If you don't have a spare £100 you shouldn'town a horse?

I think maybe it's more the case of you shouldn't have a horse if you can't 'find' £100 in an emergency, I don't have £100 spare but I know that if I need to get the vet, Dentist, Chiro, saddler out etc I will be able to get them because I can scrape the money together from somewhere, weather by borrowing it, selling stuff on ebay or setting up a payment plan I know I could find the money if needed.

If someone really can't get the money together so they fail to get the vet or whoever is needed out then I believe they shouldn't own a horse as the horse will end up suffering.
 
Circumstances can change for anyone at anytime none of us know what is round the corner but we have to try and do the best we can. The only thing that winds me up is when people try to pass on oldies who would be better off PTS but use the excuse that it costs too much to PTS. Surely if you're paying livery every month you should be able to afford the cost of that instead. That's the only thing that's never made sense to me.
 
i am one of those many many people who have seen their income drop dramatically in the last few yrs - I have gone from having 2 horses on p/t livery to 2 horses on DIY & now just 1 horse on a very basic DIY yard - yes I do have a spare [ as in I could live without it - just] £100 for emergencies but having to dramatically cut my horse expenses has been no bad thing - I have become far more careful - got much better at questioning wether I really need something AND having managed to get her total running costs down to about 150 quid a month which for a total lifestyle/hobby thing actually compares very favourably with many working folks recreational monthly spend:)
 
I do not have my own horse as I am saving up enough money for the initial outlay, costs for vettings, travel, tack, dentist, emergency vet funds etc, and I will wait until I feel I have a comfortable amount to get me started. I am sure once I do buy a horse I won't have any spare money as everything will be spent on the horse, but in an emergency I will always find the money.

I had a horse on loan at uni and I lived on basics (weetabix, beans, veg, water etc) for a while just so I could make sure he had good quality hay and feed, shoes every 6 weeks, a comfy stable at night and quality rugs etc as well as some spare for vets etc.

I do think this statement may be more towards some posts on here asking for a free horse, generally the nice hacking/first horse for a novice type. When someone else posts a link with a horse that is maybe a couple hundred quid, the poster then says can't afford that...as I have seen a few posts like this.

I think it is different for people who already own but then circumstances change....to those that do not have the initial outlay for a horse to begin with and do not realize how much keeping a horse actually costs.
 
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JoannaC said:
Circumstances can change for anyone at anytime none of us know what is round the corner but we have to try and do the best we can. The only thing that winds me up is when people try to pass on oldies who would be better off PTS but use the excuse that it costs too much to PTS. Surely if you're paying livery every month you should be able to afford the cost of that instead. That's the only thing that's never made sense to me.
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I don't quite agree with this. I do agree that it's sad to pass on oldies that's not fair and mine will stay with me till the end. For the pts option it can be expensive, when my mare broke her leg I was told she would make broodmare only and due to not being good enough I wasn't perpaired to breed from her so had her put down. Very hard when it's a much loved horse. I had to find neally £350 to have her put down and taken away which was on top a months livery to pay. So I can understand if people can't afford to put their animal down but passing them on isn't the right way
 
I need to have a spare £100 lying around to own my horse? Alas, the horsey world has passed judgement on me, I shall never own a horse again! ;)

In seriousness though, I could scrape together money if it was an an emergency, but if my vet bills ran into three figures and exceeded my income, I would not be able to keep the horse and would try to re-home to people that could afford it. That's just my logical side coming out.
 
i have been in this situation living off £80 a month for me and the horse not a fun situation. even though he is a saint i couldn't find him a suitable loan home, thankfully i didn't loan him because a few months later he went lame and it took 2 yrs to get him right. luckily by this point i had a full time job and an OH and he had him insured.

atm he isn't as he is 23 so again wouldn't be insured for illness (and due to his lameness they made up loads of exclusions so not alot was insured anyway) i have a pending vets bill which is i am positive its going to be rather large which is going bankrupt me (plus the huge feed bill this month due to the weight loss) so not having 2 pennys to rub together isn't far off. but i love him so i will find a way.

i think if you physically can't afford to keep a horse and there welfare is suffering then yes you should rehome them but if you have a way then why not.
 
How funny! Have not read any replies so this is off the cuff. I do not have a spare £100! So what! Nor do most people. What does that have to do with anything? If I need the vet I call him. I worry about the bill later. To be honest that statement just re-enforces the view that 'horsey' people are snobs or worse. What about the 'paper' millionaires that actually have ******* all? Bloody hell, if it was true you had to have a spare £100 to own a horse there would be very few horse owners.
 
I dont think its about just having £100 lying around on the kitchen surface. I think the point is that, god forbid if something awful were to happen, you COULD get your hands on that money - be it overdraft, savings, parents, friends, bank, house, car.

I.e. If my dog has to be put down when we find out whats wrong, then I will find the money to have her put down and cremated. I don't currently have it sat in my purse, but I have ways and means of finding the money.

If you GENUINELY do not have a single extra penny to your name, then no, I don't believe that you should have a horse as you're opening yourself and your horse up to so many potential problems. So many unforseen things happen around horses - for example, a tree collapsed and smashed all the post and rail fencing up in our field the other day - thats certainly not something we have planned for! But we've FOUND the money from somewhere to fix the fencing, otherwise Frank would be running around the A46.

