Have I budgeted enough for my own horse?

[Hannah♡]

Hi I’m 18 and I’m currently loaning a horse but I’m looking into getting my own in around a years time (give or take a few months). I work full time and pay for my loan, riders insurance and lessons myself however I still live at home which obviously doesn’t cost me as much as living in my own place. I’ve come up with a rough table of costs including diy livery, insurance, feed, farrier, worming, vaccinations, bedding, lessons and dentist.
I’ve estimated around £320-£400pm. For definite I know livery costs as I know which yard I would keep my own horse on and insurance as I have looked at quotes and bedding and feed costs based on my loan horses expenses…the other figures I have are from online forums, blogs and riding with Rhis equestrian money diaries.
Would you say this amount is a realistic budget, I can afford more but I’m taking into consideration moving out in a few years and want to make sure I am able to still afford my own horse. For reference I live in Northern Ireland.

 

[mini_b]

If you’ve budgeted all costs including dentistry, lessons, shoes/trims etc and this is what you’ve come up with. Fair enough.

i do know folk on here keep them cheap but they are often barefoot natives kept at home or on owned land.
Super experienced horse owners can often cheap out on things because they know where to “cut corners” - this has been mentioned in another thread.

I think £400 is very low, you could possibly get away with it but really you need money left over for emergencies such as vet treatment, broken tack, travel.

 

[Hannah♡]

If you’ve budgeted all costs including dentistry, lessons, shoes/trims etc and this is what you’ve come up with. Fair enough.

i do know folk on here keep them cheap but they are often barefoot natives kept at home or on owned land.
Super experienced horse owners can often cheap out on things because they know where to “cut corners” - this has been mentioned in another thread.

I think £400 is very low, you could possibly get away with it but really you need money left over for emergencies such as vet treatment, broken tack, travel.

Hi I do have money left over and have considerable savings I can dip into if needs be but for the average monthly costs do you think this is enough?

 

[Birker2020]

You need to build up a contingency fund as you will need to pay an excess on any insurance and people tend to forget that - i.e. if you wish to claim for say an accident or whatever there will be an excess. Its a gamble - you can try to keep your premium down but pay a higher excess if you don't think its likely the horse will get injured or you can pay a lesser excess but a higher premium if you think its more likely the horse will get injured. No one has a crystal ball but you can make a reasonable guess.

Also factor in the costs of rugs (two of each weight are recommended for turn out, i.e no fill, 100g, 200g and 350g if clipped) and one of each weight for overnight stable rugging although I make do with layers as its easier. If you have two of each weight for turnout, one can be drying out whilst the other is used.

 

[Hannah♡]

You need to build up a contingency fund as you will need to pay an excess on any insurance and people tend to forget that - i.e. if you wish to claim for say an accident or whatever there will be an excess. Its a gamble - you can try to keep your premium down but pay a higher excess if you don't think its likely the horse will get injured or you can pay a lesser excess but a higher premium if you think its more likely the horse will get injured. No one has a crystal ball but you can make a reasonable guess.

Also factor in the costs of rugs (two of each weight are recommended for turn out, i.e no fill, 100g, 200g and 350g if clipped) and one of each weight for overnight stable rugging although I make do with layers as its easier. If you have two of each weight for turnout, one can be drying out whilst the other is used.

Could you recommend any specific companies for equine insurance?

 

[EllenJay]

It’s a little low, but it all depends on how you are going to keep the horse.

livery - Diy £250-350 per month
bedding £35 per month
farrier £35-75 per month (trim/shod)
hay £60 per month (this is haylage for my large horse not sure in current hay prices)
feed £30 per month
travel to the yard 2 times per day £50 per month

 

[Hannah♡]

It’s a little low, but it all depends on how you are going to keep the horse.

livery - Diy £250-350 per month
bedding £35 per month
farrier £35-75 per month (trim/shod)
hay £60 per month (this is haylage for my large horse not sure in current hay prices)
feed £30 per month
travel to the yard 2 times per day £50 per month

Diy at my yard is £152 pm (£38pw) I believe Northern Ireland is cheaper than mainland UK as with others things…

 

[Birker2020]

Could you recommend any specific companies for equine insurance?

I'm currently with SEIB, paying £95 per month for death of animal £10,000, theft, vets fees £5,000 and £7,500 for colic surgery, hospital admission , disposal. Unaff jumping/dressage, fun rides, eventing, riding club XC.

