Spin off- Frugal Horse Tips?

[walktrot]

I try to be disciplined in how I spend my money.

I only buy things I really need.
If I can’t find something I really need, I look for something that I might need.
If I might need it I check the price to see if it is on sale.
If it’s on sale I look at how much I will save and I might buy it.
If it’s an outrageous bargain I buy it (I miss the old Tack of the Day).
If I can’t find something I might need, I go somewhere, like Equine Affaire, to find things I didn’t know I might need.

If I have stuff I don’t need anymore, I donate it to the nearby Maine refuge barn, or give it away to a kid at the barn.

That frees up space.

(Did I mention I’m bipolar?)

[exvet]

Ditto on the following:

1. take good care of your tack, blankets, horses, and they will last longer - I have a lot of stuff that is close to 25 years old that is still service ably sound
2. repair, not replace, things like blankets, bridles, etc - and saddles especially as back ups
3. if you show, braid/groom/clip yourself - 100% agree and for me which is ‘lucky’ I’m a vet so I do most of ‘that’ on my own too including dentals which really helps. I also back and train my own with the assistance of lessons and clinics. I haven’t had a horse in training with someone else since my first pregnancy and she’s 27 years old
4. buy in bulk (supplements, hay, etc) - Flaxseed through costco then I get points to use for other stuff; vit e through online nutritional websites so I can maximize points and savings, etc. I also don’t believe that horses need ‘every’ pushed supplement - I get hay tested to determine what I really need and that’s at a low cost because I go through an agriculture school that discounts the price.
5. roundbales, not square bales - can’t do round bales in the desert but I buy hay in bulk and barter on the side - I can get some pretty good deals that way.
6. full turnout / 24/7 turnout

I barter a lot which really helps.

[outerbanks77]

I learned to trim over 10 years ago and it has saved me a ton. I can’t even deal with the idea of having a shod horse now.

Dollar store for thrush and scratches cream goos - check. I also bought screw cap plastic tubs there to mix up supplements. About $10 for a month’s worth and they seem like they will last several years (one dead so far in 2 years), so cheaper than baggies and less waste over time.

Ditto the golf shirts from TJ Maxx instead of equestrian-branded stuff.

Fly spray - I buy a gallon of concentrate and it lasts 3 horses a long time.

Try to buy in bulk/stock up when it makes things cheaper. Like this summer Tractor Supply had Renew Gold on sale for $9 less than a competing feed store. I was also able to get TSC gift cards from my grocery store, rack up fuel points and extra cash back on my credit card, so I bought a 6 month supply of the feed and saved abourt $100.

Vitamin E, I found one on Amazon that works out cheaper per unit than any of the horse supplements (still a natural supp).

For ulcer management, unless I think I need to do full ulcer treatment, CostCo is good for generic tums (530 for like $9) and esomeprazole for $12.99 for a 14 day supply at 3 pills/day.

Buy blankets when they are deeply discounted in spring and summer. Buy fly sheets in fall and winter.

[GucciJumper]

I make my own fly spray which is significantly cheaper than buying premade stuff.

For my old retired guy I vaccinate/worm him myself.

[endlessclimb]

That reddit post…

So you’re saving your behind off, living super frugally.

Then you die.

Hearses don’t have trailer hitches, lady. Can’t bring it with you. Don’t be a psycho. (“I’m an attractive person” sure but you also sound like a miserable old lady. eesh)

[clanter]

@outerbanks77

Buy blankets when they are deeply discounted in spring and summer. Buy fly sheets in fall and winter.

a person should really check with 501.c3 horse chary groups… when my daughter was looking for harness the harness she purchased was from a 501.c3 program… while there repeatedly she was asked if she needed blanket/fly sheets… this place had them hundreds that were donated … had them organized by color and the inch

[moonlitoaksranch]

-Be on time for appointments with vet and farrier. If you remember something else that needs attention, call and ask before they come out. That’s how you keep them. Changing vets can cost big money. It seems like the newer vets around here charge a lot more money for a lot less experience. We use a semi-retired vet now. He still sees our animals because we treated him well. Changing farrier can be hard, too. If you miss, or are late for a trim, because you aggravated your farrier, it could set your horse back and cost more down the line.

-Keep a leather punch, bridle screws, and strips of leather handy and replace when you see wear, before it breaks.

-Safe fencing that keeps horses in and dogs out will save you money and grief. It is worth buying better fence materials.

-I use those black tubs to feed hay in so the horses don’t eat off the ground. I can dump them over before each feeding to get rid of sand or dirt. The baling machines can blow sand in with the hay.

-Fly spray saves you on vet bills. It’s worth the effort to spray them every day during the fly season.

