Transcript:

[0:04]

[Music] Last year was a tough year for me and my family. My biological father, who I was very close with — John — had Alzheimer’s, and the last few years of his life he wasn’t all there. Anybody that’s had to deal with Alzheimer’s with the elderly knows it’s tough. The last time I saw him, just a few months before he passed, he didn’t know who I was. And there was a glimmer, when I was hugging him, tears down my face, knowing that was probably the last time I would see him — he told me, “It’s okay, son.”

[0:40]

Now just a few weeks later, tragedy struck again when my stepfather, who I was close with also, passed. And it was one of the hardest months of my life — losing both my fathers, who I attribute to raising me and making me the person I am today. The reason I’m telling you this is because if I could go back and just have one more dinner with each of them individually, just to talk about life and their grandchildren and how I’m doing, I would give anything for that. I would pay any amount of money for that.

[1:27]

And as I was preparing for this podcast, it got me thinking — how much would you pay to live just one more day on this planet? How about a week? A month? Or how about how much would you pay just to live another year or more? Because last week I was talking about the benefits of working with horses and horseback riding, and wow, I wish I could have invested in a horse riding simulator for my stepfather and had him ride it a few times each week to strengthen his core muscles, so he wouldn’t have been as frail as he was when he fell — which ultimately led to him passing on.

[2:07]

What I wouldn’t have given to take my dad, who was a rodeo cowboy who rode bucking broncs back in the 1960s and ’70s, and just to see his face around horses one last time. So when we talk about the cost of owning horses, or the cost of maintaining these horses, when we measure that against the benefits of them — the costs don’t matter. The experience we have with them is priceless.

[2:46]

“Secretary of being led — he is number — the horse, and the horse is the best thing in the world, isn’t it?”
“She’s always — I’ve always loved them, really, ever since I was a little girl.”
“Everybody’s in line, and they’re off! Secretariat away very well, has good position—”
“The love — I never thought owning a horse could mean so much to me.”
“That’s Secretariat now taking the lead—”
“The madness — what kind of a horse is that? I’ve never seen a horse like that before.”
“Tightening now — he is moving like a tremendous machine—”
“Their story — Mustangs were more involved in the early development of this breed than I thought they were, but they were—”
“…car has opened the 22-length lead. He is going to be the Triple Crown winner!”

[3:38]

[Music] Hello, I’m Dr. Chris Mortenson. I’ve been an equine educator, scientist, and enthusiast for over 20 years, and in this episode of Mad About Horses we’re going to talk about the cost of owning horses — like what goes into purchasing and taking care of these animals. And just to get to the very end — on average, according to data in the United States, horse owners can spend as little as $2,000 a year, upwards of $44,000 per year on average. And that’s if they have their own facility. If you need somewhere to board your horse, that’s going to increase the cost to $10,000 to $15,000 USD per year.

[4:32]

So that’s it, that’s the podcast — that’s on average how much people are paying to keep their horses. But I’m going to make a promise to you: if you keep listening, we’re going to talk a little bit more about the specifics, and you can compare either your own costs of what you’re spending on your own horses, or — if you’re thinking about wanting to own a horse — this is going to give you a lot of insight into how much money you’re going to need, probably month in and month out, to properly care for your animals.

[5:04]

And then always, whenever I would talk about health and nutrition to horse owners, my goal was to try to see if I could help them save a little bit of money — because it can be an expensive hobby. And the goal when I was putting this together was helping some of you maybe see where you can smartly spend your money, or there’s something in there you might not have thought about before and you’re like, “Oh, okay, maybe I need to invest in that.” So I’m making that promise to you — and it’s going to be a fun journey.

[5:43]

Opening, talking about my fathers, it really got me thinking these last few days about how much — or how little — we invest in ourselves. Some people go to the gym to maintain their health. On average in the United States, people spend up to $750 a year in gym memberships. Last week we talked about the benefits of horseback riding — how a good 45-minute session is on par with moderate exercise. Gets your heart rate up, gets you sweating, gets your metabolism going — you’re working your core muscles, you’re working from head to toe every muscle in your body as you ride that horse. And it’s very beneficial to your physical health.

