UPDATED - Any horse owners out there **flash**

You need Autumn Rose. She's the only one I can think of at the moment. Quite a few on BT if you want to try cross posting.

Grass livery near me I think is between £15-25 per week Farrier costs are dependent on what you have done but mine charges £75 for a full set Hay is crazy expensive at the moment so if you had to top up the grazing with hay you are currently looking at £6.50/bale Feedwise - yesterday I bought 3 bags of pony nuts & 1 bag of mollichaff and it came to £23.50. Not sure about the insurance as my mum pays it but around £25/month. Rugs can cost you a small fortune each year if you have a rugripper! I have 3 different sets depending on weather conditions (light/medium/heavyweight)and you can pay anything from £35 to well over a hundred. Yearly jabs the bill comes to just under £100 but that is for 2. One of mine has prescribed drugs which costs £70 every 100 days & the other has a breathing supplement which is £20 which I buy every month. Tis a v expensive hobby but so worth it!

*crash* twf, is that you?????!!!!!!!!

how the hell are ya???? xxxx

(a horsey would be exciting Moo, im scared of them tho H loves them)

@ Tricksters - £500 a week???? <falls to floor in faint>....

@ others - thanks v much - thats kinda inline with the costs I've heard elsewhere.... I am so tempted to give it a go - altho' have considered taking a free loan one as a tester, just to see how I take to it, but would defo want the horse on site here as we have amazing land here and so many places to ride within spitting distance. There is a piece of land @ the back of our garden which our neighbours use to hang their washing - now THAT would be uber cool - I'd be able to see him/her from my lounge window!!! But I am not an accomplished rider by any stretch so would prefer to be able to exercise them on the estate rather than out in the wilds or on the roads at first - but I see it as a way of me becoming a better rider, so would need a very well behaved horse with a good temper!!

There are lots of horses on the estate, and none of them ever seem to get ridden. The dudes in the top field (below) actually never seem to get any attention at all, let alone exercise (although some seem quite young).... which I think is very sad... I've no idea who they belong to or why he/she has them.

@ Teehee - they can be scary! I remember when I was getting some refresher lessons in 2007 I was tacking up before a lesson in a teeeeeeeny stall with a fairly big horse (well, to me she was big, I'm only wee!) and there were times that I felt very 'omg omg omg' stuck in there on my own with very little room between me, the horse and solid brick wall!! So I'm am not totally fearless about them.... if its your own horse its about building that relationship and trust between the two of you I guess... does C ride at all?

Does anyone have reputable websites etc to suggest for adverts? Very weary of most online ads for animals of any sorts!!!

Moom

When I did get my horse years ago I use scot ads and recommendations from my local livery yard and my riding instructor. Found that the best way. See if you can spend time with the horse before you commit to it too to make sure that you're suited.

Saw your xpost on bt!

I've owned and worked with horses for 18 years so pretty experienced!

If you are keeping a horse at grass you need shelter of some sort (thick trees and hedges are adequate for a hardy native type as long as you buy decent rugs). Depending on the quality of grazing you might need to feed hay as well which is about £4 a bale at the moment depending on where you are. Shoes are about £60 a set which mine needs every 5 weeks (6 is average I'd say), wormer is £15 every few months, jabs once a year at about £50 ish, insurance is around £40 a month depending on what sort of horse you have, rugs are £100 ish a pop (some rip them like nobody's business!), saddle's expect to pay £500 fora decent 2nd hand one then another £50 ish once of twice a year for a check and reflock, dentist is £35 every 6 months, Hard feed is about £12 a bag now, how much you get through depends on the horse and workload but that lasts me a fortnight.

You can't keep a horse by itself and then you need to consider if you're out riding, will the other get lonely. You need 1 1/2 acres for first horse, 1 acre there after per horse minimum if well drained. You also need to consider how easy it is to get water to the field, where you will put the poo you pick off the field (this needs doing daily unless you have a HUGE field), what you will do if the horse needs to come in for illness, lameness etc, what will you do in the winter if you have no stable to stand it in to dry before you ride, where the farrier will do it's feet (you need a bit of hardstanding at least), do you have electricity so you can check it over in the light twice a day.

To be honest, if you aren't experienced you'd be far better to keep it at livery where there are people to ask for help and advice.

Definately consider sharing a horse for a year first.

Thanks Vixsticks

Hi Carriag

Thanks for all that - certainly has raised some things I'd not thought about ....

There are 3 fields on the estate I live on that house from 2 to 20 horses and none of them have shelter other than trees, and in 2 of the fields, the folk who keep their horses there don't have access to cover for drying/shoeing/shelter if ill etc, so I do wonder if they considered these questions and how they find having to do without? They certainly don't have any electricity!!

