Help getting a horse?!

[carolinagirl58]

Quote:
well, you did ask! Sorry if the news isn't what you want to hear. you are young. I know you want it RIGHT now, but you have plenty of time to do this right.

 

[DuckLover179]

Quote:
well, you did ask! Sorry if the news isn't what you want to hear. you are young. I know you want it RIGHT now, but you have plenty of time to do this right.

I don't mind hearing the negative comments, as well as the positive. I don't want it NOW though, and want to save about $2000 before even looking for a horse.

 

[Akane]

Let's play with some numbers.

Well your first hurdle is you should have at least $1000 preferably double that in the bank for vet bills before you get a horse. You also should have enough left over every month that you can replenish this vet fund after an injury happens. If you are spending exactly what you get and your horse gets injured and wipes out your vet fund what will you do the next time an injury or unforeseen cost like tooth problems occurs? Horses get injured pretty regularly. If the place you are boarding has barbwire assume injuries. If it has any other wire fence like field fencing you should be very prepared for injuries. Personally I will never again keep a horse around regular wire fences. Boards (wood or plastic) and electric tape or rope is much safer but these places are much more likely to charge a boarding fee to help cover the cost of their fences. You still have horses who slip in turnout, get kicked by other horses, step on something (I got a mare real cheap cause she stepped on another horse's thrown shoe and drove the nail in to her hoof), colic, and a variety of problems that can develop for no known reason. A neighbor had a mare who developped horrible windpuffs shortly after they got her and they went through some vet bills and buying special wraps for her. This was a horse from a well known breeder and well known popular lines sold for $5000 as a 2 year old and developped an ongoing issue within the year. Health is never guranteed and the cheaper or less known the background the higher your odds for health problems eventually. We've dealt with cracked hocks, split hooves that required bar shoes, metabolic disorders leading to special diets and laminitis treatment, EPM, navicular... more horses probably go lame than retire sound and some go lame in the first year you own them. I've seen people spend $10,000 on a horse they got less than 5 years ago. Are you prepared to put the horse down if you don't have $10,000? We got to $5000 once which was what the horse was worth before the incident when we decided it was time to put him down. I only own one horse who has not tossed me an unforeseen cost in the $1000s and she's only 3.

Next you need to get your facts and numbers for your area figured out

For ongoing costs I've seen everything from $2000 to $9000. Some things vary greatly. You could spend $25 every 8weeks for a farrier or you could spend $100 every 4 weeks. It will vary on your area and on the horse. I've got a mare that wears her hooves great barefoot and never has hoof problems. I've also got one that develops splayed hooves and splits if she's not kept very well trimmed and shod when riding frequently on well packed ground. If I didn't do it myself I'd have the farrier out every 4 weeks to polish her off. That's a difference between $13-$108 a month. The less you know about leg structure and hoof care the more likely you are to get a horse with recurring hoof problems. There are a ton of them out there. Some are very well trained and some are very well bred because instead of culling for hoof problems people spend $100s on having a farrier fix it. You could spend $100 yearly for floating teeth or you could end up doing that every 3 months or you could end up with a $500 bill one time because of issues. Learn about basic tooth problems and proper alignment so you can check for overbites, underbites, wolf teeth that haven't been pulled, signs of cribbing, etc... to keep this cost down. Vaccines will vary depending on what's recommended in your location, what the barn requires, how many horses are coming and going, etc... It could go from $75 to $300. Some do this every 6 months although most only do vaccines yearly. That adds around $30 to our monthly farrier bill. Those are some of the big expenses you need to sort out before you get a horse. If you don't have the knowledge or you don't know someone knowledgeable enough (just because they have horses doesn't mean they know enough) to check for some of these problems you should spend the money on a check by a good equine vet. This will add around $100-$200 on to the cost of buying the horse and finding a good vet could take several months of research. The nearest vet or the biggest clinic isn't always the best. I've kicked some equine vets off my property that had been doing just horses for 30 years with a well established practice.

Then we get on to the endless combinations that are feeding a horse. Hay can go from $2 to $6 a bale. I see quoted most places half a bale a day per horse as the average. We have enough pasture we don't feed anything but grass 6-8months out of the year and then round bale all winter with only a small amount of square bales when they are put up at night in winter or bad weather so I would have to take other people's word on that. So we have 730-2190/year or $60-$182/month. Now look above where we calculate a possible $108/month hoof care and $30 for vet. If your hay is at the high end we just surpassed $300. We haven't even touched concentrates or mineral supplements/salt licks.

