Money saving ideas

For me the biggest savings are made on not stabling the horses. They live out and so I don't have to pay out for bedding etc.
For horses that can manage it keeping them without shoes is cost effective or trying boots instead :)
 
Not feeding hard feed unless you really have to, my full up 16.2, 7/8th Tb gets no hard feed, he's on a forage only diet with a low calorie chop to carry a balancer and I add a joint supplement. he's never fat nor underweight, is ridden 5 times a week and schools at adv med with bags of energy. He's also stabled on rubber flooring which is now nearly 20 years old with a straw pellet bed where he lies down. I get rid of the stable waste in the garden.
 
Do you really need it , or do you just want it ? I find buying high quality second hand better economy than low quality brand new. If you need it , can you with for sales ? Rugs are good to pick up for a few quid cheaper at the end of season. That's if you really, really ,need to rug. Hate to say it , but , shop online, I've spent some £££ at my local tack shop , saddle , micklem , bits , odds and sods , but for me , I wait until the online sales. Aldi horsey stuff , clothes in particular are decent quality and very reasonable. I don't mind looking like stig of the dump as long as the boy is clean , smart and happy .
 
When the string on your Hay nets break buy a reel of white nylon rope from homebase for £6 It does about 3 to 4 nets and is really hard wearing I replaced all my strings 2 years ago and they are still going strong.
 
SatansLittleHelper said:
For me the biggest savings are made on not stabling the horses. They live out and so I don't have to pay out for bedding etc.
For horses that can manage it keeping them without shoes is cost effective or trying boots instead :)
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This. Fiddling around saving two quid on a bag of nuts, or using baling twine to repair something that lasts years and only costs a fiver, won't get you anywhere. You need to make sustainable changes to.management that save you significant amounts every month - that usually means changing the management, or changing what you do in terms of lessons or competing.
 
Theocat said:
This. Fiddling around saving two quid on a bag of nuts, or using baling twine to repair something that lasts years and only costs a fiver, won't get you anywhere. You need to make sustainable changes to.management that save you significant amounts every month - that usually means changing the management, or changing what you do in terms of lessons or competing.
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Indeed!

We are down to 2 horses from 4 and we have certainly noticed the difference in costs. And no, we wouldn't have chosen to do it but every cloud...............
 
Selling things you don't need and buying second hand. Also buying in bulk is good. PLus managing everyone as sustainable as possible; this usually means restricting grazing in summer so they can have it in winter and money is saved on hay and bedding.
 
I definitely second the buying second hand stuff...esp rugs etc where you can make a considerable saving.
I think you have to be careful not to get into false economy etc though.
 
Turnout 24/7 helps. Don't buy into needing to feed so much hard feed, most horses are in medium work at the very most, lots are just in light work. Feed good forage and drop all hard feed if possible.
Barefoot to save on farrier bills, cheaper livery yards when available and don't buy into supplements. Avoid buying expensive branded horsey items, don't waste money on lemieux pads and haas brushes etc etc. Buy second hand and consider if your horse really needs 12 rugs all in different colours.
You don't need to buy horsey items, you will pay more over time for equestrian items just because they have a photo of a horse on.
I do all of the above and manage to keep a horse on a very small budget which most people would think was impossible
 
I used to spend 19 quid a bag on baileys expensive feed. Then i switched to oats, a cheap blue grass oat balancer and beetpulp after getting advice on here and the horses look better than ever. One is out eventing at a high level and I don't notice a jot of difference in performance.
I have been stone broke this year and realised that you can actually get by on very little equipment and money but still compete at a high level. I stopped buying ANYTHING new and now look back on the amount of money I wasted on stuff and Im amazed.

I even changed the horses I buy now. I buy hardeir ones that can event barefoot and need less maintenance. I keep them living out as much as a ican. I go to sales and buy the strongest rugs I can, so I have less repairs. i sell off anything I dont use.
 
oh and every bit of forage I have in a haynet or controlled hay feeder. I dont let any get trodden or wasted!
And i keep them off the grass in the worst of weather so it doesn't get trampled or wrecked. And having a hardstanding area for the worst of the weather is a godsend!
 
Possibly almost useless this year as summer is drawing to a close... dettol and water as fly spray. Works just as well, and saves an awful lot of money. Wish I’d have known about it in May, would have saved me about £60 on fly spray
 
I have saved loads by taking mine barefoot, even taking into account having boots for them when they need them.

Also saved loads since June by switching mine to other end of the yard into a massive field for 24/7 turnout. Gone through 3 small bales of hay in 5 months and very little bedding. I did have to buy 3 muzzles but still way ahead money wise.
 
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Horsey car boot sales for just about any equipment. I've had nearly new stirrup leathers for £5, a perfect hw Weatherbeta rug for £40, saddle cloths for £2 and a lovely quality leather headcollar for £1.
 
crazycoloured said:
With the cost of keeping horses rising..do you have any money saving ideas?? Or any you use yourself that have saved money/ time??
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List all your costs, including fuel and see where the money is going.

-Swapping chores so only go once a day saves fuel
- Selling anything you dont need - most things sell well IME if clearly photographed and fairly priced
- not buying things you dont need - accessories / treats / supplements
- getting basic supplies right for hay and bedding
 
ReUse, Recycle, buy in bulk if you have storage space and be inventive.

If you need something strip it down to basics and see if it can be made cheaper, made/bought non horsey: I have wheely bin for a hay feeder in my stable (£10 on marketplace), a free europallet as a hay feeder in my field, free sideboard from facebook marketplace as my feed prep area, bought supplement in bulk, that bucket is my speedibeet soaking bucket now. I'm currently making a car saddle rack from free wood, a couple of B&Q bits and a folding saddle rack - proper ones are £180! Screwfix for supplies like tape.

Don't buy into trends and fashions. Check reviews for reliability/quality (3* reviews are best as they are usually balanced and not paid for), be super careful with bargains, look at the pictures, check descriptions.

Ask - I have got things mega cheap by asking on my facebook if anyone has 'blah blah'.

Keep my horse barefoot.
 
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