parents paying for horses

ladyearl

ladyearl

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Just musing about my own experience and those of some other people I know. And so wondering what the general opinion on what stage do you think that parents should stop paying for their children to keep horses.
 
Never!! But thats because they pay for mine though I do think there comes a time that I'll have to pay for them but hope that isn't too close.

Relistically I would say it depends on the individual really, as my family (not all I should mention) are quite horsey so it doesn't really make much different if I pay or they do.
 
My parents paid up until I left school at 16, once i had a part time job at 14 however if I wanted "extra" ie more than one group lesson every two weeks, then i paid for that
 
Mine never did pay for mine....got my first horse when I was 15 and paid for her keep with paper rounds and working at the yard.

The horse was given to me by the owner of the yard.
 
ive always made some contributions from about the age of 13 when i first got a job didnt pay for alot but the odd shoe, bag of feed hayledge bedding etc, i almost always buy the tack, feed, farrier trips, physio and bedding now but mum generally will buy the hayledge for me which is only about £20 a week i will eventually take it all over but the horses are kind of ours although mum doesnt ride, rahter than them being mine, if the horses were on livery i would probably pay it all
 
I'm dreading when my Mum stops paying entirely! I'm not going to uni, so will leave college summer '12. I pay for most lessons, most of my feed, supplements, half of my bedding, insurance, back, and some shoeings. The bit that will cripple me is trying to study, work and pay for his livery :(

Serious summer work this year in the hope that I can get ahead of the game I think, and saving money from work at the moment :)

J&C
 
i pay for pretty much everything . daughter is 17 at college doing a levels . when i was her age i worked 3 jobs to fund my pony and did everything and it was hard . i probably make it to easy but i also get a lot out of her horse and will probably take over the ride when she goes to uni.
 
My parents used to pay for me to have a horse on permanent loan for two years when I did my A-levels. Then they wanted me to go to uni, I didn't want to go (partly as didn't want to leave my horse) so we came to a deal whereby they'd buy the horse for me :) and they would pay a set ammount towards his upkeep at uni. I did some part-time work, working on yards and selling paintings to pay for the rest. Gradually as I got more work I took over paying for him completely.
 
I helped pay for mine through college and took over all the bills when I left home. We have no come a full circle as I bred a super colt from my mare, gave him to my dad for his birthday and I will pick up the tab for his bills!
 
I think as soon as they are old enough to do some part time work they should pay at least something if not everything towards their horses. I have always paid the majority of mine, up until I was 18 and at college still I paid for everything bar shoes which my mum paid for to help me out. I worked all spare hours to pay for it!
 
I have paid sporadically since I was 14yo- whenever I had some money from the odd job. When I went off to uni, I had already loaned out my gelding and my parents said that I had to sell my section A- I really didn't want to but ultimately they had the final say. In the end they realised what she meant to me (non-horsey parents). So I'm lucky that my parents pay for my mare's insurance, luckily she doesn't need much feed and I pay for any hay/bedding etc. When I finish uni I will be on my own then and will be paying my own horsey way- which is totally fine as they've been more than good to me building fencing at home and looking after her for me whilst I'm at uni. I think it should be whenever you have a job and can therefore pay your own way.
 
I'll never stop paying for Dolly (life and finances permitting obviously!) as I see her as my commitment - daughter is too young to enter into something so expensive and completely understand the value of it (aged 9).

I suppose as she gets older I'll expect her to contribute when she can, but the bottom line will always be that she's my responsibility financially.

However, she contributes lots. Way more than I thought she would. She saves up all her pocket money, and money presents, and buys Dolly things to save me having too (rugs, saddle pads, tack etc...) even pays for lessons sometimes and offered to pay for shoes! :) I don't insist on it, but it reminds me how eager and appreciative she is.

She ordered a new headcollar and lead rope, and a diamondy browband from ebay yesterday! Gotta keep her off ebay!!! :D
 
my dad pays for jerrys livery and vet bills but I try to contribute where I can.
saying that, jerry is still technically owned by my dad and I took him on as my dad didn't want him to be sold on to someone/somewhere that wouldn't treat him well (previous owners mistreated him).
 
Mum pays for pretty much everything essential. Anything pretty and accessories wise :o I either buy myself or I have that as bday/xmas pressie and nothing else. However we have 2 horses, one is retired and lives on grass with some hay 24/7 and is very very cheap to keep and the other mum rides as well so we do share him.
 
I have always paid but my daughter contributed with pocket money and birthday and christmas money from the age of 10 (small amounts obviously).
Once she started earning even when she was at school she contributed to specifics. By 16 she paid for shoes and "extras" like physio. At uni she paid me a regular sum and for shoes. She paid entry fees and for "luxury items".

Now she works full time and has a mortgage. I do pay about half her costs but I look on them as mine too. I encouraged her to get a second horse which she could not possibly afford herself so we paid half each and I help with his keep. I run the lorry.

