The value of a horse  is something that only the prospective buyer and seller can agree and decide.  And there is NO SUCH THING as a cheap or free horse!  All horses will cost you money and while a cheap or free horse may seem appealing,  you will need to be committed to spending money to feed and care for a horse that will quickly surpass the original purchase price.  Additional training, feed, feet management all this stuff will  quickly surpass the original buy price of any horse and more quickly with a "free or cheap" horse, not a problem if you find a horse that is your perfect match - but imagine how disappointed you would be if you found your free completely unsuitable for your riding needs and the costs were so high to keep this animal healthy you felt like you owned a very expensive pet?!

 

What determines a horses value?

A horses value cannot be determined by its breeding alone, its experience and training alone, or even its manner alone, but a combination of it all.  Young horses always have potential, but until they are proven you cannot be sure how they will turn out and this takes time, money (feed, dentistry, hoofcare and vet care!) as well as training.  If you cant train your horse you will have to pay for someone to!  Just as older horses that are proven may not be able to continue to acheive competing at the levels they have reached as so much depends on the rider/horse partnership, the way they have been developed and how long they can continue competing without injury or issue.  A horse may have a lovely manner in the feild when you feed them carrots and give them scratches but it is how they are on the ground, under saddle being asked to work and in new environments that you will get to see the true nature and training of a horse.

 

What is the the best horse for me?

I often get asked for advice on "what horse is best for me?"  I always say - "I can't help you answer that question until you can tell me what you think your best horse will look and act like".  I then advise them to take a peice of paper and write a list writing down the traits their perfect horse and answering the following questions:

1. What sort of riding will you be able to do immediately if you had this horse tommorrow?

2. What do you want to acheive together - what sort of riding do you want to do in the future?

3. Are there any behavioural traits that they simply could not cannot manage (e.g. napping, bucking, difficult loaders) and if they could not manage these would they be prepared to pay for some training to overcome these?

4. How much they can afford in time to care for a horse?  If they cannot care for a horse everyday can you pay someone else to?

5. How much can you afford in feed and shoing and insurance?

Until they have this list I am of no help to them!  I did this exercise with a friend of mine years ago who decided she had fallen in love with a rescue horse and was set on adopting him the next weeked.  After she went through these questions she realised that she was making an emotional decision to adopt him, but she would go through with it even though he was not suitable for her to ride immediately and would need a trainer for some time before they could meet her goal of riding him and then ongoing instruction to acheive her future goal of competition.  But in doing this exercise she had made a commitment with the right expectations of how it was going to work for her and her free horse immediately cost her $3,000 for 10 weeks with a trainer!  But this was worth it to her and she saw this as part of her journey with this horse, it wan't all about the riding it was about saving and transforming a horse others had given up on.   She still continues to own and ride him with great joy - unfortunately looking on trademe - these happily ever afters are not that common as people jump into getting a free horse without answering the above questions first.

 

Horse Ownership - what are the costs?

Like everything in life there is a range!  You can do it cheap or you can do it expensive, some of it you have control over some of it is down to the type of horse you have and the experiences they give you.  The range below is a fair indication on what you will find you are paying.

 

What you must supply your horse:

 

Basic Grazing - $1,560 - $4,420 a year (based on Wellington grazing prices) 

This will give you access to a paddock with a water supply.  Depending on the place you select you may find a friendly farmer giving you space in a paddock to a dedicated horse property, with facilities, fencing and pasture management designed for horses.  The quality of grass is something to consider - some properties may have rich grass and require no additional feeding (but may cause grass sensitivity issues which will need additional management), and other properties may require feeding in winter.  My personal view is that unless the pasture is specifically grown for horses you will need to feed supplements to horses to balance out the affects of the grass or add to it as NZ soils are deficient in many minerals.  When you lodge at a property - be clear on what you are paying for - you may be only paying to access the investment made to have reasonable facilities.  Grazing does not mean having gauaranteed access to great pastures and depending on the type of horse you have purchased you may need to supplement feed to ensure your horse maintains condition.

