How do we afford our horse

Yep i suggest getting a sharer as well. I know its not always ideal but if having one lets you keep your horse its worth it :) Good Luck x
 
do you know what i dont bloody know how we manage but we do,nobody goes without,we dont go out i shop at charity shops cause a love them anyway.kids never go without.i dont smoke i dont drink.BUT im like a kid in a sweet shop if i visit a tack shop,horsey auction ,market etc.would happily pay hundreds a pounds on things for the horses but would never dream of spending that amount on myself (unless of cause it was horsey stuff):D no on a more serious note people are different and we all have different expectations of life and some people cope better than others
 
Well, I guess in some respects I am lucky as don't pay livery due to us as a family having our own land and stables. We (me and my sister) pay a set amount each month to my mum to cover farrier, vets, wormers, hay, straw etc but then my mum and dad do pay for the hard feed. I still struggle though as bought a house last year as well. I have just managed to finally get a lodger who will come in May and hopefully that will help me financially and i can actually compete as well! At the moment more is going out of my account than is coming in though which is never going to be good long term!!!

I did / do the spreadsheet so know what's going in and out (it's not good!) and I hardly have a social life, rarely buy any new clothes and haven't had my hair done since Dec! Lol

If I was really struggling i would trade in my car (again) and get something even cheaper as paying finance on a car plus the increasing costs of fuel do make that quite expensive.

At the end of the day though, as someone said - you only live once and you may as well enjoy yourself whilst your here! I don't have an OH or any children though so i guess it's ok for me to sacrifice clothes and decent food! Still, an old school friend of mine has just died due to cystic fibrosis (she was 32), things like that do make me think "s*d it" and I realise I really shouldn't worry about little things like money!!!
 
I was lucky enough to get a house with stables and a field, works out cheaper than having a separate house and paying livery costs. Don't smoke/drink/go out, only buy cheap food. I also am lucky enough to work from home so no travel costs :) But I do rely on comission to pay for show entry fees+diesel to shows, but that's a good incentive for me really :)
 
I struggle to pay for my horses. I live with my partner's parents at the moment for very little rent and if this wasn't the case then I wouldn't be able to have a horse. My partner pays for one of the horses but we are having to sell her now because we just cannot afford all of them. I am also going to have to find a sharer for one of the others and if I don't, it will be another case of selling so I will just be left with the one.

I used to work 2 jobs to afford them, one full time and one at weekends, but I was so tired and had no time to spend with my horses it seemed pointless. So I moved them to a cheaper livery yard and 2 went on grass livery. Even if I have just the one horse eventually, I don't think it will be possible to pay a mortgage, bills, food, run a car and have a horse. The thought of that makes me really sad so at the moment I just think myself lucky for the situation I'm currently in.
 
I have two ponies on grass livery.
I stay with my fiance and my wage goes on ponies and I have a set amount (£300 per month) and this pays for hay, injections, feed, livery, insurance etc for the year. The rest of my wage goes on house bills.
OH is self-employed and his wage goes on other bills etc.
We have enough left that we can have a take-out now and then - or this month I have really squeezed my money together so I could buy his bday present - but generally we lead a quiet, non-drinking/non-smoking lifestyle,

If I was by myself, I wouldn't be able to afford bills to live never mind factor in my ponies :( My OH has a golf membership so he has his hobby and I have mine.
 
Before I met my OH I worked out that to be able to leave home and rent a little place or share with friends AND keep a horse that I needed to be on 25k. That was to be secure but it still wouldnt have left anything for being frivolous. I was close to that on my old job anyway after my degree, all I needed to do was my insurance exams to get a pay rise and I would of been there.

Tbh though I think with horses if you are used to having them and the cost then most of the time it can be managed. My parents aren't rich at all, my dad was self employed mechanic/tree surgeon when I was growing up and my mum worked part time but they managed to own their own home, have 2 children, 2 horses and 2 ponies!!
God knows how they did it but as a child I never felt like I was missing out. I never had new clothes or fancy toys but I had my own pony!!

Lifes changed, parents are better off now and I don't have to worry about money but it still surprises me how far money can go if you are careful :). I think where there is a will there is a way! If life changed again, I would live in a caravan and get overtime at tesco if it meant I could keep my horse. A horse is a luxury but at the same time to me a horse is part of a healthy happy lifestyle that I couldn't give up without one hell of a fight. I'm glad my parents never gave up because my happiest childhood memories are being at the stables around the horses :).
 
I will be very intrigued to see what people have written.
I dont have a horse yet, and at present I am paying off all my debts. I am hoping to be debt free by the end of the summer, and then my plans are to start saving and buying my horse. Only thing I worry about is at present I live at home with parents, but me and OH are hoping to get a flat soon. the job I am in at present has promoted me, but its not official yet. Once it is, then I am hoping to get a descent pay increase which all helps of course!

