What's the average cost of owning a horse and boarding it?

Question

Just wondering about a general overview of the cost of owning and boarding a horse at a local stable. Everything from feeding to possible vet checkups and gas money spent going to and from the barn...

Answer 1

hmmm prolly very close to $1000 including all the fees and everything.

Answer 2

horses are great but very expensive. the average amount for board is about $250. also you would have to buy tack for about $500, shots for about $50, and treats! i always give my horses treats. you really dont have to but they love them and they are about $5.

i hope this helps!!

Answer 3

It depends where you live. If you live in or near a big city, boarding can be as much as $600/ month alone. If you live out in the country, boarding can be as low as $200/ month.

In general, it's about $500-$1000 dollars a month... depending on the months when you get your vet care and vaccinations done.

Answer 4

It depends totally on where you live and the situation your horse is boarded in. New York City is many many times more expensive than say, Phoenix, Arizona or Seattle, Washington. It will depend on availability of shavings and hay for your area, veterinary costs, gas prices, barn help, etc.  Also some barns will charge more for feeding a large horse that needs more than a pony (personal experience).

Let's do a cost breakdown for my area, Queen Creek, AZ.

Full care boarding: $275 month, inc. shavings and feed

Gas: currently $4.15 gallon

Average vet visit: $100 (trip charge does not include meds, shots, emergencies, etc.)

Average farrier visit every 6 weeks: $60

Lessons: $45 each

Hiring a trainer: minimum $200 month

DIY worming: $10 every 6 weeks

Grooming supplies: Avg. $30 month (fly sprays, brushes, shampoo, etc. replacements)

Snacks: $10-20 month apples, carrots, etc.

It really adds up, and this doesn't include clothing, replacing broken tack, shows, trailering places, or any other incidentals that quickly add up. Horses are like kids; lots of things happen, and you absolutely can't put a hard dollar figure on them and try to stick to it every month. I apply Murphy's Law to horses, because if it's bad, they will find a way to have it happen to them, and it always ends up costing money.

Answer 5

Do you want to field board or have it brought into the barn?  If kept in the barn are you going out twice a day to feed and muck the stall or will you be paying for the service?  Vaccinations and worming will run you a few hundred a year.  If you're riding regularly, you'll need a farrier to shoe the horse frequently, if not you still will have the hooves filed.  

Based on your choices and where you live, you're looking at anwhere from $350 - $950 or so per month.

Answer 6

well... we have 8 horses, and last year we spent almost 20,00 on everything..from feed to alfalfa hay reg. hay, brushes, tack, shows, gas to shows, so 20,000/ 12 is about 1,700 a month!!! wow, it can add up!!!

Answer 7

a very well- paying job. self- care board can be around 400 bucks PER HORSE. self- care around 150 bucks PER HORSE. full care includes feed and water. stall if you request other wise just a pasture w/ run- in. some barns don't have a run- in, some you have a stall to use whether you want it or not. vet- a ton

farrier- trim for me is 35 bucks per horse. shoes are 125 bucks i think for all around. truck- 25,000 bucks. trailer- 10,000 bucks. gas- too much. tack/ basic care supplies- thousands range probably.

Answer 8

For me, it is about $600 total every month.  That is counting lessons, boarding (this includes feeding, stabling, and turnout everyday), vet, farrier, gas, etc...But for some people even more.

Answer 9

My horse was $75,000 and his board is $1000 a month. I walk to my stable because it is just across the street, so gas isn't a cost. My barn provides feed, but vet and farrier are about $100-$200 a month. I spend about $30 on treats every month. My tack was $4,000 for saddle, stirrups, bridle... the whole deal. My grooming kit was $50, but I spend about $10-$15 every month on fly spray and shampoo. Altogether that's about $80,000 startup cost, and $1,260 every month.

My horse was a bit expensive, but if you get a $5,000 horse startup cost is about $10,000

Answer 10

I don't own a horse, sadly, so I'm not sure. I pay, probably $400 dollars a month to lease two horses. I'm not going to bother guesstimating for my barn because it is ridiculously expensive for board. That would be a major reason I don't own a horse. It's about $550 a MONTH for board. However that includes turnout, blanketing, feed, water, trails and riding ring. So I'm not sure. Anyway, sorry I couln't be of more help.

Answer 11

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...  As for gas to and from the barn, you're going to have to take the mileage you get from your car from your dorm then to the barn, double it and then figure out what mpg you get from your vehicle.

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