Money saving tips!

[Stateside]

Instead of buying hoof oil , used Engine oil , most people have trouble getting ride of it when they do a oil change. buy a pot of stockholm tar and mix . a small pot of hoof oil is £4.25 ,and lasts a week if you oil your horses hoofs inside and out twice a day.

 

[eoe]

I always use washing up liquid, it gets socks whiter.

I feed big rolls of hay/halage and get 50+ haynets out of each at £22 each roll it makes feeding 3 horses cost 44p per haynet, I always feed merchants own make normally £4.85 for cubes & £5.85 for mix.

When you muck out only take out the really wet stuff if you turn the not so wet over it will dry out during the day and you can reuse. This works for hay and woodchips.

If I need anything I shop around on the internet and compare prices, I have a couple of good cheap companies I use.

I use big buckets from Wickes for water and keep filling them up during the week and then give them a good scrub out at weekends.

Make sure you clean your tack regularly this will save breakages.

I have always used dusters for strapping and have always brought sponges etc from cheap jack shops.

 

[bushbaby28]

Rubber matting to save on bedding- its saved us so much even with the intial cost.

Baby oil for mane and tail spray- put in spray bottle, spray on = shiny and tangle free + very messy hands

 

[pootler]

Label everything you own with tags, everyone at my yard uses them and it is great. Stick them on your hoofpicks, brushes, haynets, rugs etc and things don't go mysteriously missing!!!

It is £8.50 for a run of 50 tags with your name on. They are brilliant. My family have used them on horsey stuff for about 8 or so years now. I have had the same hoofpick for 5 years because it is tagged....

http://www.symtag.co.uk/abouttags.html

They are actually sheep and cattle eartags but I put them on everything!

 

[Hacker130]

A friend of mine noticed that her local supermarket was throwing perfectly good carots and other veg in the bin. She asked the manager if she could take them off their hands rather than throwing them away, they agreed! Now she gets free carrots and veg every week which her horse loves. The veg is perfectly edible! Give it a try!

 

[Janette]

[ QUOTE ]
Instead of buying hoof oil , used Engine oil , most people have trouble getting ride of it when they do a oil change. buy a pot of stockholm tar and mix . a small pot of hoof oil is £4.25 ,and lasts a week if you oil your horses hoofs inside and out twice a day.

[/ QUOTE ]

Engine Oil is regarded as a hazardous material according to COSHH (control of substance hazardous to health). It's full of nasty chemicals which are hazardous to people. Do you really want to put stuff like this on your horse? It's carcinogenic. I'd rather pay the hoof oil price than the vet/farrier bill!


Make your own haynets out of blue polypropylene rope. Much more heavy duty and they can't bite the knots out. They last forever. My dad made me a couple of dozen 3 years ago (He got bored) and they are still as good as new. (Greedy mare bites holes in shop bought ones.).

 

[Hippona]

I actually weigh my haynets now, instead of cramming them full and finding most of it trampled into the shavings next morning...much less wastage.

 

[T_K]

Buy some normal kitchen rubber gloves, get the smallest size that will fit you - always use the size guide on the back as different brands are different sizes. The gloves should be quite tight but comfortable. Wear a pair of fingerless gloves over the top or your normal gloves. You don't need to worry about you gloves/hands getting wet and cold! It's also a good idea to warm up the gloves before you put them on!

 

[josie_s]

I agree Janette re Used Engine Oil and do not use it on my horses - but my farrier does use it on his horses

 

[pollypt]

Buy wood pellets instead of shavings they last just as long and are a third of the price, try these

 

[eventer28]

Taken the shoes off my horses. Easyboots in front when hacking and totally bare behind. One horse is a WB x Cob x TB and other is ISH with WB breeding. Both horses feet have improved massively and can do everything they when shod. Saves me £120.00 every 5 weeks.. Bargain

 

[hostess99]

Cardboard is great instead of shavings. I swaped it much cheaper, easier to muck out and works out much more econmical!

 

[Naggette]

[ QUOTE ]
I actually weigh my haynets now, instead of cramming them full and finding most of it trampled into the shavings next morning...much less wastage.

[/ QUOTE ]

I totally agree - this is the way forward - you can find the 'optimum' amount to feed your horse and actually is a much more 'sophicsticated' stable management technique. Pat on the back for you!

 

[burtie]

Buy only what you really absolutely need, then buy the best you can afford and look after it.

