Single People - How do you afford livery????

[asterid]

I am thinking of buying a new beastie after 8 months of not having one. I have had 8 months of affording my lovely little house and having spending money!

I am now thinking I may have to live in a pokey little flat in grotsville so I can afford livery!

I work stupid shifts, so cannot do DIY, so I have to go full livery which is reasonably priced at £360 monthly all in. All I have to do is ride oh and pay for shoes and insurance.

Just wondering what you single folk do to afford the four legged beasties livery, shows e.t.c. What do you sacrifice in order to do so??

I need to meet a rich sexy man!

 

[milliepops]

I could only afford DIY livery tbh. I live in a tiny house and don't have a social life - there is no money left at the end of the month by the time i've paid for the horse

Don't care though Would be nice to have more cash, but getting promoted is the only way that is going to happen!

 

[Lobelia_Overhill]

I have no life!

 

[CBFan]

To be honest I think the only way I'd be able to afford to live on my own and keep my horse is to have a sharer paying me for rides a couple of days a week...

 

[mudmonkey17]

I am single but live at home with parents so can afford to keep horse on part livery. I work shifts so DIY is out of the question also. I am currently trying to save for a house but think realistically will be a very small flat xx

 

[Luci07]

actually I have found that livery/horses has been far more of a bone of contention when in a relationship then when single! I can't think of how many lectures (OK attempted lectures) I have had from various ex's over the cost of my horse (s). Even though they a: did not contribute a single penny b: never had to cover any of my share of the household costs and c: were never financially impacted!

so, logic says dont have one, emotion says do and in the past it has meant part time jobs on top of my full time job to keep my horse.

 

[asterid]

Ha ha, Yes Luci07, I agree, my head says dont be so daft, horses are too expensive, time consuming and life wrecking, but I WANT ONE AGAIN!

My mate thinks ive done well to last 8 months without one. I just cant help myself. I need someone to brian wash me to think horses are bad!

 

[soulfull]

I could only afford DIY livery tbh. I live in a tiny house and don't have a social life - there is no money left at the end of the month by the time i've paid for the horse

Don't care though Would be nice to have more cash!

echo this 100% also I love being single

 

[Ranyhyn]

I have a sharer, I work Sunday overtime every week and I sell my old clothes on Ebay

 

[dressager]

It can definitely be done. I have never had a man pay for my horse (well, my bf did pay my recent riding club membership hehe).

I have a very small house on my own at the moment in a cheap, not so nice area, but do keep my horse on schooling livery so my thinking is he's probably a better investment at the moment than the house :-D

Spare cash goes on extra lessons and shows (which I get far more excited about than a night out anyhow) However I do try and have some sort of social life too to keep everyone happy. Its amazing how much you can save on nights out and friends birthdays with a bit of thinking ;-) I work 4.5 days a week and sometimes try and fit in extra shift work if I'm running low on funds.

 

[lucy1984]

I have my 3 horses on grass livery. I have a 5 acre field all to myself. Just have to pay for hay and feed during the winter. I live with my dad at the moment but I will have to move out before 2011. Ive worked out that I should have enough money to rent a house after all my costs. Tight, but having horses makes me happy and I'd rather spend money on them than on alcohol and going out wasting money lol

 

[Copperpot]

When I was single I had mine on DIY even though I worked shifts and my friend helped me out. Was horrible though finishing work at 7 am after working all night and then having to muck out

Luckily my boyfriend of 2 years is happy I have horses and since bought me a nice new one and pays all the rent so they can be in livery. Otherwise I could never afford it.

I also don't really go out or buy new stuff (for me) horses get loads Haven't been on holiday since I had horses either!!! They are worth it though

 

[Walrus]

I'm a lodger, I rent a room in a house for quite cheap rent. The pony is on DIY, he doesn't have fancy kit and neither do I. My lovely YO doesn't charge me for little things like bringing in or giving him his tea occasionally as the plan is I will help with her horses over the spring / summer when she starts going to shows on a Sunday and I'll hay / turn out / bring in / skip out the rest of the horses if needed.

