Category: Horses

One of the oldest domesticated horse breeds, the Akhal Teke is a lithe, hot-blooded breed developed for endurance and speed. Originating in the desert of Turkmenistan, Akhal Teke horses were once used for raids.

Now, Akhal Tekes are kept for dressage, showjumping, endurance racing, and pleasure riding. Though they’re leaner and lighter than most of the breeds used for these disciplines, Akhal Tekes can be valuable in competitive environments, and due to their rarity, they may be considered a status symbol.

If you’re interested in bringing home an Akhal Teke, here’s what you can expect to pay to buy, feed, and care for your horse.

Bringing Home a New Akhal Teke: One-Time Costs

Akhal Tekes, like other horses, can be expensive in both upfront costs and ongoing costs. As a rare breed, Akhal Teke horses can be expensive, especially from reputable breeders with proven performance.

Free

In most cases, you won’t see a rare or threatened breed like the Akhal Teke offered for free. Horses are rarely free, other than in situations in which they are retired, unsuitable for work, and strictly kept as pasture companions—especially not with breeds that can command high prices as competition or breeding stock.

Adoption

Adopting a horse from a rescue or a rehabilitation program, as with racehorses, comes with an adoption fee. The fees vary, ranging from $500 to $5,000, depending on the type of rescue organization and the horse’s health and background.

That said, Akhal Teke horses and sub-breeds are rare and highly sought so they’re unlikely to end up in rescues.

Breeder

The Akhal Teke is one of the rarest horses in the world, but the prices can vary widely according to bloodlines, age, and training. Some sub-breeds and lines are in high demand, commanding higher prices.

The cheapest option for an Akhal Teke is a foal, which costs about $8,000. The price rises from there, with one- or two-year-olds priced between $13,000 and $28,000. A three-year-old costs between $20,000 and $39.000. A four- or five-year-old may cost between $13,000 and $135,000, depending on its training, competition record, and more.

 

Initial Setup and Supplies

After the cost of the horse, the initial costs depend on what you buy. At the minimum, your horse will need a halter and lead rope, sheets and blankets based on your climate, and grooming supplies. Feed and water buckets, wash buckets, first-aid supplies, and other staples are typically provided in boarding facilities, but if you keep your horse at home, you will need to get these yourself.

If you plan on riding or driving, you will also need tack for your horse and appropriate riding gear for yourself.

List of Akhal-Teke Care Supplies and Costs

How Much Does an Akhal Teke Cost Per Month?

Several factors impact your monthly cost to keep an Akhal Teke, including its health needs, whether you board or keep your horse on your own property, and whether you plan to take lessons or show.¹

Health Care

The monthly costs for a horse’s health care vary widely based on the costs in your area for hay and grain, your horse’s general health and age, and any special needs it has. For example, competition horses that require special supplements, shoes, or additional insurance coverage will be more expensive than a retired pasture horse.

Food

Horses eat about 1–2% of their body weight in roughage each day, which is about 15 to 20 pounds of food per day. If pasture is available, that will take up some of the bulk of the roughage, but that comes with additional costs for seeding, maintenance, pasture rotation, fencing, and land costs like leasing or property taxes.

Both hay and grain costs can vary by type, location, and brand. Buying in bulk, particularly for hay, offers a lower per-unit cost and more cost-effective feeding.

Grooming

Unless you’re hiring a professional groom, the tasks for grooming will only take your time and the cost for supplies. Farriers are necessary to maintain your horse’s hooves, however, which can cost anywhere from $100 to $350 every 4–6 weeks. Some horses do well with just front shoes or barefoot, but if all four hooves need to be shod, or special shoes are needed, the price will go up.

Medications and Vet Visits

The costs of veterinary care don’t vary much from month to month, but they do from year to year. Horses get routine vaccinations and testing annually, including tetanus, rabies, West Nile, and Eastern and Western Equine Encephalitis, which cost about $150. There’s also a farm call, which ranges from $25 to $75, but that may be split between multiple owners if the vet is caring for several horses in the same visit.

Horse dental care is also needed annually, which includes teeth floating, a procedure that files the teeth to smooth rough edges. This can cost between $50 and $100, plus additional costs for root canals, extractions, sedation, or other procedures.

If horses need visits outside of the annual visit, that will also be another farm call and the cost of the exam, testing, and treatment. Depending on the nature of the injury or illness, this can run into thousands of dollars.

In addition, if your horse needs regular medications or supplements, that can add to the monthly veterinary costs.

Pet Insurance

Horse insurance differs from pet insurance in that it insures horses as an asset and income driver more than a companion animal.² There are multiple coverage options, including mortality, major medical, accidental death or dismemberment, loss of use, and liability insurance.

The monthly premium also varies by the horse’s breed, age, purpose, and medical history, so it can be anywhere from $15 to over $100.

Environment Maintenance

Horses have a lot of upkeep in buildings, land, bedding, and supplies. Many people believe that keeping a horse at home will be less expensive, but there’s the cost for land, building or maintaining a barn, pasture maintenance, fencing, and more, which can cost thousands of dollars each year.

