Grass livery / out 24/7.. costs saved?

[Bustalot]

For you lot whom have their horses on grass livery (live out 24/7) all year. How much on average do you think it saves you on money? Obviously its cheaper per month for the cost of the field than it is for stable etc... Plus you do not have any bedding costs.

Now we have had some very harsh winters over the past couple of years so your horses would have needed hay. How many bales do you think you used per week/month. Less or more than if your horse was to come in of a night. I used last winter (with horse stabled of a night) approx 2 bales a week.

What about the initial set up costs? Buying thicker rugs for ponios to stay out at night during the winter. Field shelters. etc...

Any info you have would be great. Just looking at many different options at the moment for keeping my old boy now he is not in work.

Thanks all

 

[Dizzydancer]

hi i dont actually keep mine out, but on my yard 2 people keep there old retired ones out. They pay 15pw for grass livery but it does include an option of stable. around me it would be 6pw just grass livery.
They are both roughly 15.2 and of welsh d x build have no field shelter but lots of natural shelter in the field. They have 1 large bale of hay/week or week and a half depending on weather in the field, obviously they dont always eat it all due to spoilage but most is gone.they get hard feed all winter just once/day and mainly of 1 scoop of good quality chaff (alfa a oil) to get there gut moving and keep them warm along with 1/2 a baileys scoop of corn. They dont have overly thick rugs max 350g but if it is very cold like -15 last winter they had a stable rug put on underneath to give extra layers of warmth. The costs there owner saves is probably about 10pw more than me with bedding but a i couldnt be totally sure and i guess you could save more if you fed hay more efficiently.
The only thing i would say is they do tend to lie in there hay as its warmer and obviously comfier than the frozen ground and both being old they want that. Therefore we do tend to put out a couple of bales of straw once the ground starts to harden up in a sheltered spot so they can lie there if they choose to. Obv if you have a shelter you coul do that or put down rubber matting for the same effect.

 

[Crazydancer]

Mine has added up as follows:
Rent: Was £110/m, now £40/m so saving £70/m
Shoes: Went from full set, to fronts only, and in the winter had shoes off, so saving there too! But you will know own farrier costs. I save £40 every 6 weeks (£60 full set to £20 trim)
Feed: As they are not in work, or very light work, no hard feed, fibre is the most important, so saved on hard feed.
Bought large bale haylege £35/bale, fed ad-lib, and used about 1.5 bales a month approx per horse.
Rugs: My gelding was unrugged! He fluffed up nicely and actually seemed happier not to have a rug on. My mare will need rugging, and only bought her in the spring, so I don't know yet how much rugging she will need.
Shelter: We have some natural hedges, and they all seemed fine with just that as we aren't in a particularly exposed spot. I would prefer more, but can't say that any of the horses seemed bothered. TBH, the shelter would have been more important during the summer months.
Also during the winter we share feed/checking as we work different hours, so I only go up once a day, whereas it was twice a day when stabled. So also saving time and fuel costs.
But the major factor to me is that my boy seems much happier. And he only started this regime when he was 15 yrs old, having been stabled at night all his life.

 

[MerrySherryRider]

My costs halved by putting them on grass livery last winter. Despite the long periods of snow and freezing temperatures they cost the same for hay as when they were stabled. Large bales were put in the field to share between the whole herd which worked out at approx £10 per week per horse.
They had stables but preferred to return to the herd after coming in for riding/feeding etc. Two of mine were TB X's and probably needed less rugging as the pasture was well sheltered with hedges, trees and open barns and the hay was continually available.

So, costs worked out at £88 per month per horse for hay and 24hr grazing.
Previous winter it cost £165 for hay and overnight stabling/bedding.

Other benefits were stress free winter with no mucking out and worrying about getting to the yard for turning out/bringing in. Horses were relaxed, happy and their coats were beautifully shiny. Didn't get overly sharp when ridden due to excess energy or changes in temperature as they were acclimatised to dealing with the cold.
No urine/poo stained stable rugs either. All good.

 

[mystiandsunny]

It will depend on your yard/field how hay works. Some places put in big bales ad-lib and everyone splits the cost per horse, whereas others put out hay piles per day and again the cost is split but it isn't ad-lib. Unless you have your own individual turnout hay costs aren't going to be under your control. To be fair though, big bales are much cheaper than small. I have my own field and probably feed the same amount of hay across a day as I would if they came in at night. Same for feed really.

For rugs I got a double duvet for anything over 15hh and single for anything under that. So long as you have a rug underneath and a full neck rug with leg straps over the top, it stays on nicely, doesn't get wet in the rain/snow and keeps them toasty warm.

The main saving in winter is in bedding and cheaper livery. In the summer you save on bedding, hay and feed - so much cheaper.

 

[Bustalot]

Putting in the big bales of hay, may work out slightly more cost effective. But say with two horses in the field would they really eat it quick enough between them before the weather destroyed the rest of it (being left out in the rain etc..)

How many horses do you have in the field with the big bales and how long do they last?

 

[Ella19]

So much cheaper but it does rely on the quality and quantity of grass.

I save on

No stable rugs
No bedding
Reduced feed
Less hay (only fed during snow)
Reduced petrol/time (we share field checks)
No tools or muck heap removal(fields harrowed)

 

[Bustalot]

** BUMP **

Anybody else? Who uses the big bales of hay and how long do they tend to last? Would have two horses.
Thanks

 

[Toffee44]

For the last 8 years I have had horses on full turnout. My riding mare is now on livery.


So this is what I have to fork out on, not paying much for new field as comes with house was paying 30/acre/month I had 3 acres. Now paying £20 pw for stable, field but the most glorious hacking and yard just down the bridleway with a school.

The differences I have found

New field has a hedge all the way round but last field was very exposed so I had a shelter that I sold before I moved.

Bedding-what a stress.

Petrol costs- I used to drive past my old field and my new field is over the road but I have to do a 6mile round trip to see Samba twice a day at least, cant moan though just new thing for me to do.

Tools-I had to buy a broom and a muck fork for livery. Turnout just a wheelbarrow x 2 and poo picks x2

Water buckets-Had to get a few of them use them rubber tubs in the field if I need to.

I use grass mats in gateways, you can get them on ebay for £15 each. They need to be down NOW though.

Rugs-I bought her a summer sheet but shes gonna have to stay in her turnouts when living in unless I find a ebay bargin. I do have a rug fetish so I have loads anyway. I love my Axiom HW and Amigo LW. Mediums tend to be what I can find on Ebay currently have a saxon on the cob, bucas on the Hackney x and Rhino on the welsh (I actually dont like this rug).

Using small bales (for the one on livery) is expensive at £5.25 a bale go through 1 3/4 a week. I noramlly pay £35 a round of hay that would last me a good three and a bit weeks with three horses having a wheelbarrow load each once a day in the field and twice a day in the snow etc. I then pay £10 a round of Oat Straw or Barley Straw which I just chuck out in the field so there is always a supply. When the weather was bad I just put the bale out there. Would last me about 3weeks as well.

Fencing-As I rent it is my responsibility to section up fields and electric fence, I have so much of the stuff its crazy. I have also had 2 energisers nicked over the years.

I don't feel that I have more time spent on chores however on the livery I definately chat a lot more which means I am easily up there for a hour or more even though its taken me 20minutes to muck out and bring horse in/out.