-Supplements usually just make expensive urine.

-Get your horses out of stalls and pens at least every other day. Cooped up horses make trouble.

-Put the horse in the stall/paddock they get along best in; not the one you want them in.

I’ll bet every piece of advice people have given here has a story. It either happened to you, or someone you know.

[RedHorses]

I think that finding the gear you like and sticking with it is a big money saver. I rarely buy non consumable stuff for the horses these days. I really think about do I need it before buying anything. I like to look, but practice has made self discipline easier. That and saving for a truck to haul the trailer I bought a year ago.

Even before that I had my tack, blankets, and so on that I like and didn’t feel the need to try something else. I replaced worn out or outgrown items and that was about it.

Unfortunately the experiment process can be expensive. I went through that to figure out what my younger horse needed in terms of blankets. But even that I spread out and tried to buy one piece per year when it was on sale.

[frugalannie]

You might guess from my screen name that I keep a frugal barn :winkgrin: I got the nick name when the horse dentist arrived and I was repairing some pretty old lead shanks by replacing the metal clamps. He thought it was pretty funny and dubbed me.

1. Battle entropy (the increasing disorder of the universe) but accept that it exists. If something needs a small repair, do it ASAP rather than leave it to become a big repair. Don’t be afraid of leaning how to do some stuff yourself. Might not be as pretty as a pro job, but does it have to be? (I exclude electrical from this. Too much danger from an inexpert job.)

2. I keep an 11 horse barn. 4 are mine, the rest belong to friends. I buy a year’s worth of hay and shavings at a time. Hay is good quality grass hay that comes straight off the field giving me a much better price, and I’ve worked with the same farmer for 30 years now. I dread his retirement!

3. Slow feed hay nets result in less waste for certain horses. And we use hay boxes that we built out in the fields which cuts down on hay being wasted and/ or blown away. Horses get two flakes each on morning turnout and another flake at lunch if they’ve finished breakfast. Then they come in to full nets for the night, or 4-5 flakes on the ground depending on the horse. If hay is left over, they get cut back.

4. We feed a hay based rather than grain or concentrate based diet whenever possible. We have our hay tested and choose a ration balancer that complements it. Cuts down on wasteful supplements and all of our horses are fat and healthy. I evented on that as standard feed, using grain / concentrate only when a horse began to drop weight (ie: mares when they start to cycle in the spring.) Some of the other owners feed other stuff, but that’s up to them.

5. We feed a standard 1/2 cp black oil sunflower seeds to each horse daily. As a result the wild turkeys pick through the manure piles in the paddocks and we don’t have to remove them.

6. When cleaning stalls, do it mindfully. Toss the wet and manure, put the oldest reusable shavings on the wet spots and the new shavings (if needed) on the areas that were cleanest. Don’t put a half inch of clean shavings over the whole stall. In 10 minutes a horse will mix it all up. Decreasing the total amount of discard saves money twice: less shavings are used, and less manure has to be shipped away (which many places have to pay for).

7. Use water mindfully. If a horse doesn’t ever finish two buckets of water, try 1 1/2, or even one. I always want some water left in the morning, but not full buckets.

8. Upgrade to LED lights, and turn off lights when not needed. You’d be surprised how often they’re left on. Use timers or motion detectors where needed.

9. Dilute baby shampoo by half with water. Use it for washing wounds (no more tears means no stinging) and bathing your horse. When bathing, wet the horse down, squirt dilute baby shampoo over it’s body and then scrub with a soft brush. Then use a sweat scraper to get off as much dirty, soapy foam as possible before rinsing. You will use less water to rinse, but the rinse will be more thorough. Wet the tail by dunking it into a bucket, then soaping, rinse via dunking and condition.

10. Use things up, reuse and recycle. Waste is the enemy! Care for what you have and it will last much longer. Don’t be pennywise and pound foolish. Disposable items can be cheap, but use as few disposables as you can. Reusable items should be as high of a quality as is practical.

[Heinz_57]

@beowulf

I read that Reddit post and ended up rolling my eyes and leaving halfway through. I just can’t imagine recycling tea bags (and having it taste the same!?) or buying meat that is less than $1 a pound!

I actually do both of these things. If I make a second cup of tea in the same half day, I’ll re-use the tea bag - as long as you don’t over-steep the first go, they taste basically the same. I don’t do it for the savings, I just don’t like wasting. And my local grocery has various chicken cuts - usually drumsticks, wings, quarters, and thighs - on sale about once a month for .89/lb on the value packs (no limit!). I design my shopping list around what’s on sale and pay special attention to short-dated meat, which is usually price reduced by $2-3 a few days before the use or freeze date. I easily have 35lb of different meats (chicken, beef, turkey and pork) in my freezer currently and none were more than $2/lb! :lol:

I also enjoy the occasional $5 coffee drink though. Life is a balance :lol: I used to be much poorer, so I got into the habit of living like a peasant and it stuck even when I became better off. A real steal of a deal is so satisfying!

