|
|
|||||||||
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||
 |
|||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
First Horse
The intentions of this website is to both educate potential horse owners and help horses live happy and healthy lives.
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
"Do not by a horse as a status symbol"
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
Owning a horse is a way of life not just a past time. So think long and hard before taking on the responsibility of horse ownership. Not only of the financial outlay of purchashing a horse but of the upkeep.
The following list is just a summary of what the costs of looking after a horse costs:
: DIY Livery from £15.00 per week. Full livery can be as much as £100.00 or even more.
: Farriery Costs from £45.00 + every 5-6 weeks
: Basic vaccinations £25.00 per year plus veterinary charges
: Feed: Hay from £2.50 per bale or brand name haylage £6.00 per bale. An Average 15.2 horse will consume up to half a bale a day in the winter.
: Bedding: Straw from £2.00 per bale. Shavings from £5.00 per bale. 1-2 bales of shavings needed each week.
: Basic vaccination against tetanus and flu average at £30.00 per year.
: Worming every six weeks at approximately £10.00 per time.
: Annual visit by an aprooved dental technician approximately £30.00 per visit.
: Annual insurance costs to cover veterinary fees etc from £150.00
If your horse is to be ridden you will of course need a host of other equipment such as a saddle which needs to be fitted by an aprooved saddler and reflocked and checked every six to twelve months. Other tack items such as a bridle and safety wear for your self need to be purchased. Please don't even consider a used or second hand riding hat, as it could have been previously damaged.
Riding lessons with a registered instructor can proove invalueble, costs are from £15.00 per hour for private tuition.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
Your responsibilities do not end there however.
Ask your self the following questions.
Do you mind getting up early every morning to muck out a stable and turn out a horse in the pouring rain even on Christmas day, or when you are feeling under the weather?
Would you know how much to feed your horse according to his weight, type, and for the work he is doing?
Do you know any thing about horse psychology?
Would you be able to tell if a saddle didn't fit a horse properly?
Could you recognise a whole host of equine health problems such as laminitis, colic, grass sickness? These are fatal disorders.
Could you recognise COPD, arthritis, tendon strain, foot absesses, muscle damage? These are common problems many horse owners encounter, failure to notice and treat them puts the horse under even more stress and the quality of life is reduced.
Would you know how to administer first aid to a puncture wound or a lacerated tear and when would you call the vet?
This is just a very small outline of the responsibilties of horse ownership. If you are at all not sure about whether you should go ahead or not then please for the sake of horses please take either an aprooved course such as the BHS horse owners certificate or take the time to learn more. There are a lot of horses that lives could be improoved dramatically if their owners took the time to learn just a little more.
Below are a few links to for you to obtain more information.
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
Our Favourite Websites
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
Fun Groups and Pages
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||
 |
|||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||
|
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||
| page created with Easy Designer |