The absolute best are the ones who complain about what they get for $150/month. You’d think they were paying $1500/month. Even better is if they can’t pay board at that level. Honey, if you can’t afford board here, you just can’t afford to have a horse period.
[QUOTE=Covergirl15;8246112]
I see it with everything having to do with animals (and other stuff as well)! Both horses and dogs/cats–I was helping with an adoption event and people were gasping at the $40 adoption price–um people, if you can’t afford that, how are you going to afford everything else? I spent several hundred dollars on my kitten when I got her (for $40)–b/w shots, a feline HIV/leukemia test, declawing her (my mom made me), kitten food, and everything else (and we already had 2 cats so I didn’t need many supplies for her).
Also, I work at a high end stationery store and people try to do the same with invitations-- this from people who live in million dollar houses and have their gucci, prada, or hermes bags thrown over their arms. Really?! I’m sorry but I have too much pride to nickel and dime people over prices…[/QUOTE]
To be fair, having just planned a wedding, stationery is ridiculously expensive. And I think most people do recognize the frivolity of spending $10 per card on something people will throw away. But the richest people are often the nastiest about receiving a discount, etc - always been that way, but I think it’s gotten worse in the reality TV era where people get all kinds of things for free, just for being rich and unpleasant.
[QUOTE=soloudinhere;8246208]
To be fair, having just planned a wedding, stationery is ridiculously expensive. And I think most people do recognize the frivolity of spending $10 per card on something people will throw away. But the richest people are often the nastiest about receiving a discount, etc - always been that way, but I think it’s gotten worse in the reality TV era where people get all kinds of things for free, just for being rich and unpleasant.[/QUOTE]
Not to mention the fact that most people with money didn’t accumulate it through frivolous spending and poor business decisions.
OTOH, there’s a big difference between trying to get a good deal from a vendor and begging the general public to cover basic ownership expenses.
[QUOTE=Pocket Pony;8245979]
I agree with the above poster that tack does matter. The price tag isn’t what matters, but the quality (meaning you can find nice used tack), the design, and the fit for horse and rider both most definitely matters.
But you’re not going to find a good quality saddle for $100 that you can just pick up on ebay and expect it to miraculously work for you and your horse. It might, but it probably won’t. Cheap things are cheap for a reason …[/QUOTE]
I can’t agree more with this! The crappiest saddles I have ever sat in were leather saddles less than $300 new… Everything is wrong with these… Many years ago my not horsey parents had purchased one of those cheap new saddle/bridle/girth/saddle pad sets, and I fell off soooo many times. I stayed on better bareback if that paints a better picture…
ETA: I am surprised how nicely Wintec saddles are made and how comfortable they are! Those are not expensive saddles new, but then again, they are not leather!
[QUOTE=andylover;8245545]
Or their budget is $1,500 and for that they want a well trained, safe, sane kid proof, husband proof, no soundness issues etc horse.:no :eek:[/QUOTE]
I have bought 3 horses just like that for under $ 1000 every time. Sound , sane and under 10 years old. 2 of them (sadly) I had to sell due to out of state moves and the current one is out in my pasture now. All 3 of them were pretty to look at with good conformation as well.
Having boat loads of money doesn’t make you a better owner. Maybe having a restricted budget makes you a better horse owner. Then you take the time to get to know what is normal for your horse and you spot things as they happen.
I totally agree with looking for used high quality equipment(except a helmet, that should always be straight out of the box for safety and ewww sweat reasons). As for all the other stuff like good food shelter shoes and vet care, well that is not going to leave you much left over and seriously there should be a crash course in ‘equinomics’ for any one considering purchasing a pony or horse, with an advanced OTTB class for those wanting to rescue a TB.
Unless you know the entire story though, I wouldn’t be so quick to make snap decisions on some of the want ads. I know some parents that will pay for the horse and basics, but if the kid wants extras (extra lessons, frivolous tack), then the kid has to pay…so the kid might post a want ad for a cheap bareback pad because that is all they have to spend, but the horse is still well cared for (by the parents money).
Or maybe the kid has to save to buy the horse and tack, but the parents will pay for the care/upkeep.
As an aside: a former student posted one of those embarrassing want ads: wants a safe jumping horse in prime age for under $2500 kind of ads. She got a LOT of responses, including one from someone whose horse was listed as $7000, but would take 2500 to get it sold NOW, so I guess you just don’t know until you ask.
