What have you sacrificed to keep your horses?

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Sophstar

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As the owner of 2 ponies, I regularly get asked 'HOW MUCH does that cost you a month???!'...I have to admit after the rent and bills are paid for the majority of my money goes on my 2 boys. I'd much rather ensure they have everything they need, i can go to shows and sponsored rides with them and actually enjoy them, hence my additional purchase of my little 3.5 ton box :) My other half continually whinges about the fact they cost so much and I know deep down that if I didn't have the 2 of them I would probably have my half of a mortgage deposit ready and waiting or money for a goddam holiday! All my friends have just started buying up their first houses and though I feel slightly bad for my boyfriend knowing he has a huge chunk of savings waiting for me to actually save some money:rolleyes:, but I'm at my happiest when I'm with my boys and all the little things we achieve together:D

I'm just intrigued to know what has everyone else sacrificed to keep their horses?! Except for a lay in any day of the week!
 
Well, having just bought a house that needs completely refurbishing, I am sacrificing that! My boy always comes first and am currently looking for a second job to pay for the house. I thought about part loaning him to help pay for the house, but couldn't do it! :(

At the moment, I'm living in rubble, missing floorboards and no kitchen :o but hey ho, I forget all of that when I go see my boy!!

So, for now, I'm sacrificing my house to have a horse :rolleyes: ... silly really!! lol!
 
When I lost my job 2 years ago I sold everything, and I do mean everything to pay the bills - my car, my jewellery, all my nice clothes, birthday and christmas presents all went on ebay.

I gave up having haircuts, new clothes, makeup, there were no nights out, no treats no nothing!

I did everything from cleaning toilets to waiting tables, to bar work, coldcalling, any little job I could do, I did it....
 
a larger house. a decent car. holidays. good quality clothes. going out for meals. visiting relatives and friends who live a distance away. Haircuts beauty treatment. jewelry. birthday and xmas pressents I also dont give presents to family or friends. Its all quite depressing really.
 
Exciting social life,new clothes, new shoes,holidays.... However the horse has an extensive wardrobe,new shoes every 6 weeks & frequent social outings!
 
Alot!

I had my first horse when I was 14 worked every hour I could outside school then got into debt (still paying it off)

I work all day Monday - Friday in an office 0900 - 1730 I work Monday evening 0800 - 0200, Friday and Saturday 0800 - 0400 in a bar, dont get much sleep as trying to squeeze in seeing friends when I can.

I havent been on holiday in 3 years, still live at home as cant afford to move out and broke pretty much within a week of payday.

But on the plus side I love my horse very much, she brings me great joy and you can sleep when your dead! Life is to be loved, wouldnt it be dull if I had a bank full of money and nothing to do with it :D
 
Social life and a nice wardrobe :D...maybe a career I'd enjoy more too because if I didn't have two horses I'd probably want to work with horses, couldn't do both what with time money etc

PS just thought of another, a nice car (not an expensive one, just a newer one would be nice!)
 
My old vet once told the student doing clinical experience with him that I had devoted my life to looking after my horse. I corrected him and told him I had sacrificed my life for the blasted thing. In the 16 years I've had her I've had precisely one weeks holiday, buy all my clothes and shoes in charity shops, can't remember the last time I went out, what's a takeaway?, feed myself on £10 a week and had to cancel my annual visit to my family this year. And to add insult to injury my current vets told me on Saturday that the drugs I have for her have gone up in price so now I have to find £500 every month. Oh to have a £100 a month payrise to cover it!
 
social life
clothes
holidays
alcohol at home
shiny new car
new furniture
central heating


The way I see it, I have my 2 ridden horses who I compete and can afford and the extra costs are to keep Lottie, the 31 y/o 4 legged family member ticking over, after almost 17 years good service, I owe her a few holidays, new clothes, sofas etc.
 
Social life

Decent car

Central heating (we are lucky we dont pay for logs for the fire)

Clothes that arent from george, f&f, I occasionally head for H&M and New Look. All my nice Monsoon and Next trousers come from charity shops (Midhurst have very good charity shops btw) But the money I spend is calculated in hay money lol 1 pair of trousers = 1 bale of hay lol.

So far this year we bought hay instead of oil for the house...

Horse has dentist every year, and shoes and trims every 8 weeks, I havent been to the dentist for 2 years and I am in desperate need for some new glasses.

I do have alcohol in the house but its normally Lidl wine at £4 a bottle and man my head in the morning!!!!
 
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Holidays
Nice clothes
Nice hands and nails
Nice car (but I have got a 4x4 and trailer)
Early retirement (nearly an OAP in full time employment)
A couple of OH's ;)

The list goes on......but I wouldn't have it any other way under the circumstances :)

An Old Fairy!
 
