What feed changes have you made due to the rising cost of feed/hay/haylage?

[maya2008]

We have switched from branded to Mole Valley high fibre cubes, and the same for wormer. Only those who need the cubes to convince them to eat supplements are getting them - everyone else gets a handful of chaff and a little speedibeet. The young ones will also be getting hay this winter, with the high fibre haylage only being for the lami prone ones rather than everyone.

 

[Britestar]

Mine are on basics anyway, but today at work, I sold a bag of topspec balancer £46.60!! ??

 

[Barton Bounty]

My boy will get what he needs, id rather eat beans than him lol. We will be fine, I can happily afford him lol

 

[DizzyDoughnut]

I'm so glad I've got native ponies that just get a tiny handful of chaff to mix their supplements in, I bought my last bag of chaff at the beginning of April and I think it will last till the end of this month. The farmer I get my hay from has increased his price from £30 to £35 for a round bale so that's not to bad either, for once I'm grateful to live in a wetter and cooler area, it seems like there's going to be plenty of hay available round here.

 

[moosea]

Maybe we will see a return to only those who need a feed being fed? A return to a more fibre based diet? And possibly a rise in the return to 'straights'?

 

[chaps89]

I only buy about 2 bags of feed a year so thankfully not something I am too worried about. Would be worse if there were multiple horses and/or poor doers.

 

[asmp]

We have switched from branded to Mole Valley high fibre cubes, and the same for wormer. Only those who need the cubes to convince them to eat supplements are getting them - everyone else gets a handful of chaff and a little speedibeet. The young ones will also be getting hay this winter, with the high fibre haylage only being for the lami prone ones rather than everyone.

Mole Valley cubes have gone up a lot too recently. They often have offers on them though so I buy a few bags then.

 

[meleeka]

I haven’t changed anything yet, but I have noticed my feed bill has gone up considerably. I’d say around a £20 a month increase.

 

[Midlifecrisis]

To be honest I don’t feed mine much in terms of bucket feed so wont change to non branded feeds …I don’t know what the hay charges will be for this years cut…in a normal year I’d ve expected a price decrease as so much has been made and some fields might even give a third cut but fuel price increases will be incorporated. Supplement prices are increasing but the oldie needs her joints taking care of so I ll just have to suck it up. It’s shavings prices that will sting me in the winter.

 

[milliepops]

I don't feed mine a lot either, fortunately they are all pretty easy to keep. OH makes my hay so i shovel that in instead chaff and a balancer for the ridden one and that's about it currently so not much to shave off there.

 

[GreyDot]

Our hay has gone up to £42 for a round bale. I wish it would rain as the fields are bare and brown. Summer is the season where they are usually just on the grass and not needing anything else, but I am having to feed them.
Mine are just on chaff and a balancer, but the prices for both are close to £10 more than they were a year ago. Can't see the prices coming down, I just wish my wages would go up as well!

 

[AShetlandBitMeOnce]

I used to get through a bag of grass chaff, four bags of alfalfa cubes, and a bag or so of Copra a month when I had my boy.. I dread to think what it would cost me now as it was about £80 back then (mid 2021)

 

[southerncomfort]

No changes here. Mine only have enough Lo Cal Balancer to carry their supplements in.

Small bale hay has only gone up 50p a bale and I already have a first load in my hay shed taken straight off the field.

More worryingly my vets are putting up their prices.

 

[Barton Bounty]

Our hay has gone up to £42 for a round bale. I wish it would rain as the fields are bare and brown. Summer is the season where they are usually just on the grass and not needing anything else, but I am having to feed them.
Mine are just on chaff and a balancer, but the prices for both are close to £10 more than they were a year ago. Can't see the prices coming down, I just wish my wages would go up as well!

Thats cheap, its 50/65 up here !

 

[dorsetladette]

They are all on just grass (and a bit of hay when I feel sorry for them as its so dry currently). Old B gets his daily bute in a jam sandwich and he eats his antihistamines out of your hand so no need to hide them in feed. I'm planning on feeding the rest of last years hay when we start feeding and then move on to dry haylage once that's run out. Hay seems pretty cheap off the field this year (£2.50-£3.50 a bale) and a lot of people are selling off last years for £1 - £2 a bale so any one with good doers will be quids in this year around here I think.

Vet and physio have both put there prices up though

 

[meleeka]

More worryingly my vets are putting up their prices.

I’ve noticed a big price rise too. That’s going to hurt more than the price of feed/hay. A couple of vet visits and some x-rays cost me nearly £800 recently, for something that would have been around £500 a couple of years ago.

 

[scats]

Mine only get a token handful (tiny) to carry supplements so no real change here.

