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how much money should you have before buying a horse?

September 22nd, 2009 at 04:43 pm

In response to Whitestripe's entry , I am posting my own recent thought process in a different area.

My friends have all bought horses this year. Seems odd given the economy- but that made these "golden" oppertunities.

One friend paid $225,000 for 2 horses. The owner was divorcing and was behind on her horse bills- so she sold her 2 imported horses at a "bargain basement" price. My friend snatched the 2 up even though she was planning to first sell her current horse before buying a horse (not 2). So now she has 3 horses. And she is suffering. The bills have gotten much higher than she was expecting and she cannot sell her original horse (horse went lame at about the time the 2 new horses were shipped in).

My other friend got a horse from a racing farm that was "going out of business" and foreclosing. The owner told the barn staff to "get rid of the horses". In order to save the horses from the slaughterhouse- the barn staff spread the word that the horses are free and need to be gone within a few weeks. My friend heard about it and picked herself up a horse for free. Forget that she didnt need another horse- cant ride this horse- and a thoroughbred was not what she wanted for her next horse.

I want a horse. I love horses. But I cant afford it. They are expensive! I talked with another friend of mine who wants a horse but has resisted the impulse so far- and I concluded I would want $15,000 in the bank before I got a horse. The money would be set aside for "horse emergencies" and that amount would cover a few years of basic basics for a horse in the event that I lost my job- and I couldnt afford the horse. My friends- they do not plan for the cushions.
I know my thoroughbred friend lives paycheck to paycheck. I know my other friend relies on her boyfriend to pay for her horses. I cant help but shake my head at how risky they are being...but they get to wake up and ride a horse everyday. As my friend put it "if I worried about the consequenses of every purchase I made, I would never buy anything."

Posted in a bit about me, myself and more me | 12 Comments »

12 Responses to “how much money should you have before buying a horse?”

  1. M E 2 Says:
    September 22nd, 2009 at 04:53 pm 1253638400
    1253638400



    My maternal grandparents had promised to get my sister and I a pony when we were kids.

    I am nowhere near being a kid any longer and I am still waiting on my pony! LOL

    I guess good luck to me with that one seeing as my maternal grandparents are now deceased.

    I did tell my sister that we should have put a claim against the estate towards monies owed to us in lieu of a/the pony. ;-)


  2. Ericka Says:
    September 22nd, 2009 at 04:54 pm 1253638488
    1253638488

    i think its really great you want to save up for a horse..that being said..i have 2 horses..and i didnt spend any where near 225000 for mine. i just have a paint and an appy...just plain ordinary horses. and i live on 10 acres with my mom..in a seperate house. its not that expeincive to have mine, but it is an added expence. its about 4000 a year i could use somewhere else..but i just cant bring myself to get rid of them..ive had my app for over 8 yrs. i id sell out 2 of my horses this year..but im holding tight to the other 2...its crazy..i dont ride..and just have them to look at..so i should sell them..but id look for other horses that arent that crazy expencive if your just looking for a good horse to ride and have as a friend...jmho

  3. Petunia Says:
    September 22nd, 2009 at 05:52 pm 1253641932
    1253641932

    When I first read your title, I thought you meant house. Owning a horse is a completely foreign idea to me. What will happen to these animals when their owners can't afford to care for them any more?

  4. gamecock43 Says:
    September 22nd, 2009 at 06:32 pm 1253644346
    1253644346

    Thats a growing problem in the horse community. People were buying horses/barns during the boom years and now with job losses, stock market crisis problems- the owners are really struggling.

  5. Broken Arrow Says:
    September 22nd, 2009 at 08:08 pm 1253650092
    1253650092

    An interesting glimpse into something I will never understand....

  6. whitestripe Says:
    September 22nd, 2009 at 09:48 pm 1253656082
    1253656082

    when i was in year 8 and 9 my best friend fiona lived on a farm and had a couple of horses. i've only ever been on a horse once or twice (we had them at our high school) and i just think they are big scary things Smile i remember when she sold a horse to a friend of hers for $7000, and then how sad she was when the horse was found to be malnourished and got injured, it had to be put down.
    i would have no idea where to start with money for a horse. the closest i could compare is a dog Big Grin

  7. ironicone Says:
    September 22nd, 2009 at 10:57 pm 1253660245
    1253660245

    I had enough for 6 months worth of food, farrier, etc as well as 3k for vet costs. I also bought a horse trailer and truck before buying the horse. After 2 years I realized I wasn't riding the horse enough to make it worth it and switched to 2 lessons a month. 125 is far less than the amount it costs to keep my horse and I get the pleasure without the responsibility...

  8. scfr Says:
    September 22nd, 2009 at 11:03 pm 1253660596
    1253660596

    I know you aren't ready right now, but since I know you are an animal-rescue-minded person, if/when you are ready you might want to consider adopting a "Premarin" horse:
    http://www.pmurescue.org/

  9. cptacek Says:
    September 23rd, 2009 at 03:23 am 1253676211
    1253676211

    lol. I bought my first horse for $850 and my second horse for $400. They eat grass from the pasture and bales of hay from when we are feeding cows. So my answer is "you need $1250!"

  10. lizajane Says:
    September 23rd, 2009 at 05:24 am 1253683499
    1253683499

    I wish you lived closer, and I could provide you a horse to ride whenever you wanted!! We have several (too many), and not enough time to ride them, so often friends "borrow" one for trail rides or a weekend. We're happy the horse gets rode, and they're happy to have one to ride. Of course, we'd rather sell one (or many!) but buyers aren't responding very well right now. And we're asking nowhere near the $225,000 price tag, even for ALL of them!!!

  11. Apprentice Bliss Hunter Says:
    September 23rd, 2009 at 12:52 pm 1253710348
    1253710348

    emmmm.... I'd luv a horse too....

    V expensive to keep in Ireland tho....if you don't have your land...

    emm maybe when my Net Worth hits 100k, I'll be confident going for it.....

  12. frugaltexan75 Says:
    September 24th, 2009 at 03:54 am 1253764452
    1253764452

    Ahh ... a horse. Smile That was one of my childhood dreams - to own one. We would go horseback riding every so often, and when we lived in Minnesota we lived directly across the road from a horse farm. Smile

    But yes, they are expensive - especially if you have to board them.

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