monthly horse keeping budget

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Sparklepony

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Hello!

I'm trying to cut down my spending! I have invested in new decent duo turnout rugs for my tbs this year and am hoping to keep them out as long as possible!
Currently they are fed a token hand full of chaff with there garlic and thst is it.
Anyway I waste so much money and need to grow up and stop over spending,
I'm going to be sitting down tomorrow and working out exactly where I can save money.
Can anyone help me with there basic list of things needed and things spent.
I have had horses for years but have so much crap so a basic list of equipment people use would also be. Help full as I have so much stuff I think I need but never use!

Sorry if this seems silly but I need help with over spendinh.

Also apologise for spelling and grammar am on phone and hard to edit!
 
If you want to make some money then try selling your unused stuff on popular FB groups or eBay. Can't really help with the monthly horse keeping budget as I don't have a horse, sorry!
 
A few tips:

Don't get anything for your horses unless it's absolutely essential. Like supplements - unless your horse will suffer serious health implications without the supplement, ask yourself (or your vet!) if it really needs it.

Repair instead of replace, if possible. This is usually cheaper. And remember - a stitch in time saves 9!

If you absolutely must replace, salvage what you can from the old item to use as 'spares' should new item get damaged in future. For instance, straps from rugs, bridle parts etc.

Shop around - the first place you try may end up being the most expensive! Don't be afraid to purchase second hand or sell items you no longer use or want. One man's trash is another man's treasure.

Check for a cheaper alternative. We all get sucked in with 'brands' that we feel are the best. Do a bit of research, if the quality/ingredients/nutritional value/weight etc etc is the same, get the cheaper one.

Share vet/dentist/saddler etc call out fees on routine visits if you can. The more of you that need the service, the less you pay each for the call out. If you rent a field on your own, maybe speak to any livery yards or riding schools nearby to see if they hold monthly clinics with the vet and ask if you could bring your horses.

Not the greatest tips in the world, but this is what I tend to follow myself and you do find yourself saving a bit of money!
 
My horses have their own bank account :cool:

I calculate the whole year including guesstimate of hay, feed, wormer, feet etc then divide by 12. I then add to this a small monthly sum for "emergency" and also when each horse gets to 15 an additional sum for "pension". It currently comes to £250 a month for two horses and by month 8 (now) the horses have already accrued enough to cover their haylage for the winter.

Emergency and pension are not touched until needed. They also 'lend' money to other animals - the cat fell off the stable roof and they lent him the money to repair his elbow. My old broodmare hit it for £1k just before she died but she had been paying in for 15 years so the money was there no problem. Actually one year they lent me the money to buy a car!

In addition to this, my rugs are the old Rambos and 10 - 15 years old (made when rugs lasted more than 5 minutes). The horses get everything they need but no silly stuff. I have wasted tons of money (when younger and when I could least afford it) on frippery but I have got it down to a fine art now.

However, it has to be said... I used to keep 5 horses on the £250 a month - shows how things have gone up.
 
Sell anything you haven't used in 12 months apart from first aid stuff.

Keep a spreadsheet of everything you need to spend on a monthly basis, so livery, hay, feed, wormers, bedding, farrier, insurance, lessons.

Put all this into a spreadsheet and where cost are every 6/8 weeks average it out so you have a monthly cost.

Then factor in yearly or less regular costs, so vaccs, rug cleaning, competitions maybe (could be monthly). Average this out and also put in as a monthly cost.

See what you have left depending on what you earn and this is what you have spare, all depends on how good you are with a spreadsheet, I have one that has all the months in a year across the top and all the things I need to account for down the side, I fill in the costs as they happen and then use formulas to average out and total what I spend. I do this more as a planning tool rather than looking back, it helps me look at how much I should be able to save over a period of time, not that I'm very good at saving though...
 
Drop the garlic. Useless for horses.

Buy fibre based feeds only and a decent vit n min supp. Don't buy Balancers for a shiny coat, try linseed.

You only need 3 rugs. Unless you are unlucky enough to have a sweet itch sufferer.

Does your horse need a full set of shoes?

Can you move somewhere less expensive and live with fewer facilities? Schooling in a field is acceptable, you don't need a carpeted arena.

Don't buy people! (Promoted brands) buy only the things YOU need, not what other people tell you that you need.

Embo says repair! I agree! Sell stuff on eBay you don't need! I just did and got £100... For three items. Not a profit but that's £100 cashback.

Good luck!
 
