$$$ Money Talk $$$

[tres_grey]

Backstory: Single female turning 30 soon. Living in the Bay Area and starting to ride seriously again after a 7-year gap.

1) How much do you spend on your horse(s) each month?
I half lease a horse for $300/mo (2 days). Flat rate. May increase to 3 days a week ($350) if work permits.

2) How does your significant other feel about your expenditures?
Perpetually single so it’s a non-issue

3) How do you save for big-ticket items (ex: saddles, trailer, new horse, etc.)?
I have a separate savings account for large purchases. Currently, it’s for a car. I’d love to say that I’d transition the account to a horse account after I save the car money, but honestly, I can’t afford horse ownership in the bay. I’m fortunate that the horses’ owner has all the tack I need.

4) How much do you spend on events/competitions/schoolings each year? How do you save for them?
I have a separate checking account that I call Animals for the dog and horse. I write checks for the lease, training, and dog walking there. I also segment a portion of my savings for “extra horse things” and “extra dog things.” For extra horse things, I usually put in between $150-300/mo. I’m hoping that will contribute to 3–4 shows or clinics a year.

I did a preliminary breakdown for Woodside, which is only 45 minutes away from my house, and it came out to $830 for a 3-day show. I was shocked! (Entry fee $275, stabling $150, shipping $100, coaching for 3 days $195, misc costs $100). If anyone in NorCal knows the schooling show scene well, please let me know!

5) What is the most you would spend on a new horse? How would you come up with that amount of money (ex: saving, selling something, second job, etc.)?
$20,000. I don’t mind the slow-and-steady savings approach. (See #2)

6) How much do you spend on training each month? Do you feel like the $ is well spent?
$260–480, which translates to 4–8 lessons a month. I usually stick to the 4 lessons/month, because anything beyond that is a special treat. The hard part is that our barn doesn’t allow jumping without a trainer, and our barn has two trainers: one specializes in Dressage and the other one jumping. I’m such a re-rider that I need help and practice with both, but the cost isn’t sustainable.

7) How do you budget for emergency medical expenses? What is the most you’ve ever spent on a vet bill? Do you have a dollar limit?
Not applicable, but one of the main things that scare me away from horse ownership. I’d definitely have insurance.

8) How do you balance an expensive hobby with other financial priorities, such as investing, paying off student loans, buying a house, and saving for retirement?
Haa! I will never be able to afford a house in the Bay Area. I did move from San Francisco to Oakland so I could have a horse fund. Very fortunate that I do not have student loans, and I contribute 5% to my 401k. (No matching)

9) Are you willing to go into debt to purchase something horse related? (ex: I have a friend who recently “raided” her 401k to buy a new prospect and another who took out a loan to buy a horse. I’ve recently seen horse ads where credit cards are accepted.)
Never.

10) Have you ever taken a break from horses or downgraded your competition schedule, training, schooling frequency, etc. due to finances? How did you feel about it?
Many a time. My last recognized event was in 2007. I did one schooling event in 2012, and it’s been crickets ever since. I strongly believe there is a gap in your 20s for those that independently support their riding habit unless you’re going pro. It’s tough. I miss it a lot. At the same time, I’m grateful for it. The break opened up my eyes to a lot of the world, and I may not have seen it otherwise. My feeling is that the beautiful thing about our sport is that its one for every age. Horses will always be there.

11) Have you ever found yourself upgrading (ex: horses, tack, trainers, shows, etc.) to keep up with wealthier clients at your barn? Do you feel pressured by your trainer or barn friends to spend more money? What is your approach for dealing with that pressure?
I feel that way now, particularly with lessons. No one is imposing any pressure, it’s just difficult to build skill given the way the program is structured.

12) Have you ever experienced buyer’s remorse for something horse related? How did you address the issue? Did you learn something from the experience?
N/A

13) What are practical ways you keep costs down? Lay on the frugal tips!
My work provides lunch. I keep a Money Mondays event on my calendar where I go through my spending. My credit card bill is due on the 21st so I usually will only buy big purchases closer to that date if I have room on the CC. (I pay it off every month.) My vices are definitely Lyfts and takeout, and I’ve tried to become more conscious with those.

14) Do you have a separate income/job/side business to fund your eventing obsession? If so, what do you do and how do you find the time?
Sometimes I freelance (I’m a designer). It seldom happens, and if it does, only on nights and weekends.

15) Have you ever seen someone make a horse related financial decision that you thought was just crazy?
Eh, their money, their rules. I have little context on the entire situation.

[evilc123]

I won’t answer each question because I don’t think my story will be very helpful to you. In brief, I have been obsessed with horses since I could walk, but came from a non-horsey family and my parents made it extremely clear that they would not be offering me any financial support. I worked for every ride growing up, had a job starting at age 9. After college, my goal was to enter a career that would give me the financial freedom that would allow me to have a horse and spoil it. Now, in my mid-30s, I spend somewhere around $2400 (incl training board [a must with my work schedule], farrier, chiropractor); does not include my pickup truck payment or competition, which usually add a minimum of another $1000 per month. I only ride 4 days per week and two of those rides are lessons, but I am extremely happy working a demanding, though lucrative job, and able to make large purchases or handle emergencies without much planning or budgeting. In spite of making decent money, I live the rest of my life relatively simply so that I am able to be more extravagant with my horse life and still save some money.

[rockonxox]

Old thread, but I’ll play because this is always an interesting topic:

1) How much do you spend on your horse(s) each month?
$265 on a half lease that I work off in credit earned by working at the barn for ~8 hours once a week

2) How does your significant other feel about your expenditures?
Not applicable, don’t have one

3) How do you save for big ticket items (ex: saddles, trailer, new horse, etc.)?
I don’t really buy big ticket items. I wait for things I like to go on sale or buy used. I will take part of my income tax and part of my holiday bonus and put those in a “horse fund”. I may cut out on going to lunch with friends to save more money… but honestly I just don’t buy “big”.

4) How much do you spend on events/competitions/schoolings each year? How do you save for them?
Same as above. I go to about 2-3 xc schoolings a year at ~$75 (fees + trailering), do schooling shows held at my farm (~$100 with entries and coaching if I do a hunter division) and usually work part of the day so that lowers my amount spent, and rarely will compete off farm. If I have any extra $ that wasn’t spent on things like groceries, going out to eat, etc I will put that towards horsey funds.

