Horse Prices: How Much Does a Horse Cost?

Horse Costs

Tuesday 20 April 2010

Horse Prices: How Much Does a Horse Cost?

It is essential that before you buy a horse that you know how much a horse costs to keep. It is not just the horse prices you need to think about but the feed and veterinary care your horse will need on a regular basis. This article will talk about some of the basic horse costs that you might not have considered.

Livery

Livery or field rental is where a farmer rents out a field for horses, this will cost at the very least £10 per week. You will find that the fields generally have few facilities and you might be responsible for the maintenance of the field. Lots of horse owners choose to keep their horses at a livery yard which often have a range of facilities like tack rooms, schooling arenas and jumps etc. So how much does a horse cost in terms of livery? Grass livery you can expect to pay between £20 and £25 per week. If you decide to choose a do it yourself stabled livery then it will be about £30 to £40 per week and full livery will cost you a whopping £100 to £150 per week.

Hay and Bedding

If you keep your horse on grass hay is usually only needed in the winter when the grass is scarce. You should predict that you will need to buy hay for about five months of the year at £10 per week. If your horse is stabled then hay will be needed all year round. You will also need bedding which will set you back a further £10 to £20 per week.

Horse Feed

You will find the costs of feed vary depending on the size of your horse, how much it exercises and whether it is stabled or on grass. You will find that a hardy horse that lives outside all year long and only gets light exercise will barely need any additional feed.

Insurance and Veterinary Costs

Annual vaccinations are needed to protect your horse against flu and Tetanus. You should expect these yearly vaccinations to cost approximately £35 per year and around £35 call out charge. The cost of insurance to cover vets fees will cost anywhere between £20 to £40 per month or sometimes more.

Farrier and Dentist

Every six weeks your horse will need to be visited by a farrier. Whether your horse is shod or not the horse will require this regular attention. This will cost you £25 for trimming and £50 to £55 for shoeing per visit. You should also have visits from the dentist each year to make sure that there are no sharp tooth edges that could cause your horse discomfort. This should set you back around £50 to £70 per visit.