From Horsetopia:
"I do not own a horse however I have been working with / riding them my whole life.Last night I was at my riding lesson and my trainer and I got on the subject of me owning my first horse. He said " I do not suggest that anyone own a horse." He said I should lease first. I disagree however he did have some good points. "What are you doing with your horse when you go to College? Will you wake up christmas morning to take care of it?"
It has been a dream of mine to own a horse so I really dont mind getting up on Holidays to take care of it.
Do you agree with him, lease first? :confused:"
"I do not own a horse however I have been working with / riding them my whole life.Last night I was at my riding lesson and my trainer and I got on the subject of me owning my first horse. He said " I do not suggest that anyone own a horse." He said I should lease first. I disagree however he did have some good points. "What are you doing with your horse when you go to College? Will you wake up christmas morning to take care of it?"
It has been a dream of mine to own a horse so I really dont mind getting up on Holidays to take care of it.
Do you agree with him, lease first? :confused:"
This is a very good point. Many people who start leasing with me quickly discover that they don't have the time to spend after all. Frequently they rode when they were younger and would love to get back into it. However, when you consider the time it takes to go get the horse, groom the horse, tack up, ride, cool down, untack, groom, and put the horse away, it can be rather involved.
Not only that, but if anything at all happens, such as a financial hardship, job loss, chronic illness, so on and so forth, you are now stuck. A horse costs money every day you own it, whether you are riding or not. You still have to pay board, or buy feed and hay. Which is why many people wind up having to give their horses away when disaster strikes. Which can be very sad, because many of those horses that have to find new homes quickly are taken to auction, and many wind up slaughtered for meat. (Very inhumanely, I might add, as it's no longer legal in the U.S., so many horses are shipped to Mexico, where there are no standards of humane slaughter).
I fully agree, leasing first is the way to go... if you have the time, dedication, and finances, then you can think about buying a horse!
