Prospective owner questions

XR89

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Hey All

New to the forum so be gentle with me! I just wanted to ask a few things as a prospective owner (near future). Basically after a couple of years break I am back into riding, I have ridden since I was 5 (23 now) and I am a confident rider, and I am thinking of buying a horse (jointly with maybe 2 other people) I have never been great at dressage and am not the type of person to enter shows/comps. Simply a horse lover who likes to hack and the occasional jumping lesson. I like challenging horses, not uncontrollable but one that is responsive, strong and fast.

I am a relatively big bloke, just under 6ft 2 and I weigh 85kg , athletic build and quite strong, I play a lot of sports/regular gym, and I think I like horses that have a similar temperament to myself, the other two who would be buying would like similar requirements/are flexible. Judging by my kind of requirements what kind of breed/ the height of the horse would you recommend. I have been told 16.2HH would be the lower end but ideally something over 17HH (I usually prefer larger horses, but ofc I am flexible as its more about how the horse rides.) Having looked at a few adverts I think I would be looking in the 1.5-3k range and ideally a horse no older than 10 years old, ideally in the 6-8 range?

Now I have a few questions regarding costs but first do you think, considering I live in North London, and I would only be able to ride him/her twice a week, and the other two collectively 1-3 times, so 3-5 times in total, is that anywhere near enough exercise for a horse or would I have to employ someone to exercise him/her more often for me? (although I have ridden for a while my equine knowledge is lacking these days.) If the general consensus is that a horse will need a lot more TLC than this I will reconsider for when I own a nice bit of land in the country ;).

Do you know of any decent livery stables north of London, within either an hour’s drive of hackney, so epping forest/Loughton way ( or further as its about 30 mins to epping), or with decent travel links to it, that is relatively inexpensive (my old stable in epping full livery was £25 a day!, 775 a month which is just nuts, and if that is the norm in the area i dont think it will be viable currently!).

Also lastly, given a horse has no problems, which of course I know is highly unlikely, how much a month are you looking at in terms of Vets bills, extra bits and bobs? Of course there is tac, rugs and so on to consider but that it something I will factor in later.

So main points for the TL;DR people:
- height and breed of horse (for a 6ft 2 male, 85kg)
- viable livery options in aforementioned areas (epping/Loughton way)/cost(P/M), all year turnout would be ideal.
- cost per month for vets bills and other bits. etc
- Is 3-5 times a week enough exercise?

Cheers in advance :D
 
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Tash88

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I can't help with regards to yards/prices in that area as I am in South West London, maybe try posting on the local area board/'Tack Room' for that kind of advice.

Do you know who you will be sharing the horse with? It isn't really clear from your post how you are actually going to go about finding and buying the horse, if it has to suit two or three people. To be honest I'd be wary of entering into this kind of arrangement as someone might pull out and it could cause arguments; just make sure that you can afford to keep the horse on your own if it comes to that.

From what you say about your situation it sounds like working livery might be a good option for you - this is when you keep a horse at a riding school/livery yard and they look after your horse in exchange for you letting them use your horse in the riding school. The T&Cs of working livery do vary but that is basically it - you are allowed to ride your horse as much as you want and you shouldn't be constrained by the fact that it is also being used by the riding school - generally they will ensure that it is fit enough to do both.

I strongly recommend that you get the horse insured for large vets bills (and tack etc. as well if necessary) - this will usually be between £50-100 a month. Farrier will be about £70 every six weeks. The other stuff is up to you really, and it depends on whether you get bedding, feed and hay/haylage with your livery as well.

In terms of breed - again it is up to you but Shire x Thoroughbreds can be lovely and athletic, or an ID x TB is always a good option.

Hope I've helped!
 

hnmisty

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Well, that's rather annoying- just written you a long message with all my thoughts on, went to post it, and got logged out! No time to retype it all now, I'll do it later!
 

kc100

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Height wise I think you are right, 17H and over would be preferable, although if the horse is a good weight carrier then you could probably get away with 16.2/16.3. For example a 16.2 TB would be too fine boned, but a 16.2 ID should carry you easily. Good breeds to be looking out for as good all-rounders and good weight carriers are ID (Irish Draught) crosses, ID x TB are typically nice horses. ISH is also another (Irish Sports Horse) - my share horse is a 17.3 ISH and carries his 6ft 4 male owner with ease. Or something that is a Shire x or Clydesdale x will make a good horse for you.

