Horse owners, where would you cut corners if you absolutely had to save money and still keep your horses?

Hmmm.....I can self administer vaccs, and working where I do, we're seeing a lot of that. It's understandable, but it's interesting....some of the same people that order their vaccs from elsewhere, are the same ones that expect to walk in and be handed prescription drugs without having the doctor see the horse. And some of them get really snotty when they get told no. Or they call up and want a health certificate to go somewhere, and the docs haven't even seen the horse. Joe Schmoe other vet from somewhere drew the coggins, but they can't get in touch with good ol' Joe....but they don't want to pay for a visit and exam so the doc can give out the H/C....they want something for nothing.

Basic trims?? Thank you....no. My farrier is very reasonable, and it's not worth the money I'd save to take on that task. I can do a passable job if I HAD to, but doggone it, that's HARD WORK.

I'm not beyond switching to suitable local mix feed, but one thing you didn't mention, is keeping an eye out for specials and coupons, and then stocking up. Or, as with the local feed store here, I go in with another person and buy a ton at a time, and we get a substantial break on the price.

Lesser hay.....yeah, to an extent. My horses ate grass this last winter rather than grass/alfalfa mix because there wasn't a whole lot to be found. But, as you said, it still has to be acceptable quality. And I do buy out of the field, and get my hay bought up early to mid summer so that I've got it stored and secured before quantities get scarce. Supplements...I don't feed supplements for the most part. With a good balanced feed ration, I really don't need any right now, so any supplements I fed would be "vital".

"Car pool" to trail rides when possible. In the past I've hauled people and never even thought about having the riders kick in on gas. The last few times, I've been offered $$$, and I took it gratefully.

Lessen the distance to trail rides. I used to go to TN, KY, and IL for trail rides, but haven't been recently due to fuel costs. There are nice riding opportunities within an hour or two of my house, and I've just accepted being satisfied with that.

Only shoeing the ones that are getting used the most. I used to keep at least four horses shod through riding season, now I've got two. And, I gave up on the borium. Probably better for their joints in the long run, and I detest road riding, so I can get by without it for the most part. I'm just very careful in rocky areas.

Lease out horses that aren't being used, if you can find a suitable place for them. Good for them, they're being used and kept in shape, good for the person using them, they don't have the outlay for purchase, good for you in that you aren't paying to care for them.

1. Already do.

2. No way, might cost more in the long run if I screw up:)

3. No way. Only the best for them. Could cause problems to switch which could cost more money.

4. No way. Another thing I wouldn't change.

5. Yes.

6. Yes, except joint supplements.

The other things I would do is have my daughter quit showing for a while or only pick one or two a season to go to. Look for deals on tack and only buy when needed. Drive my car to the barn instead of the truck (which we do now). Try and work off lessons if possible to cut down that expense (which we do now).

I wouldn't change any feed or hay on my horses or shoeing because what works now works great BUT I can change the things that I do. I have cut out eating out to save money each month, I try to wait for sales to buy anything I need etc.

This was an excellent question, thanks for posting it.

Well, we don't give any supplements to our horses at the moment...so that's no probelm....

We already get a good deal on grain because the feed mill is about a 10 minute drive away and we just go pick it up right where they mix it...We help pick hay out of the fields and load it/unload it ourselves to save money on delivery....we give all the vaccinations ourselves, unless they HAVE to be given by a vet...

so really we already do the stuff on that list...lol.

But if I had to cut corners in other ways, I would definitely cut back on eating out. Probably get a smaller "package" for the tv (satellite), I would get rid of the landline phone and just use the cell but we get horrible-to-no reception where I live.

We have also swapped horses with my trainer so that my horse can be at a barn with an arena for me to work him...he puts one of his broodmares with us, and my show horse goes to his place.

We also will rasp down the hooves a little to stretch out the time between farrier visits, if necessary (none of our horses have shoes on at the moment, and our farrier really doesn't charge much anyway)...we haven't done this much, but sometimes you get stuck having to fix a lawn mower or car or whatever and just don't have the extra moolah.

I would never ever compromise on the quality of hay I feed. That is not a place to cut costs.

If you are buying hay and can haul it yourself that is one good way to save money. Less trips where you are hauling your horse also saves.

