Horses or Ponies

rosedalton1234

Hi all,

I am horse mad. Im looking for some advice. I am intersted in going hacking or trail riding in dublin. I live on the southside. I have little money as i am a student. I was tinking if I could get a group or club together, things might work out cheaper. As bigger numbers might be able to make a better deal. I would like to invite people who have an intrest in horses to be involved in any small way. Please send on ideas. As I would like to set something up for people of all ages.

garbanzo

rosedalton1234 wrote: »

Hi all,

I am horse mad. Im looking for some advice. I am intersted in going hacking or trail riding in dublin. I live on the southside. I have little money as i am a student. I was tinking if I could get a group or club together, things might work out cheaper. As bigger numbers might be able to make a better deal. I would like to invite people who have an intrest in horses to be involved in any small way. Please send on ideas. As I would like to set something up for people of all ages.

Ask for Olive or Jackie in Kellystown Equestrian Centre, up beyond Stackstown Golf Club in Rathfarnham. Great set-up....

Kamili

Could be wrong but I think olive only really caters for children mainly? My cuz rides there and adores it, seems to be brilliant.

What about contacting Anthony Byrne in Callaighstown too?

garbanzo

Kamili wrote: »

Could be wrong but I think olive only really caters for children mainly? My cuz rides there and adores it, seems to be brilliant.

What about contacting Anthony Byrne in Callaighstown too?

You may be right Kamili. My daughter has been going there a few years now and it is great for her, she is 11. I Guess I'm not much use to you so happy trails !

german7

hi in responce, my daughter is 15 years old and myself are interested in horses:D, we find it very costly. perhaps we could all get together and chat. I would be very interested in starting a club. For different amenities, hacking out and trail rididng this would be a good idea, if it could be done at an affordible price, I think most people would be agreeable to it. I would like to get involved in any way.:)

doctor evil

Is there a riding club in your college?

Riding can be costly but you do get what you pay for. The price of fuel and feed has gone up (which I know effects everyone), there is insurance and wages to be paid.

Some places has term cards where you pay for a block of lessons and you get a discount.

If you want to be around horses and not just be riding them than you can volunteet for RDA Ireland or paralympic Ireland.

http://www.rdai.org/

http://www.horsesportireland.ie/other/paralympics-ireland-launched.8881.html

It is a great to pick up tips and network.


I rode at Kellystown years ago, I think the biggest horse they had was 15 hands.

german7

Hello,

I read all your replys and your post again. I think some prople are missing the point, riding stables etc, I see you want to set up a club I assume at a non profit basis.

If this is so a person I know would be willing to give you 4-5 stable at a nomminal price for 12 months providing you come up meeting certin conditions laid down. This should give you a good start. We could all have a meeting soon when there is more intrest?

Kamili

German7 I think you may have misinterpreted the OP's post, I don't think they are looking to hire stables, from what I read of it I think they ate looking to get a group of people together so that when they do approach a riding school for hacking/lessons they can get a group rate.
OP please correct me if I'm wrong?

rosedalton1234

Hi all,
thanks for all the responces. I would like with the help and offers I have recieved so far to set up a club as I have mentioned. I have an offer of a few ponies that i can take care of and use for club use if this is possible. I am at a crosroads, i can see in the future with the help of some volenteers and the use of some stables, that a club could use at a nominal price. If we could get this together we would have our own resources. there would be no need to go elsewhere. I would like to appeal to anybody as we have a few ponies but no tack for them, also loan of a few horses. If we can get this in place we could have regular outings, all animals will be well looked after and would be open to inspection at any time. I feel very happy with all the good wishes and support i have got. it seems to me there is alot of people with the same view as me. This club will be run on a non profit basis- everyone will have an equal say. this applies to anyone with or without horse or pony, all support welcome.

