Potential soon-new owner - cost and advice?

[Kitei]

I'm constantly browsing the for sale ads to see what's out there, and today I happened upon an ad that I've seen for quite a while. It's regarding the sale of a horse, described as an "11yo bay roan, 16.2", TB x ID". He's an attractive looking animal, and as I potentially may be financially able to support a horse very shortly, I was hoping to have a few questions answered, based on the limited information on the ad. (I'm hesitant to contact and give false hope before I know for sure I can afford him.) From what I can make out, he was returned to this person after almost a year of being somewhere else.

Do please remember that I haven't yet got much to do on, and I'm not purposefully being difficult.

He's described as being a little under weight (and doesn't look much underweight), but completely sound and fit to ride. How much would you expect to be paying for food for a horse of his size and 'type', assuming he doesn't require any supplements for conditions, etc?

It says he is great for the farrier, but doesn't say how many shoes he has. What, on average, do you pay for a farrier, how often, and for how many shoes?

It's been a while since I was actively involved in the day to day care of a horse, so what sort of cost are you looking at for hay and bedding, now?

Also looking for insurance suggestions in general. If I don't get this boy (maybe he'll have found his home by then), then I'll certainly be getting something fairly soon, so it never hurts to check these things out.

Again, things are not set in stone, and I've not yet asked for more information regarding him.

Quite exciting stuff, really. The closest I ever got to feeling like I actually -owned- my own horse was when I did work experience with Jane. Got it firmly on my plans for this next year.

 

[be positive]

I would be very cautious and want to know exactly why he has been returned and is possibly in poor condition, the photo could be an old one from when he looked well, if you go ahead and look at him make sure he is really the one you want, most people try several before they know, get him vetted just because the seller states he is fit and sound does not guarantee that he will be.
Shoes are on average about £70 a set, every 5-7 weeks depending on the horse, it is a major expense to consider.
Feed depends on how much he requires, there is no way of knowing but a horse his size can easily eat a bale of hay every day in the winter at up to £5 per bale, depending on your area supplier etc. Hard feed on top at £10 per bag, average, looking at a bag a week possibly more in winter if he is not getting much grass or is a poor doer.

You do not say where you would keep him but if at a livery yard it would be a good idea to go and have a chat to them or some liveries for advice as costs vary so much, there may be someone willing to go with you to view horses, always nice to have another pair of eyes.

 

[webble]

It depends what he has done and what you want him for really he would be anywhere from £500 to a few thousand if he has acheived a lot/super safe etc costs wise if you are starting from scratch

Saddle - £300-£2000
Stirrups and Leathers - £15-£80
Girth - £15-£60
Numnah - ~£15 x 2
Bridle - £20-£150
Bit - £10-£70
Wheelbarrow - £40
Fork - £10-£15
Turnout Rugs (at LEAST 2 needed, these figures based on 2) - £60-£200
Headcollar and Leadrope - ~£10
Grooming Kit - ~£15
First Aid Kit - £20-£60
Buckets - £10
Haynets (depending on numbers and size) - £5-£20
Hi-Viz Gear (Human AND Equine) - £25-£100

Other possible equipment needed depending on the horse and usage

Travel Boots - £30-£80
Travel Rug - £10-£50
Tail Guard - ~£10

Monthly Outgoings

Livery/Stable Rent - £65-£650 (depends on huge range of factors, from DIY grass livery to full livery including bedding costs - not just choice involved either, but yard availability!)
Straw (if chosen, based on 2 bales a week) - £10-£20
Shavings (if chosen, based on 2 bales a week) - £50-£70
Hay (based on 3 bales a week) - £40-£60
Feed - HUGELY variable - £20-£100
Insurance - £30-£50
Farrier - £10-70

Other costs needed yearly

Dentist - ~£40
Back Check - ~£60
Tack Check - ~£60
Worming - £50-£100 (depends on system and drugs used)
Flu and Tetanus Jabs - ~£60

Other expenses not previously covered

Lessons - £15-£40 per lesson (still advisable even if you own your own horse)
Petrol Costs - you may not think of this, but if you're not keeping horses at home, this will be a factor too!
Clothing - you will need warm coats, jodhs, possibly show gear (which can cost a fortune!) etc
Vet Bills - which no-one can predict! Horses are the most suicidal creatures out there!
BHS membership - ~£57 if just for 3rd party insurance and the legal helpline alone!
Fly Spray - £10-£50 depending on how bad your area is, if your horse is affected, whether you use it in conjunction with a rug etc

 

[HaffiesRock]

Some very good and detailed answers here already!

