To think, people say horse riding is really expensive/posh, when actually a lot of other hobbies are just as or more expensive

[LardLizard]

Like dancing for example, I know people that spend far more on that

LardLizard, again I think your expectations are to do with the fact that you live around well-off people.

Football going doesn't have to be associated with extra meals and booze: people do what they can afford. Ds spends about £12 for a ticket (birthday money or money earned), walks to the arena and back, and then goes out and plays with his friends in the park. When they are skint they watch the match on the telly and then go out and play. Of course it would be lovely to afford all the travelling to away matches and extras around it, but if you can't it doesn't cut you off from the hobby altogether.

Same with opera loving (I'm the family opera lover). Yes, it would be lovely to go to Glyndebourne, but I don't have to and don't suppose I ever will. With an internet connection I can watch whole operas on YouTube at no extra charge. Or buy a DVD for about a fiver. If you live somewhere near an am-dram operatic society, you can sometimes go for live performances for about a tenner.

Interesting to see people make the comparison with football, then use £15k Arsenal season tickets as the comparator. That would be for just about the most expensive corporate hospitality ticket at the most expensive club in the country.

A season ticket at my local Championship club starts at £330 for 23 matches.

My DD has music lessons at a similar cost to riding lessons but the lesson is only part of her hobby, she practices her skills every day and performs regularly at no extra cost t me. It's a hobby that can go anywhere with her and she can use often.

One 30 min riding lesson wouldn't be good value for the same cost.

There's a traveller site near where we are and their kids have about five ponies each - tied on the side of the rad most of the time. Hardly call them posh though!

Ds2 does ballet, tap and street once a week. Cost per week £18. Uniform is shorts and a tshirt - maybe £15/year plus shoes £60/year. Nowhere near as expensive as horse riding.

I have six horses and they cost me about £500 a month to keep insured, fed, fit and competing (BE). However, they are all kept at home and my husband is a farmer so no livery/haylage/straw bills. The lorry costs a fair bit to run in addition to that, plus the amount of tat I buy for them.

EastMidsMummy, same experience here: in fact, a season ticket here is well under £300.

I think horse riding is expensive for novice parents to get their beginner children into. It's unfortunately one of those 'who you know' things.

I am horsey as are lots of my friends (most of us state school educated), and I manage to loan a pony for DD for the huge amount of £5 per week, plus £30 every 6 weeks for front shoes. This is a pony that my friends children have all outgrown and she is happy for him to be used, and getting attention. Obviously I am able to teach DD myself. My pony costs me £150 a month as I share him with a friend. We do have him at a posh livery yard though, so could probably reduce costs. Previously I had my own horse on DIY livery on a farm and that cost approx £150 a mo to too. My XH used to moan about the cost and friends would comment 'ooh a horse, so expensive' until I pointed out that I was spending less on horse that they did on tobacco and drinks in the pub or new clothes. And I was getting a fresh air healthy activity for mind body and soul.

It's a shame as their is massive inverted snobbery about it. To the extent that I often dont tell people DD and I have a pony each. I also was looking forward to collecting DD from school on the ponies until some other friends pointed out DD could be targeted and bullied for being 'posh' ☹️ There is a MASSIVE difference between keeping a string of polo ponies or an eventer, to having a native pony for your child to bond with and have a fun childhood together with.

I am tried to give up a couple of times over the years but the longest I lasted was about 9 months. It's in your soul, you can't just give it up if horses are in you. They find their way back.

Lovely thing a friend said to me when I was pregnant 'the pitter patter of tiny feet all too quickly turn into the thud of an adolescents trainers, but the clip clip of horsey feet will always be waiting for you somewhere'.

I agree it's more expensive that most; I did some lessons myself at £30 for a half hour session. Equivalent £60/hour so yep pricey.

Was cheaper for me to buy than to pay to ride.

None of my owner mates are posh or monied. We shovel shit and pay for the privilege because we love our horses.

If you're a show jumper or polo player, yes, you need money. Your bog standard horse rider, whether they own or not, is rarely posh or rich. At my yard is a stay at home mum, a security guard, couple of teachers, an NHS office worker and loads of child helpers who work like Trojans to be allowed the occasional ride.

