IS 28 POUNDS A WEEK A BAD PRICE FOR HAY WATER BEDDING AND LIVERY??

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Cookie876

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hI,
I want my own horse but my mum and dad say it is to expensive. Is £28 a week a bad price for hay bedding water and lvery?
 
It depends on where you live, but it seems a fair price.

BUT a price is only fair if you can afford it. Would it be Mum and Dad paying for the horse?
 
No that is pretty cheap really! Depends whereabouts in the country you are, does that include stabling and what are the facilities like?
 
no i think that is average-very good price but dont forget you need shoes, vets, feed, tack, lessons etc so even after the £28 per week it will be A LOT more money

ETS - actually that is very cheap just thinking ours is about £28 for the livery plus hay and bedding!
 
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Hi, I'd say that £28 all in was a very good price for DIY livery. You could phone round a few in your area to compares prices.
 
Personally i'd say thats a very fair price! I used to pay £25 p/w for stable & grazing (no bedding/hay) on a yard with good facilities which i thought was good value. Currently pay £20 p/w for grass livery only so i think £28 is very good with everything included. It would depend on the area you live and the facilities though. If the yard has a school/good hacking etc... then i think thats a bargain. Your mom & dad are right on the 'horses being expensive' part though. As well as livery/hay/bedding you need to factor in the extras of hard feed (if needed), wormers, farrier, dentist, back person, saddle fitters, insurance etc... :)
 
That is very cheap. I pay £60 a week inclusive of hay,bedding and hard feed. On top of this there is £60 every 6wks to the farrier.Annual vaccinations cost me £55 every year, worming between £11 and £20 every 2 to 3 mths depending on the wormer used.Then there is the cost of fuel back and forth to the yard which will obviously depend on how far away you live. Unexpected vets bills and the cost of insurance will depend on the horse you buy. You pay roughly 10% of the sum insured for horse insurance depending on what you cover.Dentist costs me £40 per year,but some horses need a 6mthly check depending on their teeth and mouth conformation.Then on top of this if you want to go to shows you are looking at extra money on top of this. It may be a cheaper option to look into being a sharer as usually you just pay a weekly fee for this and the owner remains responsible for the rest of the costs. A loan horse will generally cost the same as having your own as most people who loan their horses out expect you to pay for everything.
 
It sounds great, I used to pay £28 and that Inc stable, grazing, hay & use if the school for half an hour a day.
I don't want to sound patronising but you need to sit down and work out all the costs. You also need to work out how many miles this yard is away and factor in the cost of fuel as you'll be going there twice a day, everyday, 7 days a week!!!
Is that unlimited hay as if it's only for eg 15 kg a day then your going to need extra and if so do they charge?
Factor in charges for turn out or bring ins!
I'd recommend getting insurance which covers vet fees otherwise you will need to put a bit aside to cover them if something happens to your neddy.
 
That is so cheap that I'd be suspicious! The only way a livery could afford those sort of prices is if they produce their own hay and bedding. Even so, this year may be a bad year for hay and there could be a shortage which would mean prices will rocket. I run a livery, and in the winter bedding actually COSTS me (buying in bulk) £16 per horse as I use megazorb, and haylage costs me (again buying by the lorry load) £21 per horse!
 
no it is a very good price, i pay £28 a week for just the stable and livery, this is cheap in my area. (please note i am not moaning about the price of my livery i am very happy where i am)
 
Beware Child there is A LOT MORE expense in keeping a pony than just the livery. What's the point in coercing your parents into buying/loaning you a pony by underestimating the cost to them. That is very short sighted. Best that will result from doing that is the pony will have to be sold on again; worst, your parents will end up in debt and/or the pony will end up ill/neglected/dumped... Maybe you don't care if your parents get into debt, just as long as you have your pony. That's selfish and spoilt.

If you want a pony that bad, be responsible. Wait until YOU can afford to keep one yourself. The country is in recession right now and few people can easily afford a horse or pony on top of everything else. You won't know your parents true financial situation or what worries they have. Don't be selfish. Do you have brothers/sisters, as well? Yourself: work hard at school, having riding lessons when your parents can afford them and learn as much as you can about stable management, etc., then you'll be ready to have a horse down the line. If you ride well and are competent in horse management already, maybe look locally to help someone who's already got a horse. But DONT push/sulk/rant to your parents about wanting a pony your parents tell you they cannot afford right now. That is childish.

Sorry, but been there, done that, got the T-shirt and video.... (as a child) and now I've four children of my own I really appreciate struggling to make ends meet.
 
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£28 a week with everything included cannot be correct. Even if the yard owner was doing it at cost price it wouldnt be possible, unless you mean a weeks bedding is a handful of straw, and a couple of slices a bad hay.

When I first got a pony when I was 9, even though we had our own land, the cost is quite something! Hard feed is around £8 a bag, supplments cost loads, tack is very expensive, lessons are over £20 an hour now, memeberships to clubs etc, vet bills, dentist, farrier and there are loads of other costs to be included too.

