How much does it cost to keep your horse?

I have stables and field at home so I don’t pay for that but per month

Insurance £40
Hay (big bale) £40
Straw £40
Carrots £15
Hoofs £25 (not backed so bare foot atm)
Feed £25
Trainer £120 (for once a week)
Wormer £8
Injections £10
Other bits and bobs, like fixing fences, topping fields, rugs or treats or a vet call out. Whatever crops up. £100.

So about £400 a month for my one little unbroken colt Lol.. that is unless I’ve missed something..xx
 
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Livery £0
Shoes £40
Hay £20
Feed £20
Wormer £8
Teeth/jab £10

So about £100 a month. The hay and feed will seem low as through spring and summer they don't get anything so this is averaging out over a year. Shoes, again he has a holiday for a couple of months in winter.

To add I don't feed posh feed. Sugar beet with cheap pony nuts and cheap chaff do him just fine.
 
I started adding it up, felt my chest go a bit tight and then thought “nahhhhh”

I honestly can’t bring myself to work it out exactly. It’s expensive (full livery not inc feed, he’s shod all 4 etc)

may I also add I live exclusively on cheese sandwiches, jacket potatoes and those 22p noodles....

I’m stressed and skint,
totally worth it ?
 
I have 3, one lives on a farm with my friend's horse where we pay very little to the farmer and give him no hassle, 2 at a DIY livery yard. One has ulcers and is having treatment so her costs are high but hopefully temporary, one has Cushings and and arthritis so his costs are not negligable and are ongoing until his retirement is no longer enjoyable to him. I did put it on a spreadsheet once, but I can't find it, probably just as well to say they cost ALL.THE.THINGS :)
 
My most recent horse, living in a hard to find pasture 20 mins from San Francisco, at a place with a so-so arena, round pen, and good hacking. Blanketing, extra feeds, jumps, training not available: pretty basic!

Livery - pasture: $440
Insurance: $83
Shoes: $145 - set of 4 every 6 weeks
Wormer: $3.33 - spring and autumn
Jabs: $35 - twice yearly shots are $200
Dentist: $17
Supplements: $66 - custom for horse with “issues”...
Feed: $75 (ranch only feeds hay)
Lesson: $100
Saddle fitting: $30 - annual reflock/check
Total: $994.33 or £764.74
 
yesterday me and OH were fixing a muddy gateway. pickaxing frozen stone chips onto shovels and caring it around. I said if he had a 7 to 8k per year extra to spend on anything he wanted what would he do? we thought about holidays and going out for meals new clothes and a decent car. well if we sell the horses and rent the place out what we save on costs and gain in rent we'd have that1 we decided the horses were worth it however, including early sunday morning stone hauling.
 
abarnes said:
I started adding it up, felt my chest go a bit tight and then thought “nahhhhh”

I honestly can’t bring myself to work it out exactly. It’s expensive (full livery not inc feed, he’s shod all 4 etc)

may I also add I live exclusively on cheese sandwiches, jacket potatoes and those 22p noodles....

I’m stressed and skint,
totally worth it ?
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word to the wise, the 12p noodles are just as good ;)
I'm pretty sure they used to be 9p :(

I am also not adding it up. And I don't have to pay shoeing or hay o_O it still adds up to far more than is reasonable :eek:
 
gunnergundog said:
who needs flash cars, dining out, expensive perfume, designer clothes and exotic holidays anyway?? :D
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my ponies say fine food is a must, and they seem to have a penchant for spendy tack and equipment - so we all know where the designer clobber and fine dining pounds are going ;) .........
the humans in the household of course are in charity shop clothes and eat short-sell-by-date grub..........

No, we never ever ever add up horse costs!
 
Wow some of the costs!
One medium sized and one teeny pony...
Livery £0 as at home
Hay £9 cost price for a big round
Feet £50
Feed £15 (token handful only)
Supplements £15
Bedding £32
Wormer £10
Use fly masks / rugs / ride on fly rugs to minimise costs there
Jabs £10
Teeth £10
Lessons ad hoc when I can afford them

I’m not adding up the costs to my mortgage/ maintenance etc tho!
 
rainni_day said:
Following on from the thread about horses and lifestyle, I am really interested to know how much it costs you to keep your horse / what you budget / what you spend on top?
My costs are the following PCM (note, I add up the costs of shoes, jabs, physio, teeth etc over the year and divide by 12 for budgeting purposes - some months I spend more, some I spend less:
Livery - full: £520
Insurance: £45
Shoes: £35 - thank goodness for good feet and only being shod on the front
Wormer: £8
Jabs: £10
Physio: £12
Dentist: £5
Supplements: £10 - thank goodness for only needing basic gut balancer

I save £650 a month for the above costs. I then have a lesson most weeks with my amazing YO who also happens to be a fab coach and only charges £25 for 45 mins...I allow 4 of those a month. So really, I spend around £750 a month without lorry costs, competing, rugs (!) etc. Such an expensive hobby but I just love it.
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okay well I have 3 of my own and 2 I half own,

Livery - None as it's my yard
Insurance - only 1 insured, the others have their own accounts
shoe's - only 1 shod, the others barefoot, so £ 130 last week was 1 set and 3 trims,
Jabs - not sure cost as all spread out over the year
chiro well had her last week for mare, £ 50
Dentist - well she did one of mine today £ 53, and paid 1/2 of my half owned £ 26.50
supplements - would hate to add up with all 5 of them, but lots.
 