RebelRebel said:
My horses have their own bank account :cool:

I calculate the whole year including guesstimate of hay, feed, wormer, feet etc then divide by 12. I then add to this a small monthly sum for "emergency" and also when each horse gets to 15 an additional sum for "pension". It currently comes to £250 a month for two horses and by month 8 (now) the horses have already accrued enough to cover their haylage for the winter.

Emergency and pension are not touched until needed. They also 'lend' money to other animals - the cat fell off the stable roof and they lent him the money to repair his elbow. My old broodmare hit it for £1k just before she died but she had been paying in for 15 years so the money was there no problem. Actually one year they lent me the money to buy a car!

In addition to this, my rugs are the old Rambos and 10 - 15 years old (made when rugs lasted more than 5 minutes). The horses get everything they need but no silly stuff. I have wasted tons of money (when younger and when I could least afford it) on frippery but I have got it down to a fine art now.

However, it has to be said... I used to keep 5 horses on the £250 a month - shows how things have gone up.
Click to expand...

RebelRebel- This is a brilliant idea! Love how your horses bought you a car! lol

OP- lots of good advice and tips here. I'd agree with selling unwanted items on ebay, looking on ebay/preloved/freeads etc for things you want to buy as often you can get some really good new and second hand items for a lot cheaper than in the shops! I often buy things for the horse/yard at supermarkets or agricultural stores rather than from equine shops as i find things are usually a lot cheaper-e.g i bought an amazing sweeping brush from asda- was dirt cheap! Also try not to buy anything unless it's an essential. Plus look to 'bulk-buy' where possible as it can give you some amazing savings!

I'd sit down and do an excel spreadsheet of all horsey costs (how much) and quantities (how many you need) so you can see everything clearly e.g: calculate- Livery/Hay/Bedding/Hardfeed/Supplements/Shoeing/Insurance/Worming etc
Work out the costs for a whole year then you can divide by 12 for the monthly breakdown. Start with the easy costs first- things like livery which stay the same month to month.

Then work out the ones which fluctuate throughout the year, e.g hay/hardfeed.
Mine only get hard feed 6 months-ish of the year (winter) which i worked out to be roughly 27 weeks- they only have one type of bagged food (Pure Easy) and eat 1/2 a bag a week between them- therefore they eat 14-ish bags of feed between them over the winter period. If you buy P.E in bulk you get a discount-its £14.35 per bag usually but if you bulk buy 15+ bags each bag is £11.55- i use around 15 so will bulk by 15 at a total cost of £173.25 (saving £42!- nearly a set of shoes!!).

I'm sure whatever hardfeed you have will do a bulk buy discount- just shop around or google it- you could see if anyone else wants to go in with you and share the cost? I did this with our hay order last winter- me and another livery bulk-bought 80 bales and split the cost- turned out a lot cheaper in the end!

Also as Tallyho! says- do your horses need a full set of shoes? Could you try them with the backs off?- depends how much autumn/winter riding you do really.

Another way to cut down on spending is insurance- this is a bit more tricky and depends on your situation.
I have a friend who was paying £40+ a month to insure her horse- she then decided it was a total waste of money as if her horse had a minor injury (costing a few hundred to fix) she'd just rather pay it herself than get involved in making an insurance claim. She subsequently stopped her insurance policy and joined the BHS as a gold member £58 a year. This means she now has public liability insurance- incase her horse damages someone else or property.- think this is only for hacking/pleasure owners- not suitable for competitive riders. However, she won't be covered if say for example her horse breaks its leg in the field- however she said if something major like that happened she would have her horse put down anyway.
*This is not going to be for everyone and you would need to do your own research if you were actually thinking about this option- as i am only repeating what she has told me and what i have looked into myself- so please do your homework if thinking about this as you would not be insured for anything more than the basics!!*

Anyways, hope i've helped a bit and given you a few ideas!
Let us know how the budgeting goes- i'm always thinking of how to save money and make the £'s stretch further! :)
 
Rebelrebel your way is just outstanding. but have to ask did your horses charge you interest on the loan for a car :) ingenious way of doing things :)
 
They didn't charge me interest, they are good like that. That dodgy stable cat never paid back the money for his op though - never trust a cat. :cool:
 
Reading with interest... just totted up the bills and my 'main' horse cost me almost £1500 last month. And that's not including anything out of the ordinary like vet's bills, or things bought for him. If there was only some way to make him understand how much he owes me, and how ungrateful it would be to buck me off at this point.
 
I also work out annual costs for things then divide by 12. Then that's how much goes into horse's bank account for the month. I save enough this way to cover winter expenses and vets bills etc.
I managed to knock £14 a month off insurance by switching so shop around for that.
Can your horse manage shoeing every 7-8 weeks instead of 6? That's a good saving.
 
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