Feeding Costs and Earning Money

Question
Hi Clair,

first I would like to say thank you for taking the time to read this and help me with my question. Hi I would like to know how much it averages to take care of a monthly like feed, health care, bedding, boarding, you know the average works. And also how can a 12 year old raise money to buy a horse? My friend wanted me to ask that. Here's what she said: "Hi, Clair (cool you have the same name as my friend!) can you tell me the best way to earn money for a horse when you're only 12 years old?! I think my heart might break in two (in a way I'm not joking here) if I don't get one soon. I also want to know the average cost of a horse for English riding when you jump about 2'6". Thanx Cindy."

Anyway that was my friend's letter. So do you think you could help me and my friend out? Thanks in advance,

Claire (and Cindy)

Answer
Hello Claire and Cindy,

It is great that you are seriously considering the costs that are involved in keeping a horse before getting one.  Lots of people far older than you do not do that and the horse ends up loosing out!  This is a very hard question for me to answer because I don't know where you live and feed and board costs vary with location.  However lets say you buy a quarter horse (I would highly recommend one as a first horse, they are easy to keep have very kind dispositions and there are lots of them around, I would also suggest a gelding) that weighs about 1100lbs.  Often the cheapest horses have something wrong with them, normally lameness issues that will cost you money down the road in vets fees so the cheapest is not always the best.  The cost of keeping a horse is the same regardless of how much you spent to buy it so it is a good idea to consider this when buying!  You should be able to find a nice older (0ver 10 years, getting a mature horse is very important for a first horse as they will cut you more slack when you make mistakes) quarter horse who is sound and can jump 2ft 6in for between $3,000 and $5,000.  I know that sounds like a lot of money when you are 12 and have to raise it your self but you are going to see that this is your smallest expense!

A 1100lb horse needs to eat about 2% of his body weight in hay per day so that is 22lbs.  If you are riding casually a few days a week he won't need anything more than hay and a supplement to balance that that gives him all his vitamins and minerals.  Grass hay is best for horses as alfalfa is too high in protein and calcium.  You want to feed hay that has low energy but that is very clean and good quality.  That way you can feed more of it.  If you feed a high calorie hay like alfalfa he has to get less of it and he will eat it all up more quickly.  horses evolved to eat all day so when they only eat for a few hours a day it can cause problems like colic and boredom problems like cribbing.  Grass hay right now is selling for about $20 a bale and a bale might weight between 60-80lbs so at 22lbs a day you can see that a bale will only last about 3-4 days so you will need about 6 bales a month so that is $120.

He will need to be seen by as horse shoer every 6-8 weeks even if he is barefoot.  If he has shoes you are looking at $100-150 each visit and more if he has special shoeing needs (again don't buy a horse who has these kinds of problems or it will cost more down the road).  A barefoot trim may cost you around $50 each visit.

He will need to be vaccinated and have his teeth checked every year by a vet.  I think a call out fee to just come to your farm is about $100, the shots will be between %40 and $100 depending on what you need done, sedative for the teeth work will be about $100 as will teh teeth work so you are looking at $400 a year in routine vet bills.  This does not include emergency visits when he gets a cut or is sick.  You need to have money in savings to be ready for those kinds of things.
You might decide that you want to insure him as then the insurance will pay for emergencies like colic surgery and give you some money should he never be ridable again.  This will probably cost you a few hundred dollars a year and depends on the horses value and what you use him for.

Again depending on where you are if it is very cold them you may need to buy him blankets if you are going to ride during the winter and want him to be clean and easier to groom these cost upwards of $100 each and you need 2 so you can rotate them when they are wet.

So these are the basics you will spend about $1500 a year in hay, $600 to $900 in shoeing, $400 in routine medical and we haven't discussed board.

Board costs depend on the type of board you choose to do.  Some board situations cover the cost of your hay and some you provide your own.  I once kept my horse in a place where I had to do all the work mucking out etc each day and all the horse owners shared the feeding and we bought our own hay.  this cost me $150 a month plus the cost of feed so about $250.  Other places where someone else mucks out and feeds etc can cost upwards of $300 but again this is regional and you would have to ask local barns what they charge.  Some places will let you work off some of your board buy helping with mucking out and feeding.  This is a responsibility though and you have to have a way to get to the barn.  This is another way to make money now by working at a barn or riding stables getting horses ready for lessons and cleaming tack etc.  If you get really good at cleaning tack you can charge people at local barns as people typically don't bother cleaning their tack and would gladly pay someone else to do it! Pasture board is typically cheaper than stalls and horses love to be outside it is better for their brains so this is a way to save money.  You need to make sure the place has shelter though with some kind of 3 sided shed so they can get out of te worst of the weather and you need to realize that they will be muddy in winter.  But it is better for your horses rbain and may be better for your wallet!

Lets say you find board for $300 a month that includes feed, then you are looking at $3600 in board, $600-900 in shoeing and $400 in vet fees so about $5000 each year.  So you can see that the cost of buying the horse is the cheapest thing!  If you try to save money by buying a cheap horse you will pay more to look after it.

I'm sorry this probably isn't what you wanted to hear but it the reality of horse ownership.  One way to do it more cheaply is to try and find a horse who needs leasing.  Lots of people buy a horse and then can't make the commitment to it full time and need someone to share riding and looking after it.  Personally I think for you both this could be the best solution.  You wouldn't have to buy a horse and if you split the cost of looking after it down the middle you are looking at $2500 a year rather than $5000.  This is a big savings and sometimes people don't even want any money for the lease they just want their horse to get ridden and looked after.

You can typically find leases by going around barns and asking if there are any horses who need riding.  It helps if the barn knows how well you ride.  You could also ask the barn where you take lessons (I assume you are taking lessons as this is very important).

Read this over and think about it and if you have any other questions let me know.
Good luck.
Clair