COST OF KEEPING FARM HORSES. 3 



Table 2. — Itemized summary of average annual costs and credits per horse, by States {27 



farms, 316 horses). 





GROSS COSTS. 











Item. 



Illinois (154 horses). 



Ohio (72 



horses). 



New York (90 

 horses). 





$68. 75 



13.99 



7.90 



4.95 



3.82 



.86 



3.46 



.04 



2. 12 



Per cent. 

 65.0 

 13.2 

 7.4 

 4.7 

 3.6 

 .8 

 3.3 



$76. 86 

 27.48 

 8.66 

 7.18 

 5.00 

 2.35 



Per cent. 

 58.8 

 21.0 

 6.6 

 5.5 

 3.8 

 1.8 



$91. 25 

 22.09 

 9.43 

 12.98 

 5.85 

 4.56 

 11.56 



Per cent. 

 57. 1 





13.8 





5.9 



Stabling 



8.1 





3.7 





2.9 





7.2 



Net loss on colts : 



1.24 

 1.90 



1.0 

 1.5 







2.0 



2.09 



1.3 







Total 



105. 89 



100.0 



130. 67 



100.0 



159. 81 



100.0 







CREDITS. 



Manure 



$5. 24 





$8.20 

 2.10 





$13. 36 



















1.43 

















Total 



5. 24 





10.30 





14.79 











NET COST. 



Cost of keeping, less credits 



8100. 65 





$120. 37 





$145.02 .. 











1 The item of bedding is included with feed, because on many farms straw was used both as a feed and 

 as bedding, and owing to the fact that refuse from the mangers was used for bedding, it was contrary to 

 actual practice to attempt to make bedding a separate item. 



The gross costs, made up of the items of feed and bedding, labor, 

 interest, stabling, use of equipment, shoeing, depreciation, loss on 

 colts, and miscellaneous charges, are partially offset by credits for 

 manure, appreciation of young work horses, and profits on colts. 

 The difference between the gross cost and the sum of these credits 

 is the net cost of keeping a horse a year. This is, of course, the cost 

 of the work performed by the horse. It will be seen that, with few 

 exceptions, each item of cost was greater in Ohio than in Illinois, 

 and still greater in New York. This variation in average cost is 

 discussed in the following analysis of the several items of cost and 

 credit. 



FEED AND BEDDING. 1 



The term "feed and bedding" includes all grain, roughage, and 

 pasture used by horses. Accurate feed records are difficult to 

 obtain, so that in determining the feed cost shown herein not only 

 the feed records but also the yearly inventories of feeds and the 

 amounts raised and purchased were all considered in arriving at the 

 feed cost. 



1 In the following pages, all references to feed include both feed and bedding. 



