After leasing/riding for about 6-7 years now, I'm thinking about taking the leap into horse ownership.  However, it's not cheap, (what else is new?!), and my income is limited.  I've crunched the numbers countless times, and I think I can do it.  I've talked to vets, farriers etc and gotten quotes, but I know prices always go up from what you're quoted.  Anyway, here's the question: for a middle aged english horse, where can I cut costs? 

Those numbers are very low. Board usually runs between 400-600$ a month. Feed is around $200 a month with hay, $50 for the farrier if your horse is barefoot, so make that a priority when looking at horses. Bear in mind a "middle aged" horse is likely to need supplements, which can range from 35-100+ a month. Teeth done twice a year is about $200 a pop and there will be a whole mess of equipment you'll have to buy initially. Dont forget gas to drive to the barn, that puts me back about $100 a month. Good luck!!! I havent priced wormers lately, but I think the cost is marginal. I've decided not to have children so I can afford horses, lol, much to the chagrin of my mother in law. I cant imagine how people with kids do it..

Thanks for the info.   I know my numbers are okay for boarding-we don't have many "real" stables around here, so people just board at private barns.  You can get a decent one for $250 that includes feed.  The barns are all very close to my house, maybe 10 min, so gas isn't that big of a concern for me.  

I imagine $200 a month is for self-care, right?  What kind of arrangements do you get for the board?  AM or PM feeding?  Or, would you have to trade off one feeding with another boarder? 

I don't think you can cut costs anymore unless, you bring your horse home! But, one thing I would suggest is to have at least $1,000 put aside as an emergency fund, or start an emergency fund, because there is always Murphy's law to factor in!

Hello! I am also getting back into the swing of things of owning a horse as well again after many years later.I have found the boarding costs are what is going to cost the most.  I got very lucky because I am able to keep mine at my husbands aunt n uncles place at no cost, but unfortunatley they do live way out in the country so I do have the extra gas expense but is very worth it.  As for the vaccines you can do most of them yourself except for rabies and the corona.  A vet has to administer those, but check into your state laws because they could be different from ours.(IA)  If your nervous about it at first have your vet walk you through each step on how to do it and many of them come with excellent directions on how to administer as well and if your horse doesn't have shoes and you feel comfortable you can do most of the ferrier work as well to help cut some of the costs. 

What is included in that $200 board? Is it partial-care, self-care, or full? Pasture, stall, stall with turnout? Are there amenities such as an arena, trails, etc? If it's self-care, do you have to pay for bedding, hay, etc? Just to give you something to think of... my girl is boarded 40 miles west of Chicago, and this is my breakdown: 

TCFarm50:

I don't think you can cut costs anymore unless, you bring your horse home!

and if you do bring them home you still have to provide a place for the horse to live!  (i.e. land, taxes, shelter, fencing, etc., etc., etc.) which lots of times ends up costing even more, but is worth it!

Yeah I've lived at boarding barns and there's not really any money in it. The facilities are full time investments and jobs.

Good catch on the emergency fund- I forgot to mention insurance is always a good idea, in case there is an emergency and your horse needs major surgery or something.

 I spend $125/month (per horse) to board. This is not  a self-care price, though I choose to do daily care myself most of the time. It includes both feed and hay, though I choose to use a different feed, so I pay for that. It does not include the price of bedding, but mine are in the pasture at all times unless I have a reason to bring one in. I have one stall that I use occasionally. So, $200/month sounds reasonable to me, esp if you're in a rural area like I am. Since you've researched it, I'm guessing that your numbers for those things are pretty on-target.

I buy 2x 50# bags of feed ($12/bag) about once/month in the late fall/winter/early spring. In the late spring/summer/early fall, the same two bags of feed probably last me 2-3 months (we have really good pasture). One of my boys gets a joint supplement at $30/month and the other gets supplemental oil at $36/2.5 months.

The barn is between my house and both work and school, so I spend little additional in gas expenses. 

Wormer varies because I rotate and some are cheaper than others, but average to $5/horse/month. Farrier is $35/6wks/horse.

Vaccines/coggins are $80/year/horse. I have teeth done yearly, at about$65-100/hores, depending on how bad it is. 

Obviously, I live in an area with a fairly low cost of living. 

Those are the necessities. I really spend most of my money on two things: lessons -- $200/month, plus the cost of gas to trailer there and back (an hour away); plus all of the miscelaneous crap that I just can't help buying. Which is great, because those are things that are easy to cut back on if I run short on money or if I end up with a big vet bill.

