Following on from WelshRareBit's post....

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Onyxia

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Lot of discusion in that thread about being able to afford the horse, so what do you think the minimum you could keep a horse for is?
Sure some of us a lucky enough to have endless funds while some of us budget for everything and go without ourselves to pay for the horse.

Is it wrong for someone who can only cover the basics to own?
Myself for instance,would only be able to set aside about $50 a week for a horse( the reason I have decided not to buy one), if I did would it be wrong?

(PS, not a reflection of WRB's situation, just some of the comments on the thread made me think).
 
I'll be paying for Chex once I get a job and move out, and I think it will be a struggle pay for luxuries for him, but hope to cover the basics. Selling him is just not an option, so I'll have to make do! I know if I got into serious problems my parents would help out. I would love a second horse once he's retired, but I know I couldn't afford it
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. I don't think its right for someone to own a horse when they can't afford to shoe it and feed it.
 
Right I have just calculated how many horses I own at present and was actually surprised to learn the number has gone up to 15
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How expensive do you think it is to own 15 horses? Compared to owning 1 horse? Do you think that the expense given to all 15 of my horses is comparable to owning 1? My farrier bills are 15 times the amount, my feed bills are 15 times the amount and my vet bills are likely to be far higher than someone with only 1 horse. Insurance is not an option here therefore any vet bill has to be covered in full at the time of treatment.

How much money do you all honestly think a hay farmer with a small livery business actually earns? Because if you all think I make a packet of money each month then you would be highly shocked to find I do not. I have no other income except what this farm makes me.

Yes I have liveries here and yes I pay for their feet to be done by the farrier every 6 weeks along with paying for mine. I often have to wait weeks before being reimbursed by my livery customers; hence I am frequently out of pocket by hundreds of dollars.

I have a couple of boarders who are going through a hard time right now - I have not received livery payment for 5 horses which should have been paid on the 1st April. I have a back-payment of board owing to me which is in the thousands and runs back to last year....when will I see this money? Hopefully this year
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Not that this is anyone's business but mine, however I feel the need to share here in light of this past thread; I live on approximately £700 per MONTH! That is my income - of that I feed, farrier, ad-lib hay and care for well over 20 horses; I ad-lib feed my 3 dogs and my 3 cats. I run a huge stonking great truck, a car and a Jeep Wrangler......and I feed my daughter and my husband good home-cooked meals every night. This amount pays all bills and every single living expense we incur.

I supplement my income by raising very well bred and nicely trained horses...yes I do make a lot of money on these; however I never know when a buyer will turn up so in the meantime I pay for these horses to be here.

Yes we may have money tucked away in other countries, however this money has not been touched for 2 years now and is there for a very rainy day or to pay for more improvements to the farm if we so desire.

Having said all of that - YES I have a safety net - YES I can lay my hands on thousands of dollars on a whim.....all saved from money I have made from this farm and only this farm.

So in answer to your question Anima; if someone is living hand to mouth every month, no they definitely cannot possibly afford a horse. If they are living hand to mouth and have savings of at least £1,000 or parents who will bail them out in an emergency, then yes I would say this amount will cover a horse. On a month to month basis, I wouldn't even consider trying to keep a horse on less than £300 spare cash.

So there you go! Bit of enlightenment for you all.
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Tia, unless I am misreading(very possable due to another nights lost sleep) you seem to have taken the post personally and/or as a "pop" at you/people in a similar situation.
If thats the case I'm very sorry and definatly id NOT intend it to be, just putting some thought on "paper".

From my own experiance, I know people who would think nothing of spending 1k+ on random bits and pieces a week, EVERY week and others that will live on beans on toast all month to cover cost of something the horse needs.
 
Fabulous to be famous - winks

Well, Tia, you are a shining example to us all. But for those of us who havent got a farm/dont have rich parents/dont have rich husband/dont have rich anyones - we have to make do on the money we earn and have ourselves.

Vets bills, shoes, feed, worming - everything I pay for my horse on about 500 per month. The moment I felt I couldnt cope - he was put up for loan.

