Apparently I Have Things The Wrong Way Round!

[Elf On A Shelf]

I went to buy some horse feed after work today- as I do 2 or times a week ... And the shop is full of parents and kids wearing Ariat this that and everything and new Dubarry boots. This in itself is no crime, nor is what they did next. They bought the cheapest bags of chaff and the cheapest economy bags of mix they could.

And there was me walking in in clothes that cost less that their jumpers! Except for my Ornella waterproofs which probably totalled their whole outfit (don't buy them! They are naff these days!!!) To buy 4 sacks of probably the most expensive feed that isn't a balancer.

I appear to have things the wrong way round! I need to spend my hard earned money on myself and not my nags!

P.s. this thread is totally tongue in cheek, for all I know they could be feeding a fat Welsh or Highland for the sake of giving it food!

P.p.s. yes my expensive feed is fed to the Shetland's as well as the tb's 😂😂😂

 

[paddi22]

its mad isn't is. people spend a fortune on fancy matchy gear but their horses feet are in bits or they scrimp on dusty cheap feed but then feed a fortune in calmers and supplements. i never understand it. The idea of what is worth shelling out on is completely wrong with some people these days

 

[SEL]

I'm having to bite my tongue over a horse on the yard which could really do with a vet visit for its arthritis. But apparently they can't afford it this month. They could afford another pretty stable rug though.....

 

[The Fuzzy Furry]

EKW, i don't skimp on feeds, bedding etc AND i wear Ariat boots, the shame of it! !



Tho otherwise i still look like I have been dragged round a stable upside down much of the time

 

[EmmasMummy]

I was at a yard where a kid had this expensive horse, expensive tack etc, went to a private school, but she seemed to like stealing other peoples feed!!!!

 

[jumping.jack_flash]

I know exactly what your getting at with your 'observation'! . . I know people that are very well off, have all the gear, yet scrimp on the keeping of their equine! . . I don't get it . . Rugs that don't fit, and tight on the bedding etc.

In regards to a rug that didn't fit . .found the pony one spring morning (24hr turn out was permitted) . Poor pony (bloody sensible pony) had its leg caught up in an over sized rug leg strap . .must of been like it for hours . . Managed to release it, but obviously in pain . .

Tried calling the owners . . anyhow cut long story short . .got no thank you or anything from them . .no concern for the pony either . . and off the flounced with all the gear, no idea! . .

 

[KittenInTheTree]

...And there was me walking in in clothes that cost less that their jumpers! Except for my Ornella waterproofs which probably totalled their whole outfit (don't buy them! They are naff these days!!!) To buy 4 sacks of probably the most expensive feed that isn't a balancer.

I appear to have things the wrong way round! I need to spend my hard earned money on myself and not my nags!...

Are you me?

 

[Nudibranch]

Of course it is possible the feed is a mere token for pony catching purposes, or to mix their minerals in...personally I am not into the hype of a lot of the feed companies and tend to buy the own brand chaff, beet, etc, as the amounts I actually feed are miniscule. I add pro hoof, micronised linseed and salt, and one gets vitamin e but you wouldn't know that by looking at my trolley.

 

[Dubsie]

I feed very basic & mostly own brand beet, conditioning nuts & the oldie with few teeth has veteran vitality because it suits him. Daughter has what's on offer (got some fab jodhs in Derby House sale last year for I think £10, for example) but she only wears the best hats (& not just cos the cheap ones don't fit) and the horse has the best saddle fitted twice a year, bridle, sheepskin numnah, top quality rugs that fit properly etc.
Me, I just wear 25+ year old clothes (no point mucking up anything nice or new) and newish steel toe capped boots!

 

[scrapster]

I used to buy expensive feeds, supplements etc, but after issues with my horse my vet had a good chat with me! For both my 2 they are on simple
Mollichaff £5 bag, horse and pony nuts £6 and a balancer £25 bag. I do have some bespoke supplements still and if one loses weight then I add speedi beet. That's all on vets advice, so just because they buy cheape doesn't mean they don't care. However, I love a bargain and derby house rugs are amazing, and I have yard boots around £50, wellies £5. I do buy a few expensive things but what's recommend by a physio / saddler / vet / trainer. Veredus rugs and boots were an expensive purchase 😳

 

[FfionWinnie]

Well I don't look at the price but I don't feed expensive complete diets which are generally full of junk, either. Expensive doesn't always mean good!