[6:26]

Then I thought about mental health, which is priceless for many of us. Life is difficult in this day and age — what we’re calling the Information Age. We are just bombarded, and we’re on the go, and life can be stressful, even though we have all these creature comforts, and our diets are better than ever, and our automobiles are safer, and all of that stuff — it’s still a lot of stress. And so, just in the United States last year, over $280 billion was spent on mental health. And again, when we talk about the benefits of being around horses, being outdoors, exercising, adding this activity to your life — we spend a lot of money on other things. Even like, say, getting a massage once a month, or doing these things to help us. So when we put the costs of horse ownership in perspective, you’re like, “Wow, okay — it’s actually probably more economical to own a horse than spending money in all these different areas.”

[7:28]

Now, the other aspect I wanted to cover before we jump in is our pets. I have two wonderful dogs. Whether you have cats, dogs, guinea pigs — anything — those pets have a cost. You have to pay to not only feed them, but for their veterinary care, the treats you may buy them, if you do puppy classes or training, grooming (that’s expensive), pet insurance (which we’re going to talk about today), and other miscellaneous expenses. And so, on average — again, using data from the United States, because that’s where we get our best data — dog owners are spending over $2,000 per year on their animals easily. And I look at my own pets and I’m like, “Yeah, easily we spend that.” Just doggy daycare can be expensive — that we utilize sometimes just to get them out so they’re exercising and playing.

[8:31]

So it’s easy — when we get sticker shock with horses and people are like, “Oh, that’s a very expensive activity” — for those of you that do own horses, you know you do make some sacrifices depending on your budgets, but it’s not as expensive as people make it out to be. Owning horses isn’t just for the rich and wealthy. According to the American Horse Council, the majority — over 50% — of horse owners’ household income is less than $75,000 USD per year. Only 9% make over $150,000 USD per year in total household income that own horses. So horse ownership is for everybody. And despite budgets, yes, there is a cost to owning them — they’re not free to own — and that’s what we’re going to talk about.

[9:27]

So we’re going to talk about some of the one-time costs — like how much it costs to buy a horse — and then our day-to-day costs, and then a little bit of some miscellaneous expenses that come out of there. And it’s just like owning any animal — sometimes you spend money on things you didn’t anticipate, like buying treats or different things for them.

[9:47]

Now if I asked you, “Who do you think was the most expensive horse, or how much do you think somebody would pay for one of the top horses in the world?” — you’re probably thinking the top, top horse in the world was probably a racing Thoroughbred. And you’d be correct, yes, and I’m going to give you that statistic here in a minute — but it depends on the discipline. Because if you’re the top, you’re going to pay a premium.

[10:11]

Now I thought this was interesting because we just did the podcast on the Gentle Giants, and like I said — the trillions and trillions of pounds that they’ve pulled, the carts, the plows — oh, we owe them so much. And it was such a fun episode to listen to, and if you haven’t, please go back and listen to that one. They’re just fascinating — the Gentle Giants, the big draft horses. The most expensive draft horse ever sold was a 2-year-old Belgian stallion, and he sold for about $13,000 USD.

[10:48]

That’s a lot of money for a draft horse. When you go into some of the other disciplines — and I’ll give you the world record here in a minute on the top horse ever sold — but the most expensive draft horse, and I know I mentioned this horse before to you, was a top, top draft horse that was sold for 1 million EUR. Now why would someone spend that much money? Not only was he the top-tier horse, but his offspring that he would produce would be valuable, right? That’s what you would think.

[11:22]

Now, if we go to show jumping — MHS Going Global — she sold for 1 million EUR. When you’re looking at your top competitors in show jumping, you’re going to pay a premium for them. The world record for the most expensive horse ever sold was $70 million USD for Fusaichi Pegasus. Now, most of us are not going to spend that much on a horse, probably.

