Discussion
The jiffle king said:
They have "stalls" for the horses and they can fit 1, 2 or 3 horses in hence first, business or cattle class. I don't think the flight was too bad given they need a vet on board, a groom and lots of hay. I think it was $2k which for 500ish KG is not bad. Of course he needed his passport which he had from birth, injections, quarantine for 3 days in NY and we had to get him to Belgium as well.
I am told that flying is smoother than the roads so they are usually fine and not sedated, but occasionally they try to sit down on take off. He was a little stiff after 13 hours on a truck and given he arrived at 3am in the morning, he was very tired
No that doesn't sound expensive considering the involvement. I guess flying is smoother than the stop start traffic of the M25 etc.I am told that flying is smoother than the roads so they are usually fine and not sedated, but occasionally they try to sit down on take off. He was a little stiff after 13 hours on a truck and given he arrived at 3am in the morning, he was very tired
I finally finished mine a couple of months back. I went for chopped car interiors (this is PH, afterall) and am delighted with it. Me and a mate did it - final bill at £13K, so saving about £30K on a contractor! Jesus, 140t of recycled rail ballast wasn't cheap though. Nor was the sand. I told hubster it'll put 10% on the value of the house, and keep me happy 
That's a really good price even for a self build!
So far they've put down 240t of washed hardcore which will then have silica sand on followed by shredded car tyre rubber. It's got the usual drainage channels underneath with a 3m x 3m x 4m deep soak away in the adjacent field. This has been filled mainly with plastic soak away crates so it retains it's volume.
It's costing circa £25k but that includes hardcore then road planings in our car park and the area between the car park, menage and stables. I'll post more pics up as it progresses over the week to give you a better idea. Compared to some quotes (up to £45k!!!) it was a very good deal. I think it helps that my OH is in sales and is a very good negotiator and of course, cash is king....
So far they've put down 240t of washed hardcore which will then have silica sand on followed by shredded car tyre rubber. It's got the usual drainage channels underneath with a 3m x 3m x 4m deep soak away in the adjacent field. This has been filled mainly with plastic soak away crates so it retains it's volume.
It's costing circa £25k but that includes hardcore then road planings in our car park and the area between the car park, menage and stables. I'll post more pics up as it progresses over the week to give you a better idea. Compared to some quotes (up to £45k!!!) it was a very good deal. I think it helps that my OH is in sales and is a very good negotiator and of course, cash is king....
It's horses = expensive! Was definitely worth doing though. Afterall, the school was nothing compared to buying a house (I use that term loosely) with some land so we could have them outside our kitchen window. I can vouch for the recycled surface, especially when landing on your head
Very true!
I had a brief look through your house build thread earlier. Very impressive! We have a decent bit of land but no chance of putting a house on it so we are debating selling up the land and house then buying/building a house where the horses can live in the garden. Living in the South East and needing a minimum ten acres it is an expensive hobby though....
I had a brief look through your house build thread earlier. Very impressive! We have a decent bit of land but no chance of putting a house on it so we are debating selling up the land and house then buying/building a house where the horses can live in the garden. Living in the South East and needing a minimum ten acres it is an expensive hobby though....
Thank you, it's been a labour of love - three and a half years in and we've only just got carpets, the curtains can wait! Obviously, the horses have every luxury. They also scream for breakfast when they see me or Rich 'sneaking' down for a coffee in the mornings. I love it. Apart from when they eat the gates. We only have four acres - two of grazing, which has been challenging. I reckon getting the grass to grow has been more stressful than building the house. Next time (!) I'll make sure there's more established grassland. But again, it's all down to money, ten acres would be nigh on impossible for us round here. Make sure you update with some pics/build specs - how exciting for you.
Oh, a tip. Before your rubber goes on, wait for some rain and grade the sand as much as you can. Weighted sleeper/gate on back of truck/mower/quad and go over it as much as you have time for. Then find some more time and do it again. And again. Even if they use a laser for the sand. There'll be some humps, which'll cause some bunching of the surface which is a bit of a nuisance - it'll settle here eventually once it's all levelled out but I wish I'd known, it'd save a bit of work. Also, the sand will seem quite 'light' to start with. The horses tend to go into it rather than 'on' it. Don't panic, it'll firm up after a few months.
Emma
Oh, a tip. Before your rubber goes on, wait for some rain and grade the sand as much as you can. Weighted sleeper/gate on back of truck/mower/quad and go over it as much as you have time for. Then find some more time and do it again. And again. Even if they use a laser for the sand. There'll be some humps, which'll cause some bunching of the surface which is a bit of a nuisance - it'll settle here eventually once it's all levelled out but I wish I'd known, it'd save a bit of work. Also, the sand will seem quite 'light' to start with. The horses tend to go into it rather than 'on' it. Don't panic, it'll firm up after a few months.
