What Does it Cost to Care For a Horse?
Horses are expensive to keep. The initial purchase price of your horse, pony, donkey, or mule is only a small part of its overall cost, and there is no such thing as a free horse. Whether they are $100 horses or $10,000 horses, basic horse care can cost the same. Your horse needs daily care, and that can be costly and the costs can vary due to a number of uncontrollable factors.
Basic Minimum Costs
Here is a breakdown of the basic minimum costs assuming you are keeping your horse or pony on your own property. These costs do not reflect the value of the property, land taxes, insurance, or property maintenance,
including barns and fences. These costs vary depending on the area. The closer you are to an urban area such as New York, Toronto, or places like Kentucky or Florida that are horse meccas, the more expensive horse ownership can become.
You may be able to cut costs by shopping for the cheapest good-quality hay and taking it off of the field yourself, learning to trim your horse's hooves yourself, and buying your own vaccinations (not recommended).
- One-half bale of hay $3.00 per day—this can easily cost more as some places hay is over $10 a bale. Or, your horse may need more than one-half bale.
- Six-month supply of loose mineral supplement $30.00 or $0.17 per day
- Salt block $14.00 or $0.04 per day
- Two two cup servings of inexpensive concentrate per day $1.00
- Farrier every six weeks at $35 per trim or $0.83 day
- Dewormer every 3 months $0.20 per day