5) What is the most you would spend on a new horse? How would you come up with that amount of money (ex: saving, selling something, second job, etc.)?
$0 because I know I can’t afford it. I don’t want to be in a position where I’m working multiple jobs and can’t even spend time with said horse so I just lease and work it off. I was working 3 jobs and going to school part time and that money went towards student loans vs horses because I didn’t want that following me around forever. I don’t want to dig myself into a big financial hole. Some people are fine with that and believe in “live in the moment”, but when that “moment” comes crashing down and you can’t afford your lifestyle and are incredibly stressed out and have to sell the horse or lose the roof over your head… was it worth it? I don’t do stress so I just don’t allow myself to get into that situation.

6) How much do you spend on training each month? Do you feel like the $ is well spent?
I have 4 lessons a week, sometimes 1-2 privates in addition to that. I think it is 100% well spent and the costs of lessons is reasonable.

7) How do you budget for emergency medical expenses? What is the most you’ve ever spent on a vet bill? Do you have a dollar limit?
I have a CareCredit in extreme situations and the highest I’ve ever paid was for my dog (~$3,000). Half leasing changes the vetting situation as it is not solely on me.

8) How do you balance an expensive hobby with other financial priorities, such as investing, paying off student loans, buying a house, and saving for retirement?
Own a home and downsizing to save $ (lived with roommates to save $ with old home), paid off student loans ASAP and made sure I got some scholarships and went to community college as well as regular college to negate general requirement expenses, have a 401k from current employer, government retirement account from former employer and will not touch that $ saved up until I retire, put a portion of my pay towards my IRA, have a portion of every paycheck auto go into a savings account, and I just don’t spend what I know I don’t have.

9) Are you willing to go into debt to purchase something horse related? (ex: I have a friend who recently “raided” her 401k to buy a new prospect and another who took out a loan to buy a horse. I’ve recently seen horse ads where credit cards are accepted.)
Absolutely not.

10) Have you ever taken a break from horses or downgraded your competition schedule, training, schooling frequency, etc. due to finances? How did you feel about it?
The last 15 years of my life hah. I’ve gotten used to just not showing. Do I miss it? Sure. Would I rather be bankrupt and showing at this point in my life? No.

11) Have you ever found yourself upgrading (ex: horses, tack, trainers, shows, etc.) to keep up with wealthier clients at your barn? Do you feel pressured by your trainer or barn friends to spend more money? What is your approach for dealing with that pressure?
No. I am very thankful that I am not at a one-upper type of barn and that the trainers understand that us AAs have financial obligations outside of the horse world.

12) Have you ever experienced buyer’s remorse for something horse related? How did you address the issue? Did you learn something from the experience?
No.

13) What are practical ways you keep costs down? Lay on the frugal tips!
If I want something newer (ie: I needed a bigger saddle because I’d outgrown mine) I made SURE to sell the first one before buying the new one. I found a great deal and got a brand new higher end model for a fraction of the cost because it had been sitting in a woman’s home for years unused… she couldn’t part with it for some reason or another. I ended up only paying $100 on the saddle even though it was double the cost of the one I was selling. I just waited for a great deal and had the money in hand from my sale so I didn’t feel like I was ever “out” for that expense.

14) Do you have a separate income/job/side business to fund your eventing obsession? If so, what do you do and how do you find the time?
I work off a lot of barn expenses at the barn. I just don’t go out on the weekends that I am working which in turn also helps me save the $ that I might have spent. I don’t have kids or a husband so am totally fine doing this. I still have time to see my friends and go on dates during the week, on weekends I don’t work, after work. It isn’t that hard.

15) Have you ever seen someone make a horse related financial decision that you thought was just crazy?
Anyone who says they haven’t is lying. Horse people can do some crazy things financially!

[gottagrey]

1. How much do you spend on your horse(s) each month? $800-$1,000 depending in lessons, shows, vet

2. How does your significant other feel about your expenditures? I believe in yours mine and ours finances, as long as “mine” covers the horse and doesn’t affect “ours” he’s cool.

3. How do you save for big ticket items (ex: saddles, trailer, new horse, etc.)? I just got a new saddle last year, last one was 15 years ago so i was due. I was able to set money aside from tax refunds etc.Don’t have truck or trailer. I’m at a point now where I can buy and keep a 2nd horse but I don’t have a wild budget for horse #2.

4. How much do you spend on events/competitions/schoolings each year? How do you save for them? At one point, I had a 2nd job which money i used to pay my horse expenses.

5. What is the most you would spend on a new horse? How would you come up with that amount of money (ex: saving, selling something, second job, etc.)? $20K I dont’ compete enough to justify more than that, I’m also at a point in my life where I am interested in different things - more pleasure riding, less competition - mostly local unrated stuff

6. How much do you spend on training each month? Do you feel like the $ is well spent? n/a

7. How do you budget for emergency medical expenses? What is the most you’ve ever spent on a vet bill? Do you have a dollar limit? Have insurance for horse, however, you do need to be able to liquidate funds. When I unfortunately did have a high vet bill, I raided my IRA but was able to pay that back as soon as insurance reimbursed me so I didn’t have any penalty, and made sure I entered the info correctly on Turbo Tax as I had taxes taken out which made for a nice refund.

8. How do you balance an expensive hobby with other financial priorities, such as investing, paying off student loans, buying a house, and saving for retirement? Own a house, financially secure at the moment.

9. Are you willing to go into debt to purchase something horse related? (ex: I have a friend who recently “raided” her 401k to buy a new prospect and another who took out a loan to buy a horse. I’ve recently seen horse ads where credit cards are accepted.) I would not raid a 401k or pay with credit card, maybe a personal loan if I were so inclined. I leased until I was in a position to purchase my own horse.

10. Have you ever taken a break from horses or downgraded your competition schedule, training, schooling frequency, etc. due to finances? How did you feel about it? i didn’t get back into horses until I was out of school and working full time. I started off with lessons x 1 a week, then 2x/week, then got an unbelievable lease deal… so I gradually increased my riding which coincided with my career

11. Have you ever found yourself upgrading (ex: horses, tack, trainers, shows, etc.) to keep up with wealthier clients at your barn? Do you feel pressured by your trainer or barn friends to spend more money? What is your approach for dealing with that pressure? No, I wouldn’t put myself in that situation.

12. Have you ever experienced buyer’s remorse for something horse related? How did you address the issue? Did you learn something from the experience?I bought a horse that was inappropriate for me. Good lesson learned.

13. What are practical ways you keep costs down? Lay on the frugal tips! don’t let bills pile up and don’t over extend yourself. Once you do it can become a vicious circle very easily.

14. Do you have a separate income/job/side business to fund your eventing obsession? If so, what do you do and how do you find the time? I did at one time - worked part-time in a tack store. With the discount we got I’m not sure how much money i made haha but it covered a lot of the board and showing expenses.