I also question why you are looking to buy with 2 other people, and how you have found these people to buy with? It will get quite complicated that kind of arrangement, 3 different opinions on looking after the horse will be hard work! If you are looking to buy with other people for financial reasons, have you not thought about sharing/part loaning? As I mentioned before, I share a lovely 17.3 ISH who I have 4 days per week, his owner doesnt ride him anymore so he just has me working him instead and it is the ideal situation really. With a share/part loan you can choose the number of days you want to ride, you look after the horse as your own on those days but you dont have all the expense and responsibility of owning a horse. Definitely something you should look into - Preloved, Horsemart and EquineAdverts are good webites for looking for shares.

As for fitness/exercising the horse, 3-5 times per week should be fine if the horse is just being used as a happy hacker/all rounder. If one of the 3 owners wanted to use him for XC or something more strenuous however, then you would have to look at ideally having him ridden a bit more. My share gets ridden for an hour 4 times per week (sometimes 3 if I'm feeling lazy!) and we still go out and compete at dressage and we dont do too badly!

As for costs and places around London for livery, afraid I cant help you there! Costs can vary widly by livery yard depending on facilities and type of livery you are looking for, so all I can suggest there is you google some yards in the area you are looking at and get some prices. Google costs of keeping a horse as well, there are hundreds of threads on various forums with people's costs for keeping their horses so you might get an idea that way, however again it will vary depening on the breed and age of the horse you buy, how often the horse is exercised etc.
 

hnmisty

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Here's what I remember typing and losing earlier!

The frequency a horse needs to be ridden depends on the horse itself and what you are doing with it. Obviously, if you're planning on doing something that requires a high level of fitness, riding once a week won't get your horse very ready! Some horses can be left weeks without any change when you get on again. I once rode a horse who hadn't been turned out for 2 days. He spent 30 minutes doing his best to dump me on the floor. It's definitely something I'd ask the owner when you phone up (but keep it in mind that they might lie!).

I too suggested looking at a loan. I have a riding school pony (who is too fast for most of the riders, so barely gets ridden) on loan 2 days a week, it costs me £95 a month. As he's not used in the school much, I can choose whatever days I want (I don't even have to let anyone know), and I can do whatever I want with him. If I can't make it because I'm on holiday/ill/whatever, I don't have to worry about paying extra livery fees. I don't have to pay vets fees, replace shredded rugs...all it costs me is the 96 a month, anything I spend above that is my choice. IMO, there becomes a point when it makes no financial sense to own a horse, and you're better off loaning one. I've had him on loan for a year, have decided that I have the time for a horse of my own, and am now in the slow process of buying my own.

The idea of buying a horse with friends has always made me nervous. Finding a horse all three of you agree on might prove problematic enough! You may have already considered this, and if so, I apologise for preaching to the converted, but I would definitely draw up an agreement stating what would happen if one of the co-owners wanted out. Would the other two of you buy their share off them? Can you afford to cover the costs between two of you/ultimately by yourself, if both friends want out? The last thing you'd want happening is having to sell your dream horse because you need to pay your friends back for their investment, and you can't afford its upkeep on its own. And would you be able to commit the time? Don't forget- unless you got a sharer, the less time you could commit if you are left on your own, the more it'll cost you!

Size-wise...I'm 5'1". Anything over about 16.2hh is tall enough to poop on my head when I'm stood up, and frankly, that's quite terrifying!

With regards to the vet- if all went well, you'd only need to see them once or twice a year, for immunisations and having their teeth done (every 6-12 months depending on need, so you might only need one visit a year). However...with horses, it's best to expect the unexpected! Along those lines, would you have an agreement about how you would deal with any vets bills incurred? Say your neddie has an accident when out with rider C. Would you all split, even though it happened in their care, or would they be responsible? Again, I would have it in writing. Better to appear pedantic when you set out, than lose a good friend along the way, or end up eating value baked beans for the next year!
 

Kat

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I think sharing ownership is likely to be a problem unless you are family.

I share with my husband and it works ok, but wouldn't do it with a friend. I think normally it is better to have one owner with main responsibility and a part loaner or two.

In terms of what to look for, my husband is 6ft2 and can't comfortably ride anything under 15hh. He is quite happy on a 15.1hh cob though, more so than on a 17hh Clyde cross. The cob is better up to weight and taked up his leg better.

We share our mare who was barely 15.3hh when we bought her and no chunk, just your average sport horse type. Ideally the husband would have something a little chunkier, more hunter type but they are happy together.
 
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