Owning a horse can be extremely rewarding. Like other pets, they can feel very much part of your family and of course, they will require lots of care and attention to keep them fit and healthy.
However, even the most well-looked-after horses could become sick or injured and require veterinary care and treatment. In these instances, you may want to consider how you might pay for the veterinary fees incurred when treating your horse.
The emotional and financial aspects of treatment can be overwhelming. Therefore, for peace of mind, equine insurance might alleviate some of that worry leaving you to focus on your horses’ treatment and recovery. Vet’s fees is an optional benefit to our standard equine cover for horse insurance policies, while vet’s fees for external visible accidental injury only is an optional benefit for our veteran horse insurance policies.
Here at The Insurance Emporium, we have analysed our claims data to reveal the most common disease related conditions and accidents, and the average costs to treat these ailments. So, should you be on the fence about what value insurance might play, these are the reasons our customers buy insurance for their horses.
The average paid claim for ‘Veterinary Fees – Disease’
Top 10 most common conditions:
The average paid claim for ‘Veterinary Fees – Accident’
Top four most common conditions:
CEO of The Insurance Emporium, Francis Martin commented: For the third consecutive year, leg conditions remain the most common disease-related claims, while external accidents continue to top the list for accident-related claims. Notably, ‘colic’ once again led to the highest average claim payout at £1,033, followed closely by digestive system conditions such as gastric ulcers at £911.
Common conditions explained
You may already be familiar with some of the most common diseases affecting horses, but if not, here’s a quick rundown on some of those featured in our data:
- Gastric Ulcers: Gastric ulcers are erosions in the lining (wall) of the stomach. Their severity can vary from an inflamed stomach lining to widespread erosion and bleeding. While sometimes there aren’t clinical signs, small changes such as weight loss and loss of appetite, dull, listless coat, and change in temperament are some symptoms to watch out for.
- Kissing Spine: This is known by veterinary professionals as overlapping or impinging dorsal spinous processes and involves the bones along the spine from the withers to the point of the hip. With kissing spine these bones have a smaller gap between them or are touching causing pain. Symptoms of the condition may be picked up after back pain is noticed either during grooming or changes to the horse’s normal temperament and demeanour when working or being prepared to work.
- Desmitis: This is the medical term for when the ligaments become inflamed and swollen. For horses, this tends to occur most often in the joints of the legs. Symptoms of desmitis may include inability to put weight on the limb, limping, behaviour changes, reluctance to stand, swelling and heat at the site of damage.
- Arthritis: Like humans and other animals, horses are also susceptible to arthritis. Like us, it’s more commonly seen in elderly horses, although it can develop at any age. Years of wear and tear can lead to cartilage damage and as a result, osteoarthritis is the most common long-term condition of the joints. Signs of the condition include lameness, decreased performance, pain, stillness and swelling around the joint.
Horse owners will know their horse’s behaviour and general demeanour very well. However, some conditions can creep up on them, therefore it’s always advisable to seek medical advice from a registered vet at the first sign you think your horse is displaying symptoms or changes in behaviour that seems out of character.
Rising costs impacting owners
Horse ownership can cost thousands each year, and that’s before factoring in surprise veterinary bills. Some conditions are not only expensive but could also be prone to recurring, long-term treatment. Even with the best care and precautions, horses can still become unwell or suffer injuries. With concerns around rising veterinary costs, it’s more important than ever for owners to consider equine insurance with vet’s fees included as an optional benefit, potentially saving them from significant, unexpected expenses.
Francis Martin continues: With rising veterinary fees affecting pet and horse owners alike, it reinforces what we’ve seen in our claims data: unexpected treatment costs can put real pressure on finances. Horse insurance isn’t just a safety net; it’s becoming a necessity for many.
If you’re thinking about buying a horse or pony, you might want to consider what the average costs of owning a horse are and everything you need to know about horse insurance.
No one wants to think about what could happen if their horse were to become sick or have an accident, but these are unfortunate risks when owning an animal. Understanding the costs associated with treating these ailments can help give owners an understanding of the potential costs they might pay when seeking veterinary care, on top of their horse or ponies existing everyday costs.
*Data provided is based on The Insurance Emporium’s own claims data from 1st July 2024 to 30th June 2025.
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