[11:57]

So looking at some of the averages — I’m going to break this down for the rest of us that don’t have that kind of disposable income. But there is a lot that goes into purchasing a horse. Some things to always consider: I would always suggest, and anybody you talk to — even your veterinarian — would suggest doing a pre-purchase exam. You want to make sure not only that the purchase price of the horse is appropriate, but also if there are any sort of lameness issues, injuries, or things you need to be aware of — because that could lead to expensive veterinary bills later down the road. So I would suggest that with any horse you’re going to buy — speak to your veterinarian and get a pre-purchase exam.

[12:44]

The cheapest horses are free, or they’re ones you can adopt. One of the areas in the United States where you can adopt is a wild horse or burro, and I looked at that — the adoption fee is $125. Some rescues may ask for an adoption fee because they are not cheap to run. They’re paying the cost for that day-to-day care of the horse, and so they depend on adoption fees or they depend on donations. So if you’re asked to donate or make an adoption fee at a rescue, please help them out. They do some incredible work. I’ve seen many rescues throughout the United States and in other parts of the world where they are doing a lot of good work. But you’re going to pay something nominal for that, and you can get really good horses.

[13:40]

Mustangs — it’s a different type of animal, something we’re going to talk about in the future. I think their story is pretty incredible — their history, and they’re iconic. Many people are adopting them, and they make wonderful horses after you get them through a rigorous training program to lose some of that wildness.

[14:01]

Now, if we just look at some average horse prices: if you’re looking at the top end, I thought this was interesting — just as far as racehorses. I’ve been to a few yearling sales down in Ocala, Florida, so they are getting premium prices. Now, the top sale is in Keeneland, Kentucky, and just a couple years ago the average horse price was roughly $132,000 USD. These are going to be racing Thoroughbreds, so a lot of speculation is, “Is this going to be a Derby winner? A Triple Crown contender?” And that’s why they go so high. I mean, 15 of the yearlings sold for a million dollars or more.

[14:53]

Now let’s look away from that and just say, “I just want a good riding horse” — just a horse to ride, trail ride, ride in the arena — a horse that I can put under saddle and enjoy. Most are going to be under $10,000 USD. Young horses or project horses that need some training but have good bloodlines are going around $5,000 to $5,500. And then if you’re looking at a top stallion that’s broke — meaning you can ride them, they have a good track record, maybe this is a breeding prospect — you’re looking at maybe $100,000, and that’s for Quarter Horses. You’re going to see a range, but for a good solid Quarter Horse that’s well-trained, young, and healthy, you’re probably looking at around $10,000 or less.

[15:47]

But let’s say you want to compete — you want to do some show jumping, or you want to do some dressage, or some English riding, or eventing. You can go to warmblood-sales.com and get an idea of what the prices are out there — and they’re all over the map. Some young prospects are going for $7,000 USD. Some top prospects I saw on there going for $150,000 USD, and then all in between. Some for $20,000 — they’re ready to go, they’re trained, they just need to start showing. Good dressage prospects going for $40,000 USD. Some top jumpers going for a little bit more than that. So that discipline can be a little bit pricier — a one-time investment that you’re going to make at the start — but that’s again if you want to compete at high levels. If you just want to go out and ride for fun, or jump for fun, or do dressage for fun, again you can look for one that’s not competing at the top levels — you’re going to pay a few thousand dollars, but you’re not going to be paying $150,000.

[16:54]

Think about what a horse needs day to day. Now, out in the wild they do it themselves — they find their food, they find their water. They don’t live as long because they’re not getting the medical care that we give them — or generally don’t. But because we’ve confined them, what do they need every day? They need somewhere to live — so that takes some cost, with fencing, safe fencing, or if you’re going to board them at a barn or with a riding facility.

