How much is monthly upkeep of a horse?

Question

Generally, for food, having the hooves trimmed, and any other NEEDS (NOT things like boarding or riding lessons or anything like that), how much is the upkeep of a horse?

Answer 1

Quite a bit, it depends on your area and where you are keeping it. Some places to board include hay. Some places don't. Some horses you can keep barefoot, so all the farrier has to do is trim them, which can cut down on the cost. You'll need dewormers and other vaccines every couple months, and then there is tack whenever you need it

Answer 2

ALOT. cause farriers (the shoeing ppl) charge alot usually, food isnt all that cheap, and the vet bills r crazy. idk the average price but i do kno its alot. they r expensive to have.

Answer 3

TONS! I'd guess, somewhere around $500?! When I was younger I wanted a horse but then my dad talked me into getting a goat! lol

but yeah, so it would cost alot of money to keep one!

Answer 4

For feed, bedding, hooves, worming, vet, hay.....etc.

I would say you need to set aside 250-400 a month depending on how much you feed your horse, how their feet are, and emergency vet calls.

Answer 5

You might want to have a look at these two sites:

http://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?...

http://wiki.answers.com/Q/How_much_does_...

:)

Answer 6

I'm in the North East UK and the average costs are:

Food: Anything from £10 to £50 a sack  (lasting about 3 weeks) You've got to factor in supplements and how many different types of feed they need, also how much feed. A good doer will cost less to feed than a poor doer etc etc. This is such a variable it would be hard to work out without the individual horse's requirements

Worming: £15 a time

Farrier visit: £45 for 4 standard shoes. £15 for trims

Dentist: £25 - 45 a time, every 6 months

You've got vets bills, insurance, vaccinations, livery, bedding etc etc etc to think about too!

Mine - http://uk.answers.yahoo.com/question/ind...

Answer 7

It depends on where you keep your horse and if you have to feed year round. If you are just feeding hay for the winter you will need about 3-4 tons. If you are feeding hay year round it will be closer to 10 tons in a year. Hay where we live is $250 a ton. You will also have to pay a farrier to at least trim your horse every 6-8 weeks depending on how fast the horses feet grow. You will probably have the horse shod for riding about 4 times for the summer. There is also vet bills, upkeep on fencing, fly spray and general upkeep. I think a good monthy estimate (assuming you have pasture and don't have to feed your horse hay all year) would be about $200 a month average.  

Answer 8

Actually I have two horses of my own and I have found that they dont really cost me all that much for monthly up keep.  I had always wanted horses and my husband and i finally took the plunge about three years ago.  Normally we get their feet trimmed about every six weeks and our farrier charges us $20 per horse plus $5 extra per horse if we have shoes put on.  Our horses have plenty of pasture so we dont have to buy a whole lot of grain but we usually spend about $30 per month on enough grain for both.  Vet bills arent as bad as you would think.  We get the "must have stuff" like coggins tests but that is only once a year and with a house call for the vet to come out to our house it is usually about $75.  The big thing is hay.  Where we live, hay was at an all time high last winter.  We spend about $60 per round bale last year and be bought 4 of those pluse 100 large square bales which we spend $4 a bale on.  It's not quite so bad this year.  And then you have just little things that you may needs..not nessesarily monthy costs...fly sprays, tack, fuel costs to haul them around, any salves or medications (wormers)...things like that.  Most of these costs will vary depending on where you are located but we have found that it really isnt as costly as we thought. We even have a 15year old arabian mare who has foundered and needs numerous vet checks for her feet because she tends to get absesses on her feet and it hasnt ever been TO expensive for us.  Besides, once you get your horse and form a bond with him or her, its all worth it in the end anyway.