At what age did you start paying for your own horse.

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littlen

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Not intended as a criticism post, I am generally interested. I am not meaning to start a debate either, curiosity has got the better of me!

So I have always payed for horse since I got him aged 17. The deal was if i wanted to buy a horse, fine, but I had to pay for it.
I pay for everything, as well as going to university studying a 4 year degree which includes 4 day placement a week, running a car and contributions to rent/bills/food on mine and OHs house and little extras like phone contracts etc. I work roughly 16 hours a week as this is all I have time to fit in around uni.

Now what made me think was the number of people I have found that still dont pay for their own horses despite being well over what I concider to be 'adult' age. For example, one lady at my yard is still paying for both of her daughters horses, one is 30 and the other 35 and both have well paying jobs. Obviously it is up to her and I am in no way saying this is wrong, its her money after all but I do find it a little strange
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I have also found by reading forum posts that many young adults are still having their horses funded by parents etc.
Personally, I find it much more satisfying knowing I work had for my hobby, but then again thats just me.

So how old were you when you took over the responsibility of paying for your own horse?
 
Uptil 14 it was all paid for. Thereafter I get livery and insurance and fuel paid (£60p.m.), but I get 'everything else' like farrier, vets, tack/rugs/boots/clothing etc.

But I have a lot of contact hours at uni (today is a reading "day" !!) and there just wouldn't be time to have a job and do the horse and get to lectures/tutorials/seminars.
 
I only got my own horse when I was 22 so I automatically started paying for him. There is a girl at my yard who is the same age as me (26). We rode together as children and her parents still pay for the horses she has had for 10 years, even though she now has a VERY well paid job.

However, I guess it is personal preference on the parent's part..........................although I sometimes get SERIOUS green-eyed monster syndrome when I'm eating beans on toast for a month to pay my vet's bill whilst some of my friend's are off purchasing new saddles
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Hey-ho, it's my choice to be a happy pauper with a spoiled pony!
 
I bought my first horse at 17 and paid for him myself.
I have paid for subsequent horses including their upkeep etc.

I wouldn't have it any other way
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I'm 18, and my parent's pay for my horse (and my sister's, and she is 15). I share my horse with my mum (although its very onesided as I do all the competing and she does all the getting him fit!) and my mum does all the mucking out and horsecare during the week (I'm at school from 7 to half 5/6). It may seem spoilt but we are extremely grateful. I will probably slack off riding while I'm at uni, and when I take it up again it will all be self-funded.
 
at 14 i got a job on the weekends and paid all wages to my mum to help with livery, no pocket money etc.

at 16 i moved out and took the horse and paid for everything myself.

i know it is up to the parents to choose what they pay for but i would feel very guilty still taking any sort of money from my parents from 18+ whether it be for the horse, uni fees etc.
 
im 21 and my parents still pay insurance on two horses i only really pay for insurance on one horse and for shoes on two and sometimes feed we have our own yard and mum has horses so we kind of take turns to pick up feed and hay ect plus she still pays for my lessons every second week im spoiled
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At 14 I got a pony who was alot more than what we normally pay, the deal was my parents paid the basic livery and running costs and I financed tack, rugs competitons etc. This started right away as he came with no tack or rugs and I started the beg borrow syndrome that still persists today. I gradually started to pay more as I got older and once I started proper full time employment at 20 my Dad gave me the horse and said do what you want and I assumed responsibility for all costs. I managed a horse, car, rent and social life on 11,600 a year no idea how as I certainly couldn't do it now!!

Like others their are people on my yard who are the same age as me (29) whose parents still pay for everything and also do the majority of the actual work. They seem happy so I guess its a personal choice.
 
mine is technically owned by my mum...... we have 2 as a family and 2 stables and 3 of us ride though my sister has now moved away but rides them when she is home.

He is subsidised by mum..... We make our own hay, mum buys straw and feed. I pay shoes, wormer, supplement etc. We share lessons and she will often pay a slightly bigger amount. If he wasnt kept at my parents I probably wouldnt have him but mum needs one there to keep hers company anyway and knows I wouldnt have taken on the financial commitment of having completely my own at this stage.

oh and I'm 26, I rent a flat elsewhere and currently doing a PhD with an extra job on the side.
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I had to wait until my 50s before I could have my first horse. I have a friend who is slightly older than me but who still recieves a £2,000 per month 'allowance' fromher father to spend as she wishes. To say I'm not a little jealous would be lying but I guess it goes to show how different families can be. My friend doesn't work but is married to a very successful businessman. THey are certainly not short of the odd thousand!!!
 
