# HOw much does it cost



## Little-moomin

Just wandering how much does it cost to keep a horse a year, if it is around 16 hands , being ridden about 3 times a week, and you own the field and a small bard to keep it in?

inc: food, vetinary, shoeing etc


----------



## shortbackandsides

Its not a figure you can just come up with,things happen,e.g emergency vet bills etc.Every year will be different


----------



## Little-moomin

Ys your right, I kind of mean generally. I know you have to shoe your horse more often if you ride it a lot, especially on tarmac ground. And it depends on the horse, to some at more than others etc. Hmm but it is a lot I bet!


----------



## NoSpecialFeaturesHere

LOL, it's very difficult to add it all up, and I try not to, to be honest... Don't like to think about it!!


----------



## Tinks magic

I dont add mine up I would have a heart attack!

At one point Gino was wrecking one rug a month and he only fits into masta rugs at about 70 pounds a time


----------



## lucy87

Horses cost a lot of money and take a lot of time but are well worth it if you are really interested. Shoes have to be replaced every 4-6 weeks regardless of wear to ensure the hooves are properly balanced. At £60+ each time, feed bills, insurance, bedding, rugs, vet bills and wormers it all adds up. Also a horse needs company. Like I said it's well worth it if you are *really* keen!!


----------



## Guest

Like asking how long a piece of string is really - but - Assuming you had no extra expenses like vet bills ect would think you would be looking at a min of £30 a week - (unless you have your own stable land then maybe slightly less). I am basing my figures on what I remember from years back so could be miles out - you would also need very good insurance on top of this. 
regards
DT


----------



## Guest

Mine are kept on my own Yard, so all I pay out for is Shoeing/Wormers/Hay/Feed/ updates of jabs/ Shows/Tack and any vet bills that may occur. But wouldnt like to add that up on a yearly basis, as I would be in tears.

mandi


----------



## shortbackandsides

I did once didnt dare tell the oh:nonod:


----------



## Guest

How much IS horse insurance by the way? Somehow me and my OH got onto this subject the other day lol


----------



## shortbackandsides

It varys depending on the level of cover,for just 3rd party around £10 month,for top whack a lot more!


----------



## petal

Hi. Mine is a 16h eventer that we don't actually compete anymore. We don't keep him at home so there is an additional cost of full livery (£90 a week) that you won't need to find, but if you stable the horse you will need to pay for shavings/other bedding at £10 or so a week and if you feed him hay and dry feed that will be around £6 to £10 a week depending on what and how much you feed . you will need some kind of insurance by law for public liability, but can get this third party and cheaply via the BHS and some insurance companies. I pay £500 a year in insurance for him to cover him for use, loss of use all accident/injury/illness and public liability with pet plan equine with an excess of £50 His shoes are £60 every 5 to 6 weeks as we do some road work as well as school work and his hoof grows quite quickly and needs regular trimming. Wormer is £16-20 every 3 months but it is often a good idea to rotate wormers to reduce resistance and so you can pick them cheaper if you buy what is on offer. We also buy a joint supplement for him at £60 for 3 months supply and biotin to help the quality of his hoof growth (typical thoroughbred feet) at £13 for 2 months worth, although we used to feed farriers formula or formula 4 feet, which was more than treble that and the biotin seems to do the same job at a much reduced cost. On top of that is the dentist once a year at £50 for a basic tidy up, his flu vacinations at £40 a year and either new rugs or rug repairs and waterproofing which ranges from £25 per rug for a wash and reproof to as much as you want to spend on a new set! Obviously you can get good ones cheaply second hand, but watch out that they are still water proof or you will have to pay on top for this. You can buy water proofer to do your own in the washing machine but this is still between £15-20 and a thick rug with a neck for a 16h horse does not fit the average machine. I can't do a decent clip, so I get someone to clip him for me at £25 twice a year. With new tack, visits from the saddle fitter and vet/farrier treatments for a few cuts and bruises, a part cast shoe that punctured his frog and abcessed etc that fell below the £50 excess on his insurance policy I clocked up more than £5000 the first year I had him. Obviously if the horse does not change body shape and you buy wisely to start with, the tack will be good for years to come if looked after and there are some good second hand bargins to be had, but as I keep saying to my daughter, finding the money to buy the horse is easy, finding the time and money to look after it properly is a different matter!


----------



## Mad4sky69

Well it is so hard to say how much it would cost. i mean Vetenary bills you can guess what is going to go wrong throughout the year you do need to have about £2000.00 in the bank to be on the safe side to make sure you can cover vet emergeny farrier bills etc.


----------



## Vixxen

horses cost a lot to keep (dont i know it!), and you should never by one uness you can afford to keep it and have the time for it.

you need to take into consideration the livery costs, shoes, emergency vet bils, monthly insurance costs, rugs, tack, feed, bedding, worming and vaccinations....its actually never ending haha


----------



## 3Beloved

Well to keep my horse who was 16.3hh, her livery was £15 a week, £2.50 for a bale of straw and £2 for a bale of hay. Roughly in the winter i went through about 3 bales of straw and about 3 bales of hay a week that was on top of livery. i also had her food which was chaf, herb mixture, garlic, sugar beet & some weetebix i went through each bag about every weeks.then you've got shoeing if shod mine was £50 all 4 every 8 weeks. £120 for all her jabs and check ups every 6 months, vert bills if it goes poorly like mine it got colic and horse flu over winter. There is a lot to consider with horses, and you have to buy buckets, grooming kit, hay net, mucking out equipment head collar lead rope tack if not come with tack, i'd seriosuly sit down and think about financially and if your a re seriosuly commited at they take up a lot of time. if first buyer of course.


----------



## bee112

Your hands are never out of you pockets when you own a horse

anything from £3000 - £5000 per year - thats just your basics like livery, hay, bedding, feed, dentist, vaccs, worming, farrier..

Then you have vets fees on top of that..

You cant get an exact estimate.. just depends on alot of circumstances.

Owning a horse is a way of life, and you dedicate your life to them.. really not something to consider half heartedly


----------



## bee112

Oh and every horse needs to see the Farrier regularly.. even if not being ridden their hooves keep growing so need caring for..

A horses hoofs can get in a terrible state if not cared for properly.. then you can have no end of problems involving a lot of vets bills and pain for the horse


----------



## tonette

Have a look at my web page it has costings on keeping a horse ... shoeing, insurance, stabling, grazing, etc.


----------



## tonette

Sorry i forgot to mention, when people are thinking of owning a horse please take into consideration that even with insurance your horses health can work out very costly. Both mine have long term illness that the insurance does not pay for now...... Caddy has sun damage in his eye and Dimby is allergic to grass (through absorption) they are not covered for those illnesses now and at times it can cost a lot of money for Caddys eye drops vets visits etc, same goes for Dimby when his allergy flares up ( this is also mentioned on my web page) just worth a thought on any one considering buying a horse........ vet bills when a horse is ill can be very very costly!


----------



## ~jo~

If you are not sure you can afford to own your own horse then it maybe worth your while looking about for a part loan that way it will be slightly cheaper.


----------

