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Not a day goes buy that we don’t get an email from someone who needs to unload a horse.
I don’t mean professional horse dealers; I mean people who probably bought a horse with good intentions but found they
couldn't keep the horse.
In some cases, they’ve fallen on hard times; in too many other cases,
they just didn’t think ahead about the time a horse requires or there were unforeseen expenses. Owners end up heartbroken
and, in my opinion, the even more disturbing outcome is that horses end up at auction, possibly bound for an unkind home or
slaughter. This is evidenced by the messages we often get such as "Must sell or horse has to go to auction this
Friday." THINK AHEAD! Owning a horse can be one of the
most gratifying and fun experiences of a lifetime, but if you really care about horses, it’s imperative to think ahead
before you buy one. The cost of a horse as well as the tack, grooming supplies, and other items you’ll need or
want to buy is generally a small fraction compared to the cost of upkeep. Consider that: - Horses live a long time — some live well into their 30s or more. Responsible horse ownership should
be undertaken only by those willing and able to make a very long-term commitment.
- Horse ownership can be extremely expensive, especially if your horse develops
an illness, lameness or other problem requiring extensive veterinary care. Even if you obtain medical insurance for
your horse, which runs about $500 annually nowadays for a pleasure horse, there are deductibles and exclusions and you could
still end up with whopping big bill.
- Horses require a good bit of attention,
and you’ve either got to pay someone to do it for you or do it yourself.
With this in mind, ask
yourself the following before you buy a horse:
- Where will you keep
the horse? (See other articles you should read at the end of this page).
- What will you do if your horse ends up with a lameness or other condition that makes it unsuitable for riding?
- Are you financially able and willing to support a horse “in
sickness and in health?” If you lost your source of income do you have other resources that would enable
you to continue caring for the horse?
- Do you have the support of your family
or is buying a horse likely to cause conflict in your household over the cost of owning a horse or the time you need to devote
to the horse? We once had a boarder who didn't want her husband to know how much she was spending on her horses,
so she always paid in cash instead of writing a check. Sad!
- You should never buy a horse that requires
riding skills beyond your capabilities, but it is possible that if your riding skills progress, you could outgrow your first
horse. Are you willing to either make sure you find the first horse a solid, forever
new home if needed or continue supporting the horse even if you buy another?
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COSTS The rates for horse upkeep vary widely depending on the geographic region and the type of facility and board you
select. Before buying a horse, it would be wise to check not only with any boarding barns you want to consider, but with horse
vets in your area to see what they charge for their services. Don’t forget to ask what vets charge
for making the farm call and for an emergency call, which generally are two separate charges and are in addition to charges
for services such as vaccination, wound or colic treatment. Some veterinary practices have a flat monthly
fee that owners can pay for a bundle of preventive services. This does NOT include services for emergency care.
Ask about farrier expenses in your area too. Get a really good handle on all the expenses you may have before you
buy a horse.
The minimum expenses you need to count
on paying include:
- Board (unless you’ll keep your horse
at home, in which case be sure to see links below to additional articles!) Field board is less expensive than stall board.
My personal preference is full board/stall board, where horses have full shelter on cold winter nights and stinking hot, buggy
summer days, but at a barn that also turns horses out as much as possible. In our area, the median price for stall board at
a farm with facilities such as indoor and outdoor riding rings and where the farm takes care of feeding your horse, daily
stall cleaning and turning your horse in and out runs anywhere from about $600 to $680 monthly. That's at least
$7,200 annually.
- Farrier services about every 4 to 8 weeks depending
on the season and the needs of your horse. The farrier who takes care of most horses in our barn charges $40 for a trim,
$85 for two shoes and $140 for four shoes. He's moderately priced. We have other farriers who charge far more
and, of course, all farriers charge more if your horse needs corrective shoeing. Farrier services are generally less
in rural areas and more in urban areas.
- Preventive veterinary care
(vaccines, annual Coggins test, annual dental care and worming — see below). Some owners vaccinate horses themselves,
but should only do so if they thoroughly educate themselves about the handling and administration of vaccines as well as the
vaccines their horses should receive; otherwise, immunity may not be adequate to protect horses from disease. In some
states, such as ours, state law requires that a licensed veterinarian administer certain vaccines, such as rabies. Anyone
vaccinating their own horses also need to know what to do in the event of vaccine reactions.
- Worming. You can worm a horse yourself with proper education about which wormers to
use and how often, or you can have the veterinarian worm your horse. Of course it's less expensive if you do it
yourself; paste wormers cost anywhere from under $4 a tube to about $10 per tube, depending on which one you're using.
- Emergency veterinary services. This is certain to run
you at least $100, likely a few hundred and possibly thousands. If your horse requires colic surgery at a horse hospital
and has complications, for instance, the bill is even more. The last two horses I know of that had colic surgery and
complications had a bill of about $15,000. If you don't have your own trailer to transport the horse and have to
hire someone, that's one other expense to count on.
Following are minimum, approximate upkeep costs for one
horse at a large, full-board (stall board) suburban Mid-Atlantic barn. Vaccine costs may be less at a smaller farm with
a smaller horse herd; the estimate below does NOT include any farm call charges a veterinarian may charge.
- Board (monthly rate of $600): $7,200.00
- Farrier (trim only/no shoes: 346.00
- Vaccines: 286.00
- Coggins: 45.00
- Dental (including tranquilizer):
118.00
- Sheath cleaning: 45.00
- Worming (by owner): 40.00
ANNUAL TOTAL:
$8,080.00
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Here
are approximate costs for an emergency call due to choke in a horse in our suburban area. - Emergency
visit during regular hours: $50.00
- Farm call: 35.00
- Relieve choke procedure: 150.00
- Tranquilizers
and other meds: 116.00
TOTAL:
$351.00
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Click here to read the article "Should you keep horses at home?"
Click here to read "Advice for first-time horse buyers."
Click here for advice about how to select a boarding barn.
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