15. Have you ever seen someone make a horse related financial decision that you thought was just crazy? I had a friend who moved to a barn and got sucked in the the whole keeping up with the jones’s thing… I think she had to refi her house to keep up. Bad move/bad decision. I’ve known some folks who’ve made bad choices with buying or leasing a horse but they were capable of the expense but it just took time for them to get the horse that was more appropriate for their riding ability and competition wants…

[AskMyAccountant.17]

Old thread, but I’ll play because this is always an interesting topic:

1. How much do you spend on your horse(s) each month?
   Ranging from $1200-1800 on my personal horse

2) How does your significant other feel about your expenditures?
In my late 20’s I think I’ve grown smarter about dating and riding. I don’t expect my SOS to attend every show anymore, but don’t hide the fact that this hobby takes up a large portion of my time. Dates aren’t scheduled day-of, but I know my riding schedule so can fit social life around days I ride in the morning and on horse’s day off.

3) How do you save for big ticket items (ex: saddles, trailer, new horse, etc.)?
Not well. Use some blogging and side-training jobs to earn extra funds. Training as a part-time allows me extra saddle/competition time

4) How much do you spend on events/competitions/schoolings each year? How do you save for them?
Actual competition cost less gas, approximately $10-12,000. I usually haul into venues saving on stabling. I allocate a portion of my income for horses versus living expense.

5) What is the most you would spend on a new horse? How would you come up with that amount of money (ex: saving, selling something, second job, etc.)?
At this point I haven’t spent more than $12,000. My next prospect is currently growing up as a 2yo, and I’ve been able to bring along prospects that fund the next horse.

6) How much do you spend on training each month? Do you feel like the $ is well spent?
Not as much as I should. I board at a busy training barn, but depending on what horse Im riding, lesson infrequently, when issues arise. I pick up a lot auditing lessons and general discussion with my coach on how my horse are going.

7) How do you budget for emergency medical expenses? What is the most you’ve ever spent on a vet bill? Do you have a dollar limit? I had an emergency surgery that ended up in total about $4,000 after horse’s rehab. I did put a large portion on CC that I’ve been able to pay off within 6-months. Any more than that would take serious consideration.

8) How do you balance an expensive hobby with other financial priorities, such as investing, paying off student loans, buying a house, and saving for retirement? At this point, an embarrassing little priority. I live frugally, and have very minimum student loans that will be paid off by the end of the year. A house is not in the near future, but Im currently sustainable in an apartment.

9) Are you willing to go into debt to purchase something horse related? (ex: I have a friend who recently “raided” her 401k to buy a new prospect and another who took out a loan to buy a horse. I’ve recently seen horse ads where credit cards are accepted.) I will by the end of the year take out a loan for a small horse-trailer. I wouldn’t be against putting a portion of a saddle on my CC, but I wouldn’t put a horse purchase on a CC.

10) Have you ever taken a break from horses or downgraded your competition schedule, training, schooling frequency, etc. due to finances? How did you feel about it? Not exactly, I have gone through a few periods where I wasn’t paying for a personal horse but have always in some manner spent a portion of my week riding in some capacity whether catch rides or taking on a young horse to start.

11) Have you ever found yourself upgrading (ex: horses, tack, trainers, shows, etc.) to keep up with wealthier clients at your barn? Do you feel pressured by your trainer or barn friends to spend more money? What is your approach for dealing with that pressure? Any pressure only comes from myself as my own taste seems just over my budget, but my own goals revolve around competing and becoming a better rider, so I have found myself moving (quite literally) to a great coach and competing more frequently etc.

13) What are practical ways you keep costs down? Lay on the frugal tips!
Hauling into horse-shows, split hauling, working at the barn to offset boarding costs, taking on an extra training-horse to make some additional funds, tutoring (sporadically), I blog and am active on social media which has opened avenues to offest costs on supplements and gear. (Quite Bizarre, but I sell my ribbons on Ebay? It’s not funding the horse shows, but its a funny cash-flow that actually pays my minimum credit card bill each month. )

14) Do you have a separate income/job/side business to fund your eventing obsession? If so, what do you do and how do you find the time? See above. I blog and am active on social media. I also take on one or two young horses to start or campaign. I work a 9-5, that is very flexible and I work from home twice a week.

I think at the end of the day I try to live very simply so I can invest most of my time and effort on this hobby.

[cruisecontrol]

1. How much do you spend on your horse(s) each month? $700

2. How does your significant other feel about your expenditures? He loves that I have a hobby that I enjoy and do not necessarily require him to participate

3. How do you save for big ticket items (ex: saddles, trailer, new horse, etc.)? I decide on one goal and look at where I can cut my expenses and decide how much each month I want to put away for that item

4. How much do you spend on events/competitions/schoolings each year? How do you save for them?
   A full recognized event would cost me about $1200 to get there, stall, show entry, trainer fees… I did not include my food and accommodations

Schooling event about $300 trailer, entry, stall…

I clinic every other month with a dressage trainer $300 for 2 rides so $1800 a year on those clinics

Schoolings in our area are $35-$55 depending on where you go and your membership level plus trainer fee $55

5. What is the most you would spend on a new horse? How would you come up with that amount of money (ex: saving, selling something, second job, etc.)?

Right now $5k but only because I choose not to purchase horses with credit I would rather pay cash than to have a payment on something that could quite possibly step in a hole tomorrow and need to be put down then you’ve got a payment you’re still making on a dead horse

6. How much do you spend on training each month? Do you feel like the $ is well spent?

$300 for my 2 rides with the dressage trainer every other month. I am obsessed with my dressage lessons ans the trainer was long listed for the Olympics so she comes highly qualified

$260 covers my weekly jump lessons with event trainer. I feel it’s a good deal for an hour lesson

7. How do you budget for emergency medical expenses? What is the most you’ve ever spent on a vet bill? Do you have a dollar limit?

My vet has allowed me to have a tab as my previous horse seemed to have something going on every week. I don’t go above 5k for any one treatment

8. How do you balance an expensive hobby with other financial priorities, such as investing, paying off student loans, buying a house, and saving for retirement?

I started my own 401k as my company does not offer one and I tlak and work closely with the company seing where my money is from month to month maybe some months I invest more sometimes less.

I make sure that my responsibilities are paid for first before i consider buying or spending on the horse. We choose to live in an aprtment because we believe that our money is better spent there than having to be financially responsible for a house on our own.

