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On Tuesday I started a blog on the basics of horse care, as described to me by my friend Professional Hunt Seat Horse Trainer Holly Stello. Today the article continues with more of a horse’s fundamental needs, and the costs owning one will accrue.
Horses are not as social of a breed as other animals; however, Holly recommends buying a buddy for a lone horse. But she admits that “horses, like dogs, have personalities. Some are total loners, and some will have separation anxiety and need a friend.”
You should spend 20 minutes minimum interacting with your horse every day, riding it, grooming it, and otherwise bonding with it to keep it calm. That way when others come over, it will be a tamer horse and less likely to become upset.
Now we come to the most important part of horse care: hooves. According to Holly “the hoof is a cuticle, it does grow, and the horse can develop lameness if it’s not on a regular foot care routine.” Even unshod horses need the ferrier to give their hooves a trim every 6-8 weeks.
A horse has tremendous weight and only lays down for a total of 2-4 hours a day. Even with their powerful leg that still means a lot of pressure on horses’ hooves, hence the need for regular maintenance.
In fact, one can use that statistic on the amount of time a horse spends on its feet to clue you in on a horse’s possible illness. Holly recited for me an old equestrian adage, “a down horse is a dead horse.”
Horses’ legs are one of the most powerful parts of their body. When they lay down their weight on the ground begins to crush their organs, so they don’t tend to lie down for more than an hour at a time, preferring to sleep standing up. If you see a horse recumbent for more than an hour or so it likely has an injury or illness, so contact your vet immediately.
Now that we’ve covered the basics of horse care, we can look into the costs. Holly stresses that you should do your research in your individual area to determine these costs, as they can change depending on your location. But she was kind enough to give me some average prices.
The price of a horse will vary depending on what type you’re purchasing. Costs also differ depending on whether or not you keep the horse on your own property or board it elsewhere.
A horse will cost you around $11,000 in care in the year you purchase it. That includes the cost of just a shed to keep it in, the price of fencing around 3/4 an acre of property, initial supplies like buckets and grooming materials that, and the specific regular costs I’m about to cover. Once you have the horse set up you’re looking at $150/month for food, $20/month to cover property maintenance (the horse will cause some damage to your property), shoes for $25/month (less for trimming its nails minus shoes), and $100/year in vaccines.
Depending on what type of boarding you choose for your horse, the total cost may go up or down. There are around three tiers of horse boarding, the different kinds indicating how much of the horse care is covered in the cost.
The first level of boarding is called self-care and costs about $200/month. In this case the stable merely boards the horse and you’re responsible for everything else, coming during the day to feed, exercise, and groom your horse.
Middle range boarding costs $400-$700/month and with that you’re responsible for exercising your horse and any vet bills, but everything else is taken care of.
Top tier stables take total care of your horse. You can come and ride it and do whatever you want for it at will, but they will provide food, grooming, tack set up, and more. That’s reflected in the cost, however; these type of stables range anywhere from $800-$3000/month.
Next week I’ll conclude my interview with Holly, with advice on how to go about purchasing a horse.
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*(This image by Clearly Ambiguous is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution 2.5 License.)
