Wanting to own a horse but struggling to save enough money to get one? Let me tell you that you can own a horse in that sum of money as well, any guesses how? Not sure what I am talking about? Well, I’m directing you towards a baby horse. Buying a baby horse is a great idea only when you are ready for the emotional and financial commitment.
Investing in a baby horse is quite similar to jumping in the water without knowing its depth as you can only get to know how athletic the horse is after a year or two. But these young horses are too adorable for the risk. We have discussed how much fully mature horses cost several times, So, let’s talk about baby horses this time.
In this article, we would be discussing the price of a baby horse. Regardless of the breed, let’s see how these tiny little creatures are for? And what’s their upkeep cost?
How much does it cost to get one baby horse?
How Much Does A Baby Horse Cost? A baby horse can be bought for $800 to $1000 depending on the breed. As baby horses are generally bought with a lot of risks, they would not be functioning as a horse for at least two or three years, they are much cheaper than mature horses
Now that even you know bringing a baby horse home is quite affordable but are these tiny little creatures as easy and cheap to keep or not? It’s yet to find out.
How much does it cost to keep and raise a baby horse?
Since baby horses are much difficult and expensive to raise and keep so it’s important to discuss this part in detail. There would be a lot of feeding, watering, vaccination, vet, housing, and, training, etc cost involved.
Feeding cost
Baby horses can only be nursed by their mother until 3 weeks, the baby horses being sold are normally 1 or 1.5 months old. These little fellas even at this stage can not eat anything but grass and milk. The grass and milk for a month would cost around $40 to $50 but if the grass is freely available, the feeding cost of young horses is barely noticeable.
Water cost
Water is free but electricity is not. So, the total annual upkeep cost would be incomplete if the water cost is not included. The water or horse waterer cost is just as minimum as the feeding cost, adding $10 to $20 to the total monthly upkeep cost.
Vaccination
The young horses need to be vaccinated and taken care of just as much as our babies do. They need to be vaccinated for tetanus, influenza, West Nile virus, sleeping sickness, and rhinopneumonitis, etc at different stages in their life. The total vaccination costs would be $600 to $800.
Vet bills
Besides vaccination, young horses may require several other vet visits as well. It’s hard to tell how much you would be needing to save for monthly vet visits? On average, annual vet bills can go up to $485 to $600.
Training
As the baby horses are just walking out from their mother’s womb, training is mandatory to give them the push they need to start functioning as a horse. According to Research Gate, The well-reputed training institutions in the USA are charging $70 to $100 a day whereas the average institutions may demand you to pay $30 to $50 a day to polish the baby horse for this cruel world.
Housing
Whether you are bringing a baby or mature horse to your barn, you would be needing a separate stall for your baby horse. The stall can be built for $600 to $1000. Whereas, the fully equipped luxurious stalls can cost you $1500 to $2000.(Source)
Farrier bill
Some horse enthusiasts believe that hoof trimming is not needed until the horse reaches one year of age but it’s not true at all. Hooves growth is somewhat similar to nails growth, do our nails need trimming after one year of age? No? the Same is the case for horses. As the baby horses would be taken for trimming quite often the farrier bill would add up $40 to $50 for a regular trim. The special trimming and shoeing can make you pay up to $80.
Basic equipment and grooming accessories
The story doesn’t end on building a stall for your horse it must have the necessities as well. The necessities include a comb, grooming kits, face sponge, hard and soft brushes, fly spray, feeding, and water spots. These necessities can be bought online for $200 to $300.
Care-taker salary
As you have brought a baby horse home that requires careful handling as our babies do. It is recommended to hire a full-time or a part-time caretaker at least for five to six months.
The experienced care-takers would charge you more whereas, the averagely trained less. On average the full-time caretaker is being paid $40 to $50 a day. The part-time caretaker would charge half of the said amount.
Since this article is solely being written to help our readers, let’s briefly discuss what you need to look for while buying a baby horse for your barn. As it’s just as scary as online shopping you need to look for the appearance, attitude, and movement, etc.
Appearance
You have no idea how easily those judgemental eyes can save you from future disappointment. Carefully judge the baby horse by it’s appearance as you have nothing much to notice and to reach a conclusion.
Attitude
Once you are satisfied with the appearance, you can pay attention to the baby horse’s attitude. To judge the baby horse’s attitude, try putting pressure on its nose or get it saddled. Carefully judge how the horse responds, if you are finding it hard to understand take professional help.
Movement
Lastly, you have to check whether the baby horse is active or lazy. The horses that are active from the beginning would grow up to be the athletic horse than the horse that is normally seen being lazing around all day. Take your time, find the baby horse who appears well, shows a positive attitude and is not lazy at all.
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