Here we come to the article that I hope my husband will never read: What are my horse’s monthly expenses in Dubai? I will provide you with details about all the costs I incur for my horse Yazan, including both recurring expenses and occasional purchases. In this article, you will find all the information and links to purchase the same equestrian products I’ve selected for the best care of my horse.
Before you continue reading, please be aware that the list of expenses in this article depends on specific choices I made based on my horse’s age, breed, and lifestyle. If you are looking for a more generic guide on how much it costs to keep a horse in the UAE, I suggest you read the linked article.
Let me give you some context about my horse Yazan
In order for you to understand some of the choices I made for my horse’s monthly expenses, I need to provide you with an overall picture of my horse’s health conditions and the activities we do together.
Yazan is an Arabian stallion born in 2008, making him 16 years young 😄. He’s an ex-race horse, whom I would describe as half-rescue. I began leasing him in 2021 from Al Ali Stable in Al Ruwayyah, Dubai, and I quickly became attached to him, appreciating his curious yet thoughtful personality.
Upon learning that he had just completed six months of stall rest for a bowed tendon on his front leg, I decided to purchase him to prevent any chance of him returning to work as a stable horse. Investigating on the Emirates Arabian Horse Society website, I discovered all the details about his story, including that he was bred for flat racing. He had a very successful, albeit short, career as a flat racehorse in the UAE before retiring.
My initial plan with him was to start training for barrel racing and gymkhana western, but I soon had to change my plans due to his poor interest in arena work. Instead, I found out that he loves to go out for hacks and explore new places. After almost a year of working on rebuilding confidence for both of us, we now enjoy peaceful desert hacks covering distances of about 5-10 km. We aim to engage in saddle training at least 2-3 times per week during winter and once a week during the early summer mornings. For the remaining days, we focus on groundwork and learning various tricks, in which he enthusiastically takes part. I would describe him as a pleasure and hacking horse on a medium work schedule.
Stabling my horse in Dubai
The first expense I would like to consider for my horse is the monthly cost of livery. I stable my horse at The House of Horses, a private livery stable in Al Ruwayyah, Dubai.
There are multiple reasons why I chose to move to this stable; the main ones are the amazing community and the fact that the horses have extended turnout time. For both the horses and the owners, this place feels like a paradise.
My horse is currently stabled outdoors in a 6x6m box. Initially, the boxes had a sand flooring, but after he experienced two different eye ulcers last summer, I decided to cover the ground with cement and rubber mats. This will help to reduce the possibility of his eyes getting irritated and infected again.
This is how the box looked before and how it looks today:
How much do I spend on my horse’s livery?
The livery at this stable includes only the rent of the box. Each owner is responsible for their hay, feed, supplements, and farrier services. I will discuss this in detail in the paragraphs below.
We also make sure that our lovely horse groomers receive a tip from each one of us, as a sign of appreciation for taking good care of our horses.
Coming to the main topic of this article, these are my horse’s monthly expenses for housing and livery in Dubai:
Horse expense description | Recurrent/One-Time | Amount (AED) | Amount (USD) |
Livery | Recurrent – monthly | AED 1.500 | $ 410 |
Groomer tip | Recurrent – monthly | AED 200 | $ 54 |
Cement flooring | One-Time | AED 2.000 | $ 545 |
11 Rubber mats | One-Time | AED 1815 | $ 495 |
Wood shavings (20kg bag) | Recurrent – 20 bags x order last at least 2 months | AED 200 | $ 54 |
I could summarize by saying that the initial makeover of my horse’s box cost me AED 3.800 and on a monthly basis, I spend 1.800 AED for housing and wood shavings.
If you are interested, I purchase my wood shavings from Runk Al Falah Carpentry L.L.C. in Sharjah. They are kind enough to deliver the bags to our stables always on the next day after the order is placed.
If you want to compare horse livery prices around Dubai, I suggest you read these two articles where I listed all the stables and their services in Al Ruwayyah, Al Qudra, Al Aweer, and Murqquab, Al Khawaneej, Al Safa, Za’abeel. You can find there all the info you need to make the perfect choice if you are looking for a new livery for your horse.
My horse’s monthly expenses on hay and feed
As I mentioned in the previous section, at the House of Horses, the livery packages available do not include hay or feed. While for me I personally always preferred to purchase my horse’s feed, I have to admit that buying your own hay is such a pain.
Luckily we always get organized with other 8-10 people to bulk buy together, so at least we take turns dealing with the suppliers and organizing the delivery.
Before diving into the cost overview, let me explain what I feed my horse. Please consider that, as Yazan is a senior stallion, it is challenging for him to maintain weight throughout the year. It seems I have now found a good mix of fibers, calories, and proteins, which has stabilized his weight at 420/430 kg with a body score of 5-6.
