Never Ending Fees

[Aperchristmas]

Sorry to OP and all those going through/who have gone through this. It's just awful and the cost makes a terrible time even worse. I'm afraid to say that I don't think I will be able to afford a riding horse of my own again, everything has just got so expensive

 

[visa_bot]

I just had a bill for 4 teeth checks and one vaccination (no call-out fee) £600. One of the horses was in pain after, so another call-out, blood tests but it ended up just being caused by the dental, so vet caused me an additional £300. A couple of years ago my mare had a laparoscopic ovariectomy. From having all the drugs on an empty stomach she got acute kidney failure. So £2500 for the operation and several more thousand for 5 days in intensive care at Liphook Equine hospital. She came through but very frustrating. Currently the cheapest you can get pergolide with prescription is just over one pound per tablet. I have one on a tablet and a half a day, I am not going to test again as going up to 2 per day is not feasible I have 3 others 21 and 2 at 17. Luckily they have tested negative but I dread more having Cushings. Vet bills are my biggest concern for keeping my horses.

 

[Toby_Zaphod]

I didn't say in my earlier post that we've had our old boy since he was 5, so we've had him over 20 years. I had him insured until he was about 19 yrs but then many companies wouldn't insure him or cover was so reduced that it was hardly worth having. His colic surgery was expensive & that's accepted however I remember a few years ago when I was going to renew his insurance & various companies wanted a copy of his veterinary history. I was sent his history and apart from treatment to a hock injury when a car spooked him to reverse into a roadside ditch & he has a cut to his hock which easily cured the only thing on his medical history were his annual jabs. That may have been in my mind when he went for the operation, he had never been sick or seriously injured so I reckon we owed him that. My wife rode him today on a hack & he loved it. He loves being lunged in fact he loves his work so he's not going to be retired until he tells us & to be honest I doubt if he'll ever tell us. He is Mr Happy & loves every day.

 

[Orangehorse]

It does go in waves. A friend is having a lot of vet input with her horse and I said she would be their favourite client. She feels that there should be a sign on the side of the van saying "sponsored by ......."

However, it is one factor that has stopped me getting another horse. Mine was always quite cheap to keep and the one time he needed quite a lot of vet treatment and subsequent rehab work, I was very pleased to find that it was mostly covered by insurance. Although keeping a horse always seemed affordable in the past, I don't think I can afford to do it now.

 

[LEC]

Happy to swap some of your vets fees! This is since May 2023

£12k - Leptospirosis
£800 - lameness work up & x rays
£350 - spasmodic colic
£450 - erupted tooth abscess
£450 - emergency call out - hole in hock
£400 - x rays on hock.

Excluding all the normal stuff like vacs and teeth which is another £600.

It’s just horses, they love the vet. Though I would like to see mine decrease substantially.

 

[hock]

We’re kind of a bit conditioned as I’ve just had my last bill through and I’m thrilled it’s under £500 - oh well off to empty the bank account!

 

[suestowford]

I found a bill from 1999, for a cat dental. It was £42. Today the same would probably cost at least 10 times that, if not much more. A friend had a cat dental done a year or so ago and they charged £950 for it.
If you compare the cost of that with something like petrol prices. IIRC petrol was about 60-70p per litre at that time. It's now around 140-150p per litre. So that has 'only' doubled. The rises in vet bills do seem excessive and I think have a lot to do with being mostly owned by venture capital firms, who are squeezing as much as they can out of it all. I don't think the vets see a lot of this excess profit.

 

[Goldenstar]

It getting very difficult I worry about the way this going for everyone mostly the horses .
I am solving the problem by saying these horses are my last For me ,I am older ,the cost and labour to entertainment ratio has now settled in the wrong direction. I will do right by these horses and step away it’s time.

 

[Ratface]

Old Horse is definitely my last horse. I'm going without food and heating to ensure that he has everything he needs. Last expense was the equine dentist. Not exorbitant by any means, but his current meds (which are working very well) put another £100pm on his full livery, which, again, is very reasonable.
At least Madam Carrie Cat is much less expensive and is doing stalwart service as a hot water bottle and good companion.

