Fish or horse?

Question

I'm getting a horse but my mum says practice by getting my own fish but where ever I go it cost £10-£50.Does any one have any idea were i can get cheap fish???I need answers now unless I won't get my pony and is there any one with any idea where I can get a horse for £750??????

My mum hates spiders and my sister hates them more and when I need to get fish is so I can understand why I care like this!!!!

Answer 1

FISH you don't have to walk them in the rain, as fish are already there.

Answer 2

FOr fish I can only suggest a local pet shop. As for the horse - how much experiance do you have? If not much, before you even consider getting one you need to go to your local riding school and get lessons in stable mangment (mucking out, feeding etc) as well as riding. As for that sort of price, you will either have to get a very young, possibly unbroken horse (only for the experianced) or a horse that may well have problems, or an older horse (later teenage years I mean) A more realistic price for a reasonable, all round horse would be £1500 - £2000. This will get you something that has been reasonable schooled, but that will last you for quite a while. The best way to find what you are after is to sit down and decide exactly what you want - age, height, type, experiance, ability etc.
Next you need to find somewhere to keep your horse, a livery yard or riding school who do livery etc, then look through all the mags like horse and hound, your horse etc, ask around for details of local dealers - be careful when buying from dealers - take someone who is experianced at buying horses, or ask you riding school if they have anything for sale that would be suitable for you.

Once you have found a horse you like, that you can afford, HAVE IT VETTED. This costs around £150, but is essentail. You want a full 5 stage vetting which involves a physical exam, watching the horse trot up, flexion tests, watching the horse being worked and a repeated physical and flexion tests. This should show up most physical problems and give you an idea of the horses health. Don't use a vet recommended by the person or dealer selling the horse, find your own.
Make sure that you ride the horse yourself, don't just watch it being ridden as you need to get an idea of whether you can handle this horse or not, and whether you get on with it. Also ask about vices - if the owner tells you that the horse has no vices (weaving, windsucking, crib bitting etc) and they do, and you can prove that the seller knew about the vice then you have a come-back; vices have health implications. You should also ensure that you have a written recipt, stating that the horse has no vices, or which it has if any. Also ensure that you get the horse's passport with the horse - don't accept that it will be sent to you in the future, as this can be an indication of the horse being stolen.

You also need to consider whether you have enough time for a horse - you are looking at around 1/2 hour in the morning and 1 hour in the evening, and that is just for stable duties, it doesn't include riding and exercising the horse.

I know this sounds like an awful lot of information, but you want to be really careful about buying a horse as with any luck, it will be with you for a long time and you want to get it right. Try and get someone experianced to help you find and buy a suitable horse as they will have a better idea of your riding abiltiy and the suitability of a horse than you will. They are also likly to be aware of tricks used to disguise any problems in a horse.

Good luck with your horse when you get it - they are a lot of work, but definatly worth it.

Answer 3

Um, I hate to say this but you will struggle to buy a horse for £750 unless it is very very small or is ancient or had major problems. I've recently bought a horse that needs major re-schooling for over £1000. You wouldn't want anything like that as a first horse as you will want something to learn with first. Horse & Hound has a weekly section under £1000 & if you are lucky you might get something out of there that is old for you to start with, however if funds are that limited will you be able to finance keeping your horse properly? You may be better getting a pony on loan or looking for a pony to share as this can be a much cheaper option, also if you share a pony with someone else then you have half the amount of responsibility as whoever you share with helps with the care & cost of the pony.

Most garden centres have an aquatic centre attached where I'm sure you can get a goldfish for a couple of pounds. I'm guessing the stuff to go with the fish (bowl, food, coloured gravel to go in the bowl) will add up to about £15-20

Good luck!

Answer 4

Tell your mum you cant rug and exercise fish!
if you want impress her get down to your local school or yard and offer your help with the horses for free, this way you will show her you are willing and you will get in some well needed practice at the same time. As for the pony for £750 look in the Horse & Hound or some other horse mag. If this is your first pony go for something quite hardy and a 'good doer' like a little cob.

Answer 5

OK a fish is no where near the responsibility of a horse, you don't have to muck out a fishes bowl EVERY DAY, you don't have to make sure a fish has a good amount of exercise EVERY DAY, you don't have to feed a fish grain and lots of hay EVERY DAY, you don't have to ride a fish, you don't have to have a vet for a fish, a fish does not need a four acre pasture with a run-in shed, a fish does not need water buckets cleaned and filled EVERY DAY, when a fish dies you can flush it down the hopper, when a horse dies you have to get a backhoe to dig a huge hole. Fish cost about $1 in the US. horses on the other hand cost $20,000 in the US. There is a big difference between a horse and a fish. If you can't afford a fish you will never be able to afford the HUGE costs of a horse.

Answer 6

Honestly, unless you really want a fish you are really wasting you're time! A fish is nothing like a horse and takes very little effort as a horse takes a lot. What you need to do instead of getting a fish is take lessons, hang around the barn, go to camps and clinics, research, and read magazines to get the nessecary knowledge. for the responsibility part see if you can lease a horse from you riding stable. if that goes well then you should consider a horse.
it looks to me like your parents don't know what they are getting into. If you have never had lessons now is the time to start.

good luck!

Answer 7

Fish r not horses, u cant practice having the responsibility of caring for a horse on a fish!

A dog or cat would be a much better choice.....but better yet, try loaning a horse first before buying one. Its a bit cheaper and its not permanent but has almost just as much work and responsibility involved as owning your own horse.
Then you can decide of owning a horse is the thing for u.

Answer 8

I think a fish and a horse have absolutely nothing in common. How can practicising by getting a fish possibly help you getting a horse. And if you think that £10- £50 is alot of money then don't even bother with a horse it will cost you alot more.

Answer 9

Your mum is just trying to make sure you know you will have to look after it.Why not tell her you'll start with something small first. I suggest you bring home about six or seven shoe boxes with holes poked in the top and a book from the library on spiders.Tell her you are going to try and breed them to sell as they have hundreds of babies at a time. The pony will soon seem the better option.

Answer 10

What does a fish have to do with getting a horse,they only swim in water and feed or is it to teach you how to care for a pet.

Answer 11

where are you located. id say Walmart but if you dont have one go to a pet store and get a gold fish Get a Horse they are great