That's nearly all my pension!

[Orangehorse]

Just had the latest vet's bill and reflected that its nearly as much as my month's pension.

Luckily it isn't my only income.

My horse has been pretty cheap to keep over the years, so I don't mind spending a bit now he is an OAP too.

But I have a horrible feeling about what if I can't really afford it any more.

 

[holeymoley]

I know what you're saying. I had a blood test on mine last month and it came to £160. And that was a shared call out and before we even went down the route of any medication!

 

[HappyHollyDays]

Another on a pension here. First injury in 9 years. A nasty cut to the pastern, 3 days in horspital, colic, twice weekly bandage changes at the yard for 3 weeks, signed off by the vet the day before Christmas Eve, vets bill New Years Eve. £2000. Gulp.

 

[MereChristmas]

On a pension too.
Due to his history and age I thought my pony might need gut and joint support.
Investigated suitable supplements / help.
First suggestion will cost nearly £100 a month.

 

[splashgirl45]

When I still had horses I had huge credit card bills as my pensions were not enough to cover out of the ordinary stuff , I re mortgaged my cottage and used the money to do some home improvements after paying off all the credit cards. Life is much easier financially now as I don’t have a horse but I will have a mortgage for the rest of my life but I do have central heating and all of the cottage is now much more comfortable . I’m just a bit worried about electricity bills once I come off my fixed rate and hope I can afford to pay it

 

[sjdress]

I had a box of 60 Danilon sent out to me, expecting it to be around £120, was quite shock when the bill came to £170!

 

[HappyHollyDays]

I had a box of 60 Danilon sent out to me, expecting it to be around £120, was quite shock when the bill came to £170!

Jesus, that’s horrendous. I was paying £108 for a box last summer.

 

[The Xmas Furry]

Try Rheumocam, paid £27 in March 2022 for a 250ml bottle at a vet visit, didnt think last autumn when I needed more so just picked it up again from vets. Got billed £59!!
I'll be scrutinising all drugs if needed, to compare on line in future!

 

[Ratface]

My retired 30yr-old Arabian takes up almost all of my considerable professional pension. He's at a Buckingham Palace level 5* small private full livery.
I'm fortunate that he's in good health and very jolly, living with his little herd.
It's very difficult to manage, financially. I take one day at a time with my cat and my horse being my priority. So far, we're doing alright, with degrees of help from my credit card.

 

[cauda equina]

I had a box of 60 Danilon sent out to me, expecting it to be around £120, was quite shock when the bill came to £170!

Viovet's Danilon was about £90 last time I bought some - that was about 6 weeks ago

 

[Widgeon]

Viovet's Danilon was about £90 last time I bought some - that was about 6 weeks ago

I thought £170 sounded steep! sjdress I would have a word with your vet about getting a prescription and buying online.

I am not on a pension but I was doing some calculations the other day to check that I'm not paying over the odds for Bute from the vet. I found that 100 sachets, plus a prescription fee for the online suppliers, varied massively - £150 from my vet, £173 from VioVet, and £100 from eVetDrug.

Unfortunately I think the days of having long term drugs supplied by the vet without thinking twice are probably gone. Mine will only be on Bute for another couple of months while we crack a specific problem, but if it was going to be longer term than that I'd go the prescription / online route.

 

[OrangeAndLemon]

Yep, January had been a bit unhelpful.

Referral for Keratitis turned out to need two small operations, home same day but treatment for Colitis (Steroids) has cost much more than the cost of surgery. Stress of the visit caused colic and emergency vet visit so that invoice will arrive soon.

My car needs a service and I've just had the quote through. It needs a new clutch too so the bill is pretty much the insurance value of the car (it's worth more than that to me)

I suspect this will all add up to roughly (possibly a little more than) my full salary payment for this month.

 

[Squeak]

Yep, January had been a bit unhelpful.

Referral for Keratitis turned out to need two small operations, home same day but treatment for Colitis (Steroids) has cost much more than the cost of surgery. Stress of the visit caused colic and emergency vet visit so that invoice will arrive soon.

My car needs a service and I've just had the quote through. It needs a new clutch too so the bill is pretty much the insurance value of the car (it's worth more than that to me)

I suspect this will all add up to roughly (possibly a little more than) my full salary payment for this month.

I know you probably already know this but most vets will let you do a payment plan/ split payments if you need to.

You have my full sympathies - some months are utter s**t moneywise and everything crawls out the wood work and hits you and it's just a horrible feeling. Hopefully this is it done for the year for you and the rest of it will have minimal unexpected bills.

 

[OrangeAndLemon]

Thank you Squeak, yes you're right, vets did offer a payment plan and the garage offered to spread the work across multiple services (do the clutch in a month or two because it will hold a bit longer but it desperately needs the air and fuel filters replacing).

 

[Ratface]

I paid off previous cat's euthanasia bill yesterday. £200. Credit card bill is now higher than I would like, but can be paid down by my monthly standing order.
I suspect that current cat has Feline Irritable Bowel Syndrome. Managing it with feeding oily fish. Seems to be working, although he is terribly fussy. Tuna in sunflower oil? Yes please. Two meals later? "You're 'avin' a larf. Nah, mate." Sardines in oil? "Yesss!" Repeat, using pilchards/salmon/tuna/sardines.
Any vet visit for current cat is £55 for appointment, plus whatever meds he is prescribed.
He hasn't had his injections done yet either. Or insurance.
I have to eat as have Type 2 diabetes.
Really don't know what to do for the best. No family. Friends are as skint as me for the same reasons.

 

[Annagain]

I had a box of 60 Danilon sent out to me, expecting it to be around £120, was quite shock when the bill came to £170!

£89.99 on petdrugsonline (maybe even cheaper elsewhere but I use them for my dog too so it's easier to have just one account). Ask your vet for a written prescription (mine charges £25 for that)

 

[EllenJay]

I had a box of 60 Danilon sent out to me, expecting it to be around £120, was quite shock when the bill came to £170!

I had a box just after Christmas - cost £141 including postage

 

[sakura]

I just had my bill through for shared call out on an area day, flu jab and a box of 40 bute - £108 in total

I'll be paying it a little closer to my pay day :|