the horse project

i was feeling particularly nerdy one evening, and being i couldnt really afford the gas money to go visit my girlfreind up north due to all this recent nonsense, i was thinking of other ways to travel, and i thought about riding a horse.
i then thought about the economics of it, and how exspensive gas would have to get before riding a horse became more economically efficient. i went to the university of arizonas agricultural website to get all my figures on the costs of owning a horse. this is important cause in the grand scheme people do whats most economical. i think well all be seeing less and less h2 hummers in the next few years.

i used three vehicals in this study, one being a jeep wrangler getting 20mpg in the country.

the other being a honda civic hybrid getting 51 mpg

the third is a horse of course...


heres the websites i used:
ag.arizona.edu...

automobiles.honda.com...

research.cars.com...

money.cnn.com...


If you trust me and want to see the final product right now go to the bottom, if you dont trust me here is the math.

heres the math:

horse costs 1st year:
horse: $4,500
tack: $2,350

Total 1st year exspense: $6,850

maintinance for next 10 years:
feed: $885 a year
horse care products: $100
Vet care: $350
Misc: $300

Total maintinance for 1 year: $1,635 @10years = $16,350
+ 1st year cost @ $6,850

Horse bottom line: $23,200



Jeep Wrangler '98 (my vehical)
First year exspenses:
Jeep: $17,970

Maintanance:
driving an estimated of 10,000 miles per year, getting 20 mpg means you will have to purchace 500 gallons of fuel. or for the nerds:
10,000/20=500
buying fuel @ 2.19 a gallon (price in SC)
500 x 2.19 = $1095 per year in fuel

also for two oil changes at 30 bucks each
oil:$60

for simplicity no other engine maintanance (jeep makes a good vehical, hahah)

maintanance per year: $1,095 in gas, $60 in oil
Maintanance @10 years: $10,950+600=$11,550
$11,550+ 1st year cost=

Jeep Bottom Line: $29,520



Honda Civic Hybrid '04
First year exspenses:
Civic Hybrid: $19,900

Maintanance:
driving an estimated of 10,000 miles per year, getting 51 mpg means you will have to purchace 196 gallons of fuel. or for the nerds:
10,000/51=196
buying fuel @ 2.19 a gallon (price in SC)
196 x 2.19 = $429 per year in fuel

oil: $60

$429x10 years + $600 of oil = $4,890 in Maint.
$4,890+ 1st year cost=
Civic Hybrid Bottom Line: 24,790





Summery:
at 2.19 per gallon the cost to drive a _____ for 10 years is:
Horse: $23,200
Jeep: $29,520
Civic Hybrid: 24,790

so the horse is cheaper, but not by much.

...now it is highly likely we will see 3.00 a gallon gas in the very near future, so...

at 3.00 per gallon the cost to drive a ______ for 10 years is:
Horse: $23,200 (Horses dont need very much fuel)
Jeep: $33,570
Civic Hybrid: $26,380

things are starting to look diffrent, to the tune of an extra $3,000 to the horse riders, but hold your horses...what if it skyrocketed to 4.50 per gallon?

at 4.50 per gallon the cost to drive a _____ for 10 years is:
Horse: $23,200
Jeep: $41,070
Civic Hybrid: $29,320
Hummer h2: $79, 545

well let me know what you think of all this. if you see problems with my math please tell me but im almost positive its all correct. keep in mind if gas were to go down to the price it was when i started driving in 2000 it would be 98 cents a gallon and it would actully be cheaper to drive a hybrid than own a horse. another thing to remeber is after 10 years the hybrid will need a new battery, i didnt bother to find how much that would be because 10 years was my cut off but that could increase the price quiet a bit.
anyways please just let me know what you think of all this, and thanks for reading!

An excellent study of vehicular economy verses being a cowboy
I have a feeling we wont be seeing those $.98 a gallon prices anytime soon if at all. The drivers of those h2's and other SUV's on this board ought to have a looksy at this little piece.

I would be intrested to see this same type of comparison done with Hydrogen Oxides.

Lifetime use of horse, honda, jeep .
First you forgot a few things in your inonical estimates .
battery every 5 years 7 tops 100$ oil changes yes also transoil changes as well once a year or 10,000 miles at 80$ a pop .
new tires every 50,000 miles tops or twice in ten years another 800$ total.
pluse tune up 5 years twice at 175$ includes new belts and air cleaner .
so add another 1500$ to your bottom line .
pluse cars total life at 10,000 miles per year is 15 years tops and its time for a new car.
But horse can be ridden only after its 3 and can be ridden for 15 years tops befor it put out to pastor so that compairs to a car .
But on the other hand with a few acers you can grow the feed needed for a horse cutting the feed cost out entirly . Try that with a car.
Also with two horses you can make a new horse for the bottom sale price of FREE . TRY THAT WITH A CAR.
Also as any back yard macinic can do a horse owner can do as well cutting the vet cost down.
No tires neeeded lol.

interesting thoughts.

problems i can see with everyone changeing from cars to horses.

-parking- most people where i live must park on the street. we would not be able to keep horses on the street like that. you would need a barn.