I always paid all 'extras' such as farrier/worming/supplements etc from age 12 when i got my first horse, my parents paid all other costs up until i graduated from university (where i also paid for feeds etc too) and then i took all costs as soon as i'd graduated aged 21
 
Im 27 now and dont live at home with my parents for the last 9 yrs i have had my house ,The pony i had from when I was 12yrs old for the next 13yrs mum paid for everything then when he died she said if you get another you buy it and il pay for stable and bedding (stable £18 pw bedding £10pw) as she chooses to do so and wants to i never asked if she would its just her preferance that she wants to . I pay for everything else hay, farrier ,worming , insurance , vets bills tack rugs , suppliments /feed .
 
I've had them since I was about 4 years old but only started to pay for them when I started work (aged 21)! However, I never got any pocket money and worked for my parents while at University to pay for them!
 
24?
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(I am now 28) My mum bought my horse for me, but this was from the money from selling my last horse 4 years previously - I've never lost money selling them on either
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I pay my mum an amount a month that covers feed, shoes etc etc. Its too much in summer, and too less in winter (horses out 24/7 in summer) but over the year it evens out. My parents own the land so no livery or rent to pay - I don't know how I would afford it if I had to pay livery!! I pay insurance etc, so any big vet bills would be down to me. We also bought a horsebox together which we are all paying back.

My mum rides, and likes to come with us when we compete (mainly so she can chat up the PC mums
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) so sometimes she contributes towards entry fees if we are too poor, but thats up to her, and is never asked for.

My dad loves having the land, and fixing the horsebox (well maybe not that bit.....) and think he enjoys he feeling of being part farmer, and leaving a decrepid land rover on the yard to rot away.......
 
I got my horse at 15 (well technically it was my mums horse, but she lost interest within about 2 weeks) but started paying fully for him when I started working full time at 17
 
When I started work at 19, I could only buy my first horse then as my parents never would. However, they bought my younger sister's first horse when she was 9 and paid for it right through university and when she had to pay for it herself when she got her first job she sold it !
 
I had to pay for my own when I was 17 (am 29) and old enough to be able to work to pay for them. If I didn't pay for them myself, I wouldn't have them!
 
I brought my first horse with money I had saved myself (she cost £500) and have paid everything for her since I was 15, I'm really proud that I've done it all myself. However till I could drive my mum and grandad took it in turns to give me lifts to the yard etc. I did feel a bit jelous towards people who I thought had it all given to them but since I've got older I've realised it's swings and roundabouts
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When i was 17 me and mum got Mollie to share so we both paid for her, i was working part time and finishing A-levels. At 18 i decided to get a horse myself and now i have two myself and have always paid for them. I would never have assumed or asked my mum to pay or help pay for them.
 
at 15 got my first pony.dad bought him and my older brother bought my tack but the agreement was i paid for his keep.i had 3 jobs around school and did it.however my 16 yr old daughter has her own horse and i pay for her as i want daughter to concentrate on exams etc.i do make sure she realises shes lucky and wont be paying when she has her own job etc
 
My parents bought my first pony when I was 12. I had to get a paper round straight away to earn £3 a week for his DIY livery. Dad paid for the shoes, and any vet bills or extras.

I had to pay for everything in full when I was 16 and started working.
 
From the age of 14 my parents gave me £10 a week pocket money, at this point it went straight on a share horse! That evenually progressed to loaning my own at 16, everything funded by me except for the £10pw parental contribution which stopped when I was 18
 
My parents disapproved of horseriding, to the extent the only thing they ever paid for was a riding hat. Any lessons I had as a teenager were self-funded by walking to school and saving the bus fare, and from pocket money and any jobs I did plus working at the RS in return for lessons.

Daughter of our neighbours is late 20s and has 2 largely paid for by her Dad, a bit less so now she has reasonably well paid work.

My daughter (10) is lucky to have 2 on our own land, but it is on the understanding she has to do all her own chores (although I supervise and help), and we pay for everything essential - vet, farrier (unshod, trims), hay, etc (they are quite cheap) but anything 'extra' she wants she buys herself from her pocket money/Christmas money eg she bought a new halter and leadrope and lickits for them recently. I was a bit narked that another girl with a pony (on full livery, doesn't even have to poo pick) has been telling their friends T is spoilt, do you think she is?
 
My parents told me from a very early age that I could have a horse when I could afford to pay for it myself. Hence I am buying my own now at 31.......

I had to pay for the upkeep and petrol for my first car as well, I didn't have to buy it as it was my dad's old one that he let me have as it was an old heap that would be difficult to sell and I had to get it through its MoT. I sold it when I went to uni as I knew that my part time job wouldn't pay enough to run it and pay my bills.

I can't believe how many people's parents go on paying for things when they are over 18 and earnings!
 
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