Emma
It has taken us years to get the grass right here. It was 80% bramble and ragwort when we got it and we have only recently managed to get it cleared permanently and decent grass growing. Buying a tractor was the best thing we did so I can harrow, roll, fertilise and spray. We also got a paddock sweeper which with 12 horses is a life saver! The ground is clay so it is boggy in the winter and rock hard in the summer with zero drainage which doesn't help. It is a struggle to get anything to grow in it.
The menage builders are using a road roller to compact the sand down and get it level so I hope this is enough. We are meant to have a bit of rain later this week too which may help things.
The menage builders are using a road roller to compact the sand down and get it level so I hope this is enough. We are meant to have a bit of rain later this week too which may help things.
We're clay too - it's a nightmare. You won't get the roller on if it's not wet - it'll just bog down. We were lucky as we had a downpour at just the right time to get the roller on. I would still say grade it if you can. Roll it a few times, then grade, then roll again. Let us know how you get on.
Today is a very sad day for me. A few hours ago I received a message that Kimo has died. Kimo, aka King Kimo, was not mine but when I started riding he was the second horse I rode. And yesterday was the last time Kimo and I have riden together. So now he has gone to horse heaven.
Kimo was a 27 old KWPN-stallion and I hope and think he has enjoyed every day of his life. Goodbye dear old friend...
Sorry to hear about being put down. Its a sad day for any animal and horse lover.
We've now moved back to the UK and brought Roddy with us and I'll post some pictures when I get on the Mac.
We now have our own place with 15 acres which is great and he has a couple of buddies to hang around with as well as an indoor arena (not big) to do some schooling in. He can still sniff a carrot at 5 metres and a mint at 10 metres and is happy to hang out with us and go for a walk.... and even comes to the local village to post letters with us sometimes.
Hes been to a couple of shows but loves playing in the pastures and having fun.
I'll post pictures when I can
We've now moved back to the UK and brought Roddy with us and I'll post some pictures when I get on the Mac.
We now have our own place with 15 acres which is great and he has a couple of buddies to hang around with as well as an indoor arena (not big) to do some schooling in. He can still sniff a carrot at 5 metres and a mint at 10 metres and is happy to hang out with us and go for a walk.... and even comes to the local village to post letters with us sometimes.
Hes been to a couple of shows but loves playing in the pastures and having fun.
I'll post pictures when I can
I'm looking for thoughts on a horse riding accident I had last week:
I had my first riding lesson last Sunday. I made it clear that I was a bit nervous and wary of horses because one had chased me when I was young, so the lesson was partly to address this.
The riding instructor told me I'd be riding a mischievous horse, and when I sat on him he kept flicking his head forward and jerking the reins from my hands. When I was instructing him to halt he'd slow down, but not stop completely, and he'd take off again without me having to tap on his sides.
Anyway, the instructor wanted to teach me how to get into a rhythm when trotting, so she told the horse to speed up. He started waving his head wildly from side to side, which unbalanced me. The saddle slipped down his side, and I fell. As I fell my hand got caught in the reins. As soon as I got up I knew something wasn't right, apart from absolutely s
tting myself and feeling sick, my hand was killing.
I went straight to A&E, and had to have an operation to wire a broken finger back together. I'm not a compensation chaser, and I understand that a horse is not a machine and cannot be 100% controlled or predictable. I have been wondering though if the horse should be used for lessons when the instructor knew it was 'mischievous', and given that it wasn't fully following commands.
What are your thoughts? It hasn't put me off riding, or made me fear horses. I'm just considering using another riding school.
I had my first riding lesson last Sunday. I made it clear that I was a bit nervous and wary of horses because one had chased me when I was young, so the lesson was partly to address this.
The riding instructor told me I'd be riding a mischievous horse, and when I sat on him he kept flicking his head forward and jerking the reins from my hands. When I was instructing him to halt he'd slow down, but not stop completely, and he'd take off again without me having to tap on his sides.
Anyway, the instructor wanted to teach me how to get into a rhythm when trotting, so she told the horse to speed up. He started waving his head wildly from side to side, which unbalanced me. The saddle slipped down his side, and I fell. As I fell my hand got caught in the reins. As soon as I got up I knew something wasn't right, apart from absolutely s
tting myself and feeling sick, my hand was killing.I went straight to A&E, and had to have an operation to wire a broken finger back together. I'm not a compensation chaser, and I understand that a horse is not a machine and cannot be 100% controlled or predictable. I have been wondering though if the horse should be used for lessons when the instructor knew it was 'mischievous', and given that it wasn't fully following commands.
What are your thoughts? It hasn't put me off riding, or made me fear horses. I'm just considering using another riding school.
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