Cost of owning a horse

[annietristan]

Horses are VERY expensive (obviously). There is board that will vary depending on your barn (I pay $500/month), there is farrier every 4-6 weeks (I pay around $120 each time), and then of course lessons.

Dont get me wrong, owning a horse is the most rewarding and best thing in the world (in my opinion) but just make sure you don’t rush into buying a horse if you don’t have the money. I’m not sure how old you are but if you’re young, having your parents as financial support is very helpful.

A way for you to earn money is of course getting a job. If you can get a job at your barn that would be so helpful because you still get to be around horses and you can get money off board. I do that and I get over $300 off. If I didn’t do that, I don’t know how I’d be able to afford my horse.

i hope this helped and everything works out for you

[Charanga2011]

Horses are VERY expensive. Between board, feed, hay, farrier, even regular vet care, etc it can add up quick! I would have a discussion with your parents and see if they can afford it. To help defray costs I help feed horses and bring them in/turn out, scrub water troughs, and do odd jobs on the farm (we are a self care facility and most of the horse owner’s work full time). I also clean the BO’s house every 2 weeks. Good luck!

[Bellathemustang]

@2tempe

Note that with horses, there is always SOMETHING that throws the budget out of wack. Lost shoes. Puffy eye. Leg crud requiring special ointment. Different bit. blanket repair. Abcess. Acts funny. Limps. And so on.

AMEN! The planned expenses are not too bad, I can keep my girl at home for about $100. But, in the past 7 months I have spent $8k+ on vet bills. And a heaves diagnosis necessitates either costly medication or $180 a month in supplements. We are going the supplement route.

OP, I would recommend leasing a horse, since you have a clear budget, say $100 a month for 2x a week riding. And you don’t have to pay any expenses above that if that is what you work out with the owner. I hated when people recommended leasing to me. I wanted my own horse. So I didn’t listen to them and got one. I am lucky in that my husband and I are established in our careers with no kids, so we could swing the unexpected costs. Otherwise the only humane option would have been euthanasia. We couldn’t even transport her to a rescue if someone else could take her at the worst of her heaves. After my experience I would not recommend getting a horse unless you have $5k in emergency savings for unexpected vet bills. Or $500 for euthanasia and are ok putting down a horse if you can’t afford the vet care or find someone who will.

Spending money on leasing and lessons will probably get you the best bang for your buck for improving your riding if your goal is to be a great rider (if you want to jump you should aim to be a great rider). My goal was to own a horse that I can safely ride at home and enjoy. Different goals need different paths to achieve

[HP_sblueskyenterprise]

Fortunately my family has land, that came with a barn/run-in, but when that barn became too broken down to use (it was ancient and cheap) we waited till a sale at BigR and got some panels, then a little while later we got a small horse shed from the TuffShed people.

We buy hay in bulk 1/2 ton bales or got down to the Indian Reservations Agriculture Co-Op and buy their alfalfa in bulk. Grain is bought on sale, it’s still 15$ a bag though.

While we are pretty conservative and try to save money, I know that my family has a financial cushion if some tragedy was to happen. When my horse needed stitches in the face my dad hooked up the trailer and we hauled to the vet without a question, I just walked in and told him we needed to go to the vet “again”. I am so so blessed to have this kind of support. It’s sometimes hard to get and it might take a while to get familial support, but unless your now an adult with your own income, it’s going to be pretty hard without moral or financial support. It’s certainly not impossible though, my trainer did it growing up. She worked different jobs and saved money. You just need to keep in mind that you are responsible for a living being.
My trainer and her barn is an hour away, she does full boarding for around $900.00 which I cannot afford. So I take lessons on her school horses or haul-in. Currently I can’t even afford a jumping horse, and have been riding whatever I can get my hands on. But thanks to my trainer I’ve been able to ride at A shows, ride many different horses, and learn a ton.

[findeight]

OP had several other threads and IIRC is a young teen, not driving age, in mid Ohio who would be boarding out.

[Horseman15]

Something I haven’t seen mentioned yet is if you end up with hard keeper. My gelding eats twice the feed allotted in standard board contracts. Depending on the type of feed the barn has that can be up to $100 or more a month additional feed costs. My gelding also requires alfalfa or he drops weight so I feed him about 3 bales a week in addition to the normal hay they get.

The additional medical bills are a big deal. Mr Boo-boo also has forced me to spend a lot of extra money. In his latest episode he was kicked by another horse. That was 6 months of no riding and almost $1,000 in vet bills. If your horse colics a lot that’s another expensive possiblity to deal with.

There’s also a large time commitment in addition to the money you spend and the hours you work to afford them. You need to be there with them if they get sick or injured unless you want to pay your barn to take care of your horse. That could mean going to the barn 2 or 3 times a day to change bandages, give medicine, etc.

There money you invest in a horse you own is absolutely nuts!!! But there’s also the time. Owning a horse is NOT a hobby, it’s a lifestyle that affects every single stress of your life. You can’t get tired of it and forget about like you can with a different pet. These aren’t pets, they’re partners.

Start with a partial lease. Learn about what it really takes and costs, then go from there. Good luck!

[Bellathemustang]

@findeight

OP had several other threads and IIRC is a young teen, not driving age, in mid Ohio who would be boarding out.

Oh wow. Yah without 100% parental support I can’t see how that would work out well for the horse. If OP doesn’t have a dependable income and parents won’t/can’t help financially leasing is the only responsible option.

Please OP, for the horses sake.

[Mukluk]

Best of luck. I personally think you will become a better rider at a lower cost by riding many different horses as in taking regular lessons/possibly leasing. Owning a horse is a HUGE financial commitment and you never know what accident/injury your horse may get into next. I had a horse on a shoestring budget for a few years as a teenager. My parent’s paid the board at a decidedly un-fancy stable. Horse was fed well, wormed, feet trimmed etc but nothing extra. Luckily this horse never had any significant medical issues (though if he did my parents could have afforded to pay for it- they are animal lovers and would never allow any animal to suffer). I rode bareback for a year until my mom kindly bought me a used saddle. I paid for schooling shows (all I could afford) with baby sitting money.

[dani0303]

Like so many others have said, it varies wildly by region.

I live in an area that in generally fairly reasonable for horse keeping. I own 3; 2 are semi retired and kept at home and 1 is a show horse who is boarded. My retirees cost me about $200/month for both of them (not including my mortgage payment). They eat about $150 in hay and $50 in misc expenses throughout the month. They are easy keepers so neither are on grain. They’re both barefoot so trims are $45 each every 8 weeks. They only get basic vaccines and routine vet care so their vet costs are on average about $500/year (shots, dental, bloodwork on the old guy). That obviously doesn’t include emergency vet care.

My show horse costs quite a bit more. Her board is $350 a month. I generally lesson once a week at $40. She has 4 shoes which runs $135 every 6-8 weeks. She’s on maintenance meds (Pentosan, Previcoxx, hock injections 2x a year) which makes her medical bills $2000ish a year. Show costs are a whole different ballgame.

These expenses don’t include the purchase price, which for these 3 horses ranged between $2000-$50,000.

TL;DR- A lot. They cost a lot. Your best bet is going to college and getting a well paying career.

[MIKES_MCS]

I would suggest finding an IEA team to join…it is the High School / Middle school version of IHSA , no need to own a horse , shows are relatively in expensive, and you only need to take 1 team lesson a week and you have the opportunity to qualify for a final usually held in premier show facilities like the KHP or Syracuse ( this year).