How much do your horses cost you?

[Freddiebump]

I've not had my own horse for several years but I am getting to a position where I may be able to get one again at some point.

The yard over the road from me does stable and grazing for £24 a week including straw and hay which seems cheap to me?? I know I then have vaccinations, insurance, farrier, dentist, vets bills, tack, hard feed etc, so how much on average does all this cost you?

I will be looking at getting a hardy cobby type, about 14.2-15.2hh, so shouldn't need a huge amount of hard feed (I used to have a tb and she cost me about £30 a month in hard feed over winter) and I am budgeting about £400 for initial tack/rugs etc.

Not looking to do this until my job situation has changed, as I currently work a 50 hour week, but this means I am currently able to be completely debt free and saving a bit towards my horsey fund :) I'm just trying to get an idea at the minute as I know things have changed since I last had my own.

Fortunately fuel is not something I'll need to factor in as the yard I'm looking at is about 20 yards from my front doorstep. Failing that, there's another yard at a similar price 5 mins walk away, so no worries on that. Not planning on competing, just looking for a happy hacker really, so can save money on that, plus it makes insurance cheaper I think if you're not competing (at least it used to last time I did this!). Hoping that if I can get a share then it will get me back into it and give me a realistic view of costs :)

I budget £500 per month. £380 per month part livery, no school, (no way can do DIY with FT job and two kids and we don;t have land or stables at home). £50 month ( ish) farrier. Insurance is dirt cheap for me cos I no longer insure for vets fees as so much was excluded on my policy. I don;t have any lessons any more - can't afford it. Vets bills is my biggest cost after the livery. Horse is on daily bute and navilox for life now and it costs a fortune. Wormer is only something like £12 every couple of months. Dentist, vaccinations etc is included in the 'healthy horse club' I belong to at the vets, which more than pays for itself in the 10% I get off all meds and vet visits. This costs £14 per month, so well worth it. If I could find a sharer I would ump at the chance, but the poor horse is so prone to lameness due to the navicular, that I haven't been able to keep hold of one for years now.

I'm not sure if you've said what part of the country you are in, but that seems to really affect prices.

Our feed and hay are included in livery costs, but living in SE we pay:

£20 p/w for 2 bales of shavings
£80 every 6-8wk for standard shoeing, BUT be aware, if your horse needs remedial shoeing this costs c.£170 through our farrier
£10-15 every 3-4 months for worker
£30 for annual vaccinations, plus call out (£50 if only us, £25 if shared)
£35 for dentist, every year
£65 for chiropractor (essential for older, stiffer horses to remain subtle)
C. £25/mth for no-bute and glucosamine supplements
£52/mth rider and basic horse insurance
£25-35 per lesson
£10-30 per rug wash/ repair
£10-20 ongoing costs - first aid bits, shampoo, treats, hoof oil etc

A younger horse may be cheaper as not needing as many supplements/ chiropractor, but you do need to be prepared to pay for supplements, remedial shoeing etc if your horse needs them.

Also, many yards now do worm screening rather than automatically worming, so you may not need to buy wormer too often.

Probably worth asking about shared farrier/ vet visits - they can sometimes save a fortune.

As for tack, we paid less than £200 for a used leather saddle and have bought most rugs second hand for less than half retail. They can be pricey on eBay etc, so ask at the yard. People often have excess rugs, numnahs, lead ropes to that they don't want much for. Also, if you're after something cobby, it's rug needs should be minimal.