I Have Money To Buy My Horse

You’re so excitied. You’ve scrimped and saved until you finally have enough money for the purchase price for your new horse. Congratulations should be in order. But wait!! Have you thoroughly researched the cost of keeping a horse? If you haven’t, you’ve missed a VERY important step. Relatively speaking, buying the horse probably is the least expensive part of horse ownership.

Let’s start at the begining. You have a lot of homework to do. The first step is look at your monthly expenses. I don’t want to discourage anyone, but you have to be brutally honest here. Sit down & figure out what you have as far as expenses. This includes utility bills, insurance, daycare, car payments, food and any other type of expense that applies to you. If you are only living paycheck to paycheck, you can’t afford a horse. If you only have a little left over at the end of each month for a few extras, you can’t afford a horse. If you don’t have enough left over at the end of each month to cover one of those life’s gotchas, you can’t afford a horse.

Now here is your homework. You have to research costs for each of these, because prices vary in every part of the country. Have you found a stable? Are you going to do self service or full board? Are you bringing the horse back to your own property? Have you found a hay supplier? Which feed is right and where is the feed store? Have you decided on a vet, found a farrier or trainer? These are just a few fundamentals for horse ownership and if you don’t have an answer for even one of them, you are not ready to buy.

As a novice horse owner, it is your responsibility to make yourself as edcuated as possible. As a horse owner, it is your responsibility to make sure the horse is cared for properly. Doing your research on the costs of keeping a horse is the first step in making sure it is healthy and happy.