Thinking of getting a horse

I am a dressage rider. :) Horses are great, buttt... There are a lot of risks, bad horses, expenses etc. I will give a brief run down

Board- $200-600 a month
Feet- $30 trim, $60 front shoed, and $100 full shoed. Every 6-8 weeks.
Coggins- needs to be done yearly $15-90
Vaccines-needs to be done yearly $100ish
Saddle- I can't express enough how much the saddle needs to fit the horse, and you. This is a hard part. Lets say you want a decent saddle, I am guessing western I will say $400-500, as your horses condition of muscle changes you may have to get a different saddle. For your case, you probably won't as long as it fits to start with, since youre not doing training etc.
Girth- $25ish
Bridle-$15-100 depending on what you want
Saddle pad- $15--200 depending on what you want again
Bit-$20-100
Wormer- Horses need wormed on a regular basis, and IMO you should get fecal tests done regulary as well so you know what worms you are working at lowering the number of. Trust me, you DO NOT want to slack on worming, and rotating wormers. It is a quick way to get a horse to colic from a high worm count. I had this personally happen to me, and I came so close to losing my horse. Don't make my mistake of letting the routine slip. $2-61 for wormer
Fecal Test-$45
Supplements- No you dont always need them, but a lot do. $10-100

There are plenty of other things, the barn usually has brushes you can use etc but it is always nice to have your own. I won't lie, it is very expensive even if you just want a trail safe horse and all that. I would recommend if you haven't much riding experience, get some lessons and then see if you're still interested. Make a list of things you want in a horse, BEFORE seeing any to buy and make a list of things you will not accept in a horse. That will help when it comes time to buy. Don't get any emotions in the buying etc. It will bite you in the ass. Good luck, and if you need any advice, please feel free to PM me!:)

I also just realized that, whoops! lol

I like horses very much. When I was child my granny had got black horse. I rember how I rode it. So nice feelings!

Great thread! Lots of things to consider. I actually was thinking of getting a horse myself, but then I ended up buying some cattle. I don't really want to climb on the back of a large animal and I don't want the expense of training, so cattle are perfect for me. I have two Angus bulls and they are 2000 pound monsters, very gentle though. It's amazing owning a huge beast like that. I have 8 cows now LOL. The good thing about cows is that they don't bloat and die like a horse, they have hardly any health problems at all. And a horse is only worth it's training or bloodline, you'll never see a free beef cow, they always are worth market price per pound. My cows are like pets but they will always have a lot more value than a 'free' horse. And if anything goes wrong you can always 'process' your cow. I'm pretty sure it's illegal to butcher a horse in the US.

You have a friend who has a few horses and a ranch. This friend is going to house your horse for you, and pretty much everything else related to keepong horses.

Instead of considering getting your own horse, spend time with her horses with her. Take care of her horses with her, see everything you need and how the horses are treated and kept. Find out what her expenses are like for the horses, spend a lot of time there with them, and you'll have a much better handle on what your expenses will be, and your expectations of ownership will come closer to the reality of ownership before you own one.

Personally I have fallen in love with every horse I have met, and I'm not a "horse person", but there is something amazing about brushing them, and feeding them, and petting them, cleaning out their stalls, just being around them. I would much rather visit and care for other people's horses than have to care for my own horse. You really want to know everything you're getting into, and hands on, before you get into it.

The original post was five years ago....

Oh god. I didn't realize, someone posted so I just responded. Sorry