Erm, holidays (no holiday in 6 1/2 years), a social life (which I'm not too fussed about because my boyfriend and I both work long hours so we're both quite happy to spend our nights curled up together in the sofa), down time is the main thing! I work 3 jobs (4 if you count pony club coaching) to pay for my 4 competition horses, my 7.5t truck and all my personal bills, car etc. Saying that though, I'm comfortably saving up for my HGV, I'm in no debt and if I'm careful I can buy myself nice things so it's not so bad really :D
 
where shall i start:
clean nails
social life
holidays
hair cuts
clothes
the list goes on - BUT none of this could give me the happiness my mare does but then again if i could have all that and my mare ..well, we can all dream;);)
 
Nothing much - I made sure I'd bought a house before I bought a horse, I still go on a couple of holidays a year, have weekends away and nights out. I am 'lucky' but I set myself up to be 'lucky' and be able to do all the things I wanted. I would never get into debt for the horse - he'd go long before that happened.
 
Going out, having decent clothes and hair, holidays....lol

On the plus side having horses means you have a great social circle down at the yard and at events, so I dont miss out on a social life.

But I wouldnt change it for the world I've always put my money towrds horses since I was little so I know no different, I have a house, a great OH, two horses and a dog, and I've worked hard to have it. As long as your happy then I dont think it matters :-)
 
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social life mainly, most people without pets/horses don't understand that i can't just drop everything and go on an all nighter :rolleyes: but i'd rather be with my horses and dogs than out in a pub now :) good lord i think i may have grown up at last:eek::eek: DIY haircuts, never getting to wear my 'best' clothes any more and my car is either covered in mud in wet weather or dust in dry weather.
I don't see any of it as a sacrifice though, i just have a different way of life than my non horsey friends and i'm happy with it;)
 
Haven't sacrificed much really. I just work an average 60 hours a week to keep the horse and have everything else. Problem is in doing that I don't get much time with her. After reading everyone elses posts think is about time I gave up the nights out and takeaways etc and stopped telling myself I cant live on less money then maybe I could get more time with her. Thanks folks for opening my eyes!!
 
Apart from all the usual stuff, I have sunk to a new low involving entering a clinical trial so i can afford a new saddle which my pony needs. do i win?!
 
Ibblebibble said:
yes you win lol:eek: now how do you get on these trials, do they buy body parts??:D
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Lol yes - I don't mind as long as they don't remove my arms or legs since I need them to ride. Hopefully they'll jsut remove my brain as I clearly don't use it anyway - I have three horses and half a lorry on one wage!

No it's just a vaccine trial, involves a few injections and they see how you feel etc, and you get £350 for the control vaccine (the usual one) and £450 for the experimental vaccine! not bad eh??

I think that I may have a problem............lol
 
Morgan123 said:
Lol yes - I don't mind as long as they don't remove my arms or legs since I need them to ride. Hopefully they'll jsut remove my brain as I clearly don't use it anyway - I have three horses and half a lorry on one wage!

No it's just a vaccine trial, involves a few injections and they see how you feel etc, and you get £350 for the control vaccine (the usual one) and £450 for the experimental vaccine! not bad eh??

I think that I may have a problem............lol[/QUOTE

Interesting how did you find out about that ?
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[/QUOTE

Interesting how did you find out about that ?[/QUOTE]

Lol have I started something?! I work at a hospital in Oxford so there's lots of info around about the various trials that are ongoing, try googling your local hospitals and then things like vaccine trials, clinical research, psychology trials (usually quite short questionnaire type things but worth doing), etc etc. There are normally a fair few on depending on the university/hospital.
 
My last relationship
New anything
Sometimes food
Social life - partly due to no time and partly due to no money

Pony has to go tho before Im made homeless as shes eaten my deposit money for a new place!
 
Well as my mother keeps telling me if i didnt have the horses i could move to a nicer house, go on holiday, have a car that goes and a million and one other things! Our house has no central heating either. I tell her thats what my sisters want NOT what i want and she shouldnt expect all to want the same things.
 
a life in general haha :o

we spend £26 every 2 weeks to feed 5 people - and it does if we are wise with it

a lot of bills aren't paid

5 of us in a 2 bedroom house :o

animals are paid for first

clothes... i only have jods and yard t-shirts and a pair of leggings :o

we dont eat out or take away unless i have sold something or we get a bonus in our income

my mum who is the main earner was made redundant in july - everything was sold horses livery paid 6 months in advanced, hay for the whole of the winter was bought and enough feed for 6 months we are lucky that mum found a new job in september so everything we bought is saving us money over the winter but we will still be broke because there is always something else to buy for the horses :o
 
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