9. Are you willing to go into debt to purchase something horse related? (ex: I have a friend who recently “raided” her 401k to buy a new prospect and another who took out a loan to buy a horse. I’ve recently seen horse ads where credit cards are accepted.)

I wouldn’t do it.

10. Have you ever taken a break from horses or downgraded your competition schedule, training, schooling frequency, etc. due to finances? How did you feel about it?

I took years away from consistent riding due to a horse that needed to be retired and I cold not pay for him and another competition horse. it’s hard but these animals count on us for life and I made a commitment to him.

11. Have you ever found yourself upgrading (ex: horses, tack, trainers, shows, etc.) to keep up with wealthier clients at your barn? Do you feel pressured by your trainer or barn friends to spend more money? What is your approach for dealing with that pressure?

No! and if you do you are at the wrong barn and should move immediately

12. Have you ever experienced buyer’s remorse for something horse related? How did you address the issue? Did you learn something from the experience?

No. but I’m a bargain hunter and won’t spend money until I feel I need the item and have found the right price for it

13. What are practical ways you keep costs down? Lay on the frugal tips!

If you can live without the fanciest barn, do it. Better to save the money on board (not sacrificing care) and just go to the schoolings and clinics than a big fancy barn where you may only be able to take one or two lessons every now and then

a lot of the fancy new things for horses are fads. Wait for the reviews before buying.

Search and search and search again before you buy anything you think you need. someone in your barn may be ready to get rid of theirs and will part with it for much cheaper and only slightly used.

14. Do you have a separate income/job/side business to fund your eventing obsession? If so, what do you do and how do you find the time?

House/Farm sitting
Body Clipping
Babystting

Whatever I can do I usually say yes

---

Horses will always cost more than your means…ALWAYS you just make decisions based upon what you want to do. Dinner and drinks with friends? or a new bridle? thinking about your choices and where you realistically want to be in the horse world. Best of luck to you OP it’s a wild ride but do it right and it’s incredibly rewarding.

[Haylter]

1-15 NOBODY’S BUSINESS BUT MINE. And I am a certified financial planner and certified public accountant…

[Donellan]

Ooh I’ll play though I’m in New Zealand so things will be quite different…

1. How much do you spend on your horse(s) each month?

I have five horses - a mix of retirees, projects and competition horses. Don’t know for sure but probably around $2k

2. How does your significant other feel about your expenditures?

We have seperate finances but he does enable me - he even bought me the nicest horse I’ll ever have

3. How do you save for big ticket items (ex: saddles, trailer, new horse, etc.)?

Savings account

4. How much do you spend on events/competitions/schoolings each year? How do you save for them?

Our competitions seem to be way cheaper than yours. We generally just float in for the day unless it’s an away show and I rarely spend onver $100 on entries unless I’m taking more than one horse

5. What is the most you would spend on a new horse? How would you come up with that amount of money (ex: saving, selling something, second job, etc.)?

Get most of mine for free these days. Have spent more in the past but probably only up to $1k now

6. How much do you spend on training each month? Do you feel like the $ is well spent?

$200 for my standard trainer and $350 to clinic with an amazing trainer but she only comes over a couple times a year

7. How do you budget for emergency medical expenses? What is the most you’ve ever spent on a vet bill? Do you have a dollar limit?

I don’t. Touch wood have only had one big vet bill of around $5k where I ended up losing the horse. My vets are awesome and I just pay them off if I need to

8. How do you balance an expensive hobby with other financial priorities, such as investing, paying off student loans, buying a house, and saving for retirement?

None of those things - already have the property and will probably work til I die

9. Are you willing to go into debt to purchase something horse related? (ex: I have a friend who recently “raided” her 401k to buy a new prospect and another who took out a loan to buy a horse. I’ve recently seen horse ads where credit cards are accepted.)

Yes have done for horses and for saddles. Oh and my float ( trailer)

10. Have you ever taken a break from horses or downgraded your competition schedule, training, schooling frequency, etc. due to finances? How did you feel about it?

Have stepped back a little the last couple years but also partly due to not being that motivated to compeete much anymore

11. Have you ever found yourself upgrading (ex: horses, tack, trainers, shows, etc.) to keep up with wealthier clients at your barn? Do you feel pressured by your trainer or barn friends to spend more money? What is your approach for dealing with that pressure?

No

12. Have you ever experienced buyer’s remorse for something horse related? How did you address the issue? Did you learn something from the experience?

Yes have bought horses sight unseen that weren’t what I hoped and gear online that also disappointed in real life. So only ever get things I have seen in real life now

13. What are practical ways you keep costs down? Lay on the frugal tips!

Things aren’t nearly as expensive here as in the US I honestly don’t know how you do it. My guys all live at home and I do most things myself. We also make our own hay

14. Do you have a separate income/job/side business to fund your eventing obsession? If so, what do you do and how do you find the time?

No

15. Have you ever seen someone make a horse related financial decision that you thought was just crazy?

No. Though having horses is crazy full stop

[AMWookey]

Husband and I both ride. We are Canadian military on exchange to NC for only 3 yrs. No children, no plans to ever have children. Guarenteed jobs, incomes and pensions as long as we don’t you know, break the law 🤣

1. How much do you spend on your horse(s) each month?
   We chose the barn to board at based on the complete package. Trg, care, location and the wine. We pay a good amount for the area, and less then we would in the slightly more fancy area. Because we have 2 young TB’s who are constantly growing, they are also getting a fair bit in supplements. TBH though, I have two incredible horses and neither my husband nor I quibble over anything we feel they need.

2. How does your significant other feel about your expenditures?
   He stresses. It’s easier now that we are both riding and competing, because he understands the value of good quality, trg and what horses cost. He appreciates that I care about good quality but not fads, that I research and find deals, and we make decisions together for horse care.

3. How do you save for big ticket items (ex: saddles, trailer, new horse, etc.)?

We were in a good space this year to buy what we needed, which ended up being a new trailer, couple saddles and 2 horses 😬 when we got to our new post, we opted to stop sharing one horse, so we bought him his own. Then we lost my guy, so we bought me a new one. Good planning and some extra cash flow from our move meant we were able to get what we wanted to really enjoy our time here, without going into debt. Now just to maintain it all!

4. How much do you spend on events/competitions/schoolings each year? How do you save for them?

we pay for a lot of ours from volunteer hours. Between the two of us, we had over 300 hrs in 6 mths. We have paid all of his entries this yr from that, and have a couple more entries saved up. My mare is doing her very first event this weekend, and we just budget with a plan to do mostly unrecognized with a couple recognized thrown in on months we do not have a clinic or another event.

