Horse expenses?

Question

I'm thinking of buying a horse. I have a barn and ten acres, but was wondering what everyone who has their own horse pays per horse, per month on farrier bills, vet bills, hay etc...
Thanks so much! :)

Answer 1

first a farrier eepends on the area you live...........in southeast missouri we pay $45 for shoes about every 6 weeks, one of our horses doesn't wear shoes and it is $30 a month to get hers trimmed. Vet bills vary...........vaccinations are about $70 a year, getting teeth checked and floated $50 a year, yearly coggins test $20, other than that the vet bills are for illness and injury which can be overwhelming at times. A horse needs to be wormed every 6-8 weeks which will run $14-$20 for the wormer. Feed and hay depends on how you feed your horse. We feed ours grain twice a day and the amount we feed a 50 pound bag will last one horse 3 days and it is about $9 a bag, 16% high energy protien block is about $7 and we use 3 a week per horse and we have since went to round bales of hay which runs $35 a bale. A round bale will last one horse a couple of weeks when we fed square bales each horse got 2 bales a day so about $5 a day for hay. You will also need hay for the stall. Grooming supplies will cost you about $50 to start, halter and lead rope $50, then of course the pad, briddle and saddle which can cost as little as $300 and as much as $3000. You will need a feed bucket, water trough, feed pans as well. In the summer remember a horse can drink over 100 gallons a day in water so the trough alone can run you as much as $125. You can buy feed at bulk and save money at some feed stores however you have to have a dry place to keep it so it doesn't mold and at 10 acres you could plant 5 in hay and have it baled to save money........we do that with some of our land and the guy bales it for us and it is still about half price of buying. The other land if you have good pasture in the summer your hay won't run as much.

Answer 2

Cost really depends on where you live as it varies a *lot* by region. Hay prices depend on availability. Here, we've had a very wet summer which is bad for hay, so our prices are going to be going up. Some ares of the countr you can pay up to $600 for a ton of hay. Your average size horse will eat around $20 pounds of medium grade grass hay a day (less of alfalfa). Grain will vary hugely depending on if you feed straight grain or a milled feed. Shoeing also varies around the country but your horse will need either a trim if bare or shoes (reset or new) every 6 to 8 weeks. Here a trim is $40 and plain shoes about $80, winter shoes over $100. I give my own shots and worm my own horses, but we give shots once a year and worm every 8 weeks. Wormer runs on average about $10. Here the cost of keeping an average size horse on dry lot (in other words, fed hay) is about $150 a month. This does not include farrier or vet. Mine only see the vet if they get hurt, sick or need their teeth floated. If your horse does need to see a vet, it can get very expensive, especially if the vet has to come to your place. There are many good yahoo groups for horses, you may even be able to find one in your region/state that can give you a more accurate idea of costs.

Answer 3

Horses are not cheap. A good shoeing job may cost $200-400 dollars depending on what the horse needs. Of course shop around on that and ask for prices up front. Feed prices vary too but hay is around $2.50 to 4.00 a bale, bagged feeds are expensive too and you buy them in 50lb bags and a horse eats approximately 9-12 lbs or 3 large coffe cans a day. Vet bills vary too but are costly you have to shop around on that too. You need to worm them each year and have their teeth filed too regularily and worming runs around $100 the teeth probably about the same or $150. And these are necessary have to have done things to maintain your horses good health, can't avoid. You might be able to grow some hay or make a deal with a local farmer, and fortunately you have a barn or would have stabling fees every month too which are expensive. Horses are wonderful animals though they just need maintance like everything else in life. Also horses live to be 30-40 years old.

Answer 4

IT is alot of money so know what your getting into.For me I don't shoe my horses since they have strong hooves but some horses do, idon't k no the price. I only call the vet when someting is wrong and thats been 2 times in 7 years, hay isn't tooo bad(2-3 dollars a bale) but you gotta get saddle(500) bridle(200) halter (20)lead rope(15) feed (ads up over the years)water trailor(if ur showing)or traveling (a few thousand)and fly spray(30 dollars a bottle, a bottle a month) and blanket (50) brushes(for all the brushes you need about 30-40)and a millionother things

Answer 5

Hay is about $2 a bale now. Mine horse goes through 2-3 bales per week depending on the weather. If he gets outside for grass, I give him less hay. Sweet feed and oats are about $15 for 100 pounds. That lasts about 10-14 days. I worm him once every month, rotating worm medicines. Various wormers cost about $12-15. I'm fortunate enough to have access to free sawdust from a local lumber yard for bedding. I replace his halter once a year. I buy a $25-35 halter each time. I also replace his feed box about once a year. You will need to purchase buckets, grooming supplies, and mucking supplies too. My Dad is my farrier. My horse gets shots about once a year which costs about $50. He is normally pretty healthy, so I don't have other health costs.

Answer 6

Hay for two horses is about $100 per month
Farrier about $25-50 every six to eight weeks or more if you shoe the horse.
Vet about $100 per year for a teeth float
And about $50 for the shots.
Grain or horse feed about $25 per month.
Fly spray $20 per month in summer
Plus fencing, barns, tarctor, manure spreader, and other stuff that comes up. A saving acct for emergency care just in case, horses tend to hurt themselves and it gets very expensive to treat them.

Answer 7

$400 for the vet per 6 months with the worming and shots, $80 6-8 weeks for farier, $300 every 2months for feed if not $350 including stradegy and safechoice I feed my horse, it 2 types of suplements I also give her alfalfa. She gets her teeth cleaning once a year by the vet which I'm guessing it's about $120.It's called "teeth floating". You need to buy a hoof pick, brushes, fly spray all type of things.If you need to know more just email me

Answer 8

we hay and grow grain so were lucky i pay my vet 100 a month so i always have money in my account my brother is aferrier so he shoes and trims the hooves the most expense is worming and giving them shots buying fly mosquitos replent and if they get sick the antiboitocs..the price of a horse will vary ..some places sell small square bales 1.50 a bale and i seen it as high as 2.25 hope this helped out

Answer 9

First and foremost, vet bills are a constant bill every month, you must get them inoculated, shoed, and then comes bedding, tack, feed, meds, dentist, and since you are new at this, training. Horses are very expensive, but well worth it. They will be your companion for life.