Thought To Go

AUTO VS. HORSE.; Six-Day Test Shows Motor Car Cheaper and More Efficie... - Article Preview - The New York Times:

"October 9, 1910, Sunday Section: Drama Society Music Automobiles, Page XX7, 1047 words"

So apparently this issue has come up before, way back in 1910, about 19 years before the Depression that crippled the world (not just the US) and 20 yrs before the dust bowl.

I wish I had the actual article but they saved it as a pdf which you can veiw here.

Please notice the cost of 5 gallons of gas and oil remember that this was a time when there weren't that many cars on the road....$1 ~or~ 20cents/gallon!!
It looks like they did a comparison of how far you could go in one day before stopping -- but how many people drive like that? Its the stop/go/idling that makes having a car so expensive.

And - no insurance back then either! That would add another $5-20/day depending on where you live and your age.

Also notice that they compared having your own spot to garage your car to having to get a livery service for the horse ... if everyone had a horse, just like in the pioneer days, you would pretty much learn to do it all yourself - including horse shoeing - and you would more than likely come out on top.

But at $4/gallon for gas alone, one has to wonder if this 'study' would still hold up today.

Oh And Finally -- the people who paid for the study???

The American Automobile Association (hey, its triple A!) ... yeah because they were going to be completely unbiased.

{{{{FOLLOW UP}}}}}

I found a newer article (no publishing date given) which compares the annual costs for caring for a horse (conventional vs. holistic) but it gives great insight to how much actual caring for a horse is: notice that they are likely feeding the horse much less feed than above and are using less hay as well.

Comparison of Cost and Effectiveness of Holistic Care vs. Conventional Care for Horses by Dr. Madalyn Ward, DVM

" >>> Holistic Horse <<<>Oats (2 lbs/day): $131 Hay (3 bales/week): $780 Super Blue Green Algae (1-2 tsp/day): $156 VEWT, West Nile Vaccinations: $48 Spectrabiotic Natural Wormer: $115 2 Fecal Exams: $32 Acidophilus (for occasional immune support): $7
TOTAL ANNUAL COST: $1269

>>> Conventional Horse <<<>Oats (4 lbs/day): $262 Hay (2 bales/week): $520 Hoof Supplements and Dressings ($30/month): $360 VEWT, West Nile, Flue, Rhino, Rabies Vaccinations: $80 Dewormer (6 times/year): $92 2 Bottles Penicillin: $20 A Course of Sulfa Antibiotics: $32 Fecal Exams: $32 12 Grams Bute: $10
TOTAL ANNUAL COST: $1408 "

Raising a horse by either means is cheaper than filling your car! That is about 352 gallons of gas .... average tank size is 15-18 gallons (according to wikianswers) ... so that is about 23 1/2 tanks full (at $4/gal) .... I don't know about you but we fill our tank 1/wk in the winter & twice that in the summer ..... so that would be 10 fill ups in the summer & 20 in the winter.
(higher cost of owning a horse and conservative amount of fillups).

Hmmm. this isn't looking that bad, really. Garages can easily be converted into a barn.