 

[pennyturner]

Can't really comment on horse food, as mine seem to do very well on just grass and hay. I can say though, that my dogs have never looked back since being moved from 'ordinary' expensive dog food to cheap-as-chips Vitalin working dog muesli, with a bit of left over veggies (or maybe some gravy if they're lucky) from dinner chucked in it.

If I do buy feed, it is always straights - as FW says, the expensive nuts/mixes are bulked up by subsidised US soya and other such rubbish. No ingredients list, since they don't have to. Could be anything.

 

[Elf On A Shelf]

As I say - they could have a very good reason for buying the cheapest stuff. I just found it amusing that they were decked out in £100's of clothing and bought the cheapest for their beasts.

Each to their own.

 

[meleeka]

I know people that can't even afford a dentist for their horse but can always afford some nice breeches.

 

[XxCoriexX]

I understand that this post was written in jest but im not sure that it is completely fair. I do like to spoil myself with some Ariat or Pikeur clothing every now and then and I would be the one in the feed shop buying the cheapest feed for my mare. She is an ISH and in good competition fitness but is only fed oats, balancer and chaff. to someone who didn't know her it would look like I was just buying the cheap feed, but over the years I have tried her on a few diets and this is what is best for her, no colics and she still has plenty of energy to do the work asked of her.
IMO those expensive feeds do nothing more, I had a nutritionist look at my horse and tell me what to feed, she also came back with using straights and leaving out the bulked out feeds.

 

[Llewellyn]

Buy cheap buy twice with a lot of clothes and tack. Same as hoovers. Some things in life are investment pieces.
I have 3 boys they get joules (bought in sale!) clothes and jojo cord trousers as they are the only clothes I've found now a days that can survive climbing trees mud fights and generally grubby little boy activities (and being handed down three times (there's a girl at the end too hence 3 times but she's not so grubby)) I regularly get told I spoil them and why don't I just get cheap stuff! I guess people then judge me for buying a hell of a lot of own brand food! If I go to someone's house and they have branded cereal etc I'm proper judgey- do they know how much sugars in that! So I'm no better but the other way 😂 Poor people stay poor by living like they're rich. Rich people stay rich by living like they're poor. I hope to stay on an even keel by finding a middle ground!

 

[Landcruiser]

I know it's tongue in cheek but actually it is a real issue in principle. I work in a vets, and you would be amazed at the number of people we get who quibble about bringing their clearly sick animals in, and yet when they do come in they often have expensive mobiles, designer clothes, fancy handbags, manicures and hair do's, often smell of fags...I'm generalising, the blokes don't usually have manicures!They won't be insured, and they will refuse treatment that their pet desperately needs because it's too expensive.
It's all about priorities. Most of our clients would dress in rags if it meant affording necessary treatment, but there will always be the ones who are blind to the real responsibility of owning animals, and put their own needs and wants first.

 

[Hallo2012]

really annoys me when you see posts on FB-"what matchy for my horse" or "what saddle for my horse" and you look at the condition and think christ buy some feed and hay instead!!!!

i am the BIGGEST lover of pretty and pointless tat but my horse is muscled and shiny, round and happy, with a settled tummy and super feet on a balanced diet.........................i detest seeing underweight, scurfy, poor and depressed looking horses being dressed up in ££££££ outfits!

 

[fattylumpkin]

I've stopped buying a lot of branded horse gear simply because so much of it is plain naff and badly made these days, even if it cost the earth, or because there's major ethical concerns with the brand (ie kids in sweatshops, dodgy sponsorship of animal cruelty.) It grates doubly on my nerves to see people with 'all the gear and no idea' who then stinge on paying out the maintenance costs of keeping a horse well. It's either ignorance or selfishness, I'm not sure which.

 

[Equi]

My horses are not fed the most expensive foods but it's what I've played with to suit them. The local balancer is probably the most expensive. I buy my jodhpurs on eBay for £12 though.

