Returning to horse ownership, have I thought of everything?

[ghostie]

After years of procrastinating over whether it is possible to live in London and keep a horse I've finally decided to go for it It's a little daunting as it's 12 years since I sold my last horse so I have spreadsheets galore to work out all the practicalities I would be really grateful if anyone would have a few minutes to cast their eye over my monthly costings and see if I've missed anything obvious.

Thanks so much - now I'm definitely coming back to the world of horses for good I'll be here a lot more!

Livery - I have found a lovely small yard which will do me part livery and is quite convenient for me to get to after work in the evening. They will do everything but grooming and exercising for £120 a week so £520 per calendar month.
Shoes - figuring on a new set every 6 weeks at £60 a go, so £40 per month.
Vets bills - allow £30 a month - I know there will (hopefully) be months where I don't spend this, but I want to put it into an account so I have a slush fund for boosters and just in case.
Insurance - £50 a month
Feed - hay and hard feed included in the livery, but figuring £20 a month for supplements, apples, carrots etc.
Worming - £10 a month
Random extras - replacing tack, rugs etc - £50 a month.
Lessons - the livery includes one free weekly lesson if I join in a group lesson so I think that should be enough, unless maybe I'll need some private lessons too?

Which is a grand total of £720 a month - is that everything?

Thank you

 

[Blythwind]

Looks like you have it pretty much sorted! Is bedding included in your livery, and do you definately want to use the bedding they supply? If not, you need to include that.

Also dentist, but thats normally every 6 to 12 months and would fit in your random extras savings.

 

[YasandCrystal]

Yes sounds quite comprehensive. There is just your rider clothing and budget for rugs/fly masks/tack, dentist. It's always easy to go 'shopping' for extra bits & pieces

 

[ArabianGold]

Livery - I have found a lovely small yard which will do me part livery and is quite convenient for me to get to after work in the evening. They will do everything but grooming and exercising for £120 a week so £520 per calendar month.
Shoes - figuring on a new set every 6 weeks at £60 a go, so £40 per month.
Vets bills - allow £30 a month - I know there will (hopefully) be months where I don't spend this, but I want to put it into an account so I have a slush fund for boosters and just in case.
Insurance - £50 a month
Feed - hay and hard feed included in the livery, but figuring £20 a month for supplements, apples, carrots etc.
Worming - £10 a month
Random extras - replacing tack, rugs etc - £50 a month.
Lessons - the livery includes one free weekly lesson if I join in a group lesson so I think that should be enough, unless maybe I'll need some private lessons too?

Which is a grand total of £720 a month - is that everything?

Thank you

WOW you are so organised... I should really do something like this but then never get round to it.

Must be expensive down near London too..

Hope you and your new friend have lots of fun, looks like you have included everything.

I do have a fun pot though that I have on the side at home, so should I feel like popping a £5 or few coins in now and then it just helps towards any extra's I want to do like endurance / pleasure rides.

Adios

 

[ghostie]

Ooh, thank you.

Yes, bedding is included provided I'm happy to have shavings, which I am as that's what I'm used to.

How much is the dentist these days please?

I am so very excited. I feel very lucky to have found my yard - I think it's very reasonable for London - the other one nearest to me wanted £735 a month with less turnout whereas this yard has a minimum of 8 hours a day turnout spring, summer and autumn (often a lot more) and whilst grass turnout can be limited in the worst of the winter weather, they still get to go out for a runaround with their little herd for half a day, so at least they get lots of nice horsey interaction.

 

[nat_1]

the edt im having out next month is £45 + any extra treatment (extractions etc.)

 

[PiggyB]

I think you are being very generous...which is of course sensible when owning a horse as they seem to be a black hole for money!

With regards to your monthly vet savings. This is a great idea...however, if you have comprehensive insurance you shouldnt have to worry too much about unexpected bills unless you have exclusions or small ailments which do not warrant a claim. My horse's last booster only cost something like £40 so it's not something to save up for necessarily! However, you are right to be cautious! I wish I was!

My dentist charges something like £60 and back checking is similar. It depends what you intend to do with your horse, but since I was asking a lot of mine, I did this every six months or more regulary if necessary. Obviously this could also be subject to London price adjustment!

