Question for the horse people

by Chessies on the Dock Sun Jun 08, 2008 11:27 pm

Can anyone give me an approximation of the monthly cost to have a horse, (including having a ferrier come out, etc.)?

Thanks Sweet!

by Laszlo's Botond Mon Jun 09, 2008 1:05 am

Shari are you boarding your self...Or boarding somewhere. Also are you looking at an easy keeper or a high strung TB? If you are boarding and in lower MI I found if I had full board, Ferrier, Vet visits, ect It was around $700 a month. But there are ways to knock that down.

by jtallen Mon Jun 09, 2008 8:05 am

We were paying $600.00 a month to board ours at the stable down the road, that did not include vet, ferrier, etc.
Depending on the vet and ferrier you use the cost can vary a lot.

by Phoenix Mon Jun 09, 2008 8:39 am

We do all our own shots. Just have the vet out to do coggins each year. We also have the horses at our house so no board cost. But each horse (Appaloosas) eats about a half bail of hay a day and in the summer months we also feed grain. Our grain cost is about $30 a month. We have pretty low key horses though. The the sawdust (that is a killer) is about $60-70 a month. We need to find a new place for sawdust! :-) Our ferrier is $30 for a trim. So for us it is about $90 or so every 8 weeks for that. I have our stallion to help me out with covering some of the cost though. So that is nice!

by jtallen Mon Jun 09, 2008 8:45 am

Beth,
Covering - no pun intended?? Ultimate Air Elation

by Ann DHondt Mon Jun 09, 2008 11:26 am

Farriers can vary greatly too. If the horse is barefoot I think it is roughly $30 every 6-8 weeks for a trim. Shoes jump that up quite a bit. My trainers husband is a farrier, and I know he doesn't charge me as he does some of our other customers (I put in sweat equity at the barn) and it costs me about $130 for his feet to be done all around. He does not charge me differently if Pete needs 'new' shoes, or just a reset some farriers do.

Vet bills are going up as gas rates are on the increase. I see my barn charge is higher than it used to be. Usually you should only need a vet 1-2 times a year. My spring shots (tetnus, flu, coggins, potomac, west nile...) run in the family of $250 (I think). In the fall we do a potomac and flu booster. I board at a show facility and our horses are exposed to other horses all the time we vaccinate for everything.

Outside board depending on the facility and the amenities you want can run $150 - $800 a month, at home it is significantly cheaper.

by Phoenix Mon Jun 09, 2008 1:54 pm

Ha ha yeah cover is right. We are getting out new stallion in this week as well so now I will have two boys to help "cover" my costs. :-)

by Laszlo's Botond Mon Jun 09, 2008 3:00 pm

Wow you are getting a ferrier cheap. I used to pay 15-25 a hoof depending if I wanted a trim, shoes or hot shod. I did trimming myself and usually only put shoes on the front unless I was going to be on a lot of pavement.

by Chessies on the Dock Mon Jun 09, 2008 9:05 pm

All of this information is very helpful and appreciated.

Basically my Dad wants to bring up one of his horses for me. She's 8 years old and was one of his Arabian race horses. She got gravel in her hoof. It was immediately taken care of, she healed and doesn't have any lameness. My Dad is conservative about racing any of his horses that have had any injuries. He thinks she would be a great riding horse for me and rather than sell her he thought he'd give her to me. She's about 15.2 hands and would need to be arena ridden for awhile. She comes from great breeding lines. My neighbors have given me a referral to a stable just down the road from my house that they said is very reasonable. My pet sitter had horses for many years and also takes care of horses for her clients. I'm weighing all of my options.

Thanks for all of the advice.

by Phoenix Tue Jun 10, 2008 10:28 pm

Let us know how it goes and what you decide. We all want to see pictures too! What kind of riding do you like to do?

by Sponsored content

Question for the horse people

Question for the horse people

Re: Question for the horse people

Re: Question for the horse people

Re: Question for the horse people

Re: Question for the horse people

Re: Question for the horse people

Re: Question for the horse people

Re: Question for the horse people

Re: Question for the horse people

Re: Question for the horse people

Re: Question for the horse people