[gertie06]

@SuzieQNutter

Buy leggings to ride in instead of johdpurs or breeches.

Seriously. Is there really a difference between “schooling tights” and the leggings I can buy at Walmart? Okay, so they don’t have knee patches. Not once have I ever worn through the inner knee of any breeches :).

[Scribbler]

@gertie06

Seriously. Is there really a difference between “schooling tights” and the leggings I can buy at Walmart? Okay, so they don’t have knee patches. Not once have I ever worn through the inner knee of any breeches :).

I have worn through the knee patches and even the fake suede full seats of lower priced breeches. And I need the protection of full seat and hate slipping.

So my frugal was scoring two pairs of Pikeur full seats on a British website when the pound was low and two pairs plus shipping was still half their cost in Canada. They will last for a long time.

[BatCoach]

I do my own clipping and am practicing my braiding skills so I can braid myself. I sell what I don’t use or anything that no longer fits on resale sites. I NEVER pay full price for retail items. I either buy used, or I wait for sales and buy on-line and stock up. Although internet shopping is a big double-edge sword as its easy to find stuff you WANT but don’t NEED. I’m pretty proud of the strides I have made on cutting back impulse spending or buying stuff my horse does not need.

I also board at a no-frills place and save money monthly that way. Sure sometimes the shavings pile runs out before the next delivery, but even having to supplement my own bags during that time still adds up to be less than moving to a fancier place.

I don’t have a sewing machine, but I can hand-stitch well enough to fix a rip in a blanket or sheet. I also launder my own stuff at home.

I’ll have to see if my horse would like gingersnaps… he is a bit on the picky side and will only do his stretches for German Horse Muffins. If I can get him hooked on gingersnaps I’d save a boatload!

[x-halt-salute]

Man, that Reddit post reminds me of how I was living when I first joined this forum. Making around $20k/year at my “day job”, hustling various side gigs, living an ascetic life other than my time in the saddle, and somehow managing to support a horse.

There have been years more recently in which I’ve spent more than that former annual salary on my horse (thanks a lot, colic gods). Thank heavens the budget isn’t quite that tight anymore!

My frugal horsemanship tips for broke riders are:

• Learn how to repair things (e.g. mending blankets and anything else made of fabrics, minor tack repairs like restitching strap goods, basic woodworking-type repairs), and DIY anything that can be accomplished in 30 min. or less, or where you can produce adequate quality work and save at least as much money per hour of your work as your wages for the same number of work hours.
• Know or learn how to sew -- being able to tailor clearance rack or secondhand show clothes, replicate a fancy stock tie with just some remnant fabric, and alter horse blankets, wraps, etc. can save significant amounts of money. I also sew my own schooling tights now -- so much more comfortable than store-bought options.
• Invest in high quality equipment rather than trying to save in the short term with inexpensive equipment (esp. blankets! also saddle pads, footwear, breeches). Avoid trends and fads.
• Buy durable goods (esp. saddles and bits) secondhand when possible.
• Buy as little as you can at full price from equestrian retailers and be creative about dollar store/Target/Ikea items for things like storage/organization and cleaning, and Costco for things like treats.
• Keep lists of equestrian items you need and consumable things you use on a regular basis (e.g. supplements) so that you can easily take advantage of high-percentage tack store/online sales when they are announced.
• For things you know are going to wear out on a somewhat regular basis (e.g. hay nets, a favorite style of breeches), buy multiples when you find them on a good sale and store one away until the first wears out. Don't lose track of what you have in storage.
• Keep a fully stocked equine first aid kit at the barn and develop a relationship of trust and good communication with your vet. Opening communication and getting vet input at the first sign of an emergency can help to prevent a huge bill in the end.
• Pay all equestrian service providers promptly. Find the good ones and be a good client. In the long run this may not save money per se, but good professional relationships tend to lead to good, prompt service (meaning less time without use of horse while waiting for thrown shoes to be reset or saddle fitter to squeeze you into the schedule -- and time really is money).
• Be willing to coordinate fellow boarders when it can save on shared call fees (e.g. for vaccinations, dentistry, farrier).
• Remember that your time has value. If you can save $15/hour by doing self-care board, but can make $40/hour in a side gig or overtime hours, you might be better off spending more so you have time to make more.
• For me this has been a lesson learned on the homefront (not at my boarding barn, where utilities are wrapped into in monthly board), but do the math on inconvenient or small-scale frugal measures. A few of the things in that Reddit article don't save enough money to be worth it (e.g. only having a clean towel/bedding once a month, turning down the water heater to "warm" -- I've done experimentation and math on these and it's only a few cents per month for me to indulge in regular clean linens or hot enough water for dish washing). I conserve water and power for environmental reasons, but if you're looking specifically to save money focus on bang for your buck (er, buck for your bang?). Two or three habits with an appreciable financial effect will be easier to sustain for the long haul (i.e. long enough to pay off) than a huge list of inconvenient or minimally effective changes to your routine that add up to the same amount of savings with much more effort or sacrifice.

