How much does it really cost to own a horse?

[welsummerchicks]

My suggestion to the OP is that instead of coming to a BB and asking such a question, she could research the costs of horse ownership herself. Google, 'cost of horse ownership'.

The other thing I'd suggest, is that you set aside several hours a day, as well as several hundred dollars a month, and pretend this time and money is for your horse. How does that affect your schedule? Your budget? Is it possible to set aside several hundred dollars a month? How about your family? Do they resent you being unavailable for several hours a day? How does it affect your job.

I don't know if you ever saw the activities where teens were given a doll, and played at being parents, but you can do something like that long before you get a horse.

Just set aside some money and some time each day, even simply set your alarm so at 7 am, noon and 5 and 10 pm, you set aside some time and even just notice that this is the time you'd have to be doing barn chores, checking on your horses, riding, or closing your barn for the night.

Just see how it feels to you. See if it fits in your lifestyle.

One friend of mine had her daughter just do some yard work every time the alarm went off. Carry some buckets, dig a hole, what have you.

After a couple days, daughter said, 'Can we board a horse?'

Mom said, 'Yes, if we don't take a family vacation each year, and if you and your brother and sister give up everything they now do, like camp, music lessons, gymnastic classes and we all give up our Friday family night each week.

That gave her daughter pause. But she tried to get the other family members to go along with it.

And you know what?

The family members agreed. She got her horse. But EVERYONE in the family had to give something up so she could. When her brother qualified for the gymnastics nationals, he started to resent the arrangement.

Not every family has to make the same sacrifices, but some sacrifices will have to be made - time, money, other activities, something.

In most families, it's the husband that does the building and the grunt work - he may even wind up cleaning stalls so that his wife even has any time to ride....he may even have to give up that bass boat he's had his eye on, or his hunting vacation with his buddies......

Usually - keeping a horse at home is something that the whole family needs to be on board with, one way or the other.

Who feeds and cleans stalls when Mom is sick, or has broken her ankle? Or has to go out of town for work training?

What do we do when we take our family vacation, if the horses are at home? Horse/house sitter? Boarding stable?

All these things have to be figured out.
The other thing you could very easily do, is hang around an equine veterinary practice. See what sorts of problems people really have with horses. You can also work for a professional horse trainer. Just sweep the aisle of the barn, or something like that. And watch. Take it all in. See what happens day to day.

Don't pick some 'guru' trainer or 'guru' trainer discipline. Just a regular old horse trainer. See what sort of problems people bring to that trainer.

One thing you'll find is that people will describe vastly, vastly different costs of horse ownership.

Some horses are kept in a small pen in a backyard and owners get very angry if anyone suggests that's inadequate(and talk loudly on the internet). Some horse owners have pasture they manage very carefully, and some just put the horse out in a field and assume all will be well. A good many horses don't get exercised regularly, except for walking around a small field, eating grass. Other people feel that's inadequate, and set up a plan where by the longe or ride their horse daily. Some people spend very little time with their horses. Others check them over daily for injuries and health, and then exercise them.

Some of it is about where one lives. In farm country, where land is cheap, there is more room to keep horses, and less expense. On the other hand, in the suburbs, or near subdivisions, keeping horses becomes very complicated and difficult. Manure must be collected and disposed of as the local laws allow. It will require a lot of work to keep a horse property acceptable to neighbors. It will be awfully difficult to have a space where one can ride the horse.

Unfortunately, many new horse owners find out that it really isn't all that easy to just buy a horse and expect it to behave and be ride-able without themselves getting a lot of training, instruction and experience. As a result you'll see that horsey bulletin boards are chock full of threads with topics like 'My horse ran back to the barn and I fell off, what can I do?' and 'My horse won't turn, what is wrong?' or 'I can't ride my horse away from the stable, what should I do?'.

Many are surprised to find out that most horses don't behave very well if they ride once a week, once a month, or don't ride except in summer. Many are even more surprised to see that horse dealers with crazy, difficult and unhealthy horses seem to be drawn to them like a magnet.

New horse owners tend to extremely under-estimate, the amount of experience, instruction and practice they need before they get a horse.

Many 'jump in' - they get a feeling they want a horse, and they get really, really impatient with anyone who starts to tell them what's involved. Get riding lessons? Those are for children! Go to veterinary seminars? What for? My grandfather had draft horses at the farm, and never went to a veterinary seminar! In other words, what ever sort of preparation steps anyone suggests, they find a reason they don't need to do that.

