Monday, April 16, 2007

Educating Self with a First Class Teacher...

...your horse.

It's amazing all the different theories, exercises, recipes and discplines that are covered in horse-related books these days. You can learn a lot from them, granted; but it just doesn't beat the hands on experience of having your own horse.

I had one of the girls at work asking me the other week about the costs of owning a horse and have concluded that in Victoria, Australia, $5000 would be a good amount to save up in order to be equipped for 12 months of horse related expenses.

Farrier - the horse's feet need to be done every 6-8 weeks. Cost around $50; this can be cheaper (around $25) if done with other horses.

Food - 25kg bag of oaten chaff, lucerne chaff and bag of pellets. Cost around $80; if the horse needed to be fed; this would last for 2 months, based on a pony being fed at least four times a week

Agistment - $50 weekly; can be more expensive than this or a lot cheaper, but a reasonable rate to expect - should come with somewhere decent to ride.

Extras to consider - riding lessons - one per fortnight at around $50 for a 45 minute lesson.

One off costs - saddle, bridle, brushes, from around $300-$900. You can usually get a beginners start up kit (fully mounted saddle) for around $200-$300.

Total annual cost for farrier, feeding, agistment, fortnightly lessons and around $500 worth of tack - $5,145. Got all this? Better start saving for the horse!

"When in doubt, ask a horse."

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