Keeping horses on a budget

[Gucc]

Hi all,
basically I'm looking for ideas advice on how to keep your horses on budget following a change in circumstances . I have 2 horses which are field kept and luckily both good doers. 9yr old gelding has front shoes only and 2 yr old filly obviously just has trim. It's an option to sell one to reduce numbers, but are the only two there and I would like to avoid selling one and keeping the other on their own of at possible.

Just looking for ideas that I may not have already thought of and trying to figure out if it could be viable, as I would hate to have to sell as I've had the 9yr old from a youngster.
Thank you

 

[walkers_dream]

if you feed, switch to molychaff conditioner all in one feed £9.20 a bag and lasts a month! i bought two bags last month and still have half a bin and have a bag left.. goes along way with one feed a day.

Does the one with shoes need shoes? perhaps try barefoot? Both mine are barefoot, and farrier recons will be ok to keep that way. Your already on the cheapest livery type.

ebay...life saver. sales, and 2nd hand shops are always a good place to look for things you need. i.e rugs, boots, buckets, and tack

and only buy nessisary things! i dont spend more than £350 a month on my two, and that includes livery which is £170pcm

 

[Bikerchickone]

Could you get a sharer for your 9 year old? That might bring you in some cash. Is the land your own? Could you take other liveries or cut your own hay from it? Do you have old tack, rugs or clothing you no longer use/need, maybe you could sell some on eBay?

Hope there's something you can use there x

 

[Littlelegs]

Sharer for 9yo & could field take another on grass livery? Bulk buy hay, look for either reduced call out days for vet/ dentist, or find someone local you could hack to & split call out.

 

[touchstone]

I keep mine on a pretty tight budget as I left work a few years ago and so don't like spending too much of the family budget.

I rent a field quite cheaply and built a stable on it.

If you have good doers you have a head start already!

I invested in electric fencing which means I can limit the grazing using a small paddock or track when the grass is growing strongly, this means I can have standing foggage on the resting parts to help keep hay usage down in winter.

If extra feed is needed then sugar beet is a great addition, the unmolassed stuf is more expensive so you can buy ordinary sugar beet shreds or pellets and rinse them well before feeding if you need to keep sugar levels down. Lasts ages in comparison to other feeds and about a fiver a bag. Cheap veg oil is another option if they need a bit more.

Take the shoes off, this has been one of my biggest savings.

If you can store hay in bulk and transport it then buy off the field as soon as it is cut and baled, should be much cheaper!

If you have to stable then deep litter it, mine has free access and only been in a couple of nights when really wet, I have had the bedding down for months!


Look for a sharer or loaning the gelding would be another option.

Bagging up well rotted manure and advertising it on freecycle or gardening sites, you could ask 50p a bag or something, I give it away for free but often get told I should charge for it. It usually means a supply of free vegetables too!