Serious question RE: money

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Allie5

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I had one of those conversations at work. I'm sure most of us have had them. "Oh, you have a horse? They must be paying you too much! Ha ha!" actually no I work hard and sacrifice a lot to have my boy. On the other hand my partner has a good job and he helps with buying rugs etc if I'm struggling (my boy is young and growing like a weed at the moment!) He is on DIY but my partner says we can move him to full once he is broken if I need a school and more time with him. I also have a 3 year old son and it is a real juggling job to make sure everyone gets the attention they need. However I have never been in the situation where my horse or my son eats. I'm becoming more aware of this in the current economic climate. I'm know of so many people having to sell up or loan out purely because of money.
So my question is , with no shame, who is comfortable with what they pay for their horses? I'm not trying to start a debate or an argument, I'm just curious!
 
Me and my partner gets this thrown at us all the time how can they afford this and that and 3horses etc well the answer is my partner works his arse off to pay for what we want in life but never had to go without etc we've always beenable to afford nice things in life and me and my partner appreciate what we have
 
I clean a busy pub as a job to keep my daughters pony, [ who i ride aswell ] and when i,m scrubbing **** off the toilet walls thinking about the joy she has brought us makes it all worthwhile , i get all the comments about being well off cos we got a horse , well no actually i work damn hard to keep her and would much rather spend my money on her than shoes and handbags anyday !!
 
I have 4 horses and just the basics cost me about 600 a month, thats before illness, routine vet stuff, rugs etc.
I make an awful lot of sacrifices to have them, and I'm a single Mum so no partner to help out :(
Holidays are a big no no, can't afford and who am I gonna get to look after 4 of them.
Cheap housing, cheap clothing and everything else from Asda.....and I wouldn't change it for the world :)
My daughter and I love our horses and any discussions on reducing to two so we can have a better life in other areas soon gets dismissed when we have to discuss which 2 to sell lol

So like others, yes we can afford but we sacrifice a lot to do so, and am happy doing so x
 
I got asked at work today (i work now and again on a casual basis) why do i bother to work if i have horses i obviously have money and dont need to work.
The joy of explaining that having horses does not make you a rich person it makes you a poor person in monetary terms but very rich in life
 
I can afford to keep my horse very well, but I have not been on holiday for 3 years (Not that I feel like I want a holiday, I'd rather go for a hack lol :D), nor do I go out very much, oh and my own wardrobe is a disgrace compared to my horses wardrobe, and my car has lots of big dents in that just stay there because I don't see the point of paying for a new bumper if it costs the same as a saddle, and the saddle is what I would (did) buy instead!
whaat.gif
 
I just started a thread about how recession effects you .I have a well paid job but i budget best i can !I go out five times max per year and dont usually buy myself clothes and just be careful ,i wish i could have two but at the moment its a nono couldnt afford another times are hard at the moment for everyone
 
Sadly it is a misconception of a lot of people that if you have a horse you must have lots of money too! I accept that they are not the cheapest 'hobby/interest/passion' to have but once you have outlayed for the set up infrastructure, I do not feel there is a huge lot else from an ongoing cost point of view...DIY or livery costs with hay, feed etc usually add up to less than my friends spend on meals and nights out each month!
I am lucky as I do not have massive costs, I rent a field from a farmer for my one horse and that only costs £50 per month. He lives off sparse grazing and hay with a token feed for vitamins, his tack is the same as always as we do not compete of need to buy things for showing etc.
If I say spend £170 per month on my horse all in then that is probably over the top and I dont tend to be buying clothes, going out or have gym membership...so I do not feel that is a lot really for something that keeps me busy and amused 24/7 all year round!
 
I deliberately bought a type of horse for the budget that I had then to spend on him and going forward with the costs associated with a horse. One that wouldn't cost me much beyond the initial outlay and maintenance costs (eg, shoeing, insurance). He's a good do-er, can live off fresh air and if I could no longer afford to keep him at livery it means I could consider cheaper alternatives like a paddock and a field shelter if I had to until things improved. He's probably got less rugs than most as doesn't need much as has his own great coat and I don't get swayed by endless horsey purchases, he has same grooming kit and headcollar from 6 years ago. I think people just hear the word oh you've got a horse and assume it's always very expensive to have one and you're loaded. I'm not saying horses are cheap but my car is costing me an arm and a leg at the moment per month and that's what I truly can't afford - just for fuel to get to work and in maintenance costs. So bizarrely the financial stress is my life is more about the car and also longer term about my mortgage rather than the horse as even if I gave up the horse it wouldn't help pay much towards those costs. I think it helps that I'm at an age where I'm not bothered about buying lots of nice clothes or going out quantities anymore so it doesn't feel like I'm having to make much sacrifice to have a horse. Sorry bit rambly and don't know if it even answers the question...
 
