How do I convince my parents to pay for horse riding lessons?
I have unbelievable feelings for horses, I adore them. But my love of horses haven't gone very far, as I only get to go horse riding on my birthdays and in the half terms. My parents know how much I love them but they won't let me go horse riding, and even though my dad works at the BBC so we have a fair amount of money he won't let me go horse riding lessons, its only £20 a lesson. I know its quite expensive but I'm willing to give up all my spend. I want to learn now so I can be quite impressive when I'm older. I even want to be an equine vet when I'm older. As I'm a bright girl, in top sets. But that's not enough for me(not saying I'm selfish and I want it all but this I want), I've tried to let it go and just wait until I'm older but I can't I have unquestionable love for horses. I've pushed my self to let go of asking for a horse(even though I know how to get a free one, but they cost too much!) but I can't push my self to let go of horses all together. I love horses and even one a month would do for me put, I'd do anything to do horse riding lessons, I'd give anything up. Just PLEASE help me and not being, rude or anything, but don't tell me to let go of horses. I just want advice on how to convince my parents to pay for horse riding lessons or even let me go to them! Thank you.
How far away can horses hear other horses?
Like all animals (including you), your horse has binaural hearing, meaning his ears can hear sound concurrently. His external ears, known as pinnae, act like satellite dishes to capture sound waves and funnel them to his inner ears. Because of the large, cuplike shape of his pinnae, especially when compared to your small, flat ones, very little sound spills out of them, so he can capture noises you might miss. Another reason your horse can detect sounds you can't is his ability to hear a wider range of high-frequency tones, such as the ultrasonic squeak of a bat. For a prey animal, which he is, this hearing acuity makes sense. In his natural environment (open plains), other animals, including predators, are the only things besides weather that generate noise. Predators generally don't vocalize when stalking prey, so your horse is hard-wired to listen for the sounds of stealth--the snap, crackle and pop of grass and twigs under, say, a mountain lion's paws. So horses hear differently than we do and are more sensitive to a wider range of noises but studies have shown horses to hear each other up tp 4400 meters away which is just under 3 MILES!
Can I, a 14 year old, train my own foal/horse?
I was 14 when I started training my own foal. But people on the internet can't tell you what you're ready for. 'Cause we don't know your abilities, other than what you say you can do. Which, for all we know, could be a bunch of BS. Talk to your grandparents. See what they say about you training their foal. Because it's ultimately up to them, regardless of whether people on Y!A decide you're ready or not.
Why is raising a horse so expensive?
As a boarding stable owner, I can break it down for you on a monthly cost basis. Some of these costs will vary, but these are my costs for the stable that I operate:Hay. The average horse needs about 20 pounds of good quality hay (not “cow hay”), and that runs about $8.00 per 40 lb. bale. So 15 bales per month = $120.00Grain. I feed a high quality, pelleted feed that costs $25 per 50-lb. bag. A typical horse (in work) gets an average of 8 lbs. per day. $60.00Bedding. We do not have a good source of sawdust nearby, so we have to use bagged shavings, at $4.00 per bag. Two bags per week (if you pick it out daily) equals $32.00Labor. I pay stable help $10.00 per hour (usually kids working off part of their board bill). It takes about 30 minutes per day per horse — stall cleaning, turn out, blanketing, general grooming, etc. — so my cost is $150.oo.Water. Horses not only drink it, but depending on the season, and whether borders are bathing horses, hosing legs, etc. cost per horse runs about $20.00.Electricity. Lights, hot water, heated tack room, etc. adds another $20.00 per horse.Insurance. Liability and property insurance at $12,500 per year, divided by 20 horses = about $50.00So my costs are now at $452 per month. That figure doesn’t even begin to include amortizing the $500,000 that I spent to buy the land, another $120,000 to build the barn, maintenance, repairs, fencing, a tractor, fuel, bush hogging, etc., or even a single dollar for profit. Now throw in a half dozen “bounced” checks, credit card fees, and the cost of feeding an abandoned horse now and then (when the owner quits paying for care). At a board rate of $600 per month, I am certainly not getting rich doing this. I just do it for the love of horses.Now, even if you’re doing all the work yourself, you’ll still have farrier bills ($80 - 100 every eight weeks), vet bills (Coggins tests, vaccinations, etc), tack, show entry fees, lessons, training, hauling fees, etc. It’s easy to see how it can cost you a small fortune to keep a horse. I always caution people who are thinking about buying a horse to plan on budgeting at least $10,000 per year, and I’m still amazed by the number of people who go out and buy little Suzy a $1,000 horse for Christmas and then learn that they can’t afford to keep it.
