[Blkarab]

I only included my salary, not hubby's...so I'm in the 35-40% range...however, I am boarding 2 horses and I just moved them to a higher $ facility. Before, I was pitching in for barn work, and some $ were cut off my board. Paying more for not having to do stalls is....priceless! I'm also now paying for lessons...when they were included before. I'm hoping to be down to just one horse by the end of the year...so that will help a bunch.

[mvp]

This is a great thread. Really, it's THE budgeting question for all of us horsers.

I currently spend close to 20% of my after-tax pay on horsing. IMO, that's too much. It just sounds wrong.... except for the other stuff I don't spend money on and the joy (read: sanity) that Horseboy brings.

To me, the problem is to put the nefarious Horse category in line with the other biggies that are fixed--- Housing, Kids (including their college fund), Retirement, Debt Repayment.

I have a narrow and agile life so the 20% I spend is responsible, in part because I don't have kids, love having no granite-countertop needs and do have a spending plan that allows for debt repayment as well as retirement.

Boyhowdy those things like having to outlive my working and riding life get in the way! If I knew when I was going to be dead anyway, I'd ride a lot more.

[newhorsemommy]

Roughly 20% of my take home pay (not our combined income) for two horses, which kind of sounds horrific, but it includes board, farrier, and lessons. I could reduce that percentage if I really needed to.

It helps that we don't have kids. Our mortgage is very low (I am actually now paying more for board than for my half of the mortgage). I have some other debt which I am working on, which would be knocked down much faster if I didn't have horses (and cats and dogs) with vet bills, but if I didn't have vet bills I would likely just have some ridiculous car payment or home improvement loan instead, so I figure it all evens out somehow

[mswillie]

Probably close to 20% of my own take home, not household pay. I do have the larger of the two incomes by far. I'm including everything I can think of including board, shoes, lessons, routine vet care, etc. I could certainly do it less expensively if I needed to. Cheaper boarding, no lessons, etc.

[Pookah]

Funny that you should ask, I just signed up for Mint.com and was promptly horrified to see the percentage of my income that goes to my animals (a very high maintenance dog and horse). But I live in a historic condo, so my mortgage is ridiculously cheap, which skews things a bit. I have at many points in my life spent more on boarding horses than on my own housing (post-college, lived in a tiny studio apt for $325/mo while I paid board of I think $375/each on two horses). I occasionally think the percentage is too high (mostly because more is not going to savings), but unfortunately I just have expensive taste in hobbies, and I think I'm unlikely to find something cheaper to fill my time. The other things I've been wanting to do are scuba diving and flying lessons, so I'm probably better off sticking with the horse :-)

[cnm161]

I'm in the neighborhood of 20% of my take-home after savings. I'm lucky that I don't have any debt to pay off (except my mortgage, which I'm calling rent) and I'm just starting off my career. I do about 4 rated dressage shows a year with my 2 horses, including the regional championships.

That'd be the reason I chose an engineering degree...

[Daatje]

My budget for the horse is 5% of take home pay. I probably spend a little more than that if I attend clinics or horse shows, which I usually don't, but food, vet and general upkeep is 5%.

The mortgage is 25%, so even if you add the entire mortgage/taxes/insurance to what I spend to own my horse and a horse property it's 30%.

Of that 25%, only 11% is the actual mortgage. 14% is property taxes and insurance.

Yes, I am the budget control freak who has the multiple worksheet excel spreadsheet outlining EVERY item and aspect of our finances in detail.

[spotteddrafter]

I'm at about 8%, however mine is really skewed. I work off all but $50 of my board every month. That 8% includes the $50 plus farrier and supplements, as well as the amount I put away towards vet/emergencies/etc.

[suzier444]

Well, the answer is uncomfortably high (20%-ish) but I am single, have no children, have no debt, still save plentifully for retirement and emergencies, and have chosen to forego many of the other things people my age spend money on (eating out, drinking at $$ bars, cable, entertainment, electronics, vacations, clothes that don't come from target, etc.) in order to indulge myself on the few things I do care about.

[maunder]

I'm in the 75% range but that is because I earn very little. I only earn about 1000 a month currently and I'm the sole support for my pets.

[soloudinhere]

board alone puts me at 16% of take home. I think if I add in shoes, vet, supplements I am at 20%. That's for one horse.

I put about 20% of my take home (as well as 5% pretax) into savings, so I'm fine with that number.

[Lauruffian]

By my calculations (fun! calculations! ...sorry, math teacher here), it's about 0.58% of our net household income.

Now I want to go shopping.