I do my own vaccines and always have.

I have a great farrier and would not change that but I do file and trim lightly in between farrier visits if needed.

I would change the rest of my lifestyle rather than cut quality of feed. Like someone else said do I really need 100 cable channels. I would rather be out riding the horse than sitting watching tv.

Well, one thing I do, just because I have had horrible luck with farriers, is I take my horses to a Research and Farrier school here in Northern Georgia to get their feet trimmed. My colt needs corrective trimming and it's only $5 a horse and I am getting the best trims done than I have ever seen in my life! The instructors are wonderful. I stayed to watch my horses get trimmed, I would never let a farrier touch my horses without me there, and they were great. Even though they were busy teaching, the instructor was happy to answer my questions too =) So I got a education along with the students.

Anyways, here in Northern Georgia, the hay is sh!t. And expensive, So I have switched over to alfalfa cubes so that my guys get the consistency they need instead of feeding the low quality hay that is available at high quality prices. The only negative part about that they don't get that grazing, so I am taking them for walks in the part of the pasture that hasn't been fenced and letting them graze for a hour each, not much time, but it's better than nothing and they seem to like it =)

Besides the trims and the hay, my list is the same as the one you have. But it's not just to save a couple $$'s, it's because it's easier to just to do it that way.

Edit...I so agree with those of you who said to change your own lifestyle before changing the level of care for you horses. I currently just do with the basics now, like we use a antenna to get 3 tv channels instead of paying for cable, I don't have a personal cell phone, but because my work provides me with one that I am allowed to use as my own. I don't go shopping for things I don't need and I cook at home.

Very good question, I'm sure quite a few people have been in this situation!!! I'm a bit of a pain and buy things that arnt really needed. The best way for me to save money would be to cut out on those things( be quite hard though...) Love my horses matching fly rugs etc....

I would most of the above apart from the trimming as I think farriers train for years on end for a reason and a dogdy job could really mess up a horses legs.

You could.

1. make your own fly spray.

2. buy second hand rugs, tack etc

3. rent out stable and grazing

4. get a sharer for your horse to go halves on the bills.

5. buy feed/ hay in bulk and be cheeky and ask for a discount!! I do..

I board my horses, so some of this does not apply - but, I do my own vaccines, we already use the 'grade' feed, the hay is what they can get - hay shortage in my area. I only feed one supplement.

I also cut back on horse shows, doing unrecognized instead of recognized. I found a place to keep my gelding for free (hoping to find him a permanent home eventually).

I am considering cutting back my cable - I need my internet for school. I drive as little as possible - my only mode of transportation is my truck, ugh. I have my own trailer so I am making up for some of the shows with taking her to the nearby park about once every other week - it is only about a 10 min ride.

Oh boy, would I ever be in trouble if I had to cut out something. I already do all of that except trim my own horses. I would cut back in other areas like:

Do I really need a home phone and a cell phone?

Do I really need 100 cable channels?

I don't really need that new pair of shoes do I?

I can eat left overs for lunch rather than stopping for a hamburger.

No more bottled water from the store, I can just fill up from the tap.

Make sure I do everything I can in town while I'm there so I don't have to use up gas for another trip to town. etc.

There are hundreds of ways to cut back. We Americans are a very materialistic society and there are a lot of things that we "think" we "need" that are actually luxuries unheard of a generation earlier.

First thing to go would be convenience foods - we're all quite capable of cooking a reasonable meal so it's not like anyone would starve without a microwave meal.

Take a car off the road

sell a car

sell all that junk that's hanging around waiting to be useful

actually collect all that petrol money people owe me

Edit: we already do our own haylage and use the local feeds and the only supplements we use are oil, garlic and Marmite !

1. Already Self Administer

2. My horse has hard slow growing feet, last time they were done it was $10 because she just needed the fronts done.

3. We get our grain from local farmers and only sweet feed in the winter.

4. Again, going to the farmer.

5. see above

6. We have good pasture, hay, and grain, so we already do a bare minimum.

I trail ride around the house, so no trailering.

I "board" at my mother in laws, so my fair share of chores pays for my mares stay.

And my area isn't having to hard of a time for hay, the farm we get from is a mile away and will deliver for no extra cost.