okay... how expensive is a horse really?? Monthly food.. farrier vet??

[cariboujaguar]

Well my FIL is a farrier so he does their feet on 'credit' for my hubs working in his feed store every once and awhile, an odd weekend here or there, and so all my chicken feed, goat grain, mineral blocks are cheap (at cost) and mostly 'credit' so I am very fortunate! I can't belive your hay is $30 a bale! I love animals but I'd be selling out real fast! thats stupid for GRASS! my goodness! you poor poor thing! it would be worth it to drive up here and buy some from us, first cutting is $3 a bale and nice stuff...

 

[danielle82]

It can vary a lot. Most horses need about 20 pounds of roughage a day, whether that is grass or grass hay or alfalfa hay or whatever deoends on the horse. A horse is a grazing animal, and was designed to consume frequent meals. Keeping a horse on pasture so they can graze is much better for their digedstive than keeping them stalled and giving them, say, 2 feedings a day. My horses are on over 100 acres, in the spring we do have to lock them up in the round pen a few hours a day so they don't founder. (depends on the horse and how much of an easy keeper they are). Shoeing is usually between 50-80 dollars, usually every 8-10 weeks. Trimming is an option, and just front shoes is also an option, just depends on the horse. Worming is about 8-15 dollars every 8 weeks or so. If you will be boarding your horse it is much more expensive. Lessons are a great thing, especially if you are just starting out. Talk some people in your area who already have horses, and see what they are doing. Just remember that horse people are INCREDIBLY opinionated! LOL if you get 8 horse people in a room your sure to here 10 opinions!

 

[unionwirewoman]

OKIRON....$30 a BALE !!!!!

!!!!! Holy cow ! I thought paying our prices up here were bad !! No way we'd be able to have ours if we were paying that much . We rotate on 36 acres for 6 months..so we're pretty lucky . We did have to pay $195 a ton last yr delivered....couldn't believe it when the yr before we paid $65 a ton . Hope you ride your horse everyday !! PS ...how many lbs are your bales ?

 

[Cetawin]

Quote:
Wouldn't the more helpful thing to do be to suggest adopting one of those unwanted horses rather than tell someone not to own a horse?

Not really because an unwanted horse will cost the same or more. A lot of unwanted horses have issues, health and temperament. If you cannot pay the amount needed for a purchased horse why adopt one you cannot care for? I think that is the point that was being made.

 

[unionwirewoman]

Quote:
Wouldn't the more helpful thing to do be to suggest adopting one of those unwanted horses rather than tell someone not to own a horse?

Not really because an unwanted horse will cost the same or more. A lot of unwanted horses have issues, health and temperament. If you cannot pay the amount needed for a purchased horse why adopt one you cannot care for? I think that is the point that was being made.

Very true here...we have at least 15 per week advertised as free in the Mountain Trader....most have 30 days training , some are conditioned mountain horses.......People just can't afford to keep them . Pretty hard times up here...and around the world I would imagine .

I think the point is.......take the high figure on this site...then see if you can afford it for the next 20+ yrs . We even have people letting there horses go to run free because they can't afford them up here .

 

[Akane]

It really depends. My horses cost next to nothing. We use half our land to grow hay which we give half to the guy who bales it for us. No equipment cost or anything. The other half is generally more than enough to get through the winter and the extra we sell off the next spring probably off sets any hidden costs like property taxes and electricity cost to the stable. They pasture from early spring to late fall and eat nothing but grass.

Most of mine wear their hooves so well that when I went to have the farrier trim my 3yr old for the first time he said she didn't need it and was shocked she'd never been trimmed. I only have a farrier out once a year in the spring when the ground is soft and their hooves don't wear. Otherwise I just run a rasp around them to even them out every month or 2.

We don't do many vaccinations anymore because we don't have mosquitos or many other pests and our horses are not off the property or exposed to horses that have travelled. Rarely are they even exposed to a person that has contact with another horse. I will probably vaccinate a couple this year because we plan to take them on trail rides. Other than that since we pulled the wire fence and replaced with electric tape we have not had a single vet bill for injuries. It's been several years since we called the vet for anything but routine stuff.