I will add what I pay for my pony. Bare in mind OP, that I probably keep my pony as cheaply as is feasibly possible and these are winter prices.

Livery £10 per week for grass or £20 per week for stable and grazing = £87 a month
Hay - £2.50 a bale for last years hay then £4 per bale once that runs out. Use a bale a day in winter = £120
Straw - £1.50 per bale approx 15 per month = £22.50
Feed - Sugar beet, grass nuts and linseed approx £50 a month
Insurance - £27 a month
Farrier (barefoot) £20 a trim every 6 weeks. Shoes are about £70 around here so call it £50 a month
Dentist twice a year at £35 so £6 a month
Jabs are about £80 with call out £7 a month
Worming - £5 a month
Saddle fitter £35 a time and I have her around every 3 or 4 months, so there is another £10
Back man is £40 and I have him twice a year too, add on another £10

Already you are at around £ 400 a month for a very basically kept, relatively hardy pony that I happy hack and local show (hack over so no transport costs) but showing costs in excess of £50 a month for 6 months a year. Once you factor in the size of the horse, and what it may need to eat the cost can sky rocket. Add on further if you want more than just DIY livery and again your costs sky rocket. Then add on lessons, tack, day to day things the costs are endless! Rugs are expensive also and you can spend a small fortune on these! You also need a small slush for smaller vet bills. My old pony had ringworm, vet came out and did a skin scrape. Came back a few days later with some treatment and all was well. Bill came and it was £250!!

I would suggest when you read through the thread replies you knock up a spreadsheet and do a proper budget that takes EVERYTHING into account and go from there. Consider things like the cost of footware for you. My boots just split so I need new ones urgently, which aren't cheap!

There are so many things you wont think of, like fuel costs for example. I keep my pony 6 miles from home and for that distance in my little car is about £60 if I go once a day in summer or £120 if I go twice in winter.

I am not trying to put you off by any means, but you need to know 100% what you are letting yourself in for as it is not a cheap hobby!

 

[FestiveFuzz]

OP I don't know where you're based but this is what I pay for my 15hh good doer in Surrey.

Part grass livery including feed £220 per month
Insurance £27 per month
BHS gold membership £6 per month
Fortnightly/weekly lesson £35 per lesson

Monthly basic cost = £323

Additional costs:

Farrier for full set of shoes every 6-7 weeks £65
Dentist every 6 months £25
Physio (recently been every other week) at £65 per session
Yearly jab - £48 including shared call out fee
Saddler as needed £45
Shampoo/fly spray/detangler/hoof oil etc between £6 and £10 each (although I tend to use a cheapy tea tree shampoo that I picked up in bulk for 50p a bottle)
Show entries - around about £80 per season

Start up costs:

5 stage vetting £250
Full set of rugs (I got 2x everything and some were secondhand) £425
New saddle as the one he came with didn't fit £399
Grooming kit £25
Headcollar and leadrope £15
Buckets £10
Haynets £5 each

I've probably forgotten heaps in the process, and obviously there's always something that crops up when you least expect it so it's good to have a pot of money set aside for any unexpected expenses.

 

[hnmisty]

My livery is £170 a month assisted DIY.

Other people have covered the costs very well, but I'm adding this:

I got Barry in May.
His teeth needed doing immediately (~£50,dentist says his only need doing once a year)
His saddle needed checking £155 (ok, half of that was buying a piece of dead sheep for his back)
The back man came out to him ~£40 (can't remember exactly)

Those were things I didn't think needed doing ASAP (apart from the teeth), but it soon came apparent he wasn't happy with his saddle.

