# Uh oh! Cost of my horse is spiralling out of Control!



## Firewell (7 January 2011)

Oh dear,

I have just worked out the cost I pay per month for my 1 horse...

£700 

He's on cheapish DIY at £100 a month but he is a TB and what with the cost of hay/haylage ect at the moment, well I just can't believe what I'm spending. He's eating £75 of hard feed month (bags of Alfa Oil, balancer, kwik beet), farrier is £80 every 6 months, Hay is £60 a month. He has a back check every 3 months, teeth every 6 months, saddler every 6 months.
If he needs something I get it straight away, e.g a supplement.
A big cost is competing, by the time I've paid to use the horsebox plus diesel and entry's fees's each outing is easily £80 and I go out 2/3 times per month in the summer :/

How do I cut down?? To spend £700 quid a month on a hobby horse at DIY is ridiculous! The obvious thing is to cut down the competing  but then I get in the dilema of what's the point in paying and looking after a high maintenance TB if I can't compete him? I may as well get a native that lives out. If I can cut down the cost of keeping my horse then I can afford to compete him..However I honestly just get him what he needs, feed ect. I don't go mad buying new tack or anything.

Looking at the numbers has just really upset me. I feel I am being indulgent and wasteful and I'm cross because I shouldn't spend that much on my horse, when the money could be saved for something important.

Does anyone have any tips on how I could cut down other then the obvious? Any sneaky ways you lot save money. Should I give up the competing


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## horse_lover (7 January 2011)

I own a TB and funnily enough been working out my finances to see if I can get a second as my boy is almost 20.  Not really sure where you could cut down as I wouldnt want to give up competing in the summer either, but here is my breakdown.  

I pay £100 a month for his rent, £80 every 6wks for shoes, luckily he has maintained his weight well so currently only getting through about £30 of hard feed a month (2 bags of mix and one chaff).  I have also been giving him fibre beet but one bag almost lasts the winter.  He is on Cortaflex £60 a tub, but this lasts 4mths and currently on a calmer as just moved yards.  He gets through 1 bale of hay and straw, every 2 days and the price I pay means its £70 a month hay, £35 straw.  His insurance is £45.  Monthly I work that out to be £350 a month, pretty cheap compared to yours...


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## shadowboy (7 January 2011)

firewell said:



			Oh dear,

I have just worked out the cost I pay per month for my 1 horse...

£700 

He's on cheapish DIY at £100 a month but he is a TB and what with the cost of hay/haylage ect at the moment, well I just can't believe what I'm spending. He's eating £75 of hard feed month (bags of Alfa Oil, balancer, kwik beet), farrier is £80 every 6 months, Hay is £60 a month. He has a back check every 3 months, teeth every 6 months, saddler every 6 months.
If he needs something I get it straight away, e.g a supplement.
A big cost is competing, by the time I've paid to use the horsebox plus diesel and entry's fees's each outing is easily £80 and I go out 2/3 times per month in the summer :/

How do I cut down?? To spend £700 quid a month on a hobby horse at DIY is ridiculous! The obvious thing is to cut down the competing  but then I get in the dilema of what's the point in paying and looking after a high maintenance TB if I can't compete him? I may as well get a native that lives out. If I can cut down the cost of keeping my horse then I can afford to compete him..However I honestly just get him what he needs, feed ect. I don't go mad buying new tack or anything.

Looking at the numbers has just really upset me. I feel I am being indulgent and wasteful and I'm cross because I shouldn't spend that much on my horse, when the money could be saved for something important.

Does anyone have any tips on how I could cut down other then the obvious? Any sneaky ways you lot save money. Should I give up the competing 

Click to expand...

No idea really how to cut your costs- but what shocked me was the cost of your farrier? (unless he has specialist shoes?!) My farrier hot shoes for £60 for the owners first horse then £55 per horse thereafter... Could you get a big round bale of hay which is cheaper? we pay £24 for a big hay bale here in Wocester. The other thing I thought was you must do a lot of competing! 100+60+80+40=£280 where is the £500 extra? My horse costs me under £150 in winter when we are not at shows and we compete once a fortnight in the summer months and it varies at to the cost- if its national then we spent about £100 to compete local shows are about £40. But ultimately if you can afford it, are not relying on credit and are eating and living happily then Its your choice what you spend your money on surely?


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## soloequestrian (7 January 2011)

Go barefoot.  If you have a look on here, read the literature that's available, and look at the UKNHCP forum, you will see that it is a viable option for pretty much any horse.  Although you still obviously have to pay for trims, you can cut the cost of foot care at least in half, and if you have to buy hoof boots they may seem expensive at first, but they last a long time.  Over time it's also possible to learn to do bits yourself, which cuts cost even more.  You also seem to be spending a huge amount on hard feed.  How many bags of feed are you getting through to come in at £75 per month?!  You could get a mineral analysis of the horses diet done, and see if there is anything lacking.  I started mine on the various barefoot supplements, tailored to suit their forage analysis, and my skinny TB is doing well on much less hard feed than previously.


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## SplashofSoy (7 January 2011)

Goodness that is a lot.  My TB is on part livery at £70 per week and incs bedding hay and hard feed.  Shoes every 5 weeks at £40.  Plus competitions and diesel money etc on top. Insurance is about £35 per month.  Pay for vaccs, back/teeth checks as they come up but are usually only done once a year unless I suspect a problem.  I have had to cut down on lessons with my instructor to save some money when livery went up but still not as much as yours.


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## soulfull (7 January 2011)

It does seem a lot for DIY  I could not get it to add up to more than £600  but don't know what you spend on supplements

 long term you would be better with your own transport but I appreciate its the initial cost to buy.  Maybe limit your competing to twice a month thats £80 saving and if you only go out in summer less really

Why is it a waste?  If you are able to afford it why shouldn't you spend it on your horse?
What would you consider more important?

Over the years I have done without so much and it really didn't get me anywhere so now if I can manage it I buy it (always horsey)

As you say the alternative is to give up competing and as you say if you do that you don't need the horse you have so may as well get something that does't require such high cost.  But would that make you any happier?


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## ThePony (7 January 2011)

Your hard feed is terribly expensive.  Does he have particular health needs you need to supplement/feed for? Is he a particularly poor doer? Sure you can cut that down!

Competing certainly is expensive. Can you cut down to once or twice a month? Perhaps entering a couple of classes each time out so your time and expense travelling is better value? Can you share petrol with someone at your yard?

What are your additional costs - supplements etc?  You say 'needs' - can you redefine what he 'needs'?  When you are in a tack shop the number of 'wants' heads sky high, but I would have thought v few actually are needed by the horse.

Your other costs are inline with what mine costs (aside from farrier - I pay £20 each 6 weeks for a trim, my livery is much more - £300 a month including hay and bedding - so you are def not doing too badly!)


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## Amymay (7 January 2011)

You're paying a huge amount for haylage and hard feed - can't quite get over that figure of £75 for hard feed a month.  Is that right???

If it is.  Knock it all on the head and feed him boiled barley and oats.


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## Tr0uble (7 January 2011)

That does seem a lot....That's about how much it costs me to keep two big horses, one with specialist feeding needs due to RER!!

Though admittedly I don't have competition fees etc into that as my horse has been too ill for comps for a couple of years.


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## FairyLights (7 January 2011)

ok, I've had horses for over 40 years and have seen a massive industry build up which isnt often necessary but plays on our anxiousness and guilt. why do you have the horses teeth back and saddle looked at every 6 months? I dont bother and with many many horses have never had a problem. vet comes to do anual vaccs and looks at horses teeth if asked.rarely is anything filed. 
why feed supplements if you are feeding commercial hard feed/mix?
get a grip. pay the livery bill, feed him hay bed on straw and feed some commercial mix or nuts. vet and flu vac annually. most horses dont need any more than that.
and stop competing if you are skint.


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## riding_high (7 January 2011)

you say that you pay £80 every 6 MONTHS for shoeing? is that a misprint? if that's the case then it's only £13pm for farrier. if you meant every 6 weeks then it's about £52pm.

have you thought about moving to a yard where (on face value seems more expensive) it would work out cheaper as in hay and bedding is included in the rent?

i pay £280pm for livery (includes hay and bedding), feed, trimming and any extras my horse may need.


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## MagicMelon (7 January 2011)

I'd chuck the horse out for a start, keeping him out 24/7 all year round will save you a lot of pennies (cheaper livery and no having to fork out for bedding / so much hay (although he will obviously need hay through the winter and summer if the grazing isn't great).  As long as you rug well, there's no reason why he should necessarily need any more hard feed (it doesn't sound like you can pack anymore in him anyway!).


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## Moo Wills (7 January 2011)

I'd see if there was anything you could do about your feed and hay/ haylage. We, like shadowboy, pay about £25 for a big bale of hay. My boys (2) have a hay net in the day (are out from 6am - midday) and this bale lasts us about 2 months. They have a haylage net each at night and we pay £160 for a pallet which consists of 8 bales - this also lasts for 2 months (1 bale a week). I usually pay £80 a month on feed - 4 x mix, 1 x chaff, 1 x blue chip.
Could you look at buying some items in bulk to get a discount? 
Not sure about your bedding but could you look at a cheaper alternative?


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## dominica (7 January 2011)

nooo dont give up your competeing... i'm like you as in I love the competing side with my horses and dedicate a lot to do so. Echo about trying to go barefoot, or would your horse be able to cope with just front shoes maybe? Also like Slashofsoy my horses only require their teeth and back checks once a year unless something crops up. What bedding do you bed your horse on? maybe a spell on straw could help with your costs.. you will find a way xx


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## Amymay (7 January 2011)

You could be 'doing' your horse easily for around £300 a month.

That is for Livery, shoes, hay, feed and bedding.

I can't see that it should cost much more than that for his basic care.

Your additional spending of £400 is because you are paying through the nose for hay, spending ridiculous amounts on hard feed (he must be the size of a house) and over spending on the 'specialists'.

Your competition fees could be reduced by purchasing your own transport too.


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## pixiebee (7 January 2011)

OMG how can one horse cost that much-especially on diy!!! I have a tb and he costs me about 11 quid a month in hard feed and his weight is fantastic-the more i feed, the thinner he gets!
Mind you, he is due back and teeth (well ok...overdue!)
My livery is £240 per month for stable/grazing/bedding and hay plus morning turnout. (I have two horse so times that by 2!!!)
He has shoes (2 fronts only) every 8 weeks and hacks out just fine like this. Really easy to keep to be honest and everyone says they are high maintenece?


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## TGM (7 January 2011)

amymay said:



			You're paying a huge amount for haylage and hard feed - can't quite get over that figure of £75 for hard feed a month.  Is that right???
		
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I must admit I was shocked by the hard feed cost as well!  Our 16hh warmblood gets through only £25 worth of hard feed a month, and he is hunting and competing.


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## Firewell (7 January 2011)

He eats 3 bags of Alfa Oil a month at 13.95 a bag, a bag of low cal balancer £27, a bag of kwik beet £9, magnesium supplement £18
Swapped him over to haylage as hay is £60 for a round bale here in the south east! Haylage is £38 a bale and he gets through 1 1/2 - 2 per month. He eats so much honestly it's shocking.
Bedding isn't too bad, that's 7.95 a bale per week.
Maybe I need to look at moving him on to own brand feed ect. I dont like to think I'm throwing money down drain.
Oh also back man, teeth, farrier ect I've divided per month. It just seemed an awful lot for one horse but I can't feed him any less, he would fade away! I do buy him little treats occasionally like his play ball but not much.
I'm going to have to think about this!


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## stencilface (7 January 2011)

Your feed seems expensive, I don't know what mine costs per month (as have 5 being fed) but our monthly bill for all five can't be more than £120 I don't think. They get fed either coarse mix, veteran feed or power and performance mixed with alfa a and sugarbeet. Supplements per month prob cost £40 for all five.

Also do you really need his back done every 3 months, and saddler every 6 months?  If you have problems with your saddle by all means get it checked, but I find the motto if it ain't broke don't fix it works well.  Ours have their back done every 6 months - a year, or more if they have an accident (usually involving them crawling under the fenc to get into the yard  ) and they get their teeth done once a year.  Again, if no bitting or eating problems, do you need them doing every 6 months?

