pata

Hi
I am planning to move to Australia end of next year, after validating visas in June.
I have two horses at the moment, neither of which unfortunately will be coming to Oz although I have heard that people have transported horses over!
I do plan to buy a horse once I am settled and would love to hear from anyone over there who has anything to do with horses and can give me some idea of what is different from here, with regard to everything really ... livery costs? Cost of buying horses? What people do? eg hacking, riding club etc.
I am interested in getting involved in endurance riding. I have an Arab mare who just loves this.
Be grateful for any information from horse owners out there

mr mover

Do you think you would be up to this.
http://www.aera.asn.au/quilty/
Most people around us ride Western Saddle, and own Palaminos & Paints, appaloosa,s etc.................... mm

jo&neil

Hi there

Am so glad I found this thread! From one horse lover to another, I'm not actually there yet but will be in Perth sometime in January (fingers crossed). I've had horses since I was 11 (quite a few yrs ago now !!!). My first New Forest pony only died 2 yrs ago, he was 23 Got 2 at the moment (a cob mare & a Shetland gelding (kept at my mums), they're sadly never ridden any more (no time, due to kids) & are just kept as pets.

I think Ive asked similar questions as you on another site & got some good info from someone called Peppi (will try to find out more for you). I was told that thoroughbreds are 2 a penny but ponies are actually quite expensive as they're not so common.

Where are you heading?

Great to hear from another horsey person

Jo
x

Buzzy--Bee

Try PMing mumomonty - she is very into horses and has kept them in UK, Oz and NZ.



Buzzy

Izzy

Hi, I had my own horse in UK as a child / teenager but have not owned a horse for some 20 years now. We leased a pony for our daughter 2 days after we got here and we have recently bought him from his owners.

Livery is called agistment over here so you agist your horse somewhere.

We live in Melbourne and there are huge problems re lack of hay and grass at the moment because of the drought and the fact that it is now summer. The horses get really fat in the spring similar to UK, but can lose weight at an alarming rate in summer.

We are members of pony club and I'm not sure if this is the same as the UK but riders are ungraded initially and then it goes from grade 5 to grade 1 the better you get. Rallys are held all over with excellent facilities on the first Sunday of each month. Our club (Mornington Peninsula) has fantastic show jumps and a cross country course through the bushland.

We pay $45 per week for a spot in a communal paddock, $30 per month for extra hay in paddock ( paddocks, not fields by the way). The price of hay is expected to triple this summer. We pay $30 for a trim only by the farrier. We have just bought a Wintec 500 saddle for $500 plus $200 for mounts and bridles start from as little as $50 (leather). Leather saddles start at around $2500.

Summer rugs are around $100, winter ones around $100 for unlined canvas or $200 to $300 for something warmer. I think it is quite cheap over here, but as I said, I haven't kept a horse in UK for years. Private lessons if you have your own horse are around $40 per hour.

There is an adult version of pony club called adult riders. A magazine that I have heard about that you might want to look at online is called Horse Deals. A friend of ours is looking for a 16.2, that is grade 1, and she is budgeting around $13000 for it, so horses seem cheaper too, but don't forget, you'll probably be earning less here.

Can't help with the endurance riding I'm afraid. Same here too in that throroughbreds are ten a penny and hard to keep the weight on them. Appaloosas are very popular too. Everyone at our yard uses a dressage or multipurpose. No stock saddles for us !!! Oh and horses live out all year too.

If I can be of any more help, let me know.

pata

Thanks for that, very interesting.
A vet who came out to my horse recently was Australian and felt that horaes were far more pampered in the UK!
Alison

Wol

>>Re: Any horse owners/riders out there in Oz?<<

Only the other 19,999,999 here!

thewoodz

Hi
just found this thread.
I had wanted a horse/pony all my life and finally achieved my dream 3 years ago - this resulted in also getting a pony for the kids and my sister also acquired a cob.
One of my greatest sadness's in this great big adventure is selling my mare. When i had her she was a real "stuck up" mare who seemed to like nothing better than"looking down" on us - now she loves a good ear tickling and has become as soft as butter.
My sister will keep the pony and her cob but does not have the time to take on my horse.... I am so sad about it. I know i will be able to get another in Oz but there is nothing quite like your first and i honestly thought i had her for life - OZ was just a conversation we had had for years!

there I've had the chance to get it off my chest. MrW isn't that sympathetic has he can't see the attraction and thinks they take up far too much time anyway and my sis isn't interested cos she does want me to move anyway

NUMBER69

I had my own horses (cobs) back home and although not the most confidence of riders, love riding.

I moved to the Perth area (Roleystone) in May and would love to meet up with anyone else with similar interests. I enjoy bush riding (hacking) and basically riding out with someone to gain more experience, confidence.

If anyone is interested in meeting up, please let me know.

seat151

My wife is into Horses, and owns a cob?


She has been looking for places to ride when we get out to Perth eventually.

I know nothing about horses, except I have a cunning knack of picking the slowest one when they race!

esperanza

We went riding a few weeks ago at a place called Camp Cobark, in the Barrington Tops, just north of the Hunter Valley, a few hours up from Sydney (Australia, southern hemisphere, the world, the galaxy, the universe, etc) The people there were fantastic, I would highly recommend them. Have phone numbers here if anyone is interested.

It was excellent fun! Neither of us is especially good riders, but we were trotting along very happily and we mustered cattle and all sorts. So now we're looking in to getting some lessons & riding more regularly - I don't know what the set up is in the UK but what I've found here seems to be geared up to kids & teenagers, or disabled people... I think I'll have to do some ringing around and negotiate a decent price for an hour or two a week of riding/tuition. Certainly the weather here is more conducive to it, imo! And there are is plenty of space and lots of horses. It's great!

NUMBER69

When do you plan on getting out to Perth and where do you live just now? Perhaps we could keep in touch and meet up when you arrive.

My cobs were never the fastests either, unless they were charging for their food buckets, typical fatso's.