The only yearly costs my horses have is bedding for the stalls so they can go up in bad weather and supplements like trace minerals and BOSS for the winter. In the end my horses cost me about $300 a year for 5 of them plus occasional vet bills for teeth floating, vaccines, or coggins test if I go trail riding over the state border.

It really depends on your setup. Other people spend thousands a year for 1 horse because of their location and lack of land/facilities so they have to pay premium for everything.

 

[katrinag]

Quote:
Please do not take this the wrong way but it you have to ask these question you have no place having a horse. DO YOUR homework first.

If you want to be a horse owner I would suggest an older horse around 14 or so. They have had time to cool off.


I live in IL as well so I will try to help.
I have starting to trim my own horses feet, but I still have my farrier come out everyother trim to make sure it looks ok. He gets $40.00 a head.
We do country riding, gravel,pavement, grass, woods etc... I choos not to have them shod.
If you have a horse shod you can spend anywhere between $40- $70 a pop, then you have to add the oops factor. Throughing a shoe etc..

Since I have pasture seprated I can rotate the horses in the late spring till early winter. That cuts the hay down.

But come winter I pay anywhere between $5-$8 for a 50# bale of crap hay.

Horses should have free choice grass hay 24/7. It is not good for them to only eat 2x a day. The have very acidic tummys. That can and do cause ulcers.

Teeth floating should be done 1x a year but there teeth looked at 2x to the tune of $125 a visit.

I have managed to keep the cost down to about $100.00 a month but there are months that we are sitting at almost $400-500 because of the dump crap horses can do.

There is a huge expense up front while you are getting all the things you need like fencing, tack, shelter, foods, meds, wormers, etc..

 

[cat123]

I have 9 horses.

I get 2 rolls of hay each week which cost me about $45.00 a piece ( i am surrounded by hay fields, so that is cheap)

I feed 2 scoops of feed twice a day- if we are riding or exercising-
this week is it raining - so no exercise- so I have them down to 1 scoop twice a day and still all the hay they want plus I plant alfaia in the fields, so they get all of that they want too. Feed i about $10/ a bad and for the 9 horses 1 bag will last me 1 1/2 days. or 3 feedings.


I have a ferrirer come out every 6 weeks- it cost me $25.00 a horse, for a trim.
I have 1 horse that pulls a buggy- so he gets shoes, that is about 125.00 every 6 weeks. ( still cheaper than buying gas)

I have a VET asst come out which is cheaper than a VET, their yearly shots cost about $50.00 a horse.

Wormer- depending on the wormer you use, mine is about $4.00 every 6 weeks, I just admin the same time as when the ferrier comes. ( I buy in bulk)

 

[BroncoHollow]

What kind of horse are you thinking about - what kind of riding are you planning to do? Inquiring minds want to know!


Ahhh So Cal, I just love the cost of horse keeping there... not! Thats why we moooovvved lol. I saw at the feed store here alfalfa was 18.00 a bale and about fell over. How can anyone afford to feed at those prices?
We buy 3 retrievers of super nice grassy alfalfa for a year+ supply [last year was high due to fule costs -13 dollars a bale at 125-135+ pounds each.] There are 84 bales in the retriever. Prices vary so much around the country!! We don't grain unless we are really working them hard, although I know in other parts of the country graining is common as a daily feed.

I guess the thing to say is buying the horse is the least expensive part of horse ownership. Beside feeding, housing, vet, farrier you'll need all the 'other stuff';
emergency barn first aid kit, fly control, brushes and tools, halters & leads, blanket, saddle, bridle, etc... don't forget a truck & trailer to haul all the stuff... lol

Oh, and if you are buying or adopting a horse - PLEASE have it vet checked before you finalize the sale.

 

[rodriguezpoultry]

Quote:
Not really because an unwanted horse will cost the same or more. A lot of unwanted horses have issues, health and temperament. If you cannot pay the amount needed for a purchased horse why adopt one you cannot care for? I think that is the point that was being made.

Very true here...we have at least 15 per week advertised as free in the Mountain Trader....most have 30 days training , some are conditioned mountain horses.......People just can't afford to keep them . Pretty hard times up here...and around the world I would imagine .

I think the point is.......take the high figure on this site...then see if you can afford it for the next 20+ yrs . We even have people letting there horses go to run free because they can't afford them up here .

Good answer!