On paper I could manage a horse and flat on my wages I earn now, with no other debts, so I know it could work!
 
hello all trying to save space and not reply to all individually. Im currently doing spread sheets now. My bf could but wont pay for my horse but why shd he he works hard for his cash and has his stuff to pay. Bloody expensive way to make you happy he said last nite.
If i move in with him im losing out finacially and gaining more chores eh great....not. Its actually in my bfs interests to buy another house as he has 6 other places and is working like mad to make his master plan work yrs down the line. Buying another that we would all live in means he can offset tax for longer or summit.
My horse my problem. My love though and Im looking into how and what to do to keep him. Nearly broke down at yard today. Selling car as mines way to expensive. Anything really. suggestions on a postcard pls ;)
Any tips on getting a sharer ie amounts asked or contracts etc responsibly they have. I mean its my baby im in-trusting to someone eek
I commend everyone for their efforts in caring for their four legged chums. I hope I can do my boy just as well.
 
My mum had a sharer for one of her horses, for 7 years! She became my mums best friend so it can work :). She paid £20 - £25 per week but was allowed to compete him.

If you decide to get a cheaper car get a diesel!! I've got a little 1.7cdi corsa and it's cheap as chips to run! £99 for tax, £99 for service :) and It gets 70miles to the gallon and it's nippy too :).

Horse feed get own brand. I got a bag of meadow nuts for £5.95, they came in a plain White bag but when I looked on the little White label they are made by saracen and had pretty much exactly the same ingredients as what are in Saracen super fibre pencils :D. Veg oil adds weight better then any expensive conditioning cube and lo-salt combined with a bit of normal salt is as good as any electrolyte.

Haylage is cheaper then hay at the moment and as it's higher in protein and DE they generally do better on haylage then hay and you can feed less.

I'll try and think of other good saving money tips.. Oh shop around for insurance, I saved £150 per annum by swapping from pet plan to Kbis.
 
firewell said:
My mum had a sharer for one of her horses, for 7 years! She became my mums best friend so it can work :). She paid £20 - £25 per week but was allowed to compete him.

If you decide to get a cheaper car get a diesel!! I've got a little 1.7cdi corsa and it's cheap as chips to run! £99 for tax, £99 for service :) and It gets 70miles to the gallon and it's nippy too :).

Horse feed get own brand. I got a bag of meadow nuts for £5.95, they came in a plain White bag but when I looked on the little White label they are made by saracen and had pretty much exactly the same ingredients as what are in Saracen super fibre pencils :D. Veg oil adds weight better then any expensive conditioning cube and lo-salt combined with a bit of normal salt is as good as any electrolyte.

Haylage is cheaper then hay at the moment and as it's higher in protein and DE they generally do better on haylage then hay and you can feed less.

I'll try and think of other good saving money tips.. Oh shop around for insurance, I saved £150 per annum by swapping from pet plan to Kbis.
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Thanks for tips. The car costs sound good. My feed is included in livery I just get supplements if needed. And I've posted ad for sharer. Fingers crossed
 
Interesting thread! Id like to hear anyones experiences of sharers as this is something I may consider doing with my horse, as currently looking at ways to cut my costs, even just as a temporary measure while I have a couple of other bills to pay
 
Shop around for livery! Our yard is only £100 per month for DIY. It wasn't advertised as it isn't a 'proper' livery yard and we found it through word of mouth. Look around at farms, if a farmer has a few stables he/she doesn't use it's worth asking if they would mind you keeping your horse there.. You may have to sacrifice on facilities but could save lots of money! At uni I kept my horse on a farm with a friend, £60 per month for a stable and as much of 300 acres that we wanted to use for grazing! No school and an ancient stable but was fine, loads of fields to ride and school in. The farmer was just happy he was getting a few quid for an unused stable! It had rubbish in the stable when we got there, the farmer was happy we cleared it out :)
 
I have to hide costs from from my wife. she would die if she knew how much horses cost.

It is probably unusual because every time i'm in saddlers and buying things I pay half cash then half by card so she can't see how much it costs. Staff in saddlers laugh and say it's normally the wife hiding things from the husband.

Wife also thinks horses eat grass and nothing else.

Never mind it's all worth it in the end.
 
im known as tight :o

im a student - work and i pay for my horse and car - i do not get any help £ wise from my folks.

My clothes i buy in sales/ebay etc.. i dont wear tat though. but you can get some cracking bargains on ebay......

if i ever lost my job AGAIN (touch wood i dont) and i coludnt get another asap - then the horse would go on grass livery....
 
paulmac said:
I have to hide costs from from my wife. she would die if she knew how much horses cost.

It is probably unusual because every time i'm in saddlers and buying things I pay half cash then half by card so she can't see how much it costs. Staff in saddlers laugh and say it's normally the wife hiding things from the husband.

Wife also thinks horses eat grass and nothing else.

Never mind it's all worth it in the end.
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PMSL, love it. Yep, I remember my mum used to wait dad went out and then rushed to bring shopping and stuff in and hide it.
I actually send fiance to the shop for my horsey feed (as it's beside his work) and then he spends his money on their feed :) Love the whole pay half by card and half by cash though!!
 
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