 

[Goldie's mum]

We're lucky that we can make our own haylage. The rolls of wrap have gone up & we use a fair bit of diesel but its still a lot less than buying in. I agree that going back to straights may be a good idea. I still have Grandpa's recipes. Time to stop complaining about the good doers - deliberately bred for times like these!
The main discussion here atm is about the sheep. In any year, pregnant sheep need to be carefully & expensively fed in spring. We are wondering if it will be worth putting the rams out this autumn. Lambing is a lot of work & if there's no profit next year we may decide to give the sheep (and ourselves) a year off. Many of our neighbours are having the same discussion so if you like lamb put some in your freezer.
Dog food is a big expenditure for us. We had a regular dog food delivery for £36 per order. Without warning they wanted £63. We changed supplier for now because one of the dogs has allergies so changing to different products would be a problem.

 

[Barton Bounty]

Same! Vet is extortionate ?

Bb caught his leg on a piece of square fence at the last yard in May!
371 quid! They literally dressed it once and I did the rest!
one 4 day course of antibiotics and danilon and that was it!
i near died !

 

[dominobrown]

I have switched to feeding straights. Was feeding ease and excel cubes but worked out that in winter my monthly feed bill would top £500 a month, never mind haylage etc

 

[dorsetladette]

Same! Vet is extortionate ?

Bb caught his leg on a piece of square fence at the last yard in May!
371 quid! They literally dressed it once and I did the rest!
one 4 day course of antibiotics and danilon and that was it!
i near died !

OK so my £750 for nerve blocks and steroid injections in both hocks, consisting of 3 visits (first to tell me he was lame!) doesn't seem quite so bad now! I've still got a lame horse though

 

[Barton Bounty]

OK so my £750 for nerve blocks and steroid injections in both hocks, consisting of 3 visits (first to tell me he was lame!) doesn't seem quite so bad now! I've still got a lame horse though

At least you got three visits lol… only superficial and he wasnt lame!

honestly they see us coming ??

 

[AShetlandBitMeOnce]

I have switched to feeding straights. Was feeding ease and excel cubes but worked out that in winter my monthly feed bill would top £500 a month, never mind haylage etc

£500 a month?! Please tell me you have multiple horses

 

[palo1]

My feed bill this summer works out at £8 per horse per month (including their vit & min supplement). I am not sure that any of them will need any more than this in winter as they will be on good haylage. If I have to add something it will probably be oats for one horse!

 

[Peglo]

Peggy only has 2 teeth left on her bottom right jaw (she’s got all the rest of her teeth, just that one side that’s missing) so gets 2 big scoops of grass nuts soaked split over 2 meals and her 2 bucket feeds of senior super mash and ready mash. Plus her joint suppliment. Ready mash has gone up to £22 a bag. But as I’m now 1 horse down I’m still saving a lot so will carry on as it works for her and I’m happy with her weight. Tali gets a handful of grass chaff for her supplements so she’s pretty cheap.

 

[Starzaan]

None, and I won’t be making any. If I have to make changes and cut costs it will be for myself, never my horses.
Too many years running rehab yards working alongside veterinary nutritionists to change my feeding regime now. It’s gone up, but so has everything. I’ve just cut back on things for myself to compensate.

 

[criso]

I'm using straight grass chaff to bulk out the more expensive Agrobs stuff. Fussy horse so I can't use just the grass chaff on its own.
Copra so far has stayed the same. Linseed has gone up £5 a bag, musli £5 a bag, Grasstastic £2 a bag and Grunhafer £2 a bag.

And I make sure I'm organised and buy when another livery does her Titmuss bulk delivery as it's so much cheaper than the other feed stores.

 

[Barton Bounty]

None, and I won’t be making any. If I have to make changes and cut costs it will be for myself, never my horses.
Too many years running rehab yards working alongside veterinary nutritionists to change my feeding regime now. It’s gone up, but so has everything. I’ve just cut back on things for myself to compensate.

I agree with you ? ill just have to block hope valley saddlery and all the others from my browser ?

 

[smolmaus]

I've already switched to straights as it is better for my own brain to know exactly what she's getting. Handful of Top Spec zero chaff and lo cal balancer to carry supplements. Don't get a choice in forage as provided by yard and nowhere to store my own!

Mag ox, chasteberry, yea-sacc/ bio-mos, Nicotinamide B3 all cheap and make a noticeable difference. The £20/month sweet itch Bio-Plus is the one that hurts the most and I'm too anxious to take her off it in case it is actually doing something and all her skin falls off. Will probably put her back on YuMove for her joints as a preventative in winter when they get less movement too. No savings to be had without anxiety, which is worth the financial trade off!

 

[MuddyMonster]

None as a direct result but pony did go off his TB feed (which given the questionable going on there was a relief ?) and is happily eating another barefoot friendly feed which just happens to be half the price.

I don't see anything wrong with making cheaper changes providing it's not going to negatively affect the horse though.