I bought him as a 8y/o who passed a 5* vetting in April. He's now being investigated for possible arthritis, that's put me back £100 so far and the vet is coming out again on Monday.

I agree about fuel- it's easy to forget to factor that in. My yard is about 5 miles away- that's 70-80 miles a week.

When I was looking at buying again (first time I've owned without help of parents and keeping at home) I made sure that I would still have a few 100 left a month for savings and in case of emergency- I didn't want to be operating near my limit. And that's on a PhD budget

 

[prince ebony]

There are some very comprehensive replies here. I think it will vary dramatically where you are in the country, what type of livery you require, how good the hay harvest has been etc etc. I have 2 horses which are both 15hh, I keep them on full livery in South Yorkshire. I pay out in the region £6000/horse/ year! (Think I need to sit down!) This includes livery, insurance, shoes, physio and teeth; it doesn't include vets bills which this year have come to £500, cost of tack and equipment etc etc!
Good luck!

 

[9tails]

Hay is around £4 a bale this year. Some years it's £6 a bale depending on what sort of summer has been had.

Straw is about £2.50 a bale. Shavings/Hemcore etc about £8 a bale. Wood pellets £3 a bag.

Insurance about £35 per month.

Jabs yearly £50

Dentist yearly £40

Farrier £60 every 6 weeks for 4 shoes

Saddler twice yearly £40 a go.

Worming about £5 a month

Feed depends what you want. Basic pony nuts are £6 a bag, TopSpec Comprehensive is £35 a bag.

My livery is £140 a month, that is for stable and field, electricity, water and school. Completely DIY, yard owner would probably put a halter round the horse's chest thats how much he knows about them.

 

[Spot_On]

It has been a while since I totalled up what I spent on the horses. Not sure I want to remind myself how much I pay! lol :eek3: Cost will also vary depending on what part of the country you are. Generally horses are more to keep down south (as I am!)

Livery: £100 pcm or £25 p/w (grass livery)
Hay - £4 per bale
Straw - n/a now... was paying £3.50 a bale
Feed - n/a now..was feeding fibre nuts and beet so about £15 every 6/8 weeks
Insurance - just BHS gold membership
Farrier - £20 for all 4 trimmed or £15 front trim only (every 8 weeks)
Dentist - once a year at £40
Jabs - about £40 a year (no call out fee as done on routine area days)
Worming - worm counts twice a year at £7 and on wormers £30 twice a year usually.
Saddle fitter - £25 once a year

I spent about £50-70 per rug, all my rugs are years old, but horse isn't a rug trasher.

I also look on Facebook horsey groups for secondhand things/bargains, as well as keeping an eye on robinsons/equestrian clearance/ebay.

 

[RainbowDash]

There's some super detailed replies here already. Don't know if I should scare myself and seeing my costs in black and white :/. Okay here goes:

Full livery (stable, turnout, unlimited haylege and feed) = £230 PCM
Front shoes (every 6-8 weeks) = £20 PCM
Worming/Supplements/Dentist/3rd party Insurance/jabs = £20 PCM
Misc = £10 PCM

Initial set up costs (tack/rugs/boots/head collar/water and feed buckets = £ 560 (he came with nothing but had good deal on his tack, rugs etc brought in sales, ebay).

Mines a happy hacker and I'm very lucky to find a cheap but good yard 15 minutes walk away from home. The yard has a lot of horses so we do share vet visits, farrier visits etc. Before I brought my lad I worked out my costs and compared 3 full liveries, full grass livery, DIY etc and fortunately the cheapest option was closest. x

 

[Kitei]

Thank you very much for the replies; it's very helpful!
Decided not to go for that boy, as I don't want to be getting him just because I feel sorry for him and not paying attention to why he's being sold so cheaply, any issues he has, or whether he's a match for me.

However, now that I have some idea of costs, I can begin planning for later on this year; my elder sister would be interested in a horse share, which would work out well for the both of us. Now I can get saving and planning for livery.