How can so many teenagers afford horses?

[rallan15]

This is a question that has confused me for a while. I have loads of young teenagers (13 - 17) at the same barn as me and a couple of the pay fully for their horse. I don't actually know them very well and have only spoken to them a couple of times but I do know that they all have jobs which apparently pay enough to cover ALL horse costs. I've also seen lots of teenagers on Facebook etc asking if anyone has a horse for sale and asking how much a horse costs so their parents don't have to pay. I know enough 13+ year olds to know how hard it is to find a job at that age. Does anyone know how they afford to keep the horse or what jobs they're doing?

 

[Vodkagirly]

One at my yard works at Starbucks for 10 hours a week to pay for horse. I think she does more in the holidays. Must be tight to pay for it.

 

[BSL]

Their parents are naive???

 

[wills_91]

I don't know any school going teens who could work enough to pay for all the costs. Just because they are asking on FB doesn't mean they actually do have the funds; probably more often than not the parents don't even know the are asking.

I worked part time to help pay for my horse. Couldn't have done it without financial input from my parents

 

[catroo]

Could be so many options

They could be getting an allowance that they're choosing to spend on horse/pony rather than go out.

10hrs a week would cover the basics, I doubt they are paying rent etc at home

Edited to add
I covered the 'basic running' costs of my first pony. I worked two evenings and all day Saturday at the riding school where I kept him to pay for rent, hay and bedding.
I'd work all through holidays to build up funds for worming, tack, rugs, insurance etc
Mum would occasionally help out and was there if I got really stuck but I was stubborn and determined to be as self sufficient as possible!

 

[ElleSkywalker]

I paid for my horse my self from age 15. I had a couple of jobs (supermarket, babysitting etc) and spent all of my money horse, no cinema trips, clothes sweets etc, when my friends bought fags to me it was 2 bales of hay, a cinema ticket was bag of horse feed etc so it is possible

 

[dulcie_dustyxx]

I don't pay for everything but I d pay for essential sprays, her salt licks, new rugs, replacing broken things, feed, supplements, sprays, anything else that isn't a lesson or food/bedding. I also pay to use the arena across the road, £5 a turn. I do lots of jobs around the house as well as working at the local cattery/kennels twice a week.

 

[tallyho!]

Well erm... assuming they don't have the mortgage/rent to pay ad know a decent day's work why couldn't a young person pay to keep a horse? Mightily judgemental.

Weren't you once their age?

I was 14 with 1st pony and I paid for everything myself. I worked 2 paper rounds a day and farm work on the summer holidays. I lived for that pony. I picked hops, carrots, strawberries and made stuff to sell at the fetes. There were a few of us at same "field" and we paid £10 a week. I still had change! Mind you it was the 80's/90's so things were cheaper but not by a lot.

 

[ihatework]

I paid for my own horse from the age of 15, whilst at school.
I had £10 allowance a week, did 2 shifts at a pub waitressing/washing up a week (£24) and would do at least one baby sitting session a week (£10).
This was years ago, but back then that £40-50 a week covered all basic costs for a horse on grass livery. I exchanged helping at the stables for the odd lesson/show transport.

 

[wills_91]

Yes maybe then but I really doubt it possible now to be sole financial responsible for a horse at age 14.

 

[HappyHollyDays]

I got my horse as a teenager and paid for everything myself. I did paper rounds, babysitting and looked after an elderly lady plus worked as a mucker outer at a showing yard. I did whatever it took to pay for my horse and my parents paid not a penny for his upkeep.

Naive on their part - maybe, but they taught me responsibility and the value of money from a very early age. For that I thank them.

 

[ihatework]

Yes maybe then but I really doubt it possible now to be sole financial responsible for a horse at age 14.

Why not? Perfectly possible for a motivated 14yo to finance a horse

 

[tallyho!]

Yes maybe then but I really doubt it possible now to be sole financial responsible for a horse at age 14.

"then" wasn't all that long ago! I still only pay about £30 a week livery now and that's wit an actual properly paid grown up's job

I literally paid for everything. We didn't shoe ponies in those days and a trim meant riding to the blacksmiths every couple of months. We didn't "feed" them anything but nuts. Even that was a bit sporadic. Can't say we saw a vet in those days. We rode miles and miles - if I said to me dad I was out on the horses, I meant I'd be out with my friends ALL day and I'd take a sandwich. We rode from village to village having allsorts of adventures. Never saw an arena and the ponies were never lame.

I suppose it depends what you mean by "keeping" a horse. If it's at a pretentious 'yaaarrrrd' then erm, no. We were village kids, pretty feral things to be fair and child labour was seen as good community service!

I've done the whole "yard" thing and I've gone back to field keeping. Natural is best.

 

[wills_91]

Well for a start with H&S gone wild it's not as easy for kids to work on yards in return for free livery, bedding, hay etc. I suppose a lot of it depends not your area to. I also am a "feral village kid" 😂 but even in my childhood village it's no longer cheap for grazing. The yard I'm on is pretty basic stables, grazing and a school £21 a week, bedding, hay, farrier, vet - even just routine - feeding, insurance is just the start.

