How much would a foal cost, per month?

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Annielusian said:
Spring Feather: Believe me :P Animal buzz never wears off with me! I've had my doggie for 10 years now and it's still like when I first got her, even if she's old, fat and snotty now.

Is there anything like an ex racer I could get, that isn't a TB? I don't have anything against them, but I don't think they're for me, really. Unless I could find another like Dancer, he was perfect! He could gallop and he would come back to you with a twitch of a finger. I rode him when I was 9 and honestly, I could have put younger kids on him. Sadly he died suddenly of a twisted gut :(
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There will be other Dancers out there. Plus of course you can teach most of them them that sitting up, or pulling on the neckstrap or a voice command means "Oi mate, we are not racing now". If you go to one of the pro rehoming places they will try to make sure you get one that suits you and already has some of the "new" buttons in place.
 
Annielusian said:
JFTD: Everyone always picks up on the wrong parts of my posts! I like to post in a jokey manner and although I would like to take lots of pictures and I think they're cute and fluffy...that is NOT why I want one and I would never let that cloud my judgment of horse-buying.
My videos of Ned are all in the school, I'm not all that great at jumping and I know it shows in my videos! You should see us out hacking, that shows my true talent.
(Ps: I do often prefer PMs, easier to keep on top of!)
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I'm not picking on any part of your posts - I'm reading them as a whole and forming the picture that paints of you- it may not be accurate, but I'm not judging you on a single comment or throw away remark.

I have seen many posts and threads by you, and many of them have lead me to the conclusion above. The trouble with having a distinctive signature is that people tend to notice your posts more. Your posts (that I have seen) do not suggest you are overly experienced or knowledgable about training horses or than you are anything other than a novice.

The trouble is - and you seem to be forgetting - that bringing on a young horse isn't just about heading off for a nice hack - it takes a lot of schooling (both in the school and hacking) - it takes subtlety and tact to produce a well schooled hack, possibly more so than a local level competition horse.

I'm not pm-ing you as I think my views are possibly unkind. I should be prepared to stand by them publicly (even if some of the "nicer" posters bash me up for it) - rather than hide behid a pm.


eta - a sane, sensible ex-racer may not be a bad idea. I've known some lovely, straightforward ex-racers.
 
Lula: You're taking all my posts out of context. First you thought I wanted one because they're cute and now you seem to have got 'the 12 yr old girl at my yard has got her very own foal so i want one too' from something else I said!
It's been a life long dream of mine, to get a foal, it's not just a silly, girly fantasy and it's the only thing that's spurring me on at the moment. If I hadn't had the thought of getting one, I'd probably still be sitting, watching Jeremy Kyle, jobless and with no idea of how to drive!
I have the patience, so time wouldn't be an issue at all.

Rhino: Thanks for the waffle :) It was a very interesting read! My YO said she's not selling Ned, I did ask! She loves him almost as much as me, dispite never having sat on him. It's a shame :( I'd have paid well over his worth, but she's not a money grabber, she's rather soppy :P like me!
 
thereaper said:
Standardbred trotter for sale at my yard. He raced trotting but needs a lot of work
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Oh gosh! Don't tempt me :P Not ready to start looking yet!!

JFTD: That comment wasn't really at you, just generally ^^ Sorry if it sounds like I was aiming it at you!

I would consider an ex racer, but like I said, not fond of TBs for riding myself. Unless I could find a small-ish one? Not a fan of riding big, leggy things. 15hh perhaps, that's about Ned's height.
 
I'm not a fan of anything I can't get back on easily on a hack or under the low branches in the woods, either.

There are small tbs about. I'd like a TBxHighland myself... (Not an ex-racer with that breeding though :D)
 
Annie, my best advice.

Once you have your test got and work on a stud yard. You will lots of foals to play with, get to know how to handle them and come away with a lot experice then you will get in any other way.

I've worked on studs, recuse centres, showing, dressage and eventing yards and I've just taken on my first 3yr old. Having worked with horse since I've left school and having a fair few of my own, as well as problem ones, ones in too break, and the odd one to sell I would of never taken on a baby before having this experience.
 
Mucky Shavings said:
Annie, my best advice.

Once you have your test got and work on a stud yard. You will lots of foals to play with, get to know how to handle them and come away with a lot experice then you will get in any other way.

