Guest Author - Darling Poor

Money

When considering buying a new horse or your first horse, the first thing to consider is cost. Not the cost of the horse, the cost of all that your horse will require. People probably think the biggest cost is feed; however, if you've ever had something go wrong, you know the biggest cost is potential vet bills. Consider that you might get hit with up to $2,000 per horse per year in vet visits. If you are lucky and get away with only routine checks, vaccinations, minimal dental checks, and worming every three months, setting aside $300 per horse per year should be enough. However, what would you do if colic hit, hives broke out, a tendon sprained, etc.? Realistically, anything could happen, and it pays to be on the safe side and tuck away as much as you can for potential vet fees.

Yearly cost for health care: $300 to $2,000+ per horse

Feed is a touchy subject, with some folks relying on their stable's supplier, and others insisting on buying and inspecting their own. Honestly speaking, it is best not to rely blindly on whomever supplies all the other horses where you board without checking them out first, and then doing periodic checks. Inspect the hay; is it green and leafy? Or stemmy, mature, mostly yellow stems? Does it smell and feel sweet and soft? Or is it musty, pungent, and coarse? Next, check the times of feeding, and that it is maintained on a strict schedule. One friend incurred huge vet bills rescuing her horse from colic after using a boarding facility's feeder who felt she could feed the horses any time of day she wanted, changing from day-to-day. Being in charge of your horse's feed rather than using the stable supplier is probably the best way to avoid large vet costs and guarantee quality food.

Buying in bulk can save you big time on hay. A horse needs 1/4 to 1/2 a bale of hay per day. Bought in small quantities, one bale of quality timothy or alfafa will run you $12-$15. If you can get 2 or 3 friends to go in with you, a larger purchase can lower your cost to $6 to $9 per bale.

Salt blocks and loose mineral supplements are inexpensive, adding only pennies per day, and are well worth adding to your budget. Concentrates or pelleted grains are not needed in any large quantity unless you train and exercise your horse very hard every day. Far too many horse owners give their lightly-ridden horses expensive concentrates which can actually cause damage more than they do good. Far better to give more hay and allow a horse nibbling time all day long than dump expensive concentrates into the average horse's feed bin. If you want to use them, add $25 for 100 pounds of pellet supplements per horse per month.

Where I live, the cost for basic stabling in a small pipe corral, no turn-out, and daily hay/water is $150 a month. This includes daily mucking, a quick and non-thorough brushover for the horse, water and hay. Shaded pipe corrals are extra ($50), as is adding special feed ($50, and you still must buy the feed), plus daily turn-out ($100 to $300 extra). Because horses should be able to chose from sun and shade as the day goes by, and also should, for their own health, be allowed freedom of movement, I recommend you set aside enough money to allow your horse daily turn-out in a pasture that provides shade trees or shelters. Even turning out in non-grassy area is preferable, in my mind, than a tiny pipe corral all day. By purchasing and dispensing your own feed daily, doing your own grooming daily, and/or even mucking out daily, you can allocate more money to pasture turn-out.

Monthly cost for self-feeding good quality hay, one or two cups of concentrate or pelleted grain per day (optional), salt block, and mineral supplements: $75 to $100 per horse

Monthly cost for stabling, bedding, muckout, and feeding at a boarding facility: $150 for the bare minimum (not recommended) to $500+, depending on options chosen

Bedding can range from basic straw to fancier shavings. Where you live and the options available to you vary greatly. Pasture turn-out lowers your bedding cost. Monthly cost for us city folks: $80 for straw and $120+ for fancier shavings.

Whether your horse goes barefoot or shoed, add in farrier costs of $40-80 every six weeks for shoes and trims. Some horses require minimal farrier care, but others with thin soles can really tap into the budget, requiring $120+ for corrective shoes.

Equipment is not cheap if purchased new, but will last years so the cost is spread out. Take advantage of private party sales and you can acquire some very nice equipment at half the cost of retail. Cost for basic saddle, boots, riding pants, half chaps, bridle, halter, lead ropes, bits, saddle blankets, fly blankets/masks, and more? Expect to spend quite a bit in this area, several hundred to thousands of dollars to start out.