Seeking advice for ‘late beginner’ teen rider

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evcinnamon

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Looking for some advice regarding a first horse for a 16 year old female rider based South Devon who began riding weekly at a local riding school in December 2023 but has been working/volunteering at stables and has learned most aspects of horse care through this since February 2023.

I'm fully competent at mucking out, grooming, tacking up, rugging and identifying medical issues for horses as well such as colic and lameness as I've witnessed the symptoms of these in the horses of one of the yards I volunteers at. I'm confident and able in walk, trot and canter and going over small cross poles in the arena and out hacking and I have ridden a variety of breeds, sizes and ability horses at my current riding school. I am desperate to ride more often, progress to jumping and be a better rider overall, but most of all, I am so keen to have a horse and rider bond! My current riding school does not offer any form of part loans and we have limited riding schools within a reasonable distance to us that have loaning schemes suitable for myself and my parents. I've also tried posting to Facebook and sites like preloved for a part loan over the past couple months but I haven't received any messages - just lots of comments saying to DM but none of them reply! I'm currently volunteering at my family friend's stables and I have been for multiple years now, I really enjoy being around the horses but none of the horses they have are currently suitable to ride as either lame or fillys.

Currently, my parents (who are non horsey background) cannot afford the monthly upkeep of a horse and neither can I as I am currently in full time education. However, during the summer I have a job I will be working where I can save my wages monthly for a horse. I have done all the maths and it seems I could buy an experienced schoolmaster with the money I'd save and afford to have tack fitters out, buy all the yard essentials, pay for transport and vettings. However, once I go to college, I won't be able to work during some days as I would be in summer so my monthly income isn't likely to cover even half the horse's monthly expenses. I also worry about how I would afford a large vet bill if suddenly my horse were to injure itself as I would've spent all my money on the horse itself. Is there anyone out there who is 16/17 and bought their own horse and paid for it also and has any advice on how they are doing it/ how they did it? Or, if anyone thinks I would be more suited to a full loan or loan buying scheme?

I am just so keen to be around horses and I really just want to learn all I can! It's tricky finding somewhere which will let you gain more experience with younger/more expressive horses as a novice which is completely understandable but also a bit of a road block. I would appreciate any kind of advice!!

Thanks in advance! :)

previously posted this in new horse and rider forum but was advised to post here also so thought I would!!
 
Keep looking and advertising for a part loan or share. If your parents aren't in a position to help don't try and buy your own until you finish university as you need plenty of emergency funds besides the keep and purchase price.
There will be people somewhere looking for a share rider as lots are struggling for money and/or time, you just need to find the right one. Get involved with things like stewarding or writing at shows and you will meet more people and the more contacts you have , the more chance of finding someone.
 
Gloi said:
Keep looking and advertising for a part loan or share. If your parents aren't in a position to help don't try and buy your own until you finish university as you need plenty of emergency funds besides the keep and purchase price.
There will be people somewhere looking for a share rider as lots are struggling for money and/or time, you just need to find the right one. Get involved with things like stewarding or writing at shows and you will meet more people and the more contacts you have , the more chance of finding someone.
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Thank you! I will keep posting and looking for a part loan and try and get involved wherever I can.
 
Full loan or share first, it gives you an introduction to ownership and the costs and routine. Horses are expensive and so is life once you pursue a career and move out.

My old work pal brought a horse from work itself but couldn't make it work once she had to drop to part time and uni it just came too much as well as running a car and accommodation. She had to give her up once she branched out for uni that ownership only lasted less than a year.

It's just so expensive and difficult, I'd never buy a horse at 16 or even now though I'd send links to my mum about local ones 😂. I too was praying it would work out at that age but I'm glad it didn't because it would cause more struggles and challenges. Granted my horsey fix is through work but I'm still glad I don't own one now because I wouldn't be able to afford it, I'd be burned out and wouldn't have the heart to sell a horse ever. Even though I do get jealous of friends who own their own they have a more generous situation aka horsey parents or land.

It might be worth seeing if a riding school might have a share scheme, alot of them do it nowadays 🙂
 
With the best will in the world, you've been riding less than 18 months - very few people will take a punt on you, unless they know you personally I'd imagine. So as Gloi says, start boosting your network - offering to volunteer at places, not only will you learn a lot, but you may find someone who takes you under their wing. Also worth traveling further afield to a bigger better riding school/centre if you can. Have you asked your current rs whether you can loan, or even do an unsupervised riding session once a week or something?

