are enough honest horsemen and women that you do not have to deal with the likes of him. Move on and keep looking.

As Akae said, there is nothing you can do about your fingers from a legal stand poing, but I agree with the suggestion to get them checked.

My daughter trains and breaks horses and them she sells them, there are some honest in the business, she would have riden the horse for you. Sometimes a horse does get used to 1 rider and then acts up when someone new gets on him.
But to sell him as achild broke horse he should have tested the horse out with diff riders.
If I were buying a child safe horse I would look for one around 10 to 12 yrs. But not over 15.
The older the safer for a new beginer child.
Horses can live to be 40yrs old .

Basically what I said, Yes if trained well it can be child safe at 8 or nine. But if I were Buying for a beginner child I personally would feel safest with a horse that was a bit older.
Younger horses are by nature more spirited.

Sadly when you are buying horses off horse dealers they are the biggest con-artist around. They would do or say anything to make a bit of money and they don't care who gets hurt in the process. Don't get me wrong there are some genuine ones but they can be had to find. But the best advice I could give you if you are buying a horse is to get the seller to ride the horse first so you can see what it is like to ride before you go get on it and get a vet check because yes they will drug them I've seen it happen so many time, someone buys a nice quite horse a week later the drugs wear off and they are left with a buck jumper. I also no the vet check do cost money but really what's a bit of money compared to someone's life.

Bundles is 100% correct. Vet checks are very important when buying a horse.

Another great way to determine if the horse is suitable for you is to take them on a trial. Not all horse people will allow this to happen, but some will as long as the correct paper work is filled out. Some might even want you to take insurance out for the cost of the horse. While that might seem like a pain in the neck, it is a great way to try the horse to make sure that not only is he good when you ride him, but his ground manners are also OK.