Coronavirus and money

eahotson

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Many people will have their wages cut back over the next few months.Perhaps it is time, if you think it is likely to apply to you,to think about how you can save money on keeping your horse if necessary.All sugestions welcomed.It could be having your horse go barefoot and sticking to riding in fields/schools to lengthen farrier visits.Not ideal but ok for a while.Perhaps selling an expensive item and putting the money away for future expenses or looking for somewhere to turn your horse away for a while.It is better probably to start thinking now.
 

Pearlsasinger

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I am not sure that planning to sell an expensive item is a viable strategy. Who are you going to sell it to? People are trying to keep their distance from each other, especially in unnecessary transactions and too many people will be saving their pennies for there to be much of a market.
No-one knows what the future holds for them/their family, so I doubt that making major changes to management is a good idea, either - and please think about your poor farrier, if everyone cuts back on footcare.
 

eahotson

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I am not sure that planning to sell an expensive item is a viable strategy. Who are you going to sell it to? People are trying to keep their distance from each other, especially in unnecessary transactions and too many people will be saving their pennies for there to be much of a market.
No-one knows what the future holds for them/their family, so I doubt that making major changes to management is a good idea, either - and please think about your poor farrier, if everyone cuts back on footcare.
 

eahotson

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People will have to start and think.Otherwise there will be abandoned horses,cats and dogs.That is the reality.I think that you will find that commerce is still continuing and indeed must.Perhaps you have better ideas than mine? Please share them.
 

ITPersonnage

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Ok here's my two pennorth. As someone who has just had their horse of a lifetime PTS (5 weeks ago) I would urge people to THINK AHEAD about turning their horses away after a very wet period on potentially very lush grass. I am aware the grass probably doesn't LOOK lush but I would put money on lots of horses coming down with laminitis, especially if foot care is going to be low down on the list of priorities. My mare had recurrent laminitis and was NOT fat or under-exercised but a major factor in my decision to PTS was the impending spring, along with hind suspensory ligament damage. If she had not developed laminitis in the last 2-3 years I would have had more options to treat but it really IS serious and I hate to hear of new cases. Please don't let your horse be one of them.
 

Southern

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Strip grazing could be an option for people turning their horse away to save costs if they have concerns about laminitis etc.. It’s a good idea to save money on shoes by going barefoot and quite a significant saving. Of course it will have an impact on farrier income but if it’s a case of being able to keep your horse or not then it’s one to consider. At least the grass is growing now. I’ve been heartened by reading stories of yard owners waiving livery costs and offering free places while this crisis is current.
 

Leo Walker

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Ok here's my two pennorth. As someone who has just had their horse of a lifetime PTS (5 weeks ago) I would urge people to THINK AHEAD about turning their horses away after a very wet period on potentially very lush grass. I am aware the grass probably doesn't LOOK lush but I would put money on lots of horses coming down with laminitis, especially if foot care is going to be low down on the list of priorities. My mare had recurrent laminitis and was NOT fat or under-exercised but a major factor in my decision to PTS was the impending spring, along with hind suspensory ligament damage. If she had not developed laminitis in the last 2-3 years I would have had more options to treat but it really IS serious and I hate to hear of new cases. Please don't let your horse be one of them.

I'm panicking about this. Mines young and relatively fit, but shes still fatter than she should be even carefully managed If she gets chucked out on decent grass or ad lib hay shes in big trouble. I'm paying someone to work her twice a week now on top of what I do. I've reduced her feed to next to nothing and am mixing more straw with the hay. I want her to be underweight not over at this point.

However if this gets as bad as I suspect it will then I may have no option. We have a starvation paddock and she will have to go in there and I will pray that one of the very local people can chuck hay in for her.

Thank god for baby highlands who are growing like weeds and will be just fine on decent grass and benign neglect!
 

dorsetladette

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My 2 are not eating as much hay as they were (ad-lib) which is reducing cost slightly. We have 2 summer paddocks, one of which has been rested for a while the other has had a livery in who will be joining my 2 this week end. As long as we manage the fields carefully the hay delivery I have coming this weekend should hopefully be our last.
My boys are unshod anyway, they live out 24/7 too. I don't really see how I can cut back much.

I would not want to extend the length of time between farrier visits. I also won't let their annual jabs slip or there worming routine.

I suppose i would not get a freelancer in to help with backing my boy and my OH (slightly horsey, has been person on the ground for me when backing a youngster in the past) or mum (very horsey, but a bit broken these days) may be requested to step in to the breech. If I really felt like I needed to sit on him, but I could just continue with the ground work for longer.

I suppose I could shop around for feed instead of just going to the local feed merchants, but I like to think I'm helping a small business and TBH I don't think buying online plus delivery charges will work out much cheaper - I could be wrong.
 