As I said before, the top field horses (where there are about 20 beasts) never get ridden, and are just left to their own devices most of the time although there is a fenced off barn they get taken into from time to time, although I'm not sure what triggers that as it seems quite random. The barn has a good roof etc, but it doesn't seem to ever have fresh straw on the floor - I hate to think what they are stood in!! Those particular horses didn't even get extra food when we had such awful snow until about 5-6 weeks in - I was on the verge of reporting it to the SSPCA! Oddly, the additional hay seems to now be a regular thing... although the fields were horridly waterlogged post-thaw (which didn't happen here until February). There is a newcomer to that field that is rugged, but other than that, they are just out there doing their own thing.

I actually live in a converted stable block on the estate, so right next door to the dining room (just thru' the wall!!!t) is an original stable from the olden days, still with stalls etc in place. I suppose thats an option in dire emergencies if I spoke to the landlord nicely! Our garage is the old carriage house for when the posh folk travelled up to their 'summer house' and came by carriage!.... its v cool. The stable block courtyard is cobbled with the original rings on the wall for tying horses to, so hardstanding isn't a problem. It just screams 'keep a horse in me, pleeeease'!!

I think a share might be an idea for the first few months.... its just a case of finding someone you gel with enough who has the right horse! I suppose there are training courses you can go on for horse care too....

Hi Moomin Cat. I've got a horse, had them all my life and forgive me for saying so but I think you need a ton more experience before even considering getting your own either on loan or buying one, it's not just something 'you can have a go at' more so than ever if you are keeping it at your own place and not on a livery yard where you have the ability to ask for help/advice - or will get given it regardless more likely!

You mention sharing/loaning for a few months but most people who want a sharer/loanee do so because they don't have the time to devote to their nag and want an experienced person to share the load. Most owners wouldn't want to be baby sitting their sharer/loanee iyswim every step of the way - if they had time to do that they wouldn't need a sharer in the first place. I speak from bad experience as in the past when I've advertised for sharers/loaners and the sort you get all sort of people ringing you - one woman gave it all mouth on the phone about her experience etc etc and it when she rode my mare it turned out she couldn't even trot! Another sharer I actually took on I found out that she'd been coming up once a day on her days to look after my horse as she couldn't be arsed to come morning AND night - so she was stood in the bloody stable all day. The same girl was also jumping her in a frozen ménage! I gave her her marching orders I can tell you but I felt terrible for letting someone look after my beloved horse like that. I've loads more examples you wouldn't believe but won't bore you with details!

There are courses for horse care but they are such a complex animal, even this wouldn't be enough if I were you to qualify you to have your own. I'd seriously suggest you volunteer at a local yard/riding school etc for a year or so and really get some hands on experience of what its like. I know some riding schools offer sort of loaning options for their horses which might be an idea. When you've done that then I'd maybe look at buying/loaning your own horse but even then I'd keep it at a livery yard for a year or so.

Sorry I don't mean to pi$$ on your fireworks but I'm just trying to get across what big a commitment it is and how much knowledge/experience you need before you take the plunge.

Thanks Hugo... you may be right. ☹️

Maybe should just stick to cats and dogs.

Bah.

Hiya

I spend about £200 a month on my current horse. However said current horse is loss-of-use (i.e. insurance write off) so he doesn't do competitions & the like. He puts on weight v.easily so I don't spend much on feed & the like.

That figure includes things like replacement rugs, wormers, annual dentist visit (£40) and vaccines (£35) and trimming (£20 every 6 weeks). If you have shoes, they cost £60 every 6 weeks.

The horse in my avatar - i used to spend approx £350 - 400 a month on. I used to do cross-country competitions & lots of endurance competitions - he used to drop weight overnight (it seemed) hence i spent a fortune on feed & haylege etc.

Unfortunatly he passed away last summer. That cost £600 for cremation & £300 for post-mortum. (Sorry to be morbid but important to think about all these costs).

Both horses are/were on DIY livery which in my area -Bedfordshire- costs me £150per month including ad lib hay & straw.

In addition to above costs, insurance -for 2 horses, me & my trailer- cost approx £800 per year. I think this year, the insurance will come at about £500.

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My friend is currently advertising for a sharer. This is something you could think about. She is expecting part share of the costs approx £100 per month & obviously half of all jobs like mucking out etc doing. Check out adverts in your local feed/tack shops for local shares. Or place your own advert - people often need help.....

Hi teehee! Not been on here for a while, how are you doing Horses are not scary, look at those ferocious beasts in my avatar lol X

Basically everything Hugo said, there is so much to know about horses. You have to really know what to look out for in terms of illness etc. I have a quite novice sharer for my horse but he's on a yard with lots of experienced friends so I know they'd let me know if anything was up on my sharer's days.

