But, first do make REALLY REALLY sure you can COMFORTABLY afford them. You will have to feed them 20-30 lbs hay per horse per day for at least 4-5 months of the year, quite possibly more (if you don't have enough safely-fenced good-pasture land to support them on 24/7 during the growing season, and for typical W NY pastures you'd need at least 4 acres to do this well, then you will need to hay them at night, meaning 10+ lbs of hay per horse per day during non-winter seasons). Figure maybe $800-1800 per year, depending whether you need summer nighttime hay and what kind of a price you can get, NEITHER OF WHICH IS IN YOUR CONTROL.
If you will stall them at night, which isn't generally good for them but may be necessary if your pasture is limited or muddy, figure maybe 4 bales of shavings per week at a minimum (>$1,000 per year) unless you can buy dumploads of bulk shavings, which are often lower quality but can be considerably cheaper.
Farrier every 6-8 weeks, even if it's just a trim not shoes, you're probably looking at $30/horse so that is about $500 per year.
Routine vet care (yearly exam and minimal vaccinations) plus worming, figure another $500/year.
Repair/replacement of stuff (broken fences, charger battery dies, destroyed blankets, need load of gravel b/c severe mudpit at gate, etc) is highly unpredictable but don't budget less than $500 and you will likely use all that and more in most years.
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Total (est. yearly costs for keeping 2 horses, I mean):
= if you have 4+ acres of safely-horse-fenced good-grazing pasture and will keep them out 24/7/365 or close to it, you're looking at maybe $2200/year (very "ish" -- unlikley to be much less, could EASILY be more)
= if you have less pasture than that, you're looking at $2500-$3500/year (again, unlikely to be much less, could easily be more)
PLUS EMERGENCY EXPENSES (have at least a thousand in the bank against vet emergencies, preferably more -- even a 9 pm. weekend emergency suturing-up call can easily use most of that amount, and a more-serious problem can blow well into the thousands with little trouble)
Also note that I have blithely ignored a lot of things that you may ought to spend money on for those particular horses' good, e.g. medications or supplements, regular dental work, etc; plus I have not even touched the issue of SETUP costs or buying tack.
I am totally not trying to scare you off, but the thing is that in the current economy it is really really hard to get rid of horses except by (expensive in its own right) euthanasia, so you would want to make SUUUURE you can afford these horses before taking them on, b/c if you get them and *then* discover you can't afford to keep them you may be seriously stuck.
Good luck, hope it works out for you,
Pat