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milliepops

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I would not want to extend the length of time between farrier visits. I also won't let their annual jabs slip or there worming routine.
this
Last night work dropped a bombshell, hopefully it won't come to that but if the business goes belly up we will have to give notice on the house (rented), look for a caravan and consider the future of the 2 old horses, hoping the agreement I have for the ex racer means his previous trainer may help with rehoming. My best horse and one other can be kept going for minimal cost as we have hay in stock for a year or so, have 2 stables that are currently repurposed but can be made available again and my OH is a farrier. But they will still need their vaccinations etc and one is in foal so is also a vets bill generator at the moment.
 

meleeka

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I have three that are at risk from laminitis so no chance of turning them out in a big field. I also have my summer field out of action due to mud and the neighbours fence blowing down in the storms. I’m going to have to fence that before I can use it, but currently l dont know if I’m going to have any income. We run a business and if our customers, who are in the travel industry, shut down who knows if they’ll pay for the work we did in Jan/feb. That, along with a downturn in work now could mean little income for 6 months ?. I did joke to OH that by the time we’ve pts the oldies we’ll have spent the same as it costs to feed them so that’s probably not an option either. I own my land so not as bad as it could be and I might well find myself living there in a caravan at this rate :(
 

dorsetladette

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Last night work dropped a bombshell, hopefully it won't come to that but if the business goes belly up we will have to give notice on the house (rented), look for a caravan and consider the future of the 2 old horses, hoping the agreement I have for the ex racer means his previous trainer may help with rehoming. My best horse and one other can be kept going for minimal cost as we have hay in stock for a year or so, have 2 stables that are currently repurposed but can be made available again and my OH is a farrier. But they will still need their vaccinations etc and one is in foal so is also a vets bill generator at the moment.

My work are trying to make provisions so we can work from home, but i'm not sure how much i'll be able to do from home to be honest and most of it is confidential. (I'm not important, but handle paying people) So, I'm not sure how that would affect my salary. My salary is the secure one in our house hold and the OH is more sporadic as he is self employed. We too would have to give notice if on our house if anything happens as the rent would become unaffordable on only one income and if site closes where OH works that is it for us. We would be in a caravan at the field too. We'll have to swap notes on our nomadic lives!!

I guess your OH income may well be effected as people take shoes off and change there horses management too.

Its all very uncertain which for the control freak in me is not sitting well.
 

milliepops

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My work are trying to make provisions so we can work from home, but i'm not sure how much i'll be able to do from home to be honest and most of it is confidential. (I'm not important, but handle paying people) So, I'm not sure how that would affect my salary. My salary is the secure one in our house hold and the OH is more sporadic as he is self employed. We too would have to give notice if on our house if anything happens as the rent would become unaffordable on only one income and if site closes where OH works that is it for us. We would be in a caravan at the field too. We'll have to swap notes on our nomadic lives!!

I guess your OH income may well be effected as people take shoes off and change there horses management too.

Its all very uncertain which for the control freak in me is not sitting well.
yup indeedy. very uncertain. He has transferrable skills as can drive a tractor, has a lot of kit and can fix & maintain most machinery, he already does help out a lot in transport with lorries etc. I..... well I have my HGV test, maybe we should go into business filling the supermarkets up!

I was the secure salary, I work from home exclusively with sensitive data (healthcare) so we are pretty much in the same boat.
 

Starzaan

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I was laid off on Monday as a result of coronavirus, along with a large chunk of the company. Sadly last in first out is a real thing.
I’m fairly sure nobody will be hiring for a while, and am panicking. But there is no way I will be letting worming, jabs, or the farrier lapse.
I’m sure I’ll muddle through, but it will be by cutting back myself, not for my animals.
 

TheOldTrout

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I was laid off on Monday as a result of coronavirus, along with a large chunk of the company. Sadly last in first out is a real thing.
I’m fairly sure nobody will be hiring for a while, and am panicking. But there is no way I will be letting worming, jabs, or the farrier lapse.
I’m sure I’ll muddle through, but it will be by cutting back myself, not for my animals.
Sorry to hear that, Starzaan. If it would help, our local Tesco is looking for (presumably temporary) staff - are you within commuting distance of any similar shops?
 

zaminda

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I'm an agency driver so no guarantee of anything, including sick pay if I'm off. Thankfully mine live out, and if it came to it I could take everyone's shoes off. At the moment we are short of staff as they are all going sick so I'm trying to do plenty of hours now in preparation. I don't usually get as many hours as I would like anyway, so it's all very worrying.
 

Tihamandturkey

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Lost my job in a small Irish creche last week - temporarily for now but who knows long term.

Am being paid holiday this week then we think our employer is paying us the emergency government payment for 5 weeks - they have to pay us upfront then claim back so not sure how viable it is for them.

My husband is CEO of a company and all but a couple of his staff are working from home.

Unfortunately he has to let some people go at the end of the month as a result of a significant drop in sales - one of whom is our 22 year old son.

He told me the other night that hard decisions may have to be made re our finances which will obviously include the cost of livery for my mare.

