Anyone else's most expensive winter?

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Sophstar

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I used to proudly say my 2 ponies were cheap and basic to keep. All their lives they had lived out 24/7, come rain, snow, freezing temperatures, with a couple of slices of hay thrown out every night.

We have all whinged and moaned about the most horrific winter we have had (and still having) for ages but who else's bank account has been thoroughly abused this winter?! My 2 had to be brought in overnight from the start of December, not because of yard rules but simply they were knee deep in mud and the ground was eating the hay! Cob suffered mud fever for the first time ever (touch wood all gone and hairy again) and I was risking his arthritic joints in the sludgy mud if he stayed out.

Past 2 weeks our fields have half dried and then just as I say 'They can go out 24/7 come Monday' it proceeds to pour down all weekend and this morning woke up to snow and the field stream about to burst it's banks AGAIN. Just put in another order for hay and my bank account is starting to ask me when it can have a break from bills for hay, bedding, feed and danilon!:eek:

Very much my most expensive winter to date:rolleyes:
 
It's been my first winter as a horse owner, seriously worst possible first one!! So expensive! Fingers crossed it can only get better!!
 
Oh yes, mine was on box rest for much of it. 4 bales of shavings a week and 24kg haylage a day at the worst.... ..
 
Up to last week I was in buget now it looks as if I am going to over by about £300 in hay. Hve just ordred £200 of straw,
I have had no winter grazing since November even though I have 14 acres so they have been mainly in and fed. They were all doing fairly well till couple of weeks go and I have one thats a bit of a hack rack so she is going to need some more extras.
 
and yet they are saying - march aside- that this is the second warmest winter in the last five years ! I have to say it hasn't felt like it most of the time in my neck of the woods :rolleyes:
 
Yah huh! Not so much about expenses as that's a given. But the prices are higher for less quality and demand is more than supply. This is a serious issue. And if the weather continues there will continue to no growth and so hay making will get pushed back. And let's not even think in worse doomsday scenarios of no hay getting made at all. I really should invest in a massive barn and become a doomsday prepped of hay and straw!

Anyway, even in stuff looks decent it doesn't have the same quality. Not getting what I need from the forage as I have in the past and so you do have to feed differently which goes back to costs.

Terri
 
Have given up even counting the costs tbh....mind you, this is my first full winter with 3 - I only had two for half of last winter...but last winter the grass was still really late with us...so dunno really - just keep putting my hand in my pocket!! :rolleyes:
 
My ponies are usually out 24/7 from October to 1 April.

This year they never made it out for 24/7 at all. A couple were in until January, and then they've all been in and out since then.

Usually my (long suffering) mum looks after them when they're out on their holidays as I live 2 hours away, feeding them and changing rugs and pay a temp groom to come twice a week to do anything else. This year I've had to have to employ a full time groom all winter to look after them, plus all the added expence of having 4 ponies living in.

Most expensive winter EVER.
 
OMG Sophstar! I've had around 8 and the most I've spent on bedding was €120 a month but mostly around the €80 mark. That's real good deep straw beds. Not deep litter! Around the €3,000 on hay and haylage and €180 on feed per month. The hay and haylage was from September. My feed is vits and mins bought in bulk, linseed, beet, chaff, and an oats barley mix from the local farmer.

Terri
 
Yep. For seven horses £700 pcm haylage, £200 pcm hard feed, and £400 pcm bedding. So £1300 pcm, almost £200 each!
 
I ummmd and aaahhhd about whether to buy 6 extra large bales of haylage - they last 10 days each normally and thought maybe if I have one over it would last until next winter.... well all 6 went and now an extra extra 15 bales of small :o
This is just two horses. :eek: but there is nothing in the field, they are in their summer field now because the mud in their winter field (on well drained sandy soil) was up to their ears :eek:

Grrrr.
 
Equilibrium Ireland said:
Yah huh! Not so much about expenses as that's a given. But the prices are higher for less quality and demand is more than supply. This is a serious issue. And if the weather continues there will continue to no growth and so hay making will get pushed back. And let's not even think in worse doomsday scenarios of no hay getting made at all. I really should invest in a massive barn and become a doomsday prepped of hay and straw!