[Mersidoats]

I have two horses and I’m in grad school. I could write a book on this. Things that save me $$$$:

• I troll eBay for everything. I look for quality items that might be a few years old, but have life in them. My entire show outfit is off of eBay. Boots, too. I’ve been doing the eBay thing since I was a skint teenager. It’s amazing what you can find.
• Pasture board instead of stall board.
• Trailer in to shows and avoid the stall fee.
• Stop caring about the trends and buy things that are sturdy and well-made versus “in style.”
• Dumpster-dive: my snaffle bridle is an old kavalkade that needed a cheek pierce repair - I found it in the trash. Same for my splint boots, polos.
• Take care of your things. I have 15 year old breeches, 12 year old boots, 20 year old bridles, 15 year old polos and pads. They’ve lasted because I cared for them.

[x-halt-salute]

@Mersidoats

• Trailer in to shows and avoid the stall fee.

Ha. Depending on where you are. Many places the choice is between hauling far enough that stall and hotel costs are not optional, or not showing at all.

[Heinz_57]

@x-halt-salute

Ha. Depending on where you are. Many places the choice is between hauling far enough that stall and hotel costs are not optional, or not showing at all.

Or the trend in my area, at most venues stalls are a requirement now (day stall, minimum). No haul ins, no horses allowed to be tied in the trailer parking area at all. You either purchase a stall or don’t enter.

[ParadoxFarm]

@Heinz 57

Or the trend in my area, at most venues stalls are a requirement now (day stall, minimum). No haul ins, no horses allowed to be tied in the trailer parking area at all. You either purchase a stall or don’t enter.

And when they are allowed, there can be a fairly hefty haul-in fee.

[beowulf]

@Heinz 57

I actually do both of these things. If I make a second cup of tea in the same half day, I’ll re-use the tea bag - as long as you don’t over-steep the first go, they taste basically the same. I don’t do it for the savings, I just don’t like wasting. And my local grocery has various chicken cuts - usually drumsticks, wings, quarters, and thighs - on sale about once a month for .89/lb on the value packs (no limit!). I design my shopping list around what’s on sale and pay special attention to short-dated meat, which is usually price reduced by $2-3 a few days before the use or freeze date. I easily have 35lb of different meats (chicken, beef, turkey and pork) in my freezer currently and none were more than $2/lb! :lol:
!

Lucky! It must be regional… I can’t remember the last time I saw meat for under $1.00/lb that wasn’t something incredibly unpalatable (like chicken gizzards).

I’m a bargain shopper when it comes to meat and buy what’s on sale at the butcher’s section. It means I get a lot of weird cuts for the freezer… but not any that have been $1.00 or less. Even the most basic chicken breast (non-humane/not cafe-free)is ~$2.10/lb minimum here.

But… I also try to buy the meat that I know has been humanely sourced… which… can jack up the price.

I get the no waste thing. I’ve tried recycling my tea pouches but I don’t think the flavor is the same. I love the Morrocan Mint at Trader Joes - it’s gotten me through many a boring afternoon at the office - but can’t get the same flavor out of an already used packet.

I also wanted to echo what another poster said – to be proactive and fix small issues before they become big issues. Big issues usually come with big fixes and expenses!

[Scribbler]

I did eventually read the Reddit link and it seemed very joyless to me. I certainly lived on very little when j was a student and a traveller but honestly I like to allow myself a margin of comfort when I can.

Thinking on this also made me consider the tradeoff between time and money.

If I grab meals out, it lets me fit in more of what I want to do in a day, work and riding.

If I buy purpose made riding breeches and boots, and functional outdoor jackets, I can ride longer and more comfortably than if I’m in the wrong pants and footwear. Also if I get good stuff that I like I stop shopping and don’t end up with a pile of stuff that doesn’t quite work. This is also true for things like saddle pads.

And if I try to cheap out on my home cooking ingredients I get disgusted at my meals and don’t eat them. So that’s a waste.

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