Working in the horse business, I often get asked how much a good horse costs. Unfortunately, the question is almost always in terms of ‘how much to buy’ rather than ‘how much to keep’. The sad truth is that far too many people are buying horses and then finding that they cannot afford to keep them.
In part, this is due to the fact that people involved in the horse business (breeding, selling, training) do not want to scare potential buyers off by telling them just how expensive horse ownership is. After all, if someone is unsure if they can spend a few thousand dollars to buy a horse, the seller will likely lose the deal if they explain that it may cost $30 000 to $60 000 over the next 10 years. Although there may be honest horse people that do go out of their way to explain this information, in our experience they are in the small minority.
If you know someone looking to buy a horse, you can do them a big favour by letting them know the financial implications in advance. Of course, it is hard to quote a specific number as costs vary from under $50/month to over $1000/month depending on circumstances. However, here are some tips on how to do a rough calculation.
To start, ask if the horse will be professionally stabled or if one is stabling the horse oneself. In the former case, costs (including box, bedding, food, labour) can vary from $150/month to $1000/month although $300-$500/month is typical. It depends mainly on where you live (urban areas are more expensive) so you will need to phone around to check the local costs.
If one is stabling the horse oneself, the main costs are bedding, food and labour. Bedding costs will depend very much on the type of bedding and where one lives. If you are using straw, you will need about one small bale per day (12kg or 25lb) so check local prices. For food, figure that you need about 3%-4% of the horse’s weight each day. So a 500kg horse needs 15kg-20kg food each day. If you are feeding hay, phone around for local hay prices. In most areas this quantity of hay would be about $3/day, but in some places the price is as high as $20/day, so you really need to check local prices.
There are also a lot of incidental costs such as wormers, salt, minerals, annual innoculations, and annual dental check. Allow about $500/year to cover all of these. The other big consideration is medical expenses. In a good year your horse may be perfectly healthy and not need to see a vet, in which case there are no exceptional medical expenses. However, one bad case of colic can set you back thousands of dollars. So, you either need to be prepared to foot a major medical bill in the case of serious illness or injury, or take out medical insurance which starts at about $40/month.
Another consideration is how you use the horse. Riding the horse means that you will need to buy a saddle, tack and riding clothes. Showing or competing with the horse involves additional expenses.
None of this is intended to discourage one from buying a horse. Instead, it is to help one understand the financial commitment involved with owning and keeping a horse, so that one can prepare for it.
Doug Stewart is the author of various articles on Horse Health, including the above.
