Affording a horse through College

[RodeoFTW]

I’m sure this subject has been tossed around a few times, but I’m in a very strange situation.

I am getting out of the service here in a few weeks and while I was on deployment, I bought a pony out of a feedlot situation and had him brought up to my old instructor’s place back home in Michigan to rehabilitate once I was back home from separation.

The hope was that once I got home, I would sell him. Problem is (like many auction horses) he wasn’t all as advertised. That’s life. There’s a lady at my barn though who would like to trade her very well trained MSU arabian-bred horse for him (I’d have to pay some money to make up the very stark difference in training and ability, but I can afford it). It seems like an amazing deal because I don’t want to take on my pony through college since he’s basically an extremely expensive pasture ornament and I won’t have the time to train him while I should be focusing on school.

However, I don’t regret taking him out of the horrible situation I had delivered him from.

Now the only hurdle I have to cross is keeping a horse through college. I really like the Arabian that was offered to me, he has the breeding and training I’ve been hoping to find, and although my parents thought I was going to just sell the pony and go to school horseless, I’ve been looking at horses for sale because who can stop themselves from looking?

My question is, what should I expect from keeping a horse through college? I’m not worried about my fiances since I will be using my GI Bill for school tuition, will be getting nearly $2k in housing a month for living in Chicago, and my aunt and uncle rent apartments in the city. I’ve already talked to them and plan on renting a place with a friend so I can save myself some expenses.

I also have a huge ‘rainy day’ fund (it’s something me and my folks have been arguing over, since it’s my money that I saved but they don’t like the idea of me spending it on a horse) so I’m not about to put myself into debt.

From the ladies (or gents) who have done this before, is there anything else I might be missing?

I don’t plan on bringing over the horse with me to Chicago until I am settled and until then, he is being half-leased for the show season.

[hokiekat]

Good on you for rescuing the pony out of a bad situation! I do think taking a more well trained horse to college is probably the better idea though. There were many many times where I couldn’t make it out to the barn regularly because of class/homework/finals/etc and I think if I had a green horse they definitely would have fallen behind in their training (Just my experience).

I took my gelding with me to undergrad and grad school. I was very fortunate to find boarding barns where the owners/staff were absolutely wonderful and trustworthy. I never worried if I couldn’t make it out, and always felt I could call the barn and have things checked on if needed.

Because you plan on moving and getting settled before bringing the horse - I’d definitely recommend doing a tour of all potential barns in the area. Meet the owners/staff, check out what feed/hay they give, etc. I’m not sure how much boarding in the area goes for - but that will definitely factor into your cost expectations. I made myself a spreadsheet of estimated costs before bringing my horse with me. Board, supplements, an allotment for miscellaneous tack, normal vet bills, farrier, deworming, and a buffer for unforeseen vet bills. If possible, don’t bank on using much of your “rainy day fund”! Sometimes you can negotiate working off partial board by feeding/doing stalls. Worth looking into if you’re tight on money.

Best of luck!

[mychestnutvalentine]

I am a college student in the Chicago suburbs currently boarding a horse off the money I earn. It’s tough but it’s doable. There are a lot of cheaper barns that have much to offer. PM me if you need any help finding something !

[Milocalwinnings]

Somehow I paid for my horse through high school and college. In addition to paying for my truck and rent. To this day I have no idea how I did it.

My one question- why is someone with such a nice and well trained horse (from what it sounds like), willing to trade him for a pasture puff? Was she planning to sell him initially? Seems like a too good to be true type of situation.

[RodeoFTW]

[QUOTE=mychestnutvalentine;8634594]
I am a college student in the Chicago suburbs currently boarding a horse off the money I earn. It’s tough but it’s doable. There are a lot of cheaper barns that have much to offer. PM me if you need any help finding something ![/QUOTE]

Definitely, thank you! I’d probably keep him on pasture board until/unless someone interested in riding a dressage/sport horse arab came around and leased him. I couldn’t really ‘comfortably’ afford the board otherwise. I’m trying to keep things around $300 a month.

[QUOTE=Milocalwinnings;8634625]Somehow I paid for my horse through high school and college. In addition to paying for my truck and rent. To this day I have no idea how I did it.

My one question- why is someone with such a nice and well trained horse (from what it sounds like), willing to trade him for a pasture puff? Was she planning to sell him initially? Seems like a too good to be true type of situation.[/QUOTE]

Initially I didn’t know because she approached me about the trade, but it’s because she’s pregnant, her priorities have changed, and she can’t give him the time under saddle that she thinks he should be getting. I have the time to work hard on him this summer while I’m still at home until fall. This high school eq. team is big where he lives and my instructor coaches a team, he’ll be used more than likely all the way until winter.

She wants to train Mr. Darcy the pasture puff to be a good kid’s pony. I just lack the time to really do it, but she’s going to move him to her own property instead of him living at the boarding barn like he does now. I think it’ll end up being a much better arrangement for him and ultimately I was trying to get him into a family environment.