[QUOTE=CHT;8246315]
Unless you know the entire story though, I wouldn’t be so quick to make snap decisions on some of the want ads. I know some parents that will pay for the horse and basics, but if the kid wants extras (extra lessons, frivolous tack), then the kid has to pay…so the kid might post a want ad for a cheap bareback pad because that is all they have to spend, but the horse is still well cared for (by the parents money).
Or maybe the kid has to save to buy the horse and tack, but the parents will pay for the care/upkeep.
As an aside: a former student posted one of those embarrassing want ads: wants a safe jumping horse in prime age for under $2500 kind of ads. She got a LOT of responses, including one from someone whose horse was listed as $7000, but would take 2500 to get it sold NOW, so I guess you just don’t know until you ask.[/QUOTE]
I agree that kind of horse can be found, but there is a profound difference between “$2500 is what I’m willing to spend” and “$2500 is every cent that I have and it needs to include the tack too so I can ride it or it’s no good to me.”
^^^ Yup - I was that kid once. Parents thought I would never be able to save enough to afford to buy a horse, but they promised to pay for board if I could earn the money to buy the horse. I eventually earned the money, bought the horse and the parents kept their end of the deal, paying for boarding and lessons and eventually moving to where we could keep the horse at home!
[QUOTE=soloudinhere;8246436]
I agree that kind of horse can be found, but there is a profound difference between “$2500 is what I’m willing to spend” and “$2500 is every cent that I have and it needs to include the tack too so I can ride it or it’s no good to me.”[/QUOTE]
This exactly. I got treated very rudely when I was shopping for a project pony because the breeder felt I didn’t have enough money to buy one of his horses and I was never going to find what I wanted in my price range.
His horses were skinny, wormy, unregistered, and had never seen a farrier. I was too nice to say that I wasn’t willing to spend a lot on his horses that would need thousands in rehab but that didn’t stop him from giving me an earful!
[QUOTE=soloudinhere;8246208]
To be fair, having just planned a wedding, stationery is ridiculously expensive. And I think most people do recognize the frivolity of spending $10 per card on something people will throw away. But the richest people are often the nastiest about receiving a discount, etc - always been that way, but I think it’s gotten worse in the reality TV era where people get all kinds of things for free, just for being rich and unpleasant.[/QUOTE]
I think the thing that irks me is when they pick out the most expensive options, and then try to get us to give them discounts–while we do have custom work, most of what we do are through companies, so the price isn’t negotiable if we want to make any profit on it. There are cheaper options and we are more than willing to help them find something in their budget (:
[QUOTE=Bombproof;8245684]
:mad:Getting the saddle the winners are riding isn’t going to improve your score unless you’re already one of the winners.
<Rant Mode Off> :)[/QUOTE]
[QUOTE=rugbygirl;8246004]
I’d ride a lot more if I didn’t have this pesky career on the go, which I pursued IN ORDER TO AFFORD HORSES.[/QUOTE]
My fave quotes in this thread. Explains why I don’t ride like Edward Gal. I have his saddle… but not the time to ride every day. LOL :lol: (Nor the ability, discipline, talent, physique, etc. etc.)
Here is yet another type of scenario that as sellers we can get faced with, or I get faced with. Say I am selling a piece of tack of $500, said potential buyer contacts me and asks if I can sell it for $100 because they dont have a lot of money? if your budget is a $100, then look for that piece of equipment that is selling for $100 and not an article that is selling for way out of your budget.
I once had a very nice saddle for sale (regularly for sale on ebay at the time for upwards of $2500), at the very reasonable price of $1950. I remember a young woman offering me $950 because that was “all she could afford,” but promising me she would give it a good home.
“Honey, you can put it out on the lawn and set it on fire for all I care, but it’ll cost you $1950 to do it.”
Ugh. Yes - why should the value of my item be lower simply because the potential buyer’s budget is low?
I’ve currently got a lovely small pony prospect for sale. He jumps around little courses with both me (small adult) and a kid. No flying lead changes yet, but SAFE and unflappable, self loads in the trailer, hacks out down the trail and down the road alone or in company, etc. He’s only 6 years old, but is an “old soul” type and with more time will likely become a complete packer. He is priced quite fairly for our area and his experience (low four figures) and I can’t tell you the number of inquiries I’ve gotten from folks who offer me considerably less than half of what I’m asking and then still want a 2 week trial period and state that they’d be “happy to take him off my hands” as if he’s some awful beast and they would be doing me a huge favor. Ironically, if it were a good match and they treated me and the pony with respect I would be willing to negotiate on his price to a nice home but not to someone who is so outwardly negative about the whole thing. Though, I obviously don’t plan to ride a small pony as a long term scenario, he is happy, super easy to handle, exceedingly cheap to feed and quite a fun ride so I’m in no hurry to sell.
