Any Other Broke Horse Owners Out There? (merged)

kittengirl

Just about to buy first horse, and was wondering if any horse owners out there could offer any money saving tips around the yard, or from past experience?

Also, does anyone have any recommendations on insurance companies and past experience of making claims - good or bad?

ksh123

Hi kittengirl
lucky you! I have owned many horses in my lifetime and I am very old! Actually, I think I might be 20 years younger if I hadn't owned so many!!
Haven't got any at the moment. In fact, beeen without for 5 years which is a very long time whe you have always had them
Anyway, I have stayed involved to a small degree and have oodles of experience and hundreds of tall and small tails (tales)!
Feel free to pm me if I can help in anyway at all. Its always lovely to talk horse!
Never forget horse expenses are a bottomless bucket.....don't expect to have any spare cash ever again! Worth it tho, once you are hooked they are quite irreplacable
Best wishes with your new purchase. ENJOY!

cathy_3

what weight can a horse take

say if a man was over 20 stones could he get a horse

just wondering as I read pavarotti rides !!

ksh123

Pavarotti? yes, of course. A general sort of guide is that a horse can carry about one third of its body weight. Although of course, different breeds, and individual horses/ponies may differ.
In the case of Pavarotti he would be well suited to one of the heavy riding horses like a Percheron or a Shire cross breed. These horses weigh a ton or more so as you can see - no problem!
Some small breeds like Mountain and Moorland types can carry considerably more than you might expect. Like the Welsh, Dartmoor, Shetland and Icelandic breeds. The only trouble there is likely to be height, not weight carrying!
Like the saying says: its horses for courses

System

Hi, Just thought another reply for your posting, I am a saddler and saddle fitter and my husband an Equine Vet in Newmarket. I used to compete but not any longer but if you need any help still very involved.

bj-sailaway

Hi there, I don't own a horse, but we share/loan a mare. You were looking for money saving tips. One thing we do is collect sacks of wood chip from a local joiners. We still buy the baled posh stuff, but we lay a good layer of the freebie gear in the bottom of the stable and cover it with the good gear. If you store it in a dustbin, or sacks and give it a good shake, the remaining dust collects at the bottom. Most joiners use dust extracting machines now anyway so their chips aren't too bad at all. This probably saves us around £10 a week. Hope you can find a joiners shop locally! They are only too pleased for you to take it away. Also, when we were going to look to buy, someone told us to turn up way too early for the appointment to view, see them in their real state! Not all prepared for your arrival.

System

Hi
I dont own a horse but i rent out stables. I charge £15 per week for DIY livery which includes stables/grazing/straw.

You have to consider shoeing expenses about £45 every six weeks or so. Feed which can mount up during the winter Hay approx £2.oo per bale and then concentrates on top. And of course vets bills, a call out is at least £25 before any treatment is given.

The people on my yard claim to be short of cash all the time, so that is why i rent out the stables not fill them with horses myself. The insurance i pay costs me enough.

Hope this is of some help to you.

kittengirl

Hi everybody.

Thanks very much for all your advice. Just had first horse vetted - which failed. May be ok on further investigation though.

Fingers crossed. Still looking.

bj-sailaway

Sorry to hear that, still, let us know when the happy day is to be! I don't even ride, but am smitten with the beasts. Velvet is lame this weekend, someone else has been sharing her beginning of the week, ridden her to death. Nasty lady. Sharing is cheaper, but has it's ups and downs.

System

Hi,
We have 3 horses and have them insured with NFU. They may not be the cheapest but they are excellent at paying out claims (in our experience). Our mare was kicked because the livery yard owner turned her out with geldings while she was in season. She required nearly £1000 worth of treatment - they paid up with no quibbles.

Avoid E&L insurance at all costs. Do a search in Google Groups to see many people who have fallen foul of them! They may be cheap but that's not of much use if the insurance isn't going to pay out when you need it.

As for money saving tips, how about don't get a horse, they are money pits?
Seriously though, we save money by keeping our horses on a local farmer's land, which costs us £90 per month for the 3 (£45 for the 16.2h mare, £30 for the 15h appaloosa gelding, and £15 for the 33 inch miniature Shetland pony). They live out all year so we also save money on bedding, and also save a lot of time on mucking out!

If you didn't mind getting an older horse, you could get a horse for free from the veteran horse society - check them out here: http://www.veteran-horse-society.co.uk/

Good luck with your search for a horse.

VelvetGlove

Velvet is lame this weekend, someone else has been sharing her beginning of the week, ridden her to death.

Blimey! I wondered why my ankles were aching earlier this week! This explains it ;D