[findeight]

Dont know if your 300 budget is going to get you too many choices even for pasture board that are close enough in to Chicago to allow you easy access? This is a show horse too…pasture board may not suit it. Won’t you need an arena, preferably indoor to be able to ride too?

Just throwing some thoughts out there. You don’t know this horse too well yet and are assuming a lot based just on what the owner is telling you, some of them don’t do well in a minimum care situation or in groups usually common in pasture board facilities. Some need almost daily structured work too.

What do you know about this horse?

[enjoytheride]

I bought my first horse my sophomore year in college! You sound financially responsible just be aware you’re in an expensive area to board a horse. I found the horse took away from my partying, drinking, and socializing time which I never was interested in anyway.

[Highflyer]

If nothing else, it will probably be easier to sell or rehome the Arab than the pony.

[FLeventer]

I had a horse through college. I bar tended to pay for his expenses. I wouldn’t have traded it for anything. I worked and rode a lot so my social life was not there.

I would have a financial plan as well as a time plan. With the course load and things in your life is it possible to have the time to ride as much as you like or to get out to the barn. With the budget what type of barn and locations can you afford? Is there a backup place you can take horses to in case Barn A doesnt work out that doesnt kill the budget.

Just things to think about. Good luck!

[RodeoFTW]

[QUOTE=enjoytheride;8634844]
I bought my first horse my sophomore year in college! You sound financially responsible just be aware you’re in an expensive area to board a horse. I found the horse took away from my partying, drinking, and socializing time which I never was interested in anyway.[/QUOTE]

Yeah, I’ve been in the Navy for five years. I have no desire to live the ‘college lifestyle’. Seen it, done it, but in cooler places with a lot more money to binge on third world drive bars.

[QUOTE=findeight;8634813]Dont know if your 300 budget is going to get you too many choices even for pasture board that are close enough in to Chicago to allow you easy access? This is a show horse too…pasture board may not suit it. Won’t you need an arena, preferably indoor to be able to ride too?

Just throwing some thoughts out there. You don’t know this horse too well yet and are assuming a lot based just on what the owner is telling you, some of them don’t do well in a minimum care situation or in groups usually common in pasture board facilities. Some need almost daily structured work too.

What do you know about this horse?[/QUOTE]

He’s on stall board right now but spends the majority of his time on
on pasture. From what I know of him, he’s a very easy keeper and every Arabian horse I know gets fat off of air. He’s not a delicate flower, that’s for sure. I’ve never rode this horse, but I’ve talked to the owner all last night and my instructor wants to show me him this weekend. She thinks he’d be a good fit for me. I don’t think feeding him right is going to be an issue at all.

I also will have a $1900 spending budget when I get to Chicago (before counting a part-time job) so I could do $400+ but I might have to either pull funds from my savings (which is about $10k, although I’d rather not touch it) or keep him in MI and allow him to be used by leasing riding students.

I just hope that the cost of board won’t stop me from getting an apartment. I want to room with my friend, but worse case scenario, I can stay with my aunt and uncle in their guest bedroom for free. They’ve already offered.

@Highflyer;8634847

If nothing else, it will probably be easier to sell or rehome the Arab than the pony.

Definitely. The pony is not marketable. No fault of his, but I knew as soon as I got back home, I’d have to rehome him in the right situation quick. Thankfully he’s very cute, so people like him despite his quirks.

[RodeoFTW]

bump

[WannabeDQ]

Sometimes it’s more about the time than the money. It sounds like you can afford it, but will you have time to give a horse the attention it requires? You mention not having time to train the pony you have now, so you may want to think about if that will change.

[RodeoFTW]

It’s because the pony requires attention every single day and I don’t have time to ride him. Some way or another I need to offload him into a good situation before school begins. He’s 10hh so it’s not like I can even ride him. I go out now once a week and do plenty of ground work and have trained him manners, but I can’t rationally pay for a horse I can’t even use when I go to school.

An already trained horse isn’t such a big deal. I can make the time to ride at least once a week (most people can manage that much) and since he’s shown in Arabian B-rated shows, I can lease him. He’s a better fit for me, I think, and I’ll be getting more bang for my buck.

Also, I don’t plan on bringing him over to Chicago until I’m good on my school schedule. He’ll stay in MI and continue to be leased by his current rider until I can take him with.

I’m mostly just worried (or maybe anxious) about expenses. Trying to make sure I thought out everything within reason.

[Denali6298]

I bought a mare last year that I just had to have and while it probably wasn’the the best financial decision I am making it work. What helps me out is I am not paying Chicago prices. I was blown away how inexpensive horse keeping is where I am stationed compared to CT where I grew up. That being said the E5 housing and pay only goes so far and you will not be getting BAS. Financially having a horse works for me because full care is affordable where I live, my housing expenses are cheap because I don’t live in a house that uses all of my BAH and I live with my SO. I also don’t eat $300+ worth of food a month. So I have left over money from my housing allowance and BAS to supplement my horse.

