Price to have horse broken in?

[spotty_pony]

So, someone has approached me to ask if I can break their horse in for them. I used to do that but am a bit out of touch with how much to change having not done it for a few years now. What is the going rate? Horse will be at theirs and I will travel to do the work.

 

[KittenInTheTree]

I was recently quoted £120 per week, but that was for sending the pony away to their yard. Am in NI.

 

[Zoeypxo]

£150 a week in cornwall

 

[ihatework]

I send mine away and pay £250/week.

 

[lilly1]

I'm looking around now and £250 a week seems average if sent off to include livery.

 

[SatansLittleHelper]

I paid £100 a week 2 years ago, but that included him going to her yard.

 

[Bob notacob]

Doing the job right is priceless. The next 20 years depend on it!

 

[LEC]

I charged a friend mates rates at £175 a week. £100 a week ? I wouldn’t even bother getting out of bed for that. That’s £14 a day and would just about cover its care if not being stabled.

 

[PinkvSantaboots]

I suppose it depends how often you go it might be more cost effective to charge per session, my friend will just charge her hourly rate for teaching if she is riding for someone or starting one

 

[The Xmas Furry]

A backer/trainer coming in daily for 5 to 6 days a week is generally more ££'s than a pro yard taking them in for backing/schooling, as you'd need to factor in travelling time, fuel etc.
It will also eat more out of your day OP as a 30 min session could take you up to 1.5/2 hours with the travelling and prep etc, do not under sell yourself.
I wouldn't expect to pay less than £30 to £35 for an experienced person to come in for 20 to 30 mins, but most trainers round here would be more per visit. Will owner be getting equine ready for you each time?

 

[scruffyponies]

I have no idea how people can make a living based on those costs, let alone compensate for the risk.

 

[HeyMich]

Our 4yr old has just been away for re-backing and schooling (she was backed last year but was very young in attitude so we gave her 6mths off and she had forgotten it all!) at a brilliant professional yard, and we were paying £250/wk for her to be there on full livery, worked/ridden up to 5x per week and lessons from the pro whenever we could make it over there (1-2 per week, instead of schooling that day, not on top of!). It was worth every penny. However, if she had stayed at home and I'd arranged for a pro to come here, I would have expected to pay more overall due to travel time etc. Don't sell yourself short!

 

[ihatework]

I suppose it depends on the horse being backed, the home set up, the experience of the owner/handler and the experience of the breaker.

In all honesty there aren’t that many situations where all those factors align to make it both cost efficient and the best breaking service for the horse.

It’s a fine art and honestly I wouldn’t pay for someone to come to me for backing. I want the horse in a set up/system to ensure success

 

[MissTyc]

My friend just paid £260/week for professional backing of a sensitive youngster. He came home lovely and relaxed and ridden away 4 weeks later - walk trot canter on tracks and in school + a little jump. Now getting the winter off at home.

 

[Leandy]

I'd calculate it at a suitable hourly rate for your time and expertise plus travelling time and expense (plus danger money if I thought it merited it!!) and start from there. A lot will depend on how many days a week you are planning to go and whether the owner will do anything with the horse in between or are you doing absolutely everything with it? You could round down a bit for a package deal but don't underestimate the time you will spend or indeed the value you add to the horse.

 

[MarvelVillis]

I paid £160 a week when I sent mine away a couple of years ago

 

[OrangeAndLemon]

I'm paying £20 per session (up to an hour) for an experienced horse trainer to do in hand and ground work a few times a week for the next few month before he goes off for starting in spring. I'm expecting around £250 per week including livery but the number of weeks will be reduced by doing so much work in advance.

I'm not the right person to bring on a young horse and simply can't get the ground work into him through winter while I'm working during the daylight hours so I fully expect to invest heavily for the next 12 month. I'm having lessons with the trainer who will start him, due to arena availability this is only monthly at the moment. I'm expecting weekly lessons once he is backed alongside paying a professional to keep up the training.

If you factor all of that in I wouldn't want to add up the full cost of starting him. As Bob Notacob said, this is an investment in his future.

 

[magicmoments]

I have no idea how people can make a living based on those costs, let alone compensate for the risk.

When you consider how much full livery is, then the added risk.of backing too. Not saying full livery is expensive btw everything considered

 

[spotty_pony]

Doing the job right is priceless. The next 20 years depend on it!

this is what I am going on - I broke her last horse in for her and she was very pleased with the job I did and loved the fact I could travel and do it at her yard so she was completely involved in the process. Sadly the horse had to be pts not long ago and so now she is starting again with another youngster. I have offered to help but will be having to drop other work in order to help so have had to price accordingly - fair bit more than what some have quoted here but as you rightly say - you pay for what you get and the it’s priceless for what the horse will give you in return for it for many years to come for it being done correctly.

 

[spotty_pony]

I suppose it depends on the horse being backed, the home set up, the experience of the owner/handler and the experience of the breaker.

In all honesty there aren’t that many situations where all those factors align to make it both cost efficient and the best breaking service for the horse.

It’s a fine art and honestly I wouldn’t pay for someone to come to me for backing. I want the horse in a set up/system to ensure success

I beg to differ. The owner did send one away and a bad job was done - he is now unrideable and behaviour issues. I broke the next one in at home and it was the best thing we could have done - horse was happy in his home environment and there was no pressure to ‘get on with it’ like there is on breakers yards. He turned into a lovely horse but sadly she lost him to colic.

 

[spotty_pony]

I have no idea how people can make a living based on those costs, let alone compensate for the risk.

I will be charging quite a bit more than quoted here by some - it’s basically half a days work - it’s a 40 min drive each way, plus the time I’ll spend there so I have to price accordingly for time, fuel and also experience.

 

[Fieldlife]

So, someone has approached me to ask if I can break their horse in for them. I used to do that but am a bit out of touch with how much to change having not done it for a few years now. What is the going rate? Horse will be at theirs and I will travel to do the work.

if you are giving up other work to do it, I’d charge your hourly rate, per hour on an ongoing basis. Plus mileage and travel time.

 

[Caol Ila]

Haha. My sanity. And maybe the cost of a Lamfelle saddle pad.

Obviously that's a wise-ar*se answer to your question. Carry on.