 

[Widgeon]

£400 sounds reasonable to me. Your livery costs are *really* cheap compared to England (lucky you) and the remaining £250 per month ought to be enough to cover a couple of lessons, forage and any basic feed for a good doer. Then if you have a good pot of savings to pay setup costs (rugs, tack etc) and dip into when necessary, it sounds realistic to me. Just don't go out and buy something with skinny legs and a desire to self harm!

Excluding livery and when averaged out over a year, per month I pay £40 farrier, about £50 lessons and entry fees, about £10 on oats, about £55 insurance (I'm with Scottish Equestrian but my horse is relatively low value) about £5 vaccs, £5 wormers, £40 on tack and bits, and saddle checks etc, £10 physio. I think that's all the major costs covered and that sums to £215. I have forage included in my livery but it sounds like NI is cheaper overall than here, so you should be left with somewhere aruond £50 per month for hay etc. I think your calculations work out.

 

[Hannah♡]

I’m thinking more of a cob or a Irish draft as I’m used to more heavy horses. It’s the one advantage to living over here all the costs are cheaper as far as living.

 

[ownedbyaconnie]

This is me at my cheapest with a connemara pony who is barefoot.

DIY livery (no assistance) - £175 pcm
Insurance - £70 (low excess high vet fee option)
Hay - £50 pcm (she got through a bale maybe every 5 days in winter and was out in the field minimum 12 hours a day, in summer more like 16 hours)
Shavings - 1 bag of pellets every fortnight and 1 bag of shavings a week about £10 a week.
Feed - 1 bag of chaff every 6 months at £11 and 1 bag of pony nuts a month at £5, supplements £30 a month (she was chubby but grass very nutritionally poor so got tiny bit of feed to put supplements in)
Farrier - £25 every 6 weeks for barefoot trim
Jabs - £60 annually but if you plan on competing affiliated then some bodies require every 6 months so this is potentially doubled.
Teeth - £50 twice a year (some only need annually, we have a historic tooth problem).
Physio - £40 3-4 times a year depending on workload
Saddler - £100 twice a year
Tack - obviously varies a lot but for reference my saddle was £1,800, bridle about £100, stirrups £130 etc. I reckon I’ve spent £2,500 on tack.
Then the hidden cost of petrol to get to and from yard. This yard was literally off the road on my way to work so added nothing except on weekends and even then was only about 5km away.
Also budget for having someone cover you whilst you’re away/sick.

I budgeted £450 a month for the above (except one off costs like tack) but often spent more but it just meant I saved less that month. Lessons, competing etc came out of my non horse budget.

 

[I'm Dun]

It’s a little low, but it all depends on how you are going to keep the horse.

livery - Diy £250-350 per month
bedding £35 per month
farrier £35-75 per month (trim/shod)
hay £60 per month (this is haylage for my large horse not sure in current hay prices)
feed £30 per month
travel to the yard 2 times per day £50 per month

Those are inflated costs. Livery here is £90 to £200. The higher end includes ad lib hay. 2 of mine cost £100 in large bale fed ad lib. Feed is more for me for my TB and minimal for the good doers. I trim my own so have totally lost touch with farrier prices.

I roughly budget £300 a month for mine with my own small yard. That gives me a fair amount spare for dentists and worm count etc etc.

But I'm moving in a week and costs will drop again. My livery is £130 and thats living out on good grazing, no bedding cost other than putting a small bed in my stable so its there in case of emergencies. Hay costs will go up slightly, I'll have more grass but you pay a slight premium for the hay. Feed will drop over the summer but then back up over winter.

I reckon my actual costs will be sub £200 a horse. I'll still budget £300 as you need a buffer and I want to get mine out and about so it will soon be swallowed up in fuel towing and entries etc. I do have another pot budgeted for that though as its non essential spending.

 

[Hannah♡]

Those are inflated costs. Livery here is £90 to £200. The higher end includes ad lib hay. 2 of mine cost £100 in large bale fed ad lib. Feed is more for me for my TB and minimal for the good doers. I trim my own so have totally lost touch with farrier prices.

I roughly budget £300 a month for mine on livery. that gives me a fair amount spare for dentists and worm count etc etc

Are all the costs inflated or just the livery?

 

[smolmaus]

Also NI here!

