Budget for all of it: board, bedding, hay, feed and supplements, routine vet bills, tack. | Photo: The Horse/Anne M. Eberhardt

The other people on the tour marveled at the price tag. I nodded—this was nothing new to me.

Indeed, owning horses is expensive and a lifestyle choice. But if you’re reading this right now, you’ve made that choice (or are about to), and you cannot fathom it any other way. The day’s complications fade as soon as you get to the barn and spend a few minutes with your horse. When coordinating your social calendar, you’ve been known to consult the horse show/trail ride/rodeo/hunter pace calendar first. Before opening your wallet to purchase a flight, you stop to think whether it’s time to reorder joint supplements, and then you prioritize the purchases.

Or, maybe you don’t stop and think. Maybe you just pull out your credit card and hope it’ll work out later