If you choose to keep your horse at a boarding facility, the costs vary by location, the type of facility, and its amenities. Retirement boarding facilities or partial board options may only be a few hundred dollars per month, but full-board at a high-end competition facility with amenities like indoor and outdoor arenas could cost thousands of dollars per month.

Entertainment

If you plan to ride and want to take lessons, it’s important to factor that into your budget. Lessons in a group are cheaper, usually around $50 to $65 each, but lack individual attention. If you want a private lesson, they run between $75 and $150 per hour, and you’ll want to take at least one lesson per week. Riding clinics or lessons with top trainers can cost hundreds of dollars each.

If you keep your horse at a boarding facility that provides instruction, it won’t cost you anything additional to take lessons with your horse. In fact, some facilities offer prorated lessons for full-board clients. Otherwise, you will need to pay for transportation to take your horse to lessons, either by purchasing your own truck and trailer or paying for local transportation. Either option can add hundreds of dollars to the costs each month.

Finally, if you plan to compete, show fees will need to be considered in your budget. Depending on the show, the fees can cost $25 per class or upwards of $150 per class (more for a full division with multiple classes). You also need to pay for transportation to the show and appropriate show gear for both you and your horse, which varies significantly.

Total Monthly Cost of Owning an Akhal Teke

The costs of owning an Akhal Teke depend on many factors. If you have a prized competition horse and plan to enter local shows and take lessons during the week at a full-board facility, that can significantly raise your costs. But even keeping your horse at a low-cost facility or home costs money for building and land maintenance, food, bedding, and veterinary care.

Additional Costs to Factor In

Even with the best routine care, horses are always at risk for injury or illness. Emergency farm calls are often higher than routine farm calls, especially in the evening or on weekends, and you’ll have additional costs for diagnostics and treatment.

If the horse’s condition is severe, you may need to transport your horse to a large-animal hospital, which is not only more expensive but requires transportation through a service or your own truck and trailer. Major medical care for a horse can cost thousands or tens of thousands, especially if hospitalization or surgery is involved, so it’s best to have insurance coverage or an emergency fund to prepare for the unexpected.

If you plan to board your horse, you won’t need to worry about the costs of maintaining or replacing anything related to your horse’s care, such as fencing or feed or water buckets. This is also more convenient if you need to go away, as the barn owner or manager will care for your horse as part of your board. If you keep your horse at home, these financial responsibilities fall on you.

Owning an Akhal Teke on a Budget

Horses are large animals, and their care is expensive. Unfortunately, many horses end up in rescues because owners weren’t prepared for the cost of ownership. There are ways you can reduce the expense of keeping a horse, however.

Saving Money on Akhal Teke Care

If you have your own property, it may be cheaper to keep a horse at home than at a boarding facility. There are also low-cost boarding facilities that offer partial boarding, which means you take on a lot of the work of caring for your horse, like feeding, turnout, and cleaning stalls. Some boarding facilities also offer deals if you’re willing to do some of the barn chores in exchange for reduced board or free lessons.

It’s also cheaper to keep a horse as a pasture horse or a pleasure horse rather than for competition. Performance horses have more expensive requirements all around, not to mention the cost of lessons, training, and show fees.

One of the unexpected expenses with horse ownership is major veterinary issues, which can run you into the thousands or tens of thousands of dollars. It’s important to have an emergency fund or horse insurance to prepare for these expenses.

Conclusion

Akhal Tekes are prized horses that excel in many equestrian sports. Due to their rarity, these horses are often obtained from breeders rather than rescue organizations, and they can be expensive to purchase. Otherwise, their care is similar to other horses, so you can expect to pay between $525 and $3,350 per month to own an Akhal Teke. The costs depend on many different factors, including your horse’s health, where you keep it, and what you use it for.

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Horses have been used for thousands of years as a mode of transportation. The horse-drawn carriage has its humble beginnings in Mesopotamia around 3000 BC. As time passed, carriages took on various formats and became the main mode of transportation for thousands of years. Though cars are our main source of transportation now, horse-drawn wagons still serve a purpose for leisure and competition.

A horse-drawn carriage can travel anywhere between 2 to 12 miles per hour and as far as 30 miles daily. Keep reading to learn more about this method of transportation, including factors that can influence speed and distance and the load capacity horses can handle.

How Fast Can a Horse-Drawn Carriage Travel?

Most horse-drawn carriages will fall between two to four miles per hour when walking, though they can reach speeds of up to 12 miles per hour if the horse trots.

This is not a very fast mode of transportation, with a writer from 1617 describing covered wagons as a “very tedious” journey meant only for “women and people of inferior condition.”¹ Thankfully, improvements to the carriage design led to much greater speed and comfort for passengers. For example, in the mid-1700s, it would take two days for a horse carriage to travel from Cambridge to London, around 50 miles. By the 1820s, the journey could take as little as seven hours, thanks to coach improvements and road construction.

Is That Really as Fast as a Horse-Drawn Carriage Can Go?

