I'm wanting to purchase a horse for my daughter but everyone is telling me I'm crazy. This decision has not been made lightly. I've given time 1.5 years of weekly lessons to see how my daughter goes. She loves it! We viewed a horse on the weekend and my friend has never seen her ride before and she could be believe how well she did for her age! She was suprised how well she can do. My friends been riding for 30+ years so knows what she talking about.
My mum tells me I'm crazy and if I do she will be so mad with me. My daughter doesn't just like the riding side of things she loves saddling up, brushing, feeding, looking after it she's right in their helping! I honestly haven't made the decision in a spare of the moment it has been a very long process to come to this decision as I didn't want to be one of those parents that race out and buy a horse because the child showed a small amount of interest. She has passion and love and I don't think she will ever and I mean ever give this up! It's the one thing she loves. She's already asked to go riding this morning!
I understand the cost that will be incurred. It's $50pw for agistment and feeding of my horse. Which will be fine. I do understand their are bet bills etc and I'm ok or this when the need Arises.
My mum tells me it's fine until something happens but should I stop her doing something she loves because she might get hurt? We drive daily should we stop that because we might have an accident.
I've made my decision to purchase her a horse but everyone is putting doubt in my mind that it's a good idea.
Purchasing a horse for my daughter
Purchasing a horse for my daughter
Posted in:
Life Lessons, Kids
10 Replies
I think she's a lucky girl!
If you understand the commitment and financial side of things, I can't see a negative side.
Maybe all the nay sayers have a touch of the green eyed monster!
I say go for it!
And as for the injury side of things, you have the potential to hurt yourself doing anything. You don't want to discourage things she loves on the off chance she may hurt herself.
I was your daughter. Obsessed. My parents were the same as you and dropped everything, bought me a horse and then I continued riding for a solid 11 years. I will say, it was a total fantasy and when reality checked in when I turned 18, I lost my passion completely. It obviously doesn't happen to everyone but when I stopped having everything handed to me and had to pay my way, I could not afford it in the slightest.
In the kindest way possible, you sound very naive and I would try and do some more research before progressing any further. 1.5 years isn't a very long time, your daughter will only know the basics still - riding a school horse in lessons and owning your own horse that has been trained in a completely different way (not to be a plodder) are completely different. We had the same issue moving from 5 years of lessons to owning my own horse. The transition is a struggle and we ended up buying a horse, it turned to crap, sold said horse, bought another and then had 4!! weekly lessons until I learnt to ride properly and independently.
Have you considered everything else? You buy a horse (and a good, safe beginner's horse is around $4-6k), you need a well fitted saddle, bridle, brushes, rugs (for all seasons) and so on. The startup alone can cost almost $10k.
$50pw for agistment I am assuming is just basic, so only the agistment and feeding. What about rugging? Will you take your daughter to the agistment every single morning AND night to check rugs, change them accordingly and so on? Does the agistment have facilities and a safe place to ride (arena, tack shed, feed shed etc. and make sure they're lockable!!)? Otherwise, where will she ride? There's also the ongoing cost of the farrier every 4-8 weeks pending how quickly the feet grow, worming, the actual feed and hay (expensive so factor it in), dentist every 6-12 months, pony club fees, lesson fees ($50-100 pending instructors, I recommend a private one not at a riding school) and then vet bills and lordy lord they are expensive.
Personally, I'd recommend looking into free-leasing a horse. Basically, you cover all costs like agistment, farrier, feeding etc. however the horse is still owned by someone else and generally they'll supply fitted gear. Also, I'd also recommend contacting a local pony club and going down for a few rallies to see how they run and witness everything in action. Some places also offer riders without horses programs and are a great way to understand ownership of a horse prior to getting one.
Good luck! Just definitely be prepared that this is a huge commitment and if your daughter takes a big fall (guaranteed she will take lots of falls over time!) and loses confidence, you can't really just pack it in and say okay onto the next hobby (hence suggesting free leasing because the big falls scare lots of riders).
