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Working in the horse business, I often get asked how much a good horse costs. Unfortunately, the question is almost always in terms of ‘how much to buy’ rather than ‘how much to keep’. The sad truth is that far too many people are buying horses and then finding that they cannot afford to keep them.

This ignorance is in part the fault of people working in the horse business as breeders, dealers or trainers. After all, if a potential client is unsure if they can afford to buy a horse, telling them that owning it is even more expensive is a good way to lose the potential sale. Of course, some sellers are honest enough to explain this, but far from all.

If a friend is looking to buy a horse, you may want to help them determine what their costs would be. Of course, these costs will depend on their actual circumstances. Here is how you can do an approximate calculation.

First of all, ask if the horse will be stabled with someone else or will be stabled with them. If stabled with someone else, then phone around to see the monthly costs of stabling (including bedding, food and labour) as this will be the main monthly expense. Depending on where one lives, monthly stabling can be as little as $150/month or over $1000/month. In general, the more urban an area is, the more expensive stabling is.

If one is stabling the horse oneself, the main costs are bedding, food and labour. Bedding costs will depend very much on the type of bedding and where one lives. If you are using straw, you will need about one small bale per day (12kg or 25lb) so check local prices. For food, figure that you need about 3%-4% of the horse’s weight each day. So a 500kg horse needs 15kg-20kg food each day. If you are feeding hay, phone around for local hay prices. In most areas this quantity of hay would be about $3/day, but in some places the price is as high as $20/day, so you really need to check local prices.

In additional to the regular monthly costs, there are a number of periodic costs: salt, minerals, wormers, annual dental check, annual innoculations. Medical insurance costs start at about $40/month. Of course, you don’t have to buy insurance but keep in mind that a serious illness (e.g. colic requiring surgery) or injury can cost thousands to correct.

Aside from the costs associated with just keeping the horse, there are also the costs of using it, such as saddle, tack and riding clothes. On top of this, if you show or compete with the horse there are a range of further costs such as training, transport, show fees, and so on.

Adding all this up, for the typical horse owner, the yearly costs run into the thousands of dollars. Of course, the exact figure depends almost entirely on circumstances. However, before buying a horse, it is wise to make sure that one is prepared for the long term financial commitment involved in keeping it.

Doug Stewart is the author of Horse Costs, which provides related online cost calculators.

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