Sensible? Or an I dreaming and being incredibly stupid?

Oh dear, as one who has allowed her heart to rule her head over a horse purchase, I am probably not the one to advise you on this!

OK. First of all it is illegal to sell an un-passported horse in the UK. Shoeing can cost you between £65 and £80 a time (depending where you live) every 6-8 weeks. Trimming alone is considerably cheaper - In my area it's around £20. Vaccinations are expensive but not to be missed. I once saw a horse die of tetanus and it's something I wouldn't wish on anyone and equine 'flu can be pretty devastating.

You need to be blisteringly honest with yourself about this and really do your homework. It doesn't sound as though she's likely to come with any tack or "clothing" (rugs, etc). Personally, I'm a rug person - an outdoor rug will keep her clean and save you endless time grooming off the mud so I think they are worth their weight in gold. In addition they keep down the coat so the horse doesn't sweat excessively when worked. As for other equipment you can often get lucky with good quality secondhand tack but it's still quite a lay-out in the first place and you will have to allow for repairs and cleaning costs.

You'll need to factor in the cost of insurance. Seriously, this is essential and whatever else you may be able to scrimp on this is not one of them! (NFU and Pet Plan seem to be among the best.) Bear in mind that if your horse is injured or ill you will have to find the excess (in my case this is £130) and you would be wise to register with a vet who will deal directly with the insurance company. That way you only have to pay the excess and won't be saddled with paying the full bill and all the hassle of chasing the insurance company for reimbursement.

On grass livery in the UK in most winters you would need to supply supplementary feeding even if this is only hay so there will be additional costs - I'm currently paying £5.50 a small bale and using 4 bales a week for a horse who lives in and has bucket feeds as well - and will you have anywhere to store it?

And then there's time. Backing and bringing on a horse is very time consuming and it's hard work. Schooling sessions need to be regular and frequent. It's no use starting it if you aren't going to be able to give your entire attention to it. What about college, work, etc? There is no such thing as being too tired when it comes to looking after and training horses. It's every day, come hell or high water, foul weather, holiday time, Sunday morning lie-ins (most horse owners would need an explanation of that one!) and it doesn't matter how exciting the prospect of that party is, the horse has to come first in your life and timetable.

You sound like a very sensible girl. Are you sure you are going to be able to afford this? Don't forget that you will need to have an emergency fund or source of cash coming in to deal with the unexpected. And you must consider the worst case scenario. What if you take her on and then you are unable to afford the money or the time to keep her what will happen to her and, equally important, how will you feel?

If I haven't put you off and you decide to go ahead I would strongly advise you to have a full vetting by your own choice of vet (not the one recommended by the owner of the cob) before agreeing to buy her. It's expensive but can save a lot of cash and heartache in the long run.

Honestly, I think you've seen a few too many movies. You'll get bored over the next few years raising a filly you can't ride yet, it will cost you a lot of money which, as a 17 year old, you probably don't have, meaning you're assuming your family will put out the costs for her. And what happens when you go to college, get married, move away, etc? Sooner or later the horse you just "had" to have will probably be sold. As a first horse, an unhandled filly of indeterminate breeding is about the worst choice you could make. Please be realistic here. You see a cute baby, and you think this is your chance to live that movie-created fairy tale, and this horse will magically adore you and let you ride her without any training and be your best friend ever. The reality is, she's just another filly. Wait until you have the time and financial means to PROPERLY support a horse, and then find a suitable horse for your riding ability.

Horses cost money. You didn't mention one thing about having a job to cover expenses, namely emergency vet bills. One trip from the vet can run in the thousands given the right bad situation and accidents can't be planned for. They can, however be budgeted for.

So my advice is...Get a job. Save some money. Financially plan for horse ownership. Then getting a horse would be the sensible thing to do. As of now you are going on emotion and pipe dreams which makes this "dreaming and incredibly stupid" to borrow your own words.

We all aim to keep them as cheaply as possible, but you can't realistically do that. A horse's health can become compromised very quickly with no warning, Catastrophic injuries can happen in a split second. No horse lives off *fresh air*. Bottom line is they cost money. How little or how much depends the horse, the level of care it is given and pure dumb luck. And if you cheap out too much on care then the horse will eventually suffer for it. Spending extra on good care and nutrition while the horse is healthy saves a lot of money in the long run in the form of vet bills that could have been prevented.

I'm sure you've heard the old saying "An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure". Very applicable in horse care.

You should round up one of those gypsy cobs and bring it ot me I desperately want one they are beautiful.

Any ways if you feel you can handle her and you have every thing you need to care for her then I say go for it but if you feel your hesitations are to great then you could always gain more experience and hope that when your ready she is still available for purchase.

I live in America so im not really sure of all the rules in the UK but if you want her bad enough there is always a way to get her it just might take some time and a lot of work and possibly money.

I think you can do it. Just do some research on feed and such. But overall I think you have covered it. It's a good thing to have a network of people, make sure they check what you are doing to make sure that you are doing everything correctly. You wouldn't want to make any mistakes that could harm her. You have to own your first horse sometime, and she sounds like your match. Just make sure the field you keep her in is big enough for her to "horse around".

Hiii, you obvisouly seem to love this horse and that u have an connection with her :))

But that sounds like a lot of work to do. And that's is a lot because she's ur 1st horse, prefrably I wouldn't take her as my 1st horse id go for something which is more handled

However, tis could gain you a lot of trust and confidence . So is u wanna go 4 it go 4 it :))

GOOD LUCK xxxx

id say go for it! you sound like you know what your doing! and your dedicated. deffinatly get her. do a lot of research on horses and care for them build her a small shelter and id get a goat to keep her company cause horses dont really like to be alone and shes been in a hurd all her life. i think you'll do fine! GET HER! :D