Thread: Horse question

Originally Posted by fatcat

Hi Guys,
Thanks for the for that, just early days.

i always wanted a horse as a kid, sure the kids would be keen.

cheers guys

Mate if you go down this path of ownership it won't be good.

I had a horse (Mary) that lived at a riding school when I was young that was 'mine'.

No grief, just ring the school up and go for a ride. No vets, no feed probs, no float, etc, etc, etc. And all the other etc's. And all the other ones.

Very similar to renting a yacht in the Whitsundays with friends, as opposed to owning one (which would be possible).

Just split up with a woman whose horse ownership issues are ruining her, and daughter's lives.

DL

Mate if you want horses go for it just make sure if you have no experience that you fully look into the cost of it all and make sure you are aware of all their needs..

HORSES ARE NOT CHEAP!! even if you have land....

however dont be put off by the scare story above me....to say you own a horse but you never actually DID anything with it other than ring up a riding school is not owning a horse... IMHO

Originally Posted by dullbird

Mate if you want horses go for it just make sure if you have no experience that you fully look into the cost of it all and make sure you are aware of all their needs..

HORSES ARE NOT CHEAP!! even if you have land....

however dont be put off by the scare story above me....to say you own a horse but you never actually DID anything with it other than ring up a riding school is not owning a horse... IMHO

Hi DB,

Was not meant to be a scare story. Was trying to get across the message in your first para.

Owning a horse is a very big commitment (let alone owning 3). People should realise this and realise that it could demand at least an hour or two EVERY day depending on circumstances.

I see neglected horses every day and I don't like it.

DL

Very good point DL

I guess the question has to be asked to Fat cat

Have you ever owned horses before?

if you are going to get one keep it where it can be with other horses as horses are herd and social animals and it is not healthy for them to be on there own this way you can do a similar thing to DL in the sense you can put the horse on a working livery which means you dont have to attend to it every day, but also be warned this can ruin your horse having muliple riders on its back especially if the riding school is not much chop, you will still be liable for vet bills, worming etc but you can usually work some deal regarding its shoeing/feeding needs.

so I would say on your own land at around 3 acres get two..doesnt mean you have to get two big ones though you could get a large one and a miniature it doesn't matter as long as they are introduced properly.
As suggested before have the paddock split up in to 3 paddocks at least so you can rotate.
horses are adapted to graze very close to the ground with there teeth so if you allow them to graze a paddock down too far they will turn it in to a dust bowl in no time and the paddock will struggle to recover you will also likely get worm issues.

take out insurance for your horse if you don't have money that you can call upon in an instant vets are not cheap because 9/10 they have to come to you..and its usually on a bloody weekend or put money away each week in a bank account so you have a stash if you need it.

there also many other things to consider regarding their general maintenance if you dont know let us know and we can list them for you

Originally Posted by dullbird

HORSES ARE NOT CHEAP!! even if you have land....

I know lots of horsey people (a mate is a breaker).

The cheapest thing you will ever do with a horse is buy it, after that they get very expensive very fast.

Originally Posted by BigJon

I know lots of horsey people (a mate is a breaker).

The cheapest thing you will ever do with a horse is buy it,

after that they get very expensive very fast.

and even that can be an expensive exercise if you want to buy a good one

Horses are probably the most expensive lawnmower you could ever buy.

Geese are probably the cheapest - assuming you can keep them safe from foxes at night.

we have 2 horses and are looking for a place to buy but about 40 min south west of brissy. The other half has had horses forever and me about ten years or so (you can work out the math of when we hooked up)

as you do need to spell the land so that the grass can regrow and also have the horses eat it evenly I would suggest a minimum of 5 acres for 2 horses if you are going to live on it.

Yes you can do it on less but you will have to hard feed at times and also it is very hard to spell the land. also you will need to make at least 2 paddocks for both spelling and separating the damned things as they will need space apart at times. (every time our mare comes into season she gives the old boy curry big time and he ends up with big bites and kicked to the proverbial) hence the reason why we keep them apart during these times.

Make sure you have good access to water as they drink a hell of a lot and also a covered area for the times we have heavy rain or hail so they can get out of it.

we are renting ten but could get away with less but then there is less land to ride on as well.

Honestly if we didn't own horses we would own our own place and I would own a new landy; they are that expensive, looking back owning an old landrover seems very cheap. Horses at the moment are very cheap if you are determined to get one pm me and I will help you get the right one. if you have never had one a 10 to 15 year old gelding quarter horse would be the best. no mood changes (and I'm not joking) past there silly stage and still plenty of years of riding in them. our old boy is 25 and he still get ridden. Never buy a horse off the track period; only people who really know what they want should buy them, dressage, vaulting etc. A quarter horse is good for general riding, hacking, barrel racing, polox. A stock horse the same but include endurance as well.

seriously if you want pm me come out to our place have a look at what we have which is what you will need and then you can work it out from there.