5. What is the most you would spend on a new horse? How would you come up with that amount of money (ex: saving, selling something, second job, etc.)?

not more then 5k. We have a savings account, but we are happy with one horse a piece, and have insurance. We both love TB’s so that helps.

6. How much do you spend on training each month? Do you feel like the $ is well spent?

does a lot count? We are only here for a good time, not a long time, and we go back to a lot less depth in the eventing community. We both are in a baby horse trg plan with our barn coach, and she is wonderful. We pay a set amount each month, and we just get so much out of it, its unreal. 2 weeks ago she decided I should take her horse in a Trg CT the next day at the farm. Never in my life had i jumped a full course at that height, or done a dressage test like that. She puts us on everything at the barn, and trains us whenever she is around and we are riding. We do ride with a couple other trainers, but the fun thing is, no one gets mad at us for riding with everyone we can, because they know we aren’t there long, and they have helped us build our bucket list of clinics and mini clinics. So we spend a lot. But neither of us would do it any other way.

7. How do you budget for emergency medical expenses? What is the most you’ve ever spent on a vet bill? Do you have a dollar limit?

I have a humanity/smart decision limit. When my big guy went down for colic, he had never been down, and it was obviously a surgery one, i chose to say goodbye. I realized at that point we didnt have a limit, but we do have a what is in the best interest of the horse policy. In those moments my husband would have paid any amount and dealt with the debt, but I knew there was less then a 10% chance that we could even get him to a clinic.

8. How do you balance an expensive hobby with other financial priorities, such as investing, paying off student loans, buying a house, and saving for retirement?

military, so no student loans. We are saving for retirement in investments and plans, and will have a good pension. I would say we have a solid plan.

9. Are you willing to go into debt to purchase something horse related? (ex: I have a friend who recently “raided” her 401k to buy a new prospect and another who took out a loan to buy a horse. I’ve recently seen horse ads where credit cards are accepted.)

I would go into debt I can pay off within a yr, but no more.

10. Have you ever taken a break from horses or downgraded your competition schedule, training, schooling frequency, etc. due to finances? How did you feel about it?

quite often, and I never want to do it again, but my occupation dictates that, not me.

11. Have you ever found yourself upgrading (ex: horses, tack, trainers, shows, etc.) to keep up with wealthier clients at your barn? Do you feel pressured by your trainer or barn friends to spend more money? What is your approach for dealing with that pressure?

nope. But I also already buy for quality. I know what I like, why I like it, and I budget for that. I am not easily peer pressured though.

12. Have you ever experienced buyer’s remorse for something horse related? How did you address the issue? Did you learn something from the experience?

saddles. So I got more educated.

13. What are practical ways you keep costs down? Lay on the frugal tips!

I search for deals, volunteer, barter.

14. Do you have a separate income/job/side business to fund your eventing obsession? If so, what do you do and how do you find the time?

No, we are lucky in our occupation. And lack of children.

15. Have you ever seen someone make a horse related financial decision that you thought was just crazy?[/QUOTE]

All the time.

[SaddleUp158]

1) How much do you spend on your horse(s) each month?
Board, 2 lessons, farrier, supplements come to roughly $620 a month. That is just the basics, not taking into consideration, worming, or vet work.

2) How does your significant other feel about your expenditures? N/A

3) How do you save for big ticket items (ex: saddles, trailer, new horse, etc.)? I have a second job that pays for the horse exclusively. My 9-5 job does not pay for the horse at all. The second job just covers the horse expenses with a little left to buy dog food or set aside for a big ticket item.

4) How much do you spend on events/competitions/schoolings each year? How do you save for them? I have not competed for a few years and honestly I do not miss it. I am getting much satisfaction from my lessons and finally progressing with my mare. Maybe I will revisit the idea of competing again in a year.

5) What is the most you would spend on a new horse? How would you come up with that amount of money (ex: saving, selling something, second job, etc.)? I could not afford a new horse at this time. I already have a second job. Until my car is paid off and medical bills are paid off none of my 9-5 salary money can go towards the horse hobby.

6) How much do you spend on training each month? Do you feel like the $ is well spent? I take my 2 lessons a month and do all the training on my mare myself. The lessons are definitely well spent money, $45 a lesson.

7) How do you budget for emergency medical expenses? What is the most you’ve ever spent on a vet bill? Do you have a dollar limit? Currently, I am winging it. My mare had a large medical expense that was ongoing for 3 months. Prior to that I did not have a board bill, only had to pay her true costs so medical bills were not an issue. Now that I am boarding her, this is a concern. I pray she stays healthy. Her recent vet bill was in the neighborhood of $1500, estimate.

8) How do you balance an expensive hobby with other financial priorities, such as investing, paying off student loans, buying a house, and saving for retirement? Luckily student loans are almost paid off, I am investing pretty strongly in my retirement and already have a mortgage. I do consider getting a roommate to help offset that cost.

9) Are you willing to go into debt to purchase something horse related? (ex: I have a friend who recently “raided” her 401k to buy a new prospect and another who took out a loan to buy a horse. I’ve recently seen horse ads where credit cards are accepted.) I recently purchased a new saddle that was twice my budget. Definitely didn’t want to do that but it was that or bareback indefinitely. My mare was quite clear that this was the saddle for her and nothing else would work. If I wanted to enjoy riding she has to like the saddle. lol

10) Have you ever taken a break from horses or downgraded your competition schedule, training, schooling frequency, etc. due to finances? How did you feel about it? I have stopped showing but that was more because neither my horse or I was enjoying it and we needed to re-evaluate our path. I don’t regret it. If I was smart financially I would get out of horses, but I can’t do that.

11) Have you ever found yourself upgrading (ex: horses, tack, trainers, shows, etc.) to keep up with wealthier clients at your barn? Do you feel pressured by your trainer or barn friends to spend more money? What is your approach for dealing with that pressure? Not really, perhaps subconsciously but I don’t have the funds to keep up with the Jones’. There really isn’t any pressure to “keep up” at the barn I am currently at. I have my own pressure that I do not like purchasing “cheap quality” but that is because you end up spending just as much as the nicer item in the long run. I would rather have 1 nice pair of breeches than 2 cheap pairs that fall apart by the end of the year.

12) Have you ever experienced buyer’s remorse for something horse related? How did you address the issue? Did you learn something from the experience? Somewhat on my new saddle (that I don’t have yet). I don’t regret it because I know it is the saddle my mare needs. I just wish I had a little more saved for it. The balance is on the credit card. However, I am going to sell my old truck since I don’t need it for hauling anymore. That will pay off the balance.

