Would you take out a loan to buy a horse?

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dozzie

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Can you actually get a loan for a horse? Just wondering how people can buy some of the horses I have seen advertised! I am not talking 100k plus but some of the ones around 10-15k. I have always paid cash and had money left in the bank but it does limit me to what I can buy. I just wouldnt want to spend 15k in cash as it takes so blooming long to save the money!
Has anyone taken out a loan to buy a horse?

If not, would you?

Or if you wouldnt, why not?

 
Yes, I have taken out loans before for horses and never regretted it. It depends how much you are paid and how long it would take you to save up really. You'll get a lot of horse for your money at the moment BUT you need to be in a secure job!
 
We did buy a horse with a bank loan many years ago, she was not vastly expensive, but had no savings
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Had to take the receipts into the bank, which was a bit of a laugh, given what receipts for horses usually look like!
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Not taken out loan but spent ALL my savings to buy our lovely lad who passed 5 stage vetting and for the first year was amazing & great competition horse, he suddenly went slightly lame & at first I thought it was a bruised sole.....oh how wrong could I be.

He has been diagnosed with true navicular disease, soft tissue damage in front feet, SI injury, mild stifle pain and hind suspensories!!!!!!

Now have a horse who at best can only be a gentle hack (fingers crossed) and 4 insurance claims.

In answer to your question, I would NEVER take out a loan. It's bad enough to be in my position without having for example another 2 years loan payments to make on top of all this.

Even with all the above, the insurance company would not consider paying out if he were to be put down as in their opinion he could have a useful life as a companion.

He is not worth anything now & I would not pass him onto someone else, it's not fair on him or the new owners therefore, I have lost all my money. Not what I expected when I got him as a 9 year old having sold a much older outgrown pony who I had never had to have the vet out to.

I suppose that's horses for you eh?
 
Yes I did years ago but not for much. Id had a 5 yr break from horses, worked out I could afford to keep one but not buy one as well so I took the plunge and .... regretted it. She was the sweetest mild mannered loonatic, she shattered my confidence but she got me back into horses and years on Im still at it, now with my beautiful yet quirky boy.
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I would say 'no' because I have managed to find all my super horses for under £2600, or have bred them myself! You can find nice horses cheaply right now. Anyway, rather than a loan it would be better to stick the horse on a 0% credit card, they are still available! Also; life can change in an instant- I find myself on indefinite unpaid leave unexpectedly at the moment so I am grateful I don't have big debts!
 
After a ten year break from horses, I found myself able and wanting a horse again. I was able to take money out of the mortgage account so I did....
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If i could afford to maintain and repay the loan comfortably then why not, most people take out a loan for a car because they want a nice shiny new one - so why not a horse. I would have to be certain i could afford both the upkeep of the horse and the new loan repayments though, especially in the current climate where no job is secure
 
I asked the same question on here a few weeks ago! as i am desperate to buy my own again...but there are some many plus and minuses! As i could afford to look after the horse monthly and make payments.
But i have decided to wait until next summer and keep saving like mad. Then hopefully i will be able to afford one with out any loans i wont have 10-15k but i will have 5!
Problay not much help but i would try and wait for another year!
Good luck!
Bex
 
i wouldnt ever take out a loan to buy a horse, IMO, if you have to take out a loan to buy a horse, what about all of the extra unexpected expenses you will no doubt have when you have a horse, extra vets bills, etc after all, with insurance you still have excess, then things get excluded etc! IF you already had a loan outstanding for buying the horse, to take out another to cover unexpected cost (such as vet mentioned) IMO would be more difficult and TBH rather foolish to get your into debt for what in a luxury item - that cost money to keep daily! (not like a car say that you could take off the road for a while etc)
All 8 of mine have been bought outright, and i have savings for if they are needed for an emergency.
IF you really were feeling you would need a loan to buy a horse, maybe just look for a cheaper horse?

Just my own opinion
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It's not quite the same, but I had a 'loan' from my grandparents, for my boy which I am repaying by them not giving me my 'pocket money' every month like they used to until it's paid off nxt year! I'm 31 so it's not like I'm a teenager and I know how lucky I am.

Before I had the offer from them I was considering taking out a loan and had looked into it properly. Although I had some savings it wasn't as much as I would have liked and I would rather keep that for emergencies as it would be easy to get hold of quickly.

I wasn't planning on buying a horse as I still had my old boy, but I was putting money for a new one away each month as he was semi-retired and I knew I'd need one in the future. Then my old boy died unexpectedly (colic) so I wanted to buy something sooner than I had planned. I was comfortable with the level of repayment as it was the amount I was putting aside anyway, it just meant that I was able to buy one sooner. As it wasn't a first horse, the cost to keep him wasn't something new that I was paying on top, it was a cost I was already paying and managing.

So IF the repayments are manageable (no more than any money you would put into a savings account to save for a horse) you are in a secure (as it can be these days) job and you can still afford to keep and insure a horse on top of the payments then there's no reason why not to. If even one of these issues is a problem then don't. A hobby really isn't worth sleepless nights if money becomes a big problem, it's meant to be fun.
 
If you cnat afford to save the money then you cant afford to pay it off.
I would only do it if it was a real 'chance in a lifetime horse' and you knew you had some money coming in
 
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If you cnat afford to save the money then you cant afford to pay it off.


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That crap.....I have a mortage because it would take me ...hmmm .....25 years to save up to buy my house
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Why not? I have a good job/salary and could easily afford any repayments. Just means if I want something 'large' I can have it when I want rather than waiting...(in fact, my most recent purchase, a 4x4, is the first car i've ever bought cash)..my motto....you're a long time dead, grab life by the short n curlies and go for it......
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Well.....several years ago I used to wonder how people that earned a lot less than me could afford to have stuff whilst I was constantly waiting and putting things off......so I thought bugger this for a lark, I'm hanging around here waiting to do stuff and wasting my life......Hmmm....I think I may be having a mid-life crisis
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ETA...what part of leeds are you in?
 
No, I wouldn't take out a loan to buy a horse. I've always just made money on the horse before. I always buy youngsters as well as I like to put the work in and dont want a £15k horse (Id like to make it into one though!). Most my family have ever spent on a horse was £4,500. Most I personally have spent is £2,600 and Ive bought quite a few now!
 
Thanks everyone! I am a save up and buy person! But that could mean I miss out on a good horse. I also like to keep a large amount of money in savings to cover vets fees for my oldies. I worry about being short of cash and hate having loans. My OH takes loans and he sees it as his way of saving! But he gets what he wants and enjoys it straight away. He usually takes loans that pay off in a year.
 
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