Just some ideas on how you can cut back, if they have ill effects then go back, if not then you saved some money


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## Amymay (7 January 2011)

Why three bags of Alpha A oil - if he has ad lib haylage??

Balancer is expensive - buy a good all round suppliment instead.

Calmer??  No wonder if he's getting that much Alpha A.


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## Tr0uble (7 January 2011)

That is a lot of hard feed for one horse! I have 2 17hh horses, one a growing 3.5 year old...and they only get through 2 bags of Alfa A molasses free, and half a bag of speedibeet per month, between them!


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## ThePony (7 January 2011)

Is he a poor doer to require all that feed?  It is an enormous amount to fit into one horse. Why the lo cal balancer with such large amounts of higher cal feed? Is he on a diet, the right weight, or does he need feeding up?
First off I would feed adlib hay/hayledge and then feed what is needed. 
No need to feed a magnesium supp, feed just the magnesium if he needs it (http://www.naturalhorsesupplies.co.uk/p/category/0802204936-Magnesium+Supplements/) heaps cheaper.

You must do alot more than buy little treats for him as there is still about £400 missing from your budget. If you really don't know where the £ go then for a month I would write down every tiny little thing you buy and exactly what it costs.  There is no need at all for it to cost so very much.


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## PercyMum (7 January 2011)

Gosh, thats alot!

I agree with a few others on here - look at a yard that may appear more expensive but includes all feed, bedding, hay etc.  My yard isnt cheap at all because of its location.  I have one on part livery and the other on 24/7 t/o with rug changes and hay included.  My monthly bill comes to around £750, so if you are DIY and paying almost that for 1, I'd have a look around!


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## Firewell (7 January 2011)

This is winter amounts! In the summer he doesn't eat as much hard feed or hay as he is out on more grass, but I compete more in summer.
He used to race so I'm quite careful about getting the back man although he said he shouldn't need to more then once a year once he is fully developed.
No lol not a size of a house, I wish he was as then I could stop feeding him so much! He eats 4 heaped Stubbs scoop of Alfa oil per day. He has a fast metabolism, he only has to stand in the rain for one day and you can see his ribs.
I can cut it down and I know I can.
Hay is so expensive round here, all those who live in Surrey must know how I feel.
Good ideas, keep em coming. I'm happy to know that most manage to keep their horses for a lot less.


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## Mitchyden (7 January 2011)

I haven't any helpful tips Firewall but I also get both of my horse's teeth checked twice a year, saddle fitter twice a year and have their backs checked four times a year.  

I think you owe it to your horse especially if its competing which mine are. Horses are tough creatures and will carry on in pain to please without an owner necessarily knowing.

One instance was my youngster who was showing no signs of any problems but when I had the dentist out, one of her teeth had started to grow awkwardly and she had a serious gum infection. As she is a youngster, could this have started off a problem with being ridden had I not sorted it out?!


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## Brandy (7 January 2011)

Crikey I keep an aging TB and a young native for less than half of this I reckon! 

I have just moved yards - was prev £25 per stable per week. They now live out with shelters, and I pay £25 per week for the pair, half price. I don't have a school and I guess you would need one. I have used 5 bales of straw in 6 months for the shelters. I was previously spending £14 per week on bedding as we had to stable overnight.

Your feed bill is huge, and to feed 3 bads of Alpha a a week plus ad lib haylage is astonishing! And the price you pay for haylage is also high. 

I would seriously rethink your feeding regime, as you are pumping a huge amount of food into him.


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## ThePony (7 January 2011)

If he is on adlib hayledge then there is no need to feed him so much chaff. Just a complete feed (like allen and page calm and condition myself) or sugarbeet plus a balancer, then that is enough. If he is tricky to keep the weight on then you can always add a glug of oil. No problem seeing his ribs - he is a light breed. He really isn't designed to be a round strapping lad!


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## FrodoBeutlin (7 January 2011)

It does seem a lot for DIY. For £700 a month you could have him professionally schooled every day here in Germany!

I would agree with the poster who said that probably, having saddle, back, AND teeth checked every six months is probably unnecessary? All horses at my yard see the dentist once a year, and physio only if there are problems, not routinely.


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## gunnergundog (7 January 2011)

How efficient is your worming programme?  Just wondering if you're feeding any little extras inside him.

May be worth a faecal count and blood test in the long run if you think you haven't been right on top of this aspect of his managemet.  

Please don't be insulted by above suggestion.....I don't know you and am just throwing possibilities into the frame.


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## Firewell (7 January 2011)

He's on calmer as our paddocks are high in calcium. Lol I don't find him a handful, he's a competition horse he is ridden every day. He probably doesnt need the magnesium now there is less grass but I still have half a tub less.
He has the low cal as it's low in starch but high in vitamins, he has Alfa oil as high in protein for muscles and he works hard! It has no molasses in it so also low in starch, ditto the kwik beet


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## Brandy (7 January 2011)

Ditto the other comments about yards that include hay/bedding in the cost as this would surely be of benefit to you. A friend of mine pays per week or month for ad lib hay, which with her giant of a horse is good for her, but I would be seriously out of pcoket with my little fat native - if it was more than about £4 per week!


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## Firewell (7 January 2011)

Sorry 3 bags of Alfa a month! Farrier 6 weeks not 6 months lol . Typing on iPhone so a few mistakes


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## Tr0uble (7 January 2011)

Yep, I've just done a quick reckoner on my costs and it comes to £696 per month (winter cost) including insurance (expensive for new boy because I have LOU on him, and includes tack and personal accident as extra, and I also pay for a 3rd horse who is out on loan to someone - so insurance comes to £116 per month in total)

So to pay that out on one horse is pretty high cost!


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## Amymay (7 January 2011)

he has Alfa oil as high in protein for muscles and he works hard!
		
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I don't take the diet he's on as one that is correct for a horse in hard work.  You're basically feeding chaff with oil in.

Why not look at feeding him a correct / balanced diet that reflects correctly the amount of work and type of work he is in?  That alone should cut costs.....


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## sackofbadgers (7 January 2011)

I have just done a rough calculation. I keep 4 horses on DIY. Without dentist or back person but including shows and estimated vets fees - including a contingency - mine cost about £1300 a month. 

That is for 3 thoroughbreds - one who events, one who is a fun horse one retired 23 year old and a 20 year old native fun pony. All bar the retired girl are in medium work with the event horse in hard work. Whilst that is a frightening figure it is nowhere near as scary as yours 

They get through a large bale of hayage a week and about £60 of hard feed a month. Retired girl also gets through a box of Danilon every 2 months due to a bit of navicular and geeral stiffness.

That also includes the cost of running my own HGV lorry -lucky I know.


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## Cop-Pop (7 January 2011)

3 bags a month?  How many scoops a day does he get?  Even with my horse getting 2 1/2 scoops a day and the pony getting 1/2 a scoop a day one bag lasts over a month.  Are you sure someone isn't helping themselves to your feed?  Can you switch to a different calmer?  I've got mine on Magnitude which is £18 for 90 day supply.


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## Lockie123 (7 January 2011)

My livery is £80 a week thats full livery Mon to Fri and DIY at weekends, also includes all bedding (straw), haylage, feed and use of facilities, indoor and outdoor schools and horse walker, bring in's, turnouts etc etc.

My boy is 16.2 7/8 TB and just gets adlib Haylage and a double handful of Alfa A morning and evening and he does very well like this. I would definitely try to cut down on the feed side of things! You may be surpised how well some of them can do even off very litttle feed. 

That said they are an expensive hobby and sometimes you've just got to accept you are going to be skint. My Dad once compared owning a horse to driving down the M1 with your lifes earnings on the back seat with all the windows and sun roof open. Essentially, they are money pits.


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## stencilface (7 January 2011)

Can you talk to your feed merchant to see if you can save money anywhere?  Pointless us guys suggesting things when we don't know the exact requirements, plus I don't really know much about feed options, just what ours get 

I woudl though seriously look at whether you can stretch out your visits by people. Even if you had the back person out once every 4 months, that would be one less visit a year, ditto the others.  Could you stretch the farrier to every 7 weeks in the winter?


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## ThePony (7 January 2011)

firewell said:



			He's on calmer as our paddocks are high in calcium. Lol I don't find him a handful, he's a competition horse he is ridden every day. He probably doesnt need the magnesium now there is less grass but I still have half a tub less.
He has the low cal as it's low in starch but high in vitamins, he has Alfa oil as high in protein for muscles and he works hard! It has no molasses in it so also low in starch, ditto the kwik beet 

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Alfafa is also high in calcium, I would drastically reduce it!

There are lots of other low starch choices (like the a&p I mentioned) so no need to feed something with less cals than you want. Worth a call to some of the feed companies. You don't need to be feeding the amount you do, or spending the amount you do. They will be able to suggest a full diet.   
Being a working comp horse doesn't mean you have to break yourself feeding him!  (fwiw, when the weather isn't spoiling things both ours are worked hard 6 days a week, usually one of them at a comp. They are both on ad lib hay, along with some vits in speedi beet, and a little oil when needed - comp horses needn't be money drains!)


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## posie_honey (7 January 2011)

i'd have a think about the feed he's on tbh...

is he on ad lib haylege? ie never left without any?

i'd be tempted to try him on something like calm and condition from allan and page- also if you feed the full amounts which he will prob need then you wont need a balancer as its got all vits and mins in.. i'd add maybe something like outshine - its great for conditioning...

other than taht - how is he in a box - ie does he box walk/stress etc?? i'd also be tempted to have him out 24/7 - i find poor do'ers often are far better out


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## Christmas Crumpet (7 January 2011)

It costs me about £170 a month to keep my hunter who hunts 3 full days a fortnight. £75 shoes every 4 weeks. £30 hay (eats 1/3 bale a day and we got very cheap hay from OH's best friend), £28 hard food (sugar beet, pasture mix which is own brand, spilliers slow release energy cubes) and £35 for insurance.

My horse is kept at home so at least I don't have livery costs. 

It cost me roughly the same to keep my TB who again hunted 3 full days a fortnight although he did have joint supplement added on top. 

Does sound like you are spending a lot of money to keep one horse!!


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## Cat&Mouse (7 January 2011)

3 bags Alpha A only works out to be approx 2Kg fed per day plus balancer & Kwik beet. 

I feed My 16.3hh 4Kg per day but of a complete feed so no need for balancer or Alpha on top. 

Also unmolassed 24hour soak sugarbeet pellets will be an awful lot cheaper than Kwick beat & will go a lot further than flakes one bag lasts me 3 months. 

Bedding £7.95 per week not too bad!!! if you are that concerned about costs put him on straw much cheaper & deep litter even more cost effective.


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## riding_high (7 January 2011)

i buy the own brand mix and cubes, after looking at what's in them compared to others there wasn't much difference, but alot cheaper.
i also feed speedi beet and chaff.

depending on the behaviour/needs of my horses will depend on whether i buy the chaff with the calmer in or not, mainly the hoofkind molichaff though. 

a bag of speedi beet was feeding my 5 neds (2 yrs ago) and lasting me a month over winter. i'm now down to 3 neds and it's lasting me about 6 weeks.
my chaff (one bag) lasts me about 3 weeks sometimes 4, and the mix and cubes last nearly 4 weeks.
to buy the above costs me around £30pm (speedi beet included) to feed 3 horses.

straw and haylage is included in the rent so i don't have to worry about finding some good bales cheap and also don't have to waste money picking it up.


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## zoeshiloh (7 January 2011)

I haven't read all the replies, so sorry if repeating anything, but here is my two cents worth;

- Feed - have you had a proper nutritionist come and look at his diet? It seems a very odd combination of feed to me for the type of horse/what you are doing with him. I recently had a nutritionist out, and they have saved me a lot of money - one of the key things that really sunk in with me is that the average horse cannot process over 3kg hard feed in one meal, therefore anything over 3kg is basically passing straight through without doing any good. I have a poor doer on Alfa A Oil and use one bag a month. He gets sugar beet in the morning and Alfa A Oil in the evening, giving him a difference fibre ration source in each meal. From what I have read from your feed, there doesn't seem to be much protein actually going into your 'poor doer' (may have misread as skimmed quickly). My poor doer gets 3kg conditioning nuts day (over two meals) micronized linseed and fibre (either beet or alfa a) and keeps the weight on well. Other 'cheap' things I have used to bulk a horse up are eggs (often fed on racing yards I am told) Guiness (brilliant!) and bog standard sunflower oil from the supermarket (or cash and carry in catering drums!). 

