From the top. I reside in Michigan.

I do agree that horses can be a expensive hobby. They are far from a profit for our enjoyment. At least money wise. Most boarding does include the care for your animal and the space. It also comes down to the choices of where you want your animal to spend most of it's time. Personally if you can get it, let your horse be a horse and be out on pasture. Providing the fact that the pasture offers some sort of shelter from the weather. No that does not necessarily mean you have to have a lean-to. Tree's provide ample shade and protection from most weather. Horses are not dumb by far and know how to protect themselves and when they need it. I do not have lean-to's and my horses spend as little time in the barn as possible year round. Better for them health and mind wise. Had one horse colic in over 50 years on this farm and that was because he got out into a real green field. Was my grandmother's pony. Yes items do cost a pretty penny, but having every type of brush is not mandatory. One brush will get you by. You can use any dollar store hairbrush for a mane and tail brush. That's what I do because you will go through them. Why pay a ton of money. A hoof pick I would consider a mandatory item. Never know when you need to get something out of a hoof but mind you a stick comes in just as handy if you don't have a hoofpick on you . It's also a good idea to pick out feet on a regular basis, especially before every ride.

Hay prices vary on location and type of hay. Personally we feed a grass hay w/alfalfa mix. More grass than alfalfa as alfalfa will burn out the guts on your horse if not fed properly. We just purchased hay for $2.50 a bale, but then that's direct off the field we brought it home and all the labor. Grain is a good thing to have. We no longer buy commercial feed. All feed is made for us in a elevator which is a better buy than any commercial feed is and has in most cases better products, vitamins, and higher protein that your basic commercial feeds. On average a 12% commercial feed around here on sale is about $7.00. Our stallion alone get's a minimal of 4lbs of grain daily. He recieves anywhere from a half a bale up to a whole bale of hay a day. His pasture is not of the greatest quality so he require's suppliment for it, being hay and grain. Our grain run's 16%, just as good as Omelene 300 which is a very good grain for broodmares, stallions, and growing foals and horses. Your also going to need a mineral block of some size. The small mineral block's cost about $4.00 something. If your horse has a stall area to come into these can easily be kept in their grain bucket that is hanging up. They can eat their grain around it. They don't have to have a holder, and it's a good idea to keep it up off the ground. All the fancy suppliments you see today are not mandatory. Providing you feed your horse a good quality hay, a good quality grain if required, and have a simple mineral salt block your horse should be fine. Trimming comes every 6-8 weeks. Around here a regular trim is $10.00 a horse. Shoe's from our old farrier was $20.00 per foot, including the trimming portion. So $40.00 for front shoes and trimmed all the way around. If pads are required, your talking more and getting into a larger expense. Personally I'd find a horse with good legs and feet and you can avoid these problems right away. My horses go barefoot year round. Only a select few require shoes. One being our Percheron mare who requires pads and shoes year round, she has soft feet. We also do a lot of hard road work with her. Worming, mandatory. Wormer can run anywhere from $7.00-13.00. We buy the 3 in 1 tube of Ivermec a good all around wormer. It has enough wormer to do 3 1200lbs horses. In most cases a average 15hh horse or less is not going to weigh no 1200lbs. Right now were worming every two months. We've had some new horses come in, better to be safe than sorry. Although if your other boarders don't worm religiously as you do getting it under control on the facility will be a real problem.

Tack and Equipment can be found for a good deal at auctions. Buying top of the line equipment to enjoy your horse is not a mandatory thing either. Just make sure you get item's that fit your animal properly and you as well. You can get a saddle anywhere from $50-$2200. Figure it this way though, what kind of riding do you plan to do with your horse. If trail riding that $200 and below saddle is just fine. Vet care is another cost that varies. If your lucky you won't have to see your vet very often.

Good luck and I wish you the best. Be sure to read up a lot and take in as much material as you can and learn from as many folks as you can.

Diane

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