Hmmm... daydreaming :)

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ljpinkhorse

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The other day I mentioned to OH pony at yard was for sale. He asked if I would like it for a Christmas/birthday present. I was completely taken aback as OH is not horsey at all although he does come and poo pick/accompany me and share horsey on hacks on his day off work. Unfortunately pony for sale is a Shetland :p So definitely not right for me! But it got me thinking ... I really would like to have my own pony .. I have ridden on and off for 6 years now and always been the sharer/loaner never the owner and I'd quite like to see what its like the other side of the fence :P

I currently don't work and I'm re-starting my A levels in September (though only doing 3AS levels first year so wouldn't even be full time) so I do have alot of time on my hands. My ideal daydream would be to buy a new forest pony from the sales in august and back it myself .. has anyone been there / done it? Any advice ? OH is not keen on getting a wild pony because he thinks all horseys are evil and want to kill me but is particuarly scared of the feral ones :P

Cost wise I would pay for livery (DIY) and OH would pay for hay/worming/insurance/vaccinations/bits and bobs. I could be a little out of touch with costs but with my calculations this would be no more than about £50 a week? Feel free to correct me if im wrong!

Am I chasing an impossible dream here guys? Or would it just take a lot of work to make it a reality?
 
I don't think it's an impossible dream at all. You only live once.

What I would say if it's your first horse I think you should choose something a little easier then a feral pony :p. Maybe a new forest that's all ready handled and broken a riding.

I say that because you will have enough on your plate without having to worry about getting a headcoller on the thing! It is a massive (but enjoyable responsibility) but suddenly you will be worrying about the tinest thing from what brand of wormer to use, to how much grass it's having, to worrying about it's feet, saddle fitting, what rug to put on, is it's numnah rubbing, is the bit right, why won't it be caught, why is it not bending properly ect ect. I think owning is a lot different to sharing because it's suddenly you and pony and no one to fall back on!

I think £50 per week should be *just* enough. Horses tend to be a constant drain on money as there is always something that needs paying for! I would say if you get something that lives out, doesn't require much feed and doesn't need shoes £50 should be fine. My TB comp horse costs around £500pm all in and that's on DIY at only £100 a month! Competing costs a lot though. Would be an idea to ring round your local livery yards and find out how much their grass livery is first. Also call up farriers and ask how much for a trim or a set cost, where I am £80 for a set is the average.

Hope that helps :).
 
Having just recalculated this for my budgeting!
I have a 15.2 ish Ardennes/Belgian Draught 14yrs, so slightly different scale but:
Livery - £30/wk
Shoes - £86/6 weeks (BIG feet :eek:)
Vaccs - £50ish/year (vets have free call out on certain days else + 40
Insurance - £40 ish/month (hacking, schooling, local shows)
Food - Sugar beet only neglible
Supplements- general purpose, biotin + magnesium as the spring grass went straight to his now overloaded brain.. - 20/mth although I'm trying to condense that.
Back check twice a year - 80
dentist once a year - 40
pig oil 17 quid/pot does about 3-4 months (mega feathers :D)
his special garlic lick for keeping said overloaded brain occupied whilst farrier does his thing - 20 quid for about 6-8 farrier visits.
Wormers I'm lucky and get free via my mum workign at a vets (he gets the ones about to go out of date :o)

All in all I have an account for him and throw £250 at it a month - his sharer pays half his shoe cost and we cope.

hope that helps :)
 
Thanks for the replys :)

firewell - Haha yes I guess thats true . atm I share a horse so on my days I look after it and stuff but the rest of the week I can be totally worry-free!

The shoe/ feed thing is one of the reasons I'd like a NF , because they generally have good feet ( I think local farrier only charges £40 a trim?) and dont need much feed. Livery round here can be as cheap as £17.50 pw grass livery or can go up to £50pw for DIY depending on where you go and I have quite a good knowledge of local yards having shared horses at most of them!

I think part of what appeals to me about buying an unbacked NF would be the price ( anyone know how much they usually go for? I think its in the region of a few hundred but not sure) and also the satisfaction I would get from it , its on my to-do before I die list lol. I'm not overly bothered about riding , mostly I just plod around the lanes for half hour a couple of times a week :p
 
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