Probably the most difficult thing to get a feel for, is the amount of time it takes to own a horse. If you keep your horse at home, you'll find that you can expect to spend an average of several HOURS a day, caring for, exercising and procuring hay, bedding and concentrates for your horse.

You will find that there's a very wide range of costs - and you'll begin to see that some of those 'really cheap' arrangements aren't really recommended by experienced horse people or veterinarians.

Purchase some books on horse care and horse keeping. Cherry Hill has an incredible book with a title something like 'Keeping horses on small acreage'. There are many books on the subject, though.

Further, try going to some veterinary seminars - they're offered free at feed stores all over the USA. They teach potential owners how to care for horses.



So, take riding lessons. You'll learn a great deal on how to care for and handle horses.

Don't wait for people to tell you. Learn yourself.

As noted, these questions almost always involve a certain amount of - tension.

Why?

Well, it's pretty simple.

On the one hand, you have the person asking, who doesn't realize how very ominous the question: 'how much can it really cost to keep a horse'....really sounds to a horse person.

Why does it sound ominous to a horse person? Why do you find horse people reacting to you in a way you don't like?

One possibility is that you simply want to get a horse, can't really afford it, and it irritates you to be told what it really costs.

Most people buy a horse with the best intentions of taking care of it.

But taking care of any species of animal, involves a pretty serious learning curve.

This is something horse people see every single time we go a good many places where horses are kept:

http://www.google.com/imgres?q=star...start=0&ndsp=8&ved=1t:429,r:1,s:0&tx=66&ty=54

http://www.google.com/imgres?q=star...t=0&ndsp=8&ved=1t:429,r:2,s:0&biw=762&bih=335

http://www.google.com/imgres?q=star...t=0&ndsp=8&ved=1t:429,r:2,s:0&biw=762&bih=335

http://www.google.com/imgres?q=star...start=8&ndsp=8&ved=1t:429,r:7,s:8&tx=75&ty=66

http://www.google.com/imgres?q=star...art=38&ndsp=8&ved=1t:429,r:3,s:38&tx=83&ty=31

http://www.google.com/imgres?q=star...38&ndsp=8&ved=1t:429,r:6,s:38&biw=762&bih=335

http://www.google.com/imgres?q=star...86&ndsp=8&ved=1t:429,r:0,s:86&biw=762&bih=335

http://www.google.com/imgres?q=star...art=94&ndsp=8&ved=1t:429,r:6,s:94&tx=48&ty=27

http://www.google.com/imgres?q=foun...art=14&ndsp=8&ved=1t:429,r:3,s:14&tx=68&ty=60

http://www.google.com/imgres?q=foun...art=79&ndsp=8&ved=1t:429,r:5,s:79&tx=49&ty=74

obese pony with chronically foundered hooves:

http://www.google.com/imgres?q=foun...rt=87&ndsp=8&ved=1t:429,r:6,s:87&tx=106&ty=54

http://www.google.com/imgres?q=foun...6&ndsp=8&ved=1t:429,r:6,s:136&biw=762&bih=335

http://www.google.com/imgres?q=foun...t=201&ndsp=8&ved=1t:429,r:3,s:201&tx=60&ty=40

"killing with kindness" - obese foundered pony:

http://www.google.com/imgres?q=foun...6&ndsp=8&ved=1t:429,r:2,s:266&biw=762&bih=335

foundered hoof, ground level view:

http://www.google.com/imgres?q=foun...=290&ndsp=8&ved=1t:429,r:6,s:290&tx=100&ty=56

http://www.google.com/imgres?q=foun...t=429&ndsp=8&ved=1t:429,r:1,s:429&tx=66&ty=73

http://www.google.com/imgres?q=foun...7&ndsp=8&ved=1t:429,r:2,s:437&biw=762&bih=335

http://www.google.com/imgres?q=foun...1&ndsp=8&ved=1t:429,r:2,s:461&biw=762&bih=335

http://www.google.com/imgres?q=foun...t=600&ndsp=8&ved=1t:429,r:2,s:600&tx=81&ty=18

http://www.google.com/imgres?q=over...start=0&ndsp=6&ved=1t:429,r:4,s:0&tx=95&ty=60

http://www.google.com/imgres?q=over...tart=0&ndsp=6&ved=1t:429,r:3,s:0&tx=108&ty=27

http://www.google.com/imgres?q=over...0&ndsp=8&ved=1t:429,r:0,s:110&biw=762&bih=335

http://www.google.com/imgres?imgurl...ge=25&ndsp=9&ved=1t:429,r:7,s:190&tx=59&ty=56

http://www.google.com/imgres?q=fenc...start=0&ndsp=6&ved=1t:429,r:2,s:0&tx=32&ty=25