As a child I was down the riding stables literally every day in the holidays and weekends. They had about 35 horses so there was always something going on. It's a great way of learning. Riding horses is such a small part of owning them.

Oi....

Remeber me???? hehe

We've already spoken about this but it really does sepend on where you live unfortunately.

I had my own livery yard when I was living in Wales and charged £10 a week for stable, storage and loads or grazing. I now pay £200 a month for the same thing in Hampshire on DIY. You need to make sure that the horse you buy is used to living out as not all horses like it and if it will live out with others or not. Especially where you live and all that snow. I would be very weary of that!!

The initial outlay is expensive with the cost of the horse plus the tack (rugs especially for the winter on a grass kept horse) and then you need to think about insurance. Don't ever skimp on the insurance as it will become your best friend.

Monthly, you need to think about shoeing. It is paramount you get a highly qualified farrier to make sure the horses feet doesnt suffer long term. My farrier cost £160 every 4 weeks. Hay at about 1 bail a day at £3.00 a bail and I would still allow for hay even on a grass kept horse. Hard feed. I use Sugar Beet, Top Spec, Mix, Alpha A Oil and that comes in at about £300 a month (Top Spec is expensive).

You need to consider where you horse will go if he is ill or injured (which is unavoidable) and then this needs to be kitted out with bedding etc.

Then you have regular teeth, saddler and vet checks.

Like Hugo, I've had horses since I was 6 and still learning. Its taken a long time to be confident in what I do with my horse. Its hard work and dedication. I've had to give up a lot for my horse. No holidays, you cant just go out for the day and not worry about when you are back. No more lie ins and so much worry. Don't get me wrong.... It's so worth it but if you havent looked after a horse before (even at a riding school) then I would think very long and hard as its not something you can experiment with. Get it wrong and it can go VERY wrong!!

Nat

A quick update.

I'm in discussions with two local stables about ABRS courses and volunteering ... : )

I have however, a question for you experienced horsers out there .... non-shod ponys at grass, limited human intervention, no exercise outwith field ... should a hoof ever look like this? Spotted it today when up chatting to the hairy dudes on route to post box (with census!)

No it shouldn't!

Even if they are at grass, they should still be seen (if not treated) by a farrier. It looks like the toe of hoof has been allowed to grow too long & then broken off.

A farrier is required asap to tidy up the rest of the hoof to prevent more pieces breaking off. If the pony is lucky it hasn't broken beyond the nerve endings , unlucky & pony will be in pain & may require a cushioned surface in stable to stand on!

Do you know who owns/care for the pony. Can you leave a note or something about pony's hoof? If not, i would call the RSPCA. That hoof is actually neglect. (Pony will be extremely uncomfortable at the least)

In terms of law / how the RSPCA will see it, the land owner is actually responsible for animals welfare - can you contact them in any way?

I'd intervene Moomin, it can be anon.. but id do it!

I thought it unlikely it should look like that - even with my limited experience! There is a field of about 20 horses who are mainly left to their own devices. They get hay and have water,but they're never groomed or exercised (although it is a MASSIVE field which they are frequently heard thundering around) ... I've no idea who owns them and being a private estate, any complaint would be obviously from someone on the estate as its not somewhere the public would ever walk, so its a bit tricky to know what to do. They don't belong to the land owner - he rents grazing out. A lot of the horses have chipped hooves but this was a particularly bad one. They are all quite young ponies/horses too.

That poor pony needs seeing to immediately, ring the RSPCA they don't have to divulge your name etc, but it will be terribly sore for the poor thing. Why do people have horses and think it's ok to sling them out in a field without proper care it is shocking grrrrr

For all the owners know, it could have been a delivery driver that stopped off to give him a pat that noticed it and reported it, they would protect your identity if you explained the circumstances........

No one need know its you....... tell them what you've told us..... wooo they got a big field, big deal, no feckin use if they lose the ability to walk........ go on, do it! (I called the police over a matter today so feeling a bit smug about it....coz I did a GOOD thing..lol) go on go on go on go on go on....(insert irish accent there)

The hoof is like your finger nail - so it doesn't feel much under normal circumstances - but rip your finger nail in half (a.k.a like that hoof) and you'll know about pain! Then having to stand all day on it. With mud/grass/poo i.e. exposure to dirt & infection. It needs attention......

This is not good. The nail has obviously grown too long and then a huge chunk has broken off. The rest of the hoof is in bad condition. Look at that crack!! If this is not treated, this crack with spread upwards and potentially cause lameness.

Nat