Practicalities of a nice car when you have horses?!

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HaffiesRock

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So my old faithful, stable on wheels, little Punto died a quite spectacular death on the motorway on Saturday. She blew her head gasket and we cruised up the slip road with a lot of smoke coming out. The RAC man informed me she had died and showed me the explosion of oil and the fact I had fuel in my radiator?! Towed her home for me where she is awaiting removal from the scrap man :(

I have had Punty for many years. Although only small she has carried many a bale of hay and straw, was a second tack/feed room on wheels, smelled bad and only got a wash and hoover once a year at the most.

So now she has gone, I have to replace her. I have been thinking of treating myself to a little 2 seater number but I worry about taking it up the yard, specially in winter with the mud. How practical is it to keep a nice car clean? We have a very basic yard, no hard standing so no where to clean off/change. Is it a pain to put seat covers on and off and change mats and stuff?

Whatever car I get I will try and keep nice obviously but just wondered how you all keep your pride and joy nice with horses?
 
HaffiesRock said:
Whatever car I get I will try and keep nice obviously but just wondered how you all keep your pride and joy nice with horses?
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Simple answer, we don't :(
Tried for a while as both of us have newish cars but gave up and now clean them out if taking non horsey or non sailing (yes almost as bad) passengers somewhere.
 
Poor Punty.......
You might be made of sterner stuff than me but I have never been able to keep my promise of keeping a car clean and horse free for more than a couple of weeks. For what it's worth, plastic crates are useful for keeping head collars and grooming kit out of your shopping. In the end your car reflects you and your life style - so my is horsey and cluttered.
 
Resign yourself to the inevitable. Our cars are an extension of our lives and it is going to get full of horse stuff! My poor OH had a new (well new to us!) landrover defender last year and tried to keep anyone from tracking mud into it. Poor lad. He tows the trailer and we hunt....
 
I used to have a lovely car. A little Toyota MR2. I loved it. Then along came 2 horses and 3 dogs and I realised that only having 2 seats wasn't going to work. When I had my saddle on the passenger seat I couldn't change gear. Walks with the dogs were the Doberman on the passenger seat, wearing her seat belt as she set off the sensor otherwise, and 2 terriers stuffed in the footwell at her feet. And as for collecting bags of feed! So it had to go. Now I love my little 4x4 which is full of dog and horse hair. Plus I can't get speeding tickets so easily as I did with the other car :0
 
I drive a Fiat 500 TwinAir - she is just about practical! I went for all the mod cons as I use my car a lot in my non horsey life! I make a real effort to keep looking sparkly. I now use my 3.5t lorry for all the food etc.
 
I have a 'nice car', had it nearly three years now. I use it for work as well so the inside and out has to stay relatively clean. Anything smelly is banished to the boot, I have a plastic boot lining to stop muddy rugs soaking the carpet and the smell lingering. Leather seats are great as they wipe clean, don't stain and don't hold smells as easily as cloth. During the winter or when it's wet I put a cheap rubber mat over the car mats to stop them getting trashed then it's easy to chuck them in the garage or in the boot when you need a clean car look.

I wouldn't have a two seater though as I need a boot I can put hay and feed in, if you start putting that in the front then I think you'll lose the battle to keep things clean.
 
Sacrifice. In the winter I let it get dirty and rarely wash it. In the summer its polished and looked after within an inch of its life. I know come spring I'll have to paint my wheels again, and repair a cracked front bumper from hitting snow etc. And that I'll always have to drive down farm roads at 5mph and avoid potholes. But I love cars too much to not have something decent just because I also have a horse. I make sure I'm strict with taking boots off normally. SOmetimes not. Inside can always be shampood so don't get overly picky about it.


So normally looks like this (last year when standard)
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But come summer::








Its not a 'new' especially nice car but its MY car and its my pride and joy.
 
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If you plan on getting spmething rear wheel drive you won't be able to get to the yard in the snow, never mind worry about the state of it :p

Im not precious about cars, I would buy what I wanted and then trash it! Life is too short to worry about washing the car. And yes, I am a car person!

I only have an Ibiza as I race in my dad's cars but I would totally have an MX5 as a run around next time :)
 
I've just got a new car after selling my focus, its not a two seater job but I do want to keep it nice. Bonus is its a Nissan xtrail so it has a huge boot which has drawers underneath which are already proving invaluable for keeping stuff in. I have lots of dogs stuff under there, my hi vis, gloves, towels, bridle (in bag) and lots of survey stuff for work, godsend! :)
 
I've got an M3 Evolution and a pickup.. My Evo (346bhp and RWD) has spent far more time at the yard than the pickup over the years.. But almost never in the ice or snow!!

