How much does a horse cost? Recording costs in the cost book
What a horse costs mainly depends on the stable – and the honest figure for your horse only comes from your own calculation. The Friends4horses cost book records every expense per horse with a photo of the receipt, counts recurring costs like livery by itself and deducts the share rider’s contribution. Everyone only sees their own entries. Entering costs and the monthly total are free.
For iPhone. The Android app isn’t on Google Play yet.
What costs does a horse have?
The cost book’s categories are the items that come up for almost every horse:
- Livery – usually the biggest item, every month
- Feed – hay, hard feed, minerals, if the stable doesn’t provide them
- Farrier – every few weeks, depending on shoeing
- Vet and equine dentist – vaccinations, faecal egg counts, treatments
- Physio / osteo
- Insurance – for example third-party liability for the horse, usually yearly
- Equipment, training / lessons, competitions, transport and other
Example: this is what a month looks like in the cost book
Figures chosen freely to illustrate – neither an average nor a recommendation.
| Entry | Repeat | Amount |
|---|---|---|
| Livery | monthly | €400.00 |
| Farrier | once | €90.00 |
| Third-party liability for the horse | yearly (due this month) | €120.00 |
| Share rider’s contribution | monthly | −€150.00 |
| Net this month | €460.00 |
How do I keep the cost book?
- On the horse, open “Costs” and enter an expense with amount, date and category; if you like, a photo of the receipt.
- Create anything recurring just once: monthly, quarterly, half-yearly or yearly, with or without an end. If the livery changes, end the old entry and create a new one – that way the past months stay correct.
- On a treatment in the health record, choose “Enter costs”: the vet category, date and title are then already filled in.
With Friends4horses Plus there’s the annual report – by month and category, with a comparison to the previous year on the same day – and the export as CSV for Excel.
Frequently asked questions
How much does a horse cost per month?
It mainly depends on the stable: livery is almost always the biggest item, plus feed, farrier, vet, insurance and equipment. An honest figure for your horse only comes from your own calculation over a year – that’s exactly what the cost book is for.
How do I account for the share rider’s contribution?
The owner enters a contribution, for example a fixed amount per month, and chooses the person who pays. For them it’s an expense, for the owner money coming in; the monthly total shows both as net. When their access to the horse ends, the contribution stops by itself.
Who sees my expenses?
Only you. In the cost book everyone only sees their own entries. The owner also sees what others have entered for them on their horse. Co-managers don’t see the owner’s livery just because they can enter appointments.
Can I export the costs to Excel?
Yes, with Friends4horses Plus, as a CSV file for one year, made for a German-language Excel (semicolon as separator, decimal comma). Entering costs, the receipt photo and the monthly total are free.