Many people believe that playing polo is only for those with huge sums of cash. You need a lot of equipment to play, plus a rather large animal that can set you back a rather hefty sum of cash. So, how much does a polo horse course? Well, it depends on the horse that you buy. A polo pony can cost as little as $3,000, but can also cost as much as $200,0000. This means that there should be something to suit most budgets.
It isn’t just the cost of the horse that you will need to consider when playing polo, though. There are several other horse-related expenses that you will need to be shelling out for. On this page, I will discuss a few of them.
How Much Does a Polo Pony cost?
As I said before; the cost of a polo horse can start at as little as $3,000. They can go up to almost a quarter of a million dollars. The latter option is probably going to be the sole domain of the richest people out there.
So, why is there such a large range of prices for polo ponies? Well, it is due to the potential of the horse.
Ask any polo player, and they will tell you that 80% of their game is on the horse. If you have a great horse, then playing polo becomes a lot better. The cheaper polo ponies are not brilliant at the sport or have demonstrated little potential. The more-expensive polo ponies have the potential to compete at the upper echelons of the game.
If you are looking into purchasing a polo pony, then always ensure that you purchase the best polo pony you can afford. When you do that, the rest of the sport becomes a whole lot easier. Remember, you do not need just one horse to play polo. You will need several, even at the amateur levels of the game.
How Much Does it Cost To Rent a Polo Horse?
Not a lot of people realize this, but you do not have to purchase a horse outright if you want to play polo. A number of people will actually rent the horses that they ride on, particularly if they are not playing polo all that often.
There is a major downside to renting polo ponies, though. A good proportion of the game will be based around the bond that the rider has with the horse. While rented polo ponies will be good at the game, they will never be as good as a horse that the rider has closely bonded with. They are more for playing the odd game here and there as opposed to somebody that is serious about playing polo.
Most rental polo ponies are rented per chukka. This can set you back between $200 and $400 per chukka. A game of 4 chukkas would cost you $800. To bring this cost down a little bit, you may want to look into a proper polo horse rental location. Many of these places will have packages where you can rent several horses for a month. This may cost between $1,500 and $2,000 per month, so it works out a little bit cheaper if you play multiple games.
How Much Does It Cost To Train a Polo Horse?
Several thousand dollars, It isn’t going to be cheap. Most of the cheaper polo ponies available for sale will already have undergone a limited amount of training and didn’t really demonstrate a huge amount of potential. This means that they will probably already know the basics of playing polo, but they will need to have their knowledge ‘topped up.’
Do bear in mind that a lot of the polo training will be through the horse’s bonding. If the polo pony has already undergone a limited amount of training, there may be no need to shell out a lot of cash for a proper trainer.
Instead, the rider can work hard on building up the connection with their horse. If the horse already understands some basic commands, then this should come pretty easy.
Since polo is a niche sport, it may be tough to track down a quality polo pony trainer. The best ones will often be high in demand. However, it is never recommended that you cut corners with the horse training. It will take a lot of enjoyment out of the sport, and you will end up with a horse that will probably never play the game all that well, even at an amateur level.
What Other Expenses Are Associated With Owning a Polo Horse?
Unless you have a huge amount of land at your disposal (or a stable), then you will probably need to spend a bit of money on stabling the horse. It is likely that this will cost at least $500 to $750 per month
However, this is a price that mostly applies to rural areas. If you live in a city, then horse stables may be a bit rarer. This can push the cost up to over $1,000 due to the demand for places.
Horses will also need to be fed. While stables will likely provide a grazing area for the horses, you will still need to provide them with food. I estimate that this would cost you at least $150 per month, although this will be dependent on how much hay costs at the time. At some parts of the year, the cost of feed can be as high as $250 per month!
| Expenses | Average Cost |
|---|---|
| Stabling At Rural Areas | $500 to $750 |
| Stabling At a City | $1000 |
| Feeding | $150 to $250 Per Month |
Conclusion
While polo is often regarded as a sport for the ‘very rich’, it is a game that can also be played on a limited budget. Sure, you will still need to have a few thousand dollars at your disposal, and you will never reach the upper echelons of the sport, but at least you will be having fun when you play the game!