 

[Kafairia]

I'm 16. I work every weekend and all through holidays at my local tack store and have done since I was 15. My grandparents bought me my first pony, and when I outgrew him and needed another, selling him would have destroyed me so I had to look into funding my new horse myself, so I'm proud to say all my parents do is pay his insurance. I COULD afford insurance, but then things would be VERY tight indeed and I would have no money left for things like tack replacements, weekly bell boots he seems to eat, etc and I would hate to keep asking often and little... I am very lucky they are so supportive of me.I may add he is a poor doer and costs an absolute ton in winter time. YES, I was don't pay for the pony but I fund the TB nearly entirely by myself so it is do able in my experience to have one, but I couldn't of done it younger than 15.

 

[tallyho!]

Well for a start with H&S gone wild it's not as easy for kids to work on yards in return for free livery, bedding, hay etc. I suppose a lot of it depends not your area to. I also am a "feral village kid" �� but even in my childhood village it's no longer cheap for grazing. The yard I'm on is pretty basic stables, grazing and a school £21 a week, bedding, hay, farrier, vet - even just routine - feeding, insurance is just the start.

Yes I get where you're coming from. I suppose if you're down south it might not be affrdable.

I honestly can't remember how much I got paid for paper round. Hop picking wasn't a lot and only for a couple of weeks then fruit picking wasn't much more. I guess you can paint a rosy picture of yesteryear... it's very much a case of personal circumstance and not same for everyone. I used to ride past the posh places and posh kids all the time wishing I could keep my pony in a stable and primp and preen to my hearts content but really, all that work and I actually only really got to ride in the summer holidays properly. My bestie's pony was on her grandads farm with the pigs and I even thought she was posh! I'm such a saddo!

 

[wills_91]

Yesteryear were the best years! Have many happy memories of pottering around the village when I was 10 on my first pony we went out for hours and hours on our own. 16 years down the line and I wouldn't dream of letting a 10 year old out on the same roads alone on a pony.

 

[tallyho!]

Yesteryear were the best years! Have many happy memories of pottering around the village when I was 10 on my first pony we went out for hours and hours on our own. 16 years down the line and I wouldn't dream of letting a 10 year old out on the same roads alone on a pony.

True.

 

[Lintel]

No idea. I was fortunate enough to be "Mummy and Daddy's little princess" I suppose.
I've had my boy since 13 and couldn't have done it without them, I had awful anxiety and mental health issues going on at the time we got him and he really was a great focus for me at a time when my life has no means nor direction. I'll be eternally grateful to them and the boy.

I began work at 16 and paid for him then... that was painful but he's been worth every penny!

 

[alibali]

I'm 16. I work every weekend and all through holidays at my local tack store and have done since I was 15. My grandparents bought me my first pony, and when I outgrew him and needed another, selling him would have destroyed me so I had to look into funding my new horse myself, so I'm proud to say all my parents do is pay his insurance. I COULD afford insurance, but then things would be VERY tight indeed and I would have no money left for things like tack replacements, weekly bell boots he seems to eat, etc and I would hate to keep asking often and little... I am very lucky they are so supportive of me.I may add he is a poor doer and costs an absolute ton in winter time. YES, I was don't pay for the pony but I fund the TB nearly entirely by myself so it is do able in my experience to have one, but I couldn't of done it younger than 15.

Serious respect. Its hard but its how I did it and it will teach you so much for later life. Your parents clearly have heir heads screwed on and its been passed down to you. Its a hard path to walk but believe me if/when things go a bit t*ts up in later life the lessons you have learnt
doing this will stand you in great stead.

 

[Gloi]

Back in the 70s I paid for my pony's keep by working an evening in the local chip shop. The pony wasn't high maintenance though. My friend actually bought a pony at auction without her parent's knowledge and paid for it with babysitting money. It all blew up after a few months though because her father kept grounding her and she had to climb out the window to go feed it so in the end she had to tell her mother. Her father never knew though.

 

[Moomin1]

I'm 16. I work every weekend and all through holidays at my local tack store and have done since I was 15. My grandparents bought me my first pony, and when I outgrew him and needed another, selling him would have destroyed me so I had to look into funding my new horse myself, so I'm proud to say all my parents do is pay his insurance. I COULD afford insurance, but then things would be VERY tight indeed and I would have no money left for things like tack replacements, weekly bell boots he seems to eat, etc and I would hate to keep asking often and little... I am very lucky they are so supportive of me.I may add he is a poor doer and costs an absolute ton in winter time. YES, I was don't pay for the pony but I fund the TB nearly entirely by myself so it is do able in my experience to have one, but I couldn't of done it younger than 15.

May I ask how much the insurance is? I only ask because if you would struggle to pay the insurance premium, then what happens if the insurance refuse to pay out on essential costly vet bills in future? I stopped insuring my mare a few years ago for vets fees, because to me the premiums weren't worth paying, and I had the means to pay otherwise if needed. In the past year, I've forked out in excess of £3500 vets bills, over half of which wouldn't have been payable by insurers had still had her insured. That's a lot of money if you already don't have the means to pay insurance premiums yourself.

