Horses- worth it or not? About This Page:

[Teresa]

We are thinking of getteing horses and ponies for all the girls this x-mas. Anyone out there have/had them? There is a stable 1 mi. down the road we live on and our dog's vet is also a large aninmal vet. What problems have you had? How much time per day is spent in caring for them?

[Versafox]

I had my own horse for over 20 years. My grand old fellow finally died four years ago at the ripe old age of 24. While I miss him terribly, and miss riding, I do NOT miss all the hassle and expense of caring for him.

Problems include -- not getting what you pay for at the boarding stables. Stalls that are filthy (even though you pay handsomely to have it cleaned); mouldy hay, cheap gritty grain (for which you are paying premium prices); animals left without food or water for a couple of days because the barn help quit or the manager went on vacation or the grain delivery was late. I've found all of these things to be true at every stable I've used for the past 20 years.

More problems -- horses need shoes and if you think shoes for children are expensive, they are NOTHING compared to shoes for a horse. Expect shoeing to run over $100 per animal every 8 to 12 weeks. Horseshoers are few and far between, they have more business than they can handle and therefore don't worry too much if they don't make you happy. They are temperamental, often don't show up for appointments or are hours late, leaving you twiddling your thumbs while you wait for them.

Horses are actually quite delicate creatures. They are easily injured and the treatments are never cheap and are often time consuming. They can become fatally ill from eating that mouldy hay you're paying so much money for.

As for time -- expect to spend 2 hours a day at the stables, at least 5 days a week to keep a horse properly groomed and exercised.

I don't mean to sound so negative, I absolutely adored my horse, and I loved having him, riding him, caring for him. But horses are undeniably very expensive and very time consuming. I'd think long and hard before buying even ONE for a child, let alone buying multiple animals, as you seem to be talking about doing. And once you have the horse(s), if the girls lose interest in them and don't take care of them, they can be extremely difficult to sell. And all the time they are for sale and your girls want nothing more to do with them, they are standing in the stable eating, needing their shoes replaced and their shots updated and generally costing you lots of money.

Take a good, long, hard look before you make this leap! [img]images/icons/shocked.gif[/img]

[DVC_Don]

Ditto on the expense and time to have a horse. We had two horses when I was about 12 to 14 years old. We had our own stable. Things I loved: Riding the trails. Driving the buggy. Riding in parades.

Things I hated: Caring for sick horses ALL night several times. Cleaning the stalls. Trying to find escaped horses, usually at night.

Things my parents hated: Fixing the fence. Paying for the care of the horses. Keeping after us kids to clean the horses and stalls.

[MinnieMe2]

Ditto everything that's been said. But if you add the expense and aggrevation of showing your horse, which is what I did, multiply all the hassles by about two hundred percent. I loved my horse, she was my first baby, but the time and $$$ involved were pretty astronomical. DD started asking for a horse a few years ago, but we said no. And we could have boarded so close to our house you can see the place. It just would have been too much. And now that she's 15, she doesn't mention horses at all, so I know we made the right choice...

[Wild4Diz]

I have to agree with everything being said. Having a horse is a wonderful and fabulous thing, but it can also be quite trying an so expensive. My sister and I both had horses. My mom and dad had to sell there good silver and china to pay for food for the horses when times were tough. Showing, stabling, shoeing, caring for, etc... is very time consuming and very costly. Make sure this is something your children will stay with before purchasing. If you don't know anything about horses please make sure you find someone you trust to help you purchase sound horses. You don't want to end up with a stable bound horse or one that is in poor health - trust me there are people out there that sell animals that shouldn't be sold.

[Teresa]

Thanks all. We have been really thinking hard. I am going to start "dropping" in at the stable a few times a month for a while. And, I am going to start doing a lot of research. My dad and his 3rd. wife had some years ago and he told me pretty much all you have. Maybe a nice doll? Or just 1 or 2 horses.

[imported_Carole]

Okay, the OTHER side of the coin...I couldn't live without my "kids"-Mariah, Windy and Highlander. We kept hubby's horse until she died at the ripe old age of 27, and we both sat in the field and cried when we lost her. Horses CAN be expensive, or not. We do not show, we do not have "high-dollar" horses, we do not have the latest styles in tack etc. We DO have the farrier out every 8 wks, have the vet out yearly (fingers crossed here), and haul in hay all winter (we used to put up our own, but I found I rather enjoy buying it instead!). I would recommend going to that stable down the road and talking to the owners, others that board there, the farrier and vet that service that barn etc. You will get a very real picture of what to expect in the way of expenses and care. These same people are also your best resource for finding appropriate animals for your children. And remember, you don't ride the "papers".

[Skychey]

Teresa,

You sound like my Dad last Christmas! He bought a 1-1/2yr old quarter horse for his 6 grandchildren, my share of the gk's are the only ones that live in state and we are 1 hour away from Papaw's house. They keep the horses, did I mention that he bought another last Feb.????, on thier farm.
The feeding and caring are no big deal since they also have thirtysomething cows (I can't keep up with all the new calves), a dog, and 3 cats. The only "major" hassle is that you have to mess with them daily or they forget what they have learned. That means working, riding, and generally touch them. Don't get me wrong, I love it. But I wish Papaw lived closer so I could do more with them. There is always a time factor. My s-mom spends about a hour a day with each horse. I'm lucky if I get to go once every 2 weeks.
Wish you the best of luck!

[ 09-06-2001: Message edited by: skychey ]