-speed-horses don't travel all that fast , they might be ok for going a few blocks but how long would it take to go say 40 km (my distance to work). thats one of the main reasons that cars were a better idea. a car can go distant places in much less time than by horse. also though i am not sure how fast a horse can go continuasly it seems to me that a one hour car trip would likely take about ten hours by horse. we would be severly limmited as to where we could go. this was why people did not travel much untill the trains came into service. and then it was not common for most people.

-feed- if eveyone bought a horse how would we be able to grow enough food for them. not to mention the transportation of said food (also hay for bedding as well). just to feed these horses would require much more land be cleared for these supplies.

-cost-the prices you are getting generaly take in to account that horses are stabled in farms, prices just like gas would go up due to the need of transporting supplies from afar, then you would also have "supply and demand" rises in the cost.

-roads- roads as we have them are not realy suitable for horses. soft earth would be the preferable road for horses. gee mud roads and hose pucks everywhere just like stepping back into the old west.

it is an interesting thought but horses just are not a realistic replacement for autos. in fact horse use died out due to the fact that cars were more ecinomical, and practical.

i forgot something important. you can't fix a horse. if it breaks it's leg generaly we shoot it. if a vet can't cure a horse it's dead. at least with a car we can replace broken and worn out parts with relitive ease. unless a car has a bad fire or is totaled in an accident we can keep on fixin it.


[edit on 7-4-2005 by drogo]

Horse can go from 0 to 45 in under 5 seconds . and can keep up this speed for a HALF mile . OOO i see your point. lolol

drogo i am actully from a region in maryland where there were a large quantity of amishmen living. maybe thats why this idea came to me. but all the problems you mentioned i had to deal with.

at the pizza hotline parkinglot there are 4 parkingspots reserved for horses and piles of poo that show they are used.

and driving around you always have to watch for their buggies at night because they dont believe in electricity they just have red reflecters on black buggies which is very difficult to see.

so no they will never be as efficient as cars at long distances, youre right about that, but there are places in the world where horses and cars live side by side.

also simcity with the maintanace estimates i was purposly lax with the costs for cars. i wanted to give cars the benifit of the doubt just to see if they could hold up. but in reality with unexspected maintance it would probably be much more pricey. i agree with all the points you made, i just dont want you to think i purposely overlooked it.

You forgot to put in a set of 4 shoes, that usually cost between $75-$150 every 6 weeks, Depending on your area. If you actually have to board the horse out, that could run $500+ a month. $350 a year is for routine vet care. Add in an actual injury, not only do you have a possible whopper of a vet bill, but you are out transportation for who knows how long.

If your horse colics, it could be $7k in surgery, and may not be rideable. The list goes on. Horses are NOT more economical than cars. They are less efficient although I adore them and will never be without at least one. I don't use them as a means of transportation though. I do enjoy the recreation

The amount of dung and urine a horse produces is not insignificant. If you have one horse in your suburban yard, you're going to spend a LOT of time shoveling... and smelling. And it ain't roses.

(I love horses, too, but know I'm not in a position to own one.)

Also, the horse's lifetime isn't guaranteed. They're pretty fragile animals, all things considered.

Oh and horses are NOT "shot" when they break legs. I have seen a few break their legs and go on to be rideable again. it does take a year of rehab though. Not cheap and not a fun experience.

Most horses are fixed when injured. And yes, they do injure themselves fairly often. I swear they look for ways to injure themselves.

The space that would need to be reserved for horses would be huge, at least to fill a transportation need. Hay is becoming very expensive and they consume 1-3 bales a week of it. Not to mention grain.

You wouldn't be able to commute more than 5 miles and think of inclement weather! No heat, no A/C, no protection from rain/sleet/snow/hail.

What about a place to put your horse when you are at work? Can you imagine a large office building full of people and their individual horses/buggies?? Oh the mess!! Oh the Chaos!!

well this isnt really supposed to show that horses are becoming more practical, than it is to show that traditional vehichals are becoming less practical.

one intresting thing i noticed from the exsperiment is that while the prices skyrocket in the other vehcials the hybrid car never really goes over 30 thousend. while still effected by high fuel it serves as a good cushion...

but even if everyone wanted to buy a hybrid, just like horses there wouldnt be enough, quickly enough.

anyway you cut it if peak oil happens as quickly as it appears to be happening we are all in deep horse poo.

Why not do what I do and buy a first class rode bike (lance armstrong bike)

I've been riding for quite some time and can get up to 35 mph and get anywhere in a 20 - 30 mile vicinity within an hour.

and lets see cost....
matince maybe 50$ a year for tires and tubes.

the bike isteslf coustoum to you $1,500- $2,000

Gas price- food

Hey it gets me from place to place and keeps me fit.

Horses bite me.
I have never been in an car accident so I have never been bittin by a car ...thank goodness.
I have to go with a preferance for things that DON'T bite me.

i saw this artical and i had to put it up here.

its funny that thses calculations were done almost 6 months ago and were already at 3 a gallon

so here it is
a man starts riding his horse to save gas money:
apnews.myway.com...