Spin off- Frugal Horse Tips?

[tabula_rashah]

@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 find there is a difference for sure, the seams on Walmart ones are great for rubs and I can wear through a pair leggings in a couple rides esp because they get torn up by thorns

On the original questions, I’m probably not particularly frugal with my horse habit lol. I do self care board, participate in one of the lower cost disciplines and by quality tack that I take care of. Oh and it doesn’t hurt to have an awesome farrier as a brother lol. I use my frugal skills in other areas of my life though that aren’t so fun- like grocery shopping

[PeteyPie]

I just have to comment on the 99¢ per pound meat. It’s easy to imagine how to do that if you shop sales. A few weeks ago I bought two frozen turkeys at Walmart, one was 13 pounds and the other was 15 pounds. They had a whole bin of them reduced to $4.00.

Tonight I’m cooking a pork shoulder roast that was $1.99/pound at Costco with a reduction of $4.50 added onto the price. That’s not 99¢ but I mention it because I was going to get the same thing from the supermarket on sale for 99¢ per pound, but I knew from past purchases that it would work out to be about the same price because the supermarket meat had the bone in, and a heavy fat/skin layer and the Costco meat was boneless and well trimmed.

Right now in the sale ad I see that Stater Bros. has half chicken breasts on sale for 99¢ per pound.

Von’s (Safeway) always has some kind of major in-store price reduction on meats which can be substantial, although I can’t give an example because I seldom shop there.

I seldom buy hamburger, but doesn’t it go on sale sometimes for around that price?

So if you shop the sales ads, buy in quantity, and buy what’s in season, and use your freezer, it is possible to find meats at a very low price.

What’s interesting to me is that she said she doesn’t eat much meat, which is another way to really reduce the price, but I find that I often spend way more on produce than the meat when I’m cooking.

[Heinz_57]

@PeteyPie

What’s interesting to me is that she said she doesn’t eat much meat, which is another way to really reduce the price, but I find that I often spend way more on produce than the meat when I’m cooking.

I suppose if you only buy in season produce it’s pretty economical. Squash, potatoes and onions are cheap right now, and if you’re subbing something like lentils for meat, a pound of lentils is under a dollar (and no single person is eating an entire pound of lentils at once!). Mujadarra is one of my favorite non-meat meals, and I often use less meat in my stews and casseroles and just toss in some lentils to compensate.

As a single person, I didn’t eat much meat either. But I also couldn’t be bothered to cook very often, it was easier and quicker to just snack all day.

[demidq]

I find the idea of eating meat that costs under $1.00 rather disturbing. How is it possible to raise an animal, process and market said creature in ANY kind of ethical way for this price? Meat this cheap comes from factory farming that is heavy on drugs and is incredibly polluting. How can the farmer make a living when the price of his product is so low, especially when you consider that the processor, marketer and the store all take their cuts as well? Good quality food should NOT be cheap, and you shouldn’t be putting crap into your body. There are lot’s of healthier ways to economise.

It is more responsible as well as cheaper to eat less but higher quality meat and make legumes and grains your main source of protein. Make meat a treat or flavour enhancer rather than the main course.

You can also join a food co-op or CSA in most areas in Canada now both in large cities or more rural areas. That way you can buy directly from the producer and cut out the middle man. I’m sure that is the case in the US as well.

Rant over!

[Heinz_57]

@demidq

I find the idea of eating meat that costs under $1.00 rather disturbing. How is it possible to raise an animal, process and market said creature in ANY kind of ethical way for this price? Meat this cheap comes from factory farming that is heavy on drugs and is incredibly polluting. How can the farmer make a living when the price of his product is so low, especially when you consider that the processor, marketer and the store all take their cuts as well? Good quality food should NOT be cheap, and you shouldn’t be putting crap into your body. There are lot’s of healthier ways to economise.

It is more responsible as well as cheaper to eat less but higher quality meat and make legumes and grains your main source of protein. Make meat a treat or flavour enhancer rather than the main course.

You can also join a food co-op or CSA in most areas in Canada now both in large cities or more rural areas. That way you can buy directly from the producer and cut out the middle man. I’m sure that is the case in the US as well.

Rant over!

Oh please. :rolleyes: I think you’ve been watching too many Netflix documentaries.

[demidq]

Heinz 57- I don’t watch Netflix but I live in a rural area and see and smell factory farms nearby. I have friends who are farmers who are struggling to make a living with equipment, seed, fertiliser, fuel and feed increasingly expensive and the price of their product so low. A major cause of antibiotic resistance in the world is due to these drugs being routinely fed to animals in overcrowded barns to prevent, not treat, disease.

We gasp in horror at horses being sold from feed lots, and have forced horse slaughter plants out of the country so horses are shipped long distances and killed in a country that has very low humane standards. Cows, pigs, sheep and poultry do not have the same emotional significance for us but they also deserve to be raised humanely and slaughtered with the least amount of distress possible. That can’t be done if meat at the supermarket is sold for under $1.00.

I’m not vegan and I enjoy a nice steak as much as the next person but we eat meat 2-3 times per week from local farmers now instead of daily as we used to.

Sorry-I didn’t mean to high-jack the thread.

[B_and_B]

Buy a frugal horse…you know, I thought I did that…
But the Thoroughbred went 25 years with two emergency vet bills (one that he survived, one that he didn’t). And the previous ponies (about a dozen all told, mostly boarders) all made it my entire nearly forty decades with no emergency bills. The Shire and the new pony racked up 3 emergency calls in the first 3 months of ownership. Plus the incident with breaking a fence that no other horse had looked at in 25 years and the costs of fencing that resulted, because one incident involving the state police is one too many. And they both eat way, way more than the Thoroughbred ever did! At least they are barefoot as he was!
In all seriousness, I love these tips. But…the cheapest I’ve seen meat here in CT is 1.85lb, which is definitely below what it cost to produce. Aside from the oddly coloured stuff that our market will sell if you want it… I hear faint protests from partner: 'the deer is free!!" Never add the cost of hunting up as a hobby!

[PintoPony]

One way meat can be 99 cents a pound: Loss Leaders.
The super cheap sale items stores use to get people to come in, knowing that the majority of them will buy much more than the sale item. The store loses money on the meat but makes up for it with other sales.

Another way are clearance sales. It’s better to get 99 cents for a pound of meat than to get nothing for it when it expires and has to be tossed.

There are good deals out there, but they’re the exception not the rule.

[the_sandiest_shoes]

Regarding the cheap meat - hard to beat the cheapness of beans!! I spend a lot less on food after going vegan.

I love so many of these tips - buying second hand everything makes a huge difference. Agreed on watching eBay. Also just put the word out at the barn/ in the community that you’re looking for x, y or z and you’ll be surprised at what you can pick up locally. So many people buy things they never even use. This includes riding clothes.

Also agreed with the re-used clothing idea generally - ThredUp is awesome and my coach (who is Kastel sponsored and about as equestrian fashion conscious as anyone) has asked me about some of my riding tops and coats, only to be floored that I got them for $3 - $10 on ThredUp.

A lot of things I do as an obsessive eco-conscious person are also frugality-friendly, since it’s about reducing waste. The best thing in general for me and horse spending is having very clear boundaries on what I’m willing to spend (with myself and others). There are always, always better things, better horses, hot new whatevers, etc. It’s hard when you’re around people who throw money around on everything and anything. It’s hard to draw clear lines on principle. But otherwise it’s just an endless pit of never-ending spending (“endless pit of never-ending spending” is basically my partner’s nickname for my horses anyway, but it’s my money lol).