Horse feed
I order my feed from Equestri-online as I find them very reliable and convenient compared to other local shops. They offer a wide variety of products, and you can earn points on every purchase to convert later into cash vouchers for your next orders. I mainly purchase Dodson & Horrell feeds, in detail:
1. Dodson & Horrell Essential Range – Active Horse Mix
2. Keyflow Pink Mash
3. Dodson & Horrell Sixteen Plus Mix
4. Dodson & Horrel Kwikbeet
5. Dodson & Horrell Fibre Fusion
No worries! I don’t give these feeds all at once; this is what I feed my horse on a daily basis:
- Breakfast: 2 kg of Essential range – Active Horse Mix
- Lunch: 1 kg of Essential range – Active Horse Mix
- Dinner: 1.5 kg of Sixteen Plus Mix + 0.5 kg of Kwikbeet.
I have now replaced the Kwikbeet with Fiber Fusion, which contains Alfalfa and seems to be helping him gain weight. The alfalfa chaff also helps with mastication, as his teeth are worn down with aging. If you are interested in knowing more about the topic, here’s an FAQ article about feeding alfalfa to horses.
After a ride, especially during summer times, I used to feed him 700g of Pink Mash that he doesn’t go crazy for, so I actually stopped feeding it.
Hay
My horse has hay available 24 hours a day. To be honest, I don’t measure how much hay he eats; as long as he has it all day long, I’m fine with it.
The overall costs for my horse’s feed and hay on a monthly basis are as follows:
Horse expense description | Recurrent/One-Time | Amount (AED) | Amount (USD) |
Feed | Recurrent – monthly | AED 600/700 | $ 160/190 |
Hay | Recurrent – monthly | AED 500 | $ 136 |
Electrolytes | Recurrent – (1 bucket lasts 5-6 months) | AED 55/60 | $ 14/16 |
In total, I spend around 1150 AED per month on my horse’s feed and hay. While finding an all-inclusive livery might be more convenient, for now, this option works for us as I am very happy to have full control over my horse’s diet.
What is the monthly cost for the farrier?
Yazan is currently on a 5-week schedule with the farrier. He wears shoes only on the front legs and undergoes basic trimming on the hind feet. Due to his previous injury on his front tendon, he wears aluminum suspensory shoes designed to prevent overflexion of the suspensory ligament, especially on soft ground.
P.S.: The photo below was taken after the first shoeing session when I re-engaged my usual farrier (after the new one ruined my horse’s hoof angles). Thanks to my trustworthy farrier, his feet now look even better after only four sessions.
The cost of these shoes is generally much higher than that of normal shoes. Additionally, I’ve chosen one of the most renowned farriers in the UAE, who is also generally more expensive.
I attempted twice to reduce the costs related to farrier services for my horse by changing the farrier and reverting to normal shoes. Unfortunately, this resulted in lameness one time and general distress in my horse’s body the other time. After these experiences, I made peace with my mind and decided that providing him with the best trim and shoes would prevent various consequences. We rarely or never experience lameness, physical distress, difficulty in picking up gaits, and an overall bad mood in my horse.
So, what are the monthly expenses for my farrier services? I spend around 1050 AED every five weeks. This is what it looks like on a monthly basis:
Horse expense description | Recurrent/One-Time | Amount (AED) | Amount (USD) |
Farrier: aluminum suspensory shoes (front) – trimming (back) | Recurrent – monthly | AED 1050 | $ 285 |
My horse’s veterinary expenses on an annual basis
Although it is pretty much impossible to define an average budget for medical expenses, I will summarize here what I spend on recurrent and planned visits on an annual basis.
Those expenses include flu, Tetanus and West-Nile vaccines that need to be repeated on an annual basis as well as dental care 2 times per year.
Horse expense description | Recurrent/One-Time | Amount (AED) | Amount (USD) |
Vaccines (flu, tetanus) | Recurrent – yearly | AED 80 | $ 21 |
West-Nile vaccine | Recurrent – yearly | AED 150 | $ 40 |
Dentist (400 AED every 6 months) | Recurrent – yearly | AED 800 | $ 217 |
Emergency veterinary expenses
What I faced with my horse in 2023 is not normally that common, but as it happened to us, it can happen to any horse. Yazan experienced two painful, large corneal ulcers, one at the beginning of summer 2023 and one at the end. Luckily, very luckily, both times he could be treated without any permanent consequences by the amazing staff of Sharjah Equine Hospital. The expenses for horse veterinary treatments are generally very costly, especially when the horse has to be hospitalized.
During that period, I took care of the hospital bills, the stable livery (yeah, no discounts if your horse is at the hospital), and the trailer rent expenses for the transportations from and to the hospital. I will summarize 2023 veterinary emergency expenses in a single table, as those cannot be calculated by month.
Horse expense description | Recurrent/One-Time | Amount (AED) | Amount (USD) |
Emergency vet visits | 2 times (AED 500 each) | AED 1.000 | $ 272 |
First hospitalization | One-time – yearly | AED 6.554 | $ 1.784 |
Second hospitalization | One-time – yearly | AED 9.230 | $ 2.513 |
Equine transportation | 4 trips ( AED 250 each) | AED 1.000 | $ 272 |
Thankfully, these are the only times I’ve needed an equine vet for emergency reasons. However, when owning a horse, you have to keep in mind that all sorts of things can happen. For this reason, it is always a good idea to keep a small amount of money in your savings dedicated to any sort of unplanned expenses related to your horse.
