Money We’ve Wasted

What have you purchased for equine use that you have discovered you didn’t use, didn’t like, found it ineffective, etc.?

I’ll start!

  1. A bucket heater. I keep it “just in case” because I don’t have hot water at the barn, but it’s much quicker to boil water in an electric kettle than it is to use the bucket heater.

  2. The hoof tape that is used the same way a duct tape hoof wrap is used. I just can’t get a day out of them the same way I can making my own from duct tape. They’re pretty thin and flimsy.

What about you?

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So many:

A. The bucket cozies for keeping water from freezing.
B. the large amount of bits I own - all my animals go in a Nathe snaffle for some reason.
C. My hoof stand - it was helpful when I hurt my back, but I rarely use it now
D. Fly masks with ears… they all come off

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Hmm. I have never bought anything substantial that I ended up never using, but I do have a number of things that I bought, found useful for a while then retired. I drifted away from using my heated bucket after maresy stopped drinking from it one winter and gave herself impaction colic. I have several nice sheepskin half pads maresy doesn’t need these days, also a gel wither pad. I have a leather dressage girth that has been replaced by a mohair girth. Also this summer I went into my trailer medical kit and threw out expired human first aid meds. The advil gel caps had fused into a lump.

Fun fact. Toothpaste can go very wierd with extreme age, even unopened. I had this backlog of travel tubes for some reason. Also bandaids get wierd, the glue can meld to the wrapper.

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Do horses count?! :joy:

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A Pivo for recording my rides. I never used it. Anyone want one?

Expensive fly spray… None of it works around my neck of the woods so I’ve learned to either not use it or just buy the cheap one.

Fake flowers for jumps. I’ve spent a lot this spring on making jump fillers. Horse is now very very broken (very unexpectedly )and if he ever gets back to being ridden it won’t be until next year.

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I like my pivo! At least for the couple of years where I had leases at private barns and I was always the only person in the ring so I never had to worry about it tracking the wrong horse, just whether it was actually tracking a horse…

That said, pretty sure I have pivo video of my first ever successful canter without stirrups! And some other nice firsts.

I don’t regret my pivo even if I haven’t used it in years.

More on topic, technically not my money as it’s always been bought by the owners of my leases, but I don’t think it’s particularly useful: Coat Defense Powder. My current guy occasionally gets mild rain rot on his bum which is usually easily dealt with by knock off medicated gold bond and the occasional bath with head n shoulders shampoo. Which I have found to be way less expensive and way more effective than Coat Defense.

That said, I do actually like Coat Defense paste. I haven’t had to use it personally, but it does seem to be effective.

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Over thirty years ago the first championship cooler our horses won cost about $50,000 in fees/training/travel and other expenses, it was always a desired goal of the kids to win one… for a few weeks its was high prized before Molly our Golden Retriever took it as her favorite bed.

Molly was a great dog but $50,000 for a dog bed was sort of expensive

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That made me laugh Clanter.

I have countless smaller expenses:

  • bits I that were kinder/more ergonomic/“better” that my horses hated more than the basic myler level 1 that I had to sell at major losses
  • blankets, sheets, fly masks, etc type of things where the fit wasn’t optimal and ended up essentially having to give them away or sell at 20-30% retail

Bigger ones

  • 2 lame horses that were early retirees before age 8
  • A trailer that required being totally rewired and needing new tires sold as just serviced and in great condition
  • saddle with a broken tree point

And the mundane

  • odds and ends products like fly sprays that caused hives or a grooming tool my horse hated

sometimes I feel like I’ve had more misses than wins trying to chase what’s best for my horses.

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This is why, by and large, I just use what I know works. When I was building my place everyone said I’d need more-more-more storage in my tack room. Nope - I still have my same little stand up tack box that I’ve had for 25 years now, I don’t need more room. I know what I like, I know what works, I don’t need a massive collection of crap I don’t use.

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Supplementssssssss :money_with_wings:

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@Seven :sunglasses: I know(hope?) you’re kidding.
For me that money will never be wasted, even though I do less riding/driving & more caretaking of my 3 these days.
That’s on me, 2 of them are sound & capable of doing what I want.
It’s me who needs a “supplement” to regain my impulsion :roll_eyes:

@clanter My total for a single year showing Hunters & ending EOY Reserve AA was a mere $5K. Total for maybe 6 Regional shows - including Pro’s fees & hotels.
For which I was awarded an Irish knit cooler, size 82… For my 78 TB
All that remains is the embroidered patch, framed in my LR

My personal waste is blankets.
I have a single midweight turnout for each of my 3.
That could almost pass for brand new, after 10+yrs, they’re so rarely used.
Bigger waste was the rainsheets I thought they needed. Used once, decided it was more work for me than benefit to horses.
Not a waste, but I’m pondering selling my lovely wood roadcart as showing doesn’t seem to attract my interest these days. :expressionless:

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I have an entire Rubbermaid tub of polo wraps. Why… just why? Because back in the day we used them, every ride. Now? Hah.
My second custom made western saddle. Specifically for ‘that’ horse, altho yes it will fit many others, I haven’t even ridden in it enough to break it in.
I have lots of bottles of grooming stuff, that I almost never use. I don’t show, I rarely bathe with shampoo, yet I have all this stuff… I’m just not a “fusser” over grooming.
But I keep it all because… yanno… I just might need it! :joy:

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Bits feel like they are always at the top of the list. “Maybe Maresy will like this…” Nope.

