How much does your horse cost you?

BBP

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Per month:
Livery (field stable and hay) £80
Feed - £20
Feet - on average nothing (barefoot self trims)
Not insured.

So pretty cheap...until you add vets bills and supplements for ulcers/vitamin e!!
 

SatansLittleHelper

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Mine is a MW cob 15.3hh living out 24/7.
£65 pcm field rent (Inc field shelter, storage shed and refilling water troughs plus landlord does all maintenance etc).
£24 pcm supplements
£25 pcm farrier (only shod on the front but hoping to get them off soon)
£40 pcm hay (in winter)
£40 pm comprehensive insurance
Probably another £30-50 pm when taking workers etc into account.
 

splash30

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To be pedantic as much as I want him to cost, I have the normal costs livery/shoes/feed etc probably coming to c.£700 but can easily spend that again if not more on top on to include rugs/tack/entry fees/riders depends on the month and time of year but if I cant afford it I don't spend it as long as the basic are covered I'm happy.
 

Llanali

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I dont know and I don't care. I know what they afford me though, my sanity, my pleasure and my leisure.
 

The wife

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yes my rule of thumb regarding admitting costs to the husband is halve the cost of everything and take off 10% for good measure

I thought it was just me that did this!

Is this how much the 2 horses actually cost or how much the husband thinks the 1 horse costs?

If the latter - About £110 a month, the cost of livery for one horse...

The former... Christ.

1 horse is being produced so including farrier, entries and all the added extra's he needs at the moment (expensive month) - £600 a month
Other horse is at my mums for the time being so costs nothing. He will be coming to our other yard soon so as a breakdown per month:

Livery - £110.00

This goes up to around £200.00 a month during the winter but other horse will come home so I will be technically saving money!

Don't tell the hubby I have a hidden horse ;)
 

DipseyDeb

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I've recently moved to save me money, Mum and I were paying £40 DIY livery for 2 (each) and £30 for the other (pony stable so smaller) restricted grazing in the winter so hay bill was huge! Lessons at £30 for half hour all added up. I now pay £115 pcm for the 2 and the other has gone on grass livery with a friend at £10 a week (retired so doesn't need any facilities) So much lush grass for the bigger 2, no restriction on grazing because there's so much of it. I've not sorted out another instructor yet (only moved yesterday) but the quotes I'm getting for recommended people are around the £25 for an hour.So should manage to save my self quite a bit. I hope so, because when you sit down and add up what you actually spend, it's a flippin expensive hobby!!
 

Roasted Chestnuts

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Basic keep for me 4 weekly in winter is £150

In summer it's £80 4weekly so say £1600 on basics per annum.

If I was competing it would be closer to around £2000 probably.
 

Jinx94

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Monthly, up to £210 - £30 insurance, £25/£35/£45 pw livery depending on whether grass is being supplemented with hay/hay and feed.

I've managed to spend approximately £4k on him since I bought him last January...
 

risky business

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Quite a varied amount of answers going on there!

Pretty sure I used to spend more keeping my horse diy than I did just having them on full livery! Not sure how I managed that tbh.

I would love another when I'm qualified, although it would have to be full livery again due to unpredictable shift patterns.

Thanks for the honest answers folks! Pretty sure I'm responsible for extra wine consumption last night due to these revelations :D
 

Nudibranch

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For two big horses over the year, I spend:

800 on grazing (at home; unlimited acreage with barn and box)
480 on trimming - both are unshod
120ish on winter hay - we never use much as there's so much grass
Maybe 150 on balancer and feed to mix, though that will go up as the big beast may well have epsm
200 on vaccs and teeth
75 BHS gold

So about 1750 a year, or 145 ish a month off the top of my head. I think that's pretty good for a 16.3 tb and a 17.3 wb.

Oh and I put 100 or 200 a month in a savings account instead of insurance...that more than doubles it!
 

Sparkles

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£280 in stables per month - full livery monday-Friday, diy weekends.
£20 a trim tidy up every 8-10 weeks or so (does a lot of roadwork barefoot, self trims nicely!)
£23 per month insurance (discount at work ��)
£18 bag of feed which lasts about 6-8 weeks in summer or 4 weeks in winter ��
 

Abi90

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£436 a month when his feet are due. £356 on the month's that his feet don't fall into... Interestingly he cost more on DIY livery than he does on full. I know someone else said that!
 

The wife

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£436 a month when his feet are due. £356 on the month's that his feet don't fall into... Interestingly he cost more on DIY livery than he does on full. I know someone else said that!

