They are $2,000. One of my boarders used them. Depending on where you are in CT, Rubin Livestock Services may be available. I am just over the CT border in NY and they come here. They are based in Middletown NY, and they charge $450.
I had this grand plan of burying my Old Man when the time came. Now, Iām too scared to bury him at the place we boarded at for so long because I strongly believe it will end up owned by developers and I canāt bear the thought of someone digging him up by accident.
So now what. Do I cremate him, or just take a piece of tail and let the haulers remove his body?
Something I should decide sooner rather than later. My SO says to cremate, but jesus thatās expensive and a lot of ashes.
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Fab, thanks, Iāll share that info with my vet! Itās my understanding that cremation price is based on weight, rather than a flat fee for allāis that not the case?
I had my heart horse cremated 10 years ago.
Iām at the point now where enough time has passed that Iām asking why I keep a huge trunk of ashes in my living room.
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This is what I fear for my Old Man horse. I can tell right now that my SO is going to pressure/guilt me into doing it though. Maybe Iāll spread his ashes somewhere special so I donāt have them in the house.
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Iāve only had to euthanize one horse (definitely a heart horse), who I leased. The owner kept most of the ashes and I kept a small box - the same size that they do for big dogs. I think when I have to do it again Iāll still cremate (realistically my only option) and keep just a small portion and spread the rest.
Itās A LOT of ashes.
Iāve debated spreading them, but thatās a lot to put on one place and I donāt know if I want to spread them multiple places because drawing the process out unsettles me for some reason.
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I was fortunate that at my old barn when my horse died they could bury it there. Unusual for horse farms in CT! With new guy at current stable, the options are more limited. Might be able to bury, might not - kind of depends upon how many go before.
Cremation is expensive. Especially since I am not sentimental about the remains. No other professional āservicesā or composters that I am aware of. So for many it comes down to āknowing a guy with a farm and a backhoeā. or paying $$$.
My experience was with a sick dog, but by the time I got to the euth, I had tapped every available monetary resource, so I had to put the fees for the euthanasia on three different credit cards. I donāt know that I would sniff at someone trying to come up with the disposal fees for their horse without understanding that personās story.
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Honestly, I am currently re-thinking my role in the horse world, in regards to cost. I bought a young horse two years ago with the intent to have something I could show in the 2ā6" EQ ring. I didnāt have huge goals, just wanted something I could enjoy at the lower levels.
Iām averaging roughly $2000 a month in costs (board, shoes, vet bills, tack, lessons, training rides, etc.). I also have herniated two discs in my neck and back in the last two years ā not riding related, but it has impacted my view on my physical capabilities.
I have had the typical training hiccups one has with the young horse, exacerbated by an acute Lyme infection, saddle fit issues and resulting ulcers.
Iām nowhere near my goals and wondering if it is really all worth it? Especially the rising costs. In my area, board starts at $1150 and most decent programs have lesson and training requirements. So board is really well north of $1600/mo. I struggle with how much this is fair to my husband. We are two income, no children. But our largest expense is my horse, by far.
It would be so much more reasonable to sell my young horse, and either part lease something, or buy a trail horse and keep it at a backyard barn and give up all dreams of competing.
That is what I am currently struggling with.
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Right?!?
Rarely is the decision, ālet me euthanize now while itās financially convenient.ā Usually there is a lot of difficulty, often financial, leading up to the decision.
Also, I know when faced with veterinary emergencies, I tend to make stupid financial decisions. Itās easy to save and say you will only spend $X on treatment, but in the moment, itās hard to stick to that. Especially when your animal is able to be saved if you spend just a little more (which always ends up being a lot more).
Iām so sorry about your dog. 
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Man, no kidding. This one is especially hard for me when itās not āokay, you have to spend $20k now or euthā but when they stretch on and youāre 3 months in, 10 grand in the hole, with an animal thatās doing ā¦ pretty okay but still has challenges and serious costs. Theyāve gotten ābetterā but arenāt yet āwellā and knowing when to stop and call it is just SO HARD.
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I really had high aspirations of showing rated/recognized at some point - and then I totaled it up and decided I donāt care that much. I would love to have better competition and better judges and better venuesā¦ but right now, itās not in the cards.
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You can lease and compete. Find a good show barn!
Not that Iām telling you to sell your horse, but I wish I had shopped around at different programs before buying the baby TB and getting stuck in a program that wasnāt working for us before I eventually sold her. I could have been leasing a packer and saving myself some heartache and back achesānot money, as good leases cost $$ but the stress and commitment of horse ownership are big things and frankly if you donāt have your own farm, itās just a lot.
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I am considering this path now. Leasing out of a trainerās barn. The problem Iām running into is it actually IS cheaper to own, short term - I donāt need a fancy show barn or required training and can/prefer to DIY the local shows (Iād rather board close to home and meet a trainer at the shows for social hour and coachingā¦).
I totaled it up, $1400+/mo for board and training, plus lease fee (if you can find one under $10k for what I need itās a miracle, āmid fives to borrowā is more common), plus farrier, tack, required hauling/set up/day care/coaching/splits. If I want to do the local C or A circuit. I have my own truck and trailer but wouldnāt be āallowedā to use it. Half leases are almost non-existent in my circle.
OR I can buy, and board for $800, haul in for lessons and do my own thing at shows, etc etc.
ETA of course owning comes with commitment. Iām well aware (side-eyeing my $$$$ 11yo retiree)
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Yep, I hear you. Having owned several of my own over the past decade itās never so simple. I have boarded in a show barn, at a backyard barn, and now am at a barn thatās kind of in between.
I love, love, love having say in my horseās care, learning everything I can to be a better horsewoman, but itās like a full time jobāwith the added stress of having to find good āoffice spaceā lol. If my horse were at home it would be lots of work but I wouldnāt worry about the long haul as much. I think itās just the horse welfare part that gets me. Like, you buy a horse and board with a trainer thinking youāre going places, horse breaks or isnāt a good fit for that program and you have to find a new place or sell. Itās so hard and gut wrenching.
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So, as a reality check.
When I was a teen I did self board in a backyard down the street. Us 5 teen girls basically ran the place ordered bedding by the ton and dealt with our own farrier and vet calls.
Dry stall was I think $50 a month (might have been $25 to start?), hay was $3 a bale, and we pitched in for a ton of sawdust from the mill every few months. My horse cost $350 off the dude string and my saddle was about $100 new.
And I was considered very lucky and even spoiled and rich in that nice enough suburban neighborhood because many many perfectly respectable middle class parents in that time and place could not afford that monthly cost for kids to have a horse.
At that point a one bedroom apartment was about $150 a month and full board at the fancy barn was $100 a month. We considered that astronomical.
1970s inflation did a number on many peopleās salaries too.
A horse has always been a luxury except on ranches and farms.
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Yep, horses are in general a luxury.
A luxury a lot of us used to be able to afford, relatively easily in fact, and now find ourselves unable to keep up with skyrocketing prices.
What was doable 3, 5, 10 years ago just isnāt the same anymore. And itās certainly disheartening!
Though I will say itās morbidly encouraging that it isnāt only me feeling the pinch.
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The divide between rich and poor is squeezing out the middle. The mid 20th century had the least income divide in the history of North America. That started to fall apart in the 1980s. Big fortunes in finance and then tech drove up top earners and the middle incomes stagnated.
Where I live, a middle income earner canāt buy a detached house, and is stretched to buy a condo or even rent an apartment. Pretty much priced out of the downtown. Food and gas prices have skyrocketed. Depending where you live you will see the current economic issues realigning your life in different ways. Itās not just horses
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It was a flat fee for my boarder.
