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Pony ownership


novice cushie shooter
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Mine has had one since being 7 and she is now 23 on her 2nd pony and working for Happa.  My wife and her have never disclosed the true costs but I would say for none livery around £225 a month with all the hidden costs.

Edited by JRDS
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My other half rides and keeps a horse, I'll get a more detailed answer tomorrow, but she said it'd be worth contacting the British Horse Society, they'll be able to help. It's also really area dependent. Costs for feed and in particular stabling fluctuate wildly. I'd guess it'd be far cheaper for you in Midlothian than down in Dorset.

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Until she is riding more than 4 hours a week at the riding school it’s far cheaper to not have one 

very area dependant for cost if you have your own field it’ll save a fortune 

If you go down the road of buying one make sure you have it vet checked and insurance is a must vet bills are astronomical 

All the best 

of 

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wont stop at owning a pony............then there is pony club....big 4 wheel drive....horse box.........driving off to some bloody gymkana....more pony club events....so just plan your life around that.........you are looking at a time and money pit

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Just now, ditchman said:

wont stop at owning a pony............then there is pony club....big 4 wheel drive....horse box.........driving off to some bloody gymkana....more pony club events....so just plan your life around that.........you are looking at a time and money pit

Not too mention cake for the farrier 😉😊

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The saying how do you end up with a small fortune, start with a big one and get into owning horses.

Was talking to someone about buying their first house, answer was when I give up my horse and the eventing I can afford a house.

If your daughter gets into it big time you'll be looking at a grand a month like a mate used to pay for his daughter.

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As JRDS says.....It's a Mystery

and I know from bitter experience.......think of a number, a big number, double it and add a zero

dont forget insurance, vets bills, farrier, hay, haylage, straw/shavings. They need at least 25/30 rugs, blankets, sheets, turn out sheets, hoods etc. When buying a bucket buy one with Equine on it.....the extra zero in the cost is well worth it! NEVER Buy the identical item from B &Q  at a tenth the price as all,your friends will deride you😂 

Bits? BITS! Another ridiculous price, snaffles, eggbutts, Pelhams, drop check, French snaffle......more freaking bits than cartridge choices! Clothing???? Don't even go there

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A better option at this stage of her riding career may be a loan? That way you will find out if you have time and really want a pony, and can give it back if not. There are too many variables to really give a accurate cost either full or part livery, DIY, what feed and how much will it eat etc.

Yes they are expensive, but if she really enjoys it then surely it's a good investment? My wife and nearly 5yr old daughter both have their own ponies, and it keeps them both happy and teaches my daughter to think about something else other than herself 1st and to be responsible for the care of an animal.

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Like has been previously said it varies wildly depending on how much work you can do yourself. My mrs has been riding 20 odd years now once you have all the tack and everything she’s saying £450-£500 a month roughly. That’s for livery 5 days a week, factors in farriers, insurance etc. 

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Dont do it!!!! God forbid she actually gets good and wants to ride them for a living. Shell end up like me poor and crippled 😂

Loan a pony dont buy one, wait now until the spring because the novelty will definitely wear off for you dealing with it in the winter. Whatever you get get it insured for vets bills, but dont tell the vets its insurered because the Bill's get doubled. You'll need a field with a big hedge at least to keep the wind off but really a field shelter/shed/stable I better. Buy yourself some warm wellies! Pony club 🙈 yet to meet any yummy mummies but they must be out there. 

I'd keep doing the lessons for another 12 months and see how she gets on.

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56 minutes ago, kennett said:

A better option at this stage of her riding career may be a loan? That way you will find out if you have time and really want a pony, and can give it back if not. There are too many variables to really give a accurate cost either full or part livery, DIY, what feed and how much will it eat etc.

Yes they are expensive, but if she really enjoys it then surely it's a good investment? My wife and nearly 5yr old daughter both have their own ponies, and it keeps them both happy and teaches my daughter to think about something else other than herself 1st and to be responsible for the care of an animal.

is that what they term as "meat for manners".?

 

get her a quad bike......then you can get one...

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My wife has been into horses all of her life until she got unwell when she was approaching 70.

I learnt a lot from the experience.

We already had the fields and barns that could be 'easily' converted into stables.