Even if you are correct (which I doubt) saying that hay abd bedding is included it will still cost over £250 a month to keep a pony at the very minimum. Including one off costs, such as yearly injections, teeth, back etc it would come to well over £3500 a year ensuring that you don't have any problems (no vet visits other than injections) and no tack or rugs etc need replacing.
 
Spyda said:
Beware Child there is A LOT MORE expense in keeping a pony than just the livery. What's the point in coercing your parents into buying/loaning you a pony by underestimating the cost to them. That is very short sighted. Best that will result from doing that is the pony will have to be sold on again; worst, your parents will end up in debt and/or the pony will end up ill/neglected/dumped... Maybe you don't care if your parents get into debt, just as long as you have your pony. That's selfish and spoilt.

If you want a pony that bad, be responsible. Wait until YOU can afford to keep one yourself. The country is in recession right now and few people can easily afford a horse or pony on top of everything else. You won't know your parents true financial situation or what worries they have. Don't be selfish. Do you have brothers/sisters, as well? Yourself: work hard at school, having riding lessons when your parents can afford them and learn as much as you can about stable management, etc., then you'll be ready to have a horse down the line. If you ride well and are competent in horse management already, maybe look locally to help someone who's already got a horse. But DONT push/sulk/rant to your parents about wanting a pony your parents tell you they cannot afford right now. That is childish.

Sorry, but been there, done that, got the T-shirt and video.... (as a child) and now I've four children of my own I really appreciate struggling to make ends meet.
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This is very good advice! Though maybe not what you want to hear. I always wanted a pony as a child but never got one. Instead, I spent every spare hour I had down the local riding school, helping out for free and maybe getting one free ride a week (on top of my paid for lesson). Finally, I was rewarded with a job there when I took a gap year, where I learnt to train and break horses but was paid a pittance. I then went to uni and when I got my first reasonably paid job, got a horse share. Only when hubby and I were financially stable, did I get my own horse. I think that you appreciate horse owning far more when you have had to work hard for it.
 
Cookie876 said:
hI,
I want my own horse but my mum and dad say it is to expensive. Is £28 a week a bad price for hay bedding water and lvery?
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That's a really good price. But obviously is only part of the monthly costs associated with horse ownership.

You can quite easily write off £300 a month on keeping your horse - and that's before associated veterinary costs and general odds and sods.

So for your parents to say it's too expensive - would be correct, imo. It is a massively expensive hobby.
 
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Blimey, your yard owner must be doing it for the love of it then! It costs a lot in deisel to produce the hay and straw and they will have business rates to pay (per stable and per square metre of arena, and also on any cross country course etc). Then they will have electric and water (which around here is almost £2 per cubic metre!).

With the current hay shortage they could be SELLING the hay and making far more money.
 
It doesn't really make a differance if it is the going rate or not your parents may just not have the ££ available

even just your keep thats over £100 a month + shoes around £40 a bag of basic feed + chop £20 ( you have to hope it is a good doer) + the price of the actual horse and that is without any cash aside for vets, wormers, odd bits off tack, treats etc you are looking at £200 a month ... if your parent haven't got it they haven't got it. maybe look for a part loan??

I was 21 before I could stop wishing on my Birthday candles for my very own horse. I did loan up until then but I paid for everything myself. Get a Saturday job and show your parents you mean it !!
 
£28 a week for livery, hay and bedding is so cheap I wouldn't even go to the yard.
There is absolutely no way that the yard could be maintained and sufficient quantity and quality of hay & bedding provided for that price. I would fear for the well being of my horse.
 
Wagtail said:
..............I always wanted a pony as a child ........Instead, I spent every spare hour I had down the local riding school, helping out for free and maybe getting one free ride a week (on top of my paid for lesson).
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Gosh yes, I remember those days! Leading the riding school learners on foot in calf high mud - my cheap black rubber riding boots getting sucked off frequently as I ploughed through. Thinking myself lucky if I managed to ride a pony bare-back in its headcollar and lead rope down to the fields at the end of the day for turnout - all of 2 minutes ride if I was lucky! Doubt yards/riding schools can do that these day... what with all of today's Health & Safety Regulations. But it was fun as a kid. I loved it and learned a lot 'helping out'. :)
 
Round here £28 per week is pretty average. The yard nearest to me charges that for stable. grazing, haylage and water, on DIY. The yard is immaculate, American barns, indoor/outdoor school and jumps. The haylage is home produced, which must reduce the cost to the yard owner.
 
Spyda said:
Gosh yes, I remember those days! Leading the riding school learners on foot in calf high mud - my cheap black rubber riding boots getting sucked off frequently as I ploughed through. Thinking myself lucky if I managed to ride a pony bare-back in its headcollar and lead rope down to the fields at the end of the day for turnout - all of 2 minutes ride if I was lucky! Doubt yards/riding schools can do that these day... what with all of today's Health & Safety Regulations. But it was fun as a kid. I loved it and learned a lot 'helping out'. :)
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Haha! You must have been at the same yard as me then. :D
 
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