She is extremely temperamental and only tolerates being ridden by a handful of very sympathetic people - as a result I would never be able to sell her so I am trying not to think about the alternative ?
 

sherry90

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Ok here's my two pennorth. As someone who has just had their horse of a lifetime PTS (5 weeks ago) I would urge people to THINK AHEAD about turning their horses away after a very wet period on potentially very lush grass. I am aware the grass probably doesn't LOOK lush but I would put money on lots of horses coming down with laminitis, especially if foot care is going to be low down on the list of priorities. My mare had recurrent laminitis and was NOT fat or under-exercised but a major factor in my decision to PTS was the impending spring, along with hind suspensory ligament damage. If she had not developed laminitis in the last 2-3 years I would have had more options to treat but it really IS serious and I hate to hear of new cases. Please don't let your horse be one of them.

this. I cannot just turn my horse away. He had laminitis last year and his weight is just right now coming into spring. I can’t just turn him away if things get bad.

Luckily I am on full livery but this doesn’t mean the yard won’t be effected, just not sure how much yet....
 

Crazy_cat_lady

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My is 21 with Cushing's, fortunately OH'S work has set him up to work from home, and he earns more than me so at least we SHOULD have his income, my role is fairly secure however I'm currently fighting to have the set up to work from home in case as I cant afford 2 weeks ssp as apparently if you come into contact with someone with it the latest guidelines are to stay home for 2 weeks

If things really did end up going tits up he will be pts, I definitely wouldn't sell him on as he doesnt cope well with change and I wouldn't want an uncertain future for him, I also dont think he would cope with a change of yard as he's been on this one most of his life so if anything happened with YO again I would need to consider his future. I'd rather he be pts than sold on at his age and with his nervous temperament. When we took out our mortgage, which is fortunately fixed for 2 years, again if the interest rates were to go sky high I'd again need to consider what to do with him as this sounds awful but keeping our home would be our priority.
 

irishdraft

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Very worrying times for people . I had one of my horses shoes taken off 5 weeks ago because he needs to be turned away re injury . I am now on my second abcess in 3 weeks. 1 visit fron the vet plus 2 from my farrier not to mention vetwrap poultice duck tape etc . Probably has cost me 2 shoeings and the poor horse is in awful pain wish I'd left them on now .
 

Annagain

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I've never been more grateful to be in the public sector. I've been called back to my old job from my secondment as of tomorrow as my original department is overwhelmed but I'm glad I'm able to do something that will have a direct contribution - and that I don't have to worry about whether I get paid or not. It probably sounds glib but I really do feel for those of you without that luxury.
 

ycbm

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Last night work dropped a bombshell, hopefully it won't come to that but if the business goes belly up we will have to give notice on the house (rented), look for a caravan and consider the future of the 2 old horses, hoping the agreement I have for the ex racer means his previous trainer may help with rehoming. My best horse and one other can be kept going for minimal cost as we have hay in stock for a year or so, have 2 stables that are currently repurposed but can be made available again and my OH is a farrier. But they will still need their vaccinations etc and one is in foal so is also a vets bill generator at the moment.


I will take your ex racer if you trust me and you can have him back or find him a home to go to when everything settles.

.
 

holeymoley

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Please don’t leave farrier appointments too long. Imbalances affect new growth starting from the coronary band and that includes being too long in the hoof. Also think about your farrier’s livelihood too. No hoof no horse is the most accurate statement I’ve came across in regards to horses.

Hard feed could probably get cut back or eliminated all together. Most of its full of rubbish and not required for a lot of our natives/cobs/pets.
 

Mule

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Last night work dropped a bombshell, hopefully it won't come to that but if the business goes belly up we will have to give notice on the house (rented), look for a caravan and consider the future of the 2 old horses, hoping the agreement I have for the ex racer means his previous trainer may help with rehoming. My best horse and one other can be kept going for minimal cost as we have hay in stock for a year or so, have 2 stables that are currently repurposed but can be made available again and my OH is a farrier. But they will still need their vaccinations etc and one is in foal so is also a vets bill generator at the moment.
I hope it doesn't come to that ?
 

DirectorFury

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I'm going to be dropping all my tack off with YO tonight just in case we go into stricter lockdown - mine can't be fully turned away due to EMS. She rode for me last summer while I was working away so I'm hoping she'll be happy and able to do it if things change and I can't travel to the yard. I'm regretting choosing a yard that's close to work but 20 miles from home :(.
 

milliepops

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I'm going to be dropping all my tack off with YO tonight just in case we go into stricter lockdown - mine can't be fully turned away due to EMS. She rode for me last summer while I was working away so I'm hoping she'll be happy and able to do it if things change and I can't travel to the yard. I'm regretting choosing a yard that's close to work but 20 miles from home :(.
:( :( :(
I moved Millie 20 miles from home and on the way to work... about 3 months before getting this job where I wfh full time. It was a PITA.
 
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