[17:32]

So they need shelter or somewhere to live. That could be your own property. If you don’t have your own property, then you would either pasture-board them somewhere — we’ll talk about those costs — or put them in a stable. So they need that. They need to eat, they need to drink — that’s very critical, that’s a very, very important cost. Those are your top two costs right there. Then you need basic medical care, which isn’t as expensive as you would think. Then they need hoof care, which is very important. Then you’re going to have all these other different types of costs we’ll talk about. But those are your basics — somewhere to live, food and drink, basic medical care, and then hoof care. That’s what a horse needs day to day.

[18:14]

Where you keep your horses is a big decision — especially if you don’t have your own facility, you don’t live on a ranch, or you don’t have acreage where you can put your horse or horses. Boarding costs are going to vary depending on where you live in the world, but I’ve noticed they’re kind of similar. There’s not a huge, huge difference — there are differences, but not a lot — when you look at different geographical regions. So imagine if you were trying to board a horse in New York City versus, say, College Station, Texas, where I went to Texas A&M — rural Texas — worked at many facilities with my friends, helping horses, feeding horses, working horses.

[19:12]

And then looking at Los Angeles — let’s go to the West Coast of the United States — so let’s stay there geographically. And what do you think people would be paying for full board? Now, when I say full board, because this is going to vary — and I’m not going to cover all of this in this podcast — but full board includes stalls, feeding (so hay and grain), some places will turn them out for you, they provide bedding or not, they have riding arenas that you can use or they might charge you depending on where you are. And then you can add things — like you can customize your plan. “My horse needs this, can you do this for me?” They’re like, “Sure, for an extra $25 a month we’ll put their blankets on and off.” “Do you want us to clean your stalls?” “Well, okay, there’s a fee for that.” Because we talked about last week — it’s a physical activity.

[20:04]

So when I looked at New York City and facilities around the area of the big, big city, I found some nice facilities for about $850 a month. That included all of that — feeding your horse, paying for the feed and the stalls — and you could use their facility. And that seems to be on par for what national averages are. Now, some places might charge more if they’re just a really nice facility with high-end horses and high-end clientele.

[20:43]

Now, if you go to College Station, Texas — just outside Bryan, Texas — I remember it just like I was there yesterday, I found a facility about $700 a month for full board — again feeding your horses, turning your horses out — so it’s not that much different from outside New York City, really wasn’t. And when I looked at facilities around the Dallas–Fort Worth area, which was a few hours north of College Station, you could get boarding for as cheap as $400 a month (and that’s probably pasture boarding) up to $1,200 a month (which is probably a very nice riding facility). But on average, $500–$800 range is what you’re looking for for full board.

[21:29]

When you look at L.A., not much different either — I saw some for $700, I saw some for $1,200. So overall, if you’re looking at full board, it’s about $700–$800 a month. Now, when you add all of that up, you’re looking at close to $10,000 a year to keep a horse. Again, at the beginning of this podcast — how much would you spend for your health and happiness and quality of life, right? So you put some of that in perspective. But that includes most of what you need — on top of some additional costs like vet care, farrier, and other little expenses.

[22:17]

If you have a facility, or you get free boarding, or your facility doesn’t pay for feed — when you look at overall costs and say you have to pay for feed, that can be up to 50% of a horse owner’s budget per year, and that’s based on surveys done in the United States. Nutrition is critical to horse health and happiness — this will be discussed in much more detail in future podcasts, because it’s really where a lot of our research in the last three or four decades in equine science has been — in nutrition. We’ve gone from feeding oats or corn, to these complex diets — commercial grains, commercial bagged feed — to now we’re getting back to some of the roots of just more hay, and maybe they just need some supplements. So it’s something that’s always evolving.