 So, I'd say that your numbers are reasonable. Depending on the type of horse you get, they might even be a little high. When I just had my paint, my summer feed costs were just about non-existant, as were my vet bills. He's a very easy keeper, and doesn't really need supplemental feed in the summer when the pasture is lush. Right now, I feed him a (very) little bit of grain when I feed my TB so they are both eating at the same time. Plus, it is a way of getting his supplement into him. The TB really needs the extra calories, but even he doesn't need that much when the pasture is growing. My barn owner laughs at how little I feed -- but I'm not going to give them more if they don't need it. 

It's a good idea to budget $100/month for medical expenses, but it generally won't be that much. As everyone else has said, keep the extra in a savings account for when you do need it. 

There are also trailer maintenence costs to keep in mind if you buy one. I found an old, small, used trailer for about $1800. Insurance is covered under the tow vehicle. I've had the wiring redone, because it went bad shortly after I bought it. Other expenses are tires, replacing cheaply-made lights on occasion, trailer mats, ties, and possibly replacing the floor at some point/repainting at some point. I also have someone look at it yearly since I don't really know what I'm looking at. Thankfully, I recently found someone who works out of his back yard and is so so so much cheaper than the trailer place. He also does a better job. 

If you don't buy a trailer, expect to pay someone at least $2.00/mile to take your horse anywhere. 

Keep in mind that you'll likely have to spend quite a bit on tack initially. I recommend ebay; in particular, "lots" of used tack for sale (as in a big group of tack that one seller is offering as a whole). You might not need everything in that lot (or even know what it is -- I have stuff I still haven't identified), but it is a cheap way to get a basic inventory of things that are useful. If that makes any sense. I recently bought lot (this one off craigs list) mostly for the saddle pads (they're great to line dog crates when they're too beat-up to acutally use as a saddle pad), and found a soaker boot when I was going through it. I've been looking for one of those.

Anyway, used tack can frequently be placed in either the washing machine or dishwasher to de-germ it. There are many things that don't need to be pretty, just functional. 

Thank you very much for that in depth breakdown of cost.  Sadly, board isn't the cheap around here; I wish I could pay under $200!!  

For $200 board, I would get cleaning, feeding twice a day, (not ideal, I know), and a stall.  Most stalls around here have a little turnout behind them, but we're in CA, so no lush pastures here...we have public rings nearby, along with about 75 miles of trails.  Waterers are also standard.  

AnnieW128:

Here's the kicker, though: I've run the numbers yet again, and I'll need to be able to keep the horse on $400 a month or less.  Is that possible???

 

You know, others will probably disagree with me, but I'd say yes. 

I know plenty of people that don't feed anything but pasture/hay. If your horse keeps weight on easliy, that could be enough as long as the hay is free-choice. If not, then you'll need to add in some sort of grain. Alfalfa pellets aren't very expensive, though ($8/bag here). That's what I fed my paint before I bought the TB and opted to feed them both the same thing. 

Honestly, I went my first 4 years of horse ownership paying a grand total of $370/3 months. $100/month for board, plus $35 every 6wks for farrier trim. I wasn't getting lessons, and I didn't supplement at all. The only added costs were the yearly vet check, occas tack, and gas to the barn. 

However, you're going to have to keep that budget in mind when you shop for your horse. You're going to need to look for something fairly young, preferably something that gains weight on air ;), with good feet and pretty decent conformation to limit stress/strain injuries. You may need to pay extra up front to save in the end.

And make sure you don't do what I did and fall in love with a sweet TB face, because they're expensive in the upkeep dept. 

You also need to think about the future. Most horses will require more upkeep $ as they get older. Will you be able to afford him 5-10 years down the road? 

I hope that the $400 budget is a low-end budget. That is, you want to keep the expenses to under $400/month, and that is your goal/aim, but if it ends up being a little more, you can adjust and absorb it. If, on the other hand, that $400/month is an absolute limit, then I'd think twice. Not that you can't do it, but there's a good chance that you'll always be worrying about what will happen to your horse if he starts costing more or if the cost of your board or the cost of hay goes up. Make sure you have a little cushion in there. 

That's what gives me pause-$400 should be my low end.  Great deal of thinking needed as to whether I can do that...

Txspots~ One plus to having horses at home is that they are incorporated in A-1 tax break! We pay approximately $7.12 an acre since we are zoned Agriculture. I know A-5 is higher (residental Ag) but, I 'm wondering if that varies depending on the County.