13) What are practical ways you keep costs down? Lay on the frugal tips! My mare is ulcer prone, but hasn’t had a flair up in over a year or so. She is on a daily ulcer med that also doubles as a probiotic. Instead of getting it 2 times a day she has been getting it once a day and has shown no signs that it is causing a problem. She would probably be fine without it completely but it makes me feel better knowing there is some prevention in place. She is very vocal when she starts to flair up.

I buy quality items when I can and heavily research just about everything to ensure it is not a mistake or a waste of money.

Only eat out once per pay check and have all but stopped going to Starbucks.

Only buy the food I will actually when I grocery shop and freeze leftovers to eliminate waste and temptation to spend money eating out when I have not cooked ahead of time.

14) Do you have a separate income/job/side business to fund your eventing obsession? If so, what do you do and how do you find the time? I don’t event, but yes, my second job pays for the horse completely. I proofread in the evenings and on the weekends. If I am not at work, or the barn, I am proofing.

15. Have you ever seen someone make a horse related financial decision that you thought was just crazy?

[deltawave]

@blame_the_champagne

1. How much do you spend on your horse(s) each month? Probably about $2.5K

2. How does your significant other feel about your expenditures? He’s indifferent to horses. I’m indifferent to his hobbies. I make more than he does and don’t care how much he spends, so whatever he thinks about my spending is of no concern to me LOL

3. How do you save for big ticket items (ex: saddles, trailer, new horse, etc.)? Just buy them. I don’t have ridiculous/expensive tastes in horses, tack or trailers.

4. How much do you spend on events/competitions/schoolings each year? How do you save for them? Less than $10K, don’t have much time to compete and it’s not what makes me tick any more.

5. What is the most you would spend on a new horse? How would you come up with that amount of money (ex: saving, selling something, second job, etc.)? Wouldn’t spend more than $20K unless I won the lottery or something.

6. How much do you spend on training each month? Do you feel like the $ is well spent? Probably $1K, yes of course it’s money well spent. I don’t have time to ride but 2-3x a week at most.

7. How do you budget for emergency medical expenses? What is the most you’ve ever spent on a vet bill? Do you have a dollar limit? $20K for a filly that didn’t make it. Getting up around that number I would have to think really hard about futility. I self-insure and other than that expenditure I am ahead of the game keeping premium money in my pocket instead. That filly wouldn’t have been insurable or covered anyway.

8. How do you balance an expensive hobby with other financial priorities, such as investing, paying off student loans, buying a house, and saving for retirement? Carefully. No student loans any more but kid’s college and retirement loom, as well as farm mortgage (thankfully almost paid off). We live just within our means and have just enough to retire if all goes well. Intend to die broke.

9. Are you willing to go into debt to purchase something horse related? (ex: I have a friend who recently “raided” her 401k to buy a new prospect and another who took out a loan to buy a horse. I’ve recently seen horse ads where credit cards are accepted.) Nope.

10. Have you ever taken a break from horses or downgraded your competition schedule, training, schooling frequency, etc. due to finances? How did you feel about it? Yes, many times. That’s life.

11. Have you ever found yourself upgrading (ex: horses, tack, trainers, shows, etc.) to keep up with wealthier clients at your barn? Do you feel pressured by your trainer or barn friends to spend more money? What is your approach for dealing with that pressure? Good lord no. I’m too old and belligerent to feel ‘pressure’ of that sort.

12. Have you ever experienced buyer’s remorse for something horse related? How did you address the issue? Did you learn something from the experience? Well I had a horse ruin itself on a trailer coming home after I bought it! That was definitely something I felt remorse for, although it was a fluke thing. Otherwise, no.

13. What are practical ways you keep costs down? Lay on the frugal tips! Do most of my own labor at home. Spend virtually nothing on supplements, liniments, poultices, and other nonsense. Keep my tack in good shape so it lasts forever. Buy used saddles almost always. My last horse was free.

14. Do you have a separate income/job/side business to fund your eventing obsession? If so, what do you do and how do you find the time? Nope, my regular job is enough to pay the bills and takes up all the time I have.

15. Have you ever seen someone make a horse related financial decision that you thought was just crazy? Every day when I see people putting magnets and other rubbish on their poor horses. lol

[jumpermd]

Love this thread. As a proud debt-free equestrian I am ALWAYS happy to share my financial journey and tips and tricks on how to make this work! I 100% suggest the Dave Ramsey program (I even teach it!).

These numbers may sound EXTREMELY crazy that I am about to throw out, but please remember this: my husband and I are both under 30, we have no kids and everything is paid for. We agreed that until I turned 30, I could live life a little “selfishly” so I show to my heart’s content as long as the funds are available. To make funds available and not impact our personal budget, I started a side business. It took a while to grow, but now it has become extremely successful and allows me these opportunities. Our personal finances are doing JUST as well as these numbers may sound, but again, we have NO responsibilities right now. On our personal budget, we are saving up to buy my parents house and farm. On my horse show budget, I am showing like crazy until we decide to have a family.

1. How much do you spend on your horse(s) each month?
   My horse is in partial training for $1000 a month. I would guess I spend an additional $500-800 a month in shows/purchases/etc

2. How does your significant other feel about your expenditures?
   I have my full-time job and a side business. My money from my full-time job goes towards our personal expenses while my side business pays for the horse stuff. As long as I can cover my horse expenses with my side gig, he does not care!

3. How do you save for big ticket items (ex: saddles, trailer, new horse, etc.)?
   Like I mentioned in #2, I have a side job. All of my income from that business goes into an account meant just for horses. From there, I divy up what I need for monthly expenses and what can go in “the jar” for big purchases.

4. How much do you spend on events/competitions/schoolings each year? How do you save for them?
   Currently I am on track to spend around $8,000-10,000 this year on shows. Every January, I sit down and map out what I want to attend in regards to shows. From there, I do an expense sheet for each show and take ALL expenses into account: hotel, gas, food, stabling, show fees, trainer fees, etc. Once I have a rough estimate (and I always shoot high) I start saving for the upcoming shows. If the money is short, I do not enter. Simple as that.

5. What is the most you would spend on a new horse? How would you come up with that amount of money (ex: saving, selling something, second job, etc.)?
   I have shopped with a budget up to $10,000 before. I am very stingy and frugal, haha. I work hard for my money and would rather put it towards showing. Eventually, I would like to invest in a $20,000 horse that has more upper level potential (up to this point I have purchased older schoolmaster types needing a step down home). I am setting back $500 each month towards that goal. If I have leftover from my show budget, that also goes into that account. I want to have $30,000 set back in that account before I begin shopping so I have traveling money and PPE money. (keep in mind, this is all in addition to the personal saving my husband and I do with our regular incomes).

