Money saving tips!

[Toffee44]

If you have a field shelter that your horse has access to 24/7 ask a farmer if you can take the excess straw off the floor of his barn and put that down instead its gonna get trashed with mud so why pay for bales??

 

[Lizzz]

Bake your own horse treats!!!! This has worked well for me, and my horse loves them.. you can also add certain things from shredded carrots, to mineral supplements! Ive tried them myself.. and they arnt bad!

If anyone wants a quick recipe, PM me

 

[kittyandnewt]

i got this bit of advice from my horses chiropractor when he hurt his pelvis. get an old pillowcase and lay a couple layers tin foil inside and stitch it to the inside of a cooler/light stable rug over the area thats injured. keeps heat in and helped him tons. you should feel heat under pillowcase at night time, toasty!

 

[Geema]

Shop around online.
Have a look at www.equestriansuppliesshop.co.uk - they seem to have price checked on the web really well.

 

[spottydottypony]

I purchased a second hand garden shredder (electric) to chop hay for my old boy with bad teeth. It saves me a lot of money as i was using a bag or more of chopped hay a week. You can chop it as fine as you want or mix straw with it. Great to use as a hay replacer!

 

[ilovecobs]

Instead of using mane and tail spray and coat shine at shows i use a layer or furniture polish on the tail and then some baby oil as well. looks really good as long as you use a tone of polish Only the day before and a little little bit of oil on the day. (on the mane i don't know as my girl doesn't have one!) and on her body i use furniture polish (not on saddle area) but only a really small amount and i brush it in the day before as she is drying from her bath.

Mane and tail spray is like £8 a bottle and show sheen like £12 or something like that. polish is about £1 and so is baby oil.

 

[silu]

Gave up eventing, sold the top hat and tails and joined the BSJA. Have actually been to shows and come away in pocket! Saved a fortune from not having to travel all over the country to compete and wish I'd done it years ago.

 

[Bessieboo]

Don't know if this is money saving or time saving or both but here goes:-

Buy a mircrofibre cleaning cloth. When grooming use with a bucket of water to get all the dust off your horse, rinsing out frequently, I have found that this leaves their coat lovely and shiney and takes up alot less time than brushing away forever.

The dust sticks wonderfully to the wet cloth and it is very easy to clean so you can use it over and over again.

 

[em2010]

Shop around don't just buy the first thing you see!

Poundstretcher I find very usefull for shampoo ect.. I always buy own brands.. much cheeper same result as the expensive horse shampoo options..

 

[Tnavas]

Go back to basics for feeding
Crushed Barley, Whole oats, sugarbeet.
Whole Linseed and grind fresh daily in a coffee grinder, horse gets more of the benifits when freshly ground

Ordinary Table salt in feed

Use also for washing wounds - mix 1tsp in a pint of boiled water

Use Dishwashing liquid to wash horse using warm water, then use conditioner for 'Course Rebelous Hair'

Instead of buying different supplements go to a farming store and buy a Multi Mineral lick and leave in the paddock - also a Magnesium salt block so that horse can self medicate when grass is growing rapidly. Far cheaper than all the packaged supplements.

For white socks make a mix of Baby Powder that has zinc in it with warm water to a soft paste. Apply to damp socks and bandage over. Brings socks up really white

When clipping use a 50/50 mix of engine oil & Kerosene - run blades in them regularly when clipping keeps them cool and sharp for longer - got 25 full clips from one set of blades.

 

[Liath]

Re-proof rugs with Thompsons Water Seal- the original one, not the 'ultra' one! It's designed to waterproof concrete and bricks, but if you read the small print on the back, it also does fabrics- water runs off rugs and it keeps them breathable!

Costs about £15 for a 5litre container, I think so far we've done eight or ten rugs and still have some left. Also good for re-proofing yard coats. Paint it on to clean rugs with an old paintbrush.

I would recommend using it outside or somewhere well ventilated, and probably using a mask- it does stink when applying it and I did get a bit 'high' after doing three rugs in quick succession with no mask on!!

Smell goes away after a few days or as soon as the rug gets rained on!

 

[Django Pony]

I found a great horsey price comparison site:
http://www.equinecompare.co.uk/
It's great if you have a specific product in mind as it searches through lots of suppliers at once. I usually find the cheapest product then print out the page and take it to my local tack shop who price match! (It's a big name tack shop, I'm not ripping of my local independants!)

 

[micramadam]

Buy one of these

http://www.paardenkenniscentrum.nl/producten/little-bit-reg-hooitas

Ok it may seem a bit expensive initially but as one full bag lasts all day think of the money you can save on wasted hay or trying to cure stable vices caused by boredom. Plus good for fatties as makes them work harder for their food.

There may be a cheaper UK equivalent but haven't looked yet.

 

[3DE]

Make your own rope halters! You can buy 2nd hand climbing rope off ebay for pretty cheap and make something like this And they will fit perfectly!

Excuse the headcollar underneath - it was her first day with me and she was just getting used to it...