"Don't they just heal by themselves?"

http://www.google.com/imgres?q=fenc...t=0&ndsp=6&ved=1t:429,r:5,s:0&biw=762&bih=335

 

[mama24]

No, it irritates me that you are assuming I don't know anything about them. I have said before, I was on the equestrian team at Penn State University. Top 2 collegiate riding teams in the US when I was on it. You can google that. I know how to ride and groom a horse. I know how to drain abscessed hooves (and to soak afterward, keep clean, etc, etc) and when not to try to do it yourself. I know how to properly fit tack. I know how to place a tube for oral meds. I have mucked many many stalls. I know that you have to have a pitchfork and use it daily. Dealt with sweet calm horses that you can do anything to, and have ridden a half wild mustang who had put a girl in the hospital for a month and left her with a metal plate in half her head. I have fed and watered them.

What I haven't done is taken care of a pasture (like I said before, we are moving to a place with horse safe fencing, 3 separate areas, and a total of 16 acres. Hardly a small area that isn't adequate.) Paid for vetting and farrier, bought feed.

If my dh is right and horses cost in the thousands per month, which DUE TO MY EXPERIENCE, I really couldn't see being true, why waste my money buying books on horse care? I am not interested in English riding and jumping anymore. Too expensive. I want a couple sweet calm trail riding horses. Maybe one sweet calm one and one young solid horse that needs a little work to give me a little challenge to work on. I was looking to see what the cost of feed really was, how much the average vet and farrier bill is, and what kind of care a pasture needs, b/c I recognized, again, DUE TO MY EXPERIENCE, that the pasture where we are moving is really not up to snuff, full of weeds. I mentioned at least twice in a previous posts that I was not planning on getting horses for at least a year. I could change my mind in that time and decide not to get them, why waste my money buying anything. People can be nice when someone asks for advice, or they can be rude and condescending. If you can't answer someone's honest questions without reading a who lot of "Oh God, not another person who doesn't know ANYTHING at all about horses thinking they can stick one on a half acre and not feed" then maybe you should step back for a minute, read what was actually said and asked, and think before you reply.

 

[welsummerchicks]

I read and understood that you rode in a college program.

That is not the same as having horses at home.

And riding the college's horses in the show ring is nothing like having horses at home and trail riding. Whole different set of problems.

And surprisingly....riding years later, when one is a mom, and has many other responsibilities....that's not the same either.

Too, I can't even count the number of gals who rode in college, took time off to start a family - even just a year or two...and wound up right back taking riding lessons and 'learning to ride' all over again.

You may not think that's you - you may think you'll just leap on again, and that from your riding program in college you know everything there is to know about riding and horses.

Cleaning stalls isn't the same as building the stalls, shopping for and selecting bedding. Riding isn't the same as selecting suitable land, siting and maintaining a riding arena.

You're talking about whole different worlds.

You may not see it this way, but in the collegiate program, even if you did some barn chores, you weren't a home owner, taking care of your own horses - doing the purchasing and all that.

But more than anything, you're talking about a different YOU. A parent, a mom, a person with many responsibilities.

I know how it sounds and that you already know everything about horses - I get all that. But just try out some of the things suggested -

set aside money each month as if you already had the horses (it can be used to purchase horses, supplies, fencing and cover many of your eventual start up costs).

set aside time each day as if you already had the horses - budget time you will use to ride, but add an average of an hour a day for stall cleaning, minor repairs and property maintenance - manure management, mowing (always a big time eater-upper), etc.

