How much did a horse cost in the 1800s? Don’t worry, I’m not here to pitch you on equine therapy. But while you’re reading this legitimately fascinating historical account, maybe think about that question, and whether horses are worth the money in your eyes right now. That’s what everyone else will be doing when you’re done reading this. This article is going to be a fun little piece of history to read, but I’ve stuck it out because I discovered something that surprised even me.
Imagine my surprise when I learned that a horse could be had for as little as $15 in the late 1800s. That’s not only about $500 in today’s money, it’s less than the price of a common Shetland pony! I know horses cost more now, and we pay more for luxury items, but this is ridiculous. Even today we’d be hard pressed to buy a pony for less than $5,000.
In the 1800s, the price of a horse ranged from $25 to $250. How much you paid depended on what kind of horse you wanted and where you were buying it.
The cost of a horse depended on where you bought it and what kind of horse it was. If you went to a farm outside of town, chances are you would pay less than if you’d gone into town and bought one from a stable. But even if you went into town and bought an expensive horse from a stable, it would still be cheaper than the same horse bought at auction or from an individual owner who was trying to sell their horse for whatever price they could get for it.
A good rule of thumb is that if you’re buying a mare or gelding (a castrated male horse), expect to pay between $25-$125 depending on how much work has been done on it already (this includes training). If you’re looking for a colt (a young male horse), then expect to pay between $150-$250 depending on its age and breed type (the more exotic breeds will cost more).
How much did a horse cost in the 1800s
The 1890s gave us the American gold rush and industrialization.
In the 1890s, the United States experienced two huge changes: it went through an industrialization boom and experienced a gold rush in Alaska and California. These events brought in more people from all over the country to help build towns and cities, as well as work in mines—and they also brought more money into circulation than ever before.
As a result of these events, which occurred around the same time that railroads were being built across rural areas of America’s heartland (a process started even earlier), many farmers sold their land because they had no use for it anymore. These farmers then moved to cities where there was more opportunity for jobs or trade businesses; this meant that people who had previously been part of rural communities now lived elsewhere instead.
Cowhand wages were not high.
A cowhand’s wages averaged $30 per month. Cowhands received free board and lodging, as well as their choice of either a rifle or pistol to wear while on the job. The cost of these items was deducted from the worker’s salary. The prevailing price for a good horse in the mid-1800s was $120; saddles were about $25 each; and rifles or pistols cost about $25 apiece (today, such weapons are worth thousands of dollars).
Things were not cheap in the 1880s.
The 1880s was an expensive time to live. The cost of living varied widely from city to city, but even the most modest expenses were costly. Housing costs alone—which included rent or mortgage payments, property taxes, and sometimes maintenance costs—were often equal to or greater than today’s median monthly income for a family of four (and in some cases more than double that amount). Food prices were also high. A family could expect to pay $3 per week for meat and fish; vegetables cost around $1 per week; bread was 50 cents per loaf; milk around 25 cents per quart; eggs were 15 cents each; butter was 40 cents per pound; sugar ranged from 25-50 cents/pound depending on type and quality; coffee ranged from 20-45 cents/pound depending on quality while tea ran between 70-100 cents/pound depending on grade selected by consumer
In 1887, a good horse cost $120.
To put that in perspective, a good horse would cost you about $2,811 today. That’s not a bad price for an animal that can do all kinds of things: pull wagons and carriages and plow fields, transport goods and people, provide milk and meat.
The average cost of horses in America has changed over time. A single horse costs anywhere between $600 to $2,000 depending on whether you are buying one or buying several at once (several horses will cost less than one).
Feeding a horse was expensive in the 1880s.
- Feeding a horse was expensive in the 1880s.
- A working horse ate about $300 worth of food each year, which was more than half the cost of caring for one.
- Straw and hay were both used as fodder for horses, but straw wasn’t very nutritious because it didn’t have much fiber in it. Oats were an excellent source of fiber, but they were also expensive for farmers to grow and store compared with other grains like corn or wheat.
Some horses were free – but not if they had to be caught.
If a horse was free, it would be because the owner didn’t want it anymore. If a person wanted to buy a horse from someone else, then he had to pay for it. A standard-sized horse would cost about $300. It was possible for some people to borrow money from the bank to pay for their horses, but this was risky and expensive for them if they were unable to make payments on time or if they lost their jobs—and many people couldn’t afford even one horse!
Some things cost more in the 19th century than they do now.
In the early 1900s, a horse cost about $25. This was $20 more than a cowhand’s weekly salary at that time.
In today’s dollars, this would be the equivalent of over $400 per week! That’s an expensive pet and it shows that horses were much more valuable back in the day. Cowhands could rarely afford to buy a horse of their own—most people borrowed or rented them instead. But if you were lucky enough to get your hands on one as part of your job, then you got to keep it as long as you worked there.