Partially paying for your horse while in school...

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itsapiebald

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-Before everyone starts commenting about how I won't be able to afford a horse while I'm at school, please read the whole post!-

Basically I want to know how much of the upkeep of a horse I could afford while I'm working and at school (I'm 16)
Livery is £30 a week
Farrier is £20 every 6-8 weeks (barefoot)
Dentist is £50 every year unless pony needs to be seen earlier
Feed is £20 every 8weeks (good doers)
And then obviously there's the rest of the costs...vaccinations, working, tack, insurance etc

I want to work to partially pay for the upkeep of another horse as my pony is 17yo and has been diagnosed with arthritis, this means he is very limited in the work he can do. I don't want to be working so much that I can't keep up with school work (I'm currently doing well and not far from all my target grades)

My parents are really supportive and have agreed to completely pay for my current pony but wouldn't be able to pay for everything if I had a second pony as my sister has a pony too.

They said that if I paid the livery then that would be enough but I'd rather pay more as they already do so much for me (which I really appreciate)

I would love opinions from parents too!!
 
can your family look into getting a loaner or sharer for the arthritic horse, maybe just a happy hacker who can keep it in light work? It would save some money in livery
 
I paid for my own from the age of 16 (although I'm sure my parents would have stepped in for any emergency costs).

I did a lot of babysitting (could do homework then) and also 2-3 sessions of washing up and waitressing at local pub. I generally earnt £60-80 a week which paid for the horse (who lived out). I also did favours at the yard in return for the odd lift to shows/lessons. My birthday & Christmas presents from parents were generally insurance, rugs, tack
 
ihatework said:
I paid for my own from the age of 16 (although I'm sure my parents would have stepped in for any emergency costs).

I did a lot of babysitting (could do homework then) and also 2-3 sessions of washing up and waitressing at local pub. I generally earnt £60-80 a week which paid for the horse (who lived out). I also did favours at the yard in return for the odd lift to shows/lessons. My birthday & Christmas presents from parents were generally insurance, rugs, tack
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It's nice to hear if people that have completely paid for there own horse at my age.

I was thinking of either working at a hairdressers or doing waitressing.

As we have a trailer and my sister goes out to shows quite a lot, I could get a lift with them :)
 
I think the main issue will be time, having another to do every day will be a struggle, not so bad in summer, to fit in without trying to do a job as well, if you could find something very flexible that pays well in the holidays then you could save the money to use in term time that may work but it depends on where you live an what is available.

I know one girl who helps in a smart B&B weekend mornings, that pays well and as the venue does weddings there is often extra work as and when, waitressing is flexible, working on the yard where you keep them may be worth looking into if other liveries want services that are not offered, the really easy option in the right area is babysitting, paid to spend time in someone elses house studying but to me the best option would be to loan/ share your current horse to reduce the time and cost involved before next winter when you will probably find there is just not enough time and your school work starts to suffer.
 
paddi22 said:
can your family look into getting a loaner or sharer for the arthritic horse, maybe just a happy hacker who can keep it in light work? It would save some money in livery
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I don't think we would put him on loan or get a sharer for him, as he's had a really hard life making him abit difficult with people he doesn't know. So I don't know if we could trust him without either me or my mum there when they rode him. I know this doesn't cut down the cost but me and mum would keep him in light work between us :)
 
itsapiebald said:
-Before everyone starts commenting about how I won't be able to afford a horse while I'm at school, please read the whole post!-

Basically I want to know how much of the upkeep of a horse I could afford while I'm working and at school (I'm 16)
Livery is £30 a week
Farrier is £20 every 6-8 weeks (barefoot)
Dentist is £50 every year unless pony needs to be seen earlier
Feed is £20 every 8weeks (good doers)
And then obviously there's the rest of the costs...vaccinations, working, tack, insurance etc

I want to work to partially pay for the upkeep of another horse as my pony is 17yo and has been diagnosed with arthritis, this means he is very limited in the work he can do. I don't want to be working so much that I can't keep up with school work (I'm currently doing well and not far from all my target grades)

My parents are really supportive and have agreed to completely pay for my current pony but wouldn't be able to pay for everything if I had a second pony as my sister has a pony too.

They said that if I paid the livery then that would be enough but I'd rather pay more as they already do so much for me (which I really appreciate)

I would love opinions from parents too!!
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It depends on how much you get paid an hour and how many hours you work, and how fast you are at keeping up with your school work.

I'd think you'd struggle at school and with riding and other social life if you worked more than 15 hours a week.

Can you find a part time role paying minimum wage (or more) for 15 hours a week that fits around 2 horses and school?

I think two horses, school, friends and part time work might be a bit much.

Could you find a horse to ride / share instead?
 
be positive said:
I think the main issue will be time, having another to do every day will be a struggle, not so bad in summer, to fit in without trying to do a job as well, if you could find something very flexible that pays well in the holidays then you could save the money to use in term time that may work but it depends on where you live an what is available.