Anyway, even in stuff looks decent it doesn't have the same quality. Not getting what I need from the forage as I have in the past and so you do have to feed differently which goes back to costs.

Terri
Click to expand...

Not just forage but every time I go and buy shavings, the farmer continually repeats and reminds me that the cost of shavings has gone up because of the lack of construction that's taken place this year, so shavings are pretty sparse. Last year shaving bales cost me £6, this year the cheapest at my closest source is £7.20. I can get them for just under £7 elsewhere but I'd then be paying more anyway in either delivery costs or my own petrol costs!
 

Yes, the most expensive winter I can remember. Like OP, mine are tough little b*******, NF with one even born & run on Forest as a foal. Our normal year round battle is against lami, as fields HUGE & grass grows nonstop. Not this year....... all fields waterlogged, mud to knees, mud fever, rain scald, colic from all the hay I wouldn't normally need to feed, a 4 yo backed & riding (Bog snorkling!) away who is melting away despite every conditioning feed on the market fed in regular frequent meals.:( Im desperate to have his breeder over for a visit but no way when he looks so skinny.......please don't phone RSPCA, he is feeling so well that expensive calories shovelled in are burnt up playing with our 2 yo & several other babies in the herd:eek: OK whinge over, I'm sure many other people in worse state but WHEN IS IT EVER GOING TO STOP RAINING!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!1
 
Would definitely have been the most expensive if I hadn't moved yards in June. Luckily we now have all year turnout whatever the weather and the field has coped pretty well as only a couple in a big field. Not much grass but he's been in on a night since October through his choice. Have spent about £150 on hay since mid December and up to £28 a month bedding. So very lucky, hate to think what I would of spent at old yard as they had no turnout for 6+ weeks and are always in overnight.

Pony now starting to live out again, not that he's very happy about it!
 
Yep. More on bedding than ever!!
Luckily haylage included in livery. But a respiratory infection that was resistant to 2 lots of abs and ended up needing 3rd lot, 2 tubs of ventipilmun and steroids and yes my pocket is feeling the pinch
 
Yep! Mine went through a round bale of hay in 3 weeks! 2 bales of shavings a week and lots of food :( He's gone out most days (weather permitting), at the mo he's in cause of the weather and if he's out it's only till lunchtime. Costing me a fortune! hehe. Roll on summer.
 
Our most expensive winter was our second year of moving over here. We had 3 horses then (including 2 very big ones). Because the winters were very wet with some risk of flooding the bottom 3rd, they'd come into a big barn, with a yard and a small sacrifice area so obviously for those months they were getting hay. The first year we bought big round bales off a field (first experience of these, always small bales in the UK). They were really good quality. Second year we bought the same field and the weekend they were supposed to be delivered it poured and poured for 2 days, I mean really heavy rain. I was told that the rain would 'run-off' these bales :( it really doesn't :o. Anyway - these bales were a write off, because they had got soaked they heated up in our barn and I remember crying as I peeled layer after mouldy layer praying that the middle might be OK. We payed a 1000 punts and I'd say we could only use a quarter of them. We ended up having to buy big bale haylage from Kildare which was hugely expensive. Never again, Luckily a local farmer producers haylage now and the quality is very good. BUT, he's run out of big bales and I'm having to buy small bales off him which work out more expensive :eek:
 
Oh crikes yeah, been a real struggle this year using far more hay/feed and bedding when usually I manage on about 4 small bales every 2 wks, this year Ive had a med sized bale costing 21 a go last just a week :( then bedding that isn't cheap really cannot wait for the summer to come along....... I'll have a dream tonight about it see if I can make it happen again.
Ive even got my fly repellent in at the ready :)
 
Not sure if its cost me that much more as v v lucky and have good grazing BUT paying out what indi and basically not riding because if flooding/ snow/ ice makes me feel a bit like no point at the moment. I am struggling with horses this last year in general anyway but my lack of riding is really making me feel like I don't wanna do it right now.
 
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