Keeping horses in New Zealand - how does it compare?

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LizzieRC1313

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I'm seriously considering a year or 2 in New Zealand working and would like to have a horse out there if I went.

Anyone lived there and had horses?
How does it compare price wise? both horse buying and keeping?
What sort of livery is common?
How easy is it to get to competitions and access good training?
How easy would it be to sell the horse when I eventually came back?

TIA
 
I worked out in NZ for two hunt seasons so don't have experience of buying and selling but do have experience of horses out there. In all the places I went I don't remember seeing any livery yards everyone had land and horses at home but I was in a rural area so Im sure this is different in the cities. Trademe.co.nz would be a good place to start looking at horses and give you an idea of prices. Biggest difference I found was nothing lived in, I only met one family with stables everyone else the horses lived out 24/7 year round even as fully clipped hunt fit horses. We usually had 1-2 hours drive to each meet, didn't go to any competitions. As for selling the horse as always it depends on the horse, the people i worked for have recently sold off their hunters, all excellent hunters used to being in the field or whipping in and they've struggled to sell some of them.
 
The last sharer I had for my horse was from NZ and she was amazed at the differences. Everything in NZ seems to be a bit more rustic. Most people have their own or rent land so there are very few livery yards. Horses mostly live out 24/7. Keeping horses is, as a result, quite a bit cheaper than over here. Funnily enough, I long for 24/7 turnout but she was quite sold on having a stable to use when it suited her e.g. overnight before a show or to have them to hand for the farrier etc and was planning on building some when she went back!

My sharer was a dressage rider and thought nothing of travelling up to 4 hours for competitions. She was amazed at my reluctance to go more than 90 minutes away and at the fact I had plenty of options within that 90 minutes (despite there being less than average in my area) She did a lot of training with international riders - I think the horsey community is quite small out there so even the top riders do a fair bit of 'normal' teaching.

Turnout rugs still tend to be proper canvas NZ rugs (and are called covers) Tack is called gear. That's all I can think of off the top of my head!
 
I lived there for a year in 2009/2010 just outside Christchurch - we left the day before the big earthquake,
I worked for a few months on a standardbred breeding yard and for a few months for an eventer - who now lives in the UK (coincidence).
I was also lent a mare on loan for about 6 months or so.
From what I saw:
Nearly all horses are kept out.
Cant say I saw any livery yards - but it seemed to be easier to buy a place with land out there - we got lucky and rented a rustic farmhouse (shed) with 10 acres.
The shows are well spread out.
The eventing season is short and seems to be in their winter.
Not many tack shops/feed stores etc - limited choice and expensive
Trademe is brilliant (similar to ebay)
Canvas rugs
Trailers are called floats.
People are friendly and helpful
My hacking was terrible - although appreciate that this is not the same for other parts of NZ
Where I was no-one really hacked out, just schooled all the time - especially the eventer girl. The only person who hacked was me and another lady who was also English!

I think it varies massively though between North and South Island, so my experience is extremely limited. Its definitely interesting though.
I did manage to see a very interesting talk by Mark Todd and Lucinda Green whilst I was over there!
 
I worked for a farmer who had ex racehorses and random other ones he had been given - he used them to access the more remote parts of the farm and played polo on them in the summer. End of the season, he would chuck them out on the farm and get them in again in April/May. They were tough and very hardy. No clipping, no rugs, and only shod to work them.

My initial contact out there (who got me the job) had 2 horses which he evented - it was very very basic compared to the UK (and I think as a teenager, I might not have been terribly complimentary at the time....!). Everyone had floats (trailers) and pickups - no one had a lorry at the RC level I saw. A lot of travelling between competitions too.

Different areas are more horsey - NE of North Island is racing country - think long green grass and white post and rail paddocks. I was an hour south of Auckland but if you went further south, there was the National Eventing Centre at Taupo, run by a girl who had worked for Mark Todd. Nice place, but basic compared to the UK - think UK in the 70s.

I'm sure things have moved on - it's a long time since I was there, but it's a much more rural/agricultural life away from the cities and there are fewer people and less spare money.
 
Drop a PM to LuceMoose - she was there for a couple of years and moved back to the UK (with her NZ TB!) two years ago. She also found it very different!
 
I lived out there working for Mark Todd (lucky me!) and a kiwi young event rider/SJ of the year. All the horses lived out in pairs in big steep hilly fields with an old school NZ canvas rug in bad weather. That includes the race horses, the advanced eventers and the Grand Prix sj's. We had a barn with stables but only used it to tack up. There was ****** all hacking as all the land was privately owned with no bridle paths but we would ride round the farm tracks of the bits my boss owned. We did our canter work in a big cattle field and the rest was flat work/jump schooling in the arena. I loved it, horses were treated like horses, it was all super laid back.

The other place I worked was upriver from Queenstown in South Island. We had access to crown land which meant open access riding across the Dart River valley and sections of the mountains. I worked as a trail guide there. The horses lived as a massive herd, but it was rough and ready, the owner shod and did the medicating of everything, there was no local vet or farrier. When a local horse snapped it's leg in the annual races they had to get a farmer to grab his gun and shoot it.

Brilliant place, I loved horsey life out there!
 
Hi - thanks for the replies - much as I expected I think. Love the fact horses are out and that would suit my job too!

Do they largely have TBs out there or is it the same variety of breeds &/or types we have here?

Would obviously have to put thought & research into my location as experience obviously is affected by that - much as here I suppose.
 
All the horses I worked with in north island were TBs. South Island were all Standardbreds (great laid back temperaments for trekking) and Clydesdale crosses. We had an Arab too.
 
Finally a post where I may be useful!