I think part of this is due to the fact that he was initially a “rescue” (literally captured by a local Animal Control department and unclaimed by his original owners) and people have said things to me like “Well, why should I pay that for your pony when I can go get a different rescue pony for $400.” Because that rescue pony hasn’t had months of training with a solid adult rider, consistent jumping lessons under trainer supervision and a record of solid performances at local schooling shows. It is very frustrating.
ETA: Just to clarify, I don’t advertise said pony as a “rescue” just to be clear, but I am honest about his history when asked as I can only be confident about what he’s done since I’ve had him as his background is a total mystery!
There was a woman on FB who posted pictures of her pretty horse but said she was so sad because she couldn’t ride him because she couldn’t afford any tack, not even a bridle.
I got my head about bitten off when I posted that I hoped she had an emergency fund stashed away in case (GASP!) said horsey got sick and she had to have the vet out.
[QUOTE=SillyHorse;8247578]
I once had a very nice saddle for sale (regularly for sale on ebay at the time for upwards of $2500), at the very reasonable price of $1950. I remember a young woman offering me $950 because that was “all she could afford,” but promising me she would give it a good home.
“Honey, you can put it out on the lawn and set it on fire for all I care, but it’ll cost you $1950 to do it.”[/QUOTE]
LOL!!! :lol:
That’s kind of hilarious actually. I didn’t realize that promising to be a good home was necessary for tack purchases 
My favorite are the horse owners that complain they have no money or how broke they are, yet they are constantly buying expensive new (non-horse related) stuff. Such bull$hi++.
I used to board with this lady that would roll up to the barn in her brand new luxury vehicle, step out of it in her $800 Canada Goose parka with her Louis V bag, and attempt to sew (by hand, with regular thread) her horse’s ancient, full-of-rips-and-holes, leaky rain sheet. The attempt was futile of course, but she’d be doing it at least twice a week. Horse was freezing; poor old guy. The sheet was practically hanging in ribbons on him. Buy him a new one?! No way – this one is just fine! She was way too cheap to buy him a proper rain sheet. I even offered to lend her one, but of course she declined. She also complained about having to get the vet out when he was colicky (our BO had to plead) and the cost of the Omeprazole the vet recommended. Her saddle didn’t fit him properly either and hurt his back. She was too cheap to have the fitter out. She would complain about the cost of routine vaccines and the farrier too. This lady had a lot of money for herself, but not for her horse. He was such a sweet boy too. It was sick to watch. :mad:
I will do without before my horse ever does. People who are so cheap that their horse suffers for it, drive me insane. Please, just don’t own a horse if that is your mentality.
No way horses have to be expensive!!! If I WANT one I should be able to HAVE one - that’s only fair, right???
Horses are only expensive if you do unnecessary stuff like calling the vet and buying things someone thinks they need. I will make it work somehow!!!
:no: :winkgrin:
I seem to get questions the wanna be horse owners who find out I have a horse - their hourly job at Wal-Mart will just cover some very cheap pasture board every month, so they should be set to go, right?
I tell them about my horse’s $6000 colic. It was pay up or euthanize.
Then we go on to all the other stuff … why horsey really does always NEED SOMETHING. Fly spray, fly mask, vaccinations, tack, more farriery, something.
Then I explain that, oh yes, you DO have to treat the horse when something is wrong. Otherwise you may not be riding a long-lived animal who is always lame because you never gave treatment. Not to mention it is neglect/abuse not to give relief when it is available for a hurting or sick horse.
And then I reveal the horse’s lifespan of apprx. 25 years … and that it is hard to find a buyer whenever the moment comes that you are broke, done with it, fed up and want desperately to sell this animal with costs that go on and on every month.
After that I get into the accident statistics. Especially if there is an idea that children will be involved with said horse.
I am actually sorry to scare off what may be good-hearted and attentive horse owners. But nothing will bury a financially precarious situation faster than a horse with problems - or else the horse becomes a victim of neglect.