There's always doubt, and many expenditures that you won't be able to factor in.
I agree with the above poster. It's hard when you've grown up. Time was my biggest issue. Riding weekly v daily and feeding, grooming, training, rugging and transporting were all things I struggled with as time became more important. I ended up giving my horse away.
I'd suggest visit your local RDA. As they need volunteers to look after horses during the week and your daughter may be able to "adopt a horse" to ride during the week which would help the rda keeping the horse in check :)
The only reasons my mum would be mad with me about a decision to buy something like a horse is.
1. I was living at home still
2. I was struggling to pay my bills and afford necesseties
3. My house was in chaos
4. The horse would be neglected
If you can afford it, you have quotes for ongoing costs, and you've had the horse looked at by a VET, you have the time. Take into account future school commitments and work commitments.
Only you can make this decision.
I have horses my daughter is 5 and no interest yet having one yet so thankfully don't have that issue but id say good on you. I did lessons growing up for years and my parents would not get me one so first thing I did when I moved out was buy one 😂
Cost wise what to think of.
Agistment and feed are the main two
Farrier every 4-8 weeks depending if shod or barefoot ($50 for trims usually $80-$120 for shoes depending on area)
Dentist once a year roughly $100
Vet call outs are roughly $150-$250 depending on area I always have $500 aside in case of big emergencies I've had one $1200 vet bill in 5 years and two $300 ones mostly a vet is not needed horses injure themselves a lot but for the most part superficial
Other costs include purchase price of saddle (good second hand ones start at $300) bridle, saddle blanket, grooming kit just for bare basics
If you can maybe find a free lease in the area that would be the way to start. The costs and all upkeep of horse is on you and your daughter but saves you buying gear or the horse until you've both had an understanding of owning a horse. I leased for 10 months before looking to buy my own horse.
Injury wise a good helmet gloves boots and body protector to keep everyone happy is where to start :)
What area are you located I can send through some links relevant to your area if wanted :)
She's very lucky to have a mum like you who's willing to help her discover her dreams. But please remember vet bills are not cheap they go into the thousands and not just the hundreds. They cut their leg they'll need stitches, they get colic they'll need 24 hour care etc unless you are willing to put thousands of dollars into a horse it is probably best not to buy one. I've seen women sell their other horses, cars, saddles, floats just to afford the vet bills for their horses. Even if you're prepared make sure you've got savings that can be solely spent on the horse and have them availiablr always as most vets don't allow you to pay them off over time, most bills need to be paid upfront.
Why does your mum have a say? Is it because she has to lend you money or you overly rely on her? If this is the case, I understand her concerns. If not and you are great financially, tell her where to go.
How is it anyone else's business anyway? If you know you can afford it without issue and your daughter has a passion then what is the issue?
In terms of potential injury, well, she could be injured playing netball or doing ballet just as easily as a fall from a horse. Get her good equipment (helmet, vest etc) and good training and you have done all you can.
It looks like you have done a lot of research, which is great! I think you may need to look into costs of farriering (shoeing), dentistry, vaccination - these are all periodic costs which you will want to consider.
Then there is the outlay for tack (saddle, bridle, halter, saddle blanket, lead ropes) and depending on the horse/climate face hoods, horse blankets, shin wraps etc. mucking out Equipment (wheelbarrow, forks, shovels) Plus feeding buckets, hay slings, water buckets and toys to keep horsey amused when girly is at school.
Then you have all your caring equipment (brushes, combs, shampoo, conditioner, Hoof conditioner, foot picks etc).
She may want to get into competitions or use her horse for lessons. That means you need a horse float and a car big enough to tow it. That's a big expense there.
Additionally, there is the TIME cost. Horses really need a lot of care. That's visits before and after school/work to check feed, groom, exercise, water, muck out of they are stabled.
The initial outlay isn't all that much, but all of the other bits add up quickly! If you both understand the commitment in time and money, then I can't see why not! Just expect to spend A LOT of time with the horse and traveling for events!