Money We’ve Wasted

[FjordBCRF]

The one that makes me laugh the most is I got one of those Noble 4+1 Blanket/Liner things. I have only ever needed to use a rain sheet. Great Lakes winters are still no match for a Fjord with a partial clip in the winter

I’ve spent a lot on meds and maintenance for laminitis that ultimately turned out to be Lyme. I don’t really consider that money wasted though. I’m glad to have all the rads and bloodwork as baselines and references.

I had a LOT of lovely dressage pads that aren’t of any use to me after getting a custom treeless western saddle. I’m hanging on to my favorites though as you never know when a dressage saddle may come back into your life!

[luvmyhackney]

@Obsidian_Fire

I have an entire Rubbermaid tub of polo wraps. Why… just why? Because back in the day we used them, every ride. Now? Hah.

Keep a few to make an bandage donut in emergencies. Then another polo wrap to secure it. Works great for eye injuries.
Nifty little trick I learned from a vet.

[LCDR]

Somewhat related to horses - my GMC 2500HD long bed extended cab pickup. It is now nine years old and has been driven 8,800 miles in all that time. I bought it to haul my horse trailer and 7,500 pound equipment trailer and pick up things like 16 foot fence boards.

But I found that I much prefer using my totally capable, towing package equipped SUV for trailer hauling, and that anything that I buy that won’t fit in the SUV can be delivered right to my barn either for free or for a reasonable fee.

I rationalize keeping the pickup by saying that it is my back up tow vehicle, but then the next ad-valorem tax bill or auto insurance bill arrives to throw a bucket of cold water on that justification.

[findeight]

New fangled grooming tools supposedly ergonomically designed, I have small hands. Ended up always going back to a small, soft round rubber curry, a small sized stiff /dandy brush, small soft brush, a towel or cactus cloth, a long toothed (afro) people comb and regular stiff bristle hair brush. Just a plain old shedding blade when needed.

Many hundreds of dollars worth of speshul, highly recomeended, celebrity endorsed, over priced tools ended up thrown in the community groom box where they mostly sat unused by the barn grooms who did not use then either.

Think I wasted thousands on coat/hair care products that never did much better than Orvus or diluted blue Dawn and Mane and Tail products from Wal Mart (oh, and Quicksilver or similar whitener or just laundry bluing). And my last horse for 15 years was a piggy grey, the ones before that were chrome trimmed chestnuts, another grey and further back Paints and a chrome trimmed Palomino. I have • extensive experience with these products since 1970. Most dont work but I am a sucker for a quicker, easier solution which still eludes me.

[Texarkana]

Another:

Feed, supplements, and veterinary diagnostics for picky/poor eaters.

I was cursed, er, I mean blessed with over 10 years of two NQR horses who I could not get to clean up their feed consistently.

Do you know how much money I wasted testing and treating for this and that, then trying this product or that product with the hopes I might stumble upon the cure or magic enticement???

I never figured either of them out. One was euthanized after a serious pasture injury at 28. The other my vet and I think was cancer and I elected to euthanize last fall. She was only 20.

(Adding: owning them was not a waste. I adored both of them. But man, if I could get the money back I spent on products, feed, and supplements that they wouldn’t even touch and went unused or didn’t help at all!)

[ghst13]

I feel this. Nothing like buying multiple different 50 lb bags of feed just to have your horse reject each after a single bite.

Or the tubs of supplements that are supposed to make their gut more comfortable that put them off their feed.

[Texarkana]

@ghst13

I feel this. Nothing like buying multiple different 50 lb bags of feed just to have your horse reject each after a single bite.

Or the tubs of supplements that are supposed to make their gut more comfortable that put them off their feed.

Yup!

“Dobbin loves XXX and it helped him so much!”
“Have you tried YYY? It worked miracles for my horse!”
“Your horse sounds like exactly the type of horse that does well on ZZZ!”

$30 here, $20 there, a $100 supplement… all sitting rejected in the feed room.

But wait! Then you see an ad for something else that looks perfect!

And the cycle begins again.

$$$

[GraceLikeRain]

Oh gosh remembered I blocked out another one - spending $1200 on a loading dose of apoquel while watching my horse continue to try and turn herself inside out with itching.