 

Feed Costs - "free" - $6,750 a year (hay and hardfeed with grass supplement)

Horses require 1 - 4% of thier total body weight in grass, forage or hay EVERY DAY.  In good grass growing weather you may rely in grass alone for forage but in drought or winter you may find you need to feed additional feed.  Also another factor is the metabolism  and age of the horse for example a 16.2 TB weighing in at 590 kgs will needs around 10 - 17kg EVERY DAY.  A Stationbred type horse around the same size may only require 5kg.  In my experience with non-professional horse owners this is the factor which is frequently overlooked, and grossly underestimated in the cost of horse ownership. 

 

Feet trimming/shoing - every six weeks $350 - $1,204 a year

Depending on the type of horse you have and the level of work and terrain your horse is being used in will depend on what works best - barefoot, shoing or barefoot and boots.

 

Salt licks/Supplements $75 - $1,800 per month

At least your horse should have access to a salt lick, or alternatively you can add supplements to thier feed.  Horses that chew and eat wood or bark (not the palatable kinds of trees like willow) from trees and fences, or are eating dirt are often a sign of nutrient deficiencies.  If your horse is doing this - get a blood test and fix the deficiency!

 

Worming/Fecal Egg Counting - $80 - $160 per year

 

Shelter

If weather hot or cold is particularly bad you may want to check shelter options in the paddock.  Trees, gullies and sheds may provide shelter in the paddock.  However shelter should never be considered a substitute for a rug if you horse has spent most if its life rugged by a previous owner and then you decide to "go natural"  it takes many months of being unrugged and gradual temperature changes to adjust to a naked lifestyle.  Putting them in a paddock without a rug in winter if they are used to being rugged , or not immediately replacing a wet or a rug if it comes off in the paddock is risking your horse to illness and hypothermia.

 

The optional extras for your horse (what you want rather than your horse needs).

 

Covers - $200 - $900 per year:

A good basic rug for winter will cost you anywhere from $80 upwards.  The cheaper synthetic rugs are lighter to handle (especially when wet!) quicker to dry and offer great warmth.  They can however be less breathable on a horse which can mean that skin irritations can develop.  At Jura we often will have cotton summer sheets or jute rugs as a first layer under a rug and then layer synthetic rugs on top.

 

Saddle/Bridle and Gear $500 - $10,000

You should expect to pay between $500 and $1,000 for a good second hand saddle.  Newer saddles are obviously more expensive.  Thought should be given again to the style of riding you want to be doing dressage, jumping or happy hacking.... all have slightly different styles of saddles.

 

Safety Helmet $60 - $600

A safety helmet is a must, this is one area I am happy to spend good money on.  My general rule would be for riders first starting it might be more appropriate to have cheaper helmets and be prepared to replace them after a fall where the helmet has hit the ground.  As you get more experienced and falls are less likely (but often more severe) you might want to invest in the best possible helmet you can afford.  After all this could be the difference between a brain injury or walking away.

 

Saddle Fitting $65 - $120 every six to twelve months

A well fitting saddle can save you money later on.  All the horses at Jura under saddle get a fitting at minimun every 12 months, and more frequently for the young, growing and training horses due to the muscle development.

 

Dentistry $90 - $180 every six or twelve months

Dentistry is a must for horses, not just to maintain the mouth but it also helps to prevent issues of mouth or bit pain.  A horse with sore teeth, gums or cheeks will be less willing to work and less willing to eat.

 

What does a "perfect" Jura baby look like?

My aim was always to start NZ Bred Sporthorses and give them a solid foundation of training, that would see them valued for years to come.  Our definition of a NZ Bred Sporthorse is a horse not necessarily registered as such but defined by having a mixed type parentage condusive to all round competition.  We always know the parents of our horses and where possible the bloodlines further back.

1. Low maintenance and sound.  Ideally our horses will be able to be kept barefoot and we only shoe where the workload requires it (usually at training level).   We develop the feet of our young horses to allow for this style of hoof management, and if a horse showed particular sensitivity or could not be ridden comfortably with no shoes we will always shoe.  We chose mixed parentage as in our experience it creates a horse that is a good doer, meaning that they hold thier weight better through winter and do not require large quatities of feeding (which can become hugely expensive).

