# Justr curious... What is your monthly feed bill per horse?



## simi-steading (Sep 27, 2012)

I don't have a horse, but would like to have one, but I know until I find out what kind of jobs we'll get after moving and what our bills will be, there's no way to consider one now.. But I was wondering what it normally runs a month to feed one.. 

Yes, I know there are also the vet bills, and tack bills, and ferrying and a whole host of other things that will end up costing a lot, but I've never really known what feed runs...


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## dizzy (Jun 25, 2013)

OK, there is no one set cost per horse. There are too many variables. I have an Arabian, a Chincoteague pony, and a Welsh cross pony. My most expensive one is the Chincoteague. He's older, and is missing teeth, so he can't really chew hay. I've tried him on all kinds of feeds, supplements, etc to not only KEEP weight on him, but to get some on him. (He's not a big grain eater.) I've finally, by adding to his grain little by little gotten him up to 7 lbs of grain a day split between 2 feedings. This is an extruded feed for senior horses. So, that's about $20/week just on him.

My other 2, however, are a good weight w/out a ton of grain. So, they get some just so they feel like they haven't been left out. For the Arab, I give her 1.5 lbs a day, the pony, 1 lb. And, it's a much cheaper feed. It takes me 3 weeks to go thru a bag of this feed at about $13.50/bag. Plus, if you're feeding less than the recommended amount of feed, you might want to think about a vitamin supplement.

Then you need to factor in hay costs. How much grazing do you have? Is it good grazing? How much hay do you need to feed to be sure your horse is getting an adequate amount of hay/pasture. How much does hay cost in your area, and how big are the bales. Around here, I can get a RB for $30. But, unless it's junk hay, squares cost around $5.

Hope that helps some.


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## simi-steading (Sep 27, 2012)

Right... I knew every horse was going to be different in how much it ate, and what it eats, so that's why I was kind of asking per horse, and see how many weighed in.

Kind of funny though.. sounds like it costs me about the same to feed my macaw as it does your horse...


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## Sluagh (Jun 12, 2013)

Messed up the numbers.


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## dkrabec (Apr 5, 2012)

I am in south Florida, I have 5 horses on my property and on average it is around $100-$125 per horse per month, that includes feed, hay and supplements. In the summer it is a little less because I don't need as much hay because we have more grass. There are a lot of variables when asking the question but we seem to pay a premium down here for everything so I don't think I am doing to bad.


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## SFM in KY (May 11, 2002)

Basic maintenance, average size ... almost nothing from May through September or October as we have plenty of pasture and unless there are health issues, the horse is being ridden or worked hard or is nursing a foal, doesn't require grain. 

For feeding hay, depending on the type of hay ... grass or grass/alfalfa or alfalfa ... and the temperatures ... a basic rule of thumb for me as an estimate is to figure about 30 to 40 lbs of hay a day per horse. Some require more, some less. The cost for hay will vary a lot from one area to another and also on what type of hay you're buying.


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## unregistered168043 (Sep 9, 2011)

Ours are pastured until winter then they eat our hay, I would say the cost is zero but I use some fuel in cutting the hay. Sometimes in midwinter we supplement with grains if they are getting thin. Over-all, somewhere between 100-200 dollars per year.


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## bergere (May 11, 2002)

Good hay is hard to find in VA. And when you do find it, it is spendy. 

I have two Icelandic's and one miniature horse I brought over from Oregon.

Cost me $4,500 in hay alone last year, as they did not have pasture at the time.
Plus the cost of vitamins and hay stretchers. 
These animals are air ferns, but the hay here, does not have the nutrition the Oregon hay has. So I had to feed more.
Granted the NW has volcano's that go off every so often, the soil is rich.

Adding up what I had to spend... Cost me $550.00 a month for the three small horses, In hay and hay stretchers, vitamins and minerals.

Doesn't include, de wormer, vaccines, farrier.

De wormer on average for 3 horses, $30.00 every two months
Vaccines... 5-1, Rabies, WVN, and Potomic once a year $ 320.00 I give all but the Rabies myself.

Trims... $35.00 each... every too months $105.00 
Unless I put shoes one of the riding horses, then it is $175.00

Vet care here is also super spendy.

Then add all the tack I have gathered over the years, good, safe tack can cost a bit too.
Buckets, brushes... I could go on....


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## Whisperwindkat (May 28, 2009)

My old stallion who can't really chew hay anymore costs us about 125.00 a month to feed, my 15 year old gelding in moderate hard work about 50.00 a month and my TB mare in average work about 25.00 a month. These are averages throughout the year. In the spring summer and fall I don't feed as much hay to 2 of the horses because I have the pastures. The old stallion gets bagged hay all year because without it he loses weight. He also gets a joint supplement. They all get a good quality feed appropriate for their level of work or age requirements.


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## offthegrid (Aug 11, 2009)

If I fed hay all year, at about $4.00/bale....I'd probably feed the "average" horse about 1/2 bale per day...so about $60/month for hay. I feed very little grain to most of my herd as they are all easy keepers but my TB mare. So, if I had an "average" horse I guess I'd plan on something like 4-5lbs/grain per day...I feed TC Senior which is on the high side...about $19/50lb bag. So I get about 10 days/bag which would mean 3 bags/month = $60.

So together, I'd say about $120/month.

This is not actually how I feed my horses, but it might represent an average horse. I have a senior TB (aka the bottomless pit), a super easy APHA mare and super easy WB mare that barely get grain and eat a ration balancer instead (with a little senior feed to break up the texture), and I have two "special needs" horses - a Cushings pony and a mini. They get very little grain as well, although the pony eats nearly horse-sized portion of hay each day.