My livery base rate is £30/ week DIY. I need her turned out for me in the morning which is £1. Haylage is provided for £1/ day and shavings are £7 a bale once a week so the total is usually £216 a month.
Insurance is £42 with Insurance Emporium, she is not "worth" anything really as she is a rescue.
Farrier £25 a trim, no shoes
Dentist cost £105 last month as I got the vet to do it with sedation
I share feed with a friend so not sure on actual costs for that but £22 a bag of balancer should last me 6 weeks or more, £13 a bag of chaff lasts much longer. She is on supplements for her joints and for sweet itch at about £25 a month?
Petrol is murderous right now, I basically only use the car to go to the yard once a day (10 miles each way) and it's running me about £30 a week.

Lessons not included here as she is in the process of being backed (very slowly) so my lessons are at a RS.

I've screenshotted my spreadsheet in case you find that useful! It includes incidentals and start-up bits and pieces. You will see I have exceeded my £500/month budget every month so far ?

 

[Widgeon]

Are all the costs inflated or just the livery?

At a guess I think they'd all be higher than yours will be -

bedding £35 per month - if yours is on grass, or even only in overnight for a few winter months, you won't need much / any bedding
farrier £35-75 per month (trim/shod) - I pay £75 for a full set every 7 weeks. That works out at £40 per month
hay £60 per month (this is haylage for my large horse not sure in current hay prices) - you probably won't need haylage, and for a cob on grass you shouldn't need too much hay
feed £30 per month - you may not even need feed, beyond chaff and a balancer
travel to the yard 2 times per day £50 per month - this entirely depends on where you live and what kind of transport you run

 

[I'm Dun]

Are all the costs inflated or just the livery?

It all seemed much higher than I pay in an expensive part of the world. But its always better to over budget and have spare.

 

[SOS]

It’s a little low, but it all depends on how you are going to keep the horse.

livery - Diy £250-350 per month
bedding £35 per month
farrier £35-75 per month (trim/shod)
hay £60 per month (this is haylage for my large horse not sure in current hay prices)
feed £30 per month
travel to the yard 2 times per day £50 per month

Everyone’s saying this in inflated but around here/if I was DIY, it would cost even more:
Livery about right at £300ish
Bedding £35-45 (big knee deep straw beds, mucked out fully daily)
Farrier £85 (although mine is free!)
Hay £70 (I feed ad lib and in winter lots gets wasted in the field)
Feed £60 (beet, chaff, conditioning cubes, linseed, balancer, supplements)
Travel £100 a month (I own a gas guzzler)
PLUS
Insurance £65 a month
Vaccines £65 a year
Worm counts/worker £100 a year
equine dentist/regular physio/saddler split over 12 months at £50 a month
Replacing or washing rugs/buying lotions and potions/replacing tack £45 a month

Then to compete (for example UA dressage and showjumping not eventing, to event times by three!)
Entry fees £50 a month
Training £160 a month (weekly lessons or hire)
Trailer insurance £15 a month
Towing fuel £100+ a month

I am not trying to dishearten you but I was you almost ten years ago, had horses growing up then sold them to go to uni and decided I wanted my own and lots told me not too. I didn’t listen and bought a horse and just about coped financially but gosh it was hard! I ended up working part time and full time when I could as a groom in order to keep my horse for less but worrying about money definitely made my late teens a lot less enjoyable.

 

[EllenJay]

Those are inflated costs. /QUOTE]
Not inflated at all - that is what the costs are where I live.

 

[Birker2020]

Those are inflated costs. .

Warwickshire way - DIY assisted livery £235 - £250 a month depending on whether you have turnout/bring in at the weekends, we get a free turnout or bring in weekdays. Trailer is 47p per day.

Per month:

Farrier £72.00
Feed £25.00
Insurance £95.00
Bedding £35.00
Hay £45.00
Worming £6.00
Travel £30
Vaccines £5.00
Acid Ease £40

I try to put aside at least £100 per week which I transfer immediately I'm paid into horse account (get paid weekly) although I am trying to put aside £120 a week. As you can see I have to pay a lot of stuff myself out of my current account like the bedding which I buy in bulk and the hay/feed. The rest comes out of his account.

 

[Hannah♡]

Also NI here!