See how things can add up quickly depending where you live. Even on the cheap end with free board you are going to push $300. If we take the $2000 low end quote we are at $166/month and I'm sure that doesn't include tack care so throw on $10-$20 and we want about $20-$30 extra a month to put in to the vet fund (if this actually gets really high you can always buy new tack with it) so that's $200/month minimum. Absolute minimum cause I haven't seen a cheaper quote anywhere on the internet and the only reason my horse care costs probably approach that is we have 100 years of well cared for tack at our disposal, 120acres of land divided between hay and pasture, someone manages our hay ground in exchange for half the hay, we don't feed hay or grain 6-8months out of the year, the rest the hay is free, they walk enough to wear their hooves so most only need a light trim every 8 weeks, I do half the farrier stuff myself, the large amount of land and lack of stalling keeps parasites to a minimum so we only deworm once or twice a year, we hardly use any stall bedding, and right now we rarely take horses off the property so our vaccination schedule is also at a minimum. Didn't you have other animals to care for? I spend probably $50/month on my large breed dog not counting obedience/agility classes.

The numbers just don't play out in your favor. In the best case scenario if you saved for a year to cover initial tack and horse purchase plus vet fund and got free board you'd just barely make it.

 

[DuckLover179]

Thanks Akane for the estimate!

I'm planning on saving $2,000 (As said above) before getting the horse.
Most places around here are about $250 a month for board, but that includes feed/hay/water/etc.
There is a barn behind our house, so we are gonna walk over, and ask if they can board (They have some horses in a pasture).
My other pets (Luckily) cost me about $30 every 4 or 5 months. That's the rabbits, and ducks. They cost so cheap, because we buy their stuff in bulk. I'm hoping I can cover most of it, but I talked to my parents, and my dad said whatever I can't cover, they will.

As for other posts asking my riding ability, I am taking lessons from my friend, and my mom is helping train me. I can also get a cheaper horse (Than most), because mine is only for pleasure/trail. I'm pretty sure I found a good horse (Found it online, but watched some videos, and once I get money, I'll go see it), it rides fine, never had injuries, and isn't special needs. I will, however have experienced horse owners come with me, to make sure it's fine, as well as a vet.

Thanks everyone for your comments (Positive, or not. Like stated before, I'm also fine with the negative ones)!
I've estimated (When I sell my rabbit diapers) I will be getting about $350 a month, and that's $4,200 a year. Does that sound like enough?

 

[patandchickens]

Quote:
Well board is going to HAVE to cover feed and hay, isn't it

Seriously, you need to be able to comfortably afford board at normal boarding barns in your area, NOT depend on a one-off super deal, because the one-off super deal can cease to exist at any moment and then whatcha gonna do if you can't afford anything else?

I'm not kidding. Waking up one morning to discover you own a horse that you literally cannot afford to continue feeding/caring for is a HUGE disaster.

I can also get a cheaper horse (Than most), because mine is only for pleasure/trail.

Er, those $1,000-2,000 horses out there? Those ARE the only-recreational-and-trail-riding horses. So, no, you *cannot* get a cheaper horse than most.

I've estimated (When I sell my rabbit diapers) I will be getting about $350 a month, and that's $4,200 a year. Does that sound like enough?

If your parents have savings to cover emergency expenses and you are willing to put essentially all of your own money towards a horse, then $350/mo might be enough if you can find a bunch of boarding barns in the $250/mo range. (Remember you will also have yearly vet bills even if there's no emergencies, and every 6-8 weeks a farrier bill. Plus equipment you will decide you need to buy)

HOWEVER don't depend on your optimistic projections of what rabbit diaper sales may hopefully net you. (And make sure you are projecting the NET income, not gross -- that is, you have to subtract out whatever you'll spend on materials, shipping, packing materials, etc) Practically nobody accurately predicts this sort of thing. You need to have maybe eight months or a year (at least) of STEADY sales at that level before you can count on the income...

(...getting back, again, to the nightmare factor of discovering you have bought a horse you can no longer afford to care for BUT cannot get rid of either.)

Best of luck,

Pat​

 

[shchinchillas]

I have to agree horses are expensive. We have 3. We have our own land, so they are on our property. That takes away the boarding cost. We grow our own hay, so again we don't have to buy someone elses hay and that takes away the mark up price for hay.

The feed we are on is $16.75 a 50lb bag. Then there is some grain they eat that adds on, plus worming. Farrier is $35 each horse when he comes out and that is cheap for our area... Not including vet costs and dental costs.

With us working 2 full time jobs its hard enough to afford our 3 + other critters.


As others said..don't trust anyone when buying a horse. We bought a mother/foal pair. Price was decent, and they were from a friend of mine. We were told the mare was between 7 and 8 years old, and was a registered tenn. walking horse... Well when I handed in her papers and go all her info back yep she was registered..she also had 8 other foals and was 17 not 7...


