Cost of maintaining a horse.

[Goatshoes]

I'm interested to know what it might cost annually to keep and maintain a single horse that can be used for back country travel. Preferably the full cost including having somebody else see after the animal on a daily basis.

Also, are there significant restrictions costs or barriers to riding in the West back country? I imagine that this may vary wildly by region.

 

[MThuntr]

I know a few guys on the forum have horses so they'll be able to give actual numbers. Some friends do all their own feeding and mucking so the costs aren't terrible but still not cheap considering cost of land or rent so I can only imagine boarding a horse is exceedingly expensive. I want to say I've seen boarding services of nearly $300-500 a month

 

[bobbydean]

I put down my Arabian a few years back. We had space to keep him and took care of him ourselves. A joy and a daily task. My best estimate if you have acreage and facilities to handle the animal is about $200 a month. Medical bills would drastically alter that estimate.

It was the best moment of the day, feeding that boy. It was not an expense, but a joy.

Devastated me to put him down.

 

[Goatshoes]

I would prefer doing all the care myself, but my wife gets emotionally attached to critters and then the costs go through the roof. Best to keep it out of sight and out of mind.

 

[jeremys4]

Owning a horse isn’t cheap when you do all your own feedings cleaning the pens. Plus it’s not like an atv you just can’t keep in the the pen all year and expect it to work with you seamlessly. Horses need to worked with weekly if not more than that. I grew up with decent horses with my parents my dad took one to Wyoming for an elk hunt once. My in-laws have four and and I believe each horse eats about 3-3.5 tons of hay a year. Not to mention fairers and vets it’s not cheap. Find a good buddy with horses. They are amazing when they cooperate. One of my in-laws horses took all 4 of my quarters of my elk no problem. The other took my spine and neck. I packed the cape and horns. Didn’t want a rodeo so the third just had a nice walk.

 

[Goatshoes]

I put down my Arabian a few years back. We had space to keep him and took care of him ourselves. A joy and a daily task. My best estimate if you have acreage and facilities to handle the animal is about $200 a month. Medical bills would drastically alter that estimate.

It was the best moment of the day, feeding that boy. It was not an expense, but a joy.

Devastated me to put him down.

Sorry you lost him. I'm sure they can be as close as dogs to a man.

Do you have an estimate of the costs of medical care? I'm sure that could swing wildly, but I'm just trying to get an idea of how bad an idea this is for me to consider.

 

[BrentD]

It is ridiculously expensive. And don't forget to factor in the costs of gear - like trailers, saddles, etc.

We have 2 on our one place (ie., not boarded). Costs included fencing, gravel barn, hay, hay hauling, hay handling, manure handling and maintenance of all of the above.
It used to be that tractors were invented to take the place of horses. Now tractors are built and bought BECAUSE of the horses.

Vet$, hoof pedicurist$, dentist$.

Horse are not a possession, they are a life style.

As for using them out west, you need certified weed-free hay in many areas, some trail heads are not trailer friendly and may not be drive-able in all weather.

But they look good



and they can do useful stuff,

Like practice carrying dead mule deer for hunts they never go on



Or paint great masterpieces.




Everyone needs a couple of horses....

 

[MThuntr]

Rent a bunch of llamas for your hunt. They'll carry your gear and basically need little or no attention once you're at camp.

EDIT: also I'd take that $6K (assuming cheap boarding) and go hunting someplace wild every other year.

 

[el unit]

$200-$400 per month in the Belgrade/Bozeman, MT area should get you year-round pasture and hay when needed (winter) or more $ if your horse needs to be inside or extra daily handling. Then add on farrier pay, vaccinations/meds, trailer and truck.
All of my hunting expenses and recreational expenses are justified every time I ask my wife how much we're spending on these 2 or 3 hay burners every year.
She loves them though and I didn't have them for last year's elk packout and it was painful!

 

[Europe]

I put down my Arabian a few years back. We had space to keep him and took care of him ourselves. A joy and a daily task. My best estimate if you have acreage and facilities to handle the animal is about $200 a month. Medical bills would drastically alter that estimate.

It was the best moment of the day, feeding that boy. It was not an expense, but a joy.

Devastated me to put him down.

bobby dean--condolences sir. your comment about the best moment of the day is so true--feeding them, brushing them, talking to them, working "with" them, loving them

goat shoes --I had horses all my life, farm horses, rodeo horses, jumping horses, hunting/trail horses--loved horses as did my family

your question sir about vet bills is impossible to answer, but you can find out what your vet charges to give your horse their yearly shots or boosters. Also, when traveling with a horse you may need extra shots before you leave on your trip and take all that paperwork with you from state to state.

also at least once a year their teeth will need to be floated

Shoeing approx every 6 weeks or sooner.

Groom supplies are important

Fly repellent and face mask

Also tack is more expensive than people realize, but this also varies depending on whether you want leather--or not

You also should keep your horse insured

If you keep it a home, shelter and fence expenses. Not just installation but up keep

Horse trailer

If not at home--pasture or stall and if stall, do they do daily turn outs ?---plus full care or self care ?

We never allowed a horse to be alone, so even if you get a pony or older horse as company--more costs

to each their own but I can not imagine having gone through live without horses or dogs-----or my husband LOL

BrentD------YES! You dah man! Love the picture of the horse painting

 

[bobbydean]

Europe,

thank you for answering the question about vet bills. We were lucky and did not have them.

You were also absolutely right about a horse should never be alone. We had a couple of elderly mules that we fed and kept just to keep the guy happy. Sad to say, he outlived them. He was a joy!

