How much does your horse cost you a month?

[dibbin]

Erk. I'd rather not think about it!

Livery £100 (DIY)
Shoes £35 (£70 per set roughly every 8 weeks/2 months)
Hard feed £8 (£16 per bag, one bag lasts about 2 months)
Feed supplements £30 (very roughly, we have 2 on Sarc-Ex and he gets NAF ProFeet)
Hay £40 (roughly, we do a shared order between 3 horses as and when we need it - ours are in at night and out with hay in the field during the day)
Insurance £45

Rough monthly total - £258

I reckoned it would be about £250 so I wasn't far off! Jazz is a very good doer though - my sister's horse goes through an £18 bag of feed every fortnight!

Plus the annual one-offs of vaccinations (about £60) and teeth (about £40), things that are bought sporadically like rugs, numnahs, overreach boots ....

 

[High Hope]

Atm- £462 minimum for 2 horses

1 at DiY livery 230 pm
52.50 shoes
60 feed and bed
30 insurance

My retired old boy is at my mums stud - 90 pm

I also have a tonne of vets bills for both atm, so realistically a lot more than that!

 

[The Fuzzy Furry]

Hmm, just sat with a calculator....for CF and TF annually:

Farrier: £426 (CF has fronts every 6 weeks & TF inspection every 6 weeks but trim 12 weeks)
Hay: £270 for 60 bales
Feed: £200 or thereabouts, have rounded up a bit tho (TF doesn't really get included in this)
Bedding: £130 ish (20 bales at 6.50 each)
Flu vaccs: £100 the pair, inc call out & health check.
Wormer: £30-ish the pair as get done twice yearly.

So, annual total: £1156, therefore monthly amount is approx £86 over the year - for both of them.

However, this does NOT allow for yard maintenance, paddock upkeep - fencing, harrowing, rolling, weed spraying, repairs, non-routine vet visits, rug cleaning, tack purchase or repairs, nor running the box tho.

Mine haven't had hay out in the fields this winter in daytime, so a big saving there.
TF is on deep litter and has had a whole bale in there since end October (its still spotless, bless her), CF on semi-deep litter, but again the pair didn't properly come in at night till 2nd week in November & have just gone out 24/7 this last week, tho admitedly with a shelter in their paddock. Their stables are ready just in case tho, if the weather really turns as I dont want paddocks trashed now.

My current 'equine' budget is £300 pcm tho (without horsebox expenses), so any savings I make on 1 thing gets used on others

 

[RubysGold]

I have two horses and the costs vary slightly but I'll do an average on my younger horse

DIY livery £60 a month
Hay, about £20 a month
Bedding £24 a month
Feed I buy a bag if and when needed so like £10 every couple of months
In summer I have lessons £80 a month

Farrier £20 every 6 weeks
Insurance £30 a month

I then have vet dentist physio saddle fitter etc whenever needed

 

[DirectorFury]

Not including tow car + trailer:
Livery - £100/month (DIY, huge stable, 30x60 outdoor with new surface, 10 acres of turnout between 4 mares, XC course and gallops on site, only 2 other liveries, forestry hacking about 2 miles away).
Hay - £38/month for a large round.
Bedding - £26/month (£6.50/bale, 1 bale a week using flax).
Farrier - £60/6 weeks, full set.
Insurance - £35/month.
Vet - £60 for vacs, roughly £5/month.
Lessons - £15 for 45 mins, 4-6 times a month + 2 jump lessons @ £40 for 45 mins = £130/month.
Feed - £25/month for balancer + chaff.
Competing/Fun Rides - £60/month

Total: £480/ month. I could do this for about £200 less though if I stopped lessons + competing.

Tow car + trailer:
Car insurance - £60/month
Car tax - £20/month
Trailer insurance - £20/month

Adds £100 onto the above figure.

Then there are general consumables and maintenance that is done on them, but I don't like to think about it too much! I'm lucky in that I can afford this plus any extras she might need like a new rug or bridle or something. I could definitely cut down my costs if this became too much but it's fine at the moment .

 

[mega spoilt ponies]

455 part livery
20 trailer parking
100 lessons
24 feed
125 supplements
70 farrier (4-5weeks)
50 Bedding
Currently £20 per day medication

Depressing! Not to mention the hundreds i spend on him having shiny- new the best of everything

 

[mega spoilt ponies]

... And 82 insurance!