The initial outlay is huge if you buy, then a full set of shoes is £70 every 6 weeks, plus feed if needed, saddle and bridle are not cheap. I'm lucky that my horse doesn't need much food and I'm at a standard yard. I rarely pay more than £250 a month for everything.

I'm a horse owner and can say that you can make it as cheap or expensive as you want, like pretty much every other hobby I could name.(Ever tried owning a boat or a classic car?) Yes, lessons can be expensive, but the cost is made up of providing a horse, good facilities, paying an instructor and the enormous costs of the necessary insurance. On the other hand, it's possible to keep a horse at grass livery or a simple DIY yard for around £25-30 per week. Most of the people I know (Including myself!!) who keep a horse are far from posh and snobby. They are down to earth, working people who chose to spend their money on a horse as opposed to any other leisure activity. Have you ever tried being "posh" whilst standing up to your knees in poop on a muck heap???

Speaking personally, I never buy clothes at anywhere more expensive that Tesco, cut my hair myself, drive an ancient vehicle and rarely go on holiday ... my choice to spend my money on my hobby. Very few people play polo/go show jumping every week/ride at Badminton ....

On the other hand, i'm also into photography!!! Have you seen the price of a decent DSLR camera these days? Hobbies are what you make them ...

Ploppy That is called cultural capital. Many people do not have that and so horse riding would be an expensive hobby to them.

Tennis racket and cricket bat £120 each
Tennis and cricket shoes £80 each
Cricket clothes £150 for training kit and match kit
Tennis clothes £120

So tennis £320 and cricket £350
Horse riding hat £50
Jodhpurs and top £60
Body protector £60
Boots £30
Chaps £20

Horse riding £220 so considerably cheaper for the kit.

Cricket £30 a month plus £5 for each match
Tennis £150 a term for two lessons a week plus £5-£10 per tournament
Horse riding £25 a week for a loan all inclusive

Surely buying and owning a horse and looking after it costs £££?

Riding lessons for beginners are £35ish an hour round my way. Beginners' music lessons around £20 for half an hour.

Sorry but horse riding is seen as fairly ordinary where I live (semi rural) not posh at all.

beepbeepimasheep

You could pick up a tennis racket for a tenner in sports direct and my breeches cost considerably more than £60 so you're generalising massively.

It's as expensive as you make it, I agree with that. I do think that there a lot of people who buy and then don't factor in insurance and vets fees, and then hesitate to call the vet out when it needs it. It's all well and good keeping a horse on a budget but you need to follow through and be prepared to have it PTS if you can't afford treatment, which many don't.

Bloody hell alleypalley where do you live?!?!? £95 for an hours group lesson?? shock

That's Hyde Park stables. I don't live in Knightsbridge but that is my nearest stables.

Tennis is also generally seen as a posh sport. Not many working class kids play tennis regularly.

Also if I did play tennis, I would not buy tennis shoes and clothes. Shorts, t shirt and trainers would be fine. All things that my whole family already have.

£/hour lesson or hack riding is more expensive than skiing, indoor climbing, & everything else i can think of. So yes it is a very expensive hobby for a child to take up.

Most things kids want to try might cost £5 -10 /hour - gymnastics, ballet, swimming, skating.

£150 a month is a lot for a DCs' hobby IMO. But obviously if you can afford it, great!

Siwd etc - do you not see that your "250 a month so not much really" is an awful lot to a lot of people. Have you seen where people have said they could do a ton of activities for far less.

I dont think it's inverted snobbery ( I'm m/c and Oxbridge myself) but pointing out a lack of awareness that it's not accessible to most. There's nothing wrong with that but it IS expensive to a lot of people. That it might not be expensive to you or your group of friends is fine, but it would be to most people where I now live. Doesn't make you rich, just doing a hobby out of many people's reach.

Yes to brassy, waddle, loopy!

Why all the need to make out its cheap?

I think Taekwondo is quite expensive. I pay £77 per month for two of my DC's but one of them has two lessons per week. Every time they grade it's £25 and then the spar kit is about £125 - the younger one is too little to need it yet luckily but will in a year or so. It's still cheaper than riding though I guess but these things add up.

If you think £250 a month is not a lot really, I don't think you are in a position to judge whether house riding is expensive.
The total costs for hobbies in my house is £24 a month, for 4 activities a week.