How much does a horse cost?

The price you pay to buy the horse is typically just the opening line of a much longer bill. Livery or grazing, feed and forage, farriery every few weeks, routine and emergency vet care, dental work, insurance, and tack all run on top of that purchase price, month after month, for as long as you own the horse.

Because those ongoing costs so far outweigh the purchase price, most experienced owners budget by the month rather than fixate on what they paid up front. It's also why horse ownership is such a serious, sustained commitment rather than a one-off spend — which is exactly why a gift that recognises it means so much. See our gifts for horse owners for ideas, and for the other end of the relationship, read how long horses live.

Written by Craig Fearn, Stable & Hoof.