And Europe, you are a joy. You have so much ancient ( I am sorry) knowledge. Keep envoking that knowledge.

Europe, do you still live in Arizona?

 

[Duck-Slayer]

Hey goats easy to maintain and are fun to take out walking just like a dog!
Matt

 

[Goatshoes]

Ok. Well this thread has served my purposes. I am not particularly fond of horses though I respect them and all animals. And even though I might grow to love them, I got my hands full enough to where I don't need a horse lifestyle. I'll put somebody else's horses to good work for a fee instead.

BrentD, Those horses look like amazing and sturdy animals.

 

[Europe]

Also, are there significant restrictions costs or barriers to riding in the West back country? I imagine that this may vary wildly by region.

I can not believe I missed this part of your original question

the short answer sir---YES If you plan on using the horse to pack, you better spend sone time getting the horse use to the smell of blood and a dead animal on its back. Feeding the horse--some states have restrictions--plus do you plan on coming back to base camp each day. If not, how do you keep him in camp at night. I never liked hobbles or tie lines, so we would try to camp in an area where we could use downed alders or aspens and make a corral, Something to carry water in for the horse, even if you camp close to water. Something to cool them down, even a gunnysack if necessary to brush them. If you anticipate bad weather a blanket. He could throw a shoe. My husband taught himself "basic" shoeing abilities in order to handle this problem. Extra medical supplies to handle cuts and scrapes and extra leather and leather reworking equipment in case of tack damage.

Now you also have the bear and mountain lion problem and it may become necessary for you to be able to ride moving sideway very fast and without warning lol

Bobbydean. Thank you for the kind words sir and dont apologize, I am ancient LOL Sir, I plan on leaving Spain for Africa to be with my family on my oldest granddaughters plains game hunt. then back to Spain to sell everything and then if all goes well I will make it back to Arizona while I am still above ground (-; And thank you for asking sir

 

[BrentD]

Ok. Well this thread has served my purposes. I am not particularly fond of horses though I respect them and all animals. And even though I might grow to love them, I got my hands full enough to where I don't need a horse lifestyle. I'll put somebody else's horses to good work for a fee instead.

That sounds like a smart move.

 

[Goatshoes]

Thanks for all the feed back. My interest in the horses isn't so much packing for a hunt as it is just to see country. I recently viewed the thread "wilderness-area-montage" https://www.hunttalk.com/threads/wilderness-area-montage.288591/page-4#post-2809055 and realized I'm missing so much and the only way I'm going to see so much incredible country is to spend a lot of time on the back of a horse in my retirement years.

 

[NoWiser]

My wife is a horse person. Though she grew up without a lot of money, her mom always found a way for her to have a horse. Usually it meant chores everyday before and after school to help with boarding costs. When I met her, she owned a great horse with her mom and they split costs. It was still quite expensive. A few years back the horse started acting sick and within a few hours was dead. It was a sad time but leads me to my next point, which is cost.

After their horse died, they did a ton of research and found a new one that fit the criteria they were looking for. It was a good horse, but developed health issues within a couple of months, most notably foot problems. For two years they did everything they could to get the horse healthy. It seemed like the farrier was out there 3-4 times per month. The vet was out there at least every-other month, if not more. They tried supplements, chiropractors, moving the horse to a new boarding facility, and every other thing they could think of. That horse got the best of the best, but just didn't do well. In those two years, I think she was only able to ride him 10 or so times. I quietly (because she puts up with my hunting/fishing expenses) watched the bills pile up. After the two years they ended up giving the horse back to the person who sold it to them. The total cost to own that horse over those two years was over $30k, including the $7k they paid for it, but not counting the gas it took to drive and check on it almost daily.

This is probably a worst-case scenario and most people would likely have cut their losses a lot sooner, but it's an example of what can happen. Even had the horse been perfectly healthy, they'd still have been looking at $450/mth boarding and probably another $200/mth for farrier and vet bills. Now they lease a horse, which is still not cheap, but at least takes the risk out.

If owning the horse isn't going to, in itself, be a hobby or lifestyle for you, I'd be very hesitant to go that route.

 

[BrentD]

They don't come no wiser than NoWiser. That last line especially.

 

[Europe]

I agree with NOWISER and BrentD.

Goatshoes you have already made your decision, but wanted to share this with you. Nowiser's post brought back many memories as well as one more thing too consider, if you should change your mind.

Depending on where you live with the horse it would also cost money to have a vet "put it down" and "dispatch " the dead animal. We never had this cost as we always had land and a backhoe.

I would like to share my first horse loss. I was twelve years old and my horse was old and layed down and wasn't getting up. Both my father and grandfather gave me a gun, told me where to shot him and said "this is your horse, you need to put him down"----I did, but I cried like a baby when we buried him. So, as nowise has said, there is also the emotional attachment. However, less than a week later I had a new filly.

Another story involving my daughter. She wanted her mare to be breed to a particular stallion, as, according to her, the foal would be a world class jumping horse. It did turn out to be a very good jumping horse but not world class. We never came close to recovering our expenses when we sold it-----but my daughter loved it (-;

Mttw ---also makes several excellent points. In fact before you buy, you should go on an extended horseback trip into the mountains using other peoples horses and expertise before you decide

Sorry guys, you got me all wound up talking about horses, --color me gone--and my apologizes for posting so much on one thread

 

[BrentD]

Along MTTW's lines, my Physical Therapist is like a best friend, though I haven't seen her since 9 am this morning.