As you will know from owning a horse previously, there are some expenses that you can never plan for, but you are doing a very good job of being prepared!

 

[noodle_]

the edt im having out next month is £45 + any extra treatment (extractions etc.)

same here




good luck!! cant believe how expensive it is in london!!! its half your costs up north (cheshire)

 

[criso]

Looks pretty comprehensive

I would just check if the bedding and hay have an allocation, first yard I was gave you 2 bales of shaving a week, didn't realise till after I got my horse that he was some bizarre attempt to cross a pig with a tb and was filthy and I needed to buy 2 more a week from the yard at their mark up. Same with hay if you horse needs alot to maintain weight.
Also some feed packages from yards can be basic chaff and nuts which don't necessarily work for every horse

 

[Kat]

I think you have been pretty thorough and have included most things.

Plus you have a contingency fund.

You won't need huge amounts for the vet if you have insurance, just your excess, money for routine things like vaccinations, teeth etc and anything not covered on your policy. So if it gets to a certain level you could always use some of it for other things.

There are things like saddle fitting, that you haven't accounted for but you should have sufficient in your slush fund for that kind of thing. Same as if you need somethings over and above what you have budgeted such as if your horse needs shoeing more frequently or if you need to top up your bedding (ours needs an extra bale of shavings about once a fortnight as she's filthy).

The only thing to bare in mind is start up costs, you will have to buy quite a lot in the first year. Things like extra gear for you because you are riding more frequently, things like buckets and grooming kit and numnahs and girths etc. So it would be worth saving a few hundred over your budget for that kind of thing. I've had my horse 10 months now and have bought loads of jodhs and fleeces and socks, wellies, short boots for summer, etc plus buckets, rugs, girths, numnahs, brushes, tools, tack cleaning stuff, and so on. You will probably also want some private lessons at first while you are getting to know your horse.

 

[Bert&Maud]

You might find the farrier is a bit more expensive - ours charges £80 every six weeks. My friends horse needs doing every 4!

 

[only_me]

Looks like you have covered everything

One thing though - have you budgeted to buy a horse?

 

[Miss L Toe]

You might find the farrier is a bit more expensive - ours charges £80 every six weeks. My friends horse needs doing every 4!

cough cough, try taking off the shoes!!!

 

[Brandy]

Sounds like you have covered everything and more - for example I don't spend £10 a month on worming for one horse and £50 per month for tack and rugs etc is a lot every month - once you are set up you almost certainly won;t need to spend this amount (although you might WANT to )

But this is good, better than underestimating costs!

 

[ghostie]

Thanks everyone

I know I'm overestimating, but I don't want a shock if I can help it. My plan is to put my total amount into a seperate account each month once I'm paid and anything that's left at the end of the year can either go towards next year, or more likely be used to buy lovely bonus horsey things

From what you guys are saying though it seems that the bits I missed off (dentist, saddle check, odd private lesson etc) will probably fall within my total.

In terms of startup cost I will most likely be getting a (well schooled) ex-racer from one of the rehoming places, so he/she will come with nothing. I'm therefore budgeting £1200 for saddle, bridle, girth, stirrups, saddlecloth etc, £300 for rugs, £100 for travel gear and another £100 for head collar, buckets etc. Hoping that is realistic, it's a very long time since I've bought such things, so judging off google....

Also budgeting £1000 for the horse, which is what the rehoming places are saying is likely. I know you can pick up an ex-racer cheaper privately, but I'd much rather have a horse that has been re-schooled by the experts and comes with their backup if it's needed!

 

[Miss L Toe]

A good saddle can be purchased for £600, or less [I got a nice Jeffries event saddle 1985 for £200 I knew it would fit him, and it did], but I have bought others [Stubben blue stud, wintec endurance], and had to sell them back on Ebay, though still I had my own one [1973] which was fine, just beyond repair.
I would always go for a Jeffries now as they are English, hand made and have good trees.
Girth, go for a wintec type or leather, which is easy to clean, I got mine 50 percent off in a sale, saved £40.00, leathers, only the best, and they are never cheap, so maybe £25.00. Buffaloo hide if you intend to event as they never break, might be £40.00
Rugs, you need a light outdoor one eg Amigo for £40, and a stable rug Amigo £40, these are self righting and well fitting.

