I was watching a “Bonanza” marathon today with my family. Seeing all the horses and wagons, the question came up about the cost of care for a horse and wagon during that time compared to the cost of care of a car now. So, did it cost more for feed, shoe and house a horse and maintain a wagon with fixing the wheels and axles, etc. compared to gas, oil changes, tires, brakes, engine repair, etc?
Just gross amounts, or a mile-by-mile basis? I don’t know that a lot of horses and wagons got 125,000 miles on them in a six year period, for example. I don’t have any figures; I thought I’d just ask, so that when someone with knowledge comes by they can look at this angle, too.
All those farmers that bought tractors and trucks in the 1920s probably saw it as a good investment - and this is for equipment that is awfully primitive by today’s standards and required a larger share of a farmer’s income.
One advantage of inanimate equipment is that it does not stand around in the pasture trying to think of ways to hurt itself. Horses have a way of rendering themselves inoperable or dead while “sitting in the garage”, requiring additional expenditures to fix and/or replace them. There are days when it seems that horses are not just accident prone but actively suicidal. I’ve known horses that injured themselves but good while left alone in a stall. If you put a horse in a padded room surrounded by bubble wrap, it would probably colic. All in all, not the most practical creatures. Cows are much more sensible, cars more so (although more boring).
On the other hand, cars don’t beget new cars.
Horses are expensive to keep if for no other reason than paying the vet. Most people would kill the horse riding to work too. I hope you’re counting the extra expense for cleanup of horse waste and the amount of time you will have to spend on them daily. The person I know that has horses spends thousands every time they get sick and they do get sick more than once a year. They are very good at injuring themselves in a pasture all by themselves.
A horse doesn’t get pregnant and give birth unless female and you have a stud horse. The horse will also not be workable until sometime after the birth. You spend lots of money for this with the vet and the foal has to be raised to adulthood then broken for use. This cost lots of your time and money too.
You have to understand that you can’t compare the conditions of horses kept for work with the way horses are kept nowadays for recreational riding.
-draft-type and stock-type horses (Quarter Horses or Morgans) are sturdier and more placid and sensible than “hot blood” riding horses.
-draft and stock-type horses gain and keep weight more easily on a lower grade of feed. Usually pasture is enough. (“easy keepers”)
-Vet care was/is considerably less intensive in times/place where horses were kept primarily for work.
-People had more knowledge of basic remedies and the experience to apply them in most circumstances. If a horse had a gash, they’d just stitch it up themselves - ok it’ll leave a scar, so what? If a horse looked like it was foundering, they’d stand it in a stream. If a horse seemed to colic, they’d walk it for half an hour. They’d only call the vet if none of the usual things worked. Until the advent of antibiotics, the vet often couldn’t do all that much actually (read “All Creatures Great & Small”).
-Mares can be worked well into their pregnancy and can do light work with foal at side. A process that also contributes to preliminary training of the foal (it becomes accustomed to the sights/sounds of its future work environment.)
-Horses that are out on pasture 24/7 are very little work. Basically, look them over once a day and you’re good. The poop biodegrades.
-People were just plain less sentimental about it all.
Go look at how horses are kept among the Amish, or in a Central American country. Horses can get by on waaaaay less than Americans pour into them for recreational purposes. They won’t live as long, be as healthy, or look fat and glossy. 12 was and is aged for a horse that has spent its life in hard work. A horse kept for even intensive recreational riding lives to 20 and beyond.