Not sure what your job is, but experienced schoolmasters tend to set back most people five figures so I wouldn't even consider buying as an option for you, especially not with ever increasing costs. You also forgot the cost of livery, feed, lessons, insurance, shoes etc. The purchase can be the easy bit at at the end of the day.
 
Gloi said:
If you do things like write for dressage judges, or work with showing judges as a steward you will learn loads which will stand you in good stead later on.
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That’s really interesting to me as I’ve never heard of writing for dressage judges or working as a steward for showing judges - would this be something I would need additional skills for?
 
teapot said:
With the best will in the world, you've been riding less than 18 months - very few people will take a punt on you, unless they know you personally I'd imagine. So as Gloi says, start boosting your network - offering to volunteer at places, not only will you learn a lot, but you may find someone who takes you under their wing. Also worth traveling further afield to a bigger better riding school/centre if you can. Have you asked your current rs whether you can loan, or even do an unsupervised riding session once a week or something?

Not sure what your job is, but experienced schoolmasters tend to set back most people five figures so I wouldn't even consider buying as an option for you, especially not with ever increasing costs. You also forgot the cost of livery, feed, lessons, insurance, shoes etc. The purchase can be the easy bit at at the end of the day.
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I’ve asked my riding school recently about loaning as I am familiar with the horses and there are good facilities but they don’t offer any form of loaning unfortunately. It may be worth me going to a different riding school despite the further treck as my wish to be more consistent with riding has been accelerated by the fact that my riding school have not been offering private lessons for the past few months and our group lessons are 6-7 people which means little feedback.

I’m volunteering at a private stables but no rideable horses there at the moment and I’m uncertain this will change in the near future. I’ve enquired into a friend of my sister who owns a few horses and regularly competes BSJ to see if I can help out there.

The job is essentially admin work, I was originally basing my horse cost for the schoolmaster on a 17/18 year old horse alike to some I’d seen on preloved and Facebook ads for 6-7k. I completely agree with you, it would be pretty much impossible to afford this on my own with all the expenses involved as I had added this up also and that was my concern for the monthly upkeep. I thought it was worth making the advert to see if anyone had any other ideas than buying my own and it’s been lovely to hear so many!
 
evcinnamon said:
That’s really interesting to me as I’ve never heard of writing for dressage judges or working as a steward for showing judges - would this be something I would need additional skills for?
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If you start at unaffiliated competitions you'll learn what you need to know as you go along. The judges will tell you what to do, and you'll soon pick it up You just need to be able to write reasonably quickly and legibly. You sometimes get lunch and a few pounds too.
 
evcinnamon said:
That’s really interesting to me as I’ve never heard of writing for dressage judges or working as a steward for showing judges - would this be something I would need additional skills for?
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Just the time and a pen, usually. If you are reliable and can show that you have common sense, secretaries will ask you to keep going back.
 
A schoolmaster going for 6-7k will likely have some vet and med running costs, or not be as advertised.
The former isn't a problem if you've budgeted for it, but for a little context, steroid hock injections + aftercare ran me ~£600 last year. You can expect these to need repeating every 6months-2years (different horses will feel the benefit for varying lengths of time).
Some (most?) older horses will be on some form of joint supplement- riaflex is about £45 a month. They are also more likely to be poor doers (although no guarantee of this) and may require extra feed or rugging.
I would second the advice above to try and get contacts/experience and look for a share that way. You may also find local horsey FB groups are a good place to keep an eye out for share ads.
 
Hi I would echo what the others have said and continue looking for a share or part loan. My 17 year old daughter has just found one for three days a week for around £150 a month. She is in full time employment as an apprentice but there is now way she could all the costs associated with horse ownership. We have just rehomed a horse that I spent a lot on two years ago for essentially nothing due to ongoing medical concerns. I have also spent an awful lot of attempting to get her medical issues resolved over the last six months. Horses are expensive, I work full time and have a second job to help pay for some of the costs and my DH also helps out. There are definitely shares out there and when you find the right one it works really well. Having a horse where you are fully responsible for all the costs and don't have the income to cover this is very stressful and will detract from any enjoyment. Good luck, you sound very committed and I am sure you will find something. My DD has gone from very despondent at the loss of our horse, at one point PTS was being seriously considered, to really enjoying her share.
 
Firstly well done for being sensible, and realising it’s not really affordable. Also given your likely to have college/uni coming up, you will have limited time as well.

I’d advise keep on going to your riding school. With the wages you’ve earnt, maybe you could go on a little riding holiday somewhere. A week of lessons and hacks would be a really nice treat!
 