I completely understand you on this one, friends often think that I've got money, because I've got a horse. THEY ARE WRONG. every time I get payed it all goes on him, I can only manage because my grandad bought him for me, hes kept at my grandads farm FOC and because he's a farmer he does his own hay and straw so I also get those FOC, if it weren't for that i'd NEVER be able to afford one, i'm envious of those of you that can. x
 
I've been on both sides! I'm lucky in the respect that me and my OH now have good jobs and so I we don't have to make sacrifices to keep them on the yard we do.
Before I got this job I was on a very small salary and I had to make all sorts of sacrifices to keep my girlies - I think that was an incentive to get a better job!
 
martlin said:
I'm sorry, what is the question?
If you are asking if I can afford my horses, the answer is yes, but not without sacrifices in other areas.
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Yep......what she said. I can comfortably afford my horses and all that goes with it.....but we don't have foreign holidays ( we would find them boring, and OH and kids would burn to a crisp in about 10mins anyway;)) and my landrover is 15 years old.
 
Easy - my response is that its because I have a horse that I DONT have any "spare" money..

but tbf, I don't meet many people who feel they have the right to ask the question - apart from my brother but he is looking at it more in the way of "pay your mortage off now - have horses later arguemnt" logically correct, emotionally wrong!
 
OMG, am I SICK of this issue. It is a very large stick my parents use to beat me (I'm 50, by the way!!) with all the time, as I'm a single parent.
My horse, & daughter's pony are kept at home, we live on a farm, so get hay really cheap from the farmer, the only real expense is shoeing (65 pounds every 8 weeks), and hard feed, (26 pounds a month).
Like the other poster, my main expense is my car, which is a very necessary expense as I need to get to work. Putting fuel in it is like giving a donkey sugar. It just cost 506 pounds to get it through the MOT 'cos it's old & tired (like me!!). I can't afford to replace it, my parents are well off, but won't help me with the cost of another one, because I have horses..............They think I should sell them.....I'd rather cut off my own arm.
Me & my little girl love our animals, we have 2 dogs, and 3 cats as well.
We rent this lovely cottage in a very rural location and we are lucky to live here. We can't afford foreign holidays, (not that I'd want to go abroad, too hot!!) but we do go away every summer, when the horses are turned out, in this country.
My parents (who are very old!!) still labour under the misapprehension that people who own horses, are rich, or have to be to afford them. My father doesn't want to listen when I try to explain howthe costs have reduced to almost nil now we have no livery to pay. He still thinks a set of shoes costs 250 pounds no matter how many times I tell him.
Apologies for the rant, but it is a very upsetting & emotive subject. My little girl wants for NOTHING, and she has a pony.
This laptop has no pound sign, by the way (my dad thinks that's the horses' fault, too...:confused:
 
arlosmum said:
This laptop has no pound sign, by the way (my dad thinks that's the horses' fault, too...:confused:
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i just spluttered uot a bit of tea when i read that lol!!

i'm soo with you all on this - i pay for my horse 100% - hubby has his shooting
i don't feel guilty at all - if i had to reply on hubby for things then i would but i am financially secure myself and pay half of all the bills :)
we do want to extend and i know we ciould do it quicker if i sold HRH - but i'd be grumpy and awful to live with if it did - and hubby knows that ;)
 
it annoys me when people asure your rich because you have horses.... no im poor because i have one....

my neighbour said y'day i must be minted... i said no - i work very hard for what ive got and go without in other ways to afford my hobby :)
 
oooh! I had a family member give me a ridiculous telling off the other day for buying another horse, to which I had to reply "well, I don't drink, smoke, or snort all my money up my nose... I also have my own business and have financed my own horses since the age of fourteen." Cue lots of embarrassed huffing on her part due to having a daughter who DOES do all of the above, courtesy of mummy's wallet.

I can afford my horses, but there have been times when it's been the choice between me eating and them, and I have chosen them every time. I would rather buy rugs and tack for them than clothes for myself, and I really resent people implying that I'm either irresponsible with money, or that I must be rolling in it because I've got horses, play polo, and hunt regularly.