I can't believe the difference in costs reading through these posts. I have been trying to work out how much it would cost ''before'' I go down the route of having another horse (having had one many years ago) and work out that it would roughly be around £5000 per year or at least £400 per month. This is in the Lancashire area, so would love to know if this is about right? I am not in to showing or competitions, just light hacking. Thanks.
 
Padge69 said:
I can't believe the difference in costs reading through these posts. I have been trying to work out how much it would cost ''before'' I go down the route of having another horse (having had one many years ago) and work out that it would roughly be around £5000 per year or at least £400 per month. This is in the Lancashire area, so would love to know if this is about right? I am not in to showing or competitions, just light hacking. Thanks.
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still think you’d be lucky to get change from £400 for light hacking :)
Lots have them at home which you save on livery but have mortgage/maintenance etc. Depends what you are wanting as a home for your horse? A livery yard will be more than a field with no facilities.
 
Padge69 said:
I can't believe the difference in costs reading through these posts. I have been trying to work out how much it would cost ''before'' I go down the route of having another horse (having had one many years ago) and work out that it would roughly be around £5000 per year or at least £400 per month. This is in the Lancashire area, so would love to know if this is about right? I am not in to showing or competitions, just light hacking. Thanks.
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The biggest question here is the type of livery you need, if DIY then yes possibly, but can you guarantee that circumstances won't change and you won't need help? Full livery is expensive if work hours change for example.
 
Thanks for your reply. Home would have to be a DIY livery and I believe stables are from £30 to £40 per week with ad lib haylage around this area with lots of facilities.
 
AFB said:
The biggest question here is the type of livery you need, if DIY then yes possibly, but can you guarantee that circumstances won't change and you won't need help? Full livery is expensive if work hours change for example.
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Hi, I know what you're saying, but how can anyone guarantee that circumstances won't change? I do have a husband who is willing to help and we have 2 good wages coming in, so just doing my homework I suppose before taking the plunge because it is expensive. However, I don't think you can put a price on how good horses are for mental health...especially mine!!
 
Padge69 said:
Thanks for your reply. Home would have to be a DIY livery and I believe stables are from £30 to £40 per week with ad lib haylage around this area with lots of facilities.
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I read on your other thread that you’re a nurse working shifts.
this may be easier in summer if you have them out 24/7 but in winter would they be turned out all hours too?
If not you’d need to ensure that you can get up same time each day to feed/turn out and then at some point when you’re free again that day muck out.
do you have anyone as back up that can do your horses for you in case you can’t get away from work?

maybe assisted DIY would be good so you have someone to help?
 
I am moving to a full livery yard .
Full livery will be €415 a month it includes everything
Shoes €30
Jabs €20
Dentist €25
Insurance €220 a year
Worming is €6

It a lot cheaper than DLY I was paying € 540 a month for DLY . That doesn’t include shoes or worming or the dentist . The rant for the stable was crazy.
 
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mini barnes said:
I read on your other thread that you’re a nurse working shifts.
this may be easier in summer if you have them out 24/7 but in winter would they be turned out all hours too?
If not you’d need to ensure that you can get up same time each day to feed/turn out and then at some point when you’re free again that day muck out.
do you have anyone as back up that can do your horses for you in case you can’t get away from work?

maybe assisted DIY would be good so you have someone to help?
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Or rent privately somewhere where the owner doesn't care what time you go up. I do my horses either side of my shifts in the winter, I found livery way too restrictive and would have spent a fortune on assisted. My horses aren't bothered about coming in and out at weird times, except on earlies when they want their lie in ?
 
To scary to add up ?? same as mortgages, out of intrest how does everyone afford a house and horses , thankfully i still live at home plan but horses is just like paying for a house how does everyone do both ??? i only say roughy £1200 a month xx
 
We just bought a (cheap and small!) house and our mortgage is going to be less than almost everyone's totals ? is that going to make it easier or harder to talk the other half round to a pony once we're settled I wonder...
 
Done as cheap as possible without cutting corners, weekly cost for a 14hh cob

DIY livery £25
Winter hay and bedding costs £10-15 a week spread over the year
Hard feed - £20 every couple of months so £2.50 a week
Trimmer £5 a week seen every 8-10 weeks
Worm counts/annual dental and vaccs £13 pcm on vet plan so £3 a month

Everything else paid for as and when needed. Now that the shettie is on loan I'm hoping to get insurance going asap
 
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