Anyone out there own a horse???

janeawej

I had my first pony at 13 and he died at the age of 32 4 yrs ago, I know have 3! must be mad! I totaly agree with jay-jay dont overhorse your daughter, my eldest realy wants a thoroughbred mare but i wont let her have one as not on ly do they need to be ridden every day, they (or any highly bred horse) are much more expensive to keep, as they will need thicker rugs for turnout, more feed in winter and possibly summer, and nshe will find that although it looks lovelyh she will not have nearlyu as much fun as she would have on a good native pony or cob, we have a 15hh cob a newforest mare and a welsh section D, they are all hardy enough to live out all year needing only to be ruggged up in the worst of the winter, they dont need a lot of feed in winter just hay and a bit of coarse mix, the drawbak to that is that they need to be strictly rationed in summer to prevent laminitis, b ut they give the kids a lot of fun, they 'play' with them and ride out together b ut also can spend ages brushing ect, yes they are expensive but i wouldnt be without them, (ask me tomorrow after the farrier has been and ive paid him £150! and tha answer might be different) I love to be able to go out to the field and look at them, good luck and look around till the right horse comes along dont jump into getting the first one you see, even ntho your daughter will be keen to have the irst she can! remember hopefully it will be her companion for a long time, pm me if you want to chat or she couls email my daughters! jane

vics_1982

Trimming - My horses are barefoot so I pay an Equine Podiatrist £40 per horse every 5 weeks.

Hi There,

I have never heard of an equine Podiatrist, what that?
Thanks
Vics

janeawej

Im interested in barefoot for my new forest pony and possibly the others but dont think there are any practitioners in cornwall, is there a register of barefoot trimmers? or somewhere i can find out if there is a local one please, jane

vics_1982

janeawej wrote:

Im interested in barefoot for my new forest pony and possibly the others but dont think there are any practitioners in cornwall, is there a register of barefoot trimmers? or somewhere i can find out if there is a local one please, jane

Just had a look in google, sounds good, if you google equine podiatrist(sp)can't remember it from post there is a governing body it brings up with a list of people. I think there was one that done cornwall.
Vics

Jay-Jay_4

Hiya,

All EPs are registered with the Applied Equine Podiatry Association WEBSITE HERE. Have a read about what's involved and what going barefoot will mean to you. There's a link on the left of the page which says 'Find an EP'.

There are a few EPs down near Cornwall so you should be able to sort something out. They are often very willing to travel and I can't fault the standard of care that they give.

If you want to ask any questions you can email Justine Jenkins (Contact the EPA), she's very nice and very helpful.

My EP phoned me yesterday, he texts me and emails me asking about our boys. If I have any problems he's available for advice morning noon or night.... I never got that from my farrier

Barefoot isn't always easy. You do need to commit to looking after those feet by picking, scrubbing, walking out in boots and pads to build the structure within the foot. You learn all about White Line Disease (which most shod horses have), thrush (which many shod horses have) and then there's flare, underrun heels, exfoliating (false) sole, exfoliating frog... the end result is that many evenings are spent on the internet looking at pictures of feet and any time with your horse means that you're generally bent over double with a hoofpick and a bottle of Hibiscrub.

I could talk about hooves all day long (the official term for us is a 'hoofpick sniffing anorak ) so if you want any more info PM me and I can give you a few sites to look at.

Just stay away from ANYTHING which mentions the word 'Strasser'.

iwanttosave_2

I have found my baba http://www.horsemart.co.uk/AdvertRef/HM651G228/Page/2/Web/DisplayHorseDetail.asp I just hope she can wait for a bit

Chas

We own three horses & I agree with all the posts saying how expensive they are in terms of both money & time.

We bought 5 acres of land, built stables & a school, bought a 4x4, horsebox & an old caravan.

We've spent a fortune!

One cost that I don't think anyone has mentioned is the dentist - the dentist visits every 6 months & charges £25 per horse.

Until recently we had a pony on loan & the arrangement worked perfectly until the owner decided she wanted him back. It was her right to have him back of course but resulted in a heartbroken daughter.

Another 'cost' is thieves! Our field has been broken into 3 times. On the first occasion they didn't take much but left all the gates open (luckily the horses didn't walk out). On the third occasion they stole absolutely everything they could - head collars, rugs, feed buckets, poop scoops, lead ropes, wheelbarrows, feed, horse shampoo, grooming kits, the hooks from the stables, the old bike my youngest daughter had there to play on, picnic table & even a stable door. Luckily there was no tack there for them to steal & they didn't take the horses.

Jay-Jay_4

OOh you've just reminded me to get our dentist out (though he's £40 per horse :eek: ) One of ours is taking twice as long to eat his dinner.

We decided tonight to have our Sec D's foot XRayed and as he has exemptions on his insurance it will have to be paid for.

Ho hum.. the words 'money' and 'pit' come to mind.... :rolleyes:


*Chas, sorry to hear about the theft - are you down south by any chance? I hear that there are a lot of dodgy goings on around Berkshire at the moment with rugs being stolen from off horses backs during these burglaries. You can't sleep easy in your bed at night can you? *

thule

Transport and competition fees

Just thought i,d mention another "wee" cost that soon adds up. Average entries fees for ridden stuff like dressage and x-country can be £15-£20 a class ( depends on the level you compete at..........can be MUCH more)

Last year,(march-october )our carriage driving entry fees over £400 and then diesel for transport was £600 over the course of the season.(averaged £100 a month fuel for our horse lorry, which has worked out the same as 2 horses being towed by trailer with a diesel 4x4 )

Then of course there is all the snacks/picnics/dreaded burger vans that goes along with the whole "competition" experience.........we bring our own food , but visit any show/event and there is usually a line of willing kids/parents willing to splash out £5 each for a burger and drink

Of course there is the dress code for whatever disipline you choose to explore............or like us you have dressage outfit/x-country colours/body protectors/separate clothes for hunting/horse driving trails and carriage driving show classes (Omg no wonder we have 3 full cupboard of gear!)

I know everyone does things to a different level, but the equine sport
tends to be performance driven, and what better way to validate your hard work and show off your pride and joy, than to enter even small local shows or events.............just be aware that everyone there has usually PAID to be part of the procedings

After saying all that, last year cost us loads, but our son ended up being a national champion in his chosen sport, he has good manner, lots of genuine friends, has valuable life skills such as self reliance, communication skills, decission making, responsability,(sorry cant spell)and mixes well with all age groups..........and has learned that by showing others respect you earn theirs.

I couldnt ever put a value on the time we spend with out horses as a family, day in day out,sun and freezing winds, during highs and lows...........

we dont have holidays/new cars/posh clothes/nights out, so if your prepared to change your way of life a little, its worth taking the plunge.......plenty of people around will offer help and support and the pony/horse will give as much to you as you are prepared to put into him/her!

p.s.
thank the lord for ebay.............has a great equestrian section for equiptment for horse,rider and stable stuff

Chas

thule wrote:

p.s.
thank the lord for ebay.............has a great equestrian section for equiptment for horse,rider and stable stuff

We got the caravan, horse box & 4x4 off Ebay & loads of other stuff - electric fencing, stable matting.