I have a financial question

Prooos

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Jan 15, 2025
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Say I have three horses and I'm spending $500 a month on boarding, how much would I have to make each year to care for those horses properly in North Carolina and be able to travel when I please, without having to cut Corners Etc, my boyfriend says I need to make nearly a million dollars to do this but I don't believe that, the $500 on that thing is just for example I believe I could board a horse for $300 each month at my nearest facility, any other questions you have I will answer to the best of my abilities, I'm also currently 18 years old female no high school diploma and no secure income at the moment I do odd jobs and have help from family at the moment, I want to know though how much I myself would have to make to care for my animals without help from someone else
 
I'm in the UK, as are most people on here, so can't help you with prices. One thing I will say though is that if you have no secure income then you're very likely to run into big financial problems because boarding can easily be the least of your costs - one decent vet bill can be far more than the monthly board for three horses, and then you have feed, shoes/trimming, wormers, vaccinations, insurance, tack etc etc. And you want to travel too so not only is there the cost for that but you also have to pay someone to look after your horses while you're away. Honestly I would say that if you have no significant secure income you cannot afford horses!
 
I'm also in the UK, so not much help on actual costs, but you can probably fill in the blanks on a basic budget sheet. You would need to add up all the costs for you to live each month, rent/mortgage, utility bills, groceries, insurance, car running costs etc., then consider how much travelling you would want to do and the type of places you would like to visit, how much would each trip costs and how many times a year would you go? Then consider horse care costs, as Carthorse suggested, the actual board isn't your only cost so you would need to calculate all of those routine extras, plus a bit more for unexpected bills, and extra horse care when you are travelling can really add up if you are on self care board. In an ideal world you probably need to earn 25% more than that total number you come up with.
 
You also need to consider whether you really want and need to own your own horse. I always intended to buy a horse of my own and had the budget for purchase and livery. I still do. But on both occasions when I was looking for a horse to ride, I was offered a share of a nice horse instead and I accepted.
My experience is that, if one rides or hacks the same horse once or twice a week for several years, one gets very attached to that horse, and feels safe riding that horse. So one stops looking for a different ride. There is an English proberb that " A bird in the hand is worth two in the bush." I ride the horse that I have got and not the one I might have dreamed of.
 
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Don't know any full service barn that charges $500 a horse. That says it's not just money it's time plus, you also have to make up the difference between what's provided and what's not. Hay round - 1000 pound is $120 a bale. For my three that's $240 a month during winter (3 months) and anytime there's drought. I'm forage only so all year they get haylage, legume hay and pasture access plus a ration balancer. Add trims or shoes, yearly vetcare (shots, teeth), other routine care like worming. Just throwing it out there but you're looking at $1800 a year for routine vet care, $200 a month forage (hay, haylage) for three (plus pasture) not counting round bales or grass squares. If there wasn't pasture access there'd be up to $600 a month in feed and forage per horse. You'd be lucky to get by with $850 a horse per month.

Minimum wage yearly is $15,000. Graduate and go to a trade or votech and you may be at $24,000. Out of that needs to come your living expenses like rent, car note, insurance, food, clothes... average yearly cost for YOU (no horses) to live in your state is $38,000. Average yearly cost for 1 (one) horse in your state is $10,000 to $26,000 - now multiply that by three.

No you don't need a million but you do need more than you're likely to make.

$38,000 - $30,000 leaves you $8,000 a year for you. That's a little more than $650 a month to buy food, pay rent, get to and from work, cloth yourself.... is your family or boyfriend willing to make up that difference? For how long?

Oh and forget about travel.
 
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