How much work is a horse to take care of?

It is alot of work but if you are in that world then go for it. My mom and sister are professional horse trainers and it is their whole life. 4 horses is quite a bit of work I know my mom and sis feed 3x a day and stalls are done every day as well as a regular work out schedule. However they are professionals and compete and train others horses as well. Their horses are also very very expensive and very very pampered. But this is what they love.  Maybe you should go visit some local barns and see what it is like for them.

Where I come from everyone would be very supportive with this decision. Horses can be expensive. You will most likely have to buy them alfalfa and that can be a lot of work bucking bales unless you want to pay the neighbor boys or someone else to do it. And their hooves have to be cleaned which is 20 bucks a pop at least. And a lot of people clean up their poop if they are only on a couple acres. I'd say they are no more work than a dog except....why will you have them? If they are trained and rideable you don't want them to go to waste and never get ridden. I would only support you on doing this if you are actually going to ride them on a regular basis, or train them...or give them time every day just as pets. I see a lot of horses back home that are only given food and water and they live lonely boring lives just pinned up. They get a big dip in their back from it getting weak. Go for it if you plan on spending time on them.

Just be prepared for all the work and the expense. I had horses growing up and still have one-but he lives on my moms farm. You have to factor in hay for the winter months, the farrier every few weeks, the vet visits, the fact you can't sleep in if you want to-they still need to be fed and clean up after, you don't get a sick day-i remember throwing up while cleaning stalls-the work still has to be done. Think about going on vacation too-you can't just drop them off at a kennel for a week. Besides MANY other costs and hard work-i loved my horses. I loved riding and just being at the barn with the horses. I am now waiting for both of my kids to be in school so that I can start volunteering at the local horse rescue and be in a barn again.

I have two Quarter horses. They're not a LOT of work because they aren't kept in a barn all the time; they have an area in the barn where they can come in out of the weather if they want. We clean that area once or twice a week. They are fed hay twice a day during the late fall/winter months & we carry out warm water 2 to 3 times daily during the cold weather, otherwise they are on pasture & I just have to be sure they have clean water at all times. Feeding chores take a maximum of 10 minutes twice a day.

Horses should be brushed daily along with having their feet cleaned but if you can't get to it every day then they'll survive. Their feet need to be trimmed every 6 -10 weeks or reshod every 6 to 8 weeks. Horses do need annual shots for influenza, encephalitis, tetanus, West Nile & sometimes rabies. They also need to be wormed on a regular schedule.

I really wouldn't say they're so much work as they are responsibility.

I had a horse for 13years and they can be alot of work, but very rewarding. I dont know that I would buy 4 horses at once, especially if your not to sure how much work they would be. If your going to get them I would only get one or two. In my area alfalfa hay was $10 a bale, one horse ate 2 bales a week, a bag of grain is about $10 also. My dad trimmed our horses hooves so we never had to pay for a ferrier, and he also gave him all his shots too. Depending on what area you live in your horse might need blankets in the winter and stable through the bad snow, so theres shoveling manure (always fun!) They are alot of responsibility, just like any other animal. I must say I am jealous of your opportunity! I wont be in a place to have horses for 3-4 yrs when DH gets out of the Army

HA! Get ready to work hard every day if you have horses, you'll always be dirty and your money will be gone!
ok, seriously, we had 6 at one time. it was alot of hard dirty expensive work and time consuming and you will be tied to your place. vacations are few if any. if you do not know anything about horses or have a significant amount of money saved up for emergencies you might want to wait. you need horsemanship classes, behavior classes, grooming and care education and dietary education. If you have questions write me, no problem there.
It's very easy for a person to be killed because of lack of horse education and it's even easier for you to kill your horse because of it too. Please look into something like Parelli, and start reading everything you can on horsecare, start saving lots of money.

I grew up with POAs. It is SO much work and money. My vet friend and I (who used to ride together) were just talking about how much work our parents put into our hobby of riding. Time and money and preparing for winter and if something goes wrong, the horse has to get shot. Ugh...I don't know, try following someone with horses for a week to see what it's like.

try and find your local horse 4-H club. its free and the adviors can teach you and your kids what to do and hook you up with other horse people in the area. yeah it is messy and expensive, but it is FUN too and if your kids are busy mucking stalls and exercising horses less time for doing things they shouldn't be.