Читать книгу Horse Economics - Catherine E O'Brien - Страница 11

♦ For clarification, the term instructor refers to someone who teaches riding lessons and focuses on the rider’s skills.

♦ A trainer is someone who primarily works with the horse or both horse and rider. Often, where one term is used in this book, the other may be substituted.

7. Emergencies

“Just because you can afford the maintenance on a horse, doesn’t mean that you can afford one,” says Denise A. Gorondy, DVM. Dr. Gorondy has a veterinary practice with Virginia Equine Clinic in Manakin, Virginia. “What happens to new horse owners is an extensive injury involving $2,000 to $3,000 and this is a wake-up call for them.”

An injury can happen to any horse. A common example: a horse steps on a nail and punctures the navicular bursa^♦. This requires surgery, long-term antibiotics, sterile bandaging, and special shoeing while the horse recovers. Or, a horse walks into a branch under the tree in his pasture and suffers a puncture wound to the eye—with a secondary fungal infection. According to Dr. Gorondy, the oral anti-fungal medications cost over $100 per day and are prescribed for a long period of time.

Clearly, you need to set up an emergency fund in the event of your horse suffering a serious injury or getting colic^♦. The purchase of medical/surgical coverage can relieve some of the financial worry (see p. 45), but “older” horses (normally described as over the age of fifteen) are not insurable, and many beginning riders start out with older—wiser—horses. Regardless of your horse’s age, I recommend putting aside $150 per month in a savings account, or keeping a credit card with a zero balance, to use in the event of a horse emergency.