6. How much do you spend on training each month? Do you feel like the $ is well spent?
   $1000 a month and 100%. I used to be at a smaller barn and did not pay for training board, just lessons. This has been the best investment in myself that I have ever made. My lessons are included in this rate and my horse is ridden for me 3 times a week. It is a perfect scenario for me.

7. How do you budget for emergency medical expenses? What is the most you’ve ever spent on a vet bill? Do you have a dollar limit?
   Like the Dave Ramsey program suggest, I have an emergency fund (we actually have two: a personal one and a horse one). I DID NOT buy a horse until I had $5,000 in that account. Up until my most recent horse purchase, all of my horses were insured, which I personally believe in if your horse is over $10,000 in value. I find that the payouts are very affordable and it was worth the risk. My newest horse was very inexpensive and too aged to insure, so I keep $8,000 in a separate account for emergencies. Normally, my dollar limit is that I will never spend more than 75% of the horses value, however my newest horse is my dream horse and was very cheap. I won’t spend more than that $8,000 should an issue arise.

I had a horse with eye issues once, that was $8,000. Thankfully, the horse was insured and I only had to pay $1000 out of pocket.

8. How do you balance an expensive hobby with other financial priorities, such as investing, paying off student loans, buying a house, and saving for retirement?
   When I told my horse I wanted to start riding again, we made a commitment to each other that we would become debt-free. So I owned a horse and did some schooling shows very infrequently on the side while we paid EVERYTHING off like crazy people. We didn’t go out to eat, we didn’t go on dates, we didn’t take trips. At this point, my side business just started so I had no reliable extra income from that. We threw EVERYTHING at our debt and then we were so involved in the Dave Ramsey program that once we paid it all off, we began saving like crazy too! Without my side job, none of this would be possible to the extent that I am doing it now. I 100% recommend all broke adult ammy’s like me get a side gig. It is worth the hustle.

9. Are you willing to go into debt to purchase something horse related? (ex: I have a friend who recently “raided” her 401k to buy a new prospect and another who took out a loan to buy a horse. I’ve recently seen horse ads where credit cards are accepted.)
   No. We don’t go into debt for anything. The only debt we will ever take on is our house/farm when we purchase that. But we will have 50% of the purchase price down. Cars, trucks, trailers, horses, is all paid for in cash. I make due with what I have and purchase very modest things. Used saddles, used trailers, etc.

10. Have you ever taken a break from horses or downgraded your competition schedule, training, schooling frequency, etc. due to finances? How did you feel about it?
    Yes I did. I took 2 years off completely after college and then 1.5 years at a reduced showing schedule while we finished paying off debt. The 2 years without was hard, but I found alternative ways to get my horse fix in. The reduced rate honestly wasn’t that hard for me because as a broke college kid, I couldn’t afford to show a lot either before I took my break, so going to a schooling show once every 3-4 months felt like heaven!

11. Have you ever found yourself upgrading (ex: horses, tack, trainers, shows, etc.) to keep up with wealthier clients at your barn? Do you feel pressured by your trainer or barn friends to spend more money? What is your approach for dealing with that pressure?
    Not at all. I buy what I can afford and am proud of what I have. I don’t look at or care about what other people have. And if someone tries to tell me I HAVE to buy something, they usually regret the lecture I give them hahaha.

12. Have you ever experienced buyer’s remorse for something horse related? How did you address the issue? Did you learn something from the experience?
    Nope. I take great care in researching the investments I make before I do. For example: my saddle. I knew I wanted a CWD but didn’t want to pay more than $2,000 on a saddle. The CWD saddle fitter tried to guilt me into buying a brand new $6,000 saddle (no other saddle will fit your horse! You need a custom one!). Instead, I found as close of a fit as I could and invested in a nice half pad to adjust the fit. Had the saddle fitter look and what do you know, it was a great fit. And I purchased a VERY nice used CWD saddle with the older quality leather (the new leather is junk) for less than what I wanted to spend because I was patient and hunted down the best deal online!

13. What are practical ways you keep costs down? Lay on the frugal tips!
    I try to DIY whatever I can. My husband and I are very handy. When it comes to tack, I invest in quality pieces, but I don’t get caught up in the hype for apparel or anything else. Basic saddle pads, basic show shirts, used jackets, etc.

Sign up as a hotel chain member and redeem your points when you travel! I get free hotel rooms like crazy because I am now a IHG platinum member! Also, I plan events for my real job and my work allows me to collect the free points when we plan a conference. We just got done with one conference and I got over 60,000 points free! That is like 10 hotel nights free!

Bring your own lunch. Coolers full of deli meat and water will save you tons at horse shows.

Also, shop used as much as possible.

14. Do you have a separate income/job/side business to fund your eventing obsession? If so, what do you do and how do you find the time?
    Yes! I own a marketing company on the side. It is difficult at times to balance it all, but I just block my schedule for certain times of the afternoon to get my side work done. I also usually work through my lunch break and do things for my businses. I am now to the point where I think I am going to hire someone part-time to help me. It won’t change my income hardly a bit because I have a wait-list of clients and no time to take them all on. A part-time employee will take some of the work load off of me and allow me to take on new clients!

15. Have you ever seen someone make a horse related financial decision that you thought was just crazy?
    I see it every single day. My husband is not a horse person, so when I want to make a larger investment I always call him and explain it to him. He is a rational man. If he thinks it sounds insane, it probably is-- Haha. I would NEVER EVER EVER use credit cards for horse related expenses or take a loan out on a horse. It is just ridiculous to me. Yes, I want to go as far with this as I can, but I also want to stay within my means. If I want something, I work harder to make it happen.

One thing I will tell all of you is that if you want it, you can have it. Just be prepared to bust your @$$. Nothing grinds my gears more than hearing people say that I they cant because of their financial status. Start with your personal finances first, get those bad boys in line, find a way to bring in extra money and hustle. Hustle until it hurts, trust me. The reward is WORTH IT! You CAN DO IT!

[Lord_Helpus]

It would be very interesting to ask the same questions on H/J and Dressage boards. I know that both will be higher,

[kenyarider]

Here’s an answer from hunter/jumper land. Not young, six figure income, own my own home, no spouse (he left).

1. How much do you spend on your horse(s) each month?
   $1500 (not including vet etc.

2. How does your significant other feel about your expenditures?
   Asked why we didn’t just burn our money in the yard.

3. How do you save for big ticket items (ex: saddles, trailer, new horse, etc.)?
   Slowly

4. How much do you spend on events/competitions/schoolings each year? How do you save for them?
   $2500 per week (I have a jumper!) Save, no eating out, no vacations, no new clothes except riding ones.