Rant over... :D
 
people think i'm loaded because i have 4 horses, i'm not. in fact if i didn't have the horses i still don't think i'd be rich because i'd just 'waste' the money buying more dvd's and games for the kids!
my horses are all good doers so little expense there, i'm looking to loan one pony out, another pony is already on loan and the other 2 will stay with me until their time comes.

i think i have a better life though because my kids are happy and healthy, that's because they are out in the fresh air almost every day playing at the yard or helping me do 'jobs' such as filling up water buckets and things.

i sit at home some nights and think about the money i could save if i didn't have horses (answer is always none!) but then i go for a hack on my lad the following day and i feel so much better. i come home happy so my husband is happy, my kids are happy. so basically me having horses makes us all happy and it's healthier!
 
It's a case of how you choose to spend your money. I currently have 4 (two of which are seriously for sale) which live in a field leased from the local council. I have no fancy facilities like electricity or a school but I do have running water which I paid to have connected. I don't smoke, drink, have any sort of social life, my clothes come from charity shops and I have a very small, cheap car.
 
have 2 ponies & 3 children all under 4yo, OH works damned hard to pay for the house & i pay for the ponies out of odd jobs as im at home with the kids (childcare so i can work costs £468 per week for them!) they are on fantastic grazing with a fantastic landlady Lucy & want for very little, their rugs are all second hand & the kids clothes come from friends. i am fantastic at making money stretch for food ect & can make a meal from almost nothing now.
think i last brought clothes for me 2 years ago & not been abroard since honeymoon in 2004 (at a horse free period of life).
 
Up until 2008 my parents used to pay for my horse (when the financial climate was good for Architects and Property Developers), then we got a 2nd horse and with that I got myself a proper job and was able to pay for everything myself.* When competing they cost up to £900 a month, this left me with £50 a week to live off until next payday; I didn't mind as I was doing what I always wanted and I was lucky cos if my dad used my car and the petrol tank was almost empty he filled it up for me occasionally :D*
*
I would save up each month, sell things on eBay etc to enable me to group together enough money to buy the Rambo rugs etc and the smart tack... makes it far more rewarding if you have saved up for something.* I have been lucky from a financial point of view (not horsey point of view at all in the slightest :( :( ) that my horses didn't compete in 2009 due to injuries (and that the insurance company paid for their problems) and so I had some spare money to refill my wardrobe with necessities and pay off other bits and bobs.* Sadly I lost both horses this summer :( :( but had decided earlier in the year to go on a Young Farmers Club Skiing trip in January to Val D'Isere :) Since losing the horses I obviously had more money to save, but now I am getting a new boy on loan (with view to buy at the end of six months loan).* To keep him and save enough to buy him will cost between £700 and £800 a month and with that I have sacrificed my skiing holiday.* I am gutted not to go, but so happy to know that I will be able to give Bertie everything he needs and still live myself and not put any financial pressure on my parents.* I am lucky that with Young Farmers we have discos every Friday night and so many more social events which keep my social life going without breaking the bank.* If there are more expensive events like Balls then I save a bit more.*
*
I too get the comments – you have horses, nice tack and a lorry, you must be rich.* The sad reality is that no we are not especially now the property market which my dad works in is so dire.* I am so thankful to have the job I do and to be able to take the strain off my parents.
*
I love horses and would never trade them for being able to spend £50 - £100 on a night out, buy copious pairs of shoes and go shopping every Saturday - I'd hate that!
 
I think people hear the world "horse" and just start spouting about how expensive they are. I've had conversations with non-horsey people when I had my horses on livery at nearly £800 a month. Not surprisingly, they said how expensive that was. Fair enough. But now I have a horse on DIY, for a maximum of about £150 a month (that's for assisted winter livery) and as little as £75 in summer. And people still drone on to me about how expensive that is! Eighty quid a month? Expensive? I think it's down to the cliche of all riders being posh and privileged. I think we should all look at people with kids, and go "You've got a kid? Huh! How much you pay a month for that then? Too much, I bet!"

It also never fails to amaze me that people have no qualms about asking exactly how much we all pay each month for our horses.. but I've never asked how much they pay for child care, petrol, rent/mortgage, broadband, Sky TV, mooring fees, magazine subscriptions, groceries...
 
I too make sacrifices (clothes, holidays, nights out) to keep my horses but my life would be empty without horses!

My (slightly crazy) friend once stayed in her car the night as she couldn't afford the petrol home and back again to do the horse in the morning! Fortunately she is a little more financially secure these days
 
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