Expert: Lisa Lee - 6/20/2009

Question
I might buy a horse that is $500 and I need to know how much are the vet bills and the boarding bills are.

Answer
Vet and boarding bills can vary greatly depending on where you are located.  

A farm call for a vet can run from 20-60 dollars generally, and that is to just come out to the facility.  Shots, well, for 3 horses spring shots, and coggins (required if you are going to be 'in public' with the horse) ran me about $300- a few weeks ago...so about $100/horse.

If a horse gets sick or injures itself, bills can run from the hundreds to the thousands.

As for board, in my area that ranges from maybe $200/month for pasture board, up to maybe $600/month.  I have known places that charge upwards of $1000-/month, but that is in affluent areas....(outside NYC).

The best thing to do is to take a look at the yearly cost in your area - call a few places that board, get estimates and figure out what the yearly cost would be, add at least $300- for vet bills, and also don't forget the FARRIER!  That can run from maybe $30- to over $100- every 4-6 weeks depending on if the horse needs shoes or not.