Keen
Well-Known Member
And forgot to add, the actual buying of horse/stuff isn't a good indicator either. When you've had them for years the stuff can build up slowly & cheaply. And valuable horses/ponies are often the result of a lot of hard work. Same goes for experience, I worked long & hard for my training/riding.
That's exactly my point! You're are, in my term, 'front-loaded'! (With skills). This makes it feasible for you to take on a horse that is a project. If I did that as a novice (albeit a bright and bloody hard-working one thankyousoverymuch ) I’d likely get myself into trouble. I’d certainly get f. all sympathy on here for ‘over horsing’ myself. In my prospective budget for my own fantasy horse, I have been quite imaginative with recycling household stuff that I have already to keep costs down (rubbish bins, water buckets, shovels). I am loaning a horse from a riding school over the summer. I could start buying stuff for her, slowly, but I would be insane to buy tack or rugs. But there is only so many generic items that it would be sensible to accumulate: head collar, maybe? Lunge line. Balance strap?! But most stuff I just wouldn’t need until I needed it!
Front loading takes all forms – some younger people live with their parents for a while whilst they get themselves established. I am not trying to belittle anyone’s dedication or effort though! It’s by no means important how people spend their money to me. I don’t understand why people would be defensive about it.
I DO think it is important to be honest about how you get to where you are, if only with yourself. For some, it is inheritance, others, lucky-breaks, others, well-paid jobs or generous mentors. It doesn’t mean anything, or reflect badly, it just is. My lucky breaks have been with some employers who have taken a chance on me, which means I can now afford my loan. The upside of realising though how you’ve got to where you are, though, is that you generally feel very privileged, and that’s nice. (If I think about it, even my shovels were inherited from my dad!)
I would be curious to know the relative proportion of people who do it the minimum cost way compared to those who do it through livery (and also, how each group manages!)
I don't move in circles where hair cuts, nails, designer bags, cleaners are important, so I guess I never compare my budget choices to people who do.
Of course, if you want to feel terribly hard done by, school-of-hard-knocks about it, do!
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