Has this been your most expensive winter?

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shmoo

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Hi y'all. Keep banging on but... hearing all over that everyone has been wiped out financially this winter. As I only came back into horses after a 10 year (ish) break last June I have no comparisons anymore.

Has this been a particularly expensive winter, above the norm, or do I need to get another job now and bank some cash?

My girls are still munching through 25-30 bales of hay a month + everything else...

Thinking of selling my Husband ;) or maybe his motorbike ;);)
 
I'm assuming it is - bought a new horse in October who has looked like a stick insect since December so am spending far too much feeding him up. I knew he'd be more expensive than the previous good doers we've had (17yo TB compared to previous Welsh D and an Irish X) but we never could have budgeted for this. Looks like we'll be feeding hay most of the summer, too :(
 
shmoo said:
Hi y'all. Keep banging on but... hearing all over that everyone has been wiped out financially this winter. As I only came back into horses after a 10 year (ish) break last June I have no comparisons anymore.

Has this been a particularly expensive winter, above the norm, or do I need to get another job now and bank some cash?

My girls are still munching through 25-30 bales of hay a month + everything else...

Thinking of selling my Husband ;) or maybe his motorbike ;);)
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It's been expensive for us because Fox is on shavings, and the horses would normally be out 24/7 by now, but they arent because of the conditions. And we have her on haylage this year, so another extra expense.

But I think selling the husband is a good idea :D
 
I don't think its been too bad a winter to be honest. The one back in 2010 (I think it was) when the snow lasted for 6+ weeks was worse (trying to push wheelbarrow through the snow/couldn't get pony in for weeks due to ice, etc) yet ironically, that winter she ate next to no hay but put weight on.

My ponies live out and Ive fed about the same amount of hay as I did last year.
 
Yes I think it probably has for me but only due to feeding more hay than normal. It was my first winter with 2 big horses so that has obviously cobtributed to the extra expence as well.
 
yes deffinatly, i have spent a lot more on hay than i have the past 2 winters. as even now they are coming in and eating plenty as no grass seems to be growing yet! last year they managed to live out most of the winter and were deffinatly out in spring. also needing plenty of hard feed to keep weight on them.
prices also seem to be at an all time high, although luckily we know a farmer who sells us big rectangular bales for a good price, but by no means cheap, but atleast good quality. have bought some in the past that are more dust than hay.
 
Yes, by miles! :( I have spent a fortune in hay, which I started feeding way earlier in the year than usual, and even now am still putting out a bale a day in the field for the two good doers alone, whom by April I would expect be restricting their feed. My riding horse has also cost me a small fortune to put/keep the condition on. Thank god the grass is finally growing!
 
I have really hated this winter.. The constant bitter wind I think has done it for me ! Also having to newly back youngsters that I've been trying to tick over when the weathers been so poor one minute snow the next hail, them rain ! X
 
Well I'm dragging my bum out to ride now... I'm very much a fair weather rider but oh found out how much they are costing each month, he's given me the 'use them or lose them' ultimatum. This winter has been particularly hard and expensive.. Recently moved to my own place, no running water or electric. And extra bedding and hay due to the fact I'm trying to salvage my bogs.
 
Definitely YES. Not only have hard feed prices increased but I am currently feeding more hay now than I wascat Christmas.

However with the very recent improvement in the weather I am anticipating that the grass will be growing so I'll be able to cut down on the hay soon.

Speaking to a farmer friend it looks ad though hard feed prices will increase again this year as they are behind in drilling, etc.
 
Yes, it has been horrific quite frankly. Winter seems to have gone on forever, having to have them in as it has been prolonged cold and wet; hay much longer than usual; hard feed like crazy to keep their weight on. I have only had horses for eight years, but this has been the absolute worst. I think it is because the summer was such an absolute wash out and there was very little grazing going into the winter this time. We could really do with a long summer and a short winter next time around.
 
Yep, by a country mile.

Only upside is that every comp I've entered over past couple of months has been cancelled so have saved on entry fees and truck fuel. :rolleyes:
 
YES, and while I agree the winter 2 years ago with six weeks of snow was bad but I had 4 horses here then and it still cost me less that just 2 this year !

I think it's because the winter started in October and is still going mid April!
Usually winter is mid Nov to end Feb!!
 
