What is the cheapest horse you have owned?

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Lollii

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I was just reading that 'foc horse' thread :rolleyes:

I am now wondering if I should get another horse as a project, I have my own land etc. I already have one 12 year old warmblood who is lovely but I could take another one on, I would like a faster one :D mybe a *sane* ex racer?

I am now pondering (after reading that thread) if I should try and get a foc one and give it a nice home .... or cough up a bit of money :p

Discuss ... ? what would you do? and what is the cheapest horse you have owned? how much would you pay for a *cheap* horse these days?
 
I have one that was free, an ex-racehorse, done p2p last 2 seasons and is a sane hunter, he's 8 with no injuries or issues. I got him off a friend of a friend who owned him but retired from race riding through lack of time etc. I didn't look for a free one, I was looking for something reasonably sensible to hunt a bit.

There aren't any big flat yards round here, and that's normally where you get the younger horses from. Most of the horses that are free round here are older or have previous injuries, normally p2p horses.
 
i bought an older mare a few years ago for £300, she was cheap to buy and cheap to keep.
my pony i paid £75 for him as a youngster/yearling, he's been very cheap to keep, doesn't have rugs, no need for hard feed, no shoes. he lives on fresh air!

basically the only costs for him have been the routine livery, vacs, trimming, gelding and any other things like that (worming etc).
 
Prince was 12 when i got him and he cost me £5 and Lady my mum brought for £900 (ex-racer) but i'm buying her off my mum for £1!!!:D

You could pick up an ex-racer cheap and sometimes free.
 
I would say only do it, if you actually have the money to treat whatever problems will no doubt appear. Its not fair to take it on if you can't see it through. Horses are free for a reason.

Horses with problems just get passed from pillar to post by people thinking they can fix them. I always have "rescue" horses, but I make a deal with myself that I will not sell them on.

Last one cost a few hundred pounds to buy and a few more thousand in feed/ vets bills and a couple of years of painstaking 365 day a year care to restore to 98% healthy.

Worth every penny :-)
 
My lawn mower. Sec A gelding - £100.

Complete dude who has given me more fun in his short time than all these bloomin sports horses I've previously had.
 
They are cheap - for good horses too :)

I will keep looking through the summer and see what turns up, it would be nice to offer a good home to something that needs it, just a bit worried that I will end up with a mad ex racer, I'm too old now :rolleyes:
 
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^ Free. :D

I did however know both the owner and the horse for about two years before I was given her. I had originally borrowed her to be a companion for my youngster.
 
little 15hh tb x mare, bought as a backed 3yo for £300, very sweet but neurotic, endured with her for 6 years ish, but in the end sold her on for £400 as wasn't a novice ride, so not really a profit! Then was traced by her owner later down the line who had bought her from a show jumper with a made up track record, for a hell of a lot more than I sold her for...

Anyway in my experience projects only work if you aren't trying to change core temperament, e.g you could get my mare to do anything for you but her 'flight' reaction was always on!
 
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Ziggy was free. Given to my ex by a customer as she'd recently got wrapped up in wire so nasty wound on off-hind they couldn't be bothered to treat. The plan was to bring her on and sell her but the more I kept her the more I liked her. Never had a days lameness or had to have the vet out for anything other than her boosters *manically touches wood* :D

Not the easiest horse but worth the work.

Darley is a great idea, Goneshowjumping on here has a lovely horse she got from them last year. Go for it if you have the funds and facilities :)
 
I bought my NF for 32 gns 2 days after she came off the forest. My 2 yo who I got last spring, I bought her for £100, seller let me have her dam as well included in that price, she was in foal again and had a colt in August last year so I guess I got 3 for £100 there :)
 
The Darley Thoroughbred Rehoming scheme operates from Badlingham Manor Stud on the outskirts of Newmarket. We rehome and retrain geldings only; most of whom have raced but there are others who have simply not made the grade
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How annoying. :mad: I was thinking that I could rehome one in the future, but I could only have a mare/filly due to my chestnut being pretty mean to geldings.

*Le sigh* :(
 
I reschool ex racers for a new start in life and they have all given me alot of pleasure - the filly I have at the moment keeps weight on reasonably well and costs no more really than my 17.2 ID x, in fact keeps shoes on better.

