As horse owners ourselves at SEIB Insurance Brokers we strive to look after our equine friends to the best of our ability. Our day job as horse insurance experts helps us gain insights into best practice when it comes to keeping our horses and ponies happy and healthy. We all appreciate that keeping horses can be costly and one of many costs associated with this is looking after their feet.
How often do you shoe a horse?
The old saying ‘no foot no horse’ rings true to this day. Hoof care is an essential part of owning and looking after a horse or pony. In addition to the daily picking out of hooves and checking all is well, all horses and ponies need regular attention from a farrier or barefoot trimmer, generally between every four and six weeks. Horses that require specialist shoeing or treatment for lameness or injury could need visits more frequently.
Equestrian Money Diaries
We’ve been working with top equestrian influencer Rhiannon Davies, better known as @RidingWithRhi for several years now. A Marketing professional herself, Rhi keeps her many followers up to date with the different aspects of her equine journey. For the past four years Rhi has run a project, Equestrian Money Diaries. Set up as an anonymous survey, Equestrian Money Diaries provides a detailed insight into what it costs to keep a horse or pony across the UK. With nearly 400 respondents so far in the 2025 running of Equestrian Money Diaries, many useful insights are provided into the costs of keeping or owning a horse.
Rhi said: “I originally set up Equestrian Money Diaries because, as an adult, I was finally in a position to buy my first horse and wanted to do that responsibly, being aware that it was a big financial undertaking.
“However, I found that there was very limited up to date information about the true cost of owning a horse. I wanted to change that and set up EMD so that anyone from around the world could share their costs. We've since had thousands of inputs and this year, for the first time, I set up the publicly available spreadsheet to bring together averages for each individual cost in real-time, so that anyone, anywhere can have the information.”
Barefoot or shod
Data from the 2025 Equestrian Money Diaries survey suggests that in the UK there is a fairly even split between horses that are kept barefoot and those that are shod either just in front or all-round. A significant number of horses and ponies also require specialist shoeing. This can include both remedial shoeing to horses overcoming illness or injury, or horses that will require long-term specialist shoes that could include glue-on shoes or pads or wedges placed under conventional shoes.
How much does a farrier charge to shoe a horse?
The Equestrian Money Diaries survey found that just over a quarter of horse owners and keepers pay between £25 and £50 per horse per farrier or barefoot trimmer visit, with around 40% of respondents paying between £50 and £100 each time their horse has his hooves attended to. Around 16% are charged over £100 per horse, per visit. Just over 4% of owners’ bills came in at over £200. Examples from the survey found horse owners often paying from between £50 - £75 a pair of front shoes. A full set of shoes was frequently charged at £75 - £100 with a minority paying between £100 - £125 for the same.
For horses and ponies that are barefoot trimmed, most owners paid between £50 and £75 per horse for each visit by a qualified trimmer.
“If there's one thing I've learned about setting up Equestrian Moneu Diaries, it's the hugely variable costs of shoeing horses, both around the country, styles of shoeing available and needs of the individual horse. Therefore, doing your research and having 'wiggle room' in your budget is something I would always advise.”
To find out more about the costs of owning or keeping a horse or pony from Equestrian Money Diaries click here.
About SEIB
SEIB Insurance Brokers have been providing insurance for Horses for over 60 years. We provide a flexible range of policies to suit your needs from Horsebox Insurance and Horse Trailer Insurance too. Our experienced team of horse owners can help provide you with advice on what cover you might need.