- Back/Saddler - By all means get his back checked every six months, but I would argue that you do not need a saddler that often - I would have the back checked first, and see if they flag up any worries over soreness etc. A horse changes shape all the time, and getting a saddler every six months seems a bit frivilous if you are not aware of any problems. I know whether my horse is comfortable or not, and I know whether the saddle is sitting right, I have only had a saddler out twice in four years, and both times they made minor adjustments but said ther wasn't a lot to do.

- Teeth - How old is the horse? My dentist recommends seeing my horse every year - young horses she likes to see every 9 months. 

How about trying to get other people involved when you get your horses back/saddle/teeth done, then you can haggle for group discounts etc. You mentioned your horse loses weight/condition standing in the rain - there is an ex-racehorse at our yard which sounds very similar, the owner dotes on him and he looks fab, but she is very careful not to stress him out - if the weather is bad he goes out for a few hours and then comes in (he weaves badly so has to minimise stress by putting him out in the first place). Make sure he is wearing the appropriate rugs, give a warm feed before going out and after he comes in, use probiotics to optimise gut function etc. 

Sadly horses are very expensive if done "right" and I dread to think how much money I burn each month on them - I am too scared to work it out!! There are lots of little tips and ways to save money though, and there are lots of articles on the internet and even books which give great tips and pointers.


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## mystiandsunny (7 January 2011)

I also have a TB, and have worked out several cost-saving things over the years (double duvet to keep her warm in the winter, unshod (at least in winter, would shoe in summer maybe if wanted studs), yeast to improve digestion.  At one point she cost £350 per month when she could go out and eat grass everyday.  Now she's too lami prone for that so has to have Timothy horsehage and goes out 2x day for 30min - and costs less than she used to!

MONTHLY
- 10 bales horsehage (£70 or therabouts)
- 3 bales oat straw (£7.50)
- 4 bags ERS nuts (special diet) (£48)
- 1 bag speedibeet (£9)
- Shavings from local timber place (£10)
- Yeast supplement (£7)

So rent + £151.50 feed/bedding/forage + insurance (£30) + a trim (she's unshod) every 8 weeks at £20 if farrier does it (she trims herself doing roadwork in the summer).

Monthly cost = rent + £191.50 costs + competing.

Oh - forgot to add, teeth done once a year (£30), back checked if there's a problem, vaccs once a year (£60 incl call-out).


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## TGM (7 January 2011)

zoeshiloh said:



			From what I have read from your feed, there doesn't seem to be much protein actually going into your 'poor doer'.
		
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With the amount of Alfa A Oil it is getting, the horse is definitely not going short on protein!  Alfa A Oil is 14% protein, so significantly higher in protein than a lot of conditioning cubes!


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## Lolo (7 January 2011)

We spend about the same we think on our TB.

The feed bills are astronomical- and yes, he is fed in the best way for him. Shoes need doing every 6 weeks or his feet will fall apart. 

They only compete once or twice a month now, and that does save money...


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## Lolo (7 January 2011)

zoeshiloh said:



			I haven't read all the replies, so sorry if repeating anything, but here is my two cents worth;

- Feed - have you had a proper nutritionist come and look at his diet? It seems a very odd combination of feed to me for the type of horse/what you are doing with him. I recently had a nutritionist out, and they have saved me a lot of money - one of the key things that really sunk in with me is that the average horse cannot process over 3kg hard feed in one meal, therefore anything over 3kg is basically passing straight through without doing any good. I have a poor doer on Alfa A Oil and use one bag a month. He gets sugar beet in the morning and Alfa A Oil in the evening, giving him a difference fibre ration source in each meal. From what I have read from your feed, there doesn't seem to be much protein actually going into your 'poor doer' (may have misread as skimmed quickly). My poor doer gets 3kg conditioning nuts day (over two meals) micronized linseed and fibre (either beet or alfa a) and keeps the weight on well. Other 'cheap' things I have used to bulk a horse up are eggs (often fed on racing yards I am told) Guiness (brilliant!) and bog standard sunflower oil from the supermarket (or cash and carry in catering drums!). 

- Back/Saddler - By all means get his back checked every six months, but I would argue that you do not need a saddler that often - I would have the back checked first, and see if they flag up any worries over soreness etc. A horse changes shape all the time, and getting a saddler every six months seems a bit frivilous if you are not aware of any problems. I know whether my horse is comfortable or not, and I know whether the saddle is sitting right, I have only had a saddler out twice in four years, and both times they made minor adjustments but said ther wasn't a lot to do.

- Teeth - How old is the horse? My dentist recommends seeing my horse every year - young horses she likes to see every 9 months. 

How about trying to get other people involved when you get your horses back/saddle/teeth done, then you can haggle for group discounts etc. You mentioned your horse loses weight/condition standing in the rain - there is an ex-racehorse at our yard which sounds very similar, the owner dotes on him and he looks fab, but she is very careful not to stress him out - if the weather is bad he goes out for a few hours and then comes in (he weaves badly so has to minimise stress by putting him out in the first place). Make sure he is wearing the appropriate rugs, give a warm feed before going out and after he comes in, use probiotics to optimise gut function etc. 

Sadly horses are very expensive if done "right" and I dread to think how much money I burn each month on them - I am too scared to work it out!! There are lots of little tips and ways to save money though, and there are lots of articles on the internet and even books which give great tips and pointers.
		
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Apparently our poor doer ought to be fed 5-6kg of forage and 5-6kg of concentrates every day... We do this (he gets far more forage than that in hay to keep him occupied...) and he looks very well. We also do it with high quality feeds. It costs us an absolute fortune to keep him- especially in winter!


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## smac (7 January 2011)

I know what it costs to bed/hay feed my entire yard wtc but no idea what it works out as per horse as some arnt fed as live out etc. 

My first reaction to seeing £700 was put him on part livery!! however that is the yearly breakdown including physio etc so makes a little more sense.

We have 13 playing polo ponies at the moment. 5/6 them are pure tb and in winter play 2-3 times a week and get worked 1 hour twice a day in trot/canter or second ride will be a school. 1day off where we try and get them all in field for day. The poor doers get scoop alfa a original, three quaters baileys top line and some get a little sugar beet- good old 24hr traditional white bag blue/red detail stuff. This is stubbs round scoop. If they look poor we would give them a 3rd feed of the same. They probably get adlib haylage. Just consider the horses stomach is a rugby ball (smaller) now think how much that alfa a alone takes up!

I have used lo cal in them past and for the cost wasn't impressed hence baileys no 4.

We are in Surrey, and no longer have hay on yard as the cost was too much. We have big bales haylage at about £30 a bale and use around 2 and half a day not including the bales for the live out chaps. Where a field of 5 adlib get a bale every 5th day.


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## zoeshiloh (7 January 2011)

TGM said:



			With the amount of Alfa A Oil it is getting, the horse is definitely not going short on protein!  Alfa A Oil is 14% protein, so significantly higher in protein than a lot of conditioning cubes!
		
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Ok, perhaps worded wrongly - there are cheaper sources of protein out there, ie, soya flakes - 1 scoop a day at £13/bag rather than 4 scoops of Alfa A at nearly £14/bag.


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## FinkleyAlex (7 January 2011)

Agree with the person who suggested checking for worms. My arab was regularly wormed for years yet we couldn't figure out why he was suddenly becoming difficult to keep weight on. We tried coprameal, alfa oil, balancers, many mixes, kwikbeet, swapped him to haylage etc and nothing worked - his ribs were still visible. Eventually the vet suggested doing a worm count and low and behold (despite many years of being on the yards own routine worming) he was full of tapeworms. We fixed the problem and he now only needs a handful of happy hoof for his supplement. With grass and hay he more or less lives off thin air, so it's worth looking into (we've saved a small fortune!).

I also agree it's not necessary to get a saddler as often as six months. I get mine done yearly or when he or the saddle show any signs. It would definitely be worth moving to an all inclusive DIY yard where you can get adlib hay and straw, or even moving on to livery which is likely to be cheaper as the yard will have to cover the cost of his feed/hay/straw.


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## zoeshiloh (7 January 2011)

Lolo said:



			Apparently our poor doer ought to be fed 5-6kg of forage and 5-6kg of concentrates every day... We do this (he gets far more forage than that in hay to keep him occupied...) and he looks very well. We also do it with high quality feeds. It costs us an absolute fortune to keep him- especially in winter!
		
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My poor doer gets about the same - 3kg Nuts (over two meals) and linseed, Alfa A Oil, Sugar Beet etc adds up to another 3kg. He then gets 6kgs of very good quality haylage twice a day (currently lives in). I use the big bales of haylage, and get through one every ten days (two horses - the other is a good doer!)


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## only_me (7 January 2011)

Hmm, feed and farrier seem v expensive to me. 

farrier - no foot no horse as they say, but you could look at buying the shoes yourself and the farrier just put them back on? Or instead of paying for a new set each month (if you dont do any road work) you could get the feet trimmed and the same set put back on?

Feed - tbh I think you are paying far far too much!
My 17hh ISH (3/4tb) gets a scoop of cool mix and a scoop of chaff, morning and night!
The chaff we get free from the feed merchant, as they have holes in the bags 

The Lo cal is exactly that - low calories. You say he is a poor doer - would he not be better on something that has more calories?
Maybe something like Baileys competition mix, or the top line conditioning cubes (which can be fed on their own).
If you want low starch you could feed red mills complete, (comes in 14 or 10%)http://www.redmills.co.uk/uk/horse/products/product/?id=501
a few 4* event horses are fed that only - and they are the pure tb!

He is getting an awful lot of hay - can you not put it in haynets and weigh it, so he gets only what he needs?

Maybe switch bedding - 7.95 is very expensive for bedding! straw or cardboard maybe?


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## Amymay (7 January 2011)

TGM said:



			With the amount of Alfa A Oil it is getting, the horse is definitely not going short on protein!  Alfa A Oil is 14% protein, so significantly higher in protein than a lot of conditioning cubes!
		
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Oh yes - lots of protein there - too much (??)  It's just not the sort of diet I'd expect to see a hard working comp animal in....  And would have thought a more rounded and balanced diet would be more appropriate - and ultimately much cheaper.


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## olop (7 January 2011)

Couple of things that may help you:

1.  Try finding a DIY yard that includes the cost of hay in your rent.  I was paying £150 a month for grass livery before I moved-my DIY now includes a stable with hay included for £180 a month.

2.  I would try going the barefoot route.  My boy is a TBx a he has now been barefoot almost all his life (he is rising 9) the first year will be quite expensive getting the trimmer out & possibly the upfront cost of some hoof boots to help with the transition.  My boy now gets trimmed once a year & I rasp as & when needed.  I compete so dont worry about the no shoes & competing.

3.  Try cutting what you feed down.  My boy is a really bad doer yet my feed bill is only £25 a month.  I feed a chaff with a competition mix & some seaweed for his skin & it barely costs me £25 a month.

4.  As for the competing, I love to compete & does cost around that each time so unless you want to go out less or cut it out completly I cant see of any way of making it cheaper.  But I could never give it up like you!

Hope that helps.
Good luck


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## TGM (7 January 2011)

amymay said:



			Oh yes - lots of protein there - too much (??)  It's just not the sort of diet I'd expect to see a hard working comp animal in....  And would have thought a more rounded and balanced diet would be more appropriate - and ultimately much cheaper.
		
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I don't think there is anything wrong with the balance of the diet - the combination of beet, alfalfa and a balancer is quite widely recommended by nutritionists these days, and a competition horse doesn't necessarily have to be on cereal-based feeds.  However, it does seem rather expensive and if the horse is happy to chomp through that amount of fibre in the form of Alfa A Oil, then if that was reduced I suspect that the horse would probably chomp through more haylage instead, which is a more cost-effective form of calories and less bucket feed would be needed overall.


