As y’all know, I’ve wanted a horse for the horse-crazy girl’s time unit of “forever”. More specifically, almost a decade. I’ve done all the steps of daydreaming a horse-crazy girl should– drawing pictures, staring at sale ads, dreaming about adventures, and of course, praying and writing a whole lot about it. You know the feeling.
But now that I’m grown (and thus, past the stage of ignorant bliss) I’ve taken a good hard look at what it will actually mean to own and pay for a horse.
And people, it ain’t pretty.
WARNING: WE ARE APPROACHING A REALITY CHECK. Should you wish to keep your innocent horse-loving dreams, do not read past this point.
Still reading? Okay, I warned you.
(This is why you should not get a stablehand job unless you’re ready to be fully hit with the implications of horse care. I’m telling you, it’s a very bitter dose of reality. The books lied.)
The truth is, the longer inflation goes on, the more cost it is to keep a horse. Horses eat 3% of their bodyweight in roughage (aka hay). So even if you don’t pay for grain, that still 30-36 lbs of hay or grass a day.
A regular-sized hay bale weighs about 25-30 lbs. Good quality horse hay costs anywhere from $4-$7 dollars. Let’s assume $5 as an average.
Doesn’t sound like much… until you add it up. Ignoring startup costs (the horse, tack, fencing, housing, etc) let’s look at how much it costs to keep a horse per year (I will also be ignoring deworming, vaccines, etc, because depending on how you choose to medically treat your horse, the cost will fluctuate)
So calculating hay costs, we’re looking at $1,825 a year for a single horse. Owch. Then there is bedding (not a problem for me, because I use woodchips from my land, but it could be a problem for you) which is about $18 for a bag of shavings and you need at least three a week– $2,808 in bedding a year. Then farrier bills– $60 every two months, $360 a year. For a grand total of… $4,993.
Almost five thousand dollars to keep a single horse for a year. And that does not include dental work, vaccinations, deworming, or anything else you may end up paying for throughout the year.
And, considering if you got that horse when he was five… that would be able $124,825 throughout an average lifetime of 30 years. This does not include medical examinations or special senior feed.
Okay, so maybe five thousand isn’t a lot in the adult world– but you can’t expect your parents to pay for everything. At some point, that five thousand dollars is going to land on you.
I don’t know about you, but there are a lot of other things that five thousand dollars could get me that would actually help pay for my future. Depending on the season you’re in, five thousand dollars a year probably isn’t practical.
What’s a horse crazy girl to do?
I was thinking the same thing. So I began to wonder– what about other equines? How much do they eat in comparison to horses? (Again, bedding isn’t a problem for me. I’m looking at mainly feed costs).
And guys, I have hit the jackpot.
I discovered the mule.
“Hold up, Allie!”
I see you there, waving your hands, panicked as you’re reading this.
“You can’t be serious! A mule? Do you really think a mule could ever take place of a horse? I wanted a horse so I could–“
Okay, okay, hold up. Yes, I know a mule isn’t usually the first thing you think of when you think about getting an equine, but before you click off this page to watch a YouTube video or something else that will be more worth your time, hear me out.
I’ll admit, I didn’t think much about a mule. It’s not that I don’t like mules… I just didn’t think of them.
But after some hard thinking and a bit of group brainstorming, I decided to look up mules, just to see. I had heard something about them eating less, but I thought that was a myth.
Turns out, my memory was correct, and there was a lot more to the mule than I thought.
The Mule’s Advantages and Disadvantages
There are a lot of advantages to the mule in comparison to the horse, especially when centered around the economic side.
- Mules eat about 1.5% of their bodyweight compared to a horse’s 3%. That’s half the feed, AKA half the price.
- Mules can eat browse (trees and bushes)
- Mules have more endurance than the horse.
- Mules can regulate their drinking and do better in hot weather.
- Mules are very hardy and do not get sick as easily as a horse.
- Mules are highly intelligent and take time to think things through longer than a horse.
- Mules are extremely surefooted– some mules are even used to take trail rides down the sides of the Grand Canyon.
- Mules often have a lifetime of 40 years, with a working life well into their thirties. Compared with a horse’s average lifespan of 30 years, that’s a decade more of companionship.
- Mules are easy keepers and rarely require grain.
- Mules enjoy lower-quality forages.
- Mules have excellent tolerance to weather, so often they can do quite well with a pen and a three-sided shelter. With such a setup, you may not need bedding except for very wet weather conditions. (You could halve that bedding cost!)
And these are just a few of the many benefits of mules.
Of course, the mule isn’t perfect either. There are a few things to consider with a mule.
- They need extra straps on their saddles, since their withers and crop are less pronounced than a horse’s. This includes britchen and breastcollars. Also, since their back and shoulders are thinner, they need a special mule saddle to prevent injury.
- Mules are prone to contracted heels, meaning that despite what a lot of people hink, they do need shoes.
- Mules take time to trust people. Once they understand that you’re the dominant mule and you’re not going to harm them, they’ll be loyal to the end, but they need handling.
- Well trained mules can be harder to find.
Honestly, it was the low-priced feed and low maitnence that sold me. Your startup cost is higher with the tack, but the maitnence cost is lower and you get a longer working life.
Of course, it also depends on what you want to do. There are mules in almost every equine profession, from dressage to cattle ranching, but finding a mule trained in the specific discipline you wish to pursue could be hard.
So to wrap it up, here’s a very handy chart that compares mules and horses.
| Quality Being Compared | MULES | HORSES |
| Roughage Consumption: | 1.5% | 3-3.1% |
| Hoof Care Needs | Slightly higher, prone to contracted heels because of donkey lines. | Depends on the breed, some have better hooves than others. |
| Availability | Harder to find well-trained mules, specifically trained mules may be expensive. | Widespread in a variety of breeds and disciplines. |
| Tack Needs | Bridle, saddle made to fit the backs of mules, britchen, breast collars, saddlepad, requires two saddle straps (tack may be different for English) | Bridle, saddle, may only need single saddle strap, saddepad. |
| Roughage Preferences | Likes lower-quality forage. Will eat brambles, bark, and leaves. | Prefers tender grass and greens to other forages. |
| Average Yearly Cost (Bedding, Feed, Shoeing) | $4050.5 ($2676.5 if you use an outdoor pen option with only bedding used when conditions are wet) | $4993 ($3,589 with the outdoor pen option with only bedding used when conditions are wet) |
The bottom line is, equines are expensive, period. They’re livestock, after all. A horse has a smaller startup cost, but higher lifetime maitnence; a mule has a larger startup cost, but a lower lifetime maitnence.
It’s an interesting though, isn’t it? What do you think? Would a mule fit into your life?
If you want to look more into mules, check out https://muleranch.com. They’re an excellent resource for everything involving mules.
This was an interesting read! Thanks for posting. 🙂