I am a kiwi, and I have never been to the UK so will just tell what usually happens here.

All of the horses live out, bar racehorses and the odd people who are lucky enough to have stables. We honestly don't all use canvas rugs, I live in the wettest region of the south island and while we may use canvas summer sheets, the idea of having to throw a cover on a 17hh horse in wind and torrential rain is daunting enough without it being canvas (the weight of them omg). We have no full TB's where I graze, very few of them in town actually, most are TB crosses, stationbreds, clydie crosses or ponies. Oh plus the western horses. I have quite nice hacking, a full beach in fact, but we are spoilt where we are.

I pay $12.50 for grazing a week where I am, which is at the Pony Club in town, so as long as I am a member of the PC I can use all of their facilities (new sand arena, show jumps, XC jumps ect). As for prices of horses, i paid $1500 for my mare who is a 17hh Clyde Stationbred cross, she done a fair bit of dressage, hunted ect and is probably just about schoolmaster level, just a tricky ride as she's so sensitive and strong. The reason why there's not a lot of eventing over Summer is that that is when the majority of our A&P shows are on, but it honestly depends on where you are in the country. To get to shows where I live the closest would be 1.5hrs on winding roads, more like five hours to get over the hills to Christchurch where some really good ones are. PM me if you'd like and I can email you pictures (bearing in mind we are just coming out of winter so everything is mud!!).
 
I've been in Auckland since November. I'm riding a nice warmblood mare at the moment and renting a property with three stables- proper wooden stables with hard standing pens outside each and five fields. I'm keeping an eye out for a horse to buy but not pushing it until after winter.

Where I am, north west of Auckland, a lot of people have their own land but there are quite a few places offering grazing. On my road there are three smart yards with stables, arenas etc. The cost of grazing and basic 'livery' at one is $75 per week. I haven't asked anywhere else.

We have great hacking from our house as our property backs onto a forest but the mare I'm riding is kept at my instructor's on the other side of a busy road so we'd box everywhere. She has a proper lorry, not a trailer. Horses in my area seem to be warmbloods, often German lines, but sometimes crossed with quarter horses or 'stationbreds' (hardy farm horses). There are quite a few thoroughbreds and some Friesians, PRE's and Appaloosas too.

Gypsy cobs are popular and cost a fortune!

Also very useful to take note of 'covered' meaning 'rugged'. When I was looking at a yearling filly and read that she'd been "covered" I was horrified. Turns out she was just snuggly for winter!
 
Thanks for all the helpful replies!

emmad96 said:
Finally a post where I may be useful!

I am a kiwi, and I have never been to the UK so will just tell what usually happens here.

All of the horses live out, bar racehorses and the odd people who are lucky enough to have stables. We honestly don't all use canvas rugs, I live in the wettest region of the south island and while we may use canvas summer sheets, the idea of having to throw a cover on a 17hh horse in wind and torrential rain is daunting enough without it being canvas (the weight of them omg). We have no full TB's where I graze, very few of them in town actually, most are TB crosses, stationbreds, clydie crosses or ponies. Oh plus the western horses. I have quite nice hacking, a full beach in fact, but we are spoilt where we are.

I pay $12.50 for grazing a week where I am, which is at the Pony Club in town, so as long as I am a member of the PC I can use all of their facilities (new sand arena, show jumps, XC jumps ect). As for prices of horses, i paid $1500 for my mare who is a 17hh Clyde Stationbred cross, she done a fair bit of dressage, hunted ect and is probably just about schoolmaster level, just a tricky ride as she's so sensitive and strong. The reason why there's not a lot of eventing over Summer is that that is when the majority of our A&P shows are on, but it honestly depends on where you are in the country. To get to shows where I live the closest would be 1.5hrs on winding roads, more like five hours to get over the hills to Christchurch where some really good ones are. PM me if you'd like and I can email you pictures (bearing in mind we are just coming out of winter so everything is mud!!).
Click to expand...

What are A&P shows! Yes I'd love photos please! I'll PM. The price of keeping horses seems cheaper? If horses are kept out, does there tend to be hard standing to tack up & everything or not? Is there an area where eventing tends to be focused or is it spread round the country.

LadyGascoyne said:
I've been in Auckland since November. I'm riding a nice warmblood mare at the moment and renting a property with three stables- proper wooden stables with hard standing pens outside each and five fields. I'm keeping an eye out for a horse to buy but not pushing it until after winter.

Where I am, north west of Auckland, a lot of people have their own land but there are quite a few places offering grazing. On my road there are three smart yards with stables, arenas etc. The cost of grazing and basic 'livery' at one is $75 per week. I haven't asked anywhere else.

We have great hacking from our house as our property backs onto a forest but the mare I'm riding is kept at my instructor's on the other side of a busy road so we'd box everywhere. She has a proper lorry, not a trailer. Horses in my area seem to be warmbloods, often German lines, but sometimes crossed with quarter horses or 'stationbreds' (hardy farm horses). There are quite a few thoroughbreds and some Friesians, PRE's and Appaloosas too.

Gypsy cobs are popular and cost a fortune!

Also very useful to take note of 'covered' meaning 'rugged'. When I was looking at a yearling filly and read that she'd been "covered" I was horrified. Turns out she was just snuggly for winter!
Click to expand...

Haha I'll bear that in mind! Are you enjoying being out there?
 
Yes, very much! It is very different and I do get homesick from time to time but it's an incredibly beautiful place.

My husband and I both love being outside so we ride, cycle, go kayaking, walk in the forests and in summer we swam in the sea and even went swimming at night. There is a huge amount to explore.

I've done some update posts in the club house with lots of photos- it's very, very beautiful.
 
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