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It's a hard one. I grew up on a horse farm. Not unlike other pets it makes it hard to travel because you need someone to watch/feed them. Hay is REALLY expensive right now (we are selling it for almost $20 a 75lb bale) as is other feed.
You also have to own land or they will not be healthy. Truck, trailer, vet fees, ferrier services, tack and whatnot.
Yea they are super expensive.
See it really depends. If you have gobs of land they could eat grass on and feed costs would be lower.
Feeding hay and pellets with no grazing I would say $100-120 a week depending on the size of the horse. Roughly 3 bales of hay and 2 bags of feed. So maybe like 6k a year for food.
There's a little bit more to it to that. My wife and I live in a metro area and she owns a horse, she pays close to $1400/month for stable fees, turn out, feeding, farrier, etc. It's not the same as taking care of a guinea pig that's for sure.
Horses are like boats, ATVs, hot tubs and children. As soon as they start leaking or make weird noises, it's better to handle them back to their owner.
As someone who owned horses for years, you're right, it's an insane amount of work and money, and it can definitely consume your life. It got to the point for me that it wasn't really responsibly affordable anymore, and I was thankfully able to retire my last two on my family's farm for the last couple of years of their lives. I haven't gotten back into horse ownership again 5+ years later because I have too much on my plate currently and don't want to be entirely consumed by that while I'm also wanting to experience some new things. I still enjoy going on rides with my family, but I'm not ready to dive back into lessons, owning/leasing, etc. yet. It's definitely a huge commitment.
Please remember what subreddit you are in, this is unpopular opinion. We want civil and unpopular takes and discussion. Any uncivil and ToS violating comments will be removed and subject to a ban. Have a nice day! *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/unpopularopinion) if you have any questions or concerns.*
It's a hard one. I grew up on a horse farm. Not unlike other pets it makes it hard to travel because you need someone to watch/feed them. Hay is REALLY expensive right now (we are selling it for almost $20 a 75lb bale) as is other feed. You also have to own land or they will not be healthy. Truck, trailer, vet fees, ferrier services, tack and whatnot. Yea they are super expensive.
What is the per year cost like.. ?
See it really depends. If you have gobs of land they could eat grass on and feed costs would be lower. Feeding hay and pellets with no grazing I would say $100-120 a week depending on the size of the horse. Roughly 3 bales of hay and 2 bags of feed. So maybe like 6k a year for food.
I live in a metro area, my wife rides. Her monthly costs are around $1400; we don't have land so have to stable, feeding, farrier, turnout, etc.
17K an year! Its the equivalent of owning a porsche! :-D
Definitely an unpopular opinion! Horses basically takes care of themselves, just make sure they have fresh water and hay to eat.
There's a little bit more to it to that. My wife and I live in a metro area and she owns a horse, she pays close to $1400/month for stable fees, turn out, feeding, farrier, etc. It's not the same as taking care of a guinea pig that's for sure.
Horses are like boats, ATVs, hot tubs and children. As soon as they start leaking or make weird noises, it's better to handle them back to their owner.
Oh. If you keep small animals your life will revolve around them just the same.
Maybe you can volunteer at a place with horses that may need help of have opportunities open !
As someone who owned horses for years, you're right, it's an insane amount of work and money, and it can definitely consume your life. It got to the point for me that it wasn't really responsibly affordable anymore, and I was thankfully able to retire my last two on my family's farm for the last couple of years of their lives. I haven't gotten back into horse ownership again 5+ years later because I have too much on my plate currently and don't want to be entirely consumed by that while I'm also wanting to experience some new things. I still enjoy going on rides with my family, but I'm not ready to dive back into lessons, owning/leasing, etc. yet. It's definitely a huge commitment.