Finding a horse with a tiny budget?

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shadowboy

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The OH has decided he wants a horse of his own- (he has been sharing for 4 months now) and has been riding on and off for the last 5 years. W can afford the livery for another horse as livery for the second horse on our yard is 50% of the first horse (hope that makes sense!)

But our budget is tiny! We have a new pup arriving in 2 months and a new green oak enclosed porch being built this summer so have had to keep £6000 aside for all this. That only leaves us with up to £1000 to spend on a ned- is this possible?

He needs something biggish min of 15.2 to carry 12.5 stone of him plus tack so realistically 14 stone. Needs to be sensible as he's quite novicy. Not looking for anything amazing/doesnt need to be able to jump or do dressage- just needs to be able to hack out with me and my youngster and load happilly to accomapany my youngster to shows.

I thought this would be easy- it being winter and economy wobbly- but no I have not found a single horse in our budget that isnt straight out of racing! Has anyone actually managed to find something similar? If not I think he will just have to keep sharing, but as shared horse is on a different yard, it defeats the point of him having one as well as me :(
 
Have you tried rescues WHW, bluecross, rspca etc? Also look at older horses, after the age of 12 the value starts to depreciate, and even with a 16 year old if it passes the vetting then you could have years left of ridden fun!
 
You could try looking for loans so there is no outlay at all, or a loan with a view to buy so that you have more time to save but get the horse straightaway.

It probably isn't the right time of year but you can sometimes get good steady loan horses from trekking centres who only operate through summer and loan the horses out over winter to keep them half fit, and the reverse occasionally with hunt hirelings.
 
Or possibly look for a full loan horse that can move yards (I have 1 of my own and 1 on full, long-term loan)?

Sounds like a 10 yr old + who has a lot of experience so is relatively bomb-proof, might also prove a good example for your horse as you said he's a youngster? Maybe you could put a want ad up for a middle-aged happy hacker? I'm sure someone will bite your hand off at the offer of £1000 for a non-eventer?
 
Id have thought for £1000 you would have found something easily, i got my boy a couple of months ago for £500, hes 16.2 & quite stocky & my sister has bought one that is 16hh of similar build for the same money (admittedly shes paying in installments so hasnt got her one yet lol).
Where abouts are you, if you mention where you are roughly in the UK perhaps someone on here may know of something :)
 
 
Id defo loan!!

Have a look on equineadverts/horsequest/preloved/fridayads/freeads etc

That sort of thing. I wouldnt go for a lame horse though, going to cost ALOT of money further down the line!!

Iv been looking for a loan for a while and i can honestly say that ive come across a few that might be suitable for what youre looking for??!! I want a jumper and thats where my problem lies but there are some out there that are big enough and would happily hack all day long.

Be careful though as most loan horses are for loan because they CANT be sold. So if you find one with a genuine reason for loan, go for it :)

Where abouts are you?? I might be able to send you some numbers from some that ive seen that cant jump!!!
 
navaho said:
Id have thought for £1000 you would have found something easily, i got my boy a couple of months ago for £500, hes 16.2 & quite stocky & my sister has bought one that is 16hh of similar build for the same money (admittedly shes paying in installments so hasnt got her one yet lol).
Where abouts are you, if you mention where you are roughly in the UK perhaps someone on here may know of something :)
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I am on the Herefordshire/Worcestershire borders.

I would loan but we have found a lot of adverts say not a novice ride or experienced riders only- he can walk/trot/canter and has galloped on hacks but has never had a horse 'play up' underneath him hence making him novicy.

I've seen a lot of TB's out of racing for sale and lots of 3/4 year olds but I already have a youngster so looking for something thats seen traffic etc to pootle out with mine and give him confidence.

Doesnt need to be goodlooking either- OH just wants something HE can play with without me nagging him ;)
 
I am afraid that even in this economic climate picking up a safe hack for 1k is a bit of a tall order. Everyone wants a safe hack and if you need a bit of a weight carrier as well I think you will have to up your budget to 3-5k.
 
have you considered the ilph? i know some people who have taken horses on long term loan from them, and they will match u up with a suitable horse.
 
I don't want to sound offensive, and I do say this with good intentions, but I'd always thought the cost of keeping and maintaining horses (livery, feed, shoes, insurance, worming, vacs, teeth, etc) far outweighs the cost of buying them.

Whilst you are looking, perhaps you can put the money asside that you would be paying for the new ones keep, and in a few months you'll be able to buy a horse for more money if you're struggling to find one you like for under £1k?
 
To find a safe, weight carrying cob you're looking at spending at least in the reigon of £2000 imo. You'd be better off loaning.
 
Misinterpreted said:
I don't want to sound offensive, and I do say this with good intentions, but I'd always thought the cost of keeping and maintaining horses (livery, feed, shoes, insurance, worming, vacs, teeth, etc) far outweighs the cost of buying them.

Whilst you are looking, perhaps you can put the money asside that you would be paying for the new ones keep, and in a few months you'll be able to buy a horse for more money if you're struggling to find one you like for under £1k?
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Totally not offended! the issue is that OH is currently sharing a horse on a yard 3 miles from the yard i keep mine on-his yard has no vacancies mine does but his horse's owner doesnt want their horse to be mored- totally fair enough. We can't hack together which is annoying and its ultimately what we want - he needs to keep gaining experience so doesnt want to give up completely while we save £3/5 grand! It took us two years to save the £7000 for the building works so I guess his impatience and my frustraision at having no one to hack out with is what is driving me to try to find one!

