How much does a horse cost to keep for its lifetime?

Answer 1

From April Reeves, Horseman's U.com: Owning a horse takes on a whole new set of responsibilities that leasing and lessons did not have.

I find that this is the most overlooked part of horse ownership, and I see it daily in the horse world. Horses can be expensive, even when they live with you as opposed to being boarded out. They are living, breathing creatures whose very lives are completely dependent upon YOU for survival. I cannot state this enough, especially having gone through years of watching people get them and dispose of them when no longer needed or wanted.

If you have any indications that you may not be able to keep up the commitments, I ask that you keep your lease horse and read no further. I'm not trying to be harsh, but this next step requires you to do some soul searching. It's not really about the money.

Since you are still reading, let's take a good hard look at the real cost of horse ownership.

There are many articles on this subject, but three factors to keeping costs down are:

Buy a sound, healthy, happy, trained, quiet horse that has passed a battery of veterinarian testing and professional trainer/coach approval.

Keep the horse in a place that is safe and free from hazards.

Research and read everything you can about horses: skeleton and structure, feed and nutrition, care and grooming, feet and maintenance. The riding is up to you and your coach.

Costs for owning a horse go through the roof when these above principles are neglected or passed by. If I wrote down all the people I know right now, whose horses are out of commission, the reasons would be because of at least one of the above principles.

The Cost of a Good Horse

Horse prices vary around the world, so we will use North American averages. Let's look at a few of the necessities of a first horse and the price for it.

Sound, healthy, vetted clean, not too young or old (7-13)

Well mannered, trailers nicely, can be clipped and bathed

Has basic training levels down well: stop, go, turns, cues lightly, trained mouth

Has registration papers

May have competed at entry level.

Price for this horse: $5,000. Price for this pony: $3500 - 5000.

Now let's add some frills:

Horse has been in many shows and pinned in 'A' circuits - Add $2000 and up

Horse is discipline specific; jumping, hunter, reining, breed classes - Add $2,000 (smaller levels) to $15,000 (medium levels) to anything over $50,000 (higher levels)

Breeding: purebred or reasonable bloodlines - Add $2,000 and up. For the top bloodlines - Add $5,000 and up. Poor bloodlines can drop the price of a horse.

Horse has level 3 and 4 dressage - Add $25,000 and up

Horse is a proven broodmare - Add $2000 and up

Horse comes from a notable trainer - Add $3000 and up.

Costs vary with every horse, but these are generalities. When it comes to the price of a horse, it's not always the quality or training. Market value is what someone will pay, and if no one will pay $50,000 for a well-bred hunter, you won't sell it. It's very simple.

Good ponies are worth their weight in gold, so you may have to spend more for a winning pony, but if the pony is young enough, you will recoup every dollar and sometimes more.

The price of horses also is dictated by the economic climate. As of the writing of this article, July 2008, you don't even have to pay for a horse these days. Auctions have been selling them from $20 to $200; half of the value of meat. Check out this site for the truth on auction horses and the current auction prices: fuglyhorseoftheday.com

Speaking of Auctions

Can you get a good horse at an auction? Absolutely, but it relies on 50% - skill and 50% - luck. There are more bad reasons for horses being at an auction than good reasons.

Should you try an auction? As a first time buyer, absolutely not, unless you bring someone skilled, and even then it's still 50% luck. If it's your first horse, it would be heartbreaking to bring the horse home and a week later have a vet tell you the horse is unserviceable for life. We will have more on auctions in a future article.

Cost of Ownership

Boarding

Keeping your horse at a stable varies immensely. Let's look at the monthly variants:

Backyard, no barn, reasonable feeding, full care, shelter, no arenas - $150 - $350

Private small facility, good care/feed, stalls, turnout, arenas (outdoor) - $300 - $550

Self board, you do everything, pay for all feed, clean stalls - $150 - $350

Quality barn, come competitors, excellent care, instructors, indoor arena - $550 - $700

Competition barn, discipline specific, best of everything, trainers, coaches $700 - $1,500 (plus frills)

Keeping your horse in your back yard depends on the amenities and outbuildings you have. Lets start with the buildings you may have to build (based on averages only):

Outside shelter/run-in, 14'x14', open 2 sides: $350 - $600 (untreated or treated lumber), if someone else build it: $1,000 +

Small barn, 2 stalls, hay storage, concrete floor, one storey, 'traditional' building style, around 36x40: You build-$35,00. They build: $45,000

Hay storage shed: $400-600.

Shavings and bedding shed: $400-600.

Fencing, corral 40' x 100': Wood 3 rail painted - $16,000. Bayco high-tensile horse wire at 5 strands: $17,000. Metal: $65,000.

Fencing, pasture: wood, untreated unpainted - $60 per every 10 feet.

*Please note the absence of barbwire pricing. Barbwire has no business around horses. I have a saying: "That horse never died before."

Building anything on a property only increases the property value, if done well. Anything less becomes a safety issue, which we talk about later.

