2019 Horse Spending

I wanted to keep track of my horse spending this year. Several other blogs to it, and I was curious. I didn't come up with a budget or anything, but I wanted to see how my spending compared with others out there. And being financially-minded, to see if there were any areas where I could decrease in the future. It was a very atypical year. I moved Mort three times (two barns and then to the property). I bought a new horse. I also bought hay and equipment for the new barn. Essentially, things were pricey. I definitely did not include the actual costs of building fence and stalls etc. But I did include the "things" that I bought for the barn like buckets, rubber mats, hooks, etc. I definitely didn't go overboard on these things (and I also got most of my mats for free), so it didn't hurt too bad. I did not include Blue's price, but I did include the tack that I bought with him. I broke it down into the following categories: Board, supplements, farrier, misc. equipment, vet/dental, lessons/shows, and trailer. Board: $5456.23--$454.69/month This is by far the biggest category. Which makes sense--horses aren't cheap to take care of. They eat a lot. The barn where I was for the first two months of 2019 only charged $275/month. But when we moved to a much better barn it got bumped to $400/month ($410 in the summer for fly spray). Totally worth it obviously. This also includes the $1800 I spent on hay for the two guys this winter. Since they moved, it is where I put the feed and bedding costs. Thankfully, it's gone down tremendously since they're on 24/7 turnout and Blue doesn't eat much. I'm really interested to see how this compares next year with two horses living at home versus boarding one. Supplements: $1055--$87.92/month Mort's supplements changed a good deal this year, but thankfully the budget for them didn't. He went from an ulcer and hoof supplement to joint, ulcer, hindgut, skin and coat, and hoof. He also gets a bug supplement every summer. Mort turned 10 this year and started showing some age in his joints. Adding the supplement (and a stifle injection) seems to have helped this. I was able to keep the costs under control by using a combo supplement for joint, hindgut, skin and coat, and hoof. I also found a very similar ulcer supplement for significantly less money. I thought about moving him to just ulcer, hoof, and joint after he moved to save some money but I haven't pulled the trigger on that at this point. Blue is currently not on anything--we'll see if that changes next year. Farrier: $965--$80.42/month This really isn't too bad compared to a lot of folks out there. Mort has simple shoes on the front only. He is thankfully not too complicated. My cost went down some when we moved barns. I had to go with a new farrier again when he moved home. The new farrier is even less expensive (not why I chose him), but adding Blue still obviously puts us up a bit. Thankfully, two horses is still less than Mort was with the original farrier so I'm still coming out on top. If Blue ever needs shoes, that will go up though, so we'll see what next year brings. Misc. Equip: $1619.51--$134.96/month I admit that this is the one that I was worst at keeping track of. There are definitely a few purchases that I forgot. It was also a very expensive year with building a house, so I kept this spending to the minimum. I bought supplies for the barn, occasional tack, fly spray, etc. This was not the year for pretty new things--maybe next year or the year after. My list of "wants" is only growing. Vet/Dental: $520.10--$43.34/month That's right y'all, be jealous. To be completely honest, I still haven't gotten the bill for Mort's lameness exam and stifle injection from the summer (though I did remind the vet when she came out to do teeth and fall vaccinations). So I imagine this will at least double. But honestly I'm still not mad about it. Spring and fall vaccinations, floats for both boys, a spring fecal exam, and dewormer throughout the year. Thank goodness for healthy horses and no major accidents. Lessons/Shows: $997.50--$83.13/month This was another category that was low this year. Not only was I aware of spending money on "extra" things, but the time commitment of building is also ridiculous. So, this year was very slow on this front--only one show and a handful of lessons. I did also cut some from this by braiding at the show. Hopefully I will have more time to spend money here next year. Trailer: $216--$18/month Nothing went wrong with the trailer. All we had to pay for was the annual tire/bearing/check-up. We spent a lot on it last year updating the frame and floor. And there are certainly more updates that we want to make, but who knows when Steven will have time for that! Total: $10,829.34--$902.45/month That's a pretty big number, but it could be worse. We'll see if the money I save (if any) on board next year will be replaced with lessons, shows, and equipment. I'll also try to do an even better job keeping track to get a more accurate picture.