I echo what others have said, please do not attempt to buy your own in your current circumstances without the financial backing of your parents. It's hard to explain just how expensive horses can be, and it's such a responsibility to take on.
You sound very sensible and mature, I think you'd do really well in a share setting if you can find someone.

Could you maybe find a different riding school nearby and use some of your wages to take more frequent lessons, or a share scheme if they offer? Join pony club or a riding club as an unmounted member? Volunteer at your local RDA? You may have more luck looking for a share through local contacts than online ads, but have you tried the local Facebook groups? Don't be disheartened, there are always a lot of timewasters on both sides of the equation on Facebook, it can be quite normal to have people not message you back if you are looking for a share/sharer/buyer/seller.
 
What I did to start sharing was being very interested in a particular breed (Icelandics). I found the biggest UK Facebook group for Icelandics (or rather, their owners and people who are interested in them) and one day I took the plunge and made a post where I presented myself and what kind of experience I had with horses in general and Icelandics specifically, plus my location obviously. After having looked for a share for a while and not found anything, I was suddenly inundated with offers of part shares! Some were a bit too far to be practical but when a lady ten minutes away said she had one I could try I went to see him, and the rest is history as they say. Not only can I ride exactly how much and when I want to, his owner refuses to take any money from me (yes, I’m extremely lucky and never expected to ride for free!).

I think being more targeted in how you want to ride, and what type of horse you’re in, might be a better way to reach the right people. Say you’re massively into Exmoors or Welsh Cobs, then you could become a member of the respective society and get involved that way. Maybe someone needs help training or keeping their horses fit or would like hacking company? Or if it was long distance riding, get involved in events and try to make contacts in that sphere. Gloi had similar advice.

In time you may find actual ownership becomes feasible, but I own one (that I can’t ride as she’s in foal) and share one and I get so much out of my share horse and I think it’s set me up for ownership really well.

Good luck!
 
I got my second horse at 16 BUT they stayed on my granny’s farm rent free, I left school to do full time work and my granny would absolutely have stepped in and helped with costs if needed.
In your case a loan or share is definitely the best choice until you’ve finished education and set yourself up for you’re future

You sound like you have great enthusiasm helping at stables and doing all you can with learning so definitely get yourself out there. Above suggestions to get involved in pony/riding club activities is a great one. If you show you’re keen, enthusiastic and willing to help I’m sure it will open up more opportunities for you.

Good luck
 
Gloi said:
If you start at unaffiliated competitions you'll learn what you need to know as you go along. The judges will tell you what to do, and you'll soon pick it up You just need to be able to write reasonably quickly and legibly. You sometimes get lunch and a few pounds too.
Click to expand...
Okay that sounds great, thank you. I will look into any local unaffiliated competitions near me that are offering dressage writing or stewarding and try and get involved.
 
SpeedyPony said:
A schoolmaster going for 6-7k will likely have some vet and med running costs, or not be as advertised.
The former isn't a problem if you've budgeted for it, but for a little context, steroid hock injections + aftercare ran me ~£600 last year. You can expect these to need repeating every 6months-2years (different horses will feel the benefit for varying lengths of time).
Some (most?) older horses will be on some form of joint supplement- riaflex is about £45 a month. They are also more likely to be poor doers (although no guarantee of this) and may require extra feed or rugging.
I would second the advice above to try and get contacts/experience and look for a share that way. You may also find local horsey FB groups are a good place to keep an eye out for share ads.
Click to expand...
Thank you for sharing this with me - I had no idea that this would be the case for those older horses and this is definitely some information that I will keep under my belt if I ever come into the situation to buy a horse and happen to buy an older one. For the foreseeable future, I will be on the hunt for new equestrian connections locally so that finding a share may be easier. I’ll keep my eye out, I have been looking at local loaning and equestrian groups for a few months now but nothing suitable has cropped up so I’m thinking about posting a ‘wanted’ post as well.
 
Recently I have been looking for experienced sound school
Masters and the cheapest I found was 32000 - and he was ‘a character’ in the stable - so if you are finding them cheaper than that please point me in the right direction… put a video of your self riding on line and a wanted ad - if you are as good as you say the offers will come rolling in -

Get a job on a yard - save money and learn at the same time
 
atropa said:
I echo what others have said, please do not attempt to buy your own in your current circumstances without the financial backing of your parents. It's hard to explain just how expensive horses can be, and it's such a responsibility to take on.
You sound very sensible and mature, I think you'd do really well in a share setting if you can find someone.

