Ian Bell, The Western Producer’s reporter in Brandon, shares his
first-hand experiences with horse ownership.
Our daughter, Jasmina, began pleading for a horse when she was eight or
nine years old, maybe even earlier than that.
I rode horses when I was a kid and it left me with some great memories.
There’s nothing like riding on a forest trail gilded with fall colours
or galloping across a golden stubble field with the wind whistling by
on a sunny day.
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But when it came to buying a horse for our daughter, I had two big
reservations: risk of injury and cost.
Besides leaving me with some great memories, my childhood riding
experiences also left me with some bumps and bruises. That kick to the
knee was the one I remember most. I didn’t want Jasmina, who is now 14,
to know the pain that I had known.
The cost of buying and owning a horse was hard to ignore, too. We now
live in town, which meant the horse would have to be boarded, hay would
have to be bought, and so on.
Another nagging question was whether Jasmina would stay interested once
she had a horse. We already had a dog, a cat and a tank full of fish.
Did we really need another animal to look after? Would there be enough
time?
So, we procrastinated. “We’ll think about it,” my wife and I told our
daughter. “Owning a horse is a big responsibility.”
Actually, we procrastinated for more than a year. That may sound unfair
to our daughter – leaving her to dream on a wish that might not come
true – but we didn’t want to make a decision until we were certain it
was the right one.
Finally, about two years ago, we decided to take the plunge and buy a
horse. Then we spent months gathering advice from experienced horse
owners about what to do before actually writing a cheque. It’s not as
simple as walking into a pasture with 12 horses and picking the
prettiest one there. Patience can be a virtue during the buying process.
Horse owners are generous with their advice, and all the advice was
helpful, although there were differing opinions on which breed to buy.
Les Burwash, who heads the horse program for Alberta Agriculture,
warned me that the least expensive part of owning a horse is the
purchase price.
And that leads to the crux of this article. Les was right. The $2,000
we paid for a Quarter horse gelding named Beau was cheap compared to
all the money we will spend during his lifetime with us.
We bought him a year ago last spring, and the bills have kept pouring
in since. Don’t get me wrong. I consider the money well spent, but I
want to caution anyone thinking about buying a horse on a whim.
Understand the costs involved before you buy.
So, without further ado, here’s a rundown of the costs that we have so
far encountered from owning a horse.
Tack
We bought the saddle about a year before we bought the horse and our
daughter had been accumulating other tack based on a gut instinct that
we would eventually fulfill her wish. The saddle was bought at an
auction. The brushes, comb and hoof pick were bought new out of our
daughter’s spending money. The total for saddle, bridle, halter, lead
rope and grooming tools came to nearly $400. And that’s cheap.
The saddle is small, so we’ll probably trade it toward a bigger one.
That’ll push the total price for the tack to at least $600 and probably
higher, depending on whether we can find a good used saddle at a
reasonable price. If we were to do it again, we’d buy the horse and
then we’d buy the saddle.
Board
We pay $75 a month to board at a place with an excellent barn and
plenty of pasture. The board covers the cost of having good shelter,
water and pasture for the horse. The owner of the farm does not provide
day-to-day care and we are responsible for supplying our own feed. The
boarding fee is reasonable. At $75 a month, the board comes to $900 a
year.
Feed
My dad farms, so feed wasn’t a big problem last winter. He brought down
a round bale of barley straw for bedding and four alfalfa-brome round
bales. We paid $150 for the hay, which was close to what local hay
prices were at the time. By the end of last winter, we had also bought
a round bale of alfalfa from another area farmer for $40. The total
cost for all that hay was $190. Our hay costs will undoubtedly be
higher this year.
We buy some rolled oats, which costs about $7 for a 50 pound bag.
Prices rose in the past year due to tighter supplies. A bag lasts
roughly two months. The horse doesn’t get a lot – a couple of handfuls
every two days. Still, that works out to $42 a year.
We also bought a salt block and a mineral block that have easily lasted
more than a year. Beau is boarded with two other horses, so they share
the minerals.
Veterinary costs
Vet costs change from year to year, depending on whether the horse gets
sick or injured. Beau has been doing well, so far. He gets an annual
vaccination for immunity against some of the more common afflictions.
That vaccination cost $35, but will go up next year because we are
going to vaccinate against West Nile virus, which began appearing in
horses in Manitoba and Saskatchewan this summer.
Horses also should be dewormed. We lean toward spring and fall. Other
people might offer different advice. The process costs roughly $35 per
year.
Training
Burwash advises on riding lessons. It can make owning a horse a lot
more enjoyable.
By the end of this year, we will have spent $120 on eight weekly
lessons. Fees will vary by location. It is money well spent. The
lessons are partly about the mechanics of riding, but they also explain
how to have good communication with the horse.
Hoof care
Beau usually needs his hoofs trimmed every six to eight weeks, which is
six times a year, although the growth of his hoofs seems to slow
somewhat in the winter. Each trim costs $25, working out to $150.
The bottom line is that we have already spent almost as much money on
boarding, feeding, vaccinating, and training the horse as we did to buy
him. Some people who live on farms won’t have the boarding fee, but
there are people who spend a lot more than us to own, train and care
for a horse.
Knowing what we know now, would we buy another horse? I would say we
would. It’s a good activity that can combine fitness with social
elements. Horse ownership also teaches responsibility and builds
self-confidence, just to name a few of its merits.
Horse ownership can be expensive, but the smile it brings to our
daughter’s face is priceless. It also gives me an excuse three or four
times a week to drive out to the barn and spend time with Jasmina,
sharing the chores, grooming the horse and talking about whatever comes
to mind. It gives us a common touchstone. That’s priceless, too.
