Horsey money saving hints? (merged)

lucylou26

I joined manage my horse website at Christmas and it has turned my yard around. Each horse now has his own full profile and the business has it's own area too so I can work out exactly what each horse costs me. Having said this the expenses section is a tiny part of the website and what I use it for ,wish I'd thought of it!!, just about everyone I know is logged on as a member now. I thought it fab and then saw it in horse and hound this week and was endorsed by francis whittington who uses it on his yard too, good enough for him certainly good enough for me! Fab fab site, even got my dogs on there!
I use the horses journal page like I would have done the paper yard book but this way I can find whatever I want instantly and agree the reports section is second to none. The fact it's free is a bonus of course and very easy to use which is a bonus too as I'm not very technically minded to say the very least.

dumpy

I have two, a welsh cob and a quarter horse.

Something to think about is that you may be able to find a cheap grass livery but do think about supplement feeding (unless you have very good grass you will almost certainly need to add hay in the winter)

Also think about when you are going to ride. Does the yard have an arena? Does it have lights. If no arena or no lights when will you be able to ride in winter? It may be worth paying a bit more livery for these facilities.


And have someone very experienced go with you when you look to buy. It's too easy to let your heart sway your head.

Jellicat

Yup, I've taken hay and hard feed into account as well

penguin83

I currently just have the one horse and she costs me a fortune to keep but and its a big but that is purely because of our circumstances.

My main problem is that she wont live outside anymore (she is 37 now) and only goes out for a few hours each day preferring to be indoors. I have had her for years and its only because of her age, the fact I now have 2 young children and work full time that the cost is high. Anyway my expenses are:

Rent - 105.00 month
Livery - 150.00 a month (this is for someone to finish her off in the evening)
Shavings - 15.00 week
Feed (inc medication)- 25.00 week
Hay - 10.00 week
Insurance - 30.00 month
Shoes - 18.00 6 weeks (just a trim)
Plus dentist, vet bills, wormers, jabs etc.

As I say my costs are circumstantial and you seem to have thought of most things but make sure you have a plan in case things change. I have had my mare since I was at primary school so she has seen a lot of changes!!

I hope you get your dream horse x x x

Scenic_Route

Cheers for the link to the other thread Jellicat. Don't know what part Edinburgh you are in but there are some livery yards in west lothian (perhaps too far to travel daily though) that may be worth a look though £20 a week grass livery sounds great! forgot to mention in previous post 4 shoes are £60 every 8 weeks or so, basically per year it costs me the guts of £3500. I wish I could hack him to work and get rid of the car and diesel costs but amiable as he is, he may object to a 40 mile round "hack" down the A71, 5 days a week!

JennyW_2

I've had horses all my life (I'm 41 now) and last year I gave it all up and sold my mare. It was just too much, not only financially but the commitment to be at the stables every day. I will always love horses and perhaps one day I'll do it again but I was finding each month such a struggle to cope.

My horse wasn’t out 24/7 so I had to see to her twice a day, with each morning starting at 5.30am for me. I just found I was losing my life because I had to be there each day. I was missing out on family functions, well not missing out so much, but having to leave early and return later and towards the end, I just felt worn out and tired. I loved my mare very much and raised her from a young age, but it just wasn’t fair to her either. She deserved more than I could give.

I’m not trying to put a damper on things but as well as the financial commitment, there is also the commitment to visiting your horse every day.

Back you your situ though, you say you want grass livery but you will also need a stable at some point. What if your horse gets injured and needs box rest, or needs stabling 24/7 due to mud fever etc? Also, many horses will gain weight in the spring months so restricted grazing may be required so you may have to stable the horse. During some extreme weather, you may need to stable the horse - I expect Scotland will have it's fair share of extreme weather. If you are keeping your horse most of the time, then you will need to purchase some good quality rugs (£150 plus).

If you intend keeping the horse out as much as possible, what about field rotation? Make sure that wherever you end up, they have enough fields/grass.

What about being a sharer to start with? This way you will learn so much about costs and riding and find out if it's really the route you want to take?

I've come across so many people (and this isn't aimed at you) who think that they can just buy a pony/horse, put it in a field with a bucket of water :eek: and assume that's it.

As someone said earlier, fore-warned is fore-armed.

tishywish

Pure Arabs certainly can live out, quite often without rugs too (although some will need rugging more than others) - don't be put off getting an Arab because people have told you they can't live out They're far tougher than most people think. As Orlao said, watch out for the ones of English breeding as they do tend to be particularly good doers and you may need to restrict food availability! They're a fantastic breed to be owned by

Grass livery in my area is around £10 - £15 per week - some farmers will rent you a small field or you may need to find a livery yard that will do grass livery. It is useful to have some form of stabling available though, in case of injury or illness. I find that renting off a farmer means there's some sort of building available when I need it and my field rent is a lot cheaper than on a yard, too

You could consider keeping your horse barefoot which saves on shoeing costs (although trimming can cost quite a lot depending on your area and trimmer), or have the shoes taken off over winter and put back on in summer. I know a few people who do this and manage well that way.

If you have the storage, you may find it cheaper to buy big bale hay or haylage rather than small bales. Feed-wise, again certainly Arabs can live on a fibre based feed all or most of the year which is not only cheaper but also far healthier than feeding large amounts of hard feed.

You will need to allow for dentist (£25+ per time, usually once or twice a year), worming £10-£15 a time, every 10 weeks - 3 months) or worm counts, vet bills (think of a number, double it, add a nought and square it!), insurance, saddle fitting/checking, new tack, chiropractor and all that sort of thing as well - I take my budget for that out of our food budget and if the OH complains I point out that he should give me more money if he wants more food.