 

[mama24]

I grew up riding deer trails on unshod horses in the mountains of SW PA. The first time I rode English was the day I tried out for the team in college. There's already a very very nice well kept-up barn at the place we're moving, probably the same age as the house, about 30 years old. Has 1 big open stall instead of 3-4 regular size ones. I already know being a mother changes things. I do have 4 kids, I've gotten used to the changes. My kids are getting older. My youngest is the only one not old enough for public school. She'll be going to preschool starting this year though. My parents already told me that they'll move down here if we end up staying, which it looks like we are. My mom knows a lot more about horses than I do, but she hasn't worked with them since the 70's. My oldest son showed interest in riding a couple years ago while we were still in IN. I took a lessons with him for a few months, and I did get right back on. I am overweight and out of shape now, so I couldn't post and it was def a lot harder and more of a workout than it was when I was young, but it was still fun! That's where I rode the half wild mustang. The girl giving us our lessons put me on her b/c she thought I was bored b/c my son was such a beginner. lol. I rode her a couple times and asked to be put on a horse with English tack and jumped small jumps while my son learned to control his horse. He is 12 now, and is old enough to start having responsibilities with our animals. He'll be 13 before we get a horse, IF we get one. We already have $$ in the bank. More than enough for a down payment on a house, if and when we should decide to buy. I was looking for a general idea of the cost, as in "I spend about $100 on feed, and up to $2k on vet fees for routine and emergencies" and "I spend $1k per month on my fancy show horse plus 5-10k/yr on vet." to get a get a general average of what people spend. I tend to spoil my animals with better quality feed, and I never let an animal get too skinny or too fat, so I know I am in for a LOT of work just making sure our horses get enough exercise IF we get them, and I will likely end up being mid range on the cost of feed, unless I can get the pasture up to snuff or we move to a better place. I want some easy keepers, not hot blooded jumper/showers. I also consider good quality pasture to be better feed than anything you can buy.

Oh, and I am already involved volunteering with a local rescue. Please don't post any more pics of starving horses. It breaks my heart. I've mainly been involved playing with kittens, walking dogs, and donating money, but they do farm animal rescue as well, and I agree with someone who suggested I try rescue animals first to get a better idea of the work involved. They pay the feed and vet bills, I do the work. Excellent idea. And if we get a horse we really like, and find I am good with the work and cost, I can adopt it.

 

[welsummerchicks]

"It breaks my heart"

Yeah, it breaks my heart too.

"...pasture better feed than any feed you can buy"

As with everything with horses, 'that depends'. Most parts of the USA, you will be buying hay 6 months or more of the year, no matter how hard you work on your pasture.

August in New Mexico, there isn't any pasture, most places. February here, ditto. March, April, too. May - it's growing too fast, founders horses. July? Starting to disappear. August? Gone. September, there's a little. October? Turn out in the rains and you'll tear your pasture to pieces and no grass at all will grow next year. November through May? No pasture.

 

[mama24]

Yeah, but I"m in NC. And used to be in PA. GREAT pastures both places.

 

[Rusty Hills Farm]

Quote:
I'm in Alabama--that's USDA zones 7A, 7B, and 8A--which does compare to NC zones, I believe. I had snow on the ground in January and February this year. We overseed with rye and did have grass during that time. However, if we hadn't seeded the pastures, we would not have had graze for the horses during this period, as most grasses here do not grow during December, January, and February, not even the fescues. Bermuda stops growing when the nighttime temps hit the low 50s.

You are right to suppose your pastures are gonna take work. It has taken me 6 years to start getting it right because things grow way differently here than they did where I came from. Now, Pennsylvania seems to be zones 4-5 and there is no way those pastures are producing much new growth in the winter months. One of the best sources of practical information I have found is the fellow I buy my hay from and from my local vet. Both of these gentlemen are born and raised here and really understand the conditions. They are the ones that started me overseeding with rye and it works like a charm.

Regular mowing is still the best weed control I have found. I know lots of folks spray for weeds. However, I will not risk chemical control because we raise babies on this ground. I think learning to manage these pastures has been the biggest learning curve and the most hard work for me since coming to Alabama.

HTH


Rusty

 

[hollyclyff]

Ok, I'm going to take a stab at this. Your story sounds very similar to mine except that I didn't start out with a ready made pasture and barn and my acreage is much smaller (too small really). I rode every day as a teenager, took lessons and was on the equestrian team in college. Although anyone with an interest could join our team as it was just starting out back then. I even owned my own horse in high school which I kept at my grandparents' house and did all the feeding, etc. My grandfather did pasture maintenance though. I really, honestly thought I still knew how to ride when I bought my horses three years ago, but I found out that even though my brain still knew what I was supposed to do, my body had completely forgotten! I started taking lessons again. ($200/month) But you may be completely different and maybe you haven't had as much time off as I had (20+ years). And you were probably a better rider to begin with. I'm NOT saying this because I think you shouldn't get a horse or don't know what you're doing, just that if, like me, you end up deciding you'd like some lessons, that's another expense to consider. I didn't take that into consideration when I was planning my horse budget.

