While every horse, owner and yard are different, we can all agree that owning a horse is far from cheap.
You'll need to balance your monthly bills with having a savings pot for unexpected costs.
There are a tonne of different ways to budget. I've put my method below, and then some links to other options so you can build your own.
I use this Google Sheet (feel free to save a copy) to put in everything I consider to be essential costs for TJ throughout the year, and how frequently I'll need to pay them. All these costs are rounded up, unless I have the exact price.
I then divide the annual cost by 12 so I know the average monthly cost. For the less frequent costs such as supplements and vet bills I move money from my monthly budget into a separate pot, eg, £35 each month for Acid Ease and £14 each month for his annual jabs and dentist bill with the vet.
Of course, my bills never pan out this neatly - they are far cheaper in the summer when TJ lives out and I don't need to buy anywhere near as much bedding or hay, and can get pretty pricey in the winter if the weather is bad that they are stuck in for a few days.
But I find it easier to have a monthly budget and build up a buffer for the more expensive winter months but keeping the same budget in summer. At the end of each month I move any left over money into savings pots.
I use a Monzo bank account, which is app-based and lets you create individual pots for things such as supplements or vets, as well as having a savings pot. Other banks, such as Starling Bank, offer similar option but see MoneySavingExpert Best Bank Accounts for more.
You can download the sheet and make it your own, and I've put some other options below:
At the end of each month, I move whatever is left over into a savings pot or separate account.
This gives me the piece of mind that if I get an unexpected bill I can hopefully cover it.
I might dip into this pot if some of the less frequent bills such as physio, farrier and saddler all arrive in the same month, but I don't use it for non-essentials such as if I want to buy a headcollar in a different colour.
Over time you might find this pot builds up to quite a decent amount, and so it's worth checking if you can earn interest on it while it's sat there. See MoneySavingExpert Best Savings Account for more tips.