2. Hardy and Resilient to disease.  We keep our young horses unrugged until they start thier ridden career, we believe that this allows a natural hardiness to develop which will serve them well if they need to be turned out for long periods of time and rugging is not practical (e.g. broodmares).  We only worm when we have to (by fecal egg count testing) to allow a natural worm immunity to build within our youngstock - again we beleive this makes for a hardier horse in the long run, and it means when we worm the medications actually work as there is not resistence for the products.

3. Well nourished when it mattered.  We run specific diet reports for all of our horses, and ensure that the mineral and supplement requirements are being met as they grow and train.  I am fanatical about this because I see so many horses breaking down before thier time. I cringe when I see horses put to pasture and left alone (diet wise) until they are ready to be started.  If you are expecting a horse to live a long life why would you treat it like a fattening cow you are going to send to the works?  New Zealand soils are deficient in many minerals that are essential for good development.  And we feed our grown horses according to thier workloads and condition scores, we select our babies knowing they have had good starts nutritionally and carry this on!

4. Compliant and obedient when it counts.  We work with our horses to ensure that they receive the right sort of training and confidence building that should allow them to cope in a variety of situations, they may startle, but they must always be responsive to a rider when under saddle, they may be full of spring time joy (and grass) but this should not mean the will stop listening to thier rider.

Prices may vary depending on breeding, training, manner and talent (potential or proven).  Our aims is to give these horses solid foundations of training that will enable them to be reliable, obedient mounts with reasonable mileage and experience.  We try to keep our horses reasonably priced and we make a pretty healthy negative profit on all of our horses because we make a significant investment in thier feeding regimes and training/experience.  Competition results, and proven looks or temperament also help us set the prices for our horses.

(0 - 3 years) Up and Coming

Our young horses before they start under saddle.  They will be haltered trained, leading and tying, used to being stabled, having feet trimmed, and loading onto a float.  They are fed daily with dietary and supplements to ensure supported and healthy growth.  Horses at this stage can be great for someone looking to bring a horse along and prepared to pay for the horse until it reaches maturity, these costs can be substantial and should not be underestimated!   Especially in feed as growing horses require a lot of good quality forage and feed.   While the new owner takes on the the risk and costs of a horse until full maturity, before they are started under saddle, it can also be a hugely rewarding process to start your own horse, and it would not be unfair to expect an increase in resell value once started.

(3.5 - 4.5 years) Backed/Greenbroke

Depending on the horse and the maturity/strength of the horse we will begin to start them under saddle.  A backed horse will have been handled extensively, maybe shown in hand and accepts weight on its back at a stand still.  A Green broke Jura baby will have been started  as above and then worked gently under saddle for no more than six months.  They will be accepting the contact of the bit, flexing, yeilding to leg aids and be non resistant in all paces.  They will have been farm hacked (but not extensively) and schooled in the arena, and free jumped.  Our aim is to get the basics established but not to over do during a time where horses are still developing.  When we see the horse is going through a growth spurt we stop training and turn them out to allow them to find their own balance and co-ordination without placing extra pressure on changing frames and joints.  Horses at this stage need confident riders who can cope with young horses and progress the young horse by providing lots of positive milage and good kind experiences.  While a new owner takes on the risk of creating and progressing the horse to a higher level of riding they wish it to be used for it carries the potential reward (especially for experienced riders) to purchase a horse that could be significantly increased in value if they campaign it successfully.

(5 - 12 years) Training/School Masters

A training/School Master horse is one that includes the above, but have been under saddle for more than 12 months continuing to be schooled.  They will be fit, in regular work and will have reached a maturity where they will be gaining a wide range of competition, hacking and general experiences.  They will have started jumping under rider to height that suits them.  These horses make ideal rider mounts who are proven within a discipline (or a variety of disciplines) but can gain value with more competition experience, or alternatively adult rider mounts - for adults returning to riding that want a well trained younger horse who will give them many years of enjoyment.