Lately, there has been a lot of discussion about horses that have been
left neglected and starving due to gas prices, costs backyard breeding
and other factors. As I thought of this, I realized that many people do
not really sit and think about all that is involved in owning a horse.
First of all, a horse is not a dog or a cat. You can not keep a horse
in your house. A horse is generally kept in some sort of barn.
Second, there are completely different expenses with a horse. When your
dog, cat, gerbil, hamster, or what have you gets sick, you put it in a
carrying cage and take it to the vet. This is not the case with horses.
Either the vet has to come to you and charges for a vet call or you
have to load the horse into a trailer and truck the horse to the equine
hospital. In order to do this, you must make sure you have certain
supplies to be able to safely trailer the horse. You will need a
lead rope, halter and probably a
blanket
to truck the horse. If you do not own your own trailer, you will have
to pay someone to ship the horse to the veterinary clinic.
Third, There is certain
protective equipment
a horse needs which other animals don't. Things such as leg wraps, fly
masks, and protective boots just to name a few. Also, a horse needs to
have his horses professionally done by a farrier. Many horses also need
some sort of shoes whether they are weighed shoes or protective plates.
Some horses need corrective shoeing. You can not clip a horse's nails
like you do a dog or cat. Now, you have a shoeing bill.
Further, when you walk your dog, you can wear whatever you want,
however, this is not the case with riding or working a horse. You will
have to have certain types of
riding apparel to ride your horse. This includes
boots, jods, gloves
and protective helmets. All of these items are strictly for the
protection of you and your horse. Again, there are other types of
equipment that are necessary such as lunge lines, bitting rigs,
bridles, carts etc. All of these things can get very costly.
These ideas are just food for thought when considering buying a horse.
We did not cover the cost of feed, bedding and monthly board. I also
did not cover costs incurred in breeding horses. Those will be covered
at a later date. Before, you consider buying a horse, research very
carefully all that is involved in the
cost and care of owning a horse. Research at your local library, talk to people, and go to some local barns to get some general ideas.
Horse ownership is a very serious commitment as you can not take the
horse to the local humane society if you decide it isn't going to work
out. Maybe if more people would take the time to really consider the
true costs of owning a horse, there wouldn't be so many horses starving
and the need for so many rescue horse associations. We all love these
animals, but owning a horse is a very serious decision and much thought
should go into it.