So Laura, like in your case, you're not what they mean as you could find the money.
 
Laura, don't worry. It's a question of priorities however much or however little money you have. You have proved that your animals come above any other considerations and that is more than commendable in my book.

It's a very great pity that more people aren't like you.
 
Oh and, as a second post............... a few VERY good friends of mine are rich. Yes RICH. They are farmers and the wives keep horses for hunting. HOWEVER, the horses are treated like cattle. They are kept frugally, hay and water, no frills. Won't go into details but you can imagine. So tell me, is this preferable to an owner that hasn't got a penny to rub together but whose animals go without nothing. Believe me, what you have on paper is no reflection to how you live.
 
I haven't read all the replies but I don't have a spare £100 lying about! I do have a large overdraft which I can use for emergencies though. I think it's all very well saying you should wait for a horse until you have a stable job/income but we are in a recession and people can be made redundant without warning! On the other hand I think it's good advice for novice owners who don't understand that their horse may or may not need vet treatment and have no idea how expensive that can be!
If you are living on benefits and barely scrape by then yes you shouldn't go and buy a horse.
 
I certainly dont have a spare £100- if I did it would have been spent by now! From working at a vets though i have the moto of

"You cant afford to NOT be insured"

when people told me they couldn't afford insurance. I have seen too many animals die because they didn't have the insurance cover.
 
I don't have one ATM dispite lack of horses driving me slowly crazy!
Simple fact is I don't think I could fund a horse without comprimising somewhere and I am not prepared to do that-my son will only grow up once,and although he would get a lot out of a horse in the family he would miss out on so much else to fund it.

The day to day things are fine,the expected unexpected things(like a thrown shoe) would be fine,but a real problem would be tricky and I don't think it would be fair on my family to ask them to go without to pay for it.

However,if you can do that,then how much is say idle in your bank does not matter.
The ability to pay for treatment in an emergency by whatever means does.
 
It's all very well making judgements on people about having spare money for unexpected expenditure. Some people have had their circumstances change over the years. Maybe they have lost their job or split with their partner etc which meant that they are less well off than they were perhaps when they first got their horses.
What should they do then, sell them? What if they are older horses or some with issues etc. It is up to the individual, if they go without so the horse is sorted then that is up to them,
Different of course if they have children as they obviously come first.
I can't stand these judgemental people who think they are superior because they are better off than someone else.
Remember, things can change very quickly, you just don't know what's round the corner! so don't be so smug!
 
I don't put money aside for emergencies but I do always have the funds if anything should go wrong. When I received a bill for £1000 for vet treatment for Niagara I was able to pay it off. Saying that, I do treat myself to clothes,shoes etc. and also tack and equipment for my horse but I am careful elsewhere ie. Don't smoke, don't drink, don't buy expensive products, make up etc. Don't ever go out anywhere.
I prefer all of this to not having my horse.

I think you love your horses so much and they know it :)
 
*technically* i shouldnt be able to afford a horse. HOwver, i go without holidays, dont smoke nor drink - work my butt off in my job - go uni too.... cause its what i want...

i have money put aside for emergancies...but i know everyone cannot do that. its not much but its something.
 
i do agree in some respects but i think there are very few horses owners who could not get £100 from somewhere if they needed it - be it from selling items on ebay or borrowing from family or friends or on credit - if you really could not get £100 quickly in an emergency then i think you should not be looking at buying a horse (but then if you have the cash to buy you must have some spare money) - if you already have one that is a different matter as your circumstances might change at any point.

if you can't afford to call the vet in an emergency then i think that is serious as the welfare of your horse could be at risk.
 
TBH I think it's important to either have finacial back up of some sort OR have them insured, if just for your own sanity than anything else!!
 
I was told it was £1000 you were supposed to have!
So I saved up a grand ... and bought a horse with it. Oops.
But, like you (and most others) have experienced... when there's a will there's a way and I'm sure most of us could scrap the money together somehow if something awful happened.
 
Never have I see someone who has no or very little money do anything other than give everything for their horses including going without heating and food.

Most of us have gone through tight money times at some point in our life and if you haven't you must be in the minorty.
 
Personally I definitely think that it is irresponsible to own a horse unless you have a spare £100 [or more] and I am astonished at everyone saying they don't - unless they mean something different to my take on it.

To me, its not about necessarily having £100 just lying around as spare change, but its being able to come up with the money if you needed to - ideally from savings, or an overdraft if necessary. Its not about being rich, but I think if you're in a position where you genuinely cannot lay your hand on a couple of hundred quid at short notice if needed, then you shouldn't own a horse - the day to day standard of care may be excellent, but that is no good if it has an accident and requires vet care that you can't afford.
 
"If you can't afford the vet, you can't afford the horse"

I always remember someone saying this and it struck a chord.

I am not really sure that £100 is neither here nor there - its not a lot of money in today's terms and certainly wouldn't cover much of a vets bill now that everyone seems to have insurance!

I think the difference is - whether you can realistically find the money for a vets bill - Laura has done that. She has begged, borrowed, stealed - whatever to pay the bill off.

Not all of us have the money lying around and perhaps live on the edge of the sword. I do have the savings to pay for a large vets bill if it ever occurred but actually that money is sitting there to safeguard me and my family - not to spend on the luxury of owning a horse at the end of the day!!
 
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