 

[Bayracer]

I'm in my early twenties and I paid for my horse solely by myself since I was about 14. I had a native breed to begin with so relatively low feed and shoeing costs. But I worked every weekend and th e odd evenings at kennels and farms as well as a lot of babysitting and pet sitting. I have an extremely anti-horse family so was my only option. Yes I've had mostly second hand tack and not the highest end stuff but my horses have never been without anything. I think it can easily be done if they have the right priorities .

 

[pansymouse]

"then" wasn't all that long ago! I still only pay about £30 a week livery now and that's wit an actual properly paid grown up's job

I literally paid for everything. We didn't shoe ponies in those days and a trim meant riding to the blacksmiths every couple of months. We didn't "feed" them anything but nuts. Even that was a bit sporadic. Can't say we saw a vet in those days. We rode miles and miles - if I said to me dad I was out on the horses, I meant I'd be out with my friends ALL day and I'd take a sandwich. We rode from village to village having allsorts of adventures. Never saw an arena and the ponies were never lame.

I suppose it depends what you mean by "keeping" a horse. If it's at a pretentious 'yaaarrrrd' then erm, no. We were village kids, pretty feral things to be fair and child labour was seen as good community service!

I've done the whole "yard" thing and I've gone back to field keeping. Natural is best.

Your childhood sounds very like mine. My first pony was tethered on the village green! I did farm work and babysitting from the age of 13 and was never short of my own money. My parent didn't give me pocket money.

 

[cobsarefab]

Their parents are naive???

I went through all the costs with my parents before we got my mare and they seemed happy about it and agreed I work petsitting and suchlike and pay for some of things for my mare that they don't consider a necessity and keep her well by doing so.

 

[rosiesowner]

No idea. I was fortunate enough to be "Mummy and Daddy's little princess" I suppose.
I've had my boy since 13 and couldn't have done it without them, I had awful anxiety and mental health issues going on at the time we got him and he really was a great focus for me at a time when my life has no means nor direction. I'll be eternally grateful to them and the boy.

I began work at 16 and paid for him then... that was painful but he's been worth every penny!

This was me! I had my first pony at about 13 (loaned before that) and until last year was unable to get a job because of my mental health. I sold him when I was 16 as I outgrew him and didn't have a horse for a while as I couldn't find the one for me. Then I got Chilli, May last year so I was 17. Still no job. In September last year I got a part time job and moved yards so that she's where I work. I paid half of her livery and for pretty much everything else, with my parents helping me out here and there. Now I've started teaching I'm going to be going pretty much full time and will be taking on 90% of the costs (not all as parents understand I need to save up for a car).

I have been VERY lucky and work hard to pay for my horse, taking extra shifts where I can. So I suppose what I'm saying is that it IS possible if you're willing to work.

 

[maisie06]

I applaud those teens who go out and work to pay for/towards their horse or pony!! I paid for my first pony by earning money from paper rounds, waiting on tables at a cafe and doing little cleaning/gardening jobs for people.

There are a couple of teens where I work now that work over weekends and holidays to pay for their horses too, the parents do pay the insurance premiums however. If I had children I would support them if needed with vet bills etc and buy an insurance policy to cover child and horse but I would want them to earn the rest such as shoes, feed etc, I would be happy to pay livery if I could afford it too as I'd be happy knowing my child is working to pay for shoes and hay for their pony rather than off roaming the streets and smoking or drinking!

 

[Merlod]

Because you can pick up a low quality animal for cheap or free, choose from a multitude of overpacked/ run down livery yards and buy a cheap saddle of facebook or your friend that will definitely fit because the gullet adjusts. Forget insurance, if it goes lame just give it away as a companion and buy another.

Optional extras:
Label said horse a rescue and beg for things for free on facebook.
Offer your highly experienced 14 year old selfs services as a breaker/ trainer of horses.

Obviously doesn't apply to all teenagers but sadly from social media seems to be an all too common situation.

 

[DD265]

I think - as Kafairia shows - that through hard work it's possible to cover the day to day costs. I think that insurable events (e.g. large vets bills, stolen tack etc) are where most teenagers might struggle and would have to rely on their parents then.

I'm trying to think what I did. I started working part time from the age of 14, but mostly that was money for extras. I think when I "went" (lived at home) to university, I was contributing more but still had assistance. Moved out 2 years ago and covering all horse costs at that point plus my own rent/bills etc. My parents did have some savings set aside for my horse, which they gave me and I used them this year on the last two vets bills/disposal costs.

For the past 4-5 years, I've realised that having a horse has financially held me back, as most of my peers have bought houses etc. I'm now spending some time horseless to build my finances up and "play catch up". If 15 yo me had known this I doubt she'd have decided differently though!

 

[eventer and proud]

I am very lucky in that my parents pay for my horse and we get free hay/haylg however I babysit and have a job helping at events at the local EC which means I can co tribute a lot to ever entries and lessons