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## Jesstickle (7 January 2011)

Yikes that is a lot. My two (TB and TBxWB) cost me less than that together. Do you have your own transport? That is a lot to spend on lorries, can you split that with a friend to save some costs?

Echo what a couple of people have said about shoes, depending on your horse of course, you could try without. If you need studs then obviously that isn't going to help though.

You say the back person. What type of back person? I don't want to sound sniffy but I'd be very surprised if a genuine physio would be finding anything that often. Mine get seen if I suspect there is a problem but otherwise left on the advice of said physio.

And I echo the thought that that is an awful lot of food. We had racehorses in training on less than that! Unless he only picks at his haylage I am shocked that he needs all that alfalfa on top of ad lib haylage. Has he got tapeworm or ulcers possibly? (I'm sure that isn't the case as you sound like you treat him like a prince and would be well on top of that!) Just seems like an enormous amount to be feeding.

You could just ride less in winter. Less work = less feed and smaller bills.


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## Pipkin (7 January 2011)

Um I have 3 horses , they`re at home now but when they were on DIY it cost me £282 a month for all three, that includes

DIY
feed
haylage 
bedding
supplements

add a further £130 every 6 weeks for shoeing and trimming

and add £105 a yr for teeth......

I`d look at changing your feed, if your feeding ad lib haylage he shouldnt really need loads and loads of feed even if he is a bad doer.

£7.95 seems a lot for bedding, my guys are on straw, deep litter and I go through a bale a week each for them, and straw is £2 a bale...


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## Prince33Sp4rkle (7 January 2011)

comming from another TB owner i think your feed/hay is about what i spend.

hard feed is £70 a month, supplements about £40, haylage about £70 and shavings about £25/30.

he does really well on that feed (winergy equilibrium condition @ 1 bag per week, micronised linseed @£30 per 2 1/2 months and a speedibeet every 4 weeks).

eats 2-3 small bales of haylage a week and has one bag of shavings.

no worms, just a very fit, very sharp, hard working TB!

iv seen pics of your boy and he looks so well id be loathe to change too much, i think all you can do is try barefoot (but a proper trimmer will charge £40 a trim every 5 weeks and i do think you need a proper BF trimmer), and compete one less time per month.

on the other side of the coin, can you clip other peoples horses to make a bit of extra money on the side?

ETA that mine has a sports massage every 6 weeks, sees dentist twice a year, and a proper physio twice a year if i feel he needs it, and also that i forgot to add in his coligone @ £100 for 4 months.
if you want your horse to give you 100% in the ring, i think you do need to keep on top of these tiny aspects.

i am not adding anything else up!


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## Fransurrey (7 January 2011)

firewell said:



			Hay is so expensive round here, all those who live in Surrey must know how I feel.
		
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Having been quoted £10 a bale recently, I do know how you feel. I did notice that at Scats (Redhill) a small bale of haylage is £6.10 if you buy 20 or more (and they deliver over a certain spend). Would that work out cheaper than your current supplier?
I'm bulking out hay with lots of Hi-Fi, as it's now working out cheaper than buying extra hay. I normally have more than enough for the winter, but Henry being grass sensitive until November and a bad December has left me looking at a near empty store!!


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## Honey08 (7 January 2011)

Poor you.  That is a lot.

Some TBs just take a lot of keeping weight on - had one in the past, and had DIYs with them, and honestly I avoid them like the plague for that reason! I now have three good doing ISHs that, combined, eat less than yours a month, yet still event and compete.

From your photos he looks well on what you feed him.  You could speak to a nutritionalist to see if they can think of any way of changing his feed and saving a bit.

I think your main costs are the following...
1.  The lorry - would it be an idea to change to a trailer instead?
2.  Your physio/teeth/saddlerseem to come far more than you need.  Add a few months onto each one.  The horse would be fine.
3.  Competing.  Try and cut one competition out each month/6wks.  find the most local ones.

Other ideas - 
Are you on shavings or straw?  We changed to straw from shavings and saved an unbelievable amount.

How is he clipped?  I've had loads of DIYs that complained about how much they had to feed their horse to keep weight on.  All of them were fully clipped out and not doing that much work.  Unless you have a very hot horse (which you don't if he needs so much feed!) or are eventing or hunting a lot, they don't really need full clips.  Go down one clip next time - ie, from full/hunter to blanket..  Let him keep warm himself without calories.

Do you have lots of lessons?  Could you make them alternate weeks or less frequent?

How is he insured?  Could you lower his value on your insurance?  You would still get vets fees, which is the main issue.  I've put my £7k horse at £4k to make it cheaper...


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## JVB (7 January 2011)

I've got a 20yr old TB and although I don't compete him he costs me nowhere near that much.

He has his teeth done once a year, is fed adlib haylage, hard feed is unmolassed chaff with D&H 16+ mix which works out at £20 a month.

DIY is cheap for me at £17 a week including as much hay/haylage as I need.

Feet are barefoot at £40 every 8 weeks, then just wormers and insurance on top.

My other mare costs more as do compete her and insurance is higher but still both of them together is probably about £300 ish a month not including comps and transport, which I tend not to bother with over winter and do fortnightly in summer.


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## coen (7 January 2011)

wow that is pricey. I would say the easiest money saver is to be at a yard where he can stay out 24/7 or at least a lot during the summer. Save a fortune on hay, bed, services ect. This will allow you to continue competing. Also cut your hard feed/supplements down that does seem excessive.
I don't think having back, teeth, saddle checked every 6 months nocks the price up much (its around £40 each per time for me).
In winter when horses cost more to keep you should be able to cut back on competing costs.


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## suzi (7 January 2011)

firewell said:



			Hay is so expensive round here, all those who live in Surrey must know how I feel.
		
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I know what you mean about hay in surrey though I think it's quite expensive everywhere at the moment.  I think I read that you switched to haylage - is that right?  How much are you paying?  I pay £32 - £34 for a large square 4ft (?) bale.


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## CBFan (7 January 2011)

I think you could make your savings as follows.

Cut the balancer and use a general purpose supp - I couldn't believe the cost of a balancer compared to my normal supplement and despite my gelding being on the balancer a month I couldn't see any difference in him, apart from his coat which was most likely down to the linseed oil that the Balancer contained.
change to plain alfa a and reduce amount.
add linseed oil - a glug twice a day should be sufficient.
Use soaked oats or barley rings for condition if nec. also soya bean flakes are good.


My Hay bill came to £85 this month so yours doesn't seem too bad but then my feed bill is probably only about £15 per month - cant be sure as I haven't been to the shop since October! (when I spent about £50 if I remember!!)

Cut out any supplements you don't need.

cut the back man / dentist / saddle fitter visits... that is unless your horse changes shape dramatically between seasons. teeth can be pushed to every 9 months or a year...

if you can't go barefoot alround, remove back shoes.

Maybe cut your outings a little and hack with friends instead?

I was pretty shocked when my hay + straw + livery (£90) came to £185 this month but with everything else on top, my gelding costs me no more than £260 a month I'm sure... but then I don't compete at the moment.


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## brucea (7 January 2011)

I own 4 and it costs me about £450 a month

I rent land and stables - not at a yard. When this lease runs out I will look for a small farm to rent and share with others (there are farms where they can easilly rent the farmhouse but not the land so some deals to be done)

I don't feed any bagged feed and buy hay by the big bale (about 4-5 bales a month. 

I do not use shoes - I trim their feet myself. It costs me about £50 a year in rasps and tools.

I don't own a lorry or a trailer. I rent one when I need it. At £50 to rent the cost of ownership just does not add up to a sensible investment. I ddi have a lorry at one point but the cost was scary and impossible to justify.

We're into natural horsemanship - so each one has a saddle, rope halter and some ropes..and a feed bucket. That's it. 

Rugs get mended and cleaned - only one wears rugs, the rest grow their own.

My biggest bugbear at the moment is insurance - so in 1 month we are going to move to the minimal policy, and putting the money we were paying aside into an emergency fund. It is calles self-insurance.

It can be done - but the whole horse world has to wise up and stop seeing us owners as bottomless pits of money. Killing the golden goose is easy!


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## patchandloopy (7 January 2011)

Ok maybe im lucky, but my horse is a TB is rising 16 and is fed haylage which costs me £5 a bale (shared) a week so £20 a month on haylage,

 hi fi one bag lasts 6wks- 8wks, cool mix one bag lasts 4-6 wkss and is merchant made so dirt cheap - £6.80, so roughly £20 a month on feed.

I mix shavings and straw.  5 shavings and 10 straw = £50 and has lasted me 2 months - I full muck out as it needs or every week.  

He is fully clipped and in full work and only has an underrug and HW rug on.

So a month my horse costs me - £65 on feed, hay and bedding then £100 on livery, £65 on shoes but thats every 7 weeks. About £250 on a bad month, £165 on a good month...minus competition fees.

 His back is good enough to be done every year now used to be every 6 months.  Saddle isnt checked I do a rough check myself (had horses for 17yrs) and if hes changed shape I put a prolite pad on he will only change back to what he was before - unless a youngster of course.  Teeth every 8 months - £35 a go.

Good quality hay, a good chaff with sugarbeet and barley should  be plenty for a horse to stay with weight.

Remember a hot horse will not keep weight on either so check he isnt too hot.  I say its better a little cold than a little hot.


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## Firewell (7 January 2011)

Thanks everyone!

Some useful ideas.

The haylage we are buying is £38 a big square bale, even trying to find that was like searching for hens teeth!

He has a high chaser clip which seems to suit.

Feed I'm going to cut down tomorrow! He's just started going out in a field with a lot of grass so nows a good time . I'm going to cut the Alfa Oil in half leave the rest the same for now. Then when the bag runs out I will get normal Alfa and do the linseed idea. When the low cal runs out I'm going to swap him to pink powder . So he will then be on a heaped scoop of bog standard Alfa, scoop of kwik beet, linseed oil and pink powder twice a day so will see how he goes on that . I don't like feeding cereals as they made my last horse poorly and even my Vet says Alfa, Oil and beet is a brilliant source of slow release energy for horses in work or who need condition.

Competing Im going to plan to take my trailer test as we have a 4x4 and even though I'm not a big fan of trailers I can borrow a friends trailer for practically free and use the lorry for shows further away.

If I can save £100 a month that's an extra 2 shows or a lesson and a show  or I can save the money (which is what I should do )

Thanks


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## dooble (7 January 2011)

Scary post, thought about adding mine up, but then thought better of it!


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## ChasingTheDream (7 January 2011)

I spend less that half of that! 

DIY livery - £100 per month, which includes haylage.
During the winter months I pay £30 per month extra for a private paddock 
Feed - Alfa-a (£10 a bag), Stud balancer (£17.50 a bag), Fibre nuts(£8 a bag) - feed lasts 6 weeks. 
Shoeing - a trim every 8 weeks at £15 

Thats it, obviously theres bits and bobs, but overall, my tb is quite easy to keep. 

need to book a farrier appointment though


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## CambridgeParamour (7 January 2011)

Woah thats a lot! I spend about that much on my 3 a month. I would cut out on all 'branded' feed, my stallion and chubby mare  are on readi grass, nothing else, and my 'poor doer' oldenburg has the feed shop brand cubes (£5.00 for 25kg) and hi-fi original,with readi-grass to bulk it up.

As for the teeth/saddle/back, mine all get done once a year (with the exception of one, who has to have physio every 3 months) and they're just fine. 

At the moment my stallion and mare don't have shoes- only during the months when competing on grass. This time around, it was £60 for the farrier to see all 3 of mine. 

 A straw bed would cut costs mine are on a cheaper brand of hunter woodchip), also selling any rugs/tack ect that you dont use would be a step in the right direction. Competing once or twice a month instead saves quite a bit also.


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## xspiralx (7 January 2011)

I can't really add anything new so to speak, only my experiences.

I've owned and looked after quite a few full tbs in the past so I do feel your pain about the feed, but I think if anything, you are just being far too *good* to him!

I truly don't believe it is necessary to have back man, dentist and saddler out that often - I would say once a year and only more often if there is reason to believe there is a problem.

