First, every potential horse owner should be aware that the costs of owning a horse do not end with the one-time purchase price. Keeping a four-legged friend involves not only great responsibility but also monthly expenses.
Where do the costs for my horse begin, and where do they end?
When it comes to the fees for an own horse, future horse owners naturally first think of the purchase price of the animal itself. This price varies greatly from horse to horse. Before buying a horse, you should therefore ask yourself:
Which horse breed is suitable for me?
What do I want to achieve together with the horse?
Do I want to ride sportily and maybe even competitively, or am I looking for a lovely leisure companion for nice rides? In what type of housing do I want to keep my four-legged friend?
Depending on the horse, the purchase price can range from several hundred euros to high six-figure amounts. Especially valuable horses can even be priced in the millions.
It is important that you get advice from an experienced person who knows your needs when buying a horse.
However, the purchase price of your horse is a one-time cost, whereas the monthly maintenance and any veterinary costs make up the major part of the financing of your own horse. These also vary depending on the situation and the housing conditions in which your horse is kept.
In case of illness or injury, the costs for the vet and medication can be very high.
But these exceptions should not discourage you, because the feeling of sharing your free time and life with your sport and leisure partner horse is simply priceless and gives us horse lovers an incredible amount of added value.
What does housing my horse cost and which place is right for my horse?
Before you buy a horse, you should develop a clear idea of your desired housing and inform yourself about the different options. Do you want to keep your horse in a herd in an open stable, use the concept of an active stable, or house it in a boarding stable with box stalls and daily turnout? How much time can you invest daily so that a self-care stable might also be an option? Often, the more affordable types of horse keeping are associated with a greater time commitment from the horse owners.
The different housing options for your four-legged friend
1. The Open Stable
Keeping horses in an open stable is based on the natural needs of your horse. It offers plenty of movement, fresh air all day, and usually also social contact within a herd. The horses live outdoors and have access to wind- and weather-protected shelter areas.
Especially horses prone to respiratory diseases or behavioral disorders benefit from being kept in a herd in an open stable.
Sport horses are rarely kept in open stables because the risk of injury increases due to social contact, and individual feeding cannot be well controlled there. Also, not every horse can relax in a large herd to the extent that constant athletic performance demands.
→ The usual costs for a place in an open stable are about €200-250 per month. This includes the required roughage; costs for concentrate and supplements are not included.
2. The Active Stable
More and more horse owners are choosing to keep their four-legged friends in an active stable. But what makes this concept so attractive?
The active stable is a refined form of open stable keeping. The horses live in a herd, and the operation is designed so that the horse moves as much as possible in a natural way. The active stable is usually divided into different functional areas. Each horse has access to roughage and concentrate feeders, allowing individual feeding to be controlled from horse to horse. Additionally, active stables have a lying hall with bedding as a resting area and a sand area for rolling.
Through a chip sewn into the halter or mane of the horse, it has access to certain areas of the active stable, allowing the horse owner and stable operator to manage the housing despite the large freedom of movement.
Besides many advantages that the active stable as a housing form offers, integrating new herd members often becomes a problem here. Fights over the hierarchy are unavoidable.
→ The costs for a place in an active stable are about €300-350 per month. These often come with small stable duties that horse owners have to perform.
3. The Boarding Stable
Especially sport-ambitious riders choose a stable with full board to have their beloved horse fully cared for. In common boarding stables, each horse has its own box with fixed feeding times and daily turnout. Here, the horse has a quiet retreat at night, and the risk of injury from dominance fights is minimized. The individual feeding is ensured in box housing, which many horse owners appreciate.
Horses in boarding stables do not live in as close social contact as in open housing forms, so daily turnout in small groups is especially important for the well-being of our four-legged friends.
→ Keeping a horse in a boarding stable with full care is often the least stressful option for horse owners regarding the horse’s place, as the horses are well cared for without any work on the owner’s part. Accordingly, the costs for a box in a full-board stable are about €350-450 per month.
What else is coming my way?
Besides the monthly housing costs, we have compiled a few guidelines for other expenses for you here.
Annually, you should therefore budget for the following:
As you can see in our overview, the costs for owning a horse can vary greatly depending on the housing type and riding style. A leisure rider with a horse in an open stable has significantly fewer costs than ambitious competitive riders who regularly attend training camps and competitions. Also, an illness of your four-legged friend with a clinic stay can drive your costs up.
Perfectly prepared
With our overview, you can keep the financing of your passion firmly in view and be perfectly prepared to fully enjoy the #QUALITYTIME with your treasure! :-)
