£200 a month to keep a horse? Really?

Looking at some of yours mine look reeaally cheap to keep especially for 2 full TBs and a TB cross! for all three its -

Yard rent - £120 (incl. water, 3 boxes, storage, and 6 acres)
Shoes - £60 (barefooters!)
Bedding - £3 (I get my shavings for 99p per bag for 40kg :) )
Hay - £50
Insurance - £11.00 (self insure)
Feed - £20.00 (I buy straights, much cheaper!)
Petrol - £5.00 (for the generator, so i can have lights :) )

So round about £270.00 for the three to keep and i should think about £100 on comp entries each month. So on average about £120.00 each per month, certainly couldnt keep them all in livery!!! I'm far to poor :)
 
My livery cost is £140, straw bedding comes free (at the moment!)
Hay - we all put money in for big bales, about £25 a month at the mo
Feed - one bag of Happy Hoof or Safe and Sound lasts us a month - £12
Farrier - £150 every 8 weeks (she needs sedating :(), so £75 a month
Insurance - £30

= total £282

BUT I spend about £80-£100 a month on petrol as my yard isn't very local :(
 
£120 livery
£40 big bale of hay
£45 front shoes, back trim
£30 insurance
£58 bedding

That's basic, more in winter, probably, yet more on tack, treats, etc. Vet bill for lameness is just under £200 so far, doubt I'll claim. :(
 
Wagtail said:
I am surprised that so many people on here claim that they are able to keep their horses on less than £200 a month. Is that for real? Especially those who have to pay livery?

My WINTER monthly costs for my own horses (kept at home) are as follows:

Haylage £80
Bedding £53
Feed £25
Insurance £40
Shoeing £30

Total £228 (average per horse)

This does not include vets fees and vaccinations or buying of equipment and rugs/tack or riding gear. Or 4 x 4 and trailer.

Where am I going wrong?
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£70 cut hedge per year/£200 hay delivered per year/shoes when shod 2011 were £50/wormers x twice year as poo pick daily/BHS Gold ?approx £50+ /no insurance too old..lives out but I might buy a couple of shavings for field shelter that he never goes in. Fly masks x 2 off ebay£15. Mineral lick £15 per year use old fashioned bricks. Thats it!Living out made a huge ££££ on my bills. I dont fuss keep it basic(oh probably 2 bags pony nuts in winter ..good doer literally has a handful to keep him sweet in a trug. I did do dentist £37 but I think his teeth were worse after wards and wish I had left him alone!
 
Livery - £15 pw per horse
Haylage @ £35 per bale x2
Straw @ £3.50 per bale
Trim every 6 weeks - £17
Feed - £30 pm
Insurance - £25 (horse 1) and £17 (horse 2)

x2 horses ... not too bad :D

Teeth, jabs, tack, new rugs all ££££££££££££££££££££££££££££££ haha they're better clothed than me !!!
 
chessy said:
BUT I spend about £80-£100 a month on petrol as my yard isn't very local :(
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Yes, actually, I wouldn't bother having a car if I didn't have the horses :o Although my little fiesta is very fuel efficient and only costs me about £12 in fuel.

I have a VERY good doer, who is retired and I can keep her (incl. teeth, vacs, rug cleaning, fly repellent, insurance, supplements, top quality feed & haylage etc, she wants for nothing and money is nothing compared to her comfort) all for about £1300 pa. Of course when she was in work, she probably cost me that much a year in shoes :rolleyes: and over half that in insurance for her then value. It really does depend on the type of horses, what you do with them, and where in the country you are. Oh, and what sort of livery you opt for.
 
Mine can cost me more than that due to vets bills, lorry maintenance and competing/lessons. their basic care though is substantially less.

Livery zilch, (but would be £60 pm if I charged myself)
hay, £15 per month, (only because they get too fat out 24/7).
straw, £10 per month.
Supplements/hard food, £5 - 10 per month.
Farrier, approx £50 per month.

Mine are not natives, but good doers and I think if you know where & how to buy stuff (straw, hay etc.) and you rent your own land rather than being on a yard, then they can cost a lot less than £50 per week.
 
i pay £5 p/week livery :)
about £6 for my haylage as hes out most of the time (will prob be 8-12 through winter
his hard feed is about £15 every 3 weeks
trim £20 every 6 weeks
he doesnt have rugs or much tack as hes only 3 :)

Im very lucky though
 
£130 per month DIY Livery that includes hay/ haylage.
£24 for a huge bale of straw that lasts me all winter (about 4 months)
£20 for trimming (7-10 wks - barefoot as only a youngster)
£10 feed
£34 Insurance

Unless I need rugs etc, so just under £200 per month roughly.
 
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