 

[mandwhy]

Mine live out on a farm at £50 a head, and insurance about 22 quid, I may spend up to 50 per month on feed in the deepest darkest winter months Inc hay as I don't use much, one gets her feet trimmed every now and then, the other one literally never needs it when the farrier comes, so I spend a max of 150 a month average Inc annual costs. This is actually a bit more expensive than when I have just rented land but it is much nicer having someone else faff with the fences and I often don't have to poo pick as they roll harrow and rotate some areas - glorious!

 

[mudmudmud]

Full livery- £307
Shoes (8 weeks)- £55
Insurance- £35
Feed- £25
Lessons- £40
Competing- £30-£90 depending if unaff or affiliated

So about £400 a month excluding competitions

 

[Ponycarrots]

I'm a moneyless youth so do have to be wise and have always picked the cheapest options I can to be able to keep my horses.
I rent a field which is £100 for 2 horses per month so for one I'll say £50
Feed, probably about £25
Haylage £70
Mine are unshod and I ride on roads so don't need trims too often
They live out so no bed needed
Insurance, about £40
Them's my basics! I also have lessons £50 per month
Going to be competing hopefully once a month at least so £15 ish.

All in all around £250 :O knew I shouldn't have done that...but theyre worth all the hard work I have to do to be able to afford them

 

[Tiri]

hello Guys I wish to refresh this thread.
How much you spend monthly for your horses in 2020?

 

[ihatework]

hello Guys I wish to refresh this thread.
How much you spend monthly for your horses in 2020?

There are quite a few threads on this more recent.

You will find a huge range depending on what people do with their horses and where they are located.

For reference, all in (except large unexpected vets bills) I budget the following:

£150/month for non working horses at grass

£500/month for ridden stabled horses on decent DIY and with some local level light competing / lessons

£800/month for above but training/competing more intensively

£1000/month for schooling/breaking or part livery and competing yourself

£1200/month competition livery excluding international costs

 

[sherry90]

Eek what a thread to resurrect as if 2020 isn’t bad enough ?

I spend approx £450 on full livery, £26 every 6 weeks for a trim, feed is approx £20 a month averaged out over the year including supplements. I then have chiro/physio at £30 each every 6-8 weeks or as needed (sometimes he goes longer between sessions) and teeth, saddle checks every 6 months (sometimes saddle is more frequent depends if he changes shape)
Insurance is £51 a month. I reckon I’m averaging about £550-£600 a month ?

 

[DirectorFury]

My figures in 2020 aren't that different to 2015 really!
The biggest change was that she moved to full livery in 2016 and we stopped competing or going anywhere so I don't need to maintain a tow car and trailer regularly.
Full livery - £80pw / £320pm (I love the yard, they could put the price up to anything and I'd pay it!)
Shoes - £80 every 5-6 weeks
3rd party ins - £9pm
Misc money for stuff - £100

So easily £500pm just for the basics. I also save an extra £200 a month in 'her' account in lieu of insurance, plus have an emergency credit card with a large limit. The misc money is allowed to build up and gets used to replace rugs, tack, etc. If/when I regain an interest in going out and about and competing the misc money will be used for that too .
I try not to think what else I could do with £700pm, or the fact that I could have bought a house outright with the money I've spent in the 7 years I've owned her!

 

[atropa]

Just did a quick calculation and I'm averaging £355/month per horse including DIY livery on a high spec yard, forage, bedding, farrier who i also pay travel costs for and feed/supplements.
Easily spend a lot more on vets, physios, saddle fitter, comp fees, maintaining trailer and towing vehicle, lessons, equipment. If I had to I could massively cut some spending on yard choice, feed/supplements and farrier.

 

[sam72431]

Nooooooo!!!!!!!!!

The first rule of horse ownership is NEVER add up the costs!

It scares me too much when I do ? I've spent too much with the vet this last year ?

 

[Zoe67]

Not sure I want to do this...

Livery £450 (full livery 5 days, part at weekends - inclusive of hay, feed & bedding)
Farrier £90 - every 6 weeks
Physio £60 - every 6 weeks
Supplements £80 ( :'( )
Lessons/comps £80 on average, at a guess

Totals £760

Then have the costs for the lorry, tax/insurance/petrol etc.

