Can anyone tell me just exactly how much it costs to look after a horse?

Question

I am curious and dont know any millionaires.

Answer 1

cheapest place i know for stabbling is 5 pound per week, then bout 30 pound a month for food and plus bout 10 pound a week for hay and straw, thats about 60 pounds a month at the very cheepest but then dont forget theres the tac ( saddle, bridle and head collar) ruggs, you will need about 3, summer, winter and stabble rig, then fork, spade and weel barrow! if you want to spoil your horse then it will be about 1000 pound a month its bin years since i had horses tho so dont quote me on it!!

Answer 2

This strictly depends on where you live, and how much work you plan to do yourself. Here in Ohio, full board costs $175 - $300 per month. But I pay much, much less than that because I keep my two horses at a low-frills farm and I visit there often to do most of the work myself.

It also depends on the horse. My two ponies are "easy keepers" and survive quite well on grass and a little bit of hay in the winter. I've had Thoroughbred mares, though, that had high metabolism and ate $150 worth of hay and grain a month, not counting everything alse.

Good luck!

Answer 3

My board is currently $200 a month at a local stable and that is pasture kept - she does not come inside at night nor does she get any grain. Board for a stall is $350 and that is out in the country. But in the city where there is alot less land board goes up to $600 if you don't do any of the maintenance work and feed is included. It can be less if you help out and clean your own stall and buy your own feed but then you add the cost of the feed.

Buying tack can cost anywhere from cheap on ebay or a used tack sale to thousands of dollars for top of the line custom fitted to your horse tack.

I have budgeted $6000 a year for general up keep which includes board, vet visits and the farrier.

Answer 4

It depends on where you keep your horse.

If you put it on full-livery (where someone else does all the mucking out, feeding, grooming etc) it will cost over £150 a week. Personally I think this option is lazy, if you cannot spare the time to look after a horse properly you should just stick to having weekly lessons.

The cheapest options are DIY livery (where you do everything) or even working livery at a riding school (the horse earns its keep by being used for riding lessons).

I know plenty of students that keep horses and they don't have a lot of money.

The main things you need to pay for on a regular basis are worming, blacksmith, food, bedding, vaccinations, insurance and keep. On top of this you will have to have money aside for unexpected vet bills and replacing any tack etc.

Around £7,000 - £8,000 per year should cover it.

Answer 5

If you really want to know- I suggest working at a stable near you- that way you can get loads of invaluable experience, and you can figure out exactly what it takes to keep a horse. Most places are more than happy for you to come out and help whenever you can.

Some things you will need to consider-
Paddock with shelter if not a stable (stables are not necessary, but they do need somewhere they can go to get out of the sun, wind and rain).
Rugs (also not a necessity most of the time)
Hay and mixed concentrated and bulk feed
tack- bridle, saddle, headcollar, leadrope, brushes & combs, hoof pick, saddle rug etc
First aid stuff- bandages, antiseptic etc
Savings for vet fees (at least $100 aus per visit)
Injections for tetenus etc
teeth floated every 6mnths-1yr
farrier, every 6 weeks on average
lessons / trainer
worming every 6 weeks on average.

It is worth calling vets and horse feed and tack supply shops, or even a stable to find out how much it will cost where you are, because price also depends on where you live.

Good Luck- yes, poverty is owning a horse, but they are worth every penny :)

Answer 6

Right now depends on where you live and the cost of living in your area. Here we pay about 3.00 per bale which can fee 4 horses a day and sweet feed runs about 4.00 for a 50 lb bag which will last about 3 or 4 days and a round bale is about 35.00 and last about 2 weeks or more depending if you have extra pasture like us to free feed as a back up.so for us yearly I think we spend about 900-1000. Not bad for us having extra land too.

Answer 7

Board is anywhere from $50-700 per month.
Feed is about $7.00 to $20 per bag and a horse can eat up to 10-12 pounds or more per day.
Plus hay a blae is about $3.00 -15 or so per bale. They can eat a bale in two days.
Hoof care is $20-100 every 8 weeks or so.
Worming is $10 per time done every 8 weeks
Shots can be about $50 once or twice per year depends on your vet.
Teeth float about $50-100 once per year.
Tack is expensive one of my saddles was $1300 and that is not really expensive for a saddle.
Blankets can be $100 or more or a cheap as $20
Bridles and reins can be $30 up to the hundreds of dollars.
Brushes and combs and fly spray and such another $20 per months or so.
It is expensive to keep horses.

Answer 8

the cheapest part of owning a horse is the buying off it.
you need pay for hay, feed and bedding.
livery
tack
rugs
vet bills
dentist
insurance

to be honest its not something to take lightly

ive done some work at the ilph and i have seen what has happened to horses that havent been looked after probably and it is heartbreaking

you should only get a horse if you have, time, knowledge and the means

Answer 9

It all depends whether you want to do all the hard work yourself or if you want some time to yourself from time to time and some peace of mind. Two ways of looking after horses. DIY (do it your self) of Full livery. DIY costs from £10 aweek for a stable then food and looking after on top. Full livery usually depends on the size of your horse but is about £50 upwards. No food costs. Then there is the extra's like shoes, vets, show entry fee's, insurances.

Answer 10

you'll need a millionaire i can tell you!

its about £650 per horse a month but thats without things like unexpected vet bills which are a major pain in the butt. its best off sharing a horse with a like minded friend.