Re: New and utterly clueless!! Lots of help needed I'm afraid

 Hi, thanks for the welcome we live in North Wales

Re: New and utterly clueless!! Lots of help needed I'm afraid

I will try and answer some of your questions but a lot depends upon the kind of horse you want to buy.

Winter feed:  A sack of hard feed costs between 6 and 10 pounds a bag.  Chaff (which is addtional roughage) about £5.  For a 15hh horse ( I used to own a 15.3) a sack of feed lasted me about 2-3weeks so expect to pay £15-20 a month for hard feed.

Summer feed:  Again depends on the type of horse (my daughter current pony does not get addtional hard feed in the summer due to laminitis but he does get Happy Hoof (£10) which lasts quite a while)

Generally in the summer horses are at grass so you may not need to pay for extra feed but you should have some hay in case.

Vet Bill:  Vaccinations cost about £60-£100 and call out fee (£30 approx). Obviously if there is an emergency then it can cost absolutely anything so would definately recommend insurance that pays vet fees if horse has injury etc.

Shoeing:  My farrier charges £65 for a new set of shoes every 6-8 weeks so yearly bill about £780+

ALso there is rugs to buy if your horse is turned out.  Livery costs which depends if horse can stay out at grass all year or whether it needs to be stabled during winter.  I pay £110 a month for stable and grazing all year round.

Hay and straw during winter months.  Hay prices are very different but I pay £4.50 a bale and for a 15hh+ horse during the winter at least 2-3 bales a week if not more so about £20 a week for hay and straw is a guess.

I am afraid I may have frightened you off!  But I would recommend stabling the horse at a knowledgable stables so that there will be people on hand to help if needed.

I wish I had a father like you when I was 13!  Had to wait til I left home before I could get my first horse.

Good Luck!

Re: New and utterly clueless!! Lots of help needed I'm afraid

I forgot dentist as well!  Our dentist comes out and does all the horses on the yard and charges about £30 I think.  Some people feel that this needs only to be done once a year but others more often ie every 6 months.

Luckily you have come to the right place!  Lots of people on here happy to give all the advice and support needed when it comes to all things horsey!  Don't be afraid to ask anything, someone will always give you an honest answer.

Re: New and utterly clueless!! Lots of help needed I'm afraid

 Wow, some truly outstanding info there. Many thanks to all who took time out to reply, it is very much appreciated. 

Now off to do some sums!  

Re: New and utterly clueless!! Lots of help needed I'm afraid

Hi, rather than rush into buying, I'd try and consider a loan first.  As your daughter is only 13 and is likely to grow a lot taller and heavier, may well find she may outgrow a pony sooner than what you think.  Are there any ponies, ie 14.2hh ones that might be available localish to you.  Because you would need to think about transporting the pony home.  Is your daughter currently having riding lessons, if so, perhaps her instructor may well be more than happy to accompany yourselves with regard to any suitable purchase or loan, it is not wise to go on your own, you will need someone experienced to testride the pony after the owner has 'showed' if off for you and put it through it paces.  Bear in mind that some ponies could have been worked prior to the viewing on that day and also could well have been sedated.  When you are looking at an advert question as to what they have left out, it could also help having a detailed conversation over the telephone prior to any visit, could save a wasted journey.  Ponies can be notoriously difficult to keep weight off, ie they do put weight on very easily so may well need restricted grazing in the summer months, if they are obese, can lead to lot of foot, hoof/health problems.  It would also be advisable firstly to keep your pony at a livery yard where there are knowledgeable people/instruction on hand and also to join the local pony club.  if you keep the pony on DIY it will be a lot cheaper but you will need to arrange for feed deliveries, vaccinations, shoeing, turning out/bringing in, changing rugs etc.  My costs and I've had both, DIY, full and part DIY are:

DIY, £20 per week for grazing and stable; hay £4 a bale; shavings bale (for bedding) £9; sack of feed £12; shoeing, only fronts £35; vaccinations and teeth rasping/check up £95 

Full livery  - where they do everything for you - £110 per week, you only turn up and ride

Part DIY - 5 days full livery and 2 days Sat/Sun DIY - £95 per week.  All hay, feed and shavings is supplied.

Kus posted etc.  It may well be that once your daughter has her own, both of you will then get bitten by the bug, start riding and then buy two more horses!  Hope this has helped and good luck with the search.