A horse is nothing like other animals you keep as pets. And perhaps, this is one of the most expensive pets you can purchase these days. But besides the expensive price tag of today’s horses, keeping the animal can cost you a lot of money as well. So before you decide to buy a horse, know how much money you basically have to prepare for it.
The Cost Of A Horse
The typical cost of a horse is $1,000 to $10,000.
Recreational horses are in the cheaper end as they can be purchased for $1,000 to $5,000.
On the other hand, competitive riding and showoff horses are more expensive, ranging from $3,000 to $10,000.
These prices usually include one horse alone. However, there are some cases when the owner will include the tack, equipment, and transporting of the horse together with the purchase.
Factors Affecting The Cost Of A Horse
Breed. You determine whether the horse is recreational or competitive through the breed. A Quarter horse, for instance, is a recreational breed so you can expect to pay $1,000 to $5,000 for it. A Thoroughbred, on the other hand, is a horse for competitive riding. Hence, horses with such breed tend to be more expensive.
Training. Of course, a trained horse will be more expensive as compared to the untrained one. The most expensive of all horses based on training and behavior are those that have no vices and trained for various purposes such as riding, driving and racing. Usually, trained horses are the best pick for first-time horse owners who know a little about horse training.
Age. Horses under 10 years old are the best to purchase. Anything older will basically be cheaper, especially those that are 10 to 15 years old already.
Physical and health condition. Horses that have no physical limitations, no scar marks, and no health problems are at their prime; hence, they are priced higher.
Additional Costs When Buying A Horse
Submitting the horse to a pre-purchase exam is necessary as this allows you to determine the soundness of the horse prior to deciding whether or not to purchase it. However, this costs around $100 to $500 extra. This involves seeking the help of a vet to examine the horse in question for potential limitations to its health.
Transporting the horse to your location will also cost you extra. You have to rent a trailer ($.25 to $1 per mile) for the transportation. Of course, the farther your location is, the higher the transportation cost will be.
Getting insurance for your horse is, more often than not, necessary. This is especially true for expensive horses. The cost of insurance can be high or low depending on the coverage you want to get for the horse. However, you usually have to pay up to $40 per month for horse insurance.
In cases when you purchase a horse through an agent, you have to pay him a commission, which is basically 15 to 20 percent of the purchase price. The agent works to do the research for you when looking for horses for sale in exchange for a commission.
The Cost Of Keeping A Horse
Before actually looking for a horse to purchase, it is essential that you know how much keeping a horse will cost. Check out this list of expenses that you must prepare for when owning a horse:
| Stabling | This refers to the home of your horse including beddings, foods, and minerals. If you own a stable, you definitely can do this on your own. However, if you don’t have any, you may have to hire professionals, and pay for a stabling fee monthly. | Professional: $200 to $600 per month
DIY: $75 per month Beddings ($30 or more per month) Food ($30 or more per month) Minerals ($15 a month) |
| Ferrier | This refers to the basic horse care including foot trimming and shoeing. | Foot trimming: $25 to $30 about 4x a year, depending on surface
Shoeing: $80 |
| Medical | This refers to healthcare for the horse including worming, vaccinations, dental care, and emergency expenses. Take note that if your horse has insurance, there is not much you have to spend on medical expenses. | Vaccinations/Dental Care: $25 per month.
Emergency: $25 per month |
| Equipment | This refers to your horse’s saddle and tack. Take note that horses outgrow their saddles so you have to consider replacement costs in the years to come. Repairs may also be necessary. | $500 to $2,000 |
| Training | This refers to enrolling your horse in horse lessons so as to improve the skills of the animal. | $10 to $200 per hour |
| Travel | This only applies if you transport your horse for competition purposes. There is no definite amount for travel expenses but this usually involves a lot of money. This must include the cost of truck and trailer, health certificates, and vaccines. |
Factors Affecting The Cost Of Keeping A Horse
Location. Your geographical location greatly affects the cost of keeping a horse. Basically, this will be lower if you live in farm areas than urban ones. For instance, there is a lot of grass to serve as a food for your horse in farm areas. Hence, you usually spend less on the cost of food when keeping a horse.
Number of horses. If you keep a lot of horses, there are chances that you can lower your operating costs. Usually, the more horses you keep, the lower the cost per head will be.
Farm. If you own a farm, keeping a horse will be a lot cheaper.
Food. There are various kinds of foods that can be provided to your horse. Giving your horse more expensive supplements and concentrates will definitely increase your total expenses.
Approach. Some horse owners do every work themselves in relation to keeping the horse. This includes cleaning the stalls, feeding them, and the like. If you choose to DIY every component of horse owning, you can keep the cost lower. However, if you plan to hire people to do parts of the job for you, you’ll end up paying higher.
Special needs. Some horses have special veterinary needs as compared to others. This is especially true for horses with chronic illnesses and other medical problems. If this is the case, the cost of keeping such horse will be more expensive. The same is true for horses requiring specialized shoeing.
Tips Before You Decide To Buy A Horse And Keep It
Are you ready to own a horse? Take note that this is not only a question of whether or not you can afford the cost of owning and keeping a horse for the years to come. You must also consider the fact that owning a horse offers you a lot of responsibilities. This starts from providing for the horse up to making sure the animal is at its best health. If you think you are not ready for a horse, the idea of getting one in the first place is not a good one.
What do you need the horse for? Is it for recreational purposes or for competitive ones? Knowing what you need from a horse will help you shop for the right breed to purchase. Also, be guided to check out the age, health, behavior, and skills of the horse to match your needs.
Find horses for sale in classified ads. You can usually find them in horse magazines, newspapers, horse dealers, Internet, and riding stables.
Only deal with reliable dealers. Do not settle for dealers that will only try to make a sale. As much as possible, you must find a dealer who will help you with the selection process and make sure that your purchase is for your advantage.
Try to purchase the horse in person. At best, it is always ideal to visit the horse twice prior to actually buying it. On the first visit, make sure to observe how it behaves. You must know whether or not the horse behaves in accordance to what the owner claims. You may want to ask the owner to ride the horse to see how well it responds. On your second visit, you may try riding the horse yourself. If the condition of the horse is satisfactory as well as its behavior, you can already close the deal.
Always do the pre-purchase exam when buying a horse. Don’t try to skip this exam just because you want to save money. This is the only procedure you can hold on to for ensuring that the horse you are eyeing is best for your needs. In the event there are problems with the health of the horse, the vet will surely assist you as well in dealing with it.
Save Money Keeping A Horse
The cost to keep a horse is indeed not a very cheap project. However, there are some ways you can save money throughout the process. Check out these following money-saving tips:
- Hay is cheapest during the summer. Hence, load a lot of hay during the season instead of paying too much for hay in the middle of winter.
- Concentrates are not always essential on horses. Hence, you may cut back on feeding them concentrates unless otherwise they need it for an important reason.
- Consider repairing saddles and other equipment instead of replacing them.
- Consider cleaning rugs and blankets yourself. It usually takes only a water hose and brush with livestock shampoo to clean rugs and blankets of your horses.
- Get stuff you need for the horse by participating in a tack swap. You can clear out unused equipment while getting things inexpensively. You may even consider selling unused equipment to earn money for other needs.
- Focus on giving your horse basic care. This prevents health problems to arise, which can be very expensive once the vet is called on.
- If you have a mare, better not breed it. Most of the time, it will be less expensive and less risky to buy a young horse than raise one from a foal.