Money Saving Tips?

PePo

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Jun 4, 2014
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I know 'economising' & horse's rarely go in the same sentence, but I'm looking to buy my own house in the next 12 months with my OH & for the first time my horse ownership costs are going to be accountable.

I'm making the switch from wood pellets & shavings to straw, which should reduce bedding costs monthly.

I've just bought a pack of human value make up wipes for his face & eyes (instead of the insanely expensive horse eye wipes), a value conditioner to add water too to try as mane and tail spray, Dettol & Milton to use as a disinfectant for his stable and bought Apple Vider Vinegar for 80p a bottle from the supermarket.

I already feed supermarket value salt, too.

I'm going to reduce lessons, which will also help reduce monthly costs.

Any other money saving tips I might not have thought of? I'm not naturally the best 'saver', but promised my OH I'd try :D
 
If your going to be looking for a mortgage in 12 months then I'd look at cutting back as much as you can. Nowadays it's not just how much you can save for the deposit they look into your account and spending's. You need to show you are easily saving what you would spending on a mortgage each month with then a reasonable amount left to live on.

Have them out as much as possible, if they're out they're not costing you in bedding or feed and normally happier too.

Do you give feed? Is that something you could cut back on, majority of people on my yard give big feeds, mine works 6 days a week 1 days hunting on hay and grass only meaning I have no hard feed bill.

What kind of yard are you on? I moved and save about £200-£250 a month for 2 horses a huge saving. A fancy yard is lovely but if your priorities are changing this could be something to think about. Obviously you and your horses need to be happy though.

Shoes; if shod all round could you consider just fronts?

Keep doing what you're down buying the human equivalent anything equine seems to be double the cost.
 
I actually found buying ACV from the feed store cheaper than the supermarket stuff (the cheapest stuff doesn't have 'the mother' so doesn't work how you would hope), I did dilute it 50/50 with water to make it last longer and more palatable with my guys tiny feeds and still got the effects I wanted :)

I use Aldi unscented baby wipes for eyes, ears and everything really, they are super cheap and don't upset even Jess' sensitive skin.

Coconut oil works great for a myriad of things, from mane and tail conditioner to hoof baslm (with a few drops of tea tree its great to combat thrush).

I make my own fly spray, its as effective as most shop brought ones. Black tea (I use about 4 tea bags with 1l of water), allow to cool, then add 20 drops each of tea tree, citronella, eucalyptus and neem, 1 cap of mint mouthwash, 1 few drops of washing up liquid or shampoo, top off with water up to 2l and spray liberally, its so stupid cheap you can plaster them with it :D I brought all new oils 3 years ago, and I probably still have enough left for another 3 years :p

Muck out in the am and leave the bed up for the day, allowing the floor to dry will help reduce bedding use.
 
How exciting buying a house together! Hmm. I am probably not the best to advise on money saving re horses - despite keeping them at home, we still seem to spend the majority of our income on them and not ourselves lol
Lots of good advice on here as always. Only thing I can think of is maybe trimming back on lessons. Don't go anywhere near a tack shop either:pbecause if you're anything like me, there will always be something you "need":rolleyes:
That's a good idea switching to straw, it's still the best priced option I feel and makes an equally nice bed - I prefer it to Bedmax.
 
Hmmm. Agree with others
Change bedding, change how you keep them (livery etc) feed if you can get away with it just feed adlib hay. I used to pay for Speedi beet at 12 quid a bag. I get unmolassed sugar beat ( which is the same thing) for 8 quid. Shoes if horses don't need them take them off.
Walk or bike to the yard if you can. I buy alot of second hand gear or offline rather the full price.
Do you have any old stuff that you don' need and could sell?
 
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Thanks everyone :)

I've recently made a few yard moves & am back where I originally left three yards later - it's not the cheapest option but it works well for us. I have regular assisted livery available (I struggled with pure DIY, so would rather pay the extra for Assisted DIY), we have winter turn out, hacking distance to an EC & off road hacking in an AONB. We are less than 10 miles from a major London airport - so it's tricky to find a good yard, especially with winter turn out. There is no option for 24/7 turn out at current yard though so do need to provide bedding & hay all year round. Said horse isn't always the easiest to handle & can be quirky, so the set up works really well as the YM is great with him, he's happy & it's fairly convenient for home & work.