I've worked on studs, recuse centres, showing, dressage and eventing yards and I've just taken on my first 3yr old. Having worked with horse since I've left school and having a fair few of my own, as well as problem ones, ones in too break, and the odd one to sell I would of never taken on a baby before having this experience.
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I really would love to do that! I did have a look around for studs a while back, but I couldn't find any around me. Do you know of any in the Milton Keynes area?
 
I have two yearlings - One ive had since he was weaned and the 2nd is a D i bought of a friend who - Wanted a baby - and found out she couldnt cope.

Theyre not easy, and quite unpredictable.

I would really think hard about buying one - My 4 year old who is a saint on the ground bought as a 3 year old - Isnt such an angel ridden - So it is really a chance weather they will be quiet ridden

My first horse was a 15.3 15 year old mare who really was bombproof you could put your children on her. I had her on loan for 3 years. I came from riding school horses but this mare taught me so much in the 3 years i had her. I would never have gone from riding school horses to a baby, it really is worth going for something older as they teach you along the way. :)
 
JFTD said:
You think I was waiting for links :eek:

The highland x arab is too small really - would need to go to 15hh / 15hh2 to accomodate my height I think... I wonder how bit the highland x anda will make...

I DO NOT HAVE ROOM.I DO NOT HAVE ROOM.I DO NOT HAVE ROOM...
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I'll have the arabo highland then, I'm only wee! Not that I have room either! And no, I knew perfectly well you weren't looking for links :D
 
I'd go for the ex-racer type too, at least you can spend a year re-training it then get on board, rather than having 4 yrs waiting for a foal to mature and possibly injure itself along the way - they are accident magnets!! You may have a rose tinted view of a cute foal galloping about in fields to take pics of - but to be honest they don't do much of anything except eating! The first 6 months is when they are cute - they usually look like butt ugly cut and shut jobs for the first few years at least so not very photogenic!!!
Then you've got all the temper tantrums and you really need to be experienced and very confident to deal with these things or your horse will quickly learn to walk all over you. RS horses are very different to private ones and will take the piss if given an inch. An almost ready made one, ie.age wise and maybe sat on, would still give you that satisfaction of doing an awful lot and giving you tons of experience to go on and maybe get a youngster in the future when you've got more funds available, there is also alot more to owning a foal than just being a good rider.

Cost wise a foal grows very fast in its first year so they may start off as slightly cheaper than an adult horse but within 6 to 8 months they'll eat the same amount, plus finding a good yard that is geared towards youngsters and their social needs is a nightmare - my friend has been to 3 before she found a really good one and it wasn't cheap! It might be slightly cheaper if you had one at home but then you'd need two - so either way it's not any difference cost wise!!:D And if cost is the main thing you are trying to save on now then I'd stick to the RS horses for the mo and save up for what you really want and gain more experience in the meantime - sorry to be so blunt but you do come across as very much a novice through the questions you're asking, as others have said, but very enthusiastic and willing to learn which is the key thing and you're in the right place!! Maybe try and help out at a local stud to get some hands on time with babies?
 
rhino said:
I'll have the arabo highland then, I'm only wee! Not that I have room either! And no, I knew perfectly well you weren't looking for links :D
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Lucky - I wish I was little :p I can just get by on my 14,2 pure highland, but I think the arabx wouldn't take up so much leg!

We need a plan - how do we get the extra room? Lottery? Bank robbery?
 
I don't mean to but in & I don't know if my points have already been mentioned but, my views are this:
You say you live at home, don't drive yet etc so you have the money. Well what about when you do want to move out? And when you get a car and have to pay for tax, MOT, insurance and petrol? You won't afford it with the money you get a month. I struggle and I get a lot more than you.
Also, you say you don't go out much etc but if you got a foal (and you're anything like me and wouldn't ever sell it) that horse will be in your life for 30 years (give or take a few years..) Its a big commitment!
I have always wanted a foal, but I have got a 14yo ex racer as my first horse and I know I would have never coped with a foal (and I have a fair bit of experiance with them).
I think I'm having more fun re-schooling my boy than I would have done with a foal. Plus my boy is cute too - it's not just foals that are cute....

Sorry if I come across as nasty, but considering the things I see at the sanctuary I work at, I don't want to see anymore people wasting horses because they won't admit defeat, all because its a life long dream. My dream since I was 5 was to be a jockey! But sometimes you have to accept that not everything is going to happen straight away.
Please get a schoolmaster first rather than slinging yourself in the deepend.
 
