HorseCalcs: Bootstrapped Figures for the Working Rider
Meet the Calcs Family →

Cost of owning a horse calculator

The purchase price is the cheapest part of owning a horse. Fill in what applies to you (typical US prices are filled in to start) and see the real monthly and yearly cost.

Enter your numbers
Where the horse lives
Kept
Care
Extras
Colic surgery can cost $5,000–10,000

Per month

–
–
Per year
–
Housing
–
Feed
–
Hoof care
–
Vet, dental, deworming
–
Insurance and emergency
–
Tack and extras
–

Budget for the vet bill you haven't had yet

Most owners underestimate emergencies. Either set aside a fund each month or carry major medical insurance; colic surgery alone commonly runs $5,000–10,000.

Where the money goes

Housing is usually the biggest cost. Full board with stall, turnout, feed and care runs roughly $500 to $1,500 a month depending on region; pasture board is often $200–400. Keeping a horse at home trades board for hay, bedding, fencing, water and your time.

Hoof care comes every 6–8 weeks, about 7 visits a year. Routine vet care covers vaccines, a Coggins test (required to travel or board), and a dental float once or twice a year. Modern deworming relies on fecal egg counts, which saves money over rotating products.

What owners actually spend

A 2023 CareCredit survey of 1,231 US horse owners, reported by TheHorse.com, found basic yearly costs of about $8,600 for backyard horses, $11,800 for recreational horses and $26,000 for competition horses, before shows and extras.

See what hay will cost with the horse hay calculator and plan parasite control with the deworming schedule planner calculator.

Frequently asked questions

Why is the purchase price called the cheapest part of ownership?

A horse's ongoing costs — board or feed, farrier, vet care, deworming, tack upkeep — accumulate year after year, and over even a few years those recurring costs typically add up to several times the original purchase price.

Should I include emergency vet costs in the monthly estimate?

This calculator covers routine, predictable costs; a genuine emergency (colic surgery, a serious injury) can run into the thousands and is better planned for separately, through an emergency fund or equine major-medical insurance, rather than averaged into a monthly figure.

Does boarding cost replace all the other categories?

Not usually — board typically covers stall/pasture and often hay, but farrier, vet, deworming, and tack costs are almost always separate on top of a board bill, so include them even if you board rather than keep your horse at home.

More Barn & Land calculators

Arena Sand Calculator Horse Fence Cost Calculator Horse Shipping Cost Calculator

All HorseCalcs tools