Mumsnet Talk

If I only have 2 hours spare to ride each week am I better paying to go on a hack than buy a horse and pay for full livery?

Paying to go on a hack definitely! Buying horse,paying for insurance,shoes,livery,vets dentists back people,tack ect would buy years of hassle free hacking.

Could you share?

Yes, def paying for a hack ! Even a horse on DIY grass livery living out would cost more than a hack every week

If you only have 2 hours a week and buy a horse, what will it do for exercise the other 166 hours?? If you had 2 hours A DAY then yes, buy your own horse, but 2 hours a week, it's not sensible! A horse isn't like a sports car, you can't park it and forget about it between uses!

Sorry, that sounded really harsh!

actually, from experience, if you park any car for long enough between uses it won't like it much more than horses do

full livery is £100+ a week, much more than a hack, unless you are at Park Lane

?

Obviously I agree with the above in economic terms but it depends on a) how wealthy you are and b) what you want to get out of riding.

If you want to compete, for example, and can afford it you could always buy a horse that suits you and either have it on livery with a friend riding it or pay up for full livery.

When I had a show horse with a professional producer I only hacked it at weekends but knew it was well looked after, ridden and trained the rest of the time. It meant that I could just turn up at shows and ride it!

Have you thought about sharing? Often cheaper than paying to go on hacks and with the benefit of getting to know the horse you're riding so it's almost like having your own.

I'm going to have to disagree. Yes, in financial terms owning a horse is probably always more expensive than not (even if you ride every day!) but it's not just about money. My horses are much more than just rides to me, they are pets, friends, companions, counsellors. Due to various reasons I currently have my horse on full livery and only have time to ride once a week and I don't think it's doing me or my horse any damage. It all depends why you ride (or not).

saggy, the rest of time it would be on full livery, the service I saw included exercise 6 days a week, clipping, farrier everything. Basically the owner could just turn up and ride. A bit like Butkin.

In fairness in the summer when it is light till late then I would ride a couple of evenings in the week. But if I miss a train or get stuck at work then I need the flexibility that if I don't ride on a particular evening the horse won't suffer.

I want to be able to ride the same horse and a horse that I gell with. Have now seen nearish to me a centre whereby you can do a 2 hour hack on the horse of your choice. which sounds like a good compromise.

Muddy maybe now DD is getting more independent I need another being to interact with!

Thank you ladies

You would be paying through the nose, for a horse that somebody would ride!
Stick up an advert for a horse share, offer to pay for one or two rides a week. Or go to that centre. Do you really want to buy the whole cake, just to eat one slice?

But Saggy that is what full livery is all about. If people are busy working then sometimes you need to pay people to ride your horse. I certainly always did in the Summer although we had him at home in the Winter and a friend in the village rode him for me midweek. To me he was always my horse and I was in control of what he did.

Even DD's SHP is on full show livery and yes it costs between 90 pounds + a week but it is ridden for her every day and totally looked after for that. It means that she can ride it when she can and compete on it. She considers it totally her pony but sometimes work/school do get in the way.

Well it keeps people like me in work I suppose!