should you be rich to own a horse??

[lilym]

prompted by another post.....i was quite offended by one reply that implied that you have to be rich to own a horse, this is not the case. obviously it is common sense that if you can't afford to feed, bed or worm it properly then you shouldn't, but i have been keeping horses on a budget for years, i am not and doubt i ever will be rich, i am not from a posh background, but a council house one, but that doesn't make me a pikey, my horses have all the basic care they need and i have insurance for unexpected vet bills.
the horsey world is snobby enough as it is without people insisting only a certain class should be allowed to have horses!
in fact proper horse people love to work to a budget and grab bargains etc, and i have also known some shocking neglect cases caused by stinking rich people who bought a horse on a whim and then lost alll interest leaving it to rot in a field.
magazine ads will strive to make us feel we "need" the latest rug, numnah, bridle, etc , and there is alot of brand snobbery, lets hope this doesn't cause an equine chav problem!

 

[Skhosu]

I don't feel you need to be rich..just as you are.. with insurance and enough to pay for necessities. If you haven't enough to pay fo rnecessities, sorry but I think you shouldn't get one!

 

[JessPickle]

I dont think you need to be rich.. partically for me as I dont do any shows anyway we have insurance for vets, There is definetly a class issue around horses. Like if you told most peopel you have a horse it is assumed you have a lot of money. I agree with you on this

 

[clipertyplop]

im glad youve put this post congratulaions because if i had wrote it would have come out all wrong.... nothing wrong with keeping a horse on a shoestring ...i myself have also had to do this along with many other people....but i think this is a subject of 2 catagories one of horses being kept on a shoestring and another of horses being neglected ........and as not to offend any veterans i appolagize in addvance for my oppinion

 

[sevenoceans]

I hate it when people say "OHH you got a horse.... very expensive.... are you rich?" IT PISSSES me off.... can't i enjoy my horse on shoestring..... I love my horse... money or no money.... in fact i bought excouncil house and being from privelaged backgound (parents always made sure i paid my own way since i was 16!) i get funny looks but up yours and mind their own buisness....

 

[S_N]

No, you just have to have no social life

 

[Faithkat]

well, if you have to be rich, that rules me out!! For various reasons (not least life itself) I live in a housing association flat (yuck) but I have a horse who is well looked after, vaccinated, foot trimmed etc etc. She takes all my disposable income (which is pretty small but the animals have always come first; I go hungry to feed the animals) but I don't do anything else and only have a tiny little cheap car (and I didn't have a car at all for 11 years). It's a case of what you choose to do with your money. Some people smoke, drink, go out socially, think themselves hard done by if they don't have a new car to drive and foreign holidays three times a year . . . it's a matter of choice. It is unfortunate that owning a horse is perceived to be the domain of the "rich" but I think it's a hang-over from the days (not THAT long ago) when owning a horse WAS something you only did if you were rich as there was no such thing as livery and you had to have your own stables. The only option for us "normal" types was hiring a pony/horse by the hour from the local riding stables. The advent of livery opened up the horse-owning market to all levels of society but the old perceptions linger on.

 

[Kelly1982]

I am certainly NOT rich and i dont feel that my horse suffers because of this!! She gets everything she needs and more.

When i said in a post the other day that i had to wait til i got paid to buy some stirrup leathers and irons i got quite a few nasty replies saying that if i couldn't afford the basics then i shouldn't own a horse (never mind the fact i had just padi out £300 on my car that month)!!

This really p*ssed me off (and you know who you are)!!!

As long as your horse is fed, watered, loved and gets any veternary treatment etc that is needed then i dont see why you have to be stinking rich!!

When the quality of the horses life is suffering coz the owner cant afford vet bills, farrier etc then i think its time to say you cant afford a horse!!

 

[4whitesocks]

I would be rich if I didn't have one!!!!!!

 

[Toby_Zaphod]

There has always been this idea that if you own a horse you are either rich, upper class, or Mummy & Daddy spoil you. This is a load of rot. There are always people that will fill that criteria but by far there are more people from working class backgrounds that do without alot of what many people think as necessities to fund their sport/pastime.

Everyone likes a bargain & if you can save money on equiping your horse then great.

Actually I suppose we all could be fairly rich if we stopped having horses....... but then I'd rather not.

 

[Happytohack]

[ QUOTE ]
I would be rich if I didn't have one!!!!!!

[/ QUOTE ]

LOL

wouldn't we all?

 

[Accy]

I am not rich and sometimes i have to wait till pay day for the odd thing, but he is never without and never suffers for and single second yes im on a budget but i go without not him, and for anyone to think you have to be rich to own a horse then im sorry i dont agree, as long you can feed, worm vets bills and all the nessacary (SP) then i cant see whats wrong with that.

 

[GTs]

I think you need to be rich - horses are luxury goods, they are expensive (even with insurance), demand a great deal of care and time.

At the equine hospital I was amazed how many people could not afford basic care for their horses. The problem comes from horses being cheap to acquire and awfully expensive to keep. The do eat a lot of people out of house and home.

 

[Peanot]

[ QUOTE ]


When i said in a post the other day that i had to wait til i got paid to buy some stirrup leathers and irons i got quite a few nasty replies saying that if i couldn't afford the basics then i shouldn't own a horse (never mind the fact i had just padi out £300 on my car that month)!!

This really p*ssed me off (and you know who you are)!!!