Kamili

I think you have a great idea but I would just have a query regarding insurance, have you considered this? Particularly if you are allowing others ride the ponies... This can be very expensive and will bring costs up for you...

karrieando

There is a governing body for clubs in Ireland called The AIRC they have a collective interest in organising various activities competitions and educational opportunities , they also have an insurance policy for its members . As far as i remember from my own days in riding club you only need 5 or 6 people to form a club, also there are grading systems for rider ability and its open to horse owners and non owners, plus they have height restrictions on the animals bascically they allow a minimum height of 14.2 and all members must be 17 yrs or over.....hope this helps

silverfox88

rosedalton1234 wrote: »

Hi all,
thanks for all the responces. I would like with the help and offers I have recieved so far to set up a club as I have mentioned. I have an offer of a few ponies that i can take care of and use for club use if this is possible. I am at a crosroads, i can see in the future with the help of some volenteers and the use of some stables, that a club could use at a nominal price. If we could get this together we would have our own resources. there would be no need to go elsewhere. I would like to appeal to anybody as we have a few ponies but no tack for them, also loan of a few horses. If we can get this in place we could have regular outings, all animals will be well looked after and would be open to inspection at any time. I feel very happy with all the good wishes and support i have got. it seems to me there is alot of people with the same view as me. This club will be run on a non profit basis- everyone will have an equal say. this applies to anyone with or without horse or pony, all support welcome.

this is a great idea in theory but there are numerous reasons why something like this is not already in existence. first and foremost, insurance - who takes the fall if someone injures themselves and sues? who pays the vet bills, farrier bills, feed bills, worming costs, vaccinations, new tack? who is responsible for ensuring all ponies/horses are fed appropriately/ridden appropriately? it is very difficult to use horses in a group situation without someone in charge to lay down the law and ensure that squabbling and fights can be avoided.

as a horse owner, and im sure other owners/yard owners/managers in fact anyone who is involved in the day to day care of horses will agree, horses have their obvious costs such as feeding shoeing etc etc but there are constant pitfalls along the way - dentists, injury, problem feet, the list goes on. and on. and ON. looking after a horse is NOT cheap, and it never will be. As someone said earlier on in this thread, you get what you pay for.

i advise the OP to exercise extreme caution in any venture of this kind. looking after one horse is hard enough, but trying to organise looking after several is an entirely different kettle of fish.

there are many ways to get involved in horseriding without taking on something of this scale. as someone else mentioned earlier, college riding clubs - they offer the chance to do lessons at reduced rates, and you get the opportunity to compete at the big inter-university shows without the hassle of transport, show gear, and so on. similarly, you could contact a riding school and explain you have a group wishing to take lessons together and wish for a discount. in these recessionary times im sure most riding schools would welcome a large group, even if they had to make a small sacrifice in the form of a discount. alternatively, why not consider a horse share? there are dozens of ads on donedeal, horseplay, and boards itself with people looking to share, usually at quite reasonable rates. this way you are getting pretty much all the benefits of horse ownership without the massive financial commitment.

sorry for the rambling, im just very sceptical of the feasibility of such an idea.

Kamili

Unfortunately I agree wholeheartedly with silverfox's post, you would be treading on dangerous ground if you do not have yourself covered by insurance, or the knowledge to keep ponies yourself.

It sounds to me like you are trying to start up what essentially is a riding school which is no mean feat. Looking after horses is a 24-7 job, not a 9-5 and is hard backbreaking work.

Renting stables can also be expensive and coupled with the cost of feed, hay, bedding etc it will not be cheap. Who would pay for all this? Who would look after the ponies 24-7?

As for loaning ponies and horses from others, to be honest I don't see many owners agreeing to this at all. Regarding tack, every horses shape is different and I'll fitting tack can cause all sorts of problems for ponies backs.

I'm sorry but I really have to agree with ssilvetfox and say that I don't see how this is feasible at all, livery in Dublin is over €100 a week, would your club members afford all these costs?

rosedalton1234

Thank you all. I am aware there is alot more to be done. The club will have a commettie to run things day to day, insurance, costs etc,. I would also like to point out i was speaking to a bus driver last week, I told him of my plight, he was most interested, as the conversation went on he mentioned he was retireing in november. He volenteered to help out in anyway. He is very passionate about horses. Its possible there are some pepole like this that would help out. We exchanged contact details. I myself am from a farming background. I am sure there are people who may have outgrown there pony or horse, might donate there tack. i hope when a club is formed to have a meeting to decide on scheduled hacks/trials & outings perhaps at the weekends to allow for people working during the week. At this particular time i am focusing on members for the club age is immaterial.:)