Likewise with feed/supplements - obviously you want to keep him in good health, but does he really need such an expensive combination of feed? As others have said I would cut the Alfa Oil right right down or out and try him on a simple diet of conditioning cubes and balancer - or something like that. Second the idea to get advice from a nutritionist! Obviously if he drops off then you may need to consider, but there is no point spending a fortune on things that don't actually make a difference, and I know lots of TBs who do totally fine on just simple feeds without loads of supplements and balancers.

Shoe wise, perhaps take his back shoes off and look for a farrier who charges a bit less. I ride a tb at the moment who only has front shoes and happily hacks out over all terrain.

Those are the main things really - you clearly want the best for your horse, which is great - but I don't think it is necessary to spend that much money to keep him healthy and happy 

ets - FWIW the last time I kept a poor doing TB in winter I think it cost about £220 a month. That was £160 for livery inc hay and straw, £25 a month for shoes [£50 per 8 wks], about £20 for feed and a bit for insurance. He did pretty well on it!


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## kirstyl (7 January 2011)

I started adding up - and then stopped!  I do agree with you about having regular visits from back person, dentist etc.  I have found that young (ish!) TBs teeth often grow rapidly and also, if they have been in racing, their teeth may have not been particularly well looked after.  My 8yr TB gelding is having his teeth done every 4 - 5 months at the mo, and hopefully will be able to have them done less frequently.  My current horse has McTimoney person to see him every 6 months or so, my previous TB needed him much more often as he was capable of tweaking himself lots.  I am lucky in that my McTomoney person also checks the fit of my saddle so don't have to pay for independent person to come.
Have to say that your 3 bags of Alpha A oil sounds a huge amount!  Mine is fed Spillers H + P cubes, an £8 bag lasts about 10-12 days, Alpha A and Spedibeet.  My Alpha A lasts well over a month.  He is also fed ad lib good quality haylage.  Until recently I did feed him Pink Powder, but he is such a messy eater that I started to wonder how much was actually going down him so when last pot finished I haven't bought more and am going to see how he does without it!
Straw on rubber matting is proving to be a good option for me. I pay £160 a month including haylage and straw.  But i'm 'up north' and you're 'down south'!!!
If you are enjoying having him, and can afford it, where's the problem?  My horse costs a large part of my wage, but I'm not a big shopper and haven't been abroad for nearly 15 years. I wouldn't be without him!


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## Brambridge04 (7 January 2011)

Not necessarily better off with a native,

My 5 year old NF mare goes through a bag of Alfa a chaff a month, and a bag off grassnuts a month (i normally have run out of grass nuts but have a3 or 4 scoops of the chaff left by the time i buy more) and is out with 1 other mare and there is a bale and half of hay put out for them each day, She is now looking fab.

Her diet is pure fibre and protein, on DIY grass livery at £85 a month (hay included, £60 in summer) £22 a month feed, £25 trim every 6-8 weeks, saddler and dentist once a year at £45 each....

HOWEVER the NF gelding in the next field, is worked the same amount, wormed (and had worm check / teeth done etc..) and goes through 2 bales of hay a day alone, with a feed of 1xscoop conditioning mix, 1 and 1/2x scoop alfa a chaff and 1xscoop calm and condition, twice a day....and is very very ribby and bony, pics of him a couple of years ago show a very different picture of him!


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## Wolfie (7 January 2011)

Move him to full livery, as the food and bedding will be included in cost of livery so it might actually save you a few quid!


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## angrovestud (7 January 2011)

We run a stud and have 3 TB broddmares working in foal due April 1 yearling filly and a 3 year old filly, a 16.3hh stallion 3/4 tb and a tbx pony broodmare so we have 7 horses our haylage costs are £27 a bale which lasts 4 days so say 2 bales a week in winter Dec to march begining £648
we use graze on for the lactating or pregnant mares and the stallion we use 1 bag every 2 weeks. £7.35
we also buy our feed a ton at a time at costs £238 X 40 bags @25KG it lasts 4 months in the winter £59.50 per month divided by 7 horses 
we also use a bag off chaff for pony broodmare and youngsters with the sugar beet £5.35 every two weeks.
straw is £300 a year or 35 big  bales deep littler beds 
 we then buy speedybeet @ 18.00 or two bags lasts 1 month 
so our grand total on per month 7 horses haylage & feed +straw is £420.72 our winter costs. 
I think you should get together wth the rest of your yard and buy in bulk its the only way to get your costs down good luck


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## littlescallywag (7 January 2011)

i know of a few people who feed thier hard to keep weight on tb's Allen & Page Fast fibre , its only £8 a bag and is great , its also a hay replacer. 

some of the horses have had thier best winter ever on this


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## zipzap (7 January 2011)

Notjustforxmas said:



			ok, I've had horses for over 40 years and have seen a massive industry build up which isnt often necessary but plays on our anxiousness and guilt. why do you have the horses teeth back and saddle looked at every 6 months? 


Hi, mailnly ditto the above - I've had to learn to be a serious economist in keeping the bills as low as poss but please be aware that several insurance companies stipulate that an ANNUAL visit from horse dentist as well as annual vaccination is a requirement. Just worth checking if you don't want to be caught out if you ever have to claim.

I try to buy in bulk & make the most of discounts on bedding - those wood pellets save me a fortune and have only fed economy/own brands of pony nuts and hi-fi for several years now, my horse & my 2 kids' ponies thriving on it. Wouldn't dream of splashing out on supplements; those days are well behind me!

One of the ways I've reduced my overheads recently is to phone round the horse insurers and get a very basic cover (death/theft/vets - with £500 excess, max £3k per incident) I know that amt of vet cover is fairly modest and I acknowledge that I may come unstuck if I had to fork out for a colic surgery or similar - heaven forbid!!! I have arranged for 3rd party and personal accident insurance thru the BHS gold membership. All this has lopped about £60 per month off my horse insurance bill. This has immediately been absorbed by the current increased hay prices but I'm just trying to be clever with the spending & do what I can to keep going! 

Hope this & other answers to your post help you a bit x
		
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## juliette (7 January 2011)

My cob was losing weight and on expensive feed, on the advice of a friend who had a TB in the past I changed to :

1. Horse and pony mix £5.79 per sack 
2. Conditioning cubes - cheap brand approx £11 per sack
3. Alfa A oil
4. Garlic
5. Speedibeet - approx £10 per sack

I've cut out all the supplements etc he has put on weight and is really enjoying his feed. I'd take the feed back to basics as it will save you a fortune.


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## myfatpony (7 January 2011)

cut back on the supplements, you'll save loads, just stick to the essentials. and ( i dont want to sound cruel) but i wouldnt bother with the teeth checking every 6 months, only if you notice a change her teeth would i get the dentist out e.g uncomfortable with a bit in.


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## madeleine1 (7 January 2011)

mines a sport horse (i no its not as bad as tb but still).

she costs me £50 a weeks part livery- includes everything but teeth, back, feet and riding.

teeth once a year
back only if there is a problem and farrier does check to a certain extent
shoes every 8 weeks at £55

hack to competitions or share with friends for £5 or £10 petrol

i think you could get more expensive livery and it cost you less then your feed does now.


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## CobSunshine (7 January 2011)

should have got a cob...



oh wait wrong post!


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## The Fuzzy Furry (7 January 2011)

CobSunshine said:



			should have got a cob...



oh wait wrong post! 

Click to expand...


<like>


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## christi (7 January 2011)

I have a gypsy cob , kept at home , 

this is what i feed over our 6 months of winter is .

2 bag high fibre cubes.
1 bag of top spec chop lite 
add lib hay .


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## Chellebean (7 January 2011)

QR 

not sure if this has been said already but what about a yard where haylage and bedding is included in the livery bill? 

My DIY is £36 a week but that includes ad lib haylage and straw! so it helps cuts my costs down quite well


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## CobSunshine (7 January 2011)

christi said:



			I have a gypsy cob , kept at home , 

this is what i feed over our 6 months of winter is .

2 bag high fibre cubes.
1 bag of top spec chop lite 
add lib hay .
		
Click to expand...



Cost of welsh cob

£40 per month grazed out
£20 per month horsehage highfibre + mollichaff hoofkind
£10 per month hoof trim (£20 every 8 weeks)

£70 a month :- O


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## christi (7 January 2011)

CobSunshine said:



			Cost of welsh cob

£40 per month grazed out
£20 per month horsehage highfibre + mollichaff hoofkind
£10 per month hoof trim (£20 every 8 weeks)

£70 a month :- O
		
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## sam4321 (7 January 2011)

I would simplify the hard feed and just go for the lo cal balancer and linseed, which is very high in fat and is absolutely magic at putting weight on horses.

Even if you are paying a lot for hay, alfalfa is a much more expensive way of getting forage into him so i would probably cut that out. 

Will your yard let you get your own forage?, even if you hired a van, and drove further to get cheaper hay, it would probably still save you a lot. Its only 2.50 in suffolk!!

are you needing to cut down the cost because you cant afford it or becuase you just think its high. If you can afford it then i wouldnt cut out the competing, but if you cant afford it, surely that sould be the first thing to go, as your horse will still be there for when you can afford to start competing again


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## letrec_fan (7 January 2011)

Sorry if repeating this but I can't believe you get through a whole bag of kwik beet a month. In past winters with my TB, one bag of speedibeet (same size bag I think?) lasted forever, about two months! You must be feeding him a heck of a lot to get through this amount, I would consider cutting down if you can.


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## Chellebean (7 January 2011)

letrec_fan said:



			Sorry if repeating this but I can't believe you get through a whole bag of kwik beet a month. In past winters with my TB, one bag of speedibeet (same size bag I think?) lasted forever, about two months! You must be feeding him a heck of a lot to get through this amount, I would consider cutting down if you can.
		
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That's the same with my Alpha A Oil tbh


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## Puppy (7 January 2011)

I can understand your feed costs. My oldie (a substantial 16.2, in her mid 20s) eats over 2 large (220kg) bales of haylage a month at this time of year, at £34 each. It's all very well making suggestions to move to a yard where the haylage is included, but there's no way I would get the same quantity and quality that my mare requires AND save money.  

She also, in a month, gets through a bag of topspec senior balancer (£41), 2 bags of fibre cubes (£15) and half a bale of dengie hi-fi (£5), plus the haylage (£78/79) adds to up to about £140!!   And she's not even in work or clipped


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## el_Snowflakes (7 January 2011)

I cant figure out how that comes to £700, my livery is a heck of alot more than yours and i dont spend all that.....the feed must be awfully expensive? perhaps you could use a broad spectrum vitamin supplement rather than lots of pricey ones? as for getting his back checked every 3 months, that seems alot. Why not limit it to once every 6 months?


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## Holly Hocks (7 January 2011)

I've got two TBs.  The oldie gets 16+ mix, alfa a original and speedibeet.  The younger mare who I bought last April was super super skinny.....I tried feeding her on the same as the oldie, but substituted the 16+ with leisure mix.  I couldn't get any weight on her hardly.  She now gets speedibeet mixed with high fibre cubes - NO chaff.  It looks disgusting, but she actually eats it really enthusiastically which is nice to see after months of her being a fussy eater.  Also because it's got no chaff in, she then goes and tucks into plenty of haylage which has fattened her up no end, and although she has been very ill, she looks really well, and from her behaviour, clearly feels well!
I am on a DIY yard which is £25 p/w including haylage, which is really great quality stuff.  I reckon to keep two TBs it costs me in the region of £500, including shoes and supplements.  Pity the vets bills are somewhere in the region of £8k - 10k,, just for the mare (I've actually lost track of the exact cost as it would send me into a spiral of depression if I actually worked it out!)


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## Dancing Queen (7 January 2011)

move to full livery - costs included.
cut down the amount of hard feed - they dont need it unless they are in seriously hard work and if you only competing twice a month you dont need that much!
farrier - get refits done - shod every 8-10 weeks new shoes one time, refit the  next.
teeth - only need to be done every 12 months as per insurance terms and conditions.
saddler - every 6 months - why??/
i fear you have been 'had' by the companies - you must do this etc etc.
as for supplements - why and which ones? unless there is a specific need- if the diet is correct you shouldnt need excessive supplements!