I learnt how to push them and how to pull them.   I learnt how to muck them out.   I learnt how to bed them down - when it was raining.   I learnt how to give them their early morning feed - when it was raining.   I learnt how to poo pick the fields - when it was raining.   I then learnt how to do all of these things when it was, blowing, snowing or very cold.

But, above and beyond everything else, I learnt how to sign cheques.   (Especially ones to vets that were always very big).

As someone has already stated - Unless your lass is going to do a hell of a lot of riding then renting them by the hour is much the easier and cheapest option.

I enjoy the company of horses - They are mainly nice animals.   Once you put a female on the back of one it is a totally different matter.

Tread very carefully my friend.

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Plenty of little ponies around for loan, definitely your best option for starters in case she loses interest.

My daughter had her first pony at 18 months mind, she’s now got two horses and is 15 - it gets more expensive as time goes by 🙄 We are very lucky to keep them at home and father in law manufactures horse feed, makes haylage and bales straw, would never be able to afford to keep them otherwise!

Edited by bigbird
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We budget all in £800 a month. Livery is only £220 of that and when we looked at keeping at home maintaining an arena, jumps, stables, cross country course access etc wasn’t going to break even for a very very long time. It does vary month by month but we keep detailed records and it has averaged £710 a month over the last three years.

That includes every last drop of fuel used, maintaining the trailer, competition fees and expenses, coaching, insurance, feed, tack maintenance and replacement, farrier, vet, immunisations, a portion of the Landrover running costs, everything that were it not for the horse would not have been spent. 

That’s for one horse and a showjumping habit. 

 

I have occasionally ally had one on loan for a couple of days a week. That is much more cost effective and generally worked out at £12 a day three days a week. 

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Don't do it!

We just got a Shetland on loan for our daughter, cost nowt apart from his keep and that's still too much for me! 

If you don't own land, then you've got to livery, and the prices of that vary.

If we didn't have family owned land to keep them on, we wouldn't have them

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Horses have 3 costs associated with them:

Fixed: Livery, feed, farrier etc

Variable: Vets, lesson fees etc

"How much!!!": Horse box, vehicle to tow horse box & enough matchy match kit to fill a container. 

*all based on personal experience

If you think it's a passing fad, then lessons and/or loan and see how things go.

If it's going to be a long term thing, then prepare to spend a lot of money, time and effort supporting it. 

Paid livery removes a lot of the pain of the winter DIY routine but costs more. Horses/Ponies are 24/7 committments - something that doesn't compute so well in little heads.

Good luck with whatever route you follow. 

 

 

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Even though your daughter is young, I'd make her do all the work of keeping it. Feed cleaning out brushing and cleaning the horse. It will soon show how dedicated she is. Riding them for fun and looking after them is different.

Wife used to ride every weekend as a child, when I started shooting she tried riding again. I was pleased when she said after a few times it wasn't for her anymore.

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1 hour ago, novice cushie shooter said:

Thanks for all inputs and options. It sounds like shooting but EVEN more expensive. A loan would be a good starting point but maybe in a while. 

Advice from Katy, my other half:

There might be scope for shared ownership? If she's having lessons, there might be scope for scouting other parents in similar shoes, who could be open to that. That'd help to ascertain commitment beyond the fun of lessons.  The first pony/horse is always the most expensive, because there are no shared costs. Also it's much harder with her being so young to get the most out of horse/pony ownership. going out for hacks on her own aren't an option, so she needs adult supervision. that limits her to walking pace with a parent tagging along, unless you have friends you'd trust her to ride with? Beyond that, she's really only going to be doing the same stuff that she does in lessons...unless she wants to be super dedicated. Then you're in the world of getting horse boxes, trailer-towing car, competition expenses and so on and so on. 

She's probably a bit young to know if this is going to be a committed passion, or yet another six year old who wants a white pony so she can put a horn on its head and paint its tail in rainbow colours so she's riding a unicorn! Hold off until you as parents know she's keen enough (er and potentially good enough!) to justify long term commitment.  Stick with the lessons for a bit longer and see whether she's determined to really progress in skill level and horse care (the various BHS levels teach that as you go up) before taking the plunge.

Katy's parents went through all that when she was younger, and now she works with horses as part of her career and rides competitions. But there are far, far cheaper ways to have a good time.

Edited by chrisjpainter
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