Level of care is not measured by how much money you have. Or at least not for me - i know someone who keeps their horse in the cheapest field, with the cheapest tack on his back and budget food - and she is 100%better thab the owners who have everything and are dripping with money - why? Because she adores her horses, simply dotes on them.
Thats not to say that people who have money dont love their horses its just to highlight the fact that money do not maketh man...(ooh I got a quote in too)
 
No I don't take your post personally in the slightest - I just felt it was time to place facts out in front of those who seem to dismiss opinions because they think someone is rich, when infact wealth is relative.

No I am by no means poor, yes we lived a grand lifestyle in the UK - however that has no bearing on what I choose to live on nowadays. How much I believe should be in the kitty to own a horse is significantly more than what some other people deem enough it might seem. My main point being that if you cannot afford the odd luxury for yourself and your family then you certainly can't afford a horse.
 
So what would you do Tia if you fell upon hard times? Try to forget at the moment that you have 20 or so horses. Put yourself in Mr/Mrs average's position. You have one horse, you have fallen upon hard times for whatever reason. You are finding it hard to makes ends meet. Would you sell your horse just because things are difficult - or would you try your best to weather it out and make ends meet even if it meant a change in lifestyle for your horse?
 
[ QUOTE ]
we have to make do on the money we earn

[/ QUOTE ]

....which is exactly what I am saying - I DO make do on the money I earn. Where do you think my safety net comes from? From my earnings - I have SAVED this money for these rainy days. Have you ever thought about savings? So that this sort of thing never happens again?
 
Wow Tia. That is quite shocking how little you live on! But then again I suppose the whole cost of living is a lot different compared to the two countries? I don't know..maybe I'm rambling?
I know if I'm ever going to get a horse I'm going to have to sit down and really work out my finances. My income sucks. In fact I can't imagine ever beign to afford one so I don't know what I'll do in the future? Try and become a sharer maybe? I'm lucky at the min as I have wee Misty, but at the age of 24 she's not going to be around forever!
 
If I ever ran into hard times, I can assure you that the horse would be one of THE very first things to go. Absolutely no way would I continue to keep paying for a luxury that I couldn't afford. I would sell any vehicles which may appear surplus to requirements; actually I would sell anything with was not necessary to mine and my family's survival - the farm would be put on the market and we would wave bye-bye to our present lifestyle.

But the thing that you are missing is this - I have money saved for exactly these sorts of times.....therefore I would not be in this situation for a number of months before I would have to make any decisions.
 
You obviously have money left aside to save then AND money to 'treat the family' etc which is fabulous for you. Some people dont. That doesnt mean we dont make just as good owners as people who do have lots of money.
 
Yes you are right - I did cheat somewhat; however whichever way you cut it $2,000 per month, even as equivalent to £2,000 per month is still not a lot of money to live on, bearing in mind the amount of living beings that I pay to keep.
 
[ QUOTE ]
My main point being that if you cannot afford the odd luxury for yourself and your family then you certainly can't afford a horse.

[/ QUOTE ]

The odd luxury/treat is nothing to be sniffed at!
 
I put my boy out on loan when I got pregnant as I knew I would struggle to spend enough time and money on him. However when I was single and childless, I struggled to keep him, he got the basics - but when he needed something I got it. I very regularly had no money in my bank account at the end of the month for food and would live off nothing (or friendly invited to tea from friends)
This was not an ideal situation, but when I was offered him - not taking him was most certainly not an option.
It is possible to do, as long as you have enough for insurance and the normal extras - chiropractor, dentist, farrier etc - then its do-able. But only just!!
 
Well, I am 56 and have my very first horse that is just for my and no-one else's use. Because we live on my hubby's police pension, I went back out to work part -time to afford Clyde. We have our own land so no livery fees. I earn about £300pcm which covers all his keep and the odd treat for us humans! I absolutely 100% agree that you MUST be able to afford any animal in your care.
 
My mare costs me between £150 and £170 a month of which £21 a week is livery. I think that if you're sensible it doesn't need to cost anything like what some people seem to spend. Budgeting to me is just sensible because in the long run I want to buy a house with land so that she can live at home and I can cater to her every need rather than being 20mins away on livery
 
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