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## Firewell (7 January 2011)

You cob people, you make me jealous lol!! If my horse couldn't step over 3ft6 and be so pretty in the morning I would have brought a cob years ago , would love a cheap cob! My YO cob only has 1 bag of H+P nuts all winter!

My horse gets 2 big scoops of kwik beet per day but I share it with my mum so it's hard to know how much I use. Tbh I don't think the kwik beet is expensive, it's the load of Alfa a oil! I've been researching feed all evening and I'm shocked by the volumes the feed companies recommend. Top spec recommend £45 worth of their conditioning cubes per month and that's not including the balancer or chaff! Phew! 

You have all really got me thinking though.. I think he will go 9 months for teeth and 6 months for back. I won't go less then that as he needs it and I won't compromise on his health. Saddler, my saddle needs reflocking as it's coming up for 1.5 years old now and it was originally for my old horse so moulded to her (even though it's been fitted for my boy) and as I need him 2 be comfortable to do well at our shows 
But I can swap the Alfa for merchant brand, add oil myself, use a supplement instead of balancer, change bedding and shop around for haylage 
I also think I need to be less picky! I'm sure he doesn't *need* an animal communicator or masseus! I'm going to try and sort out different transport. I've booked a combined training this month so I get dressage and jumping in one.. Bargain!
I want him to have the best but equally I don't want to chuck money at him when I don't need too.
Thanks! I need to see him more of a horse thats not going to notice if the nuts in his ball are topspec or countrywide own 
Thanks I feel much more sensible now.


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## RoseGrey (7 January 2011)

Full Livery which includes everything?.

Turn him out, well rugged with ad-lib hay and two feeds a day. My TB lived out quite happily and didn't lose any weight, just got a little fitter!

Buy a trailer, they cost nothing to keep and run. Transport hire costs are extreme and a trailer will pay for itself.

£700 a month is silly to spend on a horse, its TWICE my mortgage!


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## toomanyhorses26 (7 January 2011)

I have a full tb and he costs me £25 a week DIY livery (I teach one morning a week so swap for my rent),£60 every 9/10 weeks for shoes (this has been my biggest saving so far - love love love my farrier  ) ,one bale of shavings at £6.50, 2 bags of endurance mix a month at £11 a bag , just over 1 bag of micronised barley at £6.50 and a bag of alfa a at £12 a bag and then about 3 bales of horsehage a week (35kg bales) at £7.20 a bale. He isn't a massive hay eater so he does rely quite heavily on cereals in his diet but I was advised to go for an endurance mix by a nutritionist as a bit of sneaky way of getting a little bit more fibre in his diet  The farrier has made a massive difference as I was paying £60 and would be lucky to get 5 weeks so by moving to him I have effectively halved my shoeing costs. I would love to give him a massive bed that covers the entire stable but I can't afford it anymore so he has a normal sized normal thickness bed now which has helped on the bedding costs.


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## Dexter (7 January 2011)

Kerrist! I keep 3 for £300 ish a month! I allocate £400 a month to cover unexpected expenses and buying of stuff I dont need  Admittedly 2 of them are youngsters and live out, but I could keep them all half in/half out for £400 give or take.

If one cost me £700 I woudlnt have any horses!


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## SO1 (7 January 2011)

does he really need his back checked every three months? could you find a saddler who also knows about backs who could check his back at the same time his saddle is checked and just have that done twice a year.

also it is a waste of money to feed a balancer designed for a fattie to a poor doer.if you wanted to put on weight you would not eat lettuce leaves! I would see if you can find one feed which contains all you need perhaps calm and condition if you are worried about your horse being too fizzy or even one of the veteran mixes which are often low in starch but designed to keep the weight on.

you spend more on hard feed in one month than i spend in a year!

with regards to competing could you find a friend who would like to go to the same competitions who is willing to pay half the transport costs? could you move yards to a yard which runs competitions on a regular basis or one which is within hacking distance of a competition venue?

is your horse warm enough - is he using up energy keeping warm in the winter?


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## Natch (7 January 2011)

I have skipped the last few pages so sorry if I am repeating what has already been said.

Your horse's stomach is about the size of a rugby ball. If you feed more than that amount in volume in one feed, it gets pushed straight through the stomach and into the intestines, which cannot absorb protein. So in effect unfortunately a lot of what you are feeding is going into producing manure - and not much else.

Best thing to do is to ring a feed company and chat to their nutritionalist.


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## Puppy (7 January 2011)

toomanyhorses26 said:



			£60 every 9/10 weeks for shoes (this has been my biggest saving so far - love love love my farrier  )
		
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Unfortunately, I don't think that foot care is something that you can very often budget on. If you have a fab farrier who happens to be cheap, great, but when looking to cut my costs then changing farriers is not something that I'd even consider. Crikey, there are people round here who would give their right arm to have my farrier take them on his books!  

My farrier costs £75 a set, (plus cake ). When my main riding horse was in work (now LOU and retired ) we'd sometimes need new shoes as often as every 3 1/2 weeks , and even if I hadn't worn them out, she would need a re-fit (at only £5 cheaper) about every 5 weeks. To have left her for 10 weeks would have been absolutely negligent of me. On the other hand, when shod, my oldie can certainly go longer than 5 weeks (It varies immensely with her, depending on the time of year), but I'd always rather pay £75 for the service and expertise that my farrier supplies than £55 for another local one I can think of, and risk having an unsound horse 

I actually find the biggest waste of money with many peoples' way of keeping horses is bedding! When I see the prices on various beddings at my feed store I cringe at the thought of paying that much per week for something to be pooed upon!


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## sprite1978 (8 January 2011)

It sounds to me like your feeding regime is a bit of overkill....... Suppliments, and balancers have their specialist role, but i think the majority of horses can do without them. The feed industry is very good at convincing us that we should use them. 
Also cut out the alpha A if he has enough hayledge.


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## glenruby (8 January 2011)

I think you've been given a lot of food for thought here. Certainly look at extending the time period between back check and teeth. Unless there are known problems? Has your dentist or physio at any point told you about specific problems with your horse's teeth and back that need correcting? Have you ever tried with longer intervals? Id try the teeth at 12mths if he isnt having ongoing corrective work currently and if that doesnt suit him you can always go back to 9mths if necessary.
Consider turning him away for 6weeks in srping or autumn (summer would be better obv but not possible if you are competing) when he can take advantage of the extra grass out there and do without hard feed (or less at least) and just a trim.
Try just shoeing in front in winter but this wont suit every horse. i wouldnt advise stretching the time period between shoeings.
How recently was the paddock mineral analysis done? What sort of levels of Calcium were detected and what is the relevant imblanace (taking into account the levels of both minerals in other feed fed and the balancer/haylage). Is the Phosphorus content taken into account (more important imo than the Mg)? Are you feeding as per manufacturer recommendations or as is actually required? Is the Mg supplement branded - if so swithc to an unbranded equivilant. Is your horse highly strung? Did you notice a bit difference when you put him on the Mg? Yes it may be benefiial to horses prone to tying up, but you are essentially already feeding to avoid tying up (more or less) and as long as good turnout is maintained and good warm-up/cool down routine is carried out I dont think the Magnesium is necessary. just switch to a good all-round vitamin supplement -which will also allow you to cut out the lo-cal balancer.  Equistro tri-force is the one I recommend - £24 per month but a 3mth supply can be got for £70. 

I do think the alfa oil cut easily be cut down as essentially he should be getting the forage requirement from the haylage.  Add some oil (any sort will provide energy) to feed if hes dropping a little weight. I have used eggs in the past - apart from one horse who turned up his nose at them. Most of the showjumping yards I know used them too as a heap source of protein (depends on how cheap you can get them!).


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## honetpot (8 January 2011)

I have cut my feed bills this year by using e-feeds. You do have to buy 18 bags to get £5 delivery but it costs me more than that going to collect it.
 TB's can be such money. My old boy would eat.
4 -5 bales of hay a week £18-22.50
1 bag high calorie mix £8
1 bag high calorie cubes £8.50
If its really cold I add oil or Copra meal
 I've cut out feed balancers etc as he's getting so much complete feed he's getting all his vit's. Alway check the DE (calories) in a feed  if possible, protein is not stored in the body so feeding more than a horse needs is just a waste of money as it is just peed out.
 Chaff is really just a filler and I wouldn't give a horse any serious amounts unless it was to break the boredom of box rest/ restricted diet. Rember folks its mainly straw, chopped up and some of the bales they use are black before they are processed I've seen them.
 Try taking hind shoes off, if your yard has a surface to work on and you do not hack out much,does he need a full set each time?
 Teeth and saddle check? Does a horse really need its teeth doing every 6 months? Out of my 8 only one was suggested that his teeth be checked twice year and that was because he has a gap causing uneven wear.
 Does your horse changes shape that much? Start trusting your own judgement. It the saddle is unlevel or the horse starts feeling less free by all means get it checked but someone who is charging a fee is not going to say you don't need me really.
  I would also be more chosey about where I compete. Look at the schedule and think what can I do here and why? The diesel is going to cost lots so make that event pay for it's self and get someone to share if possible.
  As I said I have 8 and if they cost me £700 a month I would be in the divorce courts. Its been a really bad year and granted not all mine are shod but I pay less than that a month for all of them.
Roll on summer...


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## SpruceRI (8 January 2011)

Gosh, reading this reminds me of the days I used to spend £65 a month on hard feed in winter on a Welsh Cob and a Shetland!

The Shettie got nothing, but the cob was on Equi Jewel at £30 a sack that lasted a month, some sort of weight gain mix, probably a couple of sacks of that a month, and Alfa A, and she was still quite scrawny!

Now I can afford to feed her haylage and A&P have introduced their soakable feeds, the bill is down to about £22!


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## LaurenM (8 January 2011)

There is a sticky post on Stable Yard with further money saving tips.

I do think you are spending alot! The best way we save money is by sharing;
- the call out costs of the vet. Can't believe your haylage costs so much too; our yard has purchased in bulk to reduce costs and to secure our haylage as everyone was panic buying. 
- share transport costs - we have local lorries for hire that allow costs to be shared even if the others are from different yards.

In regards to feed; have you shopped around for the best prices? Alfa A is expensive so its good that you are looking to reduce your usage (at least I think thats what I read).

Were you joking in regards to the horse communicator and masseus? If not, my friend had a chiropractor show her how to release and feel for tension. That would save you alot.

Not sure of your horse's age but every 9 months for teeth is quite alot. My vet taught me to feel if they needed to be done, can you ask yours to do this?

Overall, it doesn't seem like you are exploiting the knowledge of others at your yard. Whilst I am not saying you need to believe everything they may say it seems that your are spending way too much. 

I'm so glad I have a barefoot Sec D that lives out 24/7...


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## nona1 (8 January 2011)

Hi

It sounds like you love your horse, have a lot of fun with him, and enjoy the competing, so don't feel guilty about spending money on your 'hobby' if you can afford it.

However...

you are probably going to think I'm an old fogey, but

I have been out of the horsey world for 20 years or so for various reasons, and just started to get back into it in the last couple of years. Boy, are there huge changes. I'm just stunned by a lot of modern horse ownership practise. I'm not a luddite, and I'm all for improvements, but I can't help thinking a lot of what is happening and what I see discussed here is pure exploitation. Yep, that's the word for it. I work in marketing and know exactly what is going on here. There are so many needs and requirements and products in the horse world now that are nothing to do with the horses needs, and everything to do with very clever marketing guilt-tripping owners, and making them think things that are pure luxuries are essentials. I'm literally gobsmacked by a lot of the posts on this forum and want to shake some sense into people!

So..for my old fashioned view, based on genuine proven for decades old-fashioned honest horsemanship I learned, combined with an honest attitude for improvement and learning new things....

WHY are you getting back/saddler/teeth so often? 20 years ago 99% of horses literally NEVER had this attention and they weren't all cripples. I agree this wasn't a good thing. I think the advance of these services IS a good thing, but for goodness sake, once a year is enough for anyone. Do you go and get yourself checked out  by the doctor for an 'MOT' every  3 months? As to teeth, humans need frequent attention because we eat so much sugary ****, but horses don't. Once a year is more than enough. Hobby horses are being treated in the same way as professional athletes, and it simply doesn't make economic sense.