[/ QUOTE ]

Sorry to hear this Kelly, as it shouldn`t have had the horrid responses, never saw the post myself. Having to wait for stirrups is nothing, now if you had to wait to be able to call the vet with an emergency, well that is a different story. Some people don`t realise. Now perhaps that you had to wait for the items was that you wanted a quality pair and so had to save, instead of buying a cheap and nasty pair that would need replacing pretty quickly.
I was told by hubby that I had to wait a couple of weeks before I could go and have a brand new saddle fitted. Would I have got the same response?| I think not.
I know a lot of people that live on a shoestring but their horses are very much looked after and loved.
I am now very lucky to have a job where I can afford to buy my horse anything that she needs or I think she wants and she is spoilt rotten. But she is loved and she knows it. There was once a point in my life where I never had a lot of food in the house but I had 3 horses who never went without food or anything that they NEEDED.
I hope that you can forget the post and ignore the comments.

 

[Kelly1982]

Hi Les01

The post is forgotten about as these people dont know how i look after my horse (and if they did they would be eating their words) but it did upset me at the time.

I agree that if i couldn't call the vet etc then i would have to seriously think about my horses welfare with me but thats not the case i my horse wants for nothing.

If anything my horse would probably enjoy the fact i couldn't ride for a while LOL.

 

[Blackhawk]

Weren't we all rich BEFORE we had a horse?

 

[kateknights]

ditto 4white socke here here...
Kate x

 

[TequilaMist]

No you don't have to be rich!!I have had horses many years now and yes we do without a lot-no hols etc.But horses NEVER do without.And I too bought ex council house.Both my partner and I work full time to pay for them and for daughter to compete.I would sell/loan if had to but it would be a last resort.
And I too have seen some what you would class as stinking rich people treat their horses really bad,don't provide bedding food or basic care because they basically just can't be bothered.Think that annoys me more than someone in genuine financial difficulty.

 

[sojeph]

depends how you keep them!
Mine are natives, no rugs, no feed, out 24/7. plenty of dosh in the bank

 

[sleepingdragon10]

[ QUOTE ]
depends how you keep them!
Mine are natives, no rugs, no feed, out 24/7. plenty of dosh in the bank

[/ QUOTE ]

LMAO Sojeph

Assuming that one needs to be rich in order to have a horse/pony is utter bollox....IMHO

xx

 

[Onyxia]

Not at all.
Of course you need to be sure you can affored the cost of keep but that doesnt meen you need millions in the bank! It is possable to keep to a budget AND have a very well cared for horse- social life may have to be limited to the yard though

 

[bellgave]

I would be rich if I didnt have horses!!! But I might not be as happy!!!

 

[princesskelly]

i live on a budget but my horse has more clothes than me!! she is so spoilt and never goes without. kelly1982 theres nothing wrong with having to save i'm saving at the moment for a pair of sprenger(so) stirrups because i cant afford them just like that. but like you she would never go without wormer and that kind of things. but like bellgave said would we be happy without them?

 

[fletcher]

i dont earn that much and i run a car and if my horse needs anything i will save to get it, sometimes i struggle and if anythings goin to go wrong it all happens at once but i make dam sure my horse isnt efected.

 

[paintsplat05]

it was a struggle for us purely because i only had a very small weekend job (im 16) so parents had to pay for 80% of my pony's stuff but it's definately feasible!

 

[maddielove]

my parents do pay for the main basicas, but i am made to work for any extras i want/think i need.
i hate the horrible steriotyping i get at school from most people.
"oh you have a horse. you must be loaded"
thing is..i got my horse under the condition that we keep her on a shoe string..this included the price of her and she is far from a HOYS horse but everyone else who doesnt really know me/my horse seems to thinks i have everything provided.
but i very much appreciate everything i have, and there is manypeople with horses i know that dont.

this post probably made no sense...but i angry when people think that you have to be rich to have a horse.

 

[fletcher]

whats a shoe string. i do understand why people might say you must be loaded as your parents pay for must things. my family used to say how do you afford it but its not really that exspensive.

 

[Bex7]

my boy has to wait until I get paid for everything othet than feed and bedding and shoes etc.

I had to go 5 weeks without a saddle because the saddler told me the one I had didn't fit properly and I needed to get the money for a new one. Does that mean I should have to rehome him as he is mistreated and I am poor? Or does it mean that I care enough about his welfare not to use the saddle as soon as I found out it would cause discomfort at the expense of not being able to ride for 5 weeks of the glorious summer!

I had to beg and borrow when I got Bert, JJ and WPS lent me a saddle and stirrups and god knows what else, not to mention free board!, I still don't own loads of things that are basic yard equipment such as brooms/wheelbarrows/shavings forks etc as I share with other people so I can afford the thigs that are necessary!

I resent the implication that you should only get a horse if you have money, especially when often the money is supplied by parents!

 

[Christmas_Kate]

PMSL. Well, I'm certainly not rich! B is on grass livery, and I pay no more than I have to for anything. I was weighing up prices for insurance and it was suggested on here that I shouldnt have a pony if I have to shop around for the cheapest insurance

.
No-one ever got rich by flashing the cash and throwing it away. I scrimp and save and make my money stretch, but I have one happy pony and one happy bank manager (OH lol).

 

[fletcher]

anyone gonna tell me what shoe string means i never heard of it??