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[elevenelevenxo]

i'm psyching myself out about coppertop farms. i keep thinking it's above my level. it's definitely out of my comfort zone, but that's not always a bad thing. in fact, stepping outside of that comfort zone is something i need to do more.

but aside from that, jamie said she can't really pay someone money right now, but would give me a stall or let

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[heezer]

"she said it costs her about $200/mo to take care of one horse. which is way higher than i estimated in taking care of missy, for example. i can't figure out what would cost that much....."

maybe I can help you out. :D
First off--barefoot horse vs. shod horse. Barefoot trims run anywhere from $25-$35 down here. Shoes--2 fronts will set you back $75+, all 4? Around $125+
That should be done ideally every 6 weeks as i know you know :). So if she has a horse that gets all 4 feet shod and that's what she is talking about, there is half of a month right there taken in one fell swoop :D

Dewormer--not everyone does it monthly...I do it every other month usually...$10-15 a dose

Hay--right now, my 3 are eating $140 total in hay each month--it's free choice and I got one helluva deal on it...If I would have bought it from my old hay guy...I'd be spending $140/month PER horse.

Grains/sweet feed/beet pulp/whatever they put in their tummy. Riot gets a feed that is $17/50 lb bag. He goes through one of those a week. In addition to that he also gets beet pulp(again, one a week for him). Beet pulp is around $18/bag. The mares--Erin sent down some suppliment type hard feed for Sadie...35lb bag and I know it was well over $25 a bag. One bag lasts her about a month. She also goes through a bag of beet pulp per week. Gypsy--her grain is a bit cheaper--$12/50lbs and one of those lasts her 2 weeks. And...add in another bag per week of beet pulp for her too! LOL. A 50lb bag of BOSS lasts the whole herd a month...that's around $23 there.

already, right there, with my cheapest horse to feed--Gypsy...and my farrier charges $25/trim....and I picked a $12 wormer for that month. I'm at $203.
Haven't added in shavings(I don't stall my horses)...or mineral block ($8 month for the 3 of them)...or any vet care (like when Riot decides he's going to colic on me 2 times in one week)...or blanket buying(those things only last about one winter for my beasts...after that they are a blanket to throw under a new blanket..haha...and the things you buy yearly as new halter if needed, new leadropes if needed(i always do...but I leave some of mine outside by the gate along with older halters so if the horses had to be gotten out in an emergency and all that jazz)

Anyway...if you have a bad gut feeling about the place or if it's right for you...keep looking. I have faith that you'll find the perfect place for yourself and you'll get that perfect horse to keep there :) If you are ever horse shopping online, catch me on AIM ;) I always like looking at nice horses for sale (i do it all the time, even though I already have 3 and no room for any more!!! hehe)

[elevenelevenxo]

the thing that really confused me was she said she'd give me free board and that her barn is full service so i wouldn't need to pay for hay, grain, or bedding. she said i could free lease her gelding and just pay for upkeep (which in my mind was everything other than feed, hay, and bedding since those were included in board, which was free), which was $200 for her for one horse. that's why i'm confused. aside from board for missy, it wasn't going to be that much since farrier was only $45 every 6wks and vaccinations weren't too bad. granted, that was without estimating any emergency costs. i'm planning on insuring any horse i get incase of something like colic.

i think i can manage it, but i do think it would be a better idea if i could free lease to make absolutely sure, you know? it afforded missy just fine and if i didn't end up putting a down payment of $1200 on my car when i bought it, i would have continued to be just fine.

so i don't know. i just need to find a place to board that is relatively inexpensive!

[heezer]

maybe he gets special treatments? massage and chiro and all that?

that is strange though.

I think, with you living further up north in OH...you are going to run into more show focused barns and barns that cater to that and thus think they can charge an arm and a leg. :-/

However...horse insurance IS pretty cheap :) Erin had insurance on Sadie when she had her up in MI, and I know it wasn't that much at all...want to say something like $35/month...and that was with the extra broodmare insurance on her at the time because she was wanting to cross her to a polish arab for a sport pony...but plans changed.