06/16/2026
A lot of people wonder where most of our income goes when it comes in as a donation or from trail rides and camps. Its a fair question, and one that we are happy to share an answer to!
Our 2 consistent monthly bills are the mortgage (~$1800/month) and equine insurance ($229/month). Our electric bill varies from month to month and is generally between $300-$500 on average (double or triple that in the winter).
Ashlee personally owns 2 of the main lesson/trail horses while Victoria privately owns 1. All 3 horses eat $328 of grain/hay per month. That equates to $984 a month just for feed. Victoria privately pays out of pocket for anything associated with her horse, Steele, while Ashlee pays for Star and Diego.
Victoria and Ashlee also pay out of pocket for their other horses: Inara, Alora, Waldo, Coco, Shorty, Stephen, Nova, Aspen and Fielder.
At Fortify, we do have a few boarded horses, 6 to be exact. When you breakdown the cost to feed the boarded horses, we end up with a net income of about $823.
We currently have 5 rescue horses. 3 are sanctuary animals with deep, unending medical requirements while 2 are currently being screened to prepare for a potential adoption into a companion home (they too are unsound but are lighter on the maintenance level). All 5 are unable to be used for any type of income based activities. Just to feed the rescue horses it costs roughly $964 a month. This does not include any medications, vet care or farrier work.
At the end of the day, every dime we make, every dollar thats donated, is given to our rescues. All of us have 2nd jobs to help cover these costs to make sure we stay up and running, not only for our equines, but for our community as well.
Below are the feed breakdowns for our rescues as well as our lesson horses.
