The true cost of a horse
Set your region, how you keep the horse, and how you ride. The calculator builds a monthly and yearly estimate from published cost surveys, and gives you a link you can share or save.
Where do you keep the horse?
Board type
Discipline
Shoeing
Farrier cycle: every 6 weeks
Lessons a month: 4
Estimated cost to keep
$1,248/ month
$14,976 a year, before the purchase price
| Board / keepFull livery, stabled with daily care | $700 |
| FarrierFull set every 6 weeks | $108 |
| Routine vetVaccines, dental, worming, spread over the year | $85 |
| InsuranceMortality + major medical | $75 |
| Lessons / training4 lessons a month | $240 |
| ExtrasCompetition entries, kit, supplements, tack upkeep | $40 |
| Total per month | $1,248 |
Mid-market figures for United States, drawn from the surveys cited below. Your barn, region, and horse will move these - treat it as a planning baseline, not a quote.
Sources
Every figure on this page traces to one of these. We cite registries, associations, government and veterinary bodies, and published cost surveys - not other blogs.
- [1]Caring for horses on a budget- University of Minnesota Extension2024govStates that owning a healthy horse costs about $6,500 a year and provides the board, feed, farrier, and vet structure the calculator is built on.
- [2]2023 National Economic Impact Study- American Horse Council2023associationEstablishes the scale and recurring cost base of horse ownership in the United States.
- [3]Don't Skip the Purchase Exam- American Association of Equine PractitionersassociationBacks the pre-purchase exam as a real, budgetable buying cost rather than an optional extra.