How Much Does Horse Care Cost?

@Skib just because it's done doesn't mean, in most cases, that it's good practice. I suspect the reason it used to ,happen more widely in the UK was financial. Horses were a tool that needed to be kept at a convenient place and generally people couldn't afford duplicates, also like most tools when hey were no longer able to function effectively they were got rid of. There are many things, in many walks of life, that used to be done in a way that wouldn't be acceptable nowadays, surely you wouldn't justify something like child labour on the grounds of it used to be done in the UK and still is in some countries?
 
Skib said:
Although this is true, OH and I travelled many miles on road trips through USA after he retired and we did find horses kept on their own. I remember one in particular at a remote fort in Texas. He (or she) was in an earth pen wth an enormous hay feeder. There was also an NR member from Montana who kept a horse at his home where we visited. I am not saying it is ideal, but it is a cultural thing. In rural USA a person may well keep a single horse.
And it used to be so in UK. OH's grandfather kept a horse to take veg from his small holding to the market in Wakefield. Two of my gt grandfathers who were more middle class, a doctor and a parson, and both of them kept a single horse for making house calls. A horse was always an expensive posession and an ancestor of mine listed his horse (just the one) in his will in about 1799.
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Just because it’s done by people who don’t know better doesn’t mean it should be encouraged.
 
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I could say mine lives on her own, but actually she doesn't. She lives some of the time solo. I was concerned about that, but, she's very independent and she's okay with it.
If that changes, I will find her a pal.
The three others she's with call and nicker to her, she on the otherhand barely looks their direction.
 
newforest said:
I could say mine lives on her own, but actually she doesn't. She lives some of the time solo. I was concerned about that, but, she's very independent and she's okay with it.
If that changes, I will find her a pal.
The three others she's with call and nicker to her, she on the otherhand barely looks their direction.
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But they’re there, I mean you wouldn’t keep a horse completely isolated.
 
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There are other things to consider too, such as what you want to do with your horse. You say elsewhere you've only just started riding so realistically you need an arena or at the least a schooling area where you can have lessons, and ideally an on site or local instructor. A yard with knowledgeable support since I get the feeling you don't even know how little you know - this needs to be there all the time to begin with, and yes it will cost you but far less than the vets bills and your healthcare bills will if you get things wrong. Longer term if you want to compete in a particular discipline you need the facilities to train in it, or if you want to hack you need access to suitable country. With your lack of experience you're going to have to pay until you know - you can't do what I have and buy a green horse with things that some people may see as issues, keep him on DIY and do the work yourself.
 
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