We just bought our new horse, Gin. He’s a 7 year old off the track thoroughbred. I guess I forgot to remember all the things you need when you buy a new horse. I’ve spent the last month realizing all the things I didn’t have for our new horse, Gin! It doesn’t help that Dede is a monster of a horse, and wears a size 87 blanket, oversized bridle, a wide saddle, and pretty much everything is big. Gin wears a 76″ blanket, has a narrow to medium narrow tree, and wears horse sized stuff. He’s quite petite compared to the big Dede! I suppose you may not need much if you already own a similarly sized horse to the one you are buying, because had I purchased another monster sized warmblood, I would be just fine. I have multiples of everything for her because we’ve had her so long. But since they are completely different and I sold all my normal horse sized stuff about 11 years ago when we got Dede, I had to rush out and buy a few things.
So I compiled a list of things I have had to purchase in the last month – hopefully this list can help you know what to track down before getting a horse, or at least prepare you for the expense. Gin was kind of a surprise to us (we have looked at a lot of horses in the last few years but none were the right one), so I wasn’t prepared to need to buy all these things or even him! If we had been planning to buy a horse sized horse, I would have started looking for these items used a long time ago. This list will give you an idea of what you need for your new horse (parents – if your kids want to ride horses, these are some common starting expenses!). This list does not include the cost of your horse! You may be buying a $100,000 horse, in which case, you probably won’t really care about the costs on my list. But whether you’re spending $0, $1,500, $5,000, or $10,000 you should be ready for these additional expenses!
First thing I had to buy was a halter and chain (we don’t own a chain, and he definitely calms down and is better behaved in a chain. We are working on transitioning away from it, but in the meantime, it is very helpful for a horse coming off the track). I love leather halters, they are durable and break in emergency situations. You can also get one piece (typically the crown piece) replaced if your horse pulls back and breaks it. My Cost = $73.98 (for leather halter and chain lead)
I buy leather halters that are made entirely of leather (the Perri’s leather turnout halter above is my favorite!), but a leather crown piece also provides breakaway safety. This Weaver breakaway halter is also a good option and less expensive at only $34.95 at the time of this post:
We also needed a new water trough. There were some troughs left behind on our property, but they have holes in them and were apparently used as feeders (ie not useful for water!). I love these big Rubbermaid troughs, they are durable and easy to clean. You can also put in a heater in the winter, which comes in handy. I do suggest buying these tanks at your local Big R, Murdochs, etc, as you will pay less than getting it shipped from an online source! My cost = $99 + tax
Something else we needed for his stall/pen were rubber mats. Thankfully our barn had a ton of stalls set up, so we could easily pull mats into Gin’s pen. But it’s an expense to remember! Rubber mats will run you at least $40 for eat mat (about 4’x6′). Also check Craigslist and Facebook for used mats as I have seen them on there quite regularly.
We also needed a new, or clean saddle pad. I had a new one already at home that Dede hadn’t use, so we didn’t need to buy one nor wash anything to start trying on saddles. My cost = free, expected cost $20 + per pad, and you should probably have a few on hand.
We definitely needed a saddle! Dede wears a wide tree saddle, and Gin measures between a narrow and medium narrow. Thankfully a very good friend sent me a saddle that fits! Once he muscles up a bit we may need to find something else, but right now, this saddle works great! I did try on an old medium tree saddle that I owned, which made Gin pretty crazy on the lunge line (which indicates that it didn’t fit!). Since of course nothing fits both of our horses, we did have to buy a new dressage girth for Gin! His is 8 inches shorter than Dede’s ;). Like I said, she is sort of a monster when you compare her to a “normal” sized horse. Saddle cost = free-$2,000+ (try to buy a saddle used – many tack stores will let you take them on trial so you can try them out). Girth cost = $89 + tax (I bought the same girth I have for Dede on Ebay, they are almost $300 new. This cost varies based on what you buy!)
I used to buy cheap tack (which is totally fine if that is all you can afford) but it kept breaking way too quickly. Now I save up and buy the high quality item I want, or I search for a good deal on the same item used. High quality used tack can last your lifetime. Tack and blankets can be easily cleaned and used without worrying about what horse wore them previously.
We also needed a new (or clean) set of brushes and a hoof pick for Gin. I already had all of these things lying around so it was not something I had to buy. But this is something to consider when you purchase a new horse. I don’t like to use the same brushes on different horses, and I also don’t like to use the same hoof pick. Call me weird, but they both have thrush going on, but they smell different, ie I think I could give them another form of thrush if i accidentally used the same pick on them both. So I don’t do that!
I’m guessing much to the delight of our hay supplier, we needed double the hay this year! I told him how much I wanted and he said “for two horses?” Yup! He was shocked when I told him our mare ate about five to six tons of hay last year! Now Dede may be a little chunky these days but I’d rather have chunky horses than skinny ones. Buying your own hay is expensive (well buying GOOD hay is fairly expensive) but it is well worth it! Horses do really well with a high quality forage! I boarded at a horrible place that changed the hay constantly. I don’t think that’s healthy for a horse, and hay should be green and smell good. I like a nice consistent hay stack that I can feed the whole year! I think Gin will eat as much, if not more, than Dede, so we are stocking up now. Then we won’t have to buy hay for at least a year. However, this additional hay is also an additional expense that we weren’t really planning on!
Since Gin is much smaller than Dede, we need to get a blanket for him. We don’t blanket much, but if a horse is shivering or gets soaking wet, I like to put on a blanket. Dede wears an 87″ (hard to find much variety in that size – don’t get me started) and Gin wears a 75/76″. That is kind of crazy that Dede is 10+ inches longer than Gin! Anyway, I decided to buy a Horseware blanket used. I don’t want to spend a ton of money since I am not positive he’ll need a blanket, nor sure if he will even want to wear a blanket. I’ll give it a good wash and it will be good as new! Used: $100, New: $300+!! You can find much cheaper blankets that will hold up decently. I like Weatherbeeta, Horseware, Smartpak, and Schneider’s blankets. Horseware is usually the most expensive but I also really like the fit and durability.
Another thing you may need is a cooler. Gin is a wooly mammoth, nothing like the typical TB with thin skin and hair. This means that he sweats like a wooly mammoth in all that hair as well. So a cooler is necessary to dry him out after he’s been romping around and gotten drenched. I chose this high neck cooler because his neck and chest are typically his sweatiest spots.
Have you bought a new horse recently? Were there any unexpected items you had to purchase when you got your horse? I think we can all agree that horses are expensive and always hit us with new bills every time we think we’re about to get ahead!
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