Just read your latest post & to be honest I'd say you aren't in a position to keep one yet. You have a bargain basement budget so there's a real danger of buying a problem & your horse would be used by the stables more than it would be by you. Wait, get more money and experience under your belt & a better livery arrangement & then look - you'll be able to get a better horse & keep it somewhere where it's you who rides it not anyone who pays.
First horse anxieties!
- Thread starter CafeDreamsofMocha
- Start date
Idk. It’s unlikely but I’m still gonna try. I wouldn’t mind others riding my horse and if I buy a larger horse than it’ll likely only be used by the more advanced classes simply because of age of the riders. Especially knowing that if I dont do this that I likely wont be able to get a horse until my 30s/40s, if ever. I’d rather end up with a potentially problematic horse than none.
Think someone may have already mentioned this , but on a limited budget (as have I!) It's well worth going for a hardy type, that can live out, and won't need continual building up. I've had two native types, and they virtually live off fresh air. Just don't rush into anything until you've sat down with your parents and done your sums, and had a good look around at what's available in your price range. Agree with carthorse too - cheap often means problems! My cob was cheap as chips, but I knew I'd have to put a lot of work in - had him nearly a year, and still working on him!
PS Put simply - I can afford a car, but I couldn't afford to run a Lamborghini, even if I got it for free!
Why do you think that if you don't do it now you won't be able to for that long? Realistically that just makes me even more sure you can't afford to keep one - you may not believe it but buying is the cheap part! Livery, shoes or trimmer, vet bills - oh a horse can run up £1000s with very little effort! - will all cost you money on a very regular basis, at least buying is a one off cost. Any horse you buy now may still be with you when you're 30, are you saying you wouldn't be able to afford to keep it that long? Seriously, put into a separate bank account what you'd pay on livery each month & use it as a saving fund for a better horse some time in the future.
Yep the buying part is cheap! The ongoing costs all add up. You can be lucky and they can be good doers and relatively problem free and vet bill free - then again you can be unlucky and they can cost a small fortune. There are several of us here on NR with such horses over the years and in order to do right by them you have to be able to financially commit. If you can't then don't buy. I had to wait until I was 34 for my first horse, it's not the end of the world and your life is by no means heading in the wrong direction at that age - on the contrary it's just beginning to come good (well it was for me financially).
VERY LONG- TL;DR AT THE END!
I know I would have to wait that long because if I dont get one soon/now it likely wont be bought and paid for by my parents- which means I’d have to wait until 18, then I’d be in college and most likely unable to afford a horse, and then getting out of college at 22 I’ll be fresh in the job market, likely with a degree in equestrian science. Probably end up working minimum wage and have to work for the next 8+ years to be able to afford to keep a horse. If i can find a place that has 15 acres I can fit a house and support 4-5 horses with room for a few arenas as well- but a 15 acre property is expensive. A quick google search reveals that it could vary from $89,000 to over $1mil. Expensive and extremely unlikely to ever happen. Which means I’d board. Now a horse- as you said, buying is the cheap part. On minimum wage I would get $13,996.40 a year if i worked the US average of 34.4 hours a week. For one person to buy food and other groceries on a “moderate” budget per year, it costs $3,000. Now down to only $10,996.40. Cheapest apartment I could find was a 658 sqft 1bed 1bath apartment for $1,248 a month plus $65 application fee and $350 move-in fee. $14,952 a year. I’m already broke and in the negatives. If I made an AVERAGE salary in the US of $22.6 per hour and worked a 40 hour work week, $905 a week. $50,680 a year. Minus groceries, $47,680. Rent + one-time fees, $32,313. Healthcare, $27,701. Insurance, $20,870. Taxes, $10,381. Clothes, $10,081. Thats all I have left over. If I buy one horse at (what i’ve seen is) an average cost at $2,500, you have $7,581 left to care for it. Board at my stable is $7,020 a year. You have $561 left for farrier, vet, and other expenses such as repairing tack. This is assuming you spent only money on absolute necessities and didnt spend even a SINGLE PENNY elsewhere. Even on an average income a horse is extremely hard to afford.
Assuming a horse costs $2500 to buy, $7020 to board, $1100 for vet to do Dental, vaccines, coggins, one emergency call, and Coffin Joint injections/lameness eval in one year, plus about $1020 for trimming/resetting four shoes. It totals at 11,640 in the first year and 9,140 every year after.
You would need a salary of $24/hour and work 40 hours a week to be able to afford to support yourself and a single horse comfortably. You would have $1521 left over the first year and $4021 yearly from there on out. Considering $24/hour is more than triple minimum wage it’s likely gonna take a while to achieve. Most people dont get a salary like that until 30-40.
In Australia i may be able to get one by 27-35 because their minimum wage is higher and their healthcare doesnt cost an arm and a leg. I want to move there anyways so hey, added perk.
Equestrian science degrees dont really get you that good of pay unless you work with prestigious racehorses, then you may take home as much as 75k+ a year. Working at your friendly NEIGHborhood stable (hehe), you probably wouldn’t make much above minimum wage. However, the US gov. wants to raise minimum wage to $15 by 2024, but tbh that would crank inflation higher and still make it extremely hard to get a horse.
TL;DR: Horses are expensive and you’d need a wage of $24/hour to support them and yourself, which most people don’t achieve until 30-40.
The stable I’m boarding at does feed/water, and I’m sure I could find someone to lease to. Theres a lot of riders who would love to lease a horse here, and many of them can also realistically afford it.
Well, I feel your pain! My dearly beloved pony (that's him in my avatar) had to be put down two weeks ago because of his chronic and worsening laminitis (founder). I'd love to get another, but my financial circumstances have deteriorated significantly and I have to be realistic about my budget. So I too am talking to rescues and travelling long distances to see what I can find.
I'd say, keep looking. Make sure everyone at your stables (and everyone horsey you know) knows you are looking. The right horse for you might just not be on the market at the moment, but then again, someone might give you a horse! That happened with my companion, he was a lovely ridden hack when I was given him and I hardly ever rode him. So keep looking and keep hoping but don't buy for pity and don't buy one that doesn't tick your boxes. And good luck!
I'd say, keep looking. Make sure everyone at your stables (and everyone horsey you know) knows you are looking. The right horse for you might just not be on the market at the moment, but then again, someone might give you a horse! That happened with my companion, he was a lovely ridden hack when I was given him and I hardly ever rode him. So keep looking and keep hoping but don't buy for pity and don't buy one that doesn't tick your boxes. And good luck!
Thank you for the advice and wishes of luck! I will definitely keep my eyes peeled.
At 14 I bought my daughter a new horse. She had hankerings after a swanky looking TB. We ended up head over heels in love with a little cob x
She had an amazing time with him. He’s very buzzy but sane and just fun. He has given her the confidence to go and school naughty horses for people and although she’s lost interest a bit now she is a very good rider.
This is what you want. Something to enjoy and be able to canter across fields with your friends on. Your at the best age to have a horse right now, you don’t need the stress and heartache of a young TB and all the issues it could bring.
She had an amazing time with him. He’s very buzzy but sane and just fun. He has given her the confidence to go and school naughty horses for people and although she’s lost interest a bit now she is a very good rider.
This is what you want. Something to enjoy and be able to canter across fields with your friends on. Your at the best age to have a horse right now, you don’t need the stress and heartache of a young TB and all the issues it could bring.
newrider.com