If we're winning on Friday, we could pick up the cash on Saturday and get the ponies dropped off asap. Which from Argyll wil be a pick up on Friday and drop off down here the following Tuesday.

You know you have a Scottish horse addiction when you know the Gillies routine off the top of your head :eek:
 
JFTD said:
If we're winning on Friday, we could pick up the cash on Saturday and get the ponies dropped off asap. Which from Argyll wil be a pick up on Friday and drop off down here the following Tuesday.

You know you have a Scottish horse addiction when you know the Gillies routine off the top of your head :eek:
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It's even worse when they recognise your voice on the phone! They are only based a few miles from me but I could pick the ponies up from Argyll myself and hold them at my yard until the Friday - would that be acceptable to you?
 
Alexart: The yard I'm at now often has foalies and youngesters about and we often get 3 at a time and I have to help with them. I didn't really touch the latest 3 as they already had owners by the time they got there, but the bunch before, I was very hands on with Ziggy! What a lovely chap. If he was just a few inches bigger, I would have snapped him up. He was very problematic with nipping, but we didn't teach him not to, Ned did! He's a saint of a pony. The latest 3 are a bit annoying as they somehow managed to steal my bag through the fence, open it, steal my camera and drag it across the field! How they didn't break it, I'll never know.
Then there's Spirit, he's a great deal bigger than the other foals and like his name, he is VERY spirited. He was a brute. We soon figured out it was because he was still a mummies boy, so we took him away from her and it worked. He's now back with her and the bad habits haven't returned.

The only problem foal we had was Henry, but that's because the YO wasn't on hand as much and the 'bigger girls' were all off somewhere else too. He was alright, but reared sometimes. The last straw was when he went over backwards. I so wish I had the knowledge then, but I didn't and the YO had a human baby to worry about, so Henry was sold and as far as I know, is doing very well.

And ofcourse! I forgot Marie. She was bought as a 2yr old and was the best little pony ever. She was the first pony I ever rode out alone. Didn't put a foot wrong.

Also, the point of my question wasn't to save money, just rather how much it'd cost, realistically :) The only thing I want cheap, is the cost of actually buying the horse.


Anyway! I'm off to bed :)

EDIT: Also, I'd share my mums car, we'd share the costs too. (She said she'll use her bus pass more than her car, when she gets it next year) I wouldn't want to move out and there's no fear of me getting kicked out. My 36yr old brother is still here!

Eek! I really should be in bed. Driving lesson at 8 and work at 12!!
 
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rhino said:
It's even worse when they recognise your voice on the phone! They are only based a few miles from me but I could pick the ponies up from Argyll myself and hold them at my yard until the Friday - would that be acceptable to you?
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Sounds perfect but wouldn't you get tired holding them - isn't there a spare field you could pop them in or something? :D

(That is bad, if they recognise your voice!)
 
Not on the topic of the foal, but if you are working full time in retail, 36.5 hrs a week, and only earning £550 a month, then that is well below minimum wage!!!
 
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Annie there is a stud farm on the Buckingham road (A421????) I want to say its called Fair Winter Farm but not sure if I have that right

Not sure if they'd take on extra help though as there is so much red tape with liability nowadays they may just keep to a core group of staff

personally I'd also advise against getting a foal, the last thing you want this experience to do is put you off completely and leave you with a youngster needing a home but at the end of the day its none of my business

All the members here can do is be there to advise if you have questions or not advise if they disapprove strongly, thats their choice

As for your original question of costs I echo what someone else said about the fact that they outgrow stuff fast, we always worked on it costing about half the cost of an adult pony up to the age of two and about the same cost thereafter with costs obviously spiking suddenly when they start needing more kit

I hesitate to point it out as it seems obvious but 4 years with no riding can take the shine off owning a horse if you are a keen rider
 
WelshD said:
Annie there is a stud farm on the Buckingham road (A421????) I want to say its called Fair Winter Farm but not sure if I have that right

Not sure if they'd take on extra help though as there is so much red tape with liability nowadays they may just keep to a core group of staff

personally I'd also advise against getting a foal, the last thing you want this experience to do is put you off completely and leave you with a youngster needing a home but at the end of the day its none of my business

All the members here can do is be there to advise if you have questions or not advise if they disapprove strongly, thats their choice