Training and Lessons

Lesson, one hour, qualified instructor: $30 - 50/hour

Training, one month, qualified trainer: $1,000/month

Feeding

Grain for one 1100 pound horse: $35 - 50/month

Hay for same horse: Grass/orchard hay: $110-150/month. Timothy: $120-170/month. Alfalfa mix: $120-170/month. (pure alfalfa is for cattle. More on that in future articles, or see Kathryn Watts, Marijke van de Water).

Average 50 lb. bale cost: orchard $5-12. Timothy: $12-18. Alfalfa mix: $16-24.

Hay will rise substantially in the next 2 years from the cost of fuel and the depletion of farmland for corn crops. Drought and economy also play a role in the variable feed pricing.

Worming

Every 2-3 months: $20 each time

Vet Care

Call out (before they do anything) $65-85

Average one hour visit with no return or emergency: $250-350

Vaccinations: $120/year

Feet

Trim, all 4: $30-45

Shoes, general all-purpose set of 4: $220-280

Shoes, 2 fronts: $90-140

Specialty shoes, all 4: $280-450

Trims average every 4-6 weeks for optimum health. Shoes the same.

Bedding

Per month: Shavings: $40-65. Pellets: $50-85. Straw: $25-50.

Equipment

Saddles

English, medium quality. Dressage: $1,700 - 3000. Hunt seat/all purpose: $1500 - 3000.

English, used, good quality: Dressage: $700-2500. Hunt seat/all purpose: $400-1600

Western, medium quality, all purpose trail: $1800-2400.

Western, good quality used: $800-2200

Bridles

English with bit: $85-125

Western with bit: $70-110

Halters

Web traditional: $25-55

Rope: $14-29

Leather: $50-120

Lead ropes: $12-30

Grooming Equipment

Brushes, combs, picks, misc: $30-100

Misc: saddle blankets, horse blankets, boots, wraps, first aid, tack cleaning supplies, sprays, bandages: $200-600/year.

Hauling

Average 100 mile trip: $1 to $2.50/mile

Insurance

This cost varies too greatly to make sense or put it on the site.

Total Equine Costs/Averages for One Year

Recreational horse at home (after building): $1800

Boarded recreational horse $7000

Boarded competition horse $15,000

It costs the same to board and feed a bad horse as it does a good horse. The initial price of the horse is the easy part.

To find out more about buying your first horse, log on to Horseman's U.com for 2 more articles "A horse or pony?" and "What to consider before horse ownership". You can buy a nicely trained horse for about $5000, and rent a stable for about $350 a month. Start up tack for basic western riding costs about $700, and a preliminary vet check is about $400. You can figure it will cost about $7000-$8000 to buy a horse, rent a barn for one month, and buy tack, food, etc.

Answer 2

A horse. pony can cost from as little as a few poaunds to a hundred thousand pounds.

To be honest it really does depend on what you want from your horse. If you want an animal that is what we call a schoolmistress you can expect to pay a bit more for it but at the samt time if you want a really good dressage horse you can expect to pay quite a bit depending on the parentage and training.

Dont forget that once you have the horse you then have to think about whare to keep it and how to feed it as well whaich is not cheep once you add the vet bills and feed as well as bedding and tack that you will need, it amounts to a pretty penny

Answer 3

There are many different pony breeds and the prices can vary greatly. Sometimes you can find one for free, results of a growing child and the family just wants it to have a good home. Or some can be quite expensive. Welsh or Connamara ponies make great show ponies for children or small adults (usually women). And it's not unusual for some mini's to go for thousands of dollars. So just like their bigger counterparts, ponies can be inexpensive or a small fortune.

Answer 4

It can get very, very expensive to own a horse. You have to buy feed, bedding, pay the board if you are boarding it somewhere, pay vet and farrier bills, plus pay for any shows or lessons you may want to take part in. Also, you have to buy or acquire tack if you plan to ride, plus all the clothes and gear you will need.

Answer 5

The cost to buy a horse can range from free to millions of dollars. The average horse will be somewhere in the thousands.

My horses cost about $100 a month each, but we do not board them, they live outside all the time on several acres so they get everything they need from grass, and are kept barefoot, so $100 a month is about minimum cost, excluding vet bills, which are often at least $100 and need to be seen at least 2xs a year. So, roughly $1500 a year for me, but

Boarding a horse alone can cost $100 for simple pasture board to up to $500 for stalls, individual turnout and access to arenas. Then you would have to add other costs on top of that: shoes cost more than barefoot trims do, most horses don't have enough land to get adequate food from grass alone so hay and sometimes grain may need to be provided, which add up. Supplements, if you clip your horse you will need to blanket your horse you need to buy blankets, and senior horses really add up the cost because they need so much more special care. Add vet and teeth-floating bills, and you can be looking at closer to $20,000 a year.

Answer 6

It depends what kind of horse. A valuable racehorse would cost more to keep than a small riding pony.

Answer 7

It can cost from 100 to 100,000 a month. More or less.

Answer 8

GBP25