Feed. Hmmmm. Balancers, calmers, supplements, this and that. This is one of the areas that amazes me the most. Horses have been fit, healthy, happy and working on simpler diets for centuries. I truly believe all these other things are a triumph of marketing and nothing else! the cheapest way to feed your horse is in basic straights. Mix your own feeds. It's cheaper, it takes a little bit of research to get a good balance, but it's not that hard, we were all managing it as 10 year olds. Balancers - forget them. Calmers - forget them, you admit your horse is perfectly manageable, so why fuss about it? Supplements - a straightforward mineral lick does the job and costs hardly anything. 

Past of what gets me annoyed is that normal everyday hobby horses, even those competing, the manufacturers have managed to con loads of horse owners into thinking that their diets have to be managed like those of Olympic athletes! It's all so unneccessary and nothing but a rip-off.

As your horse is a poor doer, sort out a decent mix of straights. Flaked maize is brilliant for poor doers. Likewise sugar beet. And a tablespoon of cheapo veg. oil. With decent hay/haylage and if he can take them without going bonkers, oats, you've got the basics of a great diet for him. + Barley, bran, chaff, a mix of these grains is what horses have been living on fantastically for practically ever. If you can't get it perfect, it doesn't matter. Is your diet perfect? I bet not, but you aren't exactly fainting or collapsing, are you? Everyday hobby horses don't need a 100% perfect scientific athletic-elite approach to their food. Really, they don't. 

Or buy a decent mixed feed and give him that with a top up of sugar beet/oil for condition. He isn't trecking to the arctic or competing at world class level; he honestly doesn't need all that other stuff (supplements/expensive feeds etc). 

I had a poor doer who'd drop weight terribly over winter without a bit of thought of my part, but sugar beet and flaked maize did the job over winter on top of normal horse and pony nuts. 

I wish you'd all stop being taken for a ride by marketing departments. Please. I find it really shocking how the horse world seems to have been convinced about the need for all this rubbish. 10 different rugs for every horse, 20 types of feed, 3 monthly specialist visits, ach, the exploitation is disgraceful.


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## Bedlam (8 January 2011)

I actually can't believe the sheer number of replies this post has received that are essentially saying the same thing.

OK - you can save a bit of money by looking at his feed.

But nobody has yet suggested looking for a sharer - is this taboo?

I think that if you want to have a dentist/physio/saddler out every 6 months, then that's grand. Heaps better than the people that never use these worthy professionals.

But is a sharer such an awful prospect? Get one that fits in with you and pays his/her way and you'll be able to carry on keeping your horse in the manner to which he has become accustomed. You'll also have an exercised horse and a new friend. And a healthier bank balance.

Struggling to see a downside at the moment, but I'm sure we can rely on HHO to supply us with heaps of sharer based horror stories within the week, if not day.


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## Mearas (8 January 2011)

Sorry I haven't read all the posts but it would seem that you have received a lot of good and sound advice. Imho, the cost of keeping horses is not discussed enough. So often people express a desire to compete a horse nationally or internationally without really understanding the financial implications. The cost of competing a horse at International Level can be as much as of £3,000.00 Per MONTH! I hope I haven't destroyed to many dreams but it is certainly something to consider when you are competing.


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## Beccahh (8 January 2011)

it does sound like your spending alot 
for my two (inc 24year old vetran) 
its £140 a month D.I.Y 
£100 a month haylege and straw (we get HUGE bails)
£100 a month on feed inc joint suppliment/garlic/breathing suppliment 
£80 on feet vetran is bare foot (winter both are bare foot so only £40)
if im competing then only about £20 as have on transport and dad sorts fuel out
but thats just winter but summer cancells out things ect so it stays roughly the same apart from me compete more

and we always have a few extras pop up like wormers/injections/teeth/saddle fitter/vet visits 
i suppose cutting back on competing is one but like you said why work so hard if you cant show it of .. you could always do that dressage test you vid then send of to be marked? 
iv heard good things about it x


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## brucea (8 January 2011)

Just remember if you are going to split out the oil from the rest of the feed (as in not feed a product with oil in it) it is far better for the horse to feed something like crushed linseed where the oil has not been processed, is much more available and does not go "through the horse", but also comes with minerals and vitamins as part of the whole seed.

Lots of benefits in feeding linseed meal - not least of which it is a natural anti-inflamatory, and is also a great mucilage for sensitive tums.

Charnwood Mills - £25 a 20Kg bag, lasts ages.

It's time we woke up to the pressure the industry puts on us as horse owners - often to the detriment of the horse who has to eat increasingly processed food of dubious value to him. 

Remember the suppliers of these products need you to have them more than you really need them. 

A big saving for me was going barefoot 4 years ago with all of mine - the laminitic pony is 100 times better, my ISH is doing stonking well, and the two cobs never noticed the difference. 

I own 2 sets of boots - costing about £100 a pair - and they last for ages - the pony has had the same set for 2 years and they have another year in them - he is not hard on them. The ISH goes through a set once a year. So a shoeing bill of £1960 down to less than £300.

And my horses are far healthier for not having shoes on.


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## PurplePickle (8 January 2011)

I havent read the other posts but Ive had to cut my costs down recently due to my husband loosing his job. 

I have 3 horses one very large wb who doesnt keep weight on. I now buy haylage large round  bales as its more economical. 

Hesitantly tried pegasus feed which I think is made by spillars it halved my feed bill and I just throw in some linseed meal and he positively fat on it, very surprised how good it for £4-5 or so a bag. I now get 2 pellets, 1 mix, 2 chaff, 1 normal  beet for £32 lasts me a month, bargain! 

£80 for a set of 4 shoes seems expensive to me , here is £65 but obviously good farriers are hard to come by. My boy has gone barefoot but it has taken him 2 trims so 16 weeks to come right without shoes, not always an option if you ride regularly.


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## Firewell (8 January 2011)

Thanks everyone, am shocked by all the replies!

I was talking to my mum about it this morning and my mum was remembering back 15/20 years ago when our horses were kept on chaff, pony nuts and sugar beet in the winter and they were fine.

This thread has defininitly got me thinking about how to simplify the management of my horse, there are things I dont need but keeping my farrier and 6 monthly visits from his osteo/saddler and teeth I will carry on. My EDT said my horse should go yearly for dentists once he is a little older and same with the saddle I think but at the moment he's still developing.

I don't want a sharer. My horse is still quite impressionable and he can be sharp so I like to deal with him myself, I also can afford him I just don't want to throw money away unnecessarily. I agree shares are good though, we had a lady that shared my mums old horse for 7 years!

Thanks everyone. I'm going to use up my current feed and I'm going to change it a bit and add micronised linseed, I think that will really suit him.

I've found all the replies really interesting, it just goes to show we can get far to carried away when it comes to our horses!


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## ilvpippa (8 January 2011)

My Tb, in technically light work, hay put out in field & a huge haybar over night, schooled most days over the winter, 2 days off a week probs, nt hacked out in a while cause of weather & jumped once a month.

Was a poor doer, but ive found this works for her, as pencils fizz her up no end! 

£112 per month for livery
£20 for big bale of hay per 3/4 weeks in winter(Summer last around 7/8 weeks)
£9 for topchop lite every month, 5 weeks in the summer (Only feed a small breakfast & a full round scoop in the evening.
£100 per month for riding lessons

£241per month

£6 for high fibre pencils bag last ages! (only gets a handful if worked, pencils fizz her up, she has good grass & hay!
£9 speedi beet, shared between two TBs, 2 small scoops  in winter, 1/2 scoop in summer.
£42 for calmer every 2 months
£15 every 3 months for general suppliment as she has no pencils in dinner.
£60 every 7 weeks for shoes

£132 for add ones.

I dont compete regually, but if i do its local & costs £8 for entry throughout the summer


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## Princess P (8 January 2011)

What about going on to full livery where bedding feed and hay is included?

I have seen several posts on here saying that when you add it all up it works out cheaper that way?

I normally budget 200 pounds a month but that is for a cob who is fairly straightforward, although have spend about 250 pounds in the last couple of months on vets bills due to mud fever :-(


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## stevieg (8 January 2011)

Wow! Thats an awful lot of money.

Think everything has more or less been said. All I would say is:

1. If you can afford it & you enjoy it then it is NEVER a waste of money.
2. Feed bill seems very OTT
3. Farrier also seems expensive
4. As somebody else suggested write down everything you spend & then ask yourself - Does he really NEED this OR do you just WANT to give it to him?

My daughter showjumped every weekend as a junior with two ponies & we spent an absolute fortune.

Now she is onto horses & paying her own bills she has cut back to a huge extent & you know what? Our horses still look absolutely great.


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## munketytunkety (8 January 2011)

just about sums it for me I'm afraid!!!
I am also very old fashioned when it comes to feeding. I honestly believe that if you keep it simple they are better off health-wise and your bank balance is better off. I have just New Forest ponies now but when I used to take on ex racing tb's I had the same approach; plenty of good quality hay/haylage and a mineral lick available at all times. I would then only add any extra feed to their diet if they were in hard work and even then it would be very little. I had two tb's come to me that were literally skin and bone, they were both being fed ludicrous amounts of extra feed that their bodies weren't/couldn't digest or absorbing properly and unnecessary supplements. They both went straight onto adlib hay and good quality pasture and in 6-8 weeks were both looking much healthier.
I do think that all this extra feeding just makes us feel better about ourselves as owners alot of the time. I'm oblivious to it all now and just keep it basic. With 10 to feed, you soon 'learn' what their 'needs' really are.


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## abina (8 January 2011)

Cost of horses will vary from area to area so please don't panic if someone is paying a lot more / less as regions will vary. 

Livery - DIY is always considerd a cheaper option but adding it all up against a full / part livery then some times it does come out cheaper - no additional hay / bedding bill and only one journey a day instead of two or if on full a day or two off - saves lots on fuel and wear and tear on car. Can you get Part livery at a competition yard where they hold comps on site so you could compete twice a month but only have entry fees to pay - or offer free help in return for a free entry. 

Buying bulk always works out better - get togther with others and see how you can help each other. 

Feed - your bill does seem rather expensive - I feed 25 horses and my feed bill is only £300 per month ! Your best bet would be to get in touch with the feed companies and get their professional advice - many supplements are really not needed as if your not careful some feeds will overlap each other and are not required- same as with worming. 

Only you know your budget and sometimes we all have to compromise but it doesn't mean that we have to fail our horses care. 

Sharers can work in some situations with a contrubution to costs - not for everyone aI agree but look at all angles.  Good luck with your budget I'm sure many of us should do as you have done but are tooooo scare too !!!


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## zipzap (8 January 2011)

nona1 said:



			Hi



I wish you'd all stop being taken for a ride by marketing departments. Please. I find it really shocking how the horse world seems to have been convinced about the need for all this rubbish. 10 different rugs for every horse, 20 types of feed, 3 monthly specialist visits, ach, the exploitation is disgraceful.
		
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Spot on nona1 - couldn't have put it better x


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## toomanyhorses26 (8 January 2011)

Sorry didn't make myself very clear - I had a farrier who I thought was ok - he shod my horse every 5 weeks as he told me that the horse has poor quality feet ,was a tb etc etc so I carried on with this regime. Due to other circumstances with him I ended up changing my farrier to my current one thinking I would still me on the same intervals. It is now becoming fairly apparent that my farrier was slowely crippling my horse and that in actual fact my horse had better feet than I realised and simply needed a thicker shoe (there is a proper name for this but I can't think of it  ) to prevent the damage he was doing to the lower half of his foot - very split/chipped etc . 6 months down the line and his feet look amazing and he is lasting for double the time that he was previously. It has been a massive saving for me in an area I didn't expect to save in and it has no way been to the detriment of my horse - if anything very very beneficial


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## Achinghips (8 January 2011)

Wow - your horse must have the most expensive pooh on H and H!!!!!  He doesn't need all that - you may as well throw your money on the muckheap.
Don't want to sound unsympathetic as I have made this mistake myself, but your feeding routine needs simplifying. 

