Help getting a horse?!

[DuckLover179]

Thanks guys! I found out I'm actually getting like $300+ a month, so I'm going to start saving. My friend has been riding horses since she was eight, so she's going to give me lessons (And she recommends a Paint horse for a beginners, does that sound okay?), plus my mom grew up with horses. I do plan on looking at the free horses, ONLY because this guy came to our house (Because we are getting a pool), and he has a horse, but he said at the place he boards at, the people never paid because they are loosing their jobs, so they let the boarder have their horses. He said that not many people can pay for their horses in our area, so now is a good time to look into a free one. I will look at the free ones, but I don't mind paying no more than $650.


Don't worry guys, I'm going to get a sound, rideable horse!

 

[scbatz33]

Quote:
I think this is the best piece of advice you have been given.

I know you're excited, but excitement can lead to biting off more than you can chew - as the saying goes.

Horses, even if you pay NO board, are expensive.

Feed right now is super high due to corn prices and increased fuel costs.

Veterinarians are not cheap. Regular maintenance is not cheap.

Look at prices.....

Feed - decent feed - can run anywhere from $11 to $18 a 50# bag.

I feed my horses a 12% grain that is made locally to me. It costs $10.75 a bag. I also add in alfalfa pellets $10 per 50# and calf manna $24.99 per 50#. Granted, I have 3 horses eating grain 2x a day, but my feed bill runs about $250 a month. So divide that by 3.....roughly $85 a month.

Straw here is roughly $5 a bale. I use a bale a day...... $150 a month. I only stall one of my horses. If you put your horse in a stall, you'll have to pay for bedding.

Hay is roughly $4.50 for a brome here. Alfalfa is higher as would be a timothy. In my area even getting alfalfa or timothy is near impossible.. So we feed brome. About a bale every other day........$70 give or take a month. If you stall your horse, you will need to feed hay. Also in the winter, you will probably triple that amount. Or if there is a drought and the fields turn to dirt. Or if the field has too many horses to support it or if the field is just plain old crap, you'll have to feed hay.

I rent a place that I can keep the horses here. If I had to pay board it would range in price. I used to pay board. It was self care. The horses had a run in shed. It was $150 a month and I had to do everything. So you also have to include drive time and gas in to your equation. If you were looking for full care, it can run anywhere from $250 for crap care to $18 a day($540) for top of the line care.

Then there are vaccinations.... I do mine myself.....if you do a full panel it can run up to $500 a year. If you do bare minimum you could slide by with about $75, but then you run the risk of disease and vet bills.

Worming monthly - around $15 a month.

Farrier, for just a trim can run anywhere from $25 to $35 a month to 6 weeks. TB feet are notorious for problems. If you shoe, well then you're looking at $75 to $125 depending on shoe type, bare minimum every month to 6 weeks.

If your horse gets injured or colics....well, the cost is exponential. I have an accident prone horse. If I called the vet out every time to fix her, I'd be thousands in a year to the vet. My vet here charges $50 just to come out and LOOK at her. I have, I guarantee round $2000 worth of medical and first aid supplies in my barn. Just so I don't have to call the vet. But then I've worked in horses on and off for 20+ years and I've worked at two large animal hospitals.

Oh and if you're gonna ride, there is tack and training and other fees associated.

A basic saddle can be probably acquired for around $200. Bridle, reins, saddle pad, wraps. You could easily run yourself $500 for used equipment before you even know it. And sure, I'll bet you're friend is willing to let you use her stuff. Til she's bored or irritated that you didn't clean something or put something back right or something gets broken or goes missing. Trust me, you will need your own gear.

Grooming equipment, brushes, combs, shampoos, hoof care...all cost money. And same deal, it's all well and good the "share" until someone's feelings get hurt or a skin condition gets passed on. Just buying a basic groom kit and cheap shampoo at TSC will run about $100. And that stuff breaks and gets used up and will have to be replaced.

Don't forget transport. Coggins tests have to be kept up to date. If you have to ship your horse to the vet or to go trail ridding, transport costs can be HUGE! To ship my horse from my house to the nearest vet will cost a minimum of $150. And with fuel costs going up, that price will change too.

Get a part time job on a horse farm. Take riding lessons. Maybe even lease a horse FIRST before you take on this VERY VERY expensive idea.

No horse is free. Nothing about horses is free.

