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 Regular
Posts: 53
| Another perspective: "Some people are so poor, all they have is money." - Jack Kerouac | |
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 Veteran
Posts: 124
| The most I've ever spent on a horse was a 3D barrel horse for $6,500. I'll never spend that much on a horse again. The pressure to keep him sound, in shape, running at his potential, etc. took all of the fun out of barrel racing for me. I sold him and went back to running my old horse for which I only paid $4000. Once he's done, I'm done. My two girls are old enough to start riding with me, and frankly I don't want to spend the money for all 3 of us to purchase and maintain competitive horses. I'm not experienced enough to train up my own, and the cost of buying multiple finished horses is just too stressful for me to even think about. Not only that but my husband isn't a horse guy. I don't think it's fair for me to expect him to shell out all of our "fun money" on horses when he gets nothing out of it. We like to travel and have other hobbies. I'm OK with being mediocre at showing horses if it means we can afford to go on vacations, attend our favorite sporting events and have 39 pair of shoes.
My husband and I make decent money for our area.... probably more than most people in the county. We don't buy something until we can pay cash for. The only thing we're making payments on is our house. Not being in debt is worth it to me to have used stuff and mediocre horses. Life is too short to worry about how you're going to pay for your necessities, let alone your hobby.
I know people who live and breathe rodeo and spend all of their money and free time on it. That's their thing, so I say go for it! But for me, the expense to compete at that caliber would just not be worth it. | |
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 Take a Picture
Posts: 12838
  
| I have been lucky. I have raised most of the horses that I have been very successful running. I have had several 1D horses just fall in my lap but again I know what I want. I have come across some real deals when I was looking but I have always had the money saved for an opportunity.
One of the best deals that just came my way was an unregistered horse that a trader picked up at a sale around Dallas. Horse was supposed to be around 18 but mouthed out at 20+. A family who had just lost their old horse needed a replacement. Two little girls ended up with a top 1D horse that made two little girls very happy. They paid $1500 for him and he had a wonderful home. That black sucker could hold his own in any competition. I know several horses that have sold cheap because of a divorce and husband just wanted to get rid of the horse. You do need to know what you are looking for. | |
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Elite Veteran
Posts: 629
| So, in my situation, I have 3 horses, 2 of which were free. The best one I own was a trade. I train and sell her horse, and I could have this one as payment. BEST deal I ever made. I also train my own. I don't raise them to sell and flip or move on. I like the teaching part, so I don't care if they take 4-5 years to get running. I like playing with them, and get attached and keep them forever.
As far as the education stuff goes - The best thing you can do is research what jobs make the kind of money you want to make, and what it takes to get there. I have 2 associate's degrees. Thankfully, didn't cost me a fortune because I went to community college. Unfortunately, I'm in a field where if I'd gone and got 1 bachelor's I'd have started out making about $15,000/year doing the same job. I have a friend who has a Bachelor's in a completely unrelated field to her position, and started out making a lot of money just because of that expensive piece of paper. | |
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