My livery base rate is £30/ week DIY. I need her turned out for me in the morning which is £1. Haylage is provided for £1/ day and shavings are £7 a bale once a week so the total is usually £216 a month.
Insurance is £42 with Insurance Emporium, she is not "worth" anything really as she is a rescue.
Farrier £25 a trim, no shoes
Dentist cost £105 last month as I got the vet to do it with sedation
I share feed with a friend so not sure on actual costs for that but £22 a bag of balancer should last me 6 weeks or more, £13 a bag of chaff lasts much longer. She is on supplements for her joints and for sweet itch at about £25 a month?
Petrol is murderous right now, I basically only use the car to go to the yard once a day (10 miles each way) and it's running me about £30 a week.

Lessons not included here as she is in the process of being backed (very slowly) so my lessons are at a RS.

I've screenshotted my spreadsheet in case you find that useful! It includes incidentals and start-up bits and pieces. You will see I have exceeded my £500/month budget every month so far ?

Hi thanks it’s good to get an idea of price from Northern Ireland rather than England Im trying to open the spreadsheet but its blurry could u post it again if you don’t mind?

 

[smolmaus]

Hi thanks it’s good to get an idea of price from Northern Ireland rather than England Im trying to open the spreadsheet but its blurry could u post it again if you don’t mind?

Oh sorry, try pdf link

 

[Hannah♡]

Oh sorry, try pdf link

It’s saying I need access sorry about this

 

[smolmaus]

It’s saying I need access sorry about this

You're fine, hope it's some help! Should have access now. You can tell I don't use google sheets for much except this one sheet lol

 

[ArklePig]

NI here as well. I have a slightly odd share/loan set up, so I don't pay all of these costs but his costs are roughly;

DIY is 160-180 pm, bedding is 25 a week cause he's stinking, 60 for the farrier- hot shod every 6 weeks, shoes on front and back, saddle fitter 30 pounds every 12 weeks, more potentially if there is something significant needed, feed- 35 per month.

When horsie and I are in good health we have two or three lessons a month, these are £25 each but I know others are a lot more (I'm just lucky I feel more comfortable with the affordable option), supplements are about 30 per month. I'm sure I'm missing some stuff, but I hope that helps!

ETA; you can definitely keep a horse for 400 pm in NI, just depends on any significant issues it has, or how much you're wanting to do with him.

 

[sbloom]

Not sure anyone's mentioned saddle fitter, twice a year minimum, 3 times better.

 

[MuddyMonster]

I roughly budget around £500 pcm overall for a native on assisted DIY including a lesson per month & some low key clinics/competitions semi-regularly.

 

[Birker2020]

Not sure anyone's mentioned saddle fitter, twice a year minimum, 3 times better.

Yes I forgot that too. I think people tend to think of that as an optional extra when it probably should be an essential

 

[Hannah♡]

NI here as well. I have a slightly odd share/loan set up, so I don't pay all of these costs but his costs are roughly;

DIY is 160-180 pm, bedding is 25 a week cause he's stinking, 60 for the farrier- hot shod every 6 weeks, shoes on front and back, saddle fitter 30 pounds every 12 weeks, more potentially if there is something significant needed, feed- 35 per month.

When horsie and I are in good health we have two or three lessons a month, these are £25 each but I know others are a lot more (I'm just lucky I feel more comfortable with the affordable option), supplements are about 30 per month. I'm sure I'm missing some stuff, but I hope that helps!

ETA; you can definitely keep a horse for 400 pm in NI, just depends on any significant issues it has, or how much you're wanting to do with him.

Thanks it’s good to see another view that’s Northern Ireland as England costs aren’t too helpful as living costs and everything is much more expensive there…

 

[Bluewaves]

I'm in NI and on full livery so paying a good bit more than DIY but worth it to me.

I buy additional shavings about five bales a month at 6.50 each.

I also pay to clip him a couple of times in winter and that's about 60 for a full clip - less if you are only getting a hunter clip etc.

My farrier is £65 when he comes (I try to get him every six weeks) for hot shod on all feet.

I am hopeless at working out feed costs, i only give a bit of mash to carry powder balancer. His balancer is about £20 every couple of months.

I don't have my own driveway so pay to get my car washed. It gets filthy in winter from all the muddy roads on visits to horse and the price all adds up for that!

 

[smolmaus]

bedding is 25 a week cause he's stinking

????????

I knew there had to be a catch with Mr Fabulous ?