I may have been offered a free horse?

Question

I am 16 and have been riding English for almost 2 years. I work at the barn 3-4 times a week whether it's feeding breakfast, bringing in the horses, etc. I think I am pretty experienced even though I only jump 2'3". My neighbor recently told me that her friend was giving her horse away for free, it's a dressage horse, fully trained. I don't know how old it is or any other information. I asked my trainer about the boarding fee and she told me if I worked 4 days a week I can board the horse for free including feed. So I have a few questions:
Can I teach a dressage horse to jump, even if it is just small cross rails or verticals?

How much do vet, dentist, farrier, etc. bills cost? I live in Oregon if that makes a difference, in a suburb. Some websites say it is over $1000 dollars a year, but some say it's only $300 a year. I guess it depends on the horses health, right?

Is this a good idea? I don't want to get a free horse and free board but pay hundreds for a horse I can't ride because I don't ride dressage.

Answer 1

I would defiantly get him vetted first especially if he's free. Get the vet to do a full body check and make sure he isn't injured or anything. That would cost about $400.



For me boarding is the most expensive thing so you are very lucky,



Farrier bills usually cost me $100 and I get the farrier out to do my horses feet every month for all four shoes. It's usually 6-8weeks when you should get the farrier but my horse has bad feet so I get him out more often. It also depends on if you want him shoed and only 2 shoes or all four shoes.

4 shoes = $100

2 shoes =$50

If no shoes then their feet need to be trimmed. This normally costs $30 where I am.



Dentist comes once a year (assuming his teeth are healthy) and cost me $100-$120



Vet bills cost depends on the health if he gets injured so it can range anywhere. I will warn that my mums horse cut his leg and costed us over $8000. He got it caught in barbed wire but luckily we had insurance. Insurance costs us $80 a month if you want it. If he's not injured at all then most horses get vaccinated and annually this costs us $60.

Our vets also worm our horses. This is cheaper if you do it yourself but it costs us $30 every 2 months.



My horse is also on hard feed which may be included in the board but we have to buy that ourselves. They don't have to eat hard heed but sometimes it can help. This costs us $60 a month.



You may also want to invest in an instructor if you want to teach him how to jump etc. and also there will be original cost of tack unless that is being given away with the horse.

most horses can be taught to jump unless he has health issues, this horse may turn out to be a great jumper or he may only be a dressage horse because of some problems with jumping. Also check and make sure he has no health issues, try and find out why he is being given away for free.



I'd say altogether your looking at $400-$3000 depending on what you want. This includes whether he is shoed, vaccinated, wormed, get hard feed, insurance, if he gets injured etc.

Answer 2

This person may be genuinely looking for a good home, but you also have to be weary of someone giving away a well trained horse for nothing if they're healthy and sound. Possibly he's had an injury that prevents him from jumping, or he could be an older horse. That or he's been sitting in a field for years.



You would need to find out in more detail about the horse's history and a vet check would also be a good idea. If you buy a horse who may not be sound it could cost you quite a lot of money indeed.

Answer 3

My first question is: what does "fully trained" mean? Level 2? Prix St. George?



Any horse can be retrained from one discipline to another; that's the least of your worries. You should be able to introduce this horse to jumping unless it has an unsoundness that prevents it from jumping. But my suspicion is that, if a well-trained dressage horse is being GIVEN away, it may indeed have soundness issues -- or not be quite so "well-trained" (i.e., be an ill-mannered lout.) So make sure your instructor checks out this horse thoroughly -- preferably without you there the first time if you think you tend to fall head over heels in love with hopeless cases.



Veterinary, dental care, and farriery do vary widely, so your best bet is to call around and get a general idea of what local practitioners charge. Farm calls from the vet can be as much as $150-200 just for showing up, but this cost can be split if several horse owners use the same vet and have their horses seen on the same day. I'm not sure which vaccines are required in your area: my horse gets Rabies,West Nile, Flu-Rhino, Eastern/Western Encephalitis, and Tetanus, which together cost about $150. (And several of these vaccines require fall boosters, so there-s another farm call and more money for shots.) Coggins is $25. So yeah -- about $300 annually for ROUTINE care. Obviously, you should try to establish a savings account for emergencies with as much as you can afford to put aside. A colic episode 5 years ago set me back $1,500. Most equine dentists in my area charge $125-$150 per visit, but you can have your horse's teeth seen to by the vet when he's there anyway. If your horse requires floatiing only, that might cost only $50-$60. Farriery depends on whether you plan to shoe or keep him barefoot. If, worst case scenario, the horse requires special shoes on all four feet, you're definitely going to spend over $100 every 6-8 weeks; if he's fine barefoot, trimming only might be as cheap as $35 each time.



My last concern is the amount of time you'd have to work for the free board. You're a 16-year-old high-school student. You're in school, you have homework, you have a social life, maybe you do volunteer work or other activities, you have family responsibilities and household chores, maybe even a part-time job -- and you're going to have to WORK for your trainer 4 days a week! How are you going to juggle all that? Even more important, when are you going to find time to RIDE this horse that you'd be slaving away for?



Teenagers do, of course, own horses. Often, they also work for their instructors, compete at relatively high levels, AND maintain honor-roll grades. But they are able to do all that because they have their parents' financial and emotional support. So in addition to checking out the horse and calling practitioners to learn their fees, you'll need to have a frank conversation with your parents to figure out how to organize your life to make this happen.

Answer 4

At the age of 16, you can't own property including a horse so your parents would have to be the owners. And also at this young age it's virtually impossible for you to earn enough money to support one fully.

Your trainer is being foolish about the free board unless your parents take full responsibility-no adult would willingly do serious business with a minor.

Answer 5

Must find out, one way or another, WHY the neighbour's friend is giving away the horse. Is the person about to die and wants to see the horse go to someone deserving? Or is the horse about to die? Or what? How will you determine the true answer? Sleuth time!