It drives me insane at times when it's dirty, but even without the horses it's a dust and dirt magnet living in rural Devon, lol..

I currently have feed buckets, first aid stuff and rugs in the boot, headcollars, bits, bridles on the back seat head rests, and saddles go on the back seat..

Oh yeah, and a liberal coating of fine dust from driving with the windows open!!

I wash and Hoover it once a week and deal with being annoyed the rest of the time!

Jenni, yours is spotless outside compared to mine at times :D
 
Speaking of 2 seaters- this is what I want next
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To be styled a bit like my friends old supercharged one, but I want a hardtop.
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Its either that or a black Mitsubishi Evo 8. But I don't want to peak to quick with my performance cars, as I don't know where I'd like to go after an evo? An evo at 23 would be good though...
 
Jesstickle said:
If you plan on getting spmething rear wheel drive you won't be able to get to the yard in the snow, never mind worry about the state of it :p
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Yes you will - you just have to keep a couple of paving slabs, or a bag of sand in the boot :wink3:

I've had a nice car for 2 years now and tbh I am getting sick of cleaning it inside and out every weekend, so I'll probably get shot before too long. I generally buy a £300 knacker from the auctions, drive it till it breaks and then throw it away and buy another one. It makes my life easier when I don't have to care about the car I'm driving. :)
 
Many years ago I had a MGF, if you took the roof off you could get two saddles on the front seat but this is not good in the middle of winter. The boot is deep but not wide therefore useless for horsey stuff! I used to have it cleaned at work and although there were only two seats, and you would think it should be half price, they used to charge me double due to the state it got in (dog and horses).

In between I had a Freelander, very user friendly but not the same fun to drive.

More recently I have had an Audi A3 convertable. It has four seats and a boot that is deep but not tall so useless for saddles. The biggest mistake was the very light beige leather seats and carpets, just don't go there!!! Never ever again will I go for a light coloured interior. When I sold the car it was cleaned and they had to clean the mud from the engine area due to the poor tracks I took it up.

Another thing to think about is the type of tyres, low profile tyres do not last long especially when you hit pot holes or drive up potted tracks. In one month last year I had to replace the same tyre twice due to hitting potholes.

Having said all of this I will have a fun car again when I return to the UK and can make proper use of it; I clearly haven't learnt but I am prepared to live with all the restictions.
 
DabDab said:
Yes you will - you just have to keep a couple of paving slabs, or a bag of sand in the boot :wink3:

I've had a nice car for 2 years now and tbh I am getting sick of cleaning it inside and out every weekend, so I'll probably get shot before too long. I generally buy a £300 knacker from the auctions, drive it till it breaks and then throw it away and buy another one. It makes my life easier when I don't have to care about the car I'm driving. :)
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Lol. And nerves of steel. I hate driving our RWD 5 series in winter. It slithers around like a bloody snake. The Ibiza is much less terrifying. And the truck is obviously even better. Once I remeber t put it AWD of course. Other wise its as bad as the BMW. I am not a brave snow driver it is safe to say :o
 
I've got a really nice car, the exterior is very good but the interior is a typical horse owner's shed. I don't give lifts.
 
I have a brand new Focus estate (well its a year old now)...and its DISGUSTING..!!! I cannot emphasise enoigh how bad this car looks lol. I have given up and bought a Terrano 4x4 to do horses and dogs...I dont care how that looks but at least my poor Focus can now lead a clean and tidy life, well once I have had it valeted pmsl :D
 
I am just considering giving up my RAV 4 x4 for something smaller and cheaper to run as I don't do a lot of mileage, but everything I have looked at doesn't come up to scratch for a horsey and doggie life! I have tried to keep it clean inside but hay and shavings and very long white dog hairs are inextricably woven into the carpets.
I suppose the ideal situation is to have one utility and one car for best!
 
I have a big old boat of a car and I do try and keep her a bit clean. The boot has a plastic liner with a plastic box in it, muddy boots go in the plastic box and then clean shoes go on to drive home in - however if your yard is muddy then you could change your shoes whilst sat on the drivers seat and put muddy boots in a plastic bag in the passenger foot well. WRT to hay/feed etc I haven't had to transport hay/straw as I bought straw from the yard and hay was delivered as I bought rounds, however if I did have to get some then it went in the boot (I drive an estate). I'm now on Part livery so no need to worry about it. I hose down the outside once a week if possible, if not, and it gets a little dirtier than usual, I'm afraid I cheat and take it down to the Polish boys who valet it for £20 which is great going as it is so huge!