Scenic Route, the way fuel prices are going there may soon be a lot of people who go back to using horses as a form of transport! Mine is semi-retired now but if fuel prices continue to rise it would be cheaper to bring her back into work and use her instead of the car!

GFN123

I don't have horses any more, but have otherwise almost always owned pure bred Arabs They are built to be tough and hardy, and all mine happily lived out rugless all year round. Of course, each horse is an individual with differing needs, but in all the time I was a horse-owner (or Arab-owned, as tishywish quite rightly puts it!) I didn't encounter any particular breed that couldn't live out - my friend's ex-racer happily wintered out rugless with the fluffiest coat you've ever seen once she was given a chance to adjust.

I do agree with JennyW that actual the biggets burden is not financial but the level of responsibility and commitment it involves. Are you able to take on a part loan or share when you move, to get back into the swing of things and see if it can fit round your exisiting life?

vics_1982

Hi Jellicat,

I too am horse mad, i have a thoro'bred gelding, he is 11 and i let him live out as soon as the weather turns nice, normally from march until october.
We pay £85 per month for our livery, that includes grazing, electric, water.
We supply our own feed, (not much during summer just a handful for suppliments) supply our own bedding(we were on straw as farmer supplies it but since the boy decided he liked his bed and nearly killed himself with colic from eating it we are now on shavings(normal ones, he even ate the alegedly non edable bedding-stupid boy), So £7.50 per week for a bag and a half when in.
£25 for insurance per month (cheap considering we had a rediculous claim of nearly 2/3K for said colic incident)
I am a true moneysaver when it comes to the farrier, i feel in love with my farrier so now its free:T !!!!(hows that for money saving!!!!)I do have to do his books though. However its £65 per set, every 5-8 weeks (depends what you are going to do) £20 trim and £35 pair of fronts.
The dentist is £40 if just a check up and possibly quite expensive if you need lots of work (mine had lots of hooked teeth so had to have vet to sedate (£60ish) then dentist £150ish so that soon added up.
Back lady is £25 twice a year.
vaccinations are £50 once a year and a free check up thrown in.
All the prices above include the call out fees.
He is also on boitin (feed suppliment for his rubbish feet) and also has hoof moist. 5KG refil bag of biotin is £8.00, hoof moist is £5.80 and lasts about two months, brushed on hooves twice daily.
He only gets hay if he is in the stable so during winter about 1 and a half bales a week (supplied by farmer) at £2.80per bale(huge bales though)
I have a slight obsession to buying rugs, we have 2 heavyduty fal turnout rugs (i find these are the best make, tough, long lasting and warm and waterproof) however they are £200ish a time so bloody well should be.
2 Middleweight rugs, (fal again £120ish) 3 lightweight rugs (2 x FAL, 1 x Masta about £80ish time). 5 stable rugs.....i know i know but i got some off ebay, again 2 x fal, 1 x rambo, 1 x horsewares, 1 x can't remeber, he also has lots of travel rugs, cooler rugs, fleeces and a weetherbeta underblanket.
he loves fruit and veg, turnips, carrots, pears, apples, sugabeet(small quantitys) etc and worcestershire crisps!!!!.

When we got him 6/7 years ago i got a 2nd hand saddle £250 and a new bridle £80. saddle fitted him a knockout, last year we had a brand spanker new saddle made to measure him, its an ideal VSD and cost us £900 ish but it is lush!!! also had the older one re-stuffed and now that is lush aswell.
One thing not to forget is your first aid kit for horse and rider, we have as follows on our yard,

Horse kit,all washes, disinfectants,thermometer, heart listening thingys, vet wraps, poultices, bandages, dressing, kettles, etc (cost about £80 to have enough to last yonks)

Human kit, plasters, slings, scissors, bug bit stuff, etc (£40)
also dont forget fly spray we make ours using citronella (brought from chemist for about 85p per bottle).
I also use elvive shampoo and conditioner for his maine and tail as horsey ones are a rip off!!! i do use canter shampoo though as it smells fab.

I appologise for my megga burble but i love talking about my boy, he is my baby.
I know i spoil him but hey.....why not.
Don't forget to add the cost of diesel, entry fees and memberships if you may compete, it all adds up to be stupidly expensive.
We also hire out an indoor school and pay £60 per month to use it whenever we like, for a horse trailer your looking at about £1k and a horse lorry your looking at about £5-10K for a decent one.

Good luck whatever you decide,
Off to ride now as i have the week off work, wohoo.
Vics
xx

Jellicat

vics_1982 wrote: »

Hi Jellicat,

Good luck whatever you decide,
Off to ride now as i have the week off work, wohoo.
Vics
xx

Rub it in why dont you!

Great hearing from people who keep Arabs out, fills me with joy. I have found a potential sharee however he likes fjords...something about their funky haircuts :rolleyes:. I told him he's so tall his legs will probably trail the ground, although I suppose fjords have big bodies :rotfl: . Maybe some sort of haflinger/Arab/fjord lovechild (a platinum blonde horse with a spiky haircut and dished face???) Cant see him going for Arabs he thinks they look a bit poncey. *rolls eyes* Again yeps prepared for the possibility of not always being able to keep the horse out and the time commitment. If the current share goes to plan (once we can afford the horse) we're going to get just one and share and if it all goes to plan get another for me and he can keep the first one.