MCMark;
Good morning to you sir, I hope you're having a good first Saturday of November so far.
In my experience and opinion you've received some great advice already and I'll do my best not to repeat it.
If you can find some old stocks anywhere to practice on, it's always good to start with some that don't matter before diving into the deep end.
While I use a fair selection of rasps, the old "four in hand" Nicholson and the two round rasps - 1/2" and 3/8" get the bulk of use.
https://www.homedepot.com/p/Nicholson-8-in-4-in-1-Hand-Rasp-and-File-21860NN/206710022You might find it useful to lay out a center line in pencil on the top and bottom as it's easy to slide off to one side or the other, especially on the comb and from the back of the grip to the toe.
Something as course as a horseshoe rasp for sure works to take a lot of wood off, but again if you practice on a couple "testers" first, you'll learn how much more has to come off to remove all the grooves left by whatever coarseness of rasp you're using.
Again test stocks of the same wood species are wonderful places to learn about different stains and finishes.
Even though I've been fooling with stocks for over 40 years now there's always some new twist to learn, especially with stains and new finishes coming out.
Hopefully that was useful to you or someone out there.
All the best and good luck on your hunts.
Dwayne