Probably everyone who has begun their adventure with horse riding sooner or later starts to consider owning their own mount. It is undoubtedly a wonderful adventure, but also an enormous responsibility, largely a financial one. Owning your own horse involves many expenses. Some of them will be relatively easy for us to plan, but we also have to take into account the unexpected ones. Although the cost of keeping a horse depends on many different factors and on our expectations, in this article we will try to give you an idea of what costs you have to reckon with as a horse owner and what you should be prepared for.
Livery
Unless we have the appropriate conditions to think about building our own home stable, what usually comes into play is placing the horse at a livery yard. Many equestrian centres offer a so-called horse hotel, and their offer is very varied. The cheapest option is usually free-range stables, where the horses spend most of the time in the turnout, although they also have access to buildings/roofed shelters. This is not, however, a suitable solution for every mount, and most horse owners decide on a standard stable. The monthly cost of keeping a horse at a livery yard ranges roughly from 700 zł to even 2000 zł. Factors that can cause the price of livery to be closer to the higher limit include, among others:
- Distance from large urban centres. The closer to bigger cities (and the more convenient the transport between the city and the centre), the higher the prices of livery will usually be
- Training facilities. Naturally we will pay more in stables that offer access to an indoor arena, a professional riding arena with good-quality footing and obstacles, a lunge ring, indoor wash bays, a horse walker, a solarium, etc.
- Access to good-quality pastures and paddocks.
- Additional services. We have to reckon with the fact that some stables charge additional fees for e.g. rugging, leading to the horse walker or paddock, putting on/taking off bandages or boots, etc. That is why, before we make a decision, it is worth making sure what exactly is included in the price of livery and for which services we will have to pay extra.
Feed and supplements
Most livery yards offer basic feeding for our mount, already included in the price. Usually this is hay and oats (plain or crushed). For many horses that are not in regular training requiring a lot of energy, this type of diet may be sufficient, especially if in season they have access to good-quality pastures. If, however, our horse is going to be in sport training or has other special requirements, then we also have to reckon with the necessity of buying additional feed or supplements. This is recommended in the case of e.g.:
- Foals and very young horses.
- Older horses.
- Pregnant and nursing mares.
- Horses on an oat-free diet.
- Horses suffering from various diseases and allergies.
- Horses with a tendency to ulcers and colic.
Feed and supplements are an expense of the order of 150 – 200 zł per month.
Farrier care
All horses require regular checking of the condition of the hooves and their care, which consists of trimming them and correcting their shape (trimming). A large part of horses, especially those in regular sport training, also need shoeing, on two or four feet. It is generally accepted that a horse walking in shoes should be reshod approximately every 6 weeks. The cost of a farrier visit is about 100 – 200 zł. This cost may increase if our horse needs specialist shoeing (e.g. horses with a club foot, or after having had laminitis).
Veterinary care
There is a range of procedures that should be carried out regularly so that our horse stays healthy and is in good condition. Some of them – here we are talking about compulsory vaccinations – are even required by law. As for the basic procedures that we should take into account, these are, among others:
- Vaccinations against influenza (every 6 months) and tetanus (every two years) is a cost of about 50-100 zł per single dose
- Dentist. Most horses need regular rasping of the teeth, and in young horses it may be necessary to remove the so-called wolf teeth. Depending on the needs, the dentist should visit our horse once every 1-2 years. The cost of such a visit is on average 150-200 zł
- Deworming. Once every six months the horse should be dewormed. This is a cost of about 80-100 zł.
Equipment
If you ride school horses, you usually do not have to worry about equipment, because the stable provides it. When buying your own horse, however, you also have to reckon with the necessity of buying your own equipment, at least the basic one such as a saddle, bridle, grooming and cleaning accessories, halter, lead rope, etc. In this article you will learn more about the most important accessories you should get.
Training
Even if you do not intend to ride competitively, it is worth at least training from time to time under the eye of an instructor. This will help you quickly notice and correct any problems. The cost of training is almost never included in the cost of livery, and its price can range from 50 to 150 zł/h depending on the instructor, the type of training and on whether it is individual or group training.
Insurance
Insuring a horse is not necessary, but strongly recommended. Many companies now offer specialist insurance for horses, which protects us in the case of illness, accident, theft or death of our mount. The insurance usually also covers the horse owner’s civil liability, i.e. in a situation where our horse were to cause some damage. Depending on the scope of the insurance policy and the insured amount, the price of the annual premium is in the range from 200 zł to 600 zł.
Unexpected expenses
So far we have discussed expenses that we can somehow predict and plan. However, when making the decision to buy a horse, we also have to remember that many unexpected expenses may (although do not have to) await us, for which we have to be at least partially prepared. Our horse may, for example, fall ill and an operation and a stay at a clinic will be necessary. It may be the necessity of buying specialist feed if it turns out that our horse has an allergy to standard food. It may also suffer an injury and rehabilitation will be necessary. Although hardly anyone wants to think about such black scenarios at the moment of buying a horse, we must nevertheless be aware that they may unfortunately also befall us. That is why it is not a responsible decision to buy a horse if our financial situation is uncertain and if we have no budget that we could possibly allocate to covering such unexpected costs.