It was an honest try and I’m glad we did it but man that sucked and it was right around the loading dose wrapping up and the vet saying we should call it quits that month 2 of meds, cheaper but still $$$ arrived.

[ghst13]

@Texarkana

@ghst13

I feel this. Nothing like buying multiple different 50 lb bags of feed just to have your horse reject each after a single bite.

Or the tubs of supplements that are supposed to make their gut more comfortable that put them off their feed.

Yup!

“Dobbin loves XXX and it helped him so much!”
“Have you tried YYY? It worked miracles for my horse!”
“Your horse sounds like exactly the type of horse that does well on ZZZ!”

$30 here, $20 there, a $100 supplement… all sitting rejected in the feed room.

But wait! Then you see an ad for something else that looks perfect!

And the cycle begins again.

$$$

Or the ones that require you to feed high volumes. Look, my horse has a max feed volume limit he willing to eat in a reasonable time period, adding two cups a meal of your supplement is just not going to work.

[NaturallyHappy]

This^^^^ to all of the above X 1000!!!

[Limitless]

What is a bandage donut?? I’ve not heard of this! I’m sure I’ll need to know this someday (knocks on wood)…

edited to add that I googled this, and the first thing was this, which I don’t think is what you meant, lol!

[Scribbler]

I don’t think my toothpaste had expiration dates. But the sensitive teeth formula developed grainy lumps and the gel formula started separating and oozing liquid and all the older stuff tasted a bit off, not moldy but chemically yuck. Even the unopened tubes.

[Incantation]

I built an indoor to try to keep my heart horse (knicknamed Seldom Sound) fit to see if he could someday stay sound enough to compete. Finished the build in Feb, and by April he became 3 legged lame after a short hack up the driveway. After many, many vet visits over a dozen or so years, was finally properly diagnosed with a DDFT injury where it attaches to the coffin bone. Retired never to be ridden again.

[cayuse]

All kinds of hoof boots that just don’t quite fit the Welsh pony.
A Rambo super-deluxe 400g extra special high neck splurge of a blanket for my mini. I found him tangled in it. He got his hind feet through the straps, a front foot through a strap, he somehow twisted the entire mess 1/4 way around, including the neck piece effectively hog tying himself. Getting him out of it was like trying to get out of one of those Chinese finger trap gizmos. The more I tried, the worse it got. Finally he exhaled and I got a buckle popped and the rest was easy. Well, easier.

[findeight]

Had a bandage donut, supposedly to cushion s shoe boil, you wrap to keep it in place at the fetlock …or that was the plan. Did nothing, zero, squat even though it did stay in place. Went into the community groom box to die with the other stuff that never worked.

Overnight turnout proved more effective and cost nothing.

[Limitless]

Oh, like a shoe boil boot? Hahahaha, I have one of those because, of course, my gelding developed a huge shoe boil at one point! I’ll probably never need it again, but I have one!

[tabula_rashah]

@Texarkana

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.

OMG yes- I have way too much stuff for someone who’s only been driving a little over a year lol. Though I do feel like it’s harder to get someone to help you/ good info when fitting carts and harnesses verses bridles and saddles

[luvmyhackney]

Here you go. Make it around a fist to be big enough for around an eye or a larger item. Polo wrap works great for it.
https://www.youtube.com/shorts/j_RpVQGsF10

Found a good picture online: https://www.reddit.com/media?url=https%3A%2F%2Fpreview.redd.it%2Fany-advice-for-bandaging-a-hip-wound-v0-9w9bwy85o09d1.jpeg%3Fwidth%3D3024%26format%3Dpjpg%26auto%3Dwebp%26s%3Dda1ec72bcba09b54da9ab99cb22b862b738d4fab

[Obsidian_Fire]

I have actually used my older polo wraps to do things like teach hobbling. And just have something “caught” around your leg in general. And I’ve used them as bandage wraps too.
They do have their uses, just not as intended!

[Xanthoria]

A hackamore I bought two weeks ago for $120 and used once, only to discover it made my horse feel like riding a cardboard box.

Fly masks: neighbor horse removes them and rips them apart the day they are put on.

The center stripe for my OneK helmet that I meticulously customized to my xc colors, then bought a skull cap and now it languishes.

The inexpensive tire wrench I bought for emergencies that bent the first time I used it… (not to self: no cheap tools)