TBH the only thing that narks me about being single with regards to money is that I see lovely cottages that I could afford half the rent for if I was sharing with another person and I can't afford on my own. However that's life, I would never expect a man to help with my horse and I can support me and the horse just fine without a man, I just need to earn a little bit more to afford to live on my own - but I'd rather wait and do that than be dependant on a man to give me the lifestyle I want! (Not saying I don't want a lovely man to share my life with you understand, just not one I'm dependant on for money stuff).

 

[SO1]

I have a well paid job and I worked hard so that I can afford my pony - I live in a rented flat and my pony is on grass livery - no problem at all affording him plus shows and lessons.

However it is much cheaper having him live out and he is only 13.2 and a good doer so eats much less than say a large TB. His hay bill in winter is about £30 a month and he only has front shoes on and shod every 5 weeks - one bag of horse food last him 2 months.

I think it depends on what sort or horse or pony you get and how you keep them as to how expensive it gets.

 

[spookypony]

Another single here: grass livery is the answer. It allows me a flexible schedule, and is even cheaper than DIY. Another question I think many people could profit from asking themselves is: "does my horse really do enough work to justify all that hard feed?" I manage to keep the upkeep of the horse to 150 pounds/month, and that includes livery, hay, hooves, insurance, wormer, and vaccinations. This means that I can spend other money on regular lessons, competition entries, and extras.

 

[MochaDun]

I can't afford full care anymore - just occasional paid back up help when I need it though for the last year I've only had sporadic work so been able to do the horse myself every day but that will change at the end of the month when I'll be back doing proper work again and I'll have to just get up to do the pony very early ahead of work and get back to him late after work of an evening. The summer will be easier though as he'll be able to stay out for longer.

I had to make a lot of cost savings in the last year as was made redundant so see if you can reduce your household outgoings by shopping around for your car, horse and house insurance quotes as I saved nearly £300 by going with different suppliers. I also cut back on social life and driving (two were linked!) and that's helped a bit. I don't spend a lot on clothes and those I bought that I needed were very cheap in the sales or the good supermarket lines. Also I had no holiday apart from a 5 day cheap UK one.

My horse costs me less per month than the house and also running the car!

Is there someone you could chum up with at the yard who could help you during the week if you could return the favour at weekends? Or would you consider a sharer?

 

[golddustsara]

I am co-habiting but OH pays nothing towards the horse. I afford him by not buying any clothes, or going out on big drinking sessions anymore! I earn an average wage and live in a rented flat, but tis all worth it!

 

[a_e_d]

I am not single and have a non-horsey boyf. The deal with me getting a horse is that I pay for him all myself without contributing less to the household stuff.
I work full time and there's nowhere very close to me where I would want to have a horse, so Andy is on full livery (approx £600 per month). I can only afford that (plus the extras etc.) because I got a decent bonus and made sure it would cover everything. I should say I secured the bonuses last year before getting the horse! Our finances will change towards the end of this year and that will free up more money and so if I don't get a bonus in 2011, I will still be able to afford full livery.
There were of course lots of things I probably should have spent my bonuses on, but sometimes you just have to do what you want, rather than what you should - I figured I work hard and have sacrificed a lot over recent years and so deserved something for me.

 

[ticketyboo]

However that's life, I would never expect a man to help with my horse and I can support me and the horse just fine without a man, I just need to earn a little bit more to afford to live on my own - but I'd rather wait and do that than be dependant on a man to give me the lifestyle I want! (Not saying I don't want a lovely man to share my life with you understand, just not one I'm dependant on for money stuff).

Well said Walrus, i'm single an struggle big time but its all worth it. My little pony is a good doer and its just me an my friend in a field, his horse an my pony, no stables, field shelters, hard standing or running water!!!! Its hard work but its only £50 a month an my friend & i share the work load.