She knows she is lucky and is appreciative. It is my "hobby" too and I am happy to pay. She went without "designer" stuff as a teenager and has modest clothes/hair bills now and runs a tiny car to afford her horses. She works hard and will gradually take over the costs in full ( I hope :D:D).

I think it depends on the parents, their circumstances and the "childs" attitude. I have rarely felt taken for granted and am honestly happy with our arrangement. Others may think she is spoilt - I just think she is fortunate to have such a lovely mum:cool:
 
I think my parents got it right. As soon as I got a job I was expected to pay for my horses, if I end up with sprogs that wanted a horse I would expect them to pay for upkeep once they got a job that paid well enough.
 
my parents paid for my first horses full livery. i got him when i was seven and then went off the rails a bit for teenage years and he was semi retired out in a` field. he was a connie who put on a lot of weight and suffered from laminitise, so he spend a lot of time on restricted grazing. im glad my parents never sold him, but for his sake he should have gone to a new owner who would have used him properly. instead he ended up retired early. i got back into riding a few years later but at that stage i had a few years before i was too large for him and he was too old. he did enjoy a lovely retirement with the herd hed always been with, until he was pts.

i think if i had been expected to pay towards him i would have been more responsible and appreciated him more. now as an adult since i pay my own way, i def appreciate it more!
 
my parents pay for everything, but it turned into more than a hobby and they want to pay now cause it's not just for fun. they've got some pretty good lump sums out of two ponies that have been sold and so they're happy.
if i wasn't competing then i'd have a proper job to keep my own horse, or not have any at all.
 
i haven't yet left school and my parents pay for both of mines D.I.Y livery,i have to earn and work for the money to pay for bedding,feed any extras ect, which i think is fair :)
 
I am in my 30s and my parents pay towards mine as get free livery, transport and vets bills. I do help out on the farm in return though.
 
My parents still give me free stabling - I pay for everything else but when I offered Mum money for the stabling she told me to 'go away' in a not quite so polite way!



Bx

(I'm in my 30s BTW)
 
misst said:
She works hard and will gradually take over the costs in full ( I hope :D:D).

I think it depends on the parents, their circumstances and the "childs" attitude. I have rarely felt taken for granted and am honestly happy with our arrangement. Others may think she is spoilt - I just think she is fortunate to have such a lovely mum:cool:
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I'll take the pony and pay for her keep, you can keep the brown one, he's turning out to be rather costly :p (I do appreciate it really!)
 
Mine paid for a loan I had for the first few months as they knew my phd funding would kick in after that.

Its funny though, the main reason I never had horses growing up was that my parents didn't want to have to be driving me out the 20 mins to the stables every night etc. Now I'm a married women in mid twenties and have my own, and my mum has got in the habit of getting me to pick her up on my way to the stables every night and coming along and mucking out and feeding while I school. Hehe knew I would get her eventually! I think she likes the time with me and loves horses so its nice for her.

When I have my own kids I will be getting them horses and will pay for all essentials until they leave university as I think education is way too important to mess around with part time jobs. (not to offend anyone, thats just my opinion, I had a part time job one term of university and got really bad marks, was a struggle to actually get my first due to that bad term)
 
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My Mum paid for my pony until I left school, he wasnt sound enough to compete anymore so I borrowed some money to buy a 3 year old, within a couple of months of starting work.

She took over riding the pony but I paid for half of his keep, seeing as she'd paid for my ponies for several years that seemd fair enough.

I think that as soon as you reach adulthood or leave school you should pay for your own horses.
 
I pay for my horses upkeep, and we were repaying the wagon which my parents took out a loan to pay for, but they paid it off with some inheritance they received - I didn't ask them to do that though :)

My parents own the land and stables though, so I get free livery I guess, and help with manual labour towards the upkeep, fencing etc, hedge and tree planting, other management stuff. I am well aware of how lucky I am, just need to persuade them (after 23 years of owning the land) that adding an arena would add value ;)
 
Mine are paid for by my parents, however I do share Pickle with dad as he rides as well. I do very much appreciate it. I pay for lessons/shows/transport.
 
my parents paid for my first horse at 15 - then age 16 i got a job and paid for my own

except my mum bought me my 2nd horse... sold that and then i eventually saved up and bought the best horse ever :D

makes it all the better knowing i pay for her myself :) :)
 
From the age of 16 I got my first job, at this point my mum paid basic DIY livery (at the time £15 a week) and I paid for all straw, haylage, shoes, feed, competition fees, travel and any extras. This continued until I finished my degree..

I graduated at 20 and now working full time, I pay for everything. I wouldn't expect my mum to pay for my horse now even though I sometimes have to drag her away from the stables!! If it was choice she would pay for him but its not her bills to pay! I would be embarrased to let her pay for him now.

I can't stand people who let mummy and daddy pay for their ponies, in my experience these people are the most ungrateful
 
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