Could you maybe find a different riding school nearby and use some of your wages to take more frequent lessons, or a share scheme if they offer? Join pony club or a riding club as an unmounted member? Volunteer at your local RDA? You may have more luck looking for a share through local contacts than online ads, but have you tried the local Facebook groups? Don't be disheartened, there are always a lot of timewasters on both sides of the equation on Facebook, it can be quite normal to have people not message you back if you are looking for a share/sharer/buyer/seller.
Click to expand...
Thank you so much. I think I will be looking into a new riding school from now on so I can have more focused private lessons, and I think that’s a really good idea to perhaps take more frequent lessons there instead or to find a share as well. I have considered joining pony club at another local riding school and using their horses which they allow but I thought I would look too old amongst the younger children 🙈 which is silly I know! I’ll ask my existing equestrian friends if they know of anyone looking for a share as well. I haven’t tried recently but I posted in a few Facebook groups after a part loan at the start of the year and received lots of comments to message them but no response when I did which was quite disappointing! But I will keep trying!
 
Kirstineridesagain said:
What I did to start sharing was being very interested in a particular breed (Icelandics). I found the biggest UK Facebook group for Icelandics (or rather, their owners and people who are interested in them) and one day I took the plunge and made a post where I presented myself and what kind of experience I had with horses in general and Icelandics specifically, plus my location obviously. After having looked for a share for a while and not found anything, I was suddenly inundated with offers of part shares! Some were a bit too far to be practical but when a lady ten minutes away said she had one I could try I went to see him, and the rest is history as they say. Not only can I ride exactly how much and when I want to, his owner refuses to take any money from me (yes, I’m extremely lucky and never expected to ride for free!).

I think being more targeted in how you want to ride, and what type of horse you’re in, might be a better way to reach the right people. Say you’re massively into Exmoors or Welsh Cobs, then you could become a member of the respective society and get involved that way. Maybe someone needs help training or keeping their horses fit or would like hacking company? Or if it was long distance riding, get involved in events and try to make contacts in that sphere. Gloi had similar advice.

In time you may find actual ownership becomes feasible, but I own one (that I can’t ride as she’s in foal) and share one and I get so much out of my share horse and I think it’s set me up for ownership really well.

Good luck!
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That’s really interesting, thank you for sharing this with me! How did you gain experience with Icelandics before you posted in the group?

I will definitely be researching particular breeds more, but at the moment I quite like Connemaras as I’ve ridden quite a few at my current riding school so I will join some groups and try to gain more insight into the breed and take it from there.
 
Not sure where you are in S.Devon.

Bicton is always looking for volunteers and has some wonderful events where you are treated well.

I would also put an advert on local FB ages asking about yard work in return for experience, I would look at BHS livery yards lists as a starting point. Kind of like a weekend working pupil role. Make sure it’s not a Karen down the road with a 3yo cob who wants you to do loads of work in return for nothing.

I also wouldn’t get a horse and instead look for experience. You are young, plenty of time to own your own when financially secure and more mobile with a car. Plenty of horses around and if you are prepared to work hard then you will gain opportunities.

This is a bit out there but maybe look at going to racing school over the summer - Newmarket. It will bring your riding on and then there are quite a few racing yards around your area. Very different skill set but it will bring you on exponentially.
 
NPS Area 10 (Devon) may be looking for help on show/comp days. You should bump into plenty of people with connie's there as well as other native breeds.

If you a nice friendly person (not over friendly) a showing producer may just take you under their wing.

I also echo what others have said about offering help to riding clubs. They often need help with opening and closing arena gates at clinics, popping up poles at jumping shows or clinics. Setting up and putting away of fencing and jumps etc. And as other have said stewarding at shows. A lot of judges will discuss with their steward what they are looking for and why they prefer one horse over another. You should be able to pick up some valuable knowledge along the way.
 
Most local riding clubs are crying out for help ( especially setting up and taking down) If you get to steward you will learn a lot about conformation, movement and overall way of going and meet some amazing people. As others have said expand your experience and keep looking for a share or loan at present .
 
evcinnamon said:
That’s really interesting, thank you for sharing this with me! How did you gain experience with Icelandics before you posted in the group?

I will definitely be researching particular breeds more, but at the moment I quite like Connemaras as I’ve ridden quite a few at my current riding school so I will join some groups and try to gain more insight into the breed and take it from there.
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I had a bit of experience with them from holiday treks. I was just interested in finding out more.
 
How is your schoolwork OP? Sorry to be a ‘mum’ here, but I think your best best would be to get decent grades at school and try to get a non-horsey job that pays well and then buy a horse when you can afford it. In the meantime, keep going with your lessons and work on yards in the school holiday. Maybe do your BHS exams on the side too.
 
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