Roughly, How much is it to buy, board and take care of a horse yearly?

Question

I live west of Fortworth and want to buy a horse for pleasure riding. Roughly, How much is it yearly to board, feed/ take care of a horse yearly????

Answer 1

You have a lot of options.

Well, first it depends on the quality of horse. A good, pleasure horse, that you're not going to show, not worried about blood lines, ect will be roughly between 2500-6500 and should be between the ages of 6-10 (or older, if you want). I say that because a horse should be generally broke at 6 for an intermediate to advanced rider (you shouldn't be thinking about buying a horse if you don't know how to ride, yet, you should look into leasing at a local barn).

When I used to have my horse, for the first year, he boarded in the pole barn (an outside barn) and that's really low quality. It was 300$ a month for full board, not including vet or farrier, or deworming ect. It did however include stall cleaning and feeding every morning and night. Partial board is about 235$ and that means you'd have to purchase your own shavings, do your own feeding and purchase your own feed, do your own stall cleaning and doesn't include any of that other stuff EXCEPT for daily watering.

Now, if you're going to board at a nice barn, or in the "front barn" which is usually the barn they show you in all the pictures, it's about 500$-800$ depending on how nice the barn is, a month. This includes feeding, stall cleaning, and watering. They'll also let your horse out for you, and take him in at night (if you have partial board, they won't do that for you). Also, most barns won't let you board in the front if you're not serious riding, and if you're only going to have partial board.

Now, ontop of that, you pay the farrier monthly, for a trim, or new shoes.. That's about 75-100$ depending on how big your horses hooves are, labor- it depends on the farrier.

Add Vet monthly, for vaccinations and deworming and any other suprises.. That's probably between 150$-300$ or even more monthly..

So.. Roughly 750-1000$ a month, and with your horse.. You do the math. It's not easy. You'll also be buying your own tack, and tack box to keep supplies.. Those can get expensive. Brushes, bits, bridles, your own blanket for the winter and the summer to keep your horse cool, warm or fly free.. You'll need halters and lead ropes, and possibly some boots because horses tend to kick themselves in the back of the hock during vigerous riding..

It's A LOT of money.

Buying a horse and not being ready for it is the biggest hole you can dig yourself into.

Answer 2

It all depends on the breed of horse you're looking to buy.  I have a QH gelding and he gets about a handful of grain a day[1 bag of Omolene (#100 for Pleasure horses) goes for about 2-3 months for my 2 horses] he gets a flake of hay a day[a bale costs between $4-$15] depending on the type of hay and where you live.  Board at a facility costs anywhere from $100+ depending on how nice it is etc etc. Their once yearly shots cost about $200+ per horse, including Coggins, rabies, rhino virus etc.  Wormer costs about $12 a tube [unless you buy it in bulk] and that is given to them normally once a month[some people do it every two months and some do it ever 2 weeks] Having shoes put on them costs about $60+ depending on the ferrier and how much they charge. It's normally done ever 6-8 weeks. It's roughly going to be around $1500 a year.  Unless you have a very easy keeper.  One that doesn't need shoes, much grain, or hay[due to sufficient grass supply].  Some breeds cost more to care for and some cost less, it just depends on what you want to do with your horse etc.

http://horses.about.com/od/buyingyourfir...

I hope this helps :D