Horse ownership in a recession/depression

[Amberley]

I think the issue will be parts for the equipment that produces these products. People seem to be assuming the tariffs will last a short time period, hopefully correctly. If they do not some of these places will likely not be able to continue as equipment reaches the end of its useful life. In the meantime almost all consumables and parts are imported: from vet clinics to farriers to feed mills and those will go up right away.

I am already seeing tons of ads for horses with terms like fire sale and owners circumstances have changed and must move this month. And those are people with enough money to own a fairly nice horse. I worry about the number or horses that will be neglected or abandoned and I worry about losing our industry as vets, trainers and most of all assistants that are already hanging on by a thread or are older just sell out and quit.

[Mosey_2003]

Parts, fuel, oil/fluids/lubricants etc. Do we make our own grease? And the packaging for it? Shipping boxes? Parts for the delivery trucks? It’s so far-reaching.

[NaturallyHappy]

I hope this doesn’t make this thread political. If it does, @Moderator_1, please delete it or tell me to. @Mosey_2003, I don’t think people understand how this works. I tried to link the article but can’t figure out how. 1. NEW YORK STATE

Upstate NY farmer shocked by Trump tariffs, mistakenly thought Canada would pay

• Published: Apr. 16, 2025, 3:12 p.m.

This Getty Images photo shows grain being fed to a cow. Trump tariffs are affecting businesses across the U.S., including a Northern New York farm that uses livestock feed from Canada.Getty Images

• 1,789 shares

By

• Geoff Herbert | gherbert@syracuse.com

An Upstate New York farmer is reeling from the increased cost of business amid President Donald Trump’s trade war with multiple countries.

Nicholas Gilbert, who tends 1,400 cows at his dairy farm in Potsdam, close to the Canada border, told The Atlantic that a recent order of livestock feed cost him $2,200 extra due to tariffs. The feed came from Ontario, and he mistakenly believed his supplier at the Canadian mill would cover the difference.

[Annie10]

My vet is like that too. If you don’t use them for routine care they don’t come for an emergency.
I get it, because 1) emergencies do not pay the bills, and 2) seeing the critter once or twice a year can sometimes catch things in the early stages

[endlessclimb]

I’m planning on cutting back on questionable/unnecessary supplements, even if that means every other day type applications - probiotics, etc.

Normally they would already be out on the pastures for several hours a day this time of year, but I just did a big overseed so they’re still off of it for at least one more month. Once they’re out on grass, the Vitamin E supplementation will be cut by half at least.

[Amberley]

Grease, oils, paper packaging etc yes you can get those in the US. Hoses, clamps clips, switches, housings and plastic packaging - mostly made overseas. I’m going to guess all the fabric for breeches, blankets, coats etc is too even if they say they are made in the us on the label. The plastic things smartpaks com in, packaging for supplements, buckets, saddle pads… prices are going to go up on everything. And that’s in the short term, scarcity will kick in after a few months and there will be things you simply cannot buy for any money.

Alfalfa should be cheap this year though as it can’t really be exported so there’s that I guess.

[Aussie_2020]

I wouldn’t assume anything is going to be cheaper because it might be more cost effective for the farmer to not harvest more than one or two cuttings. Their fuel and equipment costs are going up so that might balance out not getting money from more cuttings. Especially when you count in labor costs too.

[Calvincrowe]

We absolutely do export alfalfa, mostly to China, and that might change obviously. I’m sure Saudi Arabia and the UAE will step up their purchases of it, as they aren’t tariffed, right?

[4horses]

My hay dealer imports hay from Canada. He said there’s an easy way around tariffs. Because each load of hay is worth a different amount because of quality, they just declare the value as being worth less then it’s actually worth.

[hillary_again]

@Calvincrowe, I thought I saw a news article last week about this. Farmers in AZ stating that hay prices in the US (alfalfa) would go down, because demand from China would drop to nothing. ? We could use a little good news here!

[sherian]

tricky bit about any crop is if the prices go down you are prolly in luck for the first year, the second year the farmer will have switched to a more profitable crop.

[NaturallyHappy]

Yep….

[FjordBCRF]

I just received this via email from the company I get Charlie’s colostrum from. They will be posting the ingredient tariff costs on each product page of their website. I really appreciate their transparency around the price increases. Ive gotten a couple similar communications from companies that are non horse related

https://blog.biostarus.com/dealing-with-tariffs/?ct=t(dealing-with-tariffs-04-22-2025-tale)

[chestnutmarebeware]

Years ago, right after the WNV became available, my mare developed all the WN symptoms about 12 hours after the vaccination.

My vet treated her (it took four days to resolve) and submitted a claim to the manufacturer. They quickly mailed her a check for all the expenses and I didn’t owe a penny.

[Amberley]

@4horses

My hay dealer imports hay from Canada. He said there’s an easy way around tariffs. Because each load of hay is worth a different amount because of quality, they just declare the value as being worth less then it’s actually worth.

lol

America reinvents smuggling from the very beginning. Next up: back roads! No-one watches them.

[Ajierene]

This is going to evolve into a new NASCAR-esque sport!

[Aussie_2020]

This paints a picture of a suped-up flatbed truck (orange with The General written on the sides) loaded with hay skidding around dirt roads and a line of border patrol vehicles following with their lights and sirens going. And of course the infamous horn that plays the Dixie song.

dukes of hazzard - general lee's dixie horn

[Kemosabe]

@FjordBCRF

I just received this via email from the company I get Charlie’s colostrum from. They will be posting the ingredient tariff costs on each product page of their website. I really appreciate their transparency around the price increases.

I really worry about the small businesses that make up so much of the horse industry: from independent tack shops to boarding barns, farriers, vets, specialty feed companies, farmers, competition management companies, companies that sell topicals, fly sprays, supplements.

It is a snowball that doesn’t need to happen: end the tariffs and we can probably avoid a recession.

[FjordBCRF]

Couldn’t agree more.

[quietann]

Probably. But they need to end and stay ended.

I just know things are gonna be bad for a while.

BO just upgraded the fencing separating the dry lots from the grass, from pretty flimsy temporary electric to 3 strands of thick electric cable with sturdy wooden fence posts, matching the permanent fencing already installed, with real gates between different areas. The project came up so quickly that I’m sure beating the tariffs has something to do with it.