Cost of keeping a pony for a year.

greenkittie

Hey ive been having riding lessons for the past 15 years and am starting to think that financially i might be able to afford to keep a pony.
Still not quite sure of the full extents of the cost though and was hoping for some advice on how much it would cost to keep a 14.2 pony for a year.
Have found DIY livery near me (Belfast) that charges £1500 for a year, facilitys look decent, indoor and outdoor arenas etc. Is this a decent price or could i get something better?
Other costs i can think of that i would need to cover would be food, bedding, shoes, vet. Can anyone give me an estimate of how much this would all come to and is there any other costs i hadnt thought of?

kerrysgold

Grass livery would be cheaper and more natural for the horse. I worked it out at approx. €600 for keeping a horse at home (no livery charges) but that does not include vet bills, shoes (only trimming because I'll probably keep my horse barefoot) and only takes into account feeding hay during the autumn and winter months and buying quite cheap feed.

otwb

I think that I worked it out at about €7k per year once. Thats for a horse that doesn't plan on seeing the vet beyond his vaccinations, needs to be shod every 6 weeks and is in livery and in at night in the winter and out all summer (also on hoof supplements), doesn't compete much and hasn't had new tack in 5 years!

Atr a rough guess that equates to around 5 thousand sterling...

You are probably looking at in ao around 2k per year for the same horse at home (haven't included bedding etc..)

greenkittie

If the accomodation is £1500, does food, bedding, shoes and vets really come to £3500? :eek:

The grass livery is a good idea i hadn't really thought of as i dont know anyone who keeps their horses out all the time, found a place near me that does it, shall have to get in contact and find out about prices.
If i decided to go for the grass livery what costs would i need to add to that, obviosuly still shoes and vets but i suppose that would get rid of bedding costs. Would the pony require extra food? What other costs would i need to factor in for grass livery?

kerrysgold

not quite sure how much hay one pony would consume (only ever fed hay on yards with loads of horses so don't know how long 1 big bale would last 1 pony) maybe 1 large bale per week/fortnight, which would be about €20-€25 per bale, but you wouldn't really need to feed hay during the spring/summer when there is plenty of grass unless the pony was prone to laminitis.

one-off costs for a grass kept horse would be a field shelter if there was no natural shelter and maybe a waterproof rug or two unless you had a very hardy, hairy, mountain & moorland type which wouldn't need a rug. If you get a horse that's used to being kept in you may have to put a warm rug under the waterproof one until it gets used to being outside, or just buy a heavyweight waterproof one in the first place!

farrier is roughly €15-€50 every 8 weekish depending on whether it's just a trim or if you want shoes.

I actually forget what price wormer is, it's a long time since I asked a vet, but I think you can get a years supply from an english website for about £50 (sterling)

you have to get their teeth checked about once a year also, not sure how much this costs but I'm sure you could find that out from the vet, and also find out the prices of vax etc.

monflat

The last time the dentist came out 60euro is what he charged and he did a good job.

I suppose whether you decide on grass livery is by personal choice and whether you have the time to do that.
Some people would not dream of it but i keep mine out as long as i can and they love it but then again, if you have not got the pony yet make sure that the one you purchase likes being out when some other horses have gone in.
I gather if it were a livery yard where provide you with grass livery there may be other ponies out with yours too.
Some ponies and horses love being out but then if they get attached to a certain mate and that mate goes in for the night(even if other horses are left out with it) you do not need the hassle of your pony getting stressed and jumping the gate/fence and insisting he goes in.
Just something else to think about!

It really depends on how much you want the horse and who you have to help out if you get sick etc.

Some people would run a mile from grass livery as they have time constraints and they do not have time to be bringing in a horse to ride it scrape off the muck etc. But then again it suits others perfect.

Good luck with your decisions no doubt you have put thought into it it will all work out!:)

greenkittie

I am a student and my degree only take up 8 hours a week of my time... so time constraints are certainly not an issue!

Grass livery sounds more natural and the costs sound minimal. I would of course be very careful in selecting the pony if i was to leave it out all the time.

Trying to ring up this place that does grass livery... damn horse people always so unavailable!

togster

greenkittie wrote: »

I am a student and my degree only take up 8 hours a week of my time... so time constraints are certainly not an issue!

Grass livery sounds more natural and the costs sound minimal. I would of course be very careful in selecting the pony if i was to leave it out all the time.

Trying to ring up this place that does grass livery... damn horse people always so unavailable!

Grass livery is a good idea. Just make sure to use a comprehensive wormer to target the red-worm. Can be fatal.

greenkittie

Managed to get in contact with grass livery near me. It costs £95 per month, its for grass livery just beside Belfast city, with use of indoor and outdoor(floodlit) school and secure tack room, also good hacking in the area. Is this a decent price?

For a year...
grass livery - £1140
+ estimates..
worming - £50
hay - £235
farrier - £245
= £1670

fits

That seems a very decent price to me with facilities like that.
As for the 1670... I'd double it, cos you'll always be buying *stuff* (unless you're really skint).

otwb

+Vet (flu/tet vaccinations at min)
+supplements (mabye its only my guy with dodgy hooves)
+hard feed for winter
+dentist (checkup once a year)
+back guy (checkup once a year)
+the bits and pieces as fits said
(treats/carrots/apples/polos/grooming kit/riding gear/saddle soap/clipping fees OR a clipper/rugs/transport/entrance fees/club fees........)

ZeroThreat

What I want to know is.... how much is the total cost to get a sauna, swimming pool & room for a pony?

TG1

fits wrote: »

As for the 1670... I'd double it, cos you'll always be buying *stuff* (unless you're really skint).

+1 on the "stuff" allowance! for the first few months of equine ownership money just flows out of your account and when you try to account for it, stuff is what it is spent on!!

The main bit of advice I would have is to ensure that you have a bit put away for emergency. I bought my mare, put her in a box to bring her to her new yard, took her out of the box, put her in a field, she put her foot in a hole and I had a €500 vet Bill on day 1.
That was particularly unfortunate but with horses these things happen so you need to know you are covered!
Best of luck with it all

convert

Given this thread is over 7 years old and has been dragged up by someone who's not interested in posting constructively, I'm closing it.

/Thread closed.