How much do I spend on training my horse on a monthly basis?
As part of my horse’s monthly expenses, I have to include his training sessions. Since I’m not competing in any specific discipline, my horse’s training is more focused on groundwork for general fitness and, in some specific cases, fixing some small behavior issues.
Currently, I’m not spending much on his training, even though in the past, we had to go through some intensive sessions. If you are curious, watch the linked video where you can see my horse’s reaction while being lunged before both of us sought help from a very skilled horseman trainer.
Here’s how much I spend on Yazan’s training on a monthly basis:
Horse expense description | Recurrent/One-Time | Amount (AED) | Amount (USD) |
Horse fitness training | 2 times x month | AED 200 | $ 54 |
Please note that this doesn’t mean I only train my horse two times per month. I ensure that we do groundwork at least once a week during winter and about three times during summer (when I tend to ride much less). I currently seek the help of this trainer since she is very good at keeping him active during the sessions, while with me, he is much more chill and doesn’t really work hard 😂.
Expenses for horse physiotherapy
I currently do not have regular physiotherapy sessions planned for Yazan, for different reasons:
- By ensuring his feet are well taken care of, he remains very balanced and doesn’t often experience physical pain. Prevention is better than curing.
- To be honest, after all the expenses listed above, my monthly equestrian budgets get exhausted pretty soon every month.
I try to ensure we always do some carrot stretches before training, and I give him a massage before releasing him in the box. For this purpose, I got a massage gun that I have to admit really does the job. You can get the same on Amazon if, like me, you don’t have a big budget for regular physiotherapy sessions.
Please remember that the massage gun cannot in any way replace a professional. In my case, I know Yazan doesn’t suffer from any particular condition, and the gun only helps him relax his muscles after riding or training.
In conclusion, I would say that I consult a physiotherapist only a couple of times per year when I notice muscle spasms in my horse’s back, and this is the current yearly expenditure:
Horse expense description | Recurrent/One-Time | Amount (AED) | Amount (USD) |
Physiotherapy session | 2 times x year | AED 650 | $ 176 |
Secondary costs that contribute to my horse’s monthly expenses
The biggest reason why my horse’s monthly expenses are so high is that he eats a lot of carrots 🥕🥕🥕🥕😂. Jokes apart, I will summarize in the table below all the side items that add up to the monthly horse budget.
Horse grooming expenses
To provide you with more information before we delve into costs, I usually brush Yazan almost every day and do a full grooming session, including a shower once per week. At least three times per week, I properly clean his hooves and apply some oil to keep them protected against bacteria. The most substantial expense regarding grooming is probably at the beginning when you have to buy all the essential grooming tools and brushes. As for now, it’s just replacing some products such as the oil or the equine shampoo that finish once in a while.
On top of grooming, yes, carrots are to be added as an expense as well. I probably buy 4 kg of carrots per week, and I currently find them at AED 6 per kg at any Carrefour or local shop. This is the only snack I currently feed to my horse.
Security camera
This is one of the latest additions to my horse’s monthly expenses. I currently have a camera installed in Yazan’s box. I don’t like the idea of having no clue about what he’s doing during the day, especially when I’m traveling. Having a camera installed makes me feel much more relaxed if I cannot visit him for a couple of days or weeks. I also sometimes watch him during the day and ask the groomer for extra help to clean his box or fill his hay net when needed.
I got my outdoor camera on Amazon. The reason why I love it so much is because it comes with a small solar panel that makes it very reliable all the time. I can choose between high and low-resolution video streaming as well so that I can make sure I don’t run out of data. With this camera, you can choose between wifi connection or SIM data. Since there’s no wifi at my stable, I had to get a dedicated SIM card and pay for an annual prepaid plan with data from DU.
On Amazon, you can find a great choice of outdoor cameras for all budgets. If I can give you some advice, just pick the one with the solar panel because it really makes a difference in terms of reliability.
These are pretty much all the side recurrent expenses for my horse Yazan and here’s an here’s a summary of the costs:
Horse expense description | Recurrent/One-Time | Amount (AED) | Amount (USD) |
Grooming products (hooves oil, horse shampoo, fly spray) | When needed, total yearly expenses divided per month | AED 150 | $ 40 |
Carrots | 24kg per month | AED 144 | $ 39 |
SIM with prepaid plan | Yearly plan | AED 900 | $ 245 |
Outdoor camera | One time purchase | AED 279 | $ 75 |
Ultimately, What is the total sum of my horse’s monthly expenses?
Summing up all my horse’s monthly expenses listed above, it comes out that I spend around 3800 – 4500 AED per month. This includes livery, feed, hay, training, grooming, and all the other side recurrent expenses.
And what about you? How much do you currently spend on your horse’s well-being? Let us know in the comments below.
