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Before buying a horse it is important to consider both the expenses involved in actually buying a horse as well as the costs involved in keeping a horse. Below is an approximate guide to the regular costs involved in keeping a horse but it should be borne in mind that very often unforeseen expenses can occur such as rug and tack repairs, additional farrier visits when shoes are cast, etc and so there is a need to be financially prepared for these instances also.

Livery or Field Rent

Farmers or others may have fields available to rent for horses and these are usually the lowest cost at around £10 per week. However, these usually have very few facilities available and horse owners may be responsible for the maintenance of the field.

The choice for most horse owners is to keep their horses at a Livery Yard and these often have a range of facilities available including tack rooms, schooling arenas, muck heap, jumps, etc. Another advantage of a Livery Yard is that they fully maintain the fields used.

Grass Livery can be expected to cost in the region of £20-£25 per week and covers field rent. Depending on the yard it may also include use of the yard facilties.

Stabled Livery can be expected to cost around £30-£40 per week and this covers the rent of the stable and use of a paddock or field for turnout.

Any care of the horse or duties carried out by staff at the livery yard will cost extra.

Hay, Straw and Shavings

For horses kept on grass livery hay is normally only required to be fed in winter when grass is scarce and the amount required will vary depending on the type and size of horse or pony. It should be expected that some hay will be needed to be fed for around 5 months of the year with up to £10 a week being added to the costs during the severest winter weeks when grass is totally unavailable.

For stabled horses hay is required all year round to compensate for the lack of access to grass whilst stabled and so can add around £10 a week to the costs throughout the year. Also some form of stable bedding is required, usually straw or shavings, and this can add a further £10-£20 per week to the costs throughout the year.

Feed

The amount of feed required will depend on the type and size of horse, its exercise routine and whether it it is stabled or at grass.

A hardy horse or pony living out all year and only receiving light exercise may need little additional feed if any. However a horse receiving regular exercise may require some hard feed and a stabled horse, with regular strenuous exercise will need additional feed throughout the year costing around 5-10 a week.

Vet's Fees and Insurance

A horse or pony requires annual innoculations against Influenza and Tetanus and can be expected to cost in the region of 35 a year for the vaccination plus around £35 callout charge from the vet.

Vet's fees in cases of illness or accident can be costly, and rather than risk having to pay out several hundred or thousand pounds for an incident many owners prefer to insure their horse against such fees. The cost of insurance to cover vets fees will vary depending on the type of cover taken and the value of the horse or pony but should be expected to be in the region £20-£40 per month or more.

Farrier

A horse's feet continually grow and so even if unshod will require regular visits from the farrier for trimming. Whether shod or not the horse will require attention from the farrier every 6 weeks and this can cost around £25 for trimming and £50-£55 for shoeing per visit.

Dentist

It is recommended that a horse has its teeth checked by a vet or equine dentist every year to ensure that there are no sharp edges or other tooth problems that may be the cause of discomfort to the horse. This costs around £50-£70 per visit.

Worming

Horses and ponies need to be regularly wormed whether stabled or at grass. Worming costs around £10-£15 and is usually required every 6-8 weeks.

Summary

The table below gives a summary of the regular costs mentioned above on an annual basis.

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