[23:14]

But when you look at the cost of feed per year for a standard, medium-sized, 1,200-pound Quarter Horse — let’s say Dr. Gary Hozner had a very good bulletin on horse ownership obligations, costs, and benefits — when you just have them out on pasture, costs run about $400 a year. If you’re feeding them hay and a grain concentrate/bagged feed, that can go up to $1,200 per year. But again, a lot of these facilities now offer full board — one cost, $700–$800 — so you don’t really have to worry about paying anything additional unless you’re using special feed or supplements.

[24:08]

But feed, next to boarding or facility costs, is the most expensive — that’s where horse owners spend the most amount of their money. And in my experience, horse owners and people in the industry are very sophisticated, always trying to stay abreast of recent developments in better feeds for horses, better care, better training techniques. So the budget could change based on that. But again, really where we’re getting back to is feeding them really quality forage, and then we do a little bit of supplemental feed or supplemental nutrients that they’re missing from their forage — that’s where we are today in 2024 when it comes to feeding horses.

[24:53]

So — we have a facility, okay. We’re feeding them, making sure they have good, clean water (that’s probably the most important nutrient for any horse). What else? I mean, what else do you spend on your horses? What other expenses are there? We have training costs and trailering costs and show costs and all that — but what does that horse need — for your enjoyment, and the horse’s too? Even in a boarding facility, they’re still exposed to the elements a lot. We all live in this hostile world of pathogens — with parasites and flies — and just as we get older, normal wear and tear. We all have to see doctors, right? And that’s where our veterinarians come in.

[25:46]

So there is veterinary care. I do want to say — if you can find equine insurance in your country or area, look into it. It is something that can save you a lot of costs for emergencies — not your normal day-to-day care, but in emergencies. Because things like colic — which is, you know, bad tummy aches for horses — is the number one killer for horses under the age of 20. And I know some of you listening have dealt with it — it’s not a fun thing to deal with with horses.

[26:16]

Light intervention — meaning the veterinarian comes out to the farm, maybe tubes the horse, gives them fluids — can cost up to $600 for that visit (USD). But if they are sent to a vet hospital, there’s one just down the road from me — non-surgical (meaning they don’t need to do surgery, but they treat the colic) is upwards of $2,000. Surgery can run up to $15,000. So this is where your equine insurance can come into play. And if you don’t have it, I would suggest just looking into it — just to get the costs. Policies — you can see really cheap ones for like $150 per year, but I see ones up to $350 per year, maybe more. Just find out what’s available in your area, but it’s generally considered a good investment for your horse.

[27:09]

Now, day-to-day cost for making sure the horse is healthy throughout the year — your preventative medicine — because you want to do this so you don’t get to those expensive vet bills — can run $350–$400 per year. And that’s vaccines and deworming and vet checks. Vaccines can be as cheap as $100 up to $240 per year (again USD — these are estimates on surveys they’ve done). The deworming — you can do them yourself, but if you have the veterinarian do it, they’re going to want to do a fecal float. We’ve changed how we deworm horses — again, a good topic for the future — but now, today, we actually look at what worms are in the manure (as far as the eggs) and then we treat based on that, because of parasitic resistance. So our dewormers aren’t as effective as they were in yesteryear.

[28:05]

So it is something that veterinarians want to do — you do a fecal float, figure out what worms they have, and then treat based on that. But that can run up to $150 per year. Another thing you want to do is get their teeth looked at — you know, “Don’t look a gift horse in the mouth,” that’s an old saying — but you do want to look at a horse in the mouth every year. That can run up to $200 per year, if your veterinarian or if you can use an equine dentist. So overall, $550–$750 range per year in vet costs. And we spend that on our dogs — my dogs cost me a few hundred per year to get their vaccines, get their vet checks, and then pet insurance for anything catastrophic that requires going to an emergency clinic or needing surgery.