Anyway, the cost varies so widely that I don't think you can really know the full costs until you get the horses. It depends on the horse, your facilities and where you live - just like someone else said. One of my horses costs twice as much to keep as the other. She needs feed, and she has to wear shoes. The other does fine on hay/grass and goes barefoot. Also I have to feed hay almost year round and because of poor access to my pasture I have to buy square bales in relatively small quantities which of course costs more. I spend about $165/month just on hay. Year round. Plus fertilizer and seed in an attempt to grow more grass. Fertilizer is expensive! And the weather in NC never seems to cooperate. It either pours rain right after we put out seed and washes it all down the slope of our pasture or it doesn't rain for weeks. We can't seem to catch a break with the weather. And we couldn't afford both a car and a truck to pull the trailer, so I have to drive the truck full time, which costs a pretty penny in gas vs. a car. So that's another "hidden" expense that may or may not apply depending on your circumstances.

If you determine that your pasture is adequate for a good portion of the year, you can call around or ask people locally how much they pay for hay and figure out how much that will cost you. Price fertilizer, etc. Then a lot will depend on just what horses you buy. Do they need shoes, are they easy keepers, etc. You can also call around and see what farrier expenses are. I live in the triangle area and everything is more expensive here it seems. My farrier just went up and my average monthly costs for one shod horse and one barefoot is about $110/month. My feed expense is about $50/month for just the one horse that eats it. I previously had an older horse that needed even more feed than that. She was on the maximum recommended amount of senior feed just to maintain her weight. But then there are all the little things that I don't even want to add up. Plus vet bills that just can't be counted on to stay the same. Most of the time my horses have been very healthy, but one year they both came down with some mysterious illness that added about $1600 to my yearly expenses. And that's cheap compared to the veterinary horror stories I've heard from friends. My bedding expenses aren't too bad, but again, because of poor access and no storage, I have to buy it by the bag which is between $5 - $6 per bag. My horses mostly aren't stalled except for feeding, very bad weather, and when I'm riding one of them, but my mare thinks she has to pee EVERY time she enters her stall! Which means more bedding than I would otherwise have to buy. Something I couldn't have known until I bought her.

But thousands per month? I wouldn't say I spend quite that much. Maybe by the time I add up everything - including the extra gas - I might spend about $600 - $700. But again, that is dictated by my individual situation and my individual horses.

My horses are now for sale though because of my own current health problems. I just can't physically handle the work anymore and my daughter (whom we originally bought the horses for to begin with) lost interest and doesn't want to help out. I have to say that even though I'm going to miss my horses like crazy, it's kind of almost nice knowing we will be able to go on family vacations again and I can trade the truck for a car. I hate having to fill up on gas so often and I never really got used to parking that huge thing.

 

[welsummerchicks]

You're overseeding with an annual rye or a perennial?

I have found alfalfa and clover is taking over my clay soil, and the ag office told me to fertilize and lime more, the grass can't compete with alfalfa and clover otherwise. We got a mix with like 1% alfalfa and the seller assured me that even if some grew the first year, it won't survive.

He was WRONG, lol.

We'll probably have to pull out all the alfalfa by hand, wait two weeks (alfalfa plants exude a poison that keep other plants, even alfalfa, from growing near it, it takes at least that long for it to recede) and try to reseed.

We'll have to pull out brambles by hand too - we can't find any product that says it's safe to use with grazing animals, that will kill blackberry bramble.

 

[Rusty Hills Farm]

Quote:
Annual rye. Our vet, who has farmed here all his life, says that the combination of bermuda/rye is what works the best in this county. It's a pain to always have to overseed with rye each fall, but so far it has been worth it. And I know what you mean about the brambles! They are about the only weed we have left. Mowing is keeping them under control but has not so far killed them off completely. It IS reducing them, however. I really hope I don't have to pull them. I did that in one stallion paddock with very good results--but it took me a WEEK to do it! and I had sores through leather work gloves by the time I finished.

Rusty