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GTs

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I find it very frustrating that people continually are down playing the costs associated with owning horses. To me horses are a luxury - the average person in the western world can afford one luxury; horse people have a horse as it, they could have a flashy car, designer clothes, longer holidays, etc. But providing a basic level of care for horses is not cheap, and they poses the ability to get very expensive very quickly!

Yes a lot of people who are not classified as rich can afford them, and provide good care - but poor people certainly can't and should not own them, and just because you are not wealthy enough to own, it does not mean you can not enjoy them, take lessons, lease, etc.
 
Err.....but don't you know that in todays world you can be anything you want to be and you can have anything you want.
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True the same though should be applied to all living creatures. I've just done a quick calculation and excluding lessons I'm rolling in at £250-300 a month and mine lives out. So they're not cheap, however, the equine world is a con so I can understand people looking for better value however, this cannot be extended to substitution for correctly fitting rugs & saddles together with daily routine maintenance of the horse
 
I'm in a lucky position really. I keep my four at home so I obviously don't have to pay livery charges and the farm buys in straw and hay anyway so it doesn't come from my pockets.

That said, I still spend on average £250 a month on my horses (maybe more I stopped counting!) which is astonishing really. The majority of that being spent on the two who are ridden, not the youngster and the shetland.

Not sure I could really afford, or at least could justify the expense of one, in livery when I have a family of four children. Don't think I'd have the time to go travelling to visit the horse at set times either. Something always comes up with children and I can move my routine around an hour or so if I'm desperate.

Horses are my luxury. I don't drink or smoke and Duncan and I are pretty much tied to the farm so we don't spend money on a social life. We can afford posh cars, but we're not materialistic. Gets us from A - B and tows the trailer like a dream. That's all we need.
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I don't know about down playing the costs. My main expense is the livery, depending on the grass my horses get very little feed in the summer. I only shoe in front, I am on rubber matting so dont have as much bedding ie right to the door, but it is about 2in thick, the other big expense is insurance. My costs in winter are a lot higher then in summer because they are in, which means I am using bedding, more hay, & feeding. If you have a native pony only being ridden 2/3 times a week why would that cost you much more then a large dog? Tamara's 1st ponies (welsh sec A's) were not shod, just trimmed every 6-8wks, they did not have hard feed just haylage (and looked very well). They had access to a field shelter which was bedded down, but the main costs were rent £10pw & insurance. If you keep your horses at home then it is even cheaper. I would think costs are as expensive as you want to make it. Of course I have not added all the tack & other bits & pieces, shows etc. If you want something badly enough you will find the money from somewhere. Me I work 3 jobs, but still get time for them.
 
GTs I think that you are right and many people do play down the costs associated with horse ownership. Owning a horse, unless you need it for work, is undoubtedly a luxury. However, it is intresting to consider the reasons why people like to state that their horse(s) are relatively inexpensive to keep. I think that one reason is because in the UK it is not the done thing to brag about having pots of money so to say that you can easily afford to keep a yard full of expensive horses would be seen as jolly bad form!

I think some people like to fool themselves that they aren't spending that much because they would find it hard to justify to themselves/partners/parents just how much money does go on their horse when it could be put towards a better house or car etc. I am one of these type of people! I simply daren't work out how much I could save if I didn't have a horse and used the money to renovate my cottage instead.

What do others think?
 
Who's playing dwn the costs???? I dont have a horse as I cant afford one full stop!! But I wouldnt say i am poor..... compared to all the poverty around the world nowadays!
 
Relatively everyone in the Western world is rich but I don't think GTs meant it like this i.e. the difference between living and dying, having food to eat or owning a horse. I think he meant that horses are a luxury for most people earning ordinary wages.
 
[ QUOTE ]
I find it very frustrating that people continually are down playing the costs associated with owning horses. To me horses are a luxury - the average person in the western world can afford one luxury; horse people have a horse as it, they could have a flashy car, designer clothes, longer holidays, etc. But providing a basic level of care for horses is not cheap, and they poses the ability to get very expensive very quickly!