[29:00]

Cannot overstate how important veterinary care is for your horse — we all need to see our doctors every now and then to get checkups, and they do too. The next big cost that is a must is a farrier — unless you trim your own feet, unless you do it yourself. You have to be careful, you have to be trained — it was something I used to teach my students and horse owners. Trimming feet is not easy. For those of you that have horses or work with horses — picking feet, lifting that foot with your horse — it’s heavy. Now imagine under there — you’ve seen your farriers work — it’s a tough job, it is. I remember teaching students in the heat of Texas or the heat of Florida, sweating, going — this is why when you find a good farrier, you spoil them. Bring them drinks, bring them whatever they want — you want to bake them a cake, I don’t know — take care of your farrier, because they will take care of you and your horse. It is a very tough job. They’re worth their weight in gold for you and your horse.

[30:08]

We trim feet because generally horses are not getting enough wear and tear on their hooves. Doesn’t mean they can’t — and when I was doing some exercise studies with my mares, I was getting worried because their feet were getting short. The gravel that we had in there they were running on was wearing down their hooves too quickly, so we had to get them shod — shod — and talk to our farrier, and change up some of the footing we had in there. But in general, most horses are not going to wear down their feet normally, and you need your farrier there every six to eight weeks to look at them.

[30:49]

If you do get shoes, that cost does run a little bit more. So a farrier on average is going to charge upwards of $130 for a trim and nailing on four keg shoes. Without shoes, you’re looking around $40 per time. And so, doing that every six to eight weeks, it can run anywhere from $400-ish per year up to $1,200 a year if you’re getting shoes. But again, it’s a critical part of preventative health care because one of the things we say when we talk about the hoof of the horse — “No hoof, no horse.” If your horse’s hooves aren’t healthy and sturdy and strong, the horse isn’t going to be able to do what you ask of it as far as riding or competing, and then you’re not going to be able to enjoy them. So take care of their feet and enjoy the time you spend with them.

[31:45]

That covers a lot of the important day-to-day costs. Something miscellaneous you may or may not see is bedding. If you do stall your horse and your facility does not provide bedding, it can get pricey. You’re looking at using typically wood shavings — very typical what people use — or chips. It depends on where you are in the world, there’s different types of bedding out there. But let’s just — most people are familiar with shavings, wood shavings. Looking at average prices today, one bag in the United States of flake premium pine animal shavings — 8 cubic feet — is about $7.50. But one bag is not enough for one stall. On average, people are using six to eight bags a week. If you use premium like cedar, that could be $12 a bag — that can go to the high end.

[32:50]

So you’re looking at low end $45 per week, high end $100 per week. That means shavings alone can run $2,300 to $5,200 per year. Now, very critical for keeping your horse stalled, because you want a clean stall — they produce a ton of waste, not just feces but urine. So that strong ammonia smell and that pungent odor of horse urine — your horse’s respiratory health is just as critical, so they need clean bedding, they need their bedding changed very often if not daily. So it’s a cost, but if your facility already does it for you — again, when I talk about trying to save you costs — or if you look at a good facility, if they provide bedding, that’s a cost you don’t have to incur. You’re not spending that $50 to $100 per week — they’re doing that for you, because a lot of facilities can get in bulk shavings. We used to do it all the time — get in bulk shavings, strip stalls, and then go to the shavings pile that was undercover so it wouldn’t get wet, and it was great. It saved us going out and buying bagged shavings, which — filling up a truck full — goes through quickly, it’s a weekly thing. So if your facility provides that for you, that’s great.

[34:15]

Some other one-time costs, just to throw this in here: equipment. So you buy your horse — a good riding horse $5,000 to $10,000, more than $100,000 if you’re looking at one that you want to compete in, say, dressage or show jumping or eventing. But let’s look at saddles — that’s going to be a one-time cost. You’re purchasing a piece of equipment. A good used riding saddle could be up to $500. If you want a custom fit saddle or something like — you want to go out and really compete at barrel racing — a good western saddle can run you up to $10,000, even more if they’re really fancy. So you want to make sure a saddle fits your horse properly — which again is another podcast for another day — but saddle fit is important to the comfort of your horse. English saddle — very similar pricing — it can run as cheap as $100 for some of the synthetic ones up to over $10,000 for a really good fitting classy set. And again, the most important takeaway with that is make sure it’s fit for purpose — for what you want it to do — and it fits your horse.

