In my life I have known many people who either wanted a horse or owned a horse. Some of those who wanted a horse as a youth bought one as an adult.

A horse is not a trivial thing like a cat. A cat pretty much takes care of itself. All you have to do is feed it and periodically take it to the vet. The out of pocket expense is pretty low and the time investment is low as well. To have a horse you need to:

• Buy a horse – They can run anywhere from $750 to $1500 for a basic horse. Not the kind that you can make money off of breeding.
• Keep it somewhere – Putting a roof over its head either costs you more because you need a ranch or you pay a ranch $250/month to keep it.
• Feed it – Sometimes room includes board, sometimes it doesn’t.
• Play with it – Many places will house and feed your horse, but they won’t ride it or let it run free in a huge pasture. So you need to go down and either ride it or find some way of letting it loose.
• Ride it – This is different from the last entry because you need a saddle which will run you $250, used.

Ok, I’ve established how having a horse is a significant investment and shouldn’t be taken lightly. You need an initial investment of $1500-2000 and a monthly investment of $250-500 defining this as a luxury item. Because of this it is easy to see that only people with a decent amount of disposable income get themselves a horse.

Nope.

I have met more than a few young ladies that decided they want a horse at all costs. I never paid attention until I worked with one of these horse aficionados. She was paid an ok salary, enough to live on, have a car and save for a rainy day. I discovered she had a son who was not school age so he needed to be watched while she was at work. Say bye bye to the disposable part of her income as child care is expensive. Then I learned something new: She had a horse.

A pet horse?

Yup, with all the money she didn’t have she bought a horse. Then she lost her apartment. She couldn’t afford it herself, her roommate got married and she wasn’t able to find a new place. She moved in with a friend. She got a dog. Her car had issues. She dropped the child care and had her roommate watch her 5 year old. Her roommate was a daytime prostitute. So she lived on the couch of a prostitute who babysat her kid cause she couldn’t afford a 1 bedroom apartment in Stockton, CA all the while paying $400 a month to support her horse.

Good thing it’s only one crazy horse lady, right?

Nope. Living in the Central valley I heard dozens of stories like this. I know of another who at this moment is living on friend’s couches, has a 2 year old, is working at Taco Bell and she has a horse. Though they might exist, I do not know of any men that have this problem of putting their pet ahead of their children. Oh, and it’s not just horses either.

Surely, women value children over pets.

No really. I have known many a household to be filled with animals despite the fact there are infants in the house. I’m not talking about a dog or a cat. I heard of a family on Saturday that has 3 dogs, 4 cats and 1 rabbit in a house with 5 kids. They must be rich to be able to pour that much money into kids and animals. No, they’re just like everyone else on their block with 2-3 kids. Think of the tens of thousands of dollars they could have saved up if they never had the pets.

Now you just hate animals.

I love animals. I had 2 cats when I was in high school. I love little furry things that are cuddly. I’m just not willing to give up time and money I could be spending on my kids. They come first and they require a lot of time and money. This brings me to the question:

Why do the pets come first?

If you asked any of these people if their kids came first they would give you a resounding yes. I know, I’ve asked a few of them, but when presented with the facts of their horse/pets and how they’re willing to sacrifice everything, even their children…

They see the error of their ways?

No they don’t. They give excuses, they get passionate about their kids and sometimes burst into tears. I’ve even had them admit that they should get rid of the horse so they can move into an apartment and pay for childcare with a non-prostitute.

And?

They don’t. Against all logic, reason, children and fiscal stability they still choose the horse over anything else that should be important in their lives. Why am I telling you this? Cause it irks me something fierce. I want to let the world know of the animal people. Stop them! I don’t know how, but stop them! No more children suffering because their mom loves the horse more.

Arg.