An independent guide to life with horsesNortheast edition · No. 01

Home/Ownership planner

Your quotes. The whole commitment.

What would it
really take?

Compare boarding with keeping horses at home. Use the same horses and professional care in both columns. Leave a price blank until you know it.

Optional starting point

Bring a farm’s reference.

01 / Set the comparison

The same horses. Both scenarios.

All horse-specific amounts below are per horse; property costs are shared. If individual costs differ, enter the average for those horses. Plan suitable companionship and experienced care before deciding on home keeping.

Blank means unconfirmed. Enter 0 only when a cost is included, unnecessary or deliberately funded elsewhere. All figures are USD.

02 / The boarding scenario

The farm’s bill, plus the extras.

Ask for a matched quote. Include mandatory training and add only the lessons and services outside the package.

/ month
per horse
/ month
per horse
/ month
per horse
/ month
per horse
/ month

03 / The home scenario

The work behind the board.

Count the supplies, the property and the people who help. Existing facilities still need maintenance.

/ month
per horse
/ month
per horse
/ month
per horse
/ month
per horse
/ month
/ month
/ month
/ year
/ year

04 / Care in either place

Same care. Same comparison.

These amounts are added once to each scenario. Use your professionals’ quotes and the interval appropriate for your horses.

/ year
per horse
/ visit
per horse
/ year
per horse

Six weeks is an editable arithmetic starting point, not care advice. Annual farrier cost uses 52 ÷ your interval.

/ month
per horse

Contingency saving is shown separately from expenses. It is not an estimate or limit for emergency care.

05 / Before the horses arrive

Startup cash.

One-time totals for all horses. Kept separate from recurring expenses. Refundable deposits are still cash needed at arrival.

one-time total
one-time total
one-time total
one-time total
one-time total
one-time total

06 / Your time & assumptions

The parts a bill doesn’t show.

Total for all horses and chores. Owner time is displayed separately; hired help is already a cash cost above. Riding and boarding travel time can be recorded in your notes.

Saved in this browser when you edit.

The figures are planning subtotals, not market averages or financial advice. Land appreciation, opportunity cost and unquoted risks are not modeled. Read the budgeting guide.