Yes a lot of people who are not classified as rich can afford them, and provide good care - but poor people certainly can't and should not own them, and just because you are not wealthy enough to own, it does not mean you can not enjoy them, take lessons, lease, etc.

[/ QUOTE ]

Is this aimed at me?
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For my family having horses means making sacrifices in areas that other people probably don't really think about. We don't go on holiday, we don't own a car newer than a P reg, we do all food shopping in asda and when it comes to clothes I can just about make sure I don't wear the same thing more than twice a week. What gets me is when people claim they can't afford a horse but they have their hair and nails done almost weekly, drive big new shiny cars, go on 3 holidays a year and buy the children plasma televisions for xmas.
 
Hmm. My horses were cheap to keep when I kept them at home. We had very little outlay really. Now I guess I keep him on a budget but I drive a 9 year old car that I share with my husband and we dont have holidays or buy many new clothes etc. I dont go out (well, I have a toddler anyway so I cant) and I dont drink or smoke. If you add up what other people might spend on their two foreign holidays a year and drinking/smoking/night clubbing/new clothes I know it comes to less than my horse costs per year. I know this - I compared my outgoings to my friends who have that kind of lifestyle that is considered "normal" these days.

Cassandra
 
I think there's a really weird thing in this country about people with horses. If you own a horse you must be (a) filthy rich and (b) a toff, so we have every right to hate and insult you. (And so many posts about how people are treated by motorists, etc, seems to demonstrate this attitude) This came through in the hunting debate as well, in spite of all the evidence to the contrary. I bet that most of us here are not either filthy rich OR toffs!!
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So why is it that no other country seems to have this prejudice?
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I agree with you in the Uk so many people wrongly think you are stuck up and rich if you have horses. I work full time, my car is X reg I own a normal three bed house and I do not smoke or have children!!! I do have nice holidays but that's the only other luxury apart from horses!

To be honest I think the main problems arise when peoples circumstances change and they still do everything they can to keep their horse, personally if I could not afford him I would have to sell Murphy because I could not stand to see his standard of care slip.
 
Horses are definitely not cheap. Although i would say that some can be cheaper than others
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I work a PT job and have my own rented house. I certainly cant afford a nice car or clothes so yes Murphy is my luxury and a damn expensive one at that!

But then again I cant ride my clothes or brush my car! lol
 
It would cost me more to smoke, drink and party in a week than keep my horse.. do the calculations? I have friends who could aford 2 horses or more on what they spend on drink etc, but hey that is their luxury, my horse is mine..
 
Well, I agree that horses are an expensive luxury but that said I manage to keep mine on a tight budget. I rent my own land with stables and therefore I have no livery costs. The cost of feed and hay is reasonable where I live and luckily my mare keeps her shoes on for a decent amount of time. The most important thing I feel is that I insure my mare for vets fees as I know I couldn't afford to pay out a large sum if anything went wrong. My mare costs me about £120 a month which I think is cheap, when I had her on DIY it was £200-£220 per month.
 
Everyone thinks I am stinking rich as I have 2 horses. I am far from it (probably because I have 2 horses). I work full time and have a part time job. I also have sharers for both horses to help with costs and workload. My horses are both very well cared for and very happy. Although I don't think I would ever sell either of them, if circumstances changed and I couldn't afford to look after either of them, I would porbably put them out on loan.
 
I think if my partner really knew how much my three cost he might have some observations on the subject - luckily I also work full time and support my hobby myself. It does mean running an older car, not having holidays and other luxuries, but I stand by my right to choose how I spend my money.
 
Of course horses are a luxury, unless you are useing them to plough fields etc they are a luxury to everyone. I dont own my own house, drive a reasonable car, and spend approx £50 a month on ciggies and booze, (which I could not keep a horse for), My last holiday abroad was in 2001, they are expensive things to have, and still dont know "who" is playing down the costs????????
 
That's actually the first thing I would look at is loaning him out rather than selling him but his quality of life is the most important thing. I've seen people only having the farrier out when a shoe comes off after 3 or 4 months and not getting the vet out soon enough because they are worried about the cost. Those are the people who annoy me, yes they are expensive but if your not willing to work hard to earn the money to keep them properly I don't think you should have them. Fingers crossed neither of us are ever in that situation!!!
 