Only had her a year and she came with nothing so its been a slow build up, have very little tack an the smallest grooming kit I know of.

Hard work but wouldnt change a thing, even going down the field with hot water bottles so the horses have a hot feed lol

 

[JoJo_]

I couldnt afford anything but DIY livery. Its not a cheap place though at £35 a week not including any forage/bedding. I dont have a social life and rarely treat myself. At the end of each month I am still managing to spend more than I get coming in Its difficult. In some ways I wish I waited till I had been working longer and found a career before buying a horse as now i'm stuck in a boring job because there arent any jobs out there with the same wage for me at the mo. I cant afford a pay drop to go do something different. But now I wouldnt want to sell Tia. Love her too much!

 

[Hollycat]

When I had a very well paid job paying for full livery was no problem, but I never saw my horse as I was always at work/too exhausted after work. I bought the horse of my dreams and ended up paying for someone else to enjoy riding her!!!! Now I am poor, I don't think I will ever be able to afford a horse of my own again (short of winning lottery etc etc).

I think horses are an obsession with me. It makes no logical sense to want one. But I do. If I ever manage to get a decent job and pay off my debts then no doubt I will try and get another horse. For now I just satisfy myself going riding every so often and hopefully when I qualifiy I will work with horses, though that very much depends on the job and practice I join.

 

[pocket]

Easier to be single and have a horse than be in a relationship where the OH is constantly nagging about how much money and time you spend with the ned! I've never had a problem with funding even when I was a student nurse on £400 a month! I used to work at the yard on my days off to pay for livery and now whilst on part livery, I muck out myself to bank full livery days if I need them at weekends....

 

[Depp_by_Chocolate]

I own 3 horses and the only way for me is grass livery a) keeps the costs down and b) is flexible so if I have to go to work early or stay late I'm not rushing about or relying on others for help of and c) I don't have a social life

 

[gabbypinkjessica]

Yep, I also do grass livery for my two as it's cheaper, they are happier, and I can be flexible on time as I work stupid shifts. I also live as a lodger with a friend, so my rent is cheaper and my bills are split between us. When I was a student and living on 400 pounds a month, I only had one and she was on DIY living in overnight on a yard with quite strict timings, so I doubled up with a friend, as I always had one end of the day off when I worked short shifts, so could spend ages there then. I was lucky as she worked 9-3 so could do either, but just didn't want to go twice a day as she had young kids. When I did 12 hour shifts, I only worked 3 days a week, so she did those days and I did the other 4 days am and pm.
There are ways to make it work, and it is so worth it. You just have to budget really carefully, and compromise on other things (although I still manage to have nights out etc).
And if you did get a sexy rich man, he would spend so much time whining about the amount of time you spend with the ned, you would soon get sick of him anyway!

 

[criso]

Is it that simple?
If you were with someone and had kids, then they would take alot of time and money making it more difficult to afford a horse and find time for it.

I may be single but it does mean that anything I earn after food and mortgage goes on what I want, which is my horse. I have a 2 bedroom flat so I rent out the spare room so I have a bit more disposable income. I could just about manage without doing that with mortgage rates being low at the moment but choose to be a bit more comfortable.

I work in London so have him on 5 day livery, livery in London/Herts where I am is expensive but then wages are possibly a bit higher. At both the yards I was at there was a huge range of incomes and people found ways to make it work.
Working shifts, then pay for either turnout or catching depending on whether you are on an early shift or late shift, some people worked full time but were on DIY and came up every night after work to muck out and ride and this was in London where it can take you an hour to get home every night. People help each other so you don't need to visit twice a day and finding a yard that offers services at a reasonable price is key.

I didn't envy the person with the rich boyfriend who had bought her a horse, it seemed to come with strings and limitations on how often she could visit and how long she spent at the yard.