[35:28]

Then you’re looking at — you need halters with ropes, bridles with bits, blankets for your saddles, blankets for your horses if you blanket them, buckets for feeding, hoof picks, brushes — all of that can add up to one-time costs. But you know, it could be as cheap as a few hundred dollars up to thousands of dollars with a good saddle. But those are one-time costs that you need to own a horse. You’re going to need some of this stuff, and as you go, you add things — find things that work for you and your horse.

[36:06]

Not going to talk about training costs, but that’s something to think about if you want to compete or go out and do events and you want some help, you’re not a trainer yourself but you want to work with a trainer. Or just say you want to learn how to horseback ride, or you want to get somebody in your family involved or your children involved — group riding lessons in the United States start around $40 per hour. Individual riding lessons can run $100–$200 per hour. If you’re working with top trainers, that’s a lot more expensive. And then if you want somebody to come in and train your horse, that is a cost. But again, not covering that in this cost of ownership podcast, but those are things to think about if you’re looking to get into the horse world. Things you may want to go, “Okay, I want some coaching on my riding, and it’s worth it — it’s a good investment.”

[37:14]

Because, I mean, all in all — like I started with — $2,000 is the cheap end to own a horse. You’re looking more at $5,000 per year if you want to board them in a facility, in stalls, and want to ride and want to compete — you’re looking at $10,000 roughly or more to enjoy your horse. But when you put that in perspective — and like I talked about at the beginning with my fathers — because I just really thought about it, the therapeutic riding, reading those studies on how horse riding simulation or putting them on the back of a horse at a therapeutic riding center for the elderly improved their health. And I really thought about it with Dad — I’m like, “Gosh, I wish I could have just got Dad out there — my stepfather. Or I really do wish I could just have one more dinner with my biological father and just talk to him about life again — just, you know, ‘Hey Dad, how you doing?’ and just, ‘Oh, you know this and that,’ you know how parents can be.”

[38:15]

Horses can help improve our quality of life. They can improve our health. They can improve our personal relationships with our families and our friends. They’re wonderful activities for children and young adults. There’s just something about it — there’s just something about our connection to horses. So when you look at the costs — again, when you put it in perspective — it doesn’t matter, really. These life experiences that they provide you with — and many of you can attest to this — you can’t put a price on that. Your happiness, your quality of life, your health — it’s priceless.

[39:18]

[Music] I just want to personally thank you for listening. Again, spending time thinking about this podcast — particularly this week — your time is precious, and it really means the world to me that you spend it with me, that you spend an hour of your week listening to me talk about a topic we’re both — or all of us are — really passionate about. I just honestly, from the bottom of my heart, thank you. Thank you for listening.

[39:47]

And if you’re really enjoying the podcast, if you could share it on social media — that’s my ask this week. It really helps, it gets this message out, and helps grow our industry. The more people that get horse-crazy again and rediscover their connection that we have with these animals, the stronger our industry gets around the world. And it has made a resurgence in the last 30–40 years, and I can only imagine where we’re going to be in the next 50 years with horses. So thank you for doing that.

[40:23]

And just quick reminders — madbarn.com, Learn tab, articles — go check them out, all the free education that we’re providing. And check us out on social media — TikTok, Instagram, Facebook — I am doing as many videos as I can, and others on the Mad Barn team are putting out that education. And leave comments, please — and if you like the podcast, please leave comments, it really helps. And if you have anything you want to reach out to me specifically about — podcast@madbarn.com — any topics you’re like, “I really want to learn more about this,” send them my way, I will add them to the list.

[41:01]

But again — thank you. Thank you for caring about these animals. Thank you for loving your horses the way you do, or having an interest in them — just thank you. Take care.