 

[proctorclaire]

I think vets are taking the p now. Captive market. I know of a dog owner that was charged £500 for a couple of staples in a minor wound cos it was a bank holiday. That was daylight robbery I imo!
I am not insured for horse vet fees. My vet knows that and treats accordingly which I appreciate

Yeah I have to agree they do take the p with pricing. It's going to get to stage where people won't call a vet and try and deal with themselves or people can't afford horses and then the vets are out of a job

 

[proctorclaire]

I just had a bill for 4 teeth checks and one vaccination (no call-out fee) £600. One of the horses was in pain after, so another call-out, blood tests but it ended up just being caused by the dental, so vet caused me an additional £300. A couple of years ago my mare had a laparoscopic ovariectomy. From having all the drugs on an empty stomach she got acute kidney failure. So £2500 for the operation and several more thousand for 5 days in intensive care at Liphook Equine hospital. She came through but very frustrating. Currently the cheapest you can get pergolide with prescription is just over one pound per tablet. I have one on a tablet and a half a day, I am not going to test again as going up to 2 per day is not feasible I have 3 others 21 and 2 at 17. Luckily they have tested negative but I dread more having Cushings. Vet bills are my biggest concern for keeping my horses.

Surely the vet should have treated the dental for free if caused by the dental work they did. It's getting ridiculous.

 

[Chianti]

I just had a bill for 4 teeth checks and one vaccination (no call-out fee) £600. One of the horses was in pain after, so another call-out, blood tests but it ended up just being caused by the dental, so vet caused me an additional £300. A couple of years ago my mare had a laparoscopic ovariectomy. From having all the drugs on an empty stomach she got acute kidney failure. So £2500 for the operation and several more thousand for 5 days in intensive care at Liphook Equine hospital. She came through but very frustrating. Currently the cheapest you can get pergolide with prescription is just over one pound per tablet. I have one on a tablet and a half a day, I am not going to test again as going up to 2 per day is not feasible I have 3 others 21 and 2 at 17. Luckily they have tested negative but I dread more having Cushings. Vet bills are my biggest concern for keeping my horses.

My equine dentist is £60 a visit- does your vet take regular holidays abroad?

 

[Lexi 123]

Welcome to the world of owning horses they try to kill your bank account any chance they get.

 

[Ratface]

I've changed horse and cat vets because the ones that I had used for forty years, for dogs, cats and horses, has joined a conglomerate and now charges £50 just to come through the door.
I just have Madam Carrie Cat (12) and Old Horse (29) now. When Old Horse goes, I won't have another one. I hope that MCC will go on for a few more years yet.

 

[nikkimariet]

It’s awful. I worked out I spent £25k on a horse I sold for less than a grand. He had no medical issues, all in his head. Happier doing extremely low level stuff.

Poorly ponies suck

 

[katie_southwest]

I have a 25 year old mare who has been my absolute world since I bought her 17 years ago. She will continue to have whatever she needs while she is still with me, but I would not even consider buying another horse after her. I simply couldn't afford another 20 years of horse ownership. Not with how expensive life is in general.
But for now I shall continue forking out 50 odd quid for feed every week and her medication because I love the absolute bones of her and she deserves the best
Interestingly I found a REALLY old receipt (god knows why I had it in some old paperwork) for a bag of feed.... £4.50

 

[maisie06]

The cost of almost everything has increased dramatically and vet fees are no exception. I think we’re nearly at the point where owning horses and caring for them properly will not be affordable for most people. Lots of my horsey friends have sold their horses or chosen not to buy another once their old ones have died as they can no longer afford to own a horse and other luxuries like family holidays, so choices have to be made.

Exactly this. I gave up horses just in time. It was the wet winters that really did for me in the end but I look back and wonder how I managed to afford it. I would never hve another with the cost of feed, farrier and vets fees.

 

[Barton Bounty]

My equine dentist is £60 a visit- does your vet take regular holidays abroad?

Mine is £40

Used Mark for donkeys years and his price has never went up

 

[Chianti]

Mine is £40

Used Mark for donkeys years and his price has never went up

Mine's a young women - just starting out - so I don't begrudge her what she charges at all.

 

[Barton Bounty]

Mine's a young women - just starting out - so I don't begrudge her what she charges at all.

I wouldnt either, im just surprised mine hasnt put them up at all

 

[Michen]

It totally sucks I agree but it’s absolutely nothing compared to the vet fees in the USA (or rather Colorado as it does vary by state of course) where it’s truly crazy. Vets have multiple vet techs with them on visits which adds to the cost of course. Usually at least 2, though my vets are the more expensive. My horse capped out at 65k in dollars for two seperate ICU stints last year, meds etc. Absolutely horrendous. The daily financial text updates for the first three week long ICU stint made me sick to my stomach, I muted them in the end.

And that’s just last year. This year within two months I’m already another $5,000 down on neck treatment, more meds, vet administered acupuncture, follow up checks, an emergency call out.

All of this would have been about 1/3rd of the cost in the UK.

I earn a decent salary thank goodness but I had to use every bit of credit available to cover it and pay it off over time.