I know one girl who helps in a smart B&B weekend mornings, that pays well and as the venue does weddings there is often extra work as and when, waitressing is flexible, working on the yard where you keep them may be worth looking into if other liveries want services that are not offered, the really easy option in the right area is babysitting, paid to spend time in someone elses house studying but to me the best option would be to loan/ share your current horse to reduce the time and cost involved before next winter when you will probably find there is just not enough time and your school work starts to suffer.
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Thankyou for your reply.

Every morning I go to the yard at 6am to muck out, for a while I had to do my sisters pony for her as she couldn't and it worked fine then :)

As stated on a previous reply I wouldn't put my current horse on loan/share as I don't think it is fair on him due to his past, his arthritis is getting worse (diagnosed in hocks and developing in his knees) so we're not sure how much longer he will be in work for
 
I think you need to think really hard here, I know that your boy no longer being able to cope with what you want to do, feels like the end of the world and your wondering what your going to do. I remember my pony being off work for three months, felt like a life time. You are 16 and still at school, that means AS and A levels, you might find having one pony to keep fit difficult. You may not be able to fit in all that work, riding , study and any sort of a social life.
There are however, out there lots of ponies and horses waiting to be ridden, At one point I had three that I needed help with! I would have killed for a good little rider to help out with my pony, he would have loved it. I ended up paying someone. I currently have two to exercise and a helping hand would be a joy. My sister rode and competed a pony for a couple for years until she out grew it, she was carted around shows every weekend, we never saw her ( bliss) They paid everything, as I would have done to get Moses out and about. This could be your way forward until your a little older and can get higher paid work and you hav less studying to do. Just a thought.
 
Sukistokes2 said:
I think you need to think really hard here, I know that your boy no longer being able to cope with what you want to do, feels like the end of the world and your wondering what your going to do. I remember my pony being off work for three months, felt like a life time. You are 16 and still at school, that means AS and A levels, you might find having one pony to keep fit difficult. You may not be able to fit in all that work, riding , study and any sort of a social life.
There are however, out there lots of ponies and horses waiting to be ridden, At one point I had three that I needed help with! I would have killed for a good little rider to help out with my pony, he would have loved it. I ended up paying someone. I currently have two to exercise and a helping hand would be a joy. My sister rode and competed a pony for a couple for years until she out grew it, she was carted around shows every weekend, we never saw her ( bliss) They paid everything, as I would have done to get Moses out and about. This could be your way forward until your a little older and can get higher paid work and you hav less studying to do. Just a thought.
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Thankyou for the suggestion, I've done that for the past 2 years and it worked really well unfortunately me and the owner had disagreement over when her pony needed the vet so I gave her up (it was unfair riding her). There doesn't really seem to be anything nearby and having to get to two yards would be tricky. There's a 16.3hh mare at my yard but she is way to much of a horse for me, I'm only used to riding ponies 😬
 
If your parents are supportive then you'll find a way. Agree waitressing would be a good job. Are there any fellow liveries who would like turning out services etc that you could earn extra money for? It sounds like as long as you make an effort your parents will pick up the shortfall.

When I was your age we could barely afford one, so you are very fortunate.
 
meleeka said:
If your parents are supportive then you'll find a way. Agree waitressing would be a good job. Are there any fellow liveries who would like turning out services etc that you could earn extra money for? It sounds like as long as you make an effort your parents will pick up the shortfall.

When I was your age we could barely afford one, so you are very fortunate.
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I know I'm fortunate, I'm lucky my dad works away so he pays for the horses and my mum doesn't currently work so she's always around to help me and my sister, but she is looking to start working soon.

There isn't really anyway I can earn money at the yard, if anyone needs help they just send a text around to see if anyone can help. But it works quite well because if I ever can't get to the yard to bring in, I know someone else will
 
itsapiebald said:
-Before everyone starts commenting about how I won't be able to afford a horse while I'm at school, please read the whole post!-

Basically I want to know how much of the upkeep of a horse I could afford while I'm working and at school (I'm 16)
Livery is £30 a week
Farrier is £20 every 6-8 weeks (barefoot)
Dentist is £50 every year unless pony needs to be seen earlier
Feed is £20 every 8weeks (good doers)
And then obviously there's the rest of the costs...vaccinations, working, tack, insurance etc

I want to work to partially pay for the upkeep of another horse as my pony is 17yo and has been diagnosed with arthritis, this means he is very limited in the work he can do. I don't want to be working so much that I can't keep up with school work (I'm currently doing well and not far from all my target grades)

My parents are really supportive and have agreed to completely pay for my current pony but wouldn't be able to pay for everything if I had a second pony as my sister has a pony too.

They said that if I paid the livery then that would be enough but I'd rather pay more as they already do so much for me (which I really appreciate)

I would love opinions from parents too!!
Click to expand...


From the age of 16 I went to college 5 days a week, held down a part time job waitressing on minimum wage working 6-10 at night and one full day at a weekend and still look after two horses! :) It can be done. I used to go down early before college to muck out so everything was ready at night to just fetch in, would then go to work. I worked 3-4 nights a week so did college work on my nights off and rode in a morning before college and on weekends. Sometimes i would just lunge for 20 minutes but its better than nothing!