Our 3rd horse is a TB. I love him, his feet are great for a TB and can stay barefoot... but he does need retraining. He was $300 and was well worth the cost. I am a new horse owner, and I did bite out a bit more then I can chew with him--but I am willing to work with him and do what it takes to keep our relationship on the good side...and that includes cost of retraining him to be a regular horse and not a "gotta run! gotta run! horse"

 

[Duker17]

I just read through this whole thread and I think you've gotten some excellent advice, but I thought I might add a few things you may not be thinking of. Since you are a teen but not old enough for a job, I'm assuming you also aren't old enough to drive. Are your parents going to by a car for you, or will you just have to go without one? If you are spending all of your monthly income on a horse, you will not be able to afford a car, gas, and insurance when the time comes. You also mentioned that you don't date. Do you think this will be permanent for the rest of your teenage years? My guess would be no. And finally, do you plan to go to college? What will you do with the horse then? Even if you don't, by the time you get a "real" job and "real" expenses, a horse may not fit in your budget anymore and I doubt your parents will continue to pay for you to keep the horse.

You can take my advice or not, I've only lived about 5 months of my life without a horse, but it wasn't until after I had graduated college that I got a horse of my own, and now I have 5 and need to downsize. While I was growing up we only had 2 family horses because my parents never wanted more than our property and finances could cover. They also did not want to be left with lots of extra horses when my brother and I left.

Just think about it over the actual longterm, not just the next year. You will change A LOT in the coming years. Lessons would allow you to ride once or twice a week without having the extra pressure/financial obligation of owning a horse, and you can try out lots if different riding styles, but can also quit easily if you need to. I still take lessons even though I've been riding my whole life, it realky does make you a more well-rounded horse-person!

Good luck!

 

[DuckLover179]

I'm starting with a nearby community college, Then going to a known university (Still by our house), and I'm still being homeschooled for highschool, so dating would be really hard (Especially, because I don't want to

).

patandchickens, When I said "Cheaper than most horses" I was talking show/jumpers/dressage horses. Most people around here are only selling show horses, not trail, so yes, I can get a cheaper horse than most (Around here). The diapers cost about $5 per diaper (for me), so I'd be making $25 per harness.

Thanks everyone!

ETA: Oh, I forgot, My parents are buying me a car.

 

[Celtic Hill]

So besides the general up keep of the horse you will also need tack and some other supplies.

Any decent/safe saddle will cost over $500
Decent bridle $40+
Brush Set (we will say) $30ish
Splint boots $20
Saddle Pad $10
Helmet (THIS IS A MUST) $50
Winter Blanket $200

Want me to keep going?

How much has your friend and mom done with horses? I have known manny people that have been taught by "back yard riders" and the dont ride well at all, enough to maybe control their horse.

What happens if the horse needs some training? do you know someone that can do it or can you?


Horses aren't just a pet, they are apart of the family, and more so then people think. There is a family at the barn I used to work at and they went out and bought a horse with out the trainer and they couldn't ride it and none of the trainers would because it was sooo heavy.


unless you can walk trot canter in a balanced seat and control your horse with decent transitions, you are not ready for a horse. Im not saying this because im tryin to be mean. I am saying this because it's the truth.

Edit to ad:

As for other posts asking my riding ability, I am taking lessons from my friend, and my mom is helping train me. I can also get a cheaper horse (Than most), because mine is only for pleasure/trail.

please don't think that because you are *only* riding, you don't need to know how to ride as well, in my opinion you have to be better or just as good as the people that show, more things can go wrong on the trails then in the ring.

and when you say you will take an experienced horse person, what is their qualifications to be experienced?

I had 3 professioanl horse people (world champion trainer, 4th level dressage rider/instructor, and another pro trainer) look at my horse AND our vet...and she still isn't perfect and there are things wrong with her.​

 

[DuckLover179]

Prices are fine, I'm saving $2,000 (As said twice above) before looking for horses/boarding. My mom was raised with horses since she was born (All through her teens), and she has delt with: Bucking,rearing,etc. (Also a horse stepped on her foot), so she is helping me NOT make the mistakes she did, while guiding me through riding. My friend has been around horses since she was 8 (Finally just got her own), and has delt with everything my mom has, though she won't be my main trainer (My mom will be). They control their horses very well (My friend is actually training hers under saddle right now), and both go compete in shows (Barrel racing mostly.). We are getting a trained horse, and will be testing it out on riding, before buying it. We want to get the perfect horse for a beginner, and my friend is giving a bunch of advice on what breeds to get

.