 

[Antw23uk]

I love that saying 'All the gear, no idea' and this ... Poor people stay poor by living like they're rich. Rich people stay rich by living like they're poor .. its VERY true apart from I am poor, live poor and am still poor!

As a society we are now brainwashed by how we should look, how we should dress etc

 

[fattylumpkin]

As a society we are now brainwashed by how we should look, how we should dress etc

Too true! And heaven forbid you buck the rules in some way.

 

[Charlie007]

I do research and buy my horses what they NEED, whether its cheap or expensive. Me, I always go to the cheaper end of the clothing range first!!

 

[Antw23uk]

Thankfully Im no longer on a yard other than my own at home ... I would have been arrested by now for indecent exposure as my yard trousers split at the crutch two weeks ago .. thank god for thermals or it would be very chilly! I will replace them when my arse is hanging out!

 

[Elf On A Shelf]

Thankfully Im no longer on a yard other than my own at home ... I would have been arrested by now for indecent exposure as my yard trousers split at the crutch two weeks ago .. thank god for thermals or it would be very chilly! I will replace them when my arse is hanging out!

I have a selection of winter jeans - only to be worn underneath waterproofs! They aren't dead until they no longer stay up!

 

[glamourpuss]

I do think the post is funny BUT

You do the majority of 'own brand' or value horse feeds are made by the big feed companies & just packaged differently.
I have a good friend who works within the equine feed industry she has told me that.
- They are NOT the 'sweepings off the floor' etc but run off the same production line as the other feed. They under go the same quality control tests & prohibited substance test - however they provide no guarantee of it on the packaging.
- The basic ranges don't pay for slick PR campaigns/advertising or sponsor famous riders
- The basic ranges are limited often just a horse & pony cube & a chaff, which if it works for your horse is great.

All of mine are on the Mole Valley range. I've seen where they are produced, I've seen first hand the production line it came off.
I keep my feeds simple. I know of 2 4* event riders who also use them. Alfalfa, horse & pony nuts, linseed.
2 have unmollassd sugar beet with this & 1 has a balancer (Baileys stud balancer the cheapest but still has everything needed)

The haylage they get is the very best I can get & possibly the most expensive in the region - personally I think good quality haylage is much better than any expensive feed.

I like to look smart, I don't like to walk around resembling a tramp. I wear my riding/yard clothes a lot so I like them to look nice. I buy good quality breeches, jackets, boots (not necessarily expensive or fashionable- but smart)
I buy matchy matchy - again I like my horse to look smart.
So if you saw me in a feed store I would probably be the one that you are talking about in the OP 😂

I train with the best trainers I can, I spend good money on the best dentist/physio/vet I can.

It's all about balance for me.

 

[fattylumpkin]

I'm pretty sure the OP would know the difference between quality feeds that are good value and low quality feeds glamourpuss We're not slamming the price of the food, just their priorities.

 

[lrw0250]

I know exactly what you mean - I have had raised eyebrows on my yard for the fact I pay £40 every 6 weeks for my daughters in very light work lead pony to have her feet trimmed by a barefoot trimmer and have her on Pro Earth Pro Hoof which isn't exactly cheap! There are people who seem to think that because she is a little native pony she should get a lesser standard of care. I could probably save myself a bit of money by changing but would then more than likely spend it on things for my daughter and still scruff about in my usual old yard clothes. I pay for quality boots, jackets, thermals and waterproofs for myself - any old clothes I have lying around will do as long as I have those!

 

[Cecile]

I love that saying 'All the gear, no idea' and this ... Poor people stay poor by living like they're rich. Rich people stay rich by living like they're poor .. its VERY true apart from I am poor, live poor and am still poor!

As a society we are now brainwashed by how we should look, how we should dress etc

I was thinking the very same thing 2 nights ago, I run out of something and although I looked like a tramp I washed my boots/hands/sprayed on some perfume and brushed the mess out of my hair before leaving the yard. I thought it was quite nice having my own personal space in the queue whilst in the shop but there is really no need to almost throw my change at me

 

[scats]

I'm always amused that I wouldn't dream of paying £200 for everyday boots for normal life (work, shopping, socialising etc), but I'll happily pay £200 for a pair of yard boots that I'm going to trudge through ***** and mud in.