Who is "playing down the costs of horse ownership"? Me and my friends, that's who! If we didn't have them we could all afford nicer cars, houses, clothes, holidays etc but we all choose not to because we love our horses more than those things.

I don't drink, smoke, socialise, buy any clothes unless I the ones I own start to look tatty, go on holiday (not even in the UK), drive a nice car etc but I still regard my horse as a luxury. He is a luxury that I can afford because it is my priority to own him and I am happy to go without the other things so that I can keep him and have regular lessons. I don't think there are any Brownie points available for how much you have to sacrifice to keep a horse!
 
Erm thats not playing down the costs!!!! Thats saying they are BL**DY expensive so therefore you dont have the cars/clothes/holidays because of it!!!! Playing down would be saying it only costs me £20 a month to have my pony etc etc.... well thats how I see it!!
 
Ok lexidhb. I will shut up now. I am not making sense to you am I ? What I meant was that my friends and I try not to add up the real costs associated with our undoubtedly expensive hobby for fear of upsetting ourselves (and partners etc) by admitting what else we could buy with the money instead. Sorry for making you cross and hope you get a horse to ride soon
Annie x
 
Dont be daft.......... im not cross at all!!!! We just had differing meanings of playing down the costs...... I have owned horses in the past and so know its daftly expensive!!! I also know the sacrifices I had to make to keep my horses so know exactly where you are coming from......... Like I said it was just a differing opinion of playing down the costs!!! Dont shut up at all..........
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Maybe my post yesterday prompted this I'm not sure.

I think that someone who plays down the costs turns a blind eye to it and ignores the horses welfare and their own purse strings....I think posting what I did proves that if anything I'm all too aware of the costs!

We all make sacrifices though - I don't really buy clothes (I have a massive wardrobe and really don't need them!) and if I go out I'd rather have a wicked night out once a month than go down the pub all the time....
 
It's an interesting debate - it's not (I don't think) such an issue in ireland, perhaps because up until recently we had a much more rural based population and most farmers, even small farmers had some sort of hairy ponio in a field somewhere.... we are a nation obsessed with owning land so most people outside of major urban areas at least strive to hold on to as much land as they can, means less cost in terms of livery - it does mean that there's less of a perception that horses are only for rich people - and more of an admission that they do cost you money but what would life be like without them!

On my road there are very few houses you pass that don't show at least some signs of equestrian interest....
having said that I do live in a particularly horsey county and was lucky enough to grow up on a farm with horses so have been killing myself trying to get back to a situation where I can keep my horse myself - I finally have with a lot of sacrifice, saving, hard work & I totally fund all my horsey requirements myself (buying extra land, saving to build stables, livery every month)...I do have a good job, which allows me to save for this luxury but can honestly say that every night out I don't have or every new suit I don't buy, every year I don't change my car is totally worth it - if it wasn't for my Neddy I wouldn't be sane enough to do my job (I'd have had a nervous breakdown by this stage!!)

I never play down how much it costs me....by this summer I will have committed well over €40,000 to owning a horse - (buying land, building stables, horse itself, livery....) most of which will increase the value of my property but still....definitely not cheap!
 
Playing down the costs can just be bad accounting, if you know what I mean? Adding livery, shoes, insurance, feet etc together, coming up with a figure and saying my horse costs £x amount a month to own. BUT forgetting all the other bits, lessons, entry fees, vets, worming, supplements, rugs, lights during winter, diesel, wear on car/trailer the list could be endless!!
 
Glad I haven't upset anyone 'cos I really didn't mean to!
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Thinking about it we are all probably in agreement on this one aren't we? Horses are very expensive but, if you are in a position to make the necessary sacrifices, they are well worth it. I bet there are a lot of others on here who ask for things for their horse rather than themselves for birthday & Christmas pressies just like me!
 
I'd much rather people would come out and be direct rather than posting things like this.

If it's not about me then I apologise but it all seems a bit strange as it doesn't make sense anyway!
 
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