How Much Does Horse Insurance Cost?

Written by

Kim Albright

Edited by

Quartz Advisor Reviews Team

Edited by Quartz Advisor Reviews Team QZ.com

03/11/2024 09:37 AM

Did you know that you can buy health insurance for your horse? Equine insurance is a fast-growing financial tool that can help you select the best medical care for your hooved companion without putting a dent in your savings. This is why we’ve reviewed the best pet insurance for horses to help you make an educated decision for your animal’s healthcare needs.

But, before purchasing a plan, you should know how much horse insurance costs.

Equine insurance policies typically cost $150-$250 per year. These premiums are well worth the coverage you’ll get for unexpected equine veterinary bills.

In this article, we’ll giddy up and go over equine insurance costs from different companies and how much you can expect to pay annually for your horse’s care. We’ll also dive into what kinds of coverage you’ll get for your money.

Horse Insurance Cost Guide

According to Horse Rookie, an online guide for new horse owners, the average annual cost to own a horse can range anywhere from $8,000-$11,000. These cost estimates include non-veterinary items like feeding, routine shoeing, and housing – but still, the numbers show that owning a horse isn’t cheap.

Horse care especially isn’t cheap when it comes to emergency veterinary bills. Horse Rookie says an emergency vet visit alone costs $145. If the horse requires emergency colic surgery, the procedure could cost anywhere from $5,000-$10,000.

Here are some other average costs for equine veterinary care:

Arthroscopic surgery – $1,500-$2,000

Surgery for fractures – $1,500-$3,000

Joint X-rays – $150-$200 per joint

Like all other pets, horses need preventive care to keep them healthy. Preventive care includes vaccinations, dental care, fecal testing, Coggins testing, and more. According to the University of Tennessee Institution of Agriculture, your horse’s wellness care could cost around $854 per year.

Keep reading to learn about wellness plans that can help you save on your horse’s routine care needs.

Horse Insurance Costs & Types Available

Mortality

Equine mortality insurance is like a life insurance policy for your horse. Your equine insurance company will reimburse you up to the value of your horse or a percentage of that value if your animal dies or must undergo humane destruction.

You’ll need to provide the purchase price of your animal when retrieving a mortality insurance quote. Your mortality premium will be higher for more expensive horses.

When selecting a plan, you can typically choose from full mortality coverage or limited mortality coverage.

A full mortality policy covers you if your horse dies or is stolen. These policies function like human life insurance.

Limited mortality plans cover fewer causes of death, often those related to natural disasters.

We retrieved a mortality policy from the Equine Insurance Center for a 2-year-old American Quarter Horse purchased for $6,000.

The quotes yielded the following coverage options and annual premiums from two horse insurance companies, Praetorian Insurance Company and The Hartford.

Both providers would provide a $6,000 mortality limit and $3,000 emergency colic surgery limit for an annual premium of $250.

You can also purchase loss of use insurance for horses used for specific jobs. These policies cover you if your horse is permanently injured and no longer able to perform its designated tasks. Depending on the severity of the loss, your insurer might pay a flat percentage of your horse’s insured value or a portion of that amount.

Liability

Equine liability insurance covers you in the event your horse causes property damage or injures someone. This type of insurance is essential if you run a business involving horses.

Your business or homeowners insurance plan might include pet liability coverage, but be sure to read your specific provider’s policy for possible exclusions.

The American Equine Insurance Group provided personal horse owners liability insurance quotes for a 2-year-old American Quarter Horse.

Liability limit	Minimum Annual Base Premium
$300,000	$150
$500,000	$200
$1,000,000	$250

Major Medical

Major medical insurance is an accident and illness policy for your horse. With a major medical policy, you’ll pay a set monthly premium in exchange for accident, illness, and surgical insurance.

The cost of your equine insurance plan will depend on your horse’s age, breed, and location. Your particular price might vary if your horse is used for riding, farming, jumping, or hunting.

ASPCA Pet Health Insurance offers major medical coverage for horses with its Colic + Accidents + Illnesses policy. ASPCA’s equine health insurance plans typically range from $60-$90 per month.

Here’s a list of what ASPCA’s plan covers, including many items your horse might need in an unexpected veterinary situation:

Colic – Impaction, displacement, spasmodic, enteritis, and more.
Accidents – Toxic ingestions, hoof abscesses, cuts, trailer accidents, etc.
Illnesses – Cushing’s disease, hereditary conditions, strangles, cancer, etc.

ASPCA’s equine insurance policies have optional add-on packages for your horse’s wellness care needs.

