I’ve mentioned before that we are a 4-H family. Each year for the past several years my 13 year old daughter has submitted an entry in the horse lovers project. She has always done pretty well. This year, however, she did great and took home the “Best in show” ribbon.
In past years the project has usually been around a horses health. This year she dug into what it costs to keep a horse. The result is a paper that looks at the startup costs of becoming a horse owner and what it takes to keep them on your own property as opposed to boarding them someplace. The girl was always aware that it took money to keep our own horses on our property but we never had reason to really get into the details of what that meant. This turned into a fine opportunity to explore this.
In researching the paper we had to figure out how many horses she was going to have (2) and what kind of barn they would live in. We also had to look up all the barn accessories (buckets, pitch-forks, feed barrels, etc) and tack (riding equipment. bridle, saddle, etc). We determined how many acres she would need to have fenced in and how the pastures would be broken up for grazing and riding. This led to a discussion around building the fence and buying the posts, gates and associated hardware, not to mention the equipment needed to electrify the fence. Lastly, we had to feed and care for the animals which led us to the majority of the recurring costs of grain, hay and vet visits.
As you might imagine this was a real eye opener for her and ended up being an eye opener for most people that read it. Horse owners and non-owners alike. Like most things that become an ingrained part of your life you kind of forget that there is a real financial obligation that exists. As people read the paper you could hear them saying, “I hope my husband doesn’t read this.” or “If this is how much it costs for two horses then how much am I spending?”.
I was impressed that the girl looked at the costs of being a horse owner and wasn’t scared off. Instead, she understood that planning for something like this is a necessity and that it’s important to look at the big picture and beyond. This could have easily spun off into a conversation about school, work ethic, priorities, and more but I decided to let this opportunity pass. Overall I think this project was a fun learning experience for her and I didn’t want to ruin that.
Oh, by the way, aside from being a good writer she’s also a good rider (clever.. I know). She managed to get first place in her fitting and showing class and took second in one of her riding classes. She also made it into the championship and medals ring twice. Yep, color me proud.
congrats from one 4-H gal to another! xo
amys last blog post..Id like to be a gallery/Put you all inside my show
Thanks amy! I’ll pass along the message!
Two thumbs up to your daughter, that is most excellent. I too was in 4-H when I was younger and have had horses most of my life in Oregon and Montana. My husband and I do not have any animals now here in Minnesota, figured we would wait until our 2 year old is a little older.
Horses can be very expensive, but in my opinion so worth it, if you can afford them. Part of me misses having horses so much that I do want to get a couple some time in the near future. My husband has never been on a horse and there is me and my mom, who broke and trained most the horses we owned.
I am sure you and your family know this, but depending on where you live there are also trail competitions and others that are more relaxed. These are not show competitions, but you actually can still win money on them, not huge but it helps to cover some costs and is way to much fun.
Lauries last blog post..My Son Makes A New Friend In the Backyard
Hi Laurie. Like your husband, I had not been on a horse prior to meeting my wife and have only done so since a small handful of times. I like the horses well enough but have little interest in actually riding them. My role involves feeding them and fixing fences for the most part. I guess the bottom line for me is seeing my wife and girls happy and if horses are part of that equation then so be it.
I hope you guys are able to get a couple of horses yourself soon enough. It sounds like a pretty great release for you and that just can’t be a bad thing.
That’s awesome Chuck! If you have a copy of the paper, can you send it to me? My daughter wants us to get a horse, but we don’t live on enough land to keep it. We could board one, if we ever did decide to do so; however, I have told her that it would be financially prohibitive. I’d love for her to read your daughter’s paper. Congratulations again man – I’m sure you are very, very proud!
Congratulations to your daughter! That is very exciting. Your daughter sounds very responsible (:
That is really great! Such a necessary look at the reality of owning and caring for an animal, beyond the usual scope of magical thinking and horsey dreams. You have every right to be proud! Excellent work on her part, and on yours.
toms last blog post..Tales of the Trip, part 2: No Rest for the Weary
Awesome job! 4-H is a good program! Ace’s grandma is already trying to figure out how to get him to show hogs in a couple years. It’ll be kinda hard since we live about an hour from the farm.
Jareds last blog post..Sun, Sand, and Dirty Diapers
How totally awesome!
I should probably get her to send that to me. I have one that thinks that owning a horse would be just great and probably wouldn’t caost to much since we could keep it inthe backyard!!!!!