I did have a little focus which was a nightmare to keep clean, so if possible I would highly recommend getting an estate rather than something smaller as the boot is practical and it confines the bulk of the mess to one part of the car, also if you get a plastic liner then the job of cleaning it is even easier - I also have to contend with a muddy dog!


ETA: I'm also a car enthusiast so I got the best of both worlds - a 2.5 litre Subaru! Practical in winter - being a 4WD it gets you anywhere in the snow as long as there are no big drifts, and flipping awesome to trash round the lanes in the summer ;) She may not be pretty but she handles well and that for me is what it's all about.
 
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My car is the dog/horse/bike/farm car. OH has a precious car. First time out with it dog rolled in fox poo. OH was incandescent - I nearly wet myself. Then he offered to drive me to collect cat from cattery after our holiday. I warned him she would poo and pee in her carrier. He didn't believe me. 100 yards down the road, me, OH and the dog were all gagging out the window.

I would love a nice car but there is something to be said for an all round useful farm car.
 
RIP your little Punto !!

I have a Punto now and it's been the best car EVER. Gets me through wind, rain, snow, ice, hail, storms... The works!

She too is the yard work horse and is always filled to the brim with feed hay and straw. I love my little Punto. God forbid the day when mine reaches the same fate as yours!
 
Honestly - don't do it!!

I bought myself a sporty hatchback and to be honest have just wrecked it :(

It's full of horse junk, bodywork is screwed, suspension is screwed.

It looked very pretty to start with but once this one dies I'm going to resign myself to boring practicality ;)
 
Thanks everyone. My dad has a Freelander so I can borrow that for feed shop trips. OH Has a Type R so we have a sensible car for when we have passengers. The yard is straight off a main road and into the car park, so not so much lots of pot holes, but there can be a lot of mud :/

I have never had a nice car (well Punty was nice when she was new) but as long as I can remember she has been a shed! I will be very sad when she is taken away tomorrow, but I did get £142 for her, which is probably more than she was worth as a useable car!

What to do, what to do...
 
Awww, RIP little Punto!

I have been pondering the same question, my little Fiesta is on its last MOT with me and might be getting traded in so OH can get his dream car. In the meantime I'll be saving up for a new one, for a short while I thought about a 'nice' car, then I gave myself a shake and came back to the real world, I'll be getting a 4x4!
 
I used to have a little Ford KA which, like your punty, could fit a suprising amount of horsey stuff in.

Then i got a Mercedes SLK 2-seater convertible (an older one). It's now disgusting. My OH wont get in it, and last week I was ashamed when i was next to an identical car in traffic. His was a lovely shiny blue one. Mine is blue somewhere under the dirt. The driver wouldn't make eye contact with me.

It does have a really big boot, and was great having the roof down when it was hot (but then you can't put stuff in the boot) and you can't fit rubber matting in it which i discovered last week.

It's embarrasingly filthy and costs me a b****y fortune in petrol, so later this year i'm going to go back to a little tardis car like the KA.

Oh, and it's rubbish in snow / ice. Overall....maybe not my best decision. Oops.
 
i have a BMW Z3m which we use to go down the yard in... i make sacrifices like it doesnt get a wash all that often as its just going to get dirty again and i have to change my shoes at the yard not too fussed about the seats as they are leather so dirt just wipes off. There are a few issues for example i can only fit one bag of feed in the boot (happy hoof type size) but you can fit one in the passenger seat footwell and still sit comfortably :o also its rear wheel drive so in any whether conditions the back end kicks out but in the snow you have no hope (spun it 3 times last year and we were going slow!) and once you get stuck you are well and truely stuck! they dont like pot holes and although it has underside protection plates and im incredibly careful and slow going over them, i did end up with issues with my suspension which i had sorted (it was expensive!) luckily enough i have bought a 4x4 so i wont be having to use the bmw for the yard anymore :)
 
I have a bmw 6 series, it isn't practical for the yard and OH keeps saying buy a 4x4 but I refuse! It does smell of horses and gets dirty but I refuse to part with it lol. I keep horsy gear and boots in the boot in plastic bags. I always change my boots before I get in (much to the laughter of the rest of the yard). I can fit a saddle, bag of feed etc in the boot which is surprisingly big. The downside is in the winter when I'm trying to get to the yard in the snow other drivers laugh at me as I slide along sideways! but so far we've always made it. So it is possible but is it practical? No not really :)
 
My (horsey) OH has an MR2, this has to be the most impractical car for having horses, and without my work horse we would be stuffed. Yes you can keep the inside clean, just takes a couple of hours every week!
Of course if you don't do loads of chores its fine, but if you have to carry feed etc then it is going to get dirty very quickly! Am just about to pick up the new to be trashed banger, will try and keep it clean for as long as possible!
 
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