Is my budget for keeping a horse realistic?

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Ahrena

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So I'm finishing my working upil position in three days (yesssss....) and will be, for the first time, taking full financial responsibility for my hoss.

So this is what I've worked out.

Livery - £100 (already have place on yard)
Bedding - 40 a month (will be on straw, estimating 3 bales a week at £4 each, already have a supplier) - if something else is cheaper, ideas welcome
Hay - £40 (not sure about this one? Horse will be in at night and needs fairly ad lib or will eat bed)
Feed - £40ish a month? Horse is fed 1 scoop comp mix and 1 scoop chaff twice a day, but not sure how long a bag will last?
Insurance - £40 a month (it's £400 a year so allowing a bit of room)
Shoes - £50 a month (obv only 6 weeks but if I keep 50 a month aside it will work out right)
Competing -£200 (will save on this in winter but compete BE. Mum is going to continue paying lorry costs/diesel)
Extras - £50 (for dentist/physio/new rug/wormer ect)

I am also saving £250 minimum a month jut in general so that would be adding up incase of any vet excess ect.

Not sure if I've missed anything, I just seem to be affording it a little too well in my budget, I may just be amazed how much money I'm going to have after being a WP.. :s
 
I would say you have a very realistic budget in place BUT, invest in some mats and go to shavings perhaps? I have used two and a half bales in the last 3 weeks - that would be £20 maximum, now I happen to be able to get shavings cheaper than ever before so it has actually only cost me £16.

Also, on one scoop of mix and one chaff a day I would say won't reach £40 per month for food....

Ah just saw feed is twice a day... £40 is realistic.
 
Billie1007 said:
I would say you have a very realistic budget in place BUT, invest in some mats and go to shavings perhaps? I have used two and a half bales in the last 3 weeks - that would be £20 maximum, now I happen to be able to get shavings cheaper than ever before so it has actually only cost me £16.

Also, on one scoop of mix and one chaff a day I would say won't reach £40 per month for food....

Ah just saw feed is twice a day... £40 is realistic.
Click to expand...

agree with this, but I would say budget a little more for hay, especially if you want to feed ad-lib :)
 
I'd get mats and use wood pellets. I bought 12 bags at the start of august for £2.40 each and I still have 6 bags left now. My bed is 5/6 inches thick and covers the whole of the stable - so cheap and so easy to muck out!
 
feed won't costs you £40 a month, the high fi will last a couple of months and is less than £10 a bag, you might use a bag of mix a month! and thats normally around £10!
 
Straw or wood pellets will wok out cheaper than straw bales.

Can you get large bales of hay rather than small? I use 1 large bale per week for 9 horsesvat £40 a bale. Feed tends to be approx 1 bag of nuts per horse per week and then there is chaff, Speedibeet and supplements so I think your £40 is not unrealistic.

There will also be annual vaccinations and the possibility of insurance excess if you have to make a claim.

Your figures certainly seem realistic to m.
 
I'd say if you can afford it rubber matting may be a good investment to reduce your bedding costs. I'm on matting and I use 1 small bale of straw a week for a reasonable bed. I'd say looking at your budget you may be slightly overbudgetting in some areas but that's no bad thing as it means no surprises and when you've been going a few months and definitely know what your costs are you can adjust as needed
 
Thanks guys, I've got enough straw already for the first couple of months, but will defo have a think about pellets after that. Then I don't need to worry about him eating it either which means he can have a bit less hay during the event season as he does tend to get fat so that's defo worth the thought. He's already got matting by the way :)

I'm defo into over budgeting rather than under, horses have a habit of finding ways to cost more money.

Where do you find large bales of hay?
 
Ahrena, try searching to see if there's a locally based horse related Facebook page for your area, people often advertise hay/straw bales and stuff on there.

The rest of your figures look plausible, as others have pointed out, you may end up spending less on feed and more on hay/straw depending on your circumstances. Insurance may also end up being more than £40 depending on the horse's age/value/activities/tack etc
 
Don't forget to save for those trips to the tack shop when you simply cannot do without another.......bag of treats/lead rope/pair of boots/grooming brush etc etc! I guarantee you will ALWAYS find something you "need"

My OH hates those shopping days! :D
 
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