He's barefoot already, although I'm paying £100 a trim, he's a 'special case' & I won't be swapping barefoot trimmers as they are the only person in almost 7 years that's been able to trim him. Plus, I see her every 8-12 weeks so it doesn't work out too expensive broken down per month.

Feed-wise, he's just on a tiny scoop of Fast Fibre twice a day for supplements - I think I buy a bag like twice a year!

Supplements, I've played around with & reduced what I can - but I'm reluctant to take him off what he's on as it works for him. I hadn't thought about watering down equine ACV though.

I completely forgot about flyspray - I found a fab recipe last year & do make my own. Another saving I'd forgotten I make :)

I hadn't thought of using coconut oil though as a hoof balm - ingenious!
 
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Inreagrds to conditoner and water as mane/tail spray it can cause them to itch and get a type of dandruff (so i was told) as someone said cocnut oil works wonders. Although i use baby oil, bit on the brush and just brush the mane tail, not good for summer though as causes sunburn. A friend uses cheap kids de tangler on her horses and that works. Have you gone through all your horsey items to see what u can sell to put away for farrier/dentist visits, every little helps. Everyone's covered everything i think. Let us know if you think of any more, all useful to me (and probably others) too :)
 
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I don't use any wipes. I just wipe with my fingers.
I don't use any mane and tail stuff.
Does the human grade acv mean you need to feed more of it?

Unless he has utterly crap feet I would query your trimming bill. A farrier would be around £20. Has he not been sound in the seven years of ownership that this person has got him sound?
Fly stuff I use dynamite as it makes up five litres, but might make my own this year. We also spot on as and when shared yard costs.
Share vet call outs, physio etc. Some will visit a nearby yard and not charge full whack.
 
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No, he's not had soundness issues but before I owned him he's clearly had numerous traumatic events occur that has taken him this long to get 'over' and he's not entirely 'over it' completely yet. Something *really* traumatic has happened involving his feet, that he's felt he's literally had to fight for his life for.

I thank my lucky stars he's got fundamentally good feet, as I'd have been in a right royal pickle for years otherwise.

Our trimmer travels 1.5hours each way to come to us & I'm their only client this way. No farrier locally would touch him (and I wouldn't want them to), vet's can't sedate him as he fights it & becomes dangerous & even barefoot trimmers more locally have expressed sympathy with me & empathy for him, but haven't been able to consistently help. Some haven't even been able to trim one foot despite working with him for 6-12 months (some longer)

They are a NH trainer/behaviourist as well an DAEP & I pay accordingly. I don't think £120 for 1.5 hours travel, 1-2 hour appointment & 1.5 hours travel back on a Sunday is particularly extortionate when you work it out per hour.
 
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Does the human grade acv mean you need to feed more of it?
Supermarket stuff is generally pasturised which kills the mother and makes it useless medicinally (its sold like that for flavoring food only) , you have to buy the expensive organic stuff in my local Tesco to get unpasteurised, which works out expensive.
 
I'm similar to @newforest in that I don't buy mane or tail spray or use wipes etc. I don't feel the need to. I've always kept mine quite simply and therefore cheaply. I think you need to be on the right yard, it's your hobby so you need to enjoy it, it's all about balance. You say you use services due to work, do you work away or very long hours? As you get closer to having a mortgagee you may find it reduces your livery costs if you're more DIY even if it means an earlier/later start.

Remember once you have the mortgage you can spend what you want, if you can afford it. But whilst saving and the months before approaching banks it really helps to make your account look as healthy as it can even if that means loosing a few luxurious for a while.
 
Buying things in bulk really helps save pennies too, if you have the storage to, where I can I buy big bale hay as it works out about half the price of small bales.
 
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