That’s a really good question, because we have the answer! This is something that you can show to your friends and family and not have to worry about sounding dumb. As you may or may not know, a lot changed throughout history, including horse care and prices. It turns out that our article on How Much Does A Horse Cost In 2017 is right in the middle of that enormous time-span. Yes, we’re talking about 1860 here — somewhere in the center of that 400 year gap between the late 16th century and today!
Horses were a valuable commodity in 1860, and their cost depended on the breed.
The average horse cost about $30 in 1860, but this was just a placeholder figure. The price of horses varied depending on the breed and whether you were buying them from a breeder or from someone who had rescued them from a farm or ranch.
The most expensive horses were Arabian and Thoroughbreds, which sold for up to $500 apiece. Clydesdale horses were also popular, but they tended to be more affordable—they cost between $100 and $200 each.
If you wanted to buy a horse with less pedigree, you could get one for half that price or less—but it might not be as well-trained or as healthy as one of the more expensive breeds would be.
Horses are the most beautiful animals in the world, and they’ve been around for a long time. In fact, the first horses were domesticated by humans over 5,000 years ago!
And while they’re no longer used to pull carts or plow fields as they used to be, horses are still an important part of our lives today. We ride them for fun, we use them for competitions like horse racing and polo—and sometimes we even eat them! But what about back then? How much did a horse cost in 1860? And how does that compare with what it costs today? Let’s find out!
How much did a horse cost in 1860
A horse in 1860 cost $15. The price of a saddle was also $15, while keeping a horse would cost you another $7 per month.
The Pony Express was a short-lived mail service that existed from April 1860 to November 1861 (and which was shut down by the transcontinental telegraph). At its peak, it had about 400 riders and 2,000 horses.
How much did a saddle cost in 1860
You might be surprised to learn that a saddle cost between $21 and $40 in 1860. This price varied by type of saddle, as well as region and materials used. The cost of a saddle also varied depending on the time of year.
For example, an average price for a standard-sized English saddle was between $25 and $30 during the summer months; however, it could be up to 50% higher during winter months when there were more leather tanneries operating in larger cities to meet demand.
How much did the Pony Express cost to run?
Not much, actually. The Pony Express was a privately owned company, and each message sent cost the sender $5. That’s a steep price to pay for something that could be communicated using the telegraph (and is today done through email). It’s no wonder then that the Pony Express failed to make money, despite its novelty and usefulness during certain times of year.
But there was another factor at play here: technology. As Henry O’Reilly wrote about in his memoirs: “The public did not appreciate what we had done.” O’Reilly was referring to advances made by Samuel Morse’s telegraph machine, which allowed messages to be sent over long distances with ease; when people thought about sending their loved ones back home news from afar, they thought about doing so via telegraph rather than by horseback rider on foot or horseback rider on horseback (or whatever).
How expensive was it to keep a horse in 1860?
To figure out how much it actually cost to keep a horse in 1860, we need to know a few more things.
- How much does it cost to feed a horse per day? (This will tell us how much you’d be spending on food for the horse.)
- How much do horses cost? (This will tell us how much you’d be paying in total.)
- How many days would you be keeping your horse at home? (This will give us an idea of whether or not this cost is worth it.)
How much did the Civil War cost?
The Civil War cost more than any other war in American history. In 1860, the total amount spent on the war was $6.2 billion. In today’s dollars, that would be $1.5 trillion dollars—a lot of money! But this number is not adjusted for inflation, so we need to figure out what it would be worth today in 2018 dollars:
Inflation is an increase in the price of goods over time due to supply and demand factors within an economy; prices go up when there’s too much supply and not enough demand or vice versa––or when prices rise too quickly because there isn’t enough supply or demand (i.e., inflation). When you see a headline saying something like “Costs Rising at 6% Per Year” or “One Dollar Today Will Be Worth 90 Cents In 2050” they’re talking about how much your dollar will lose value over time because of inflation
The price of horses varied greatly during the time of the Pony Express.
The price of a horse varied greatly during the time of the Pony Express. A good pony might cost only $10, while a better one could fetch up to $200. The higher your budget, the better quality your horse would be.