 

[scbatz33]

Oh and I forgot to add, as if I haven't been positive enough for you, HORSES ARE A 365 DAY A YEAR OBLIGATION.

They don't care if you have plans, they don't care if it's Christmas, they don't care that you're going on a date or a vacation.

They have to be fed and cared for every day. Whether it's raining or snowing, whether your sick or have a broken arm.

If you don't have that kind of long term - 20 + year time to commit and spend with a horse, then don't get one.

 

[LarryPQ]

Batty, if you blow any more sunshine up my rear, I might spontaneously combust.

 

[scbatz33]

Quote:
And you thought cleaning up kiddie barf was gross.

 

[DuckLover179]

I have the perfect lifestyle for a horse then:

We don't really do anything on christmas (Besides open gifts, and eat)
We NEVER go on vacation (Too much going on already)
I don't date

I LOVE to be outside when it's raining/snowing
Oh, and I haven't ever broken my arms/legs, but if I did, my mom would gladly ride it for me
I'm homeschooled, so I have TONS of time for it
And I'm making a lot of money, so I can support all of it's expensive needs.

Thanks so much for all the help! I've decided It's the perfect time to get one, and I can take care of it just fine.
Now I just need help finding one....

 

[patandchickens]

Thanks so much for all the help! I've decided It's the perfect time to get one, and I can take care of it just fine.

I know you are currently excited about this idea but please try to reread what people have said in a *realistic* frame of mind.

The first five things you mention really have little or nothing to do with horse ownership IMO.

You do NOT however mention having had some years of regular riding instruction, which is awfully much a good idea unless you want to inadvertantly turn whatever perfectly-good horse you get into a real problem horse that you can neither ride/handle/resell. Mucking out stalls and turning horses in/out is nice but it is not the same.

And I'm making a lot of money, so I can support all of it's expensive needs.

Um, in post #18 you wrote "It would just take me FOREVER to raise $1,800 for boarding for a full year.<snip>Every 3 days I get $20 for chores"

Your income would seem to be $200/month, plus anything else like babysitting maybe, but *minus* any other expenses you have (clothes, eating out, food for other pets, whatever, I dunno). $200/month is $2400/year. If you are saying it would take "forever" (presumably that means, more than a year) to raise $1800, that would seem to imply that your other expenses are nontrivial.

So just from what you yourself have wrote, it is really not clear that you are "making a lot of money so you can support all of its expensive needs".

Plus it's pretty iffy getting a horse without having at least $1,000 (ish) in a savings account somewhere, against unexpected vet expenses (they can easily be higher than $1k but IMO that is a reasonable bottom line)

Sorry, I'm not trying to rain on your parade, I'm trying to help you think through the subject REALISTICALLY (which will impress your parents favorably when you DO someday get in a position to take regular riding lessons or even buy a horse of your own), so as to avoid you getting into a real financial and practical pickle.

(Cuz, whatcha gonna do if you buy a horse and then CANNOT after all afford to keep him? Which sounds likely to be the case in the end, at this point, from what you've said.)

(Even just euthanasia and disposal -- which is a pretty harsh way of dealing with 'cant afford to keep him' -- still runs into the many hundreds of dollars. And if you don't want to do that, then what? This is NOT an economy in which you can just say 'oh I can't afford to keep him anymore so I shall sell him or give him away or find a rescue to take him'. It can take months or years to achieve any of those things, during which time the horse will be costing just as much as ever in board, farrier and vet expenses)

Best wishes for this project at some time in the *future*,

Pat​

 

[scbatz33]

God bless you and your parent's bank account, Because you haven't listened to a single thing any of us with real horse experience and actual horse ownership have said.

That, my dear, is a sign of not being ready emotionally or mentally or FINANCIALLY to take on the GIGANTIC responsibility of a horse. You are not thinking of the best interests and welfare of the animal you are trying to take on, you are only thinking of what you want. And since you want it, blah blah blah with your fingers in your ears at those of us who have been there, done that.

$300 a month in babysitting money and allowance is NOT enough to take care of a horse. Period.

 

[DuckLover179]

Umm, thanks for the input

.......

 

[ChickenAlgebra]

Ok, my 14 y/o DD has partial ownership in a horse. That we (her parents) own mostly. He is sound, a good horse, well trained, no behavior problems. He costs HER $300 a month and she doesn't even pay half of his bills.