Definately would recommend an ex racer.
 
daisybe33 said:
I reschool ex racers for a new start in life and they have all given me alot of pleasure - the filly I have at the moment keeps weight on reasonably well and costs no more really than my 17.2 ID x, in fact keeps shoes on better.Definately would recommend an ex racer.
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Do you get them off the track or the sales then sell them on?
 
off the track but I have a good relationship with alot of the nearby trainers and know alot of the stablestaff and so know most of the history of a horse before I take it on and tend to take in horses with no major lameness/personality issues.
 
My ex-racer I got for £350. The Welsh pony was free, and she is by far the cheapest I've ever had - gets fat off air! The TB is costing an arm, a leg, and possibly my first born in feed, but he was d@mn skinny when he arrived, and I'm sure he'll cost a heck of a lot more once the vet has a go at him. Plus he needs a saddle, and will need shod. :rolleyes:
As my trainer used to say: there's no such thing as a free horse. Yeah, the horse may be free, but you'll end up paying more towards it than if you had just gone out and bought a made one.
Oh well. I like him a lot, have the land, time, finances, and knowledge to deal with him so here he stays. :D
 
This one, I paid £1 for him last year. He has is now working at advanced Medium at home, we hope to do our first Medium test in next couple of months with the aim of competing at advanced by the end of the year. He is the best horse I have ever bought, I love riding him and he is a total star, safe to hack and so easy to work with!

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This is him after he took a novice rider round her first ever dressage test where he came second, he is a proper little schoolmaster!
 
Lucy was £500 inclu all tack and rugs.

Herbie was £550 inclu all tack and rugs.

Both there saddles where nice and prob worth £300 ad on the cost of a bridle and afew rugs and they were as good as free :p :D

But Merryn was the altimate bargin. He was free then we paid £100 for a saddle, 2 bridles, several rugs, Headcollers, leadropes, grooming kit, buckets, a bag of feed, a bale of hay. Basicly anything we could get in the lorry was ours. :p ;) :D :D
He is such a sweet little pony and there is nothing wrong with him apart from being Laminitic and all the foot abcesses at the start of ownership but hopfuly thats all behind us now. :D His old owner is lovely and is so pleased with how well we are getting on and with his weight loss ;) :p :D Hopefuly she's going to come and visit him soon.
 
My little coloured cob cost me £100. But that included gelding and delivery (70mile round trip in large diesel guzzling lorry). So it cost the seller more than it cost me in the sale - effectively I was paid to take him!

He was a bit wormy and skinny and when vet came to do his first tetanus jab and listened to his chest she was worried he had severe lung worm damage so he was a massive gamble. But as he was only bought as a companion, I wasn't worried if he'd never be up to ridden work. The vet who came to do his 2nd jab listened again and said he sounded fit as a fiddle, so obviously an infection or something. He costs me very little to keep - vaccinations, worming and feet. He eats the grass in my fields and some hay when there isn't any grass, but that's all. He'll start doing some work this year - he's been bitted and we'll get him lunging with a view to having him backed next year.
 
Lollii- he was a cheeky monkey when I got him, when I tried him I couldn't get him out of walk which was a tad embarrassing!
 
My first pony cost me £750, he was bought out the field and i was 9, bit of a risky buy but he's turned out to be the best pony i've ever owned, and we later found out he'd done several trips threw pony club with various different children and shown up to county level :P what a bargain!!

Also bought an ex racer for £2k or though i do feel i paid to much for her as she did have a few problems but thats was relatively easy to sort, just cost me a bit!!

My current horse cost me £2000 and she's ace! Spose if you no what your looking at you could pick yourself up a nice bargain, just be careful with those ex racers they take a lot of time and patience, mine was very good but if she wasn't on a strict routine and ridden every day, problems came up!

:D
 
My current pony was free. He belonged to my SIL and MIL but SIL had a baby and as he'd been out of work for almost a year, they would have had to bring him back into work to sell him.
It happened that I'd just sold my horse so they offered him to me, free of charge! He's just what I'd have been looking for and the best bit was that I knew exactly what I was getting, so no 'buyer beware' worries.
 
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