Lorien Stable: Trainer's Notes
Welcome. Enjoy.
For discussion of this article, or any other topic, visit the Message Board.
Today's topic is How much does it cost to Own a Horse?
Buying a horse can be expensive, but the horse's price is not usually
your biggest cost in owning a horse. Taking care of a horse, keeping a
horse, feeding and providing for the horse's health, are all expensive.
Horses are delicate creatures. In the "wild," in the environment for
which horses evolved, they have the ability to walk miles a day (wear
down their hooves); walk to a better place if the food available is not
suitable; find water when they need it; move on if the area isn't
suitable.
But just because a horse is in a more natural environment doesn't mean
he's free and clear. Wild horses still have dental problems, die from
colic or illness, and suffer when a foal is not turned right to be born.
We have provided horses with an
environment which is very different from the "natural" one. A confined
horse requires regular farrier care. A bored horse may sample a weed he
wouldotherwise not touch, and poison himself. A horse who does not have
access to fresh, clean water may just not drink--a dehydrated horse will
get very sick. Horses' lives with us are not like the lives they
evolved to live. As a result,
horses require a great deal of careful management to keep them healthy
and safe in a domesticated environment.
I wrote up a rough spreadsheet of what each of my horses costs me in a
year. Remember that many of these figures will vary wildly from
area to area
(for example, while I spend about $5/bale on hay, you can get it much
cheaper some places, or it can run you as much as $15/bale in other
areas).
That doesn't take into account the vet visit when Duchess was sick with
something flu-like
($150), or the costs of Katherine's abcess (ended up being about $150
with vet and farrier both working on it).
The spreadsheet also doesn't figure in the costs of supplies: saddle,
bridle, saddle pads and girths, halters, lead ropes, buckets for feed
and water, and so on. These are usually called "one-time costs," but if
one breaks, wears out, or doesn't fit anymore, it must be replaced.
Here is the page on one-time costs, and also
an essential first aid kit.
Emergency veterinary expenses can cost a lot.
If you can afford major medical insurance for your horse, then when he
gets sick you have something to fall back on. But if you don't have
insurance, then an expensive vet call can cost as much as you spent on
the horse originally. If your horse has to have colic surgery, it can
run you $5,000 to $10,000. It's something to be aware of.