Cut out all the lotions potions and supplements and buy decent quality big bale haylage (share with friends of only 1 horse). Very few horses actually need supplements.

 

[SNORKEY]

Buy pig oil instead of coat shine, it works much better, and costs much less, my friend runs a showing yard and he sware's by it!

 

[HelsB]

I have done the following over the last year or so:

Taken his shoes off - saves £45 every 6 weeks (65 shoes Vs 20 trim)

Reassessed insurance value as he is now older- saved £9 a month

Big bale hay instead of small bale - £25 big bale or £36 for equivalent of small bale

Weigh haynets - saves wastage

Cardboard instead of Shavings - £3 + vat per bale and more absorbant

Stopped most of bucket feed - more hay instead - much cheaper!

I reckon I have saved in the region of £70 per month for one horse!!

 

[spotsmum]

clean tack after use, will last much longer. I only have front shoes on in winter, saves me 25.00 per horse every 6 weeks. Buy wormers in bulk with friends, saves a fortune. feed for workload, I have cut the cobs down by half in hard feed, not lost an ounce and look just as well.

 

[Slinkyunicorn]

For those of you who make your own fly spray and use Avons Skin so soft as part of your recipe, check out their website now as they are selling Skin So soft for £1 a bottle! Seems a bit odd talking about fly spray when we are all up to our necks in ice and snow but a bargain is a bargain what ever the time of year!

 

[kendra2705]

find a yard with lots of grazing that will allow you to live your horse out, and only stable in emergencies , my horse loves it , oracan rug right up to the neck , company , not so much mud as 23 acres, trees for cover, visit once a day , and feed in winter , other owners keeping an eye out , no bedding , no mucking out etc, and when i start work at seven i havent got to go to the yard first, go at lunchtime

 

[legaldancer]

Buy wormers from Australia or America. Available on Ebay International sellers. Half the price even with the postage!

 

[custard]

[ QUOTE ]
Buy wormers from Australia or America. Available on Ebay International sellers. Half the price even with the postage!

[/ QUOTE ]

Got any links please?!

 

[JamesL]

mix in easibed or aubiose with your shavings, it adds weight to the bed and can help it last longer

 

[izi]

Farms sales ...

Don't know if' any of you have been to one and yes most of it is farm stuff but I've picked up loads of bargains ... Metel feed bin 2 compartments , lockable , vermin proof £6.00 !!!! also if there is horse stuff there, there generaly aren't many horse people there just farmers so tack and rugs etc go really cheep - good place for brooms, buckets and general stuff too ...... Might even meet a farmer who supplys cheep hay straw etc !!!! I ended up marrying one !!!!! lol xx

 

[izi]

oh and pig matting . . . .near as damn it as good as horse rubber matting , went got £5 for 10 sheets .... fitted out 2 stables with it and it's still going strong 5 yrs on , fence posts and the like ... Go and have a look for one , look on farmers weekly website for any that might be coming up !

 

[speedbird]

When I was quoted £9.50 for a bale of shavings last week, yes, £9.50 ! I knocked on the door of local woodwork/joinery workshop and I asked them if they sold any shavings. They said they didn't sell them but I could have them ! They leave them bagged up outside and I just take back the bags. Haven't found any nails or pieces of wood but sometimes a bit dusty. Wished I had asked ages ago !

 

[JessandCharlie]

You might have to wait until the summer to use this one but. Lidl almond shampoo is 60p for a litre!! AND it gives them (especially bays and blacks) a REALLY shiny soft coat!! Well worth it!

 

[UKa]

Cycle to the yard or share transport with someone else...

 

[hollyberry86]

my old boss used to use that spray on oil as coat shine, not recommended!!! but it did make the quarter marks look good and stay put. a non horsey one but saves me a load of money is magazines. I used to have a bad habit of buying two or three a week which really adds up. I commute a lot and now i just read them in the whsmith of the train station while i wait for the next train naughty i know!!!

 

[maginn]

Use old chest freezers as feed bins, you can get them from the local tip, maybe small charge (I paid £5) we have all got them on the yard, and they are rat proof.

Think about whether your horse needs shoes, if you are only hacking a couple of times a week and your horse has "good feet" you should get away with backs off all the time. I do this with no adverse affects and a lot of the yard has followed suit, cuts farrier bill by half and even the farrier agrees was a good idea !

 

[floradora09]

If you keep your horse in at night, buy a cheap duvet to put under his rug for the cold winter nights- it'll keep him warm and costs way less than buying a thick rug or many thinner ones.