Without a shadow of a doubt - and I am currently at a cheap and cheerful yard, not the glorious 5* yard I was at before! I am spending basic livery + the same again on hay and bedding, and mine is on minimal shavings and rubber mats! A bale of hay a day for my fatty cob is a shock to the system; this time last year he was in restricted grazing, out full time and having no extra feed/hay whatsoever. Now he is in full time, getting through a bale of hay a day and two buckets of fast fibre and chaff. When will it end?!
 
Yes, but more because I was officially told I had to leave the land I rented, so just basic housing of them shot up by £200 a month at the end of Feb. Not ideal! I'm still feeding hay, but that's because I'm bringing them in to dry their feet/coats out (no shelter in the fields) and I need to control Henry's figure due to the dreaded grass.
 
Very expensive. Had to buy rubber matting for the gateways, lots of wood chip to recover surface and stone for another hard standing area. Also used much more hay and straw than usual as well as Hi-fi. Added to that we have bought 600kg of fertiliser and 100kg of minerals to put on the fields due to so much of the nutrients leaching out over the past year with the rotten summer we had last year. Also some lime too. a very expensive winter for me.
 
No this has been a cheap winter for me. Changed from shavings to wood pellets and my boys eat two large bales of hay every 4 weeks. Plus this is the first year I haven't fed hard feed, and they both perfect weight and look a picture of health!! Maybe I have been really lucky as I would say half the stable yard are struggling with weight and costing a fortune! X
 
It has been for me. I use winter to help slim my horses back down ready for the spring grass. This year i have been feedig them back up for the last 2 months and the grass is only just starting to grow. I know a few people that are having to put weight back on their horses that are normally good doers. My farrier tld me that lots of his customers are all saying the same.
 
I've used around 200 bales of hay this winter, for 2 horses living out 24/7. last winter I used about 50-60 for one horse living out 24/7. and I've used a crazy amount of feed! one bag of fast fibre is lasting my 2 about 2-3 weeks at the mo! my mare used to only have one bag of pasture nuts about every 3 months :s
 
Not for me, but by incredible luck the yard I moved to in oct is inclusive of hay and straw, so I spent less than last winter when I was paying for hay. TB did cost more to feed than previous horse but has lived out and gained 60 kilos this winter so I'm pretty happy.

It was sheer luck hay was included at new yard and they allowed 24/7 turnout all winter
 
micki said:
It has been for me. I use winter to help slim my horses back down ready for the spring grass. This year i have been feedig them back up for the last 2 months and the grass is only just starting to grow. I know a few people that are having to put weight back on their horses that are normally good doers. My farrier tld me that lots of his customers are all saying the same.
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I do the same but have had to up their hay and feed for the last six weeks as most of them had dropped a bit too much.
 
Yes! Used 5 extra large bales with 1 less horse! Also just blew another £60 on feed on friday because the grass is a little slow! By now, the only feeds given should just be small ones for needed supplements....
 
OK, so based on this I might keep my Husband. I agree with 'eggs' as well. Lots of people round here saying the expect the price of feed, and our food to go up as the crops are late/washed out.

Here's hoping for a long summer, dry autumn and mildly nippy next winter.

:D
 
Yes, very expensive :(

We have had to feed more hay, because the grass has been non existent due to either snow or wet. The price of the hay has gone up a lot, and the price of other feed has gone up too. In addition, because they can't have a bale in the field due to the wet, I have been doing double trips to the field in my car with the hay, meaning my fuel costs have doubled, and of course the price of the fuel itself has gone up.

I know a few people that are having to put weight back on their horses that are normally good doers.
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Yes, this is me - I can feel ribs and he's normally well covered all over.

And because I've been spending my entire time slogging up and down fields filling water buckets because the horses couldn't get to their normal water, plus dragging hay around, my normal riding time has been all eaten up and horse has basically got hacked out about once a week for the last three months instead of 5 or 6 days a week. His fitness is now poo. Mine, on the other hand, is superb - I can carry two full buckets of water the length of three acres up a steep hill without stopping for a breather, can carry 4 large full haynets across 2 acres, and can clean 16 hooves without even standing up to stretch my back. I'd rather be riding though...
 
Mine has only been more expensive because I had to put my horse on part livery from beginning of february as I returned to work full time. But if he doesn't go on 24/7 turnout from the beginning of May because the ground is too wet then I will have to buy more hay which will make it more expensive.
 
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