Horsey money saving hints? (merged)

Raksha

Following on from that - my tip is the use rugs to keep your horse or pony warm and dry, especially if you're having to buy hay - £30 worth of rug will more than pay for itself by reducing the amount your animal has to eat just to keep warm. At the same time, remember that digestion generates heat internally, so if you need to feed additional hay, make sure it's available at the coldest time of the day (usually at night). People used to mock me because my little Section B was rugged up - but he was warm and happy and not eating nearly as much as their unrugged ponies just to keep warm......

Just don't forget to remove those rugs if it's not forcast to rain, and especially if it's bright sunshine - a horse can sweat under a rug very quickly, and then when it gets chilly late afternoon, they get chilled again.....

maytaurus

Surviving the credit crunch

The Welfare Department at The British Horse Society has put together a list of suggestions to help horse owners save money without cutting corners

http://www.bhs.org.uk/content/Ods-More.asp?id=13904&pg=News&spg=News&area=9

~Chameleon~

I absolutely adore that pic and hope you don't mind but I've just set it as my desktop background

Raksha

BHS money saving tips forget to mention that if you take your lorry off the road (ie it isn't parked on or driven on public roads) you can get it SORN and also get a refund on any remaining tax.

SDH

Got to share the MSE tip with you. My horse has an abscess in his hoof, the vet cut his hoof until she found pus ... and then recommended instead of the expensive animal lintex dressing (£5 for equivilent of 3 dressings) that I should use nappies instead..... they are clean and absorbant - which is exactly what i need

"value nappies" in Tesco were £1.47 for pack of 20. Very MSE

trudij

They are also the right shape for feet. And knees and hocks too hope hes better soon!!

ditzymuppet

Hi...

I'm in the process of arranging a share... my main concern, is that I'll have a lovely horse to school and play with in the school, but I'm going to run out of ideas for schooling, (well, without an instructor being present to bark ideas at me)...

I have a few ideas... basic lateral work...transitions, getting him listening to me, riding squares/circles, turn on the forehand/haunches/shoulder in/quarters in etc/lunging/loose schooling...Pole work (with and without jumps)...

Does anyone have any suggestions with regards to what I can do? I'd love to make this fun for my new timeshare pony! (Well-horse-he's 17hh!) as it looks like we'll be in the school during my weekdays until the sun starts staying out later so I can go hacking with him...

All ideas are really welcomed- thank you! ~ditzy x:p

scottishsuz

maytaurus wrote: »

Surviving the credit crunch

The Welfare Department at The British Horse Society has put together a list of suggestions to help horse owners save money without cutting corners

http://www.bhs.org.uk/content/Ods-More.asp?id=13904&pg=News&spg=News&area=9

Thanks for this, I've got 14.2hh cob type on full loan who costs pennies to run, but I'm starting a share of a 17hh boy who costs a hell of a lot more!! Not MSE I know, but the boy has skills to die for and will help take my riding to a whole new level I never thought I'd ever get to :-) All cost saving hints are good!

I notice on the list it mentions forage feeds, what are fellow MSErs feeding forage wise? My pony is on grass nuts and Red Mills just now, and can drop a wee bit of weight in the winter if I'm not careful, but I'm always open to suggestions of what might be better for him. I won't have a say in feeding the big boy.

scottishsuz

ditzymuppet wrote: »

Hi...

I'm in the process of arranging a share... my main concern, is that I'll have a lovely horse to school and play with in the school, but I'm going to run out of ideas for schooling, (well, without an instructor being present to bark ideas at me)...

I have a few ideas... basic lateral work...transitions, getting him listening to me, riding squares/circles, turn on the forehand/haunches/shoulder in/quarters in etc/lunging/loose schooling...Pole work (with and without jumps)...

Does anyone have any suggestions with regards to what I can do? I'd love to make this fun for my new timeshare pony! (Well-horse-he's 17hh!) as it looks like we'll be in the school during my weekdays until the sun starts staying out later so I can go hacking with him...

All ideas are really welcomed- thank you! ~ditzy x:p

Oh Snap! Also getting a timeshare of a 17hh!! Schooling wise, my rule of thumb is if its interesting for you, its more likely to be interesting for them. Sounds like you already have a pretty good understanding of what to do. I frequently copy part of the lessons I've had and mix bits together to keep us occupied.

Most of all, have a giggle!

Topdogfran

Re Schooling, how about looking at schooling on the ground instead of riding - Parelli Natural Horsemanship stylee.....