In your situation I would not be surprised if you dipped into your savings to pay for the horse. Remember too, it’s not just rent but food, utilities, cell phone, car insurance etc. I’m not sure what rank you are getting out at, but that E5 pay only goes so far and if I was stationed in Chicago I would probably not be able to afford a horse on my pay check.

[RodeoFTW]

I don’t need a car in Chicago. There’s zip car, and it’s only around $150 for 20 hours a month to use, gas and insurance included. I’m going to be living with a roommate too under an arrangement for rent with my family who owns the building, so a lot of my costs aren’t going to be that extreme. I also plan on getting a second job, so I’ll be getting two paychecks for at least the next two years (that’s what I have left to finish my bachelors right now).

Money is not going to be an issue. I wouldn’t even have to pay rent if I bit the bullet and lived with my aunt and uncle.

Having a horse leased also takes care of the cost of board. I’d expect at least $200 a month for half-lease outside of Chicago for a fully trained show horse, which would cover at least half the board.

I’ve thought about it a lot and I don’t think it’s going to be as hard as it was for people who were trying to pay for their tuition and living expenses and board.

[Scribbler]

Speaking as a college prof: count on your college work (classes and homework) being pretty much a full time job — maybe a bit slack for the first few weeks of September, then very busy from midterms on to exams in December, repeat for four years :). !5 hours of classes a week doesn’t sound like that much, but add in the homework and the deadlines, and it is a lot of time if you want to do well. Which I am sure you do, being a responsible adult who no doubt has a clear career goal, etc. Oh, and I see you only have two years to go. So you know the drill! Two years isn’t so long. Unless you sign up for grad school

Having a part time job is thus working over time, basically.

I ended up putting my old horse on pasture board outside of town when I went to college, and leaving her there. Now I was young, and having a hectic social life at the time, but even if I had been more mature, I’m not sure I could have actually gotten out to ride consistently three days a week, for instance.

Whether this is workable is going to depend on what your expenses end up being, for both your own living accommodation and your horse board. I would say that the most important key to surviving college life is to have your finances in place, and to have your expenses fall well under your finances, so there is wiggle room if things go wrong. I see so many students (including friends I knew 30 years ago) end up dropping out because they simply couldn’t afford to finish, or they got some terrible night-shift job and were too tired to stay awake in class. On the other hand, at the very expensive colleges, all the finances have to be in place for four years before you enroll, which is partly why Yale and Harvard have such high graduation rates.

I don’t know anything about the costs and facilities in Chicago, but it sounds like you have a good family support network, and a clear goal, and adding an easy-care horse to the mix should be doable :).

[RodeoFTW]

UIC is a public university and my GI Bill pays for tuition, books, and rent. With only two years only left, I still have at least one year left of funding before having to pay for grad school (because yes, that is necessary for my career plans) but I don’t plan on even going to grad school right away. I’m going to try and go overseas for a year to teach English and plan to leave the horse with my trusted instructor here at home until I come back (basically what I did before when I was deployed).

It’s worth the expense to me to just ride my own horse, even if I only get to do it once or twice a week. So tired of riding other people’s horses and getting heckled by barn staff. >_> Just having the pony has been refreshing.

But yeah, with a part-time job, I’m looking at about $2600 plus $10k in savings (I have more than that, but it’s for retirement, so I can’t touch it).

I’m hoping it works out. I mean, at least I won’t be in the South Pacific only getting updates once a month. D;

[Scribbler]

[QUOTE=RodeoFTW;8635648]
UIC is a public university and my GI Bill pays for tuition, books, and rent. With only two years only left, I still have at least one year left of funding before having to pay for grad school (because yes, that is necessary for my career plans) but I don’t plan on even going to grad school right away. I’m going to try and go overseas for a year to teach English and plan to leave the horse with my trusted instructor here at home until I come back (basically what I did before when I was deployed).

It’s worth the expense to me to just ride my own horse, even if I only get to do it once or twice a week. So tired of riding other people’s horses and getting heckled by barn staff. >_> Just having the pony has been refreshing.

But yeah, with a part-time job, I’m looking at about $2600 plus $10k in savings (I have more than that, but it’s for retirement, so I can’t touch it).

I’m hoping it works out. I mean, at least I won’t be in the South Pacific only getting updates once a month. D;[/QUOTE]

Then I’d say you have all the bases covered, including where to send the horse if things don’t work out. Good luck, and congrats on having all your ducks in a row!

[roseymare]

I don’t see how you will have much time for him while in school so you will have to find the right type of a boarding situation. That could be tricky. Good Luck he sounds like a dream horse for you.

[OverandOnward]

What is your plan for a major lameness or colic? Requiring a LOT of money, time and treatment from YOU to save the horse? Or just keep it pasture sound? Horses do that to us!

Know what you are going to do if the vet tells you your colicky horse needs surgery to live - or an unknown number of days in ICU - at midnight, with a suffering horse needing urgent care. Then, have a back-up plan for unanticipated complications after surgery.

Hopefully you won’t need that plan, but it is important to think it through in advance, rather than trying to sort it out on an emergency basis.

Good luck with college & horses, and I hope all goes well, whatever you decide to do!