Cost Of A Horse

'work' worth another shot

DECIDING on which horse to back in a race is a tricky enough process for any person who puts a bit of thought into their betting -- but if the horse you're leaning towards picking cost you money last time out, it can complicate matters further.

As ridiculous as it sounds, punters often fall into the trap of believing the horse they backed (and lost on) somehow owes them something -- especially if that defeat was particularly narrow -- and will back it when it runs again in a desperate attempt to get their money back.

I remember a mate of mine putting €200 on Moscow Flyer to win €50 at Punchestown back in 2005 only to see him beaten by a short head. He then put €300 on at 4/11 next time out at Navan, but he was once again beaten. Finally, he put a monkey (€500) on in Moscow's following race at Leopardstown at Christmas, and the look on his face was priceless as the then 12-year-old got turned over at 8/11.

Three odds-on defeats in a row and a grand down the drain, you couldn't make it up!

objective

As someone who writes about horses, it's my job to be objective. However, the fact that I lost half a week's wages on Workforce when he was beaten by So You Think last time is still niggling away in my head as I go through the form for today's King George VI and Queen Elizabeth Stakes (4.30 Ascot), and I don't want to get into the situation where I throw good money after bad.

But, all past bets aside, I think a price of 6/4 about the four-year-old is fair value and, God help me, I'm going back to the well for more today.

That's not to say there are no concerns. Ascot is one of the trickier tracks in Britain and good course form is a big plus. Workforce flopped badly in this race last year, the only time he's raced at the course, but he's done nothing much wrong since and connections have learned an awful lot about the son of King's Best in the year just passed.

It looks like there will be a bit of cut in the ground, which will be to his liking, and the return to a mile and a half should also see improvement as he seemed like he wanted to go a little further when beaten in the Coral Eclipse.

St Nicholas Abbey is next in the betting but has been on the drift all week and on all known form he still has some 5lbs to make up if he wants to beat the market leader.

If any horse is to upset the party it could be Rewilding. He'll like the going, he's great over a mile and a half and he has also beaten Coral Eclipse winner So You Think in the Prince of Wales ' Stakes at this venue.

How much does it cost to feed a horse monthly? | Answares.com

Posted 32 minutes ago

It depends on the quality of hay you buy and how much the horse needs. How much the horse needs depends on age, work schedule, size and weight, and metabolism. Usually a 40-50 pound bale of hay is between $2-7 (in NY) for first or second cutting grass hay. I have a 16.1 Oldenburg, around 1175 pounds and she eats a little over 1/2 a bale per day (around 25 or 30 pounds of hay per day). She has an average metabolism and works 4-6 days per week. She also gets 6 pounds of Blue Seal Hunter per day in addition to the hay. I am not a fan of hay cubes. They are compressed so you typically need to soften them before feeding otherwise they will expand in the horse’s stomach and cause loads of problems. Also they don’t keep the horse occupied for as long as hay does. We had 3 emaciated horses come in our barn in August and they had been on hay cubes in their other barn, so we kept them on them while they were gaining weight- they were only on about 4 pounds (dry) hay cubes per day on top of free choice hay. They really aren’t necessary unless a horse can’t maintain weight.

Depends where you are really.

Hay is expensive at the moment because of the last two years bad harvest. A bale is about £3.50 -£4.50 depending on where you are (if in the UK). They eat about half a bale a day if they are out during the day and in at night – so roughly a bale every two days – say 4 bales per horse per week – thats roughly £16 a week for hay (during the winter – less in the summer of course). So roughly you are on about £24 a week so far with hay and hard feed per horse. Then if you add a roughage feed like mollychaff which is about £8 a bag and lasts one horse at least a month thats another £2 per week – so £26 . There may be other supplements to add to that if they have garlic, herbs, foot formulas etc. So roughly you are looking at over £100 to feed one horse per month. Roughly. Sometimes its cheaper if they live out – then its probably just hay they are having and it will be say half that price. For instance we have a clutch of ponies – each pony has one bale of hay a week each because we have a lot of grass, so thats say £4, then they have a handful of hard feed to keep them to hand and just supplement them through the winter – so a bag of nuts for one pony would last probably two weeks or more at £7 a bag – and thats it. So an out at grass pony would cost about £30 a month to keep.

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