How much does it cost to own a horse?
It does completely depend on the horse, the barn and facilities, what type of care you are willing to pay for etc. If you don't have a lot of horse experience you should be boarding the horse for the first little while to learn about barn management, feed schedules, etc. Here's a breakdown of my horse, she's a 14 year old Quarter horse mare who has competed, but isn't really good show quality (although she's a wonderful pet and partner for me): Purchase price $3000 which is pretty average for a well trained healthy horses. Of course you can get a really cheap horse, even free, but most of those will have huge issues with either soundness, health or temperment. Regular Costs: Monthly board (includes feed and hay and they each have a 3 acre pasture of grass): $350 Yearly shots: $140 Natural barefoot trim for her feet, every 6 weeks: $45 (If your horse wears shoes it's around $120 every 6-8 weeks) Lessons: $120 monthly for 4 lessons (you should have lessons from a qualified coach if you are a beginner) Equipment and supplies: $50-100/month average for tack, fly sprays, bandages, medicines, hoof oils, etc... just random things you pick up each month. So on average my horse, who I ride dressage and do some trails with costs about $600/month... sometimes more, sometimes less. You should also have $500-$1000 in an emergency vet fund in case you do have an emergnecy. You need the money available to pay the vet, most won't take payments. A better idea than jumping in and buying everything would be to find a good stable, start taking lessons and possibly leasing or half-leasing a horse which would give you a horse to ride, but not the same amount of bills as if you owned the horse yourself. Once you decide you really do want your own horse (I took lessons and leased horses for 18 years before I actually bought my first one) then start looking to buy. Horses are also herd animals, some don't do well alone in a field and you would need to have two horses there. Please learn about horse nutrition and horse keeping. We have a mare at our barn whose owner won her in a contest, didn't know anything about horses and just put her in a backyard with grass and water. She grew incorrectly due to poor nutrition and now has awful legs, her growth was stunted in some places and she has awful coformation because of it.
How much does horse tack cost?
Hi :) Saddle pads can range from $10 up to $150, but you get a decent saddle pad for $40. Bridles range greatly in price and quality. You can get one for $50 or one for $500, but keep in mind a good quality bridle will last you forever! You should maybe wait to buy a bit until you know what kind of bit your horse likes. They can range in price from about $20 to $200, depending on the type and quality of bit. But on average they will be about $50. For halters, it depends on if you want a nice leather halter or a regular halter. A leather one will be around $100 up to $250, and a "fabric" halter can cost $20 to $60. Lead ropes cost around $15. Again, it all depends on what type of quality you are willing to pay for. Horse boots can cost from $30 to $300 (leather boots being pricier). You can buy a good pair of boots for $50. Lastly, brushes might cost around $2-5 each. You might be able to find a kit of all the brushes you need for about $20. Overall, the cheapest you can expect to pay is about $160. For good quality equipment it can cost you $330. And for the best quality things you would need to pay around $1000. I hope this helps! And good luck with your future horse. :)
Should I allow my daughter to wear a g-string or a thong?
I vividly remember buying my first thong when I was 13.I wanted one for an entire year before, but I was mortified to ask my mother for it. Then, one day my mom, sister, aunt and I were all clothes shopping together. We wandered into the underwear section and I kept staring at all the thongs.“Do you want one?” My mom asked nonchalantly.Then all the women in my family proceeded to help me pick one. It was a really liberating experience.My mom could have made a big deal about it. It could have been a thing on the huge list of other things my mom had to make a big deal about. But, this time she didn’t. She let me figure out for myself that they aren’t the most comfortable underwear in the world.There are so many things your kid is going to want to do. And some of those things are going to have to be a hard “no” from you. Does this really need to be one of them?P.S. It was pink and purple and VERY sparkly.