Annual costs such as membership fees, vaccines, have the saddler out twice a year... and also the lovely one off costs that seem to happen quite often! Just splashed out on a new saddle and a new rambo

 

[Gingerwitch]

I am not even going to begin to add up my lot.... 4 on 7 day full livery, a box that has not done a comp this year but is still ready to go if an emergency. 1 is a walking vet bill, I have just spent 1200 on him for a freak ear cut ! Staples and stitches. No wo see I am always at work. I did not expect to be back to 4 but my mate passed and left me her horse and I k is I should sell one if them but I just cannot do it. Jill had had such a crap time the year before she passed and the horse was the only thing she stayed positive for. So looks like retirement is on hold for some time now !

 

[Not_so_brave_anymore]

I only spend £40 a month on the pony. I have, however, already spent 4k on my fields this year ?

 

[FireCracker238]

Thank you Kezzabell, your ridden horse makes my lad look cheap ? with the exception of feed, Xander's on the 20kg bag of F4F at £84 but I can get 6 weeks out of it in winter

 

[AUB]

I budget around £840 each month.

 

[Tarragon]

for TWO ponies kept at grass, per month
£200 on DIY livery
£60 on hay (to keep keep sugary grass intake to a minimum in spring and summer and supplement winter grazing in winter months)
Minimal hoof care costs as trim myself and have professional trimmer in 3 times a year £25 each pony so about £15 per month
Minimal feed as don't need much, say £25 per month
Minimal bedding as field kept but access to stables. Wood pellet bedding. say 4 bags per month £20
Training only happens for 2/3 of the year as trainer comes to me and I have no arena at £40 per session roughly once a fortnight so about £60 per month

Trailer and car - insurance, maintenance and running - who knows!

so £380 per month for 2 ponies
or £190 per month per pony

 

[Griffin]

On a 'cheap month' £400, including part-livery, lessons and any extras. Rubber matting really helps with my bedding costs!

 

[Equi]

On a good month (i.e. one where a vet isnt needed which is rare) about £300 to include livery, bedding, feed and supplements. Throw another £60 for feet on alternate months. Usually the vet is needed though, never for the same thing but always comes to about £200 lol

This is why i can't afford a second horse. My horse is the same price as two healthy ones. But at least he is having care vs what he has before he came to me

 

[eventinghenry]

Probably average about £600 a month? Full livery £433 per month (including hay/feed/bedding etc.), farrier £60 every 8wks, about £45 on insurance and usually about another £100-150 a month on competing/hunting/clinics/lessons. If money is tight will forego lessons/clinics!

 

[MuddyMonster]

This was less scary when he was on DIY livery back in 2015 and about £250 He's now on part livery and I budget around £600-700 pcm.

I still keep a spreadsheet though, so I still know where it goes

 

[madabouthehorse]

Winter:
2 x DIY livery @ £108 each = £216
6 x small straw @ 3.75 = 22.50
18 small hay @ £4.75= £85.50
4x aubiose @£9.50= £38
Hard feed- 1balancer £30 1 soothe & gain £11, (1/2 bag of top chop zero, half bag healthy tummy £10) = £51
Farrier- £40
£453 total


Summer:
2 x DIY livery @ £108 each = £216
2x hay @ £4.75= £9.50
Hard feed- 1balancer £30
Farrier- £40
£292.5 total

Then obviously vet/med additional costs as and when!

 

[Bellaboo18]

Its bad enough this thread existed in the first place, let alone resurrecting it....

Im not adding it up but i know its four figures a month... worth every penny i'm sure ?

 

[Sir barnaby]

Put it this way it’s a good job I don’t go on holidays, Smoke or drink, or go clothes shopping or have any sort of social life, but I wouldn’t change it for the world as my horses are my Valium in life so I don’t mind the cost while I can afford it but I am very careful with my expenditure as my furlough ends next week so then only on my pension but I won’t be cutting corners the horses will have the same care, OH will have to chip in ???

 

[Mule]

I keep mine at home and they live out so I'm fortunate not to have to pay for livery but I'm still afraid to add it up. 1 month of the beasts tablets are €157.57