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RE: [RC] affording endurance riding - Laurie Underwood"You don't need cable TV." Try telling the rest of my family that! I was perfectly content without cable for the entire month it took the cable company to lay cable out this way. But .... since my husband puts up with my horse habit, I have to compromise as well ... so cable it is. Laurie Underwood -----Original Message----- From: ridecamp-owner@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx [mailto:ridecamp-owner@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx] On Behalf Of rides2far@xxxxxxxx Sent: Sunday, November 07, 2004 10:53 PM To: ridecamp@xxxxxxxxxxxxx Subject: [RC] affording endurance riding To be an endurance rider you need a horse, tack, and to afford feeding and shoeing. You don't necessarily have to compete often. That's the main thing I'd tell someone with not much money. When I started out I did one to two rides a year...but I trained (overtrained) 5 days a week. I was every bit as much of an endurance rider then as I am now. If you have a goal ride 6 months or so away, you have a *reason* to ride and to improve. The ride is just the test but the training is the education. Now, as one of the official "cheapest people in endurance" I'll give you a few tips in miserliness. NEVER buy anything like saddles, trucks or trailers new. That's for rich people who have so much money that they have to find ways to waste it. The first buyer takes the big mark down from retail to sub-wholesale. It's best to buy from rich people who like to buy things and get bored with them quickly. They don't even care whether they get the best price for it. They usually think there's something wrong with it anyway since it didn't make them an instant success and they want to buy success. NEVER try to save money by buying a foal or a rehab horse. Both may be rewarding but are not financially a good investment (read that as money pit) so are best left to those who have money they need to get rid of. Again, it's best to buy from someone who doesn't value what they've got. If somebody *wants* a horse they can lunge until it's tired, they consider the Arab they have a problem animal...thus it's cheap. The same horse in the hands of an endurance rider will be priced high since they value that quality. Always buy your hay in the summer in the field. You have more energy than money so go for the most economical way. To do this you have to be the sort of person who saves ahead. It's always cheaper to have some savings...do not let yourself live "on the line". I know so many "poor" people who buy one bale of hay at a time for $3 at the feed store when it would have been $1.25 in the field (this is the lowest quality stuff). They don't see that it's that big of a difference but small holes sink big ships. Repeat that to yourself: SMALL HOLES SINK BIG SHIPS! You don't buy drinks for $1 out of the machine, you carry around a $1.99 (on sale, you had savings so you bought ahead) 12 pack in your back seat and ask for a cup of ice with your 99 cent McChicken (not the $2.99 grilled mind you). You get a friend to haul to rides with you and split gas. If you want biothane but can't afford new, ask around. Lots of riders buy "new colors" for every new horse and have extras in the barn. I've been hauling an $1800 2 horse trailer for 14 years. I occasionally pull my neice's gooseneck but as used to roughing it as I am I have a hard time making myself use the extra gas. A $5 army blanket is as good as any $100 cooler (and often better). For years I would throw one on the horse and put a light sheet (that I won) over it instead of owning a heavy blanket. 50 feet of rope makes a fine picket line saving you from buying a $500 corral. An old snaffle bit can hang on it for your ring, and you can duct tape a couple of sticks on it for stops near the tree. I run my rope through one of my shipping boots to protect the tree bark. Of course you buy laundry detergent that comes in buckets or raid a building site and ask for their spacking buckets. A beach towel can work for a light rump rug. A $10 tarp over your trailer a fine awning. If you drag the mats out the back the smell goes with them and you can sleep very well on a cot in the trailer. A garbage bag lined bucket with sawdust makes a porto-toilet. You can haul water in buckets lined with garbage bags. A little extra training will be worth more than all the expensive supplements that the people who work 70 hours a week and have lots of money buy. You don't need cable TV. You don't require a cell phone bill. You don't need to join a gym (the horse will work you hard enough) In a pinch you can even do without internet...though I have an earthlink account, I get my Ridecamp through a free dial up e-mail service. I could go on and on but I'll leave some stuff for others to suggest. :-) Angie ________________________________________________________________ Juno Platinum $9.95. Juno SpeedBand $14.95. Sign up for Juno Today at http://www.juno.com! Look for special offers at Best Buy stores. =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= Ridecamp is a service of Endurance Net, http://www.endurance.net. Information, Policy, Disclaimer: http://www.endurance.net/Ridecamp Subscribe/Unsubscribe http://www.endurance.net/ridecamp/logon.asp Ride Long and Ride Safe!! =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= Ridecamp is a service of Endurance Net, http://www.endurance.net. Information, Policy, Disclaimer: http://www.endurance.net/Ridecamp Subscribe/Unsubscribe http://www.endurance.net/ridecamp/logon.asp Ride Long and Ride Safe!! =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
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