5. What is the most you would spend on a new horse? How would you come up with that amount of money (ex: saving, selling something, second job, etc.)?
   $50000

6. How much do you spend on training each month? Do you feel like the $ is well spent? Part of the $1500 above

7. How do you budget for emergency medical expenses? What is the most you’ve ever spent on a vet bill? Do you have a dollar limit? $12000 on colic surgery. Yes, I have a budget amount

8. How do you balance an expensive hobby with other financial priorities, such as investing, paying off student loans, buying a house, and saving for retirement?
   I don’t. I only have one life, no do overs for me.

9. Are you willing to go into debt to purchase something horse related? (ex: I have a friend who recently “raided” her 401k to buy a new prospect and another who took out a loan to buy a horse. I’ve recently seen horse ads where credit cards are accepted.) No.

10. Have you ever taken a break from horses or downgraded your competition schedule, training, schooling frequency, etc. due to finances? How did you feel about it? Yes, miserable

11. Have you ever found yourself upgrading (ex: horses, tack, trainers, shows, etc.) to keep up with wealthier clients at your barn? Do you feel pressured by your trainer or barn friends to spend more money? What is your approach for dealing with that pressure? No. I have 2 of the most wonderful professionals in the world.

12. Have you ever experienced buyer’s remorse for something horse related? How did you address the issue? Did you learn something from the experience? Oh yes. Never trust a young trainer who is having a baby.

13. What are practical ways you keep costs down? Lay on the frugal tips! Do my own grooming/stall cleaning at shows. Switched from hunters to jumpers. Do not eat show food.

14. Do you have a separate income/job/side business to fund your eventing obsession? If so, what do you do and how do you find the time? No.

15. Have you ever seen someone make a horse related financial decision that you thought was just crazy? All the time when people buy an “investment” horse or parents who fund a young adult’s “I want to be a horse trainer” dream by building barns/rings/horse trailers etc/

So that’s my answer!

[lenapesadie]

Early 30s from Dressage Land earning around 40k; recent career change

1. How much do you spend on your horse(s) each month? Too much. I have down sized to one horse. Board, farrier, fly spray and treats average $500 per month.

2. How does your significant other feel about your expenditures? I wish he was more concerned about my expenditures. Perhaps then he would consider buying a cheaper rural home with acreage so I could go back to keeping horses at home. He doesn’t care how I spend my money.

3. How do you save for big ticket items (ex: saddles, trailer, new horse, etc.)? I’m too poor for big ticket items. I’ve been in horses for a while and accumulated saddles and horses; either gifts or bargain deals/used. I may need a different saddle for my young horse; plan to sell some other saddles to make it happen. I might one day finance a horse trailer.

4. How much do you spend on events/competitions/schoolings each year? How do you save for them? Shows were the first thing I cut from my budget. Show clothes, truck/trailer, and show horses were all sold/homed to help finance a move and career change post divorce.

5. What is the most you would spend on a new horse? How would you come up with that amount of money (ex: saving, selling something, second job, etc.)? At this point in my life I would not purchase or even accept a gift horse. I absolutely cannot afford board on two horses. Even if my young horse fell over dead I would not get another horse. I would stay out of horses until I was more financially established.

6. How much do you spend on training each month? Do you feel like the $ is well spent? @150 - 200; on lessons. Worth every penny. As finances improve; I will invest extra horse dollars on lessons/training/clinics before any other categories.

7. How do you budget for emergency medical expenses? What is the most you’ve ever spent on a vet bill? Do you have a dollar limit? 3k, paid it twice, both times on dogs though lol. I’ll put emergency vet bills on a CC occasionally if I don’t have liquid funds to cover them. My mother, who is in a different tax bracket, will cover any needed vet bills that I can’t. I am very blessed. Limit is changing as I am picking up insurance for my only remaining horse.

8. How do you balance an expensive hobby with other financial priorities, such as investing, paying off student loans, buying a house, and saving for retirement? I put 8% in 401k. Company matches 7% plus a pension plan. Student loans are all federal and on income based repayments. I wish I was paying them off faster. Which I will do before I spend any significant money showing. I am currently working as much overtime as possible to establish a bit of savings and get ahead on some small debts. It’s so hot here that working late and then going to barn even later is working out well.

9. Are you willing to go into debt to purchase something horse related? (ex: I have a friend who recently “raided” her 401k to buy a new prospect and another who took out a loan to buy a horse. I’ve recently seen horse ads where credit cards are accepted.) Absolutely not for a horse. Possibly for a portion of a saddle. Trailer yes. The trailer is the safest investment. Yo could get collateral interest rates and excellent resale prospects. Vet bills on a cc are reasonable imo as well. I’ve taken small loans from parents for a few animal related expenses. I am fortunate.

10. Have you ever taken a break from horses or downgraded your competition schedule, training, schooling frequency, etc. due to finances? How did you feel about it? I’m there now but am on track for the deep end! I haven’t taken a break from horse ownership but we did have a few years where the horses were field kept. I put eyes on them every day but they were pretty much over sized yard dogs. It sucked. I had no time, no facilities, no company, and no money.

11. Have you ever found yourself upgrading (ex: horses, tack, trainers, shows, etc.) to keep up with wealthier clients at your barn? Do you feel pressured by your trainer or barn friends to spend more money? What is your approach for dealing with that pressure? Pressure? Never felt any pressure. There are lots of wealthier clients at the barn I board at. Only two with any horse knowledge. The rest are parents or beginner lesson adults. I love my horse. He is my pride and joy. His opinion of me matters more than any human at the barn (outside of my so and fam when they visit barn)

12. Have you ever experienced buyer’s remorse for something horse related? How did you address the issue? Did you learn something from the experience? Horses. Keep the numbers down. How many horses can one truly afford?

13. What are practical ways you keep costs down? Lay on the frugal tips! Moving to a rural area where I could keep horses at home saved my butt for years. When I started boarding again I adopted out my second horse. Board on one is enough bills!

14. Do you have a separate income/job/side business to fund your eventing obsession? If so, what do you do and how do you find the time? Not anymore. I am quick to work overtime though. It’s much more time efficient. I need all my off work time to actually do stuff with my horse.

15. Have you ever seen someone make a horse related financial decision that you thought was just crazy? Complaining about how they can’t afford xyz, but they are boarding multiple horses that they don’t do anything with or even like. It’s like some form of hoarding.