Take a look at the monthly costs and per-item limits for major medical preventive care plans:

Wellness Item	Routine Preventive Care ($9.95 per month)	Platinum Preventive Care ($24.95 per month)
Dental floating	$75	$200
Wellness exam	$50	$75
WNV or EEE/WEE/VEE vaccination	$25	$25
Rabies or Tetanus vaccination	$25	$25
Herpesvirus or Strangles vaccination	N/A	$25
Blood test	N/A	$25
Fecal test	N/A	$25
Coggins test	N/A	$25
Total Annual Benefit	$175	$425

Equine preventive care is quite costly, and these plans offer notable yearly savings. The Routine package costs $119 per year for up to $175 in reimbursements. The Platinum package costs $299 per year for $425 in refunds. That’s $56-$126 in savings if you use your full wellness benefit.

Cost of Horse Insurance by Horse Type

We used ASPCA pet health insurance’s free quote generator to retrieve these quotes for 3-year-old horses in Dallas, Texas. We selected Colic + Accidents + Illnesses coverage with $7,000 annual coverage limits, 80% reimbursement rates, and $250 annual deductibles.

Horse Type	Price Range	Coverage Needed	Monthly Coverage Cost
Appaloosa	$3,000-$9,000	Major Medical	$64.96
Arabian	$2,000-$6,500	Major Medical	$64.96
Thoroughbred	$4,000-$8,000	Major Medical	$65

We retrieved additional ASPCA quotes below for Quarter Horses of different ages and coverage levels. Take a look at how these factors affect monthly costs:

Type of Coverage	Age	Coverage Rates	Monthly Cost
Accident-only coverage	$1	$500 annual deductible $3,000 annual payout limit 70% reimbursement	$15.00
		$100 annual deductible $7,000 annual payout limit 90% reimbursement	$33.00
	$15	$500 annual deductible $3,000 annual payout limit 70% reimbursement	$15
		$100 annual deductible $7,000 annual payout limit 90% reimbursement	$33
Accident and illness coverage	$1	$500 annual deductible $3,000 annual payout limit 70% reimbursement	$42
		$100 annual deductible $7,000 annual payout limit 90% reimbursement	$100
	15	$500 annual deductible $3,000 annual payout limit 70% reimbursement	$95
		$100 annual deductible $7,000 annual payout limit 90% reimbursement	$226

If you’re seeking an alternative to horse insurance, you can purchase a veterinary discount plan from Pet Assure. With a Pet Assure policy, you’ll pay a set monthly fee for 25% off all your horse’s veterinary services.

Pet Assure is an excellent choice for horse owners who need help saving on costly veterinary services, especially if their horse has pre-existing conditions that are excluded from traditional pet insurance coverage.

Pet Assure offers three plans to help you save on your horse’s healthcare:

The Single Dog Plan costs $11.95 per month and covers one dog or large animal.
The Family Plan covers two to four animals of any size for $16.95 per month.
The Unlimited Plan costs $21.95 per month and covers every pet in your household.

Pet Assure discounts services ranging from emergency surgery to preventive dental care, so you can save big on the things that keep your horse happy and healthy.

Which Companies Sell Equine Insurance?

Provider	Our Rating
ASPCA	4.5/5
Pet Assure	4.3/5

Final Thoughts

We hope this article gives you insight into how much horse insurance costs, what options are available, and why coverage is important.

You know that the equestrian lifestyle can be costly and a lot of work. That still doesn’t stop the heartbreak of seeing your horse hurt and in need of expensive medical care. With the right insurance plan, you’ll be able to choose the best treatment for your buddy without bucking your budget.

If you still need help budgeting costs, we recommend purchasing a wellness plan for your horse’s routine veterinary needs. You’ll pay set monthly premiums in exchange for peace of mind knowing you’re keeping your best friend in tip-top shape.

No matter what kind of plan you choose, you’ll be racing toward responsible horse ownership – and huge savings – in no time.

Our Methodology

The Quartz research team looks at all pet insurance policies and comes up with our reviews based on coverage, plan options, cost, reputation, customer service, and species eligibility. We’ve also created a rating system to score pet insurance brands.

We’ve consulted with pet experts and dug into plans to develop what we think are the best overall plans, complete with ratings on coverage, how they handle claims, reimbursements, deductibles, limits, and more.

To make our list, pet insurance companies must have:

A variety of plan options
Affordable monthly rates

Our team revisits each company’s information at the end of every month to make updates and ensure the information is as accurate as possible.

Quartz Advisor Reviews Team QZ.com