We can pay the bills- as long as they both stay on DIY not a problem.

I guess he'll just have to keep sharing!
 
How about giving up on the "new green oak enclosed porch being built this summer" and upping your budget?

Sorry not much help :-$
 
Found my boy for £1300.

He was severly underweight and does have an underlying SI injury but that would only be evident if he was competing full time (which is what he was bred to do) Owner/breeder had no use for him and wanted shot.

4 months on and we have a fantastic, big, beautiful horse that is coming on in leaps and bounds (literally :D )

It took me 8 months but they are out there - speak to some breeding/competition yards
 
Save up for 6 months-voila you will probably have doubled your budget or at least increased it by half. Or go to Ireland, a lot of your slightly older, scrappier type happy hackers are up for 5-800 atm. Or what about a charity? Would any have anything suitabl in your area?
 
MosMum said:
Sounds like a 10 yr old + who has a lot of experience so is relatively bomb-proof, might also prove a good example for your horse as you said he's a youngster? Maybe you could put a want ad up for a middle-aged happy hacker? I'm sure someone will bite your hand off at the offer of £1000 for a non-eventer?
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Are you having a laugh?? maybe 10 years ago they would but these days this is what most people want therefore are a hell of a lot more then £1000. Sorry OP
 
dont be in despair.
one of my ponies was £700 and i tell you he was fantastic he really did build up my confidence , and he was only 4 too with exellent breeding.
one that i have atm is a 3yr old apaloosa with alot of potential , and got him for £800.
dont worry luck will find you!
 
Booboos said:
I am afraid that even in this economic climate picking up a safe hack for 1k is a bit of a tall order. Everyone wants a safe hack and if you need a bit of a weight carrier as well I think you will have to up your budget to 3-5k.
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Well I certainly didn't pay that! I have just bought a Westphalian mare with tack which is in good condition for £1400 and her previous owner kept her for another 3 weeks while we built her stable. I posted a pic of her on Saturday and she sounds to be just what you are looking for.
 
Pearlsasinger said:
Well I certainly didn't pay that! I have just bought a Westphalian mare with tack which is in good condition for £1400 and her previous owner kept her for another 3 weeks while we built her stable. I posted a pic of her on Saturday and she sounds to be just what you are looking for.
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Well I am sure OP will buy her off you for 1k no tack! ;)
 
Have you tried asking at some of the trekking centres or colleges? You may end up with a horse that isn't 100% sound but ok to hack (get a vet report so you can go in with eyes open!).
 
I wouldn't rule out a tb just out of racing.

Most of the ones I have known are really good to hack, and although they're probably not for a total novice, they're often no more difficult than your average happy hacker.

You'd have to be careful of course, but then you always do when buying.
 
I think it's perfectly possible, but you'll need to put word around, and it may take some time, but there are cheapies out there.

FWIW 18 months ago (market slightly better than now I think) we were given quite cheaply (well under your budget) a 19 year old very nice well behaved 13.2 pony complete with all tack, loads of rugs - basically everything pony they had as he was outgrown because the owners (friend of a friend) wanted a nice home for him. He's a ridden companion now so doesn't do as much as he did, but hacks out, is ridden by all my daughter's friends when they come over, loves being groomed by little ones who visit, and does a little bit of local showing and low sj and also goes to pony club things every now and then, basically a good all rounder as he does a bit of everything. He'd previously been for sale for a year or two, but they'd not sold him as they wanted a good home for life and he was a bit older than most folk would want, however as we knew of him, we knew he was pretty sound and in good health. Vet says he's in good nick for his age, and he fits our requirements perfectly.
 
Booboos said:
Well I am sure OP will buy her off you for 1k no tack! ;)
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Oh no she won't! :D
I'm afraid my dad would NOT be happy if I said, "You know that horse that you've just built me a stable for, well I've decided to sell her". Dad is 83 and has been running up and down ladders, sawing, hammering and drilling for the last 2 weeks. I should add, it was his idea when he heard how much a local builder wanted to charge me - she certainly wouldn't have been a cheap horse then:eek::eek:
 
they are out there but you will have to be prepared to take one on that might have a few problems.

i bought my ex hunter for £850, he was on box rest with a tendon injury but after speaking to the vet (his own vet) i was reassured that my lad would be suitable for hacking. we knew he would fail a vetting so didn't bother and he's not had any problems with that tendon/leg in the whole time we've owned him, 5yrs.

i was offered a mare 15.2hh last summer for £400, she was 16yrs old and had mild arthritis, gentle hacking was the best thing for her, she wasn't on any meds and was absolutely fine in herself, obviously there would have been problems further down the line but the same can be said for any horse of any amount (in my own personal opinion).

i agree with looking at the rescue centres though, they need to find homes and at least then they can take in another horse that may need the care.
 
Ask at your local riding schools too, the one where I ride have occasionally had horses, that are getting on a bit and are no longer up to the work they get in a riding school but are still up to hacking, that they need to find decent homes for. Obviously they may have some soundness/health issues and may also not be the easiest to deal with (the can be nappy as they are used to working in groups).

I'd second the ideas of the charities, they often have horses suitable for light work only. Don't rule out the TB charities if your OH doesn't need a real weight carrier, although he may not want one straight out of racing the charities retain ownership for life and take the horses back if the owner can no longer keep them so you might get lucky and find one that is a bit older and has been in a private home before.
 
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