BABY PHOTO: Lil Bit of Magic
I don't know why some things come swirling into my brain (we won't go there) but today I suddenly thought about it, like REALLY THOUGHT ABOUT IT. Now take Phebes for instance--she's been here since she was two months old. She my little fur ball of fun and the devil incarnate was $600. I hired a trainer to work on her ground manners as a two year old for another $350. We won't go into my husband's medical expenses (which why she got sent to a trainer for ground manners) and his subsequent loss of half of one of his fingers, and time off work. Of course I needed a horse trailer...Then I hired a trainer to come down from up north because I could get exactly half of her into a horse trailer. Thirty minutes and $250 he had the horse in the trailer. Voila! Horse is trained for trailering. NOT. Better than she started, but much more sweat equity on my part to get her loading reliably. Then there has been the vet care, the hay, the feed, the supplements, medication, vaccinations (oh did I forget to mention the fencing and the horse stalls?). Next were a few lessons which was the best $100 I have ever spent on my horse. I wonder if all the numbers were crunched what Phebes is actually worth in cash investment? $5000-6000 easily over the past five years?
In today's market I figure my little half arabian with her three Limited Distance completions is worth all of $500. She has declined in value from her original purchase price when she was green eyed snake mean, and didn't know diddly squat.
*Granny scratches head, and it ain't because of fleas*
Good thing I'm keepin' her. ~E.G.
My (now former-)husband used to claim that this thing or that item was an excellent investment, and would be worth big money some day.
ReplyDeleteTo which I learned to respond, "Only if you sell it, which you won't."
(yeah, it was a good divorce)
But the point remains that the monetary value of an object is only important at the time of purchase and the time of sale. Otherwise, it's just a bunch of numbers.
Yep. We'll just keep telling ourselves that, won't we?
If you start looking at horses simply in terms of $$, then you will usually come up short. The fun and pleasure that I get from Doc is priceless. If I tried to sell him, I'd be lucky to get back half of what I bought him for. That of course doesn't include 10 years of boarding, supplements, tack, lessons, clinics, trailer, truck, farrier, vet, etc.
ReplyDeleteOf course, he is not for sale, but a history of heaves and a weak stifle does not make for a good sale price in-spite of all of his wonderfulness, he would not pass a vet check. But that is OK, he does everything I want him to do and he is also teaching 3 other riders who get to enjoy him from time to time as well. Can't put a $$ value on that. :-)
my fat, lazy, often lame Thoroughbred ex-racehorse Stormy is worth a million dollars! but no, I would never sell him.
ReplyDelete: )))
- The Equestrian Vagabond
I don't even let myself begin to think about the amount of money we've spent on Huck after his initial purchase. Tack, training, and then rehab and ulcer meds. Oh my. :)
ReplyDeleteAll I can say, is that Huckleberry is worth every penny that we've spent, and he proves it to me every moment I'm with him.
I do think about what Farley would fetch in the market. I dont' add in all my expenses, it's mroe of a curiosity exercise of "is she worth more now than when I bought her?".
ReplyDeleteI bought her as a green broke, no specific training broodmare for $1800 before the market crashed. I think even though the market is down, I could *probably* get 3K for her, maybe closer to 4K depending on which market I shoot for. She's safe on the trail, can do 100 miles, traffic broke, goes bareback at all gaits. Can pack kids and beginners around on the trail or in the arena (but is probably too hot at a ride for an inexperienced rider), can shoot a pistol off of her, swing a sword, loads in a trailer, crosses water, no bad vices, can go barefoot.
I think she would go for a little more if I advertized her as a 4-H horse, probably a little less if I advertised her as an endurance horse (I think most people shy away from a horse that's already done a couple of seasons and a 100 because of the risk of overuse injury? Not sure).
Do endurance horses actually burn out their joints in just a few seasons? or after adding a few 100's? If that is so I'M QUITTING. I want to be riding my mare ten years from now...maybe twenty!
ReplyDeleteDo endurance horses actually burn out their joints in just a few seasons? or after adding a few 100's? If that is so I'M QUITTING. I want to be riding my mare ten years from now...maybe twenty!
ReplyDeletePaid $3500 just for the horse. She's a "show horse," you know. :rolleyes: I think horses are the type of activity where you should only look at the ratio of money spent to fun had, not the actual quantity of money spent. I think my horse hobby is worth it, because she's the most (legal and kid-safe) fun I've ever had.
ReplyDelete