Horses are exceptionally fast runners, with some faster breeders capable of reaching speeds of up to 45 mph. So, you might wonder if 10 miles per hour is the limit.

There are exceptions to the speed limit of a horse-drawn carriage. Chuckwagon racing is an equestrian sport where a team of horses leads drivers in a chuckwagon in a race around a track. The chuckwagon can reach speeds of up to 37 miles per hour.

This is a particularly popular sport on the Canadian prairies, but it can be dangerous. There have been five human deaths during the races, and over 70 horses have died due to the sport.

How Far Can a Horse-Drawn Carriage Travel?

Horse-drawn carriages can travel up to 30 miles daily, though the range is typically between 10 and 30 miles. A physically fit horse may be able to travel further than that. The distance it can travel will depend on several factors, including the terrain, horse, weather, and the carriage’s load.

How Much Weight Can a Horse Pull?

A horse can pull around one and a half times its body weight with a carriage over long distances. If traveling shorter distances, they can pull up to six times their body weight or, depending on the breed, even more.

The type of horse you’re working with can also determine how much weight it’ll ultimately be able to pull. There are two body type categories for horses: riding and draft horses.

Riding horses are lighter, leaner, faster, and more agile. But draft horses were bred for heavy tasks like pulling heavy loads, so they’re much more likely to excel at pulling heavier loads than their riding horse counterparts.

Of course, the adage “many hands make light work” does apply here. The more horses you have, the more their load capacity increases. Two horses working together can pull three times the weight they’d be able to if they worked alone.

How Does a Horse-Drawn Carriages’ Speed Compare to Other Animal-Powered Modes of Transportation?

Now that you know the average speed of a horse-drawn carriage, you might wonder how it stacks up against other animal-powered modes of transportation. Look at the comparison chart below to find out how the carriage speed compares to the average walking speed of other animals carrying loads.

Final Thoughts

Although we have much more efficient modes of transportation now, horse-drawn carriages are still a fun leisure activity and a competitive sport. Of course, at top speeds of 12 miles per hour, you’re not going anywhere in a hurry while traveling via horse-drawn carriage, but it certainly makes for a fun afternoon and a unique story to tell.

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Featured Image Credit: Holger Detje, Pixabay

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If you have a pony and want to know how much weight it can carry, the short answer is probably 60–130 pounds, making it capable of carrying a child or lightweight adult. However, the exact amount of weight that a pony can carry can vary. Keep reading as we discuss how you can determine exactly how much weight your own pony can carry, so you don’t put too much of a strain on it while it is still developing.

Determining How Much Weight a Pony Can Carry

There is no hard rule when it comes to determining how much a pony or pony can carry. However, most people agree that it falls between 10% and 20% of the overall weight of the animal. Limiting the carry weight to 10% enables the pony to operate at peak performance, and it’s unlikely to have any health issues later in life. Experts consider 15% a satisfactory weight limit, and anything over 18% puts the animal at potential risk for back troubles and even lameness.

Pony Tack

Pony tack is all the equipment that a rider needs to ride a pony, which includes the saddle, saddle blanket, stirrups, reins, cinch, bridal, and a few other things. You will need to add the weight of this equipment to the weight of the rider to ensure that you don’t exceed the recommended limits.

Pony Weight Limit Chart (in Pounds)

Pony Type

The kind of pony that you have will play a big part in how much it can carry because some ponies are much larger than others. However, the carry-weight-to-body-size ratio should remain the same, with only a few breeds, like the Shetland Pony, Connemara Pony, Highland Pony, and Welsh Pony, being able to carry extra weight.

Horse and Pony Breeds by Weight

How Much Weight Can Ponies Carry Compared to Other Animals?

How Can I Weigh My Pony?

The best way to weigh your pony is to use an equestrian scale, which you can usually find at the office of a vet who treats ponies. You can also visit a weighbridge if you have one in your area or use a weight tape that you wrap around the pony to estimate weight. Another formula that you can use to estimate your pony’s weight is: (Head Girth x Heart Girth X Body Length)/330.

Other Ways That People Determine How Much a Pony Can Carry

1. The Polocrosse Games limit the rider’s weight by the pony’s height.

2. In India, the maximum weight for ponies is 154 pounds.

How Much Can a Pony Pull?

A pony can pull about 10% of its weight if it’s dragging the load on the ground behind it. However, if you use a cart or wagon with wheels, your pony can likely pull up to 1.5 times its weight, and it can continue to pull it over long distances.

What Will Help My Pony Carry More Weight?

Summary

Your pony can likely support the weight of a small child or lightweight adult, but not much more than that. Limiting the load to 10%–15% of your pony’s weight is the best way to ensure that you don’t stress their back and joints, which can lead to health problems later in life. Larger and heavier pony breeds can carry more weight, while racing or dwarf breeds won’t be as strong. Maintaining a good diet with plenty of exercise will help the pony keep up its energy levels, and using a cart or wagon will enable the pony to pull up to 1.5 times its weight.

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