wow!!?? (graphic?)

[Marrissa]

I pay 250 a month and that includes hay. They feed and that's it. Not a fancy place at all but it's cheap for my area and I have access to a good English trainer on site.

[KMG]

I would have never guessed this thread would evolve into horses. I guess anything is possible.

[sorraia]

TexanLady - I do love the thoroughbreds, there aren't many breeds with the athleticism to be competitive on the track as babies and then learn a whole new sport and compete at the highest levels there too, whether it's jumping, eventing, or dressage. I don't have the kind of budget for a big German import (apparently people out here think $30k on an untried prospect is a bargain ) so I pick up my jumpers off the track, they always seem to make up for a lack of jumping-specific breeding by having an extra dose of grit and heart. That said you are so right about not being barrel racers, I think with the momentum of their big bodies they would run into the wall before they made it around a single corner! If we're not getting photos of the taffeta-splosion, then we're definitely going to need some of the shire/donkey herd, because that is too adorable. And I'm super jealous of your farm set up, board and training at my barn starts at $800/month, not including shoes, supplements, worming, blanketing, and everything else!

Sorraia - I grew up with arabs, so I tend to favor them. But sometimes they're too smart for their own good, the only horse I ever met who could undo snap bolts with his teeth was an arab. He used to undo his bolt, open his stall door, and turn himself out.

That's one thing I love about Arabs!

I know about cost. Before I bought this house and moved my horse here, I was paying done $250-300 for a pipe corral (don't remember the size, but I think 12'x24') and hay. Trims (thankfully don't need shoes), supplements, shavings, turn out, etc all cost extra.

[TexanLady]

Sorry we hijacked the thread. Horse folk can get very excited about this kind of stuff.

Marissa, I'm sorry it is so expensive where you are at too. We rarely buy hay, or have to. My parents have the back 40 acres fenced off for the horses, and the front 9.433 acres are my for my mom to do her gardening projects and their house. But with so much acreage back there and with such long growing seasons in our area of the country we only have to buy one round bale of hay (about $120) every six to eight weeks. Split between my sister and I for our horses and all the other people we let board there each of us only has to pay about $2 for hay. Other than that the horses get their daily oats and range feed.

Also, I have only ridden English a few times in my life. Most of the time I ride bareback or Western. I'm not as snobby as some of the riders down here. Most people in Texas see you riding English and they'll make fun of you. It's considered a sissy form of riding to most Texans, but I think it is entirely untrue. I may have only done it a few times, and not for years, but I remember how much harder riding English was than Western. Though both pale in comparison to bareback! English requires remarkable balance and a well developed seat. Most of the cowboys and cowgirls down here will never admit that though. I sometimes wish I had gotten more into it, but in high school and college I was on the rodeo teams and that didn't leave much time for recreational riding, and you definitely can't rodeo in an English saddle!

As for the trainer? How much are you guys paying for that? We buy our horses green broke and finish up training them ourselves, but I'm interested to hear how much others pay for a trainer. There are several trainers floating around here that train horses for the quarter horses breeders and some of the people that buy horses for recreational purposes, and I know they only charge 20-30 dollars an hour, or do package deals. I know one in particular that is training five horses for a friend of ours out by the county line. She owns ten acres and just got her pasture and barn setup, and she made a deal with her trainer. She lets him board his three horses there for free and give riding lessons on Tuesday and Thursday afternoons and he is training her horses for free. And those are only the professional trainers. If you aren't picky and don't want someone with an actual degree in Equine Science you can find someone down here with so many years experience riding they are practically a professional and will help you train your horse for 10-15 an hour.

[KMG]

No complaint here. Just a strange twist.

I don't currently have horses but was raised riding western. I did take English lessons but was not a fan. I like my big plush western saddles.

I never competed at anything and only worked cattle and rode for fun.

[TexanLady]

Well I was never a professional or anything. I didn't have sponsors, and I didn't go rodeoing every weekend. It was something I did for fun as well, and still do, though definitely not as much. Now I ride more for fun. Going to be hitting the big 30 in another year, and I'm feeling it more when I get bucked off a green broke horse. Now I mainly do long trail rides with friends, or help my niece who is 13 with learning barrel racing. She is and into being a rodeo queen.

[bcr229]

I would have never guessed this thread would evolve into horses. I guess anything is possible.

LOL that's because the disdain for BP's by people who keep other snakes isn't a patch on the disdain between QH rders versus TB riders vs TWH riders vs Arab riders vs... well, you get the idea.
Don't even get me started on hunter princesses and dressage queens...

[Marrissa]

Texan- I pay 30 for group lessons. I don't have anyone train my actual horse though. I've been the one to do that since day one.

I love English for cross country and jumping. I ride western too for barrels and poles. The last time someone made fun of me for English was at a practice rodeo (yes I did the fun event in an English saddle). So I challenged her to ride in my saddle. Guess who almost fell off. takes more skill to ride English in my own biased opinion.

[sorraia]

There's less to an English saddle, compared to a western saddle. It definitely takes more control, and more strength to ride English well, compared to Western (speaking in generalities, because there are sports in both that are harder or easier than the other! ). I've ridden both, and bareback. I actually prefer bareback, because I'm lazy about putting a saddle on! Lol

I've also ridden a saddle seat saddle, now THAT spooked me! Much shallower seat than anything I had ever ridden in before.

[Badgemash]

TexanLady - I wish it was a typo, but no. I'm in Phoenix, so land is at a premium. Where I ride it's $350 for pipe corral with misters or $425 for a box stall (with evap coolers) with an outdoor run. On top of that there's a $400/month fee for training which is two 45 min private lessons a week and one trainer ride/week (trainer works them), otherwise it's $50/45 min private or 1:15 semi-private (2 people) lesson on a school horse. There's also a $50/month fee for feeding supplements and blanketing. Shoeing/worming/trailering/show coaching/body clipping are all extra. That said, I feel lucky to have found the place. I've never ridden school horses of this caliber, every last one of them could score well at first level dressage, jumps 3' and up, collects and works in frame, does auto-changes, and moves off the slightest touch of leg, and I can lease them for just the monthly costs. The horse I last leased was a retired Grand Prix jumper, who was originally purchased in Germany for over 100k (something I would never ever be able to afford). I grew up riding trails and endurance, because that was all there was where I grew up, and only started jumping as an adult. And frankly it's hard to find someone who will take you seriously as an adult and train you as aggressively as they would a kid (especially the children of people who can afford the big money horses), so even though it costs me an arm and both legs, it's worth it.

bcr229 - Don't get me started on hunter princesses, I have strong feelings about those, and the hunter world in general. It's right up there with 'western pleasure.'

KMG - Even though I started off western, I always felt like those saddles were too roomy lol! But I did get a chance to work cattle on a friend's ranch as a kid, and I have to admit, a cow horse who loves his job is a true and absolute joy to ride.