Same mare does a good job making me waste money on tack because she is so particular.

My Pivo was a waste because my iPhone is always perpetually low on storage and my other spare phone didn’t process fast enough. But I was able to resell it.

I’ve gotten into driving and have spent quite a bit of money on harnesses and vehicles that aren’t quite right for my needs. This is part of the learning curve with a new discipline.

I remember being talked into a pretty pricey (at the time) Charles Owen helmet back in the day that looked AWFUL on me and didn’t fit quite right. The woman at the tack store insisted it was perfect and I needed it. I was probably 18 or so at the time and didn’t have a lot of disposable income.

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Gosh I think my mind purposefully blocks that stuff out.

  1. My bit collection grows, then I sell, then it grows, then I sell…
  2. I actually do use and love my heated buckets but I had a gelding this year for the first time stop drinking and get colic, repeatedly. Turns out once I was able to locate a volt meter that there was stray voltage shocking him when he would drink from the heated bucket; so, electrician called.
  3. I’m one of those people who figures if you fully prepare for ‘disaster’ it won’t happen; so, I have 10,000 pound jacks, a variety of other hydraulic jacks, etc that have never been tested. All for my various rigs over the years. I’m okay with that LOL.
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Wasted most of my money on saddles and saddle pads for two horses that within a year of purchase of the saddles/saddle pads, became unrideable. But who can see the future? The special saddle pads have moved on, but I still have the saddles. Maybe I will sell them next year.

Bits for Bob --before the trainer decided that a grazing curb was what he need and was gentle enough to suit me --I went through a bunch of high priced Mylar snaffles. I drew the line at a Tom Balding --bought Bob a similar bit for a lot less. Maybe some day. Meanwhile, I did recoup some of my cost of the expensive snaffles I did buy: about half.

Fly Boots --the one gelding who needs them has perpetual “dermatitis” ie scratches on his hind legs. Vet cultured and concluded that the horse has a somewhat suppressed immune system that makes him have this condition. He said he could treat it with antibiotics, but it would return. I put on a Vaseline and call it good. The fly boots irritate the scabs.

Other than that in the almost 60 years of horse owning, I’ve winnowed down what works for me and what I need. There is a 4-H tack sale each year near me and I take anything I haven’t used in a year there to sell (or give away) to the kiddos.

My most recent oops purchase was two pair of Canary Breeches I purchased at the start of the last hunt season. Very nice. But shortly after the purchase, I decided to give up fox hunting after 58 seasons so I will likely never wear them again as I’ve switched to Ranch Riding. Biggest draw back to wearing them is no phone pocket. I’d use them for just riding around here if they had that.

Other things --rarely use my shop vac, and don’t use my power washer as much as I thought I would. It takes two people to use --one to move the power washer from place to place and one to handle the wand. My little Amish workers (next door kids) asked if we could use it next week --they love it. So sure, we’ll probably get it out and wash the barn or something fun.

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I had four of those clear storage bins (think large cat-litter-box-sized) full of polos. I liked to coordinate with my horse. Now I never use them, as they say they cause the most heat of any leg wraps/boots. I’ve been trying to sell them off at consignment sales. Little by little. :slight_smile:

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That’s hilarious - I’ve actually been using my back log of travel toothpaste instead of buying new tubes because I ended up with so many extras between dentist, buying for trips the promptly losing and buying again. When I got back into my house after the fire, I really spent time going through all the boxes of packed up stuff (they packed up the ENTIRE house) and found I think 20 tubes.

Note to self…look for expiration dates…

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Rode at a barn where showing frequently was an unspoken requirement. Going to shows I didn’t enjoy and where I knew I wasn’t competitive. Not only was it a waste of money on the show and trainer fees, but I could have been working those weekends instead of spending money.

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I just have one cooler that is WAY to big for my horse that I actually bought when I was leasing a MUCH bigger horse so it sits…I should donate it or something but it’s brand new and nice.

I donated a bunch of stuff over the years - the first clean out was when I moved into my house and I had stuff from high school, some 10 years prior, that I had never used but also didn’t pay for. One was a miniature horse driving harness but that wasn’t a purchase, it was an acquisition while I was trying to teach some of the minis to drive (never got past the walking behind them stage) so they could have a job other than “look cute”.

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So many blankets and sheets that I bought “just in case” that never ended up being used. Nice ones too, like Rambos. I have duplicates. Neck covers in every weight. An irish sweat sheet. A fly sheet that never got used. None of the horses I have now fit that length. Hopefully my 2 year old grows into it.

2 neck ropes I’ve never used.

A titanium fager bradoon. It was on sale. I have never used a double bridle and it’s unlikely I ever will.

Scoot boots used once, didn’t like them.

I had bought a lot of smaller sized stuff for my baby horse that didn’t end up getting used. Halters, fly masks, fly boots, a couple blankets. He’s outgrown it and I’ve given a bunch of it away to people that own ponies but still have some left.

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