 

[Miss L Toe]

A good saddle can be purchased for £600, or less [I got a nice Jeffries event saddle 1985 for £200 I knew it would fit him, and it did], but I have bought others [Stubben blue stud, wintec endurance], and had to sell them back on Ebay, though still I had my own one [1973] which was fine, just beyond repair.
I would always go for a Jeffries now as they are English, hand made and have good trees.
Girth, go for a wintec type or leather, which is easy to clean, I got mine 50 percent off in a sale, saved £40.00, leathers, only the best, and they are never cheap, so maybe £25.00. Buffaloo hide if you intend to event as they never break, might be £40.00
Rugs, you need a light outdoor one eg Amigo for £40, and a stable rug Amigo £40, these are self righting and well fitting.
Probably go for a Jeffries bridle, but swerve a flash noseband, which are on most tack shop bridles.

 

[xspiralx]

Sounds pretty comprehensive to me - but maybe think about including competition and travel costs if you're likely to want to do any competing.

Having your own transport is a pretty massive expense, but if you can borrow or catch lifts with a friend, entry fees and fuel etc aren't likely to leave you much change from £50 - depending of course on where you go and what you do, it could be much more!

One thing that might cut your costs is only shoeing in front, or even going unshod unless you want to do much roadwork. I know loads of horses that are only shod in front (mostly TB ex racehorses) and they do very well on it, hacking out, hunting etc - it costs half that of shoeing all round too.

 

[millreef]

ghostie, you're not an accountant by any chance are you?!

 

[Marydoll]

After years of procrastinating over whether it is possible to live in London and keep a horse I've finally decided to go for it It's a little daunting as it's 12 years since I sold my last horse so I have spreadsheets galore to work out all the practicalities I would be really grateful if anyone would have a few minutes to cast their eye over my monthly costings and see if I've missed anything obvious.

Thanks so much - now I'm definitely coming back to the world of horses for good I'll be here a lot more!

Livery - I have found a lovely small yard which will do me part livery and is quite convenient for me to get to after work in the evening. They will do everything but grooming and exercising for £120 a week so £520 per calendar month.
Shoes - figuring on a new set every 6 weeks at £60 a go, so £40 per month.
Vets bills - allow £30 a month - I know there will (hopefully) be months where I don't spend this, but I want to put it into an account so I have a slush fund for boosters and just in case.
Insurance - £50 a month
Feed - hay and hard feed included in the livery, but figuring £20 a month for supplements, apples, carrots etc.
Worming - £10 a month
Random extras - replacing tack, rugs etc - £50 a month.
Lessons - the livery includes one free weekly lesson if I join in a group lesson so I think that should be enough, unless maybe I'll need some private lessons too?

Which is a grand total of £720 a month - is that everything?

Thank you

Sounds like youve covered most things, id just check with the yard that if your horse is imjured and requires something eg like bandaging twice a day, are they happy to carry out vets reccomendation treatments like this

 

[JFTDWS]

ghostie, you're not an accountant by any chance are you?!

lol my thoughts exactly!

You sound very organised...

 

[Bubley898]

Blimey I wish I had that budget for my horse! 😊😊

 

[ghostie]

ghostie, you're not an accountant by any chance are you?!

Nope, 'fraid not, although I am a solicitor (don't all through rocks at once) which may account for my weird organisational streak.

Thanks so much for all the extra info, especially the tack prices - v helpful

I emailed the y/o and fortunately a set of shoes is only £50 as they've been using the same farrier forever.

Sadly I don't think I'll manage to compete much, I'm on the Essex/London border, and there isn't much local to me that I can see. Also, by the time I paid for a horsebox (can't drive for dull medical reasons) it would cost an absolute fortune. My yard used to do dressage but has stopped because of the low emission zone If I keep the horse further out it will be really difficult to ride in the week, so think I will have to be content without.

 

[JFTDWS]

brook farm tc's just inside the m25 on the essex side.. Maybe you'll get lucky and be able to cadge lifts occasionally from people on your new yard. Good luck with getting horse and getting set up!