This does not surprise me in the slighest. People used to think we were rolling in cash when we ran our yard but were quite shocked when we admitted we earn £6 a day a horse!

DIY can very quickly get expensive during the winter.
 
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laura_nash

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Same horse (HW cob) - not including any lessons, clinics etc.

Assisted DIY at a dressage / showing yard, including shoeing, buying in bedding and sometimes expensive haylage (dust allergy), insurance - around £700 a month

THEN
DIY on a local farm, barefoot, much more turnout, buying hay and bedding from farm, not insured for vets fees - around £350 a month

NOW
At home, still barefoot and not insured for vets fees, living out as much as possible, make our own hay - around £75 a month, including keep for companion pony (but not including cost of the property!)
 

Cara_E

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So far:
Part-livery - £550/mo
Lessons - £110/mo
Insurance - £160/mo


So about £820/mo. However, since I'm a straight-up novice who has bought two horses before I've even sat on one, my last month looked like this:

Horse #1 - £260
Livery - £550
Lessons - £100
Grazing Muzzle: £50
Microchipping and MOT - £150
Euthanasia - £850
Cremation - £250
Horse #2 (seven days later) - £3500
Boots - £330
Whip (x2) - £20
Hat - £140
Body protector - £150
Saddle - £360
Jodhpurs - £200
Gloves - £20
British Horse Society Membership - £67
Highland Pony Society - £36

So in the past month I've spent £7090 on horses. I've had two horses, three lessons, one death, one strangles outbreak, and a really abrupt lesson in how expensive horses are to keep.

My instructor tells me this is good - it can only get better from here. Even with the expense, and the heartache, and the shock - I absolutely love everything about keeping horses.
 

Dave's Mam

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Stable & field rent £60 per month, bedding included, though so far I have only used my stable once, the night before a show. £30 for a big bale of hay. £30 for insurance & BHS Gold membership. Farrier once every few months for a trim £20 a time. Petrol to get to yard £60 ish per month (It's near work, so I am only counting the extra from work to the yard). Lessons vary, depending on what I need at the time.

ETA £30 per annum for Exmoor Pony Society Membership.
 

vidis

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In Ireland on full livery I would be looking at 470 euro a month per 1 horse... not included shoes, dentist, any extras I need such as tacks, rugs, entries, etc, etc!
 

rachm12

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I have a Sec D -
£86 for livery (grass)
£26 for insurance
£80 for shoes every 7/8 weeks
Minimal on hard feed approx £5

Pay for hay in the winter but dont use much. And then worm counts/wormer.
 

blood_magik

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Full livery - 2640 monthly (165/week x 4 horses)
Farrier - 315 every 4-6 weeks
Feed/Supplements - approx 100 a month

That doesn't include lessons, competition entries or running the lorry. 😳
 

Gottaloveaginger

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yes my rule of thumb regarding admitting costs to the husband is halve the cost of everything and take off 10% for good measure

I like this rule!
Also "is that a new rug?" "No I found it at the back of the box and had it cleaned"!!! Or "I got it off ebay/in a sale/got given it"!!
 

Abacus

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Having recently moved from part livery I have a comparison:

Part livery was £120 per week to include basic feed, bedding, hay, mucking out, turning out and bringing in.

Currently 'at home' I only pay for their feed (maybe £30 per horse per month) and they live out, no need for hay at the moment. I'm going to make hay from 5 acres so hoping I have enough to see me through some of winter. Admittedly I have a mega-mortgage on he 'home' part which probably amounts to as much as I used to pay on part-livery... and have maintenance to consider... but at least I am buying the land and not just 'renting' it.

Full livery including riding used to cost me £170 per week.

Then (wherever you are) there are shoes (£50/month if full set), insurance (range from £20 to £60 per month), osteopath (£50 every 6 months), saddle fitting (£50 every 6 months), dentistry (about £50 per year), vaccinations (maybe £50 per year), worming when needed or worm counts, competition entries, bits'n'bobs, polos...

Haven't included lorry as it's a sore point right now.
 

tina60

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£50 month for livery
£25 insurance
£5.50 BHS insurance
£25 farrier every 8 weeks
Native so very cheap to keep!
 

googol

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I budget 300 pm. That's assisted DIY, feed, feet, supps and the tiny bit of competing I do. It's prob slightly less in summer
 

Gift Horse

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My horse is kept at home. £145 a month covers his basic needs - hay, feed, dentist, shavings, insurance, feet trimmed, vet out for tetanus and flue, worm counts.
I have not included the more occasional extra costs like a visit from the saddler or rugs or trailer service or the cost of maintaining fields, fencing and stabling.
 
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