I would think that Icelandic horses would be relatively inexpensive to keep. Both my Arabian and my small local gaited trail horses ate very little hay, didn't need grain, and my Arabian didn't need to be shod. They had a field and run-in shed, so no mucking stalls. Even my two 16 hh Tennesse Walkers and llama only eat one bale and two quarts of grain among them a day and cost $1200 last year.
I talked to a lady last week who had four Icelandics and three Gotlands which she said only ate one bale a day and never had to be shod. Of course, in Haiti, there was only the cost of a 40 cent sisal rope every few months per horse since they were only tethered out to graze. It seems that if a breeder only made a few thousand a year on one Icelandic foal, that would pay for the operation. Maybe our low cost is because we don't show, trailride nearby, have our own land, and I do my own training? If we end up buying the Farnese Farm herd, I was intending to sell the 8 month olds and maybe break the two year old filly to drive this summer. Whatever money we got for the yearlings could be put to work at E- trade; with E-trade's new bracket stops and liberal trading policy, four of our trading buddies have been doubling their account values every month on naked calls. Maybe I'm missing something, though, since I've never bred Icelandic horses before. Rachel in E. Ky- "should I be worried?" Maybe I'd be better off nor knowing...
