# How much does a horse cost? Roughly a year



## Left Hand Percherons (Feb 1, 2011)

Kept at home or boarded? Huge difference.


----------



## sarahver (Apr 9, 2010)

Well, it varies greatly. For a pleasure horse that is pasture boarded, is barefoot and not in regular competition I would guesstimate around $6,000-$8,000 per year (in Texas, there would be regional differences).

If you have your own property then it would be less.

If you are competing and paying stall board you would be looking at upwards of $20,000.

And everything in between!


----------



## Sahara (Jul 23, 2010)

Completely depends on the horse and what kind of owner you are. If you have your own property the costs are a bit more "hidden" than if you board your horse somewhere. 

You can buy cheap sweet feed for $14/bag or a quality feed for $30 a bag. 

Trims/shoeing every 5 to 8 weeks at anywhere from $20 to $150

If you don't have large pastures then you have to supplement with hay which varies greatly. A 60# bale ranges from $2/bale for crap grass hay to $14/bale for alfalfa depending on where you live in the country. 

If will have to acquire all your tack and supplies it can be quite expensive especially if you buy quality tack. 

If your property isn't horse friendly then you will have fencing costs, shelter costs, possibly increases in electrical and water bills, maintenance costs when you have to mow your pastures, reseed, fix fences, etc. 

If you plan on showing or trailriding, you will need a trailer to haul the horse. 

Dental work once or twice a year $100-$200. Vaccines once or twice a year $150/horse or so....

Not to mention the fact that your horse may need lifetime medication/treatment for some condition like heaves, Cushings, navicular.....

I am sure there are plenty of things I can't even think of right now.

Horses are considered a "luxury" item for a reason.


----------



## Country Woman (Dec 14, 2011)

then of course is the tack saddles range $ 300 for synthetic Western saddle - $ 5,000 or more for a parade saddle 
different prices for English saddles and then bridles can be costly as well


----------



## Country Woman (Dec 14, 2011)

Jenny1234 said:


> How much does a horse cost on an average year? I'm doing a project on horses, and I was just wondering. I was also wondering if you could give me some key points that I could hit?


Welcome Jenny 
good luck with your project


----------



## xxGallopxx (Dec 1, 2011)

It really depends. I'll try and write this out month by month:

You could spend $15-$50+ on grain per month, depending on the brand your horse gets and how much he eats. I spend $30 on 2 bags of Purina Strategy for one horse per month.

Hay greatly depends too. I spent $200 on 30 bales of hay last month. (we had a bad drought..pray for rain!) It depends on how much your horse needs, and how much it costs per bale. 

De-wormer needs to be done every other month. You can spend $8-$18 on a tube of it. 

Farrier needs to be done every 6-10 weeks, depending on the time of year, and the individual. My horse is done every 8 weeks in the summer and 10 weeks in the winter at $25 per trim. (he's kept barefoot.) Keep in mind if your horse has shoes it's going to be much more expensive, and some trimmers charge up to $40 per trim. 

Vet appointments need to be done annually and as needed. It costs me about $80 to have my vet out at my house if I have a concern about my horse's health (and if he prescribes medicine it could be more) Shots cost me about $150 per year. 

Equipment you will buy as needed. In the first year of horse ownership, you're going to be hurt a lot more financially than the years to follow because you need to buy all the tack and other equipment for your horse. I spent AT LEAST $800 on my tack (bridle, saddle, bit, boots, blankets, etc..) 

Keep in mind: 

If your horse is boarded at a boarding stable, you will not have to pay for hay or grain, but it will still cost you $200-$600 per month for that. (not including vet, farrier, or dewormer...etc) 

Your horse may or may not need supplements, but it's really easy to buy $100 worth every month. 

So to sum all that up: It greatly depends on where you live, what your horse needs, and if you have coupons  lol Horses are a pretty expensive hobby, but SO worth it!  I probably spent about $2000 on my horse this year (actually in the span of about 6 months lol) (horse included which was $750) because I had to buy all the equipment, and fencing and such. Like I said before, once you have everything you need, you'll only have to pay for repairs (fence and equipment) , vet, farrier, feed, and dewormer.


----------



## xxGallopxx (Dec 1, 2011)

Oh one more thing: It may seem like a lot of money for dewormer, shots, and regular farrier visits, but I would rather pay premium prices for that stuff and have a happy, healthy horse, then have to call my vet all the time about health issues with my horse.


----------

