Horse costs?

Question

so im getting a horse mostly just for ridding arount but in the future maby jumping and barel racing, i need to know a general monthly cost to keep it ( bording, feed, hay, wormers, etc. ) not including the saddle, brushes and stuff, and it would also help if you named the exact items ill need, i'm pretty expereinced and i have horse friends that'll be there for me. im 13 yrs old and i have to pay 4 all the stuff, if that helps any.

Answer 1

Boarding out can run anywhere from $100.00/mo to $1,000.00/mo depending upon the facility. IF you live in a populated city like San Francisco or Los Angeles, boarding close to home will more than likely run on the higher end. This provides stalls, cleaning, bedding and hay twice a day.

The lower end, is probably out in the rual areas and can be with hay or without (You'd have to go out twice a day and feed your horse (s).

I suggest that you call around to the boarding stables in your area and get rates and facilities (Does it have an arena, round pen, hot walker, wash rack, etc.).

The costs of shavings vary from place to place. In LA right now, a 5 cubic yard bag of shavings runs $4.00 from the shavings company and can run as high as $7.00 in a tack store. You also need sand, decomposed granite and sweet lime to keep your stalls bedded correctly. The sand and dg you'll have to call and get pricing on.

Then there's the additional costs:

Hay in CA right now is running $17.95/bale for 3 strand alfafa which weighs 100LBs plus. Oat hay, runs a couple of bucks cheaper. Your horse will need between 5 and 7.5 bales a month, depending upon how easy a keeper your new horse is.

Shoeing (Which can run anywhere from $50.00 for just shoes in the front and barefoot in the back on up.) Done about every 6 to 8 weeks.

Trims: About $35.00 Once again done every 6 to 8 weeks.

Grain: Depending upon how easy a keeper your horse is, a bag of grain will run you about $15.00 and bran about the same, once a month.

Vet: Now normally without any accidents, once, twice a year for shots which run $40.00 per shot and the 'call charge' which can range depending upon your area from $40.00 all the way up to $250.00!

Misc. Tack: This is the one that not only can get expensive, BUT addicting! You see something that your horse just MUST have! DO NOT go to ebay! This can be VERY costly and addicting, trust me on this I have a friend who's still paying off credit cards from ebay horsey things she bought.

Having someone trailer or haul your horse with the cost of gas would probably be $2.00/mile nowadays...

Okay, now you have your catagories, work up a spreadsheet for your area and then see if you can afford to own a horse.

Answer 2

Feed: anywhere from 8-30 dollars for a 50lb bag your horse will eat 10-15lbs of feed a day

Shavings for stall: 6-12 dollars a bag 2 bags every week stall also has to be cleaned EVERY day and striped every other week

Hay: 5-14 dollars a bale needs 2 flakes twice a day

Vet needs to see a vet at least 4 times a year 50-500 a visit can cost more depending on the problem

Wormer: horse has to be wormed every 2 1/2 months 20 dollars a tube

These are just the basics and you can get a boarding facility to feed and keep your horse but they feed less than i would like for my horses to eat they will also clean the stalls but the rest is up to you and the boarding facility can cost from 350-700 just depending on ho nice it is

Well horses are expensive!! I hope you will be able to get one though they are AWESOME!!!!