Page 40 - The Hunt - Spring 2020

(Clockwise from above) Dowling on the job at Grey Lake Stables; Donaldson rides Rocket Man; tending to a horse.
with friends’ ponies and moved on to leased horses or those owned by a training stable. “Some ponies go through three or four kids before they’re retired,” Dowling says.
Determining where the new horse will eat and sleep is also no small matter. “I was a horse-crazy girl of
7 or 8, [but] I grew up in Philadelphia,” says Dr. Regina Turner, who heads an equine reproduction unit at
the University of Pennsylvania’s New Bolton Center. “In spite of incessant begging to have a horse in my backyard—which was all of about a tenth of an acre— my parents irrationally refused.”
But even for people with a larger backyard, putting a new horse out there alone may not be a great idea. “Horses are herd animals by nature,” says Dowling. “They want to be with other horses.”
And the reality checks continue from there. Can the prospective owners afford the purchase price of the horse? Do they have the money to outfit the horse
and pay the stable to feed, board, exercise and clean up after the horse? And will they have any leftover cash for riding outfits and paraphernalia? It’s difficult to determine an “average” price for a horse. “A foxhunter may range anywhere from a few thousand dollars to $50,000,” she says.
Depending on a horse’s worth, an insurance policy is also a consideration. And Dowling says full-care boarding can range from $1,300 to $3,000 a month. Second-hand saddles can be found at consignment shops specializing in riding equipment. Other must- haves include bridles, grooming supplies and horse blankets for bad weather.
In most cases, future owners already own riding gear. “Kids are constantly outgrowing theirs,” Dowling notes. “The one thing you should never try to save on is a good helmet, which is a must. No matter how experienced you are or how long you’ve ridden, you will fall off
the horse.”
146 THE HUNT MAGAZINE SPRING 2020