As for your original question of costs I echo what someone else said about the fact that they outgrow stuff fast, we always worked on it costing about half the cost of an adult pony up to the age of two and about the same cost thereafter with costs obviously spiking suddenly when they start needing more kit

I hesitate to point it out as it seems obvious but 4 years with no riding can take the shine off owning a horse if you are a keen rider
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100% agree with this^

On a lighter note, cute foals can turn into butt ugly yearlings that you wouldn't dream of taking a picture of coz your too embarrassed of them ;)
 
JFTD said:
Annielusian, you ask why people think you are more inexperienced than you think you are. I think I can answer that. You sound novicey and you sound immature in the way that you post. You don't tend to post informative posts, you post bubblegum comments about horses being cute. You've posted videos of you riding Ned, which aren't awful, but don't demonstrate any obvious skill. You say you want a foal because theyr'e cute and you want nice photos of it growing up - and that rings alarm bells for a lot of people.

I'm sorry, this sounds like a character assassination, but you did ask - and I remember you asking on a previous thread. "Would some power the giftie gie us / to see ourselves as ithers see us" (spelling may be off - my old Scots is rubbish) as it very much were.

My second horse was a youngster - not a foal, but unbroken - I had experience of reschooling and breaking and I was (or seemed) a heck of a lot more confident that you. I didn't have much back up though. I am not going to lie - my horse has turned out great and I love him to pieces, but over the last few years I have doubted we'd get here. He's scared the hell out of me, he's ditched me on the floor, I've made mistakes and he's forgiven me - because I wasn't daft enough to buy a standardbred, amongst other things.

I've seen many young horses ruined by people doing what I did and what you plan to do - and I was bloody lucky mine wasn't one of them. There is no need for you to take that sort of gamble with a horse's future, and with your own safety. I can't stop you from doing it, but I can recommend against it. And that is why I am not answering your original question - it's not an omission.

I apologise if this seems harsh. I did consider pm-ing you, but that would be cowardly I think?

And I'm aware I don't speak for everyone on here - other posters may think this is a grand idea, or that I've gone mad :)
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Just a question, you've just admitted to being quite lucky that your horse wasnt ruined and you didnt have help. OP has help, is not afraid of asking for help and she has the right positive attitude. I dont mean to point you out, as other people have posted similer, its just I only read up to your post :)

I might be old fashioned, but I know alot of people who have 'grown' with their young horses and with regular lessons (on ground too) have turned out perfectly well.

I had RS lessons as a child, brought my own pony who taught me some 'proper' lessons and i HAD to learn fast. Best thing I ever did.

IMO so long as you have help at hand, why wouldnt it work?
 
I bought a Welsh Section D at 9 months old, she's now 2 1/2 years.

She has cost very little to date really, just £20 a week grass livery until 1st Oct this year when I decided to stable her along with my daughters pony, so now £40 per week which is inclusive of bedding and hay.

The only additional costs I can think of are a few rugs to date, wormers and the odd bit of feed which has really been a treat rather than needed.

She has amazing good feet, is checked every time I have the farrier in to trim my daughters pony but to date has still not cost a penny as she hasn't needed a trim :eek:

But come spring, the costs will escalate.
I have a full set of tack to buy as a minimum. All other equipments needed I already have.
Then I have training costs which I am sure I will need, even if its just the support of a riding instructor on a regular basis.

I once sat down and worked out the costs, the reality is she will cost me twice what it would have cost to buy her backed and riding away nicely.

But my time with her has been priceless. I have learnt so much, and I would be confident that I could deal with most youngsters now. She's put me through the mill at times, I've been double barrelled in the field, chased out of it, kicked in the jaw and almost knocked out, dragged around, and barged about.
Youngsters are not for the faint hearted, so much can go wrong.
I am fortunate, Lily has turned out to be a real nice Filly that is good natured and now behaves very well. But the truth is I should never have bought her, I didn't have the necessary experience and it's been really hard at times.
The fact that we are in a good place life wise now is as much down to luck and good breeding as it is to how I dealt with the problems I faced.

I dont regret it, I love her dearly and she's my horse of a life time. The bond you build is incredible when you buy them as foals.

Think long and hard before buying a foal, its not so much the costs that you should worry about. It's more a case of can you raise a foal into a good natured well mannered horse. If it goes wrong, and you can't, what do you think the fate of the horse will be?
 
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