I'd advise mollichop calmer, additional oil and speedibeet for hard feed - forget supplements if you're trying to keep costs down.(cortaflex is a luxury I add - but mine has spavin).
Have the back shoes off too, if you're tb hasn't got rubbish feet, like mine.

 I sympathise about the price of hay, btw.


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## Achinghips (8 January 2011)

CobSunshine said:



			should have got a cob...



oh wait wrong post! 

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lol- you lucky bugger!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!


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## thatsmygirl (8 January 2011)

amymay said:



			I don't take the diet he's on as one that is correct for a horse in hard work.  You're basically feeding chaff with oil in.

Why not look at feeding him a correct / balanced diet that reflects correctly the amount of work and type of work he is in?  That alone should cut costs.....
		
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Agree with this the diet is all to pot and don't make sence


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## MM&PP (8 January 2011)

firewell said:



			Thanks everyone, am shocked by all the replies!

I was talking to my mum about it this morning and my mum was remembering back 15/20 years ago when our horses were kept on chaff, pony nuts and sugar beet in the winter and they were fine.
		
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I struggled to keep weight on mine last winter despite D&H build up mix, sugar beet, barley, chaff etcetc and it was costing me a fortune.

I'm not sure what sort of competing you do - prob more hectic than us (riding 5 days a week, RC activites/fun ride twice a month), but I now feed him mollichaff and half a scoop of bog standard nuts with 2 scoops of pink powder in the evening. He is looking fantastic with not a rib in sight - and he drops weight extremely easily!

Highly reccommend the pink poweder - it's fab.


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## lizzie_liz (8 January 2011)

Feed: Why are you feeding Alfa A oil and a lo-cal balancer? 
According to Dengies website 'ALFA-A OIL provides 12.5MJ/kg of slow-release energy which is equivalent to a conditioning or competition mix.' and 'The addition of oil makes this product excellent for promoting weight gain or fuelling hard work'

Whereas Baileys Lo-Cal balancer (not sure if you are using this one) states 'if your horse requires few, if any calories, because of reduced work load, or simply because he is a good doer, feeding Lo-Cal balancer to maintain nutrient levels without additional energy will help keep his body healthy'

It appears your feed is contradicting one other and I think you need to have a complete re think of what you want from your hard feed. 


Saddler/back/teeth

Your horse is 9 and so should be pretty well developed. Horses only need to see a dentist every 12 months unless the horse has a particular problem. What does your EDT say when they come to do your horses teeth?

Saddler: Again they only really need doing every 12 months, you should yourself be able to observe your horse changing shape and be able to feel and see if your saddle is needing adjusting. 

I think it has now become very easy for horse owners to be fooled into thinking that things needs to be checked every so many months as we percieve the individual as an expert and so trust their opinion. In reality they know who they can fool into thinking their horse needs more visits and thus gain more income. If the horse has no issues then why does a back person need to come out every 3 months?

However if you are happy spending £700 a month then it's your money and you can spend it how you wish.


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## Cadfael&Coffee (8 January 2011)

Wow, my boy seems really cheap in comparison!!! 

Over the year the average is 260, pm including allowing for living in 6months of the year!!! (which usually doesn't happen- normally about 3months)

Apart from the 2500 vets bills this year (1st in 8 years tbf) I feel a lot better LOL!!!!

Oh, and I can't recommend winergy equilibrium enough- it works wonders both for my mums broodmares and competition foals, the old girl, and my horse no matter what level of work (6days a week hard work in summer he's on the high, no work in winter he's just on medium mixed with water)


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## CobSunshine (9 January 2011)

CadfaelSportHorse said:



			Wow, my boy seems really cheap in comparison!!! 

Over the year the average is 260, pm including allowing for living in 6months of the year!!! (which usually doesn't happen- normally about 3months)

Apart from the 2500 vets bills this year (1st in 8 years tbf) I feel a lot better LOL!!!!

Oh, and I can't recommend winergy equilibrium enough- it works wonders both for my mums broodmares and competition foals, the old girl, and my horse no matter what level of work (6days a week hard work in summer he's on the high, no work in winter he's just on medium mixed with water)
		
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Whats your horse wearing in the left pic?! grazing muzzle? off topic sorry never seen this before lol


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## CobSunshine (9 January 2011)

nona1 said:



			Hi


you are probably going to think I'm an old fogey, but

I have been out of the horsey world for 20 years or so for various reasons, and just started to get back into it in the last couple of years. Boy, are there huge changes. I'm just stunned by a lot of modern horse ownership practise. I'm not a luddite, and I'm all for improvements, but I can't help thinking a lot of what is happening and what I see discussed here is pure exploitation. Yep, that's the word for it. 

So..for my old fashioned view, based on genuine proven for decades old-fashioned honest horsemanship I learned, combined with an honest attitude for improvement and learning new things....


Feed. Hmmmm. Balancers, calmers, supplements, this and that. This is one of the areas that amazes me the most. Horses have been fit, healthy, happy and working on simpler diets for centuries. I truly believe all these other things are a triumph of marketing and nothing else! the cheapest way to feed your horse is in basic straights. Mix your own feeds. It's cheaper, it takes a little bit of research to get a good balance, but it's not that hard, we were all managing it as 10 year olds. Balancers - forget them. Calmers - forget them, you admit your horse is perfectly manageable, so why fuss about it? Supplements - a straightforward mineral lick does the job and costs hardly anything. 


, the exploitation is disgraceful.
		
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quoted text = NAIL ON HEAD!


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## LaurenM (9 January 2011)

CobSunshine said:



			Whats your horse wearing in the left pic?! grazing muzzle? off topic sorry never seen this before lol
		
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Looks like one of those fly protectors


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## Cadfael&Coffee (9 January 2011)

CobSunshine said:



			Whats your horse wearing in the left pic?! grazing muzzle? off topic sorry never seen this before lol
		
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It's a pollen mask- he has breathing issues in the summer so this helps keep them to a minimum!!


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## Roasted Chestnuts (9 January 2011)

Cripes what you pay for one each month I pay less than that for two!!!

£200 for livery
£25 for hayledg
£15 for straw
£45 for shoes
£40 for feed
£50 for lessons and travel to lessons
£100 Competitions including diesel (I never go far) are extra but I do one comp per horse per month so probs no more in the summer. 

So what without the comps I am looking at £380 with comps £480. SO I think your paying way over the odds

And thats a Welsh D x TB (poor doer) and a WBxTB again poor doer.


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## Suzie86 (9 January 2011)

JVB said:



			DIY is cheap for me at £17 a week including as much hay/haylage as I need.QUOTE]

OH MY GOD WHERE??!?!?!??! I need to move!! DIY is £150pm here and hay costs me at least £35 a month (1 large bale haylage)
		
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## Vickijay (9 January 2011)

Hi. I havent read all the replies but just thought Id say I was feeding my similar version of your horse lots of expensive feeds (build up nuts, alpha a, calm and condition etc) About 2 or 3 months ago I decided enough was enough and swapped her onto cheapy pony nuts, sugar beet and lots of oil from tescos! It probably costs me £10-£15 a week, she looks amazing, really really good and the biggest change was she went from being rather sharp to being much more sensible to ride. She really is alot less of a hot person.

I also took her shoes off about 2 months ago, she is super tough and didnt even notice, but having other TBs I understand that shes a bit unusual being a tough bird without her shoes!!

I was going to work out how much it would cost me to keep mine, decided against it!!!


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## supagran (9 January 2011)

Sorry, haven't read of all the replies, but I would suggest you contact one of the feed suppliers (like TopSpec) to see what they say about feeding a balancer and (say) AlfaA.  Always found them to be extremely helpful.  I have a TB mare who gets one cup of TS balancer and 1/2 scoop of Alfa A twice a day, with adlib hay, and the bag of balancer costs around £33 but lasts her SIX weeks!  She looks fab. The only "extra" she gets is Cortavet for her joints (on veterinary advice).  She's a competition horse (Nov BE eventer), and is stabled in winter and out as much as possible in summer when the feed is halved even though she's competing.  I would think that by seriously considering your feed you could make substantial savings.


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## SGCR (9 January 2011)

Gosh that is a hell of alot... 

Mine are all now at a small livery Its £35 per week that includes as much Hay/ haylage and barley straw as i want ( take advantage of corse ) hehe

My farrier is super and cost £60 per set every 7 -8 weeks.
My feed place is the cheapest Is properly around £25 a week that is for 3 horse.
And additional is garlic powder which last about a month and that £3.99 a tub

so that about £205 per horse per month.
And wormer every 4 months and vacs annually.


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## Honey08 (9 January 2011)

I've just worked out my costs for two ISHs and one cob, living in mostly in winter, with few hours in field each day, and out much more in summer.  I have my own yard, so don't pay livery, but do pay for fields to be topped/muckheap removal/maintenance etc, which I've included.

£130/month shoes (done 6 weekly)
£364 hay and straw (use 2 hay/day and 1 straw/day) Expensive this year!
£30 hard feed (dengie lite and pasture mix, but not much)
£100/month insurance for all 3 and trailer.
£30/month maintenance - fences/stables, land maintnance (spraying/topping)
£20 misc - back/teeth checks, rug maintenance etc...

Total £704 for the three.

Not added anything in for lessons - don't have regular, just now and again.
Not added anything for competing costs - would probably spend what I save per month in summer on competing, so it stays  the same monthly.  Generally do 4 BE/yr on tickets, don't bother affiliating anymore - saves money!  Otherwise do plenty of local, which doesn't cost too much.


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## JessandCharlie (9 January 2011)

Not surprisingly I haven't read through all of these, so all of this may have been said, but if the grazing is high in Calcium, maybe feed something like Mollichaff calmer = magnesium already in there  I'm not far from you (I presume, from your sig you are near Merrist Wood ) and I bulk buy haylage, feed, supplements (oil etc) and bedding from a local feed company (PM me if you'd like some details ) who, offer concessions on bulk orders and deliver for free  I pay £5.75 (I think) a bale of really good shavings, they sell own brand and branded (Dengie etc) feed, straights etc, and it really has saved a lot! 

I know how you feel though, feeding my TB was a nightmare, 24 hour turnout, 4 slices of hay and two feeds of two scoops chaff, 1 scoop build up mix, 1 scoop build up cubes,  1 1/2 scoop beet and still a ruddy hat-rack!


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## Firewell (9 January 2011)

lizzie_liz said:



			Feed: Why are you feeding Alfa A oil and a lo-cal balancer? 
According to Dengies website 'ALFA-A OIL provides 12.5MJ/kg of slow-release energy which is equivalent to a conditioning or competition mix.' and 'The addition of oil makes this product excellent for promoting weight gain or fuelling hard work'

Whereas Baileys Lo-Cal balancer (not sure if you are using this one) states 'if your horse requires few, if any calories, because of reduced work load, or simply because he is a good doer, feeding Lo-Cal balancer to maintain nutrient levels without additional energy will help keep his body healthy'

It appears your feed is contradicting one other and I think you need to have a complete re think of what you want from your hard feed. 


Saddler/back/teeth

Your horse is 9 and so should be pretty well developed. Horses only need to see a dentist every 12 months unless the horse has a particular problem. What does your EDT say when they come to do your horses teeth?

Saddler: Again they only really need doing every 12 months, you should yourself be able to observe your horse changing shape and be able to feel and see if your saddle is needing adjusting. 

I think it has now become very easy for horse owners to be fooled into thinking that things needs to be checked every so many months as we percieve the individual as an expert and so trust their opinion. In reality they know who they can fool into thinking their horse needs more visits and thus gain more income. If the horse has no issues then why does a back person need to come out every 3 months?


However if you are happy spending £700 a month then it's your money and you can spend it how you wish.
		
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Horse is 5, not 9 

Low cal can also be used for horses who are used for comps/need condition as a LOW STARCH alternative to other balancers and as my horse is on a low cereal diet and gets his energy and calories from Alfa and oil, the balancer is not used for weight gain but nutrients/prebiotics that sort of thing so it's not a strange choice at all but a sensible one.
It is however fairly expensive and on reflection I think pink powder will do just the same job for less. I'm fed up with feeding buckets of the Alfa Oil though to keep the weight on so I'm going to use linseed 

Thanks for your thoughts though.


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