Horsey money saving hints? (merged)

GemmaB78

And to lostinrates re: trailers - I can heartily recommend a Bateson. I have the Ascot and it is superb. I have towed it all over the country and haven't had a moment's trouble with it!

mehefin

He have 5 mares at home. 2 Welsh D's, 1 Welsh C, a heinz pony, and 1 Arab x ? which is on loan. All on 4 acres and a regime of out for 4-5 hours and stabled the rest. Ride/drive/showing/ usual stuff.
Bed on shavings and Equisorb when we can afford it - it rots down better. Haylage in preference to hay - one has an allergy so its easier, and our local farmer delivers the bales as we need them.
Will try to post pictures later - but trawling in work at moment..

lostinrates

GemmaB78 wrote: »

And to lostinrates re: trailers - I can heartily recommend a Bateson. I have the Ascot and it is superb. I have towed it all over the country and haven't had a moment's trouble with it!

Thanks!

Any other trialer owners have opinions?

So far the shortlist is:

Bockmann (if we can find one) because they have a model suitable for big horses, we only have one real biggy who doesn't travel much- she is quite old too, but want her to be safe and comfortable when she does

Fautras: seem pretty well made and comfortable....but not sure big enought for the biggy and wondering how long it would take to get the used to the step rather than the ramp.

Equitrek: we've heard all the nightmares about poor build qulity, but travelling position good, and suitable for the biggy, and has a living option ....(and lots available second hand!)

orlao

lostinrates wrote: »

Thanks!

Any other trialer owners have opinions?

How about the Ifor Williams? They do a big version and the build quality is superb.

I don't like the Rices - no particular reason, mine don't travel well in the them

lostinrates

orlao wrote: »

How about the Ifor Williams? They do a big version and the build quality is superb.

I don't like the Rices - no particular reason, mine don't travel well in the them

Its the one thing we are agreed, on that we don't want an Ifor! It will mainly be me towing, and I rmemeber when a friend used to ask me to tow her Ifor I always used to just take my big lorry instead.

The overnight accomodation option is tempting too, although I rarely plan to sleep in it and if I did could always sleep in the horse area. But I feel uncomfortable going for equitrek when the build quality is so disputed.

Katie-Kat-Kins

Thanks folks!

LiR I'd love it if you could PM me, I have to say the most interesting thing so far is livery costs, when I have done my sums previously I think I have vastly over estimated this. I think the two yards we know well must be very expensive at £75 for part livery at one (everything but riding mon-fri) and £55 for what is basically assisted DIY including bedding and haylage at another.

Ideally we would want DIY with the option for assistance if necessary.

The horse that has us tempted is an ID, Gemma I would love an arab but lanky DH would have his feet dragging the floor so perhaps not a good idea. Means native ponies are out too. He's not very comfortable on anything smaller than 16hh really, if it was just me I'd look for an arab or a section D. We'd want to do a bit more than just hacking too so would prefer access to a stable and something with a bit of scope for some dressage and jumping, although without transport we'd be limited to local competitions.

Thanks for all your input, and if anyone else is around, keep posting!

orlao

How tall is your DH? My farrier, 6'4 and about 16 stone rides my Section D and believe me, his feet aren't on the ground or anywhere near! He can't ride his wifes tb as he's too heavy....Just a thought. Also, most Sec D's are good jumpers with good movement for dressage but they can be a bit silly;)


IMHO I don't think the prices you quoted for part and assisted livery are over priced...you've got to think that the labour involved is probably the most expensive part of the total figure.

orlao

lostinrates wrote: »

Its the one thing we are agreed, on that we don't want an Ifor! It will mainly be me towing, and I rmemeber when a friend used to ask me to tow her Ifor I always used to just take my big lorry instead.

QUOTE]

Ifors do seem to be a bit like marmite, either love them or hate them!

Sorry, I'm in the love them camp so don't really know about any others.:o

Katie-Kat-Kins

orlao wrote: »

How tall is your DH? My farrier, 6'4 and about 16 stone rides my Section D and believe me, his feet aren't on the ground or anywhere near! He can't ride his wifes tb as he's too heavy....Just a thought. Also, most Sec D's are good jumpers with good movement for dressage but they can be a bit silly;)


IMHO I don't think the prices you quoted for part and assisted livery are over priced...you've got to think that the labour involved is probably the most expensive part of the total figure.

He's 6'2" but leggy. In the riding school he does ride a 15.1hh cob, but he finds it difficult to get his leg on properly for dressage, and his knees stick out! He has to have special spurs with a swan neck so that he can drop his stirrups an extra couple of holes and still use his leg. That cob has a lot of girth although only MW and is very fit. On a bigger cob with less girth his legs hit theirs, and if it wasn't fit and using its back properly he'd probably squash it!

I used to share a 15.2 section D and he would have been too big for him. It is a shame, as a section D would suit us both and would be super versatile. The one I used to share did dressage, SJ, working hunter and some ridden showing, he was also a brilliant hack, 100% in traffic even alone without being a boring plod.

I would consider a biggish cob but it would have to have the potential to do enough to keep us both interested. We both ride a lot of cobs at the riding school and know that they can be great but they have their limitations. Ones that can jump well are few and far between (apart from welshies they all seem to jump like stags) and they hit a bit of a limit with dressage too as they don't tend to have big paces, and can suffer judge prejudice! Also working cob classes are not common and cobs don't always fare well if entered in working hunter horse classes against the big hunter types.

I know that sounds really anti-cob, and it isn't at all, we both love cobs and know more than enough exceptions to all of those statements. In fact at my last show I won the WH on a maxi cob and DH was in the dressage, and showing with the little coloured.

I'm just conscious that we have both been frustrated by the limitations of the riding school and we want to be able to push our riding on to the next level and we would want a horse that could go with us, not one that might be working at the absolute maximum of its abilities within a couple of years.

Having said that maybe we would be better to get a nice cob with reasonable potential and if we start to feel limited then upgrade. Might work out cheaper.......

lostinrates

KatP wrote: »

I would consider a biggish cob but it would have to have the potential to do enough to keep us both interested. We both ride a lot of cobs at the riding school and know that they can be great but they have their limitations. Ones that can jump well are few and far between (apart from welshies they all seem to jump like stags) and they hit a bit of a limit with dressage too as they don't tend to have big paces, and can suffer judge prejudice! Also working cob classes are not common and cobs don't always fare well if entered in working hunter horse classes against the big hunter types. ......
Having said that maybe we would be better to get a nice cob with reasonable potential and if we start to feel limited then upgrade. Might work out cheaper.......

Would certainly work out cheaper to keep. Cobs are only as limited as their conformation and training! There are some fantsic youtube pics of heavy type gypsy cobs doing advanced dressage. realistically, unless you are aiming higher than working cob type jumps/hunting it shouldn;t be too hard t find, and as I say, a well put together cob is capable of advanced flat work!

That said...I'm not a cob person myself, :Dbut I think they suffer from popularity and lss than wise breeding, good ones are pretty fantastic all purpose horses, and are pretty hard to better for an amateur rider!