You can easily do it. I left college with top grades its just about organisation. Parents paid half towards livery and i paid for everything else
 
Back in the deep dark ages (1990's) my dear departed grandpa gave me £250 ton by myself a pony. So with that and my life savings and in the provisos from my mum that I didn't get a pony till I'd finished my GCSE's and that I paid for everything to do with it myself and took myself to see it everyday, no lifts.

My last exam finished at 11, by 12.30 I'd bought a pony. I kept my end of the bargin and my mother never paid a penny towards her or took me to see her. That horse is now 24 and currently in her stable which is in my garden scoffing her face. Her 5 year old daughter is in the stable next door.

So it can be done. I did my A levels as well. I babysat and had various jobs including a 8.5 hours a week at a supermarket which was great as there are always extra shifts that need covering so if I needed extra cash it was easy.

I'd say work out how many hours you need to work on min wage and try and get a part time job that will cover it. Apply everywhere even less appealing places as it's easier to get a job when you have one already. Also money is money so even if it's not glamorous at least it will pay the livery bill :D whenever my chums bought a packet of cigarettes or similar I'd think 'that's a bale of hay'

It is possible, not easy and you will have to be good at mangaging time for riding and studying. I further complicated things by buying an unbacked 2 year old as well so along with all this was backing her too :D

Good luck and is lovely to hear of someone willing to pay their way with ponies :D
 
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It sounds like your mum is willing to help out with your retired one, which is a bonus.

Babysitting is good for combining money earning and time to do homework in one session. I pay the kids at the yard to poo pick my paddock & I know a few of them do other yard jobs in their summer holidays.

Just be sure to agree with your parents what you'd do re:costs if there was an emergency. One of the teenage girls I know ended up with a big bill for colic.
 
I did it at 16 too! Paid for everything myself and got myself to the stables and back - lifts from mum were a rare occasion. My parents were supportive but completely non-horsey so they were never much help with anything. I worked two nights a week and one weekend day and then when I went to college I worked two nights, my day off from college and a weekend. This was enough for my £25 a week livery, hay, feed, front shoes and straw in the winter. The one big vets bill I had was paid by mum and dad until I could pay them back and all other minor things were paid by myself. It can be done and it's great that you have supportive parents to help :)
 
Good on you. So many young people expect everything to done for them these days.

You will make it work. I did. I used to get up at 5am, cycle to a livery yard to ride and muck out two ponies, walk a really long way to get a bus to school, was top of my class, and had two or three jobs on the go at any one time. Here's how...

- I never wasted a single minute at school or even on the bus. I worked the whole time, flat out from getting on the bus at 8am (learning French vocab, reading books, revising for maths tests) to getting back off the bus at 4.30pm. I did all my homework during the school day, at break times, at lunch time, in free lessons, and I made good use of the school library. I did no school work at the weekends because I'd have it all boxed off and out of the way by 4pm on a Friday.

- I used to do most of my pony stuff in the mornings, riding and everything because there was no-one else on the yard to distract me. I used to ride my pony and lead my sister's round a local housing estate for exercise in the winter because the roads were lit. Monday to Friday was a case of getting things done bang on schedule. Weekend daytime was for enjoying the ponies.

- I went to bed at about 7pm almost every night unless I was baby-sitting, so that I could get up really early totally fresh. I never, ever watched television in the evenings other than at weekends.

- My favourite job was evening baby-sitting because it was money earned while I did homework or revising. Washing up in a restaurant on a Friday night and Saturday night was good because it didn't interfere with either ponies or school. I was too young to go out anywhere, so I'd only be wasting time watching telly if I hadn't been at work. Evening shelf-stacking was good at weekends. In school holidays I used to do all sorts of errands, garden tidying/sweeping, car cleaning, literally all sorts, and save up that money. Saturday job in a hairdresser's was the least favourite because Saturday day could be pony time instead.

The one key thing was that I didn't expect to have any sort of social life, and didn't socialise much at school. I had friends with ponies though.
 
My daughter kind of does this.
A few years back her pony got ill and she had nothing to ride. Some one put us in touch with a loan horse for her who we decided on keeping at her current owners yard and I said she would work to pay for her. She works weekends and in the holidays etc. She now has another horse of her own and I pay for and do a lot with him as time wise now with school, work and two horses it is a struggle for her. If you have your mum to help and are sensible with things like homework etc I think you can do it.
I paid for mine completely at your age (my parents contributed my weekly riding lesson money that they had paid for years but that was it!)
It was very much worth it but very hard work.
 
I paid for my pony's keep from when I got him when I was 14. I did two evenings a week serving in the local chip shop which paid enough to keep him. This was back in the 70s. Nobody else in my family had any horsey knowledge so I had to rely on myself though I kept him at a riding school for the first year I had him, then went on to a field I found to rent.
 
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