 

[Jnhuk]

Sail repair tape for those small rips in rugs if you have a marine chandlers near you

 

[rubysmum]

echo the keep yr horses out 24/7 - my grass livery with use of menage & stable [ used for storeage/dry tie up place] is 20 quid a week - halved petrol costs - no bedding costs - much less labour & horse is happier & sounder

save small amounts - do fewer classes at comps - ignore the burger van & take sarnies
keep some snacks at the yard - i always have some fruit & dried fruit there - means i am not tempted to join in the junk food run at the week end
cost out your petrol costs - it is cheaper for me to get yard to feed & hay my mare twice a week than for me to pay petrol to get there
be brutal about non-essential shopping - how many pairs of jods do you really need? - does your horse actually need a new rug? -

cheap alternatives to expensive supplements - my mare has been off expensive joint supplements for a few months now - her legs havnt dropped off & she feels fine -on the advice of an asian collague - she has a scoop of tumeric every day - saves me about 25 quid a month

 

[horsey mad matt]

Washing up liquid for white tails/feathers, tesco own shampoo for bathing.

Don't spend a fortune on ties for shows, go to the charity shop and you can pick them up for 50p and the money goes to a good cause

also for white socks (to get them extra white) use cheap washing powder, it works a treat

 

[EMU]

If you live in a country that makes hay rolls, buy the roll then store it under cover and feed ration in nets instead of letting the horses have a free run at it.

I have some good meadow hay that was only $60 a roll (now gone up to $100), I have bought only 2 in 6 months and still going. So it has basically cost me 60 cents a day to feed my horse sufficiently to keep him healthy and in good condition.

 

[beckydoughty]

Im trying to find some cheap rubber mats/rubber roll.

Any advise on the cheapest way to mat one, maybe two boxes? and where to get it from?

PS loving the money saving tips! some great advise. I seem to be the sort of idiot that pays top price for everything!! ;-(

 

[Jodi]

Overalls - I bought myself and daughter a pair each (£4), it saves me a fortune on stained jops/washing powder etc. I can do morning stable in my work clothes, its also very liberating not having to worry in the slightest about getting mucky, they are also lovely and warm without being sweaty and bulky. QUOTE]

GENIUS!

I've been struggling recently with going to yard in scruffs then having to get changed with clothes I've taken with me to work and then changed again after work.

Where is best to get nice but not too expensive overalls for ladies then?

 

[aoifeandsilver]

put your horse on diy livery
fix fixable rips in rugs ect

 

[Spellbound13]

Im trying to find some cheap rubber mats/rubber roll.

Any advise on the cheapest way to mat one, maybe two boxes? and where to get it from?

i got mine for £25 a sheet from ebay, it cost me £100 a stable and i did 3, where as its £45 a matt in the horse shops

hope this helps

 

[HOWEN]

Buy stable jackets, fleeces, waterproofs ect from a outdoor walking shops. My local shop has 20% off everything online with promo code 20%OFFSUMMER11. I have just stocked up on yard T-shirts (less the £5each) and fleeces. I now have a full summer yard wardrobe for less than £50 including a waterproof jacket.

www.greatoutdoorssuperstore.co.uk

 

[Django Pony]

I was after a pair of boot trees for my show boots, but they are about £20+ in the tack shops. I was mooching in a charity shop and found some in a pair of knee high boots, I bought them for £3! Bargain!

 

[fullofjump]

If building stables you can dig out sump about 2ft deep and then suspend heavy duty wooden beams / sleepers as the stable floor. The urine seeps between the beams and soaks away or for planning purposes can run effluent into external drain. Also less capped hocks etc and generally a warmer stable!

 

[aliceeventing131]

sell the horse poo!!! gardeners pay for it, i remember my friend taking a cart around the village with a megaphone shouting horse poo for sale, she got quite a bit of money, would save the muck heap aswell

 

[Miss L Toe]

Go back to basics for feeding
Crushed Barley, Whole oats, sugarbeet.
Whole Linseed and grind fresh daily in a coffee grinder, horse gets more of the benifits when freshly ground

Ordinary Table salt in feed

Use also for washing wounds - mix 1tsp in a pint of boiled water
Instead of buying different supplements go to a farming store and buy a Multi Mineral lick and leave in the paddock - also a Magnesium salt block so that horse can self medicate when grass is growing rapidly. Far cheaper than all the packaged supplements.

Be careful buying anything designed for sheep as they have strange dietary needs, re salt, I am going to ask my Fishmonger if he can get me some without additives [table salt is refined stuff]
I buy micronised cooked linseed meal [equimins] as I understand the nutrient value is higher, I could not go through a daily grinding procedure, and there is some thoughts that linseed MUST be cooked.
Oats are fine if mature and organic, but modern farming has messed up traditional feeds, they use too many chemicals, barley is not for every horse, and traditionally any whole grains would be fresh, ie bruised or rolled every few days. I like the idea of feeding straights, if only to prevent my horse getting filled with rubbish, we can't buy grains round here, unless branded [expensive] .
I must admit to feeding Allen and Page, but I know they are very careful to avoid animal products and obviously research and source finest ingredients [sorry if that is an obvious plug!]

 

[Poppys Nannan]

WOuld love your recipe

Many thanks

 

[purplelady]

Hello all great tips it is great to be back Purplelady

 

[russian_charm]

save rugs that are old or too ripped to be worth repairing, then when your horse next rips his current rug (which will invariably happen) you can hack up your old rug to sew on as patches, rather than sending it to get proffesionally fixed. I use tooth floss (stronger and more waterproof than thread) and then go over with clear nail varnish (for more strength and waterproofing) and in the 4 years I've had my horse, I have never had to get them professionally fixed or replaced.

And get the nicer synthetic rugs rather than the cheapo ones (as weird as it seems, spending more to save money!), a friend of mine has been through half a dozen cheap rugs from the internet, my horse is still in his original, more expensive one