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## Bret4207 (May 31, 2008)

$0 for feed, we have lots of pasture. $0 for vets, horses on good pasture seldom need a vet. $0 for hoof work, do it myself as needed, but horses on pasture don't need as much hoof care as those standing in box stall all day. In winter (Oct/Nov through April/May) the horses get the same round and square bales the sheep, cattle and goats get. I suppose rather than putting it that way, I could say my sheep, cattle and goats get horse quality hay! But we make our own hay, so I don't know if our costs are relative to buying it.


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## Stonybrook (Sep 22, 2007)

It all depends on where your horses are kept (capabilities for grazing) and any physical or medical conditions. One of my horses has a metabolic disorder so she gets hay and is not out on grass at all. Horse hay around here seems to be hard to find and her teeth are worn to nothing anyway so she gets soaked timothy pellets three times a day and low carb horse feed once a day. I also have a pony who gets essentially the same care, but much less of everything. They cost me about $70 a week. Ouch. What are you going to do? The old girl has been with me for 30 years. She's otherwise healthy.


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## bluemoonluck (Oct 28, 2008)

If you have good pasture, that will cut down on your feed bills tremendously. If not, you'll need to rely on a good source of grass hay. Most horses don't need grain unless they're being worked a lot or they're old/hard keepers. 

My last pony was an easy keeper, all she needed was a bit of grass hay (a few flakes max) a day. And in Utah, I could get a really good grass hay bale (about 60-70 pounds) for $3, so my feed bills weren't all that high. It would be a good idea for you to check out Craigslist and the farm boards in your area to see what grass hay is going for per bale in your area, as that's likely to be what your feed bills are based on.

Hoof trims can run $25 to $75, depending on a lot of factors. You should again check Craigslist and local farm stores' ad boards to see what farriers in your area would charge. Plan on needing hoof trims done every 6-8 weeks.

You can buy most vaccines at your local farm store, if you're comfortable giving them yourself. If not, you'll first have to FIND a large animal vet willing to come out to your place, and it won't be cheap. Plan on several hundred dollars at least once a year for that.

Deworming has to be done too, at least $10/month there per horse.

You may have to use fly spray on a daily basis in the summer months too.....how expensive that is depends on how much spray you use.


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## bergere (May 11, 2002)

One reason I miss Oregon. I hayed our old place, it only cost me $1.65 for 65/70lb bales and only needed 86 bales, there abouts, to last the year. Had a lot more horse's there too.

Here, they bale what DH calls, Marshmallow puffs... they are 30/35lbs if you are lucky, and cost $7.50 each... not including tax, trailer rental, gas for 7 hours drive time.

In Oregon I had a really good Vet, the cost was very fair. 
Does really depend where one lives.


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## Pigeon Lady (Apr 4, 2004)

Semi-steading, our place is very much like yours in WV. Mostly poor mountain land with just the land in the "holler" in pasture. About 5 acres of grass in all. The horses free range most of the year.

Here's a couple of pics taken in November. Grass is getting very thin at that time:





















I have 2 horses and two donkeys none of which work hard. We have to feed hay from the end of October through the beginning of May - give or take, depending on how soon the grass starts growing back in the spring. 

So, we recon on feeding a bale a day per horse ( donks a bit less) for 7 months. Hay here is about $3 per bale but most of the guys Dh works with make hay on the side so maybe they charge more to other people, I don't know. That's $21 per horse per week. 

Farrier comes every six weeks at $100 for all four equines, ( trims, no shoes) but I think she gives me a deal. I make lunch and we sit and chat for a couple of hours. I give my own shots but have to have the vet out occasionally as my old rescue horse has heaves. I have medicine on hand but once in a while she needs a steroid to get her through. So maybe once a year the vet comes. (it's been a couple of years now but I budget for once or twice a year just to be on the safe side). 

Hope that helps.

Pauline


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## dizzy (Jun 25, 2013)

Pigeon Lady, have you ever tried MSM for the heaves? I had a vet recommend this to me a few years ago for my old guy, and he barely coughs now.


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## Pigeon Lady (Apr 4, 2004)

No I haven't Dizzy, but thanks for telling me about it! I don't know anything about it. Is it a supliment? And how much/ how often do you give? Thank you!

I keep ventipulmin (sp) and still have some Dexamethazone from her last vet visit a couple of years ago. It's only for a dire emergency. She's 21 y/o now and has actually done very well this year. I try to keep her out in the fresh air as much as possible. June is usually the worst, when the clover is blooming. That seems to be her trigger.


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## Joshie (Dec 8, 2008)

We grow our own hay so don't have direct costs associated with that. Of course it really does indirectly cost us quite a bit. Five years ago, our trainer told me he spent $220/month in feed costs. 

Horses are darned expensive and not for the faint of heart.


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## dizzy (Jun 25, 2013)

Pigeon Lady said:


> No I haven't Dizzy, but thanks for telling me about it! I don't know anything about it. Is it a supliment? And how much/ how often do you give? Thank you!
> 
> I keep ventipulmin (sp) and still have some Dexamethazone from her last vet visit a couple of years ago. It's only for a dire emergency. She's 21 y/o now and has actually done very well this year. I try to keep her out in the fresh air as much as possible. June is usually the worst, when the clover is blooming. That seems to be her trigger.


It's a supplement, and is normally thought of as a joint supplement. I get it at my local tack store, but you can get it on line. http://www.horse.com/item/select-the-best-msm/E003889/


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## southerngurl (May 11, 2003)

Mine are very cheap. Pasture in the growing season, grass hay in winter. Minerals. If I was working themi might add a little alfalf and some oats (not for my foundation quarter horse, he needs work just to stay lean.


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