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

If it's any help I kept a diary of costs for the first month I had my horse on full loan (this Jan) and it cost me just over £400 for the month (no vets fees that month).
I haven't kept the diary up and have just started to update it again for May, I reckon I can keep the costs down a bit (being a bit more skimpy on the bedding and not having to feed as much due to being out all day) but I estimate £300 - £350 per month as an average cost over the year would be reasonable.
 
I think if you can get livery with hay & bedding for £28 a month then you're on to a winner... but are there any riding facilities?

If your parents are saying that £28 is too expensive then they are saying it for a good reason, either they don't want the debt it can bring, they don't want the responsibility of keeping a pony and the risk of you losing interest... or they simpley dont think you are ready for your own pony yet... who knows.

Maybe you should wait, have riding lessons, learn about horse care & stable managment and then when you are responsible enough to pay for the pony yourself then go and get one... Until then you are a child governed by your parents...
 
My friend is on a yard in fife that is £25 per week ALL YEAR, it includes 2 bales of straw per week and 20lbs of haylage per day in the winter and the summer (start of april till november) it is just stable and grazing any hay/haylage/straw is charged extra! Yard has indoor school (25by25ish) and large outdoor school OK hacking straight from the farm and decent grazing.
 
Have you considered getting a share?

Sharers usually pay about £20 per week (which is about the cost of an hours group lesson at a riding school) and you usually have access to the horse 3-4 days per week.

It might be a nice middle ground for you to meet your parents half way.

I was in the same situation as a teenager.
My parents would not budge and I had to work at riding school for my rides.
I bought my first horse when I was 18 and one year after I joined the RAF and I was so proud that he was all mine with money I had earned myself!

So your horsey time will come :) even if it has to be in a couple of years time!
 
It's surprising how much livery varies depending on where you are.

I'll be paying £50 per week for stable, grazing, feed, hay, bedding, turn out and bring in, use of 2 arenas which is classed as full livery here. The yard is 20mins away from where I live. If I go to a yard closer the same can be anything from £90 to £120 pw (for Somerford Park).
 
I pay £45 a week for everything, but my yard is 30 mins away from where I live (the price I have to pay for good facilities)... However, on average I spend around £350 per month!

I always always wanted my own horse as a kid and begged my mum and dad for one!! When my dad then wrote a 3 page business case as to why I couldn't have one, I gave up!! lol! (bless my dad, he's such a busioness man!!)

I must say, it was such a joy at the age of 26 to finally be able to be in the position to get my own boy! He's the best thing in the world! Costs me an absolute fortune, but all those years of wishing and hoping, and having the odd lesson here and there, and my dream finally came true! I guess I appreciate him more now!!

OP - If your mum and dad can't afford it, you should go to your local yard and help out (basically what everyone else on here has said!). Enjoy being around horses, then when you do get your own, you'll LOVE it!! :)
 
ihatework said:
£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.
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just done a quick tally - I keep mine hay stable & bedding for £32 each a week and I am on a ver cheap yard !!!
 
It doesn't matter if the livery is free. If your parents can't afford to prioritise the time and expense for potentially the next 30 years, long after you've outgrown pony/given up horses/moved away to uni/whatever then you can't offer any horse/pony a safe home for life. Would you want an animal put to sleep or sold to a bad home simply because you're growing up?

Other things to consider
- helping out at riding schools
- helping out at the local Riding for the Disabled
- sharing
- loaning

You should be able to find out about local options from your riding school and any horsey shops as well as the internet.

Good luck.
 
That is a very cheap price. I don't know where abouts in the country you are, but I've not heard of anywhere for many years which includes hay and bedding for that price. I'm guessing it must be a small private place, and the owner/farmer is probably not running it for any profit.
They must be supplying the horses with own grown hay, as hay prices around me are now around £6 a bale, meaning my TB would eat almost £28 worth of hay a week in the winter!
Check what assitance is available (ie for when you are on holiday or unable to get there). Also check the fences and the stables look safe and maintained. Does it have a menage, or a suitable field you can school in? If not, then lessons or schooling using other yards facilities will cost more money. You'll need to insurance the horse, which is expensive, but unless you've got several thousand saved in a bank account for vets fees, then it is essential your horse is covered for vets fees and public liabilty. Even simple, common ailments like puss in the foot, can end up costing £300 plus. A set of shoes is about £60 to £65 every 5 or 6 weeks.

I think, as you are asking if £28 a week to keep a horse is reasonable, then you would be better off sharing to start with. There's lots of people looking for sharers, and it would be a nice introdution to horse ownership, without getting yourself in too deep.
 
I pay £32 pw for livery and haylage and use of all facilities etc, that is DIY on weekends and she puts out in mornings for me and that is all, we do the rest. Straw is £10 extra pw on top of that, so i would say £28 pw is good but look around and see what it actually entails - as in is it DIY/part etc and also as others have said, there are lots of other monthly/6 weekly/yearly/weekly whatever costs including in owning a horse, once you've actually bought it, tack for it etc.
So think about it, you could try a loan or share first? I have my own horse and I am nearly 16 but although my parents pay for most of it I do chip in to put money towards things for my mare and do alot of work and she does take up alot of time, and studying and having a horse is hard but if you think you have the money and the time to put into a horse then i would say try discuss it with your parents first and maybe try a loan pony/horse to start off with and see what happens?
 
i pay £15 pounds a week for stabling and grazing,not many facilaties (sp)but i love the place hay £2.50 straw £2.00 so not complaing
 
dominobrown said:
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.
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I wish ! £30 an hour here :L
tbh OP , just wait.I'm not trying to be condescending , im a teenager too, but its a massive responsibilty and a huge chunk of your time and money. Have you tried working at a riding school and then loaning one of their horse for a feww weeks in the summer? BEing a handler at a riding school teaches you soooo much.I would know next to nothing if I hadn't done that.

The fact you're trying to tell you're parents its cheap suggest they are not horsey.Dont push it .Its a *flipping* massive thing to consider. Out of most peoples agenda in this day and age.
Spend a day in the pouring rain and snow ,trying to catch a horse for 30mins and then poo picking. Tell us how you like it .. :D.unlesss you're a troll :L . xx
 
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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Nope,still fine, I did it up till about two years ago :D
....god i was fit then. Had too runn around with the horses in trot and canter for about 5 minutes , whilst keeping in control :O
 
I am another you think you should wait to get your own horse/pony...
At 14 I rode a friends horse for them as she didn't have enough time but had own land etc. so was happy for horse to stay, I showed responsibility for that horse and when I turned 16 my mum rewarded me and bought this horse. I worked part time whilst at school so I paid for the horse myself and would cycle there twice a day.

Now what I'm trying to say is you should be absolutely sure you can cope with the responsability a horse requires, also if you aren't from a horsey back ground you need to make sure you have support that could maybe notice illness/injury which a novice would miss. It's hard work!!
 
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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same price at out yard including stable but hay xtra £4 per bale DIY

it works out at £4 perday

sorry havent read all posts
not sure how old you are but would you beable to help towards the cost paperround?

when i had my first pony when i was in my teens from a non horsy parents/background
i just rented a field £2 per week then in the 80s..but i had a saturday job in a shop which paid the rent but my parents paid the rest,shoeing etc
like nuttynuget i also cycled to check my pony in all weathers even walked it once when we had lots of snow 12 miles round trip

sharing a horse could be a good option
 
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