Tuesday, March 12, 2013

Saving Money With Horses

Oxymoron, I know.

Lately, I have been thinking about how to save money.  This suits my nature more than making money, fortunately or unfortunately, and the distribution of wealth and the state of the economy has me really worried.  I am always concerned about those types of things, even though I try to avoid reading about them (my husband reads enough for both of us and fills me in).  I am pretty sure our economy is breaking in this country and this makes me think about my priorities:

Keep my family healthy and happy.
Keep my horse healthy and happy.

Oh yeah, and have I mentioned that we have one on the way?  ;)
This makes me think even more about how to save or cut costs.  Sometimes I wish that I was wired differently and looked for ways to make money instead.  Anyone want to buy Harley paraphernalia?

My husband and I are rather frugal people.  We are not penny-pinchers, but we are definitely not interested in dropping cash without good reason.  We do not splurge on things like restaurants or new furniture and we traded our cell phone contracts in for contract-free service (This saved us about $100 per month and we own our phones!).  When we first were married, we did not purchase cable television and hardly missed it for years.  My husband only buys his electronics on sale and uses his expertise to our advantage (i.e. He chose a wireless web camera instead of a baby monitor and saved a lot of cash.  Plus we can see the video from our phones or computers and control where the camera looks.  Have you seen how much baby monitors with a speaker and video screen cost?).  These are just a few small examples, but, in general, I think we do pretty well.

What is my single, greatest expense?  You guessed it.

My horse.  My beloved, Harley.

Priceless in my heart, but to my bank account, not so much.

I have tried to consider how I save money in the care and upkeep of my horse, but it is difficult.

My horse eats the most expensive food at the feed store (the extra cost is added to my board bill).  He is a hardkeeper and won't maintain on things that seem to work for other horses like Senior Feed (not really cheap, I know), alfalfa pellets (he won't eat them), lots of hay (hay is strictly rationed around here and, apparently, expensive), or air (if you have an easy-keeper).

I do not save money with regard to my horse's health.  He has regular veterinary and dental visits.  He has had extensive dental work done to compensate for a lack of care before I bought him and a severe overbite.  He is currently receiving immunotherapy shots for his allergies, which are not ridiculously expensive, however, I was spoiled for the first five years that I owned him and he did not require anything except routine vaccinations, so the allergy meds are a considerable new cost.  I suppose I save money by administering them myself, which is common practice.  If I had to pay for the vet to come out and give them every couple weeks, I would never be able to do it.

Sadly, I have wasted money on supplements trying to help my horse gain and/or maintain weight.  I now give him the bare minimum (ABC's Plus prebiotics/probiotics and Cough-Free) via SmartPak.  SmartPak seems to be the most economic way for me to get supplements into my horse on a daily basis.  I have wasted money on supplements in buckets and weight-gain supplements with rave reviews.  Bummer.  I am done with those.

My horse is boarded (full care), which is very expensive in New Jersey.  This is by far the greatest cost of horse ownership for me.  Yes, it is very convenient and private and the farm is less than 10 minutes from my house, but there are no bells and whistles (no heated tack room, no indoor arena, no bathroom, no special footing or sprinklers, no grassy pastures, etc.), which might surprise you if I revealed what I pay for full care.  Owning and maintaining a farm would be a huge expense too, of course, and I save there by boarding my horse (i.e. I do not need to own a tractor, manure spreader, truck, the land, etc.).  Our little and densely populated state has some of the highest taxes in the country (income, sales, and property tax).  I wish that I got some kind of tax break for boarding for my horse.

I keep my horse out 24/7 (also called pasture board), but, perhaps surprisingly, I do not receive a discount.  Obviously, I do not keep my horse out for financial reasons.

I trim my horse's feet, but I do not do this to save money.  I hesitate to even mention my horse's hoof care in this context, but I suppose that after purchasing my own supplies, I might come out on top.  Of course, then you have to ignore the time and energy required for me to trim his feet every three weeks or so.

I do own relatively inexpensive tack, so I guess that I save some money there, sort of.  My no-name bridle cost about $100 new and my saddle was purchased used, but was still expensive (Albion Original Comfort).  I love my saddle, but unfortunately it was not my first saddle purchase and I burned through some cash with an (also expensive) ill-fitting saddle that I had to sell at a loss several years ago.  That one hurt, but you just cannot compromise saddle fit.  Lesson learned.

One area where I feel that I might actually succeed at cutting corners is riding clothes and saddle pads.  I will wear my riding clothes until they are bare and "holy".  This includes boots.  When I buy new clothes and saddle pads, I buy them on sale.  Before online shopping, I used to raid the bargain box at our local tack store (One time I found a pair of bright, purple breeches.  They were awesome!).  My priority with saddle pads is that they do not affect saddle fit (thin, please) and they must be easy to wash in my machine at home.

Where do I save the most money?

This would not work for some equestrians, but my greatest savings is achieved by limited participation in lessons, clinics, and horse shows.  I only take lessons about six to eight times per year and I rarely enter clinics or horse shows.  If I do show, I only enter schooling shows.  I just cannot stomach entrance fees or expensive classes.  I know that this is an important part of riding for many equine enthusiasts, but I am just not in that camp.  I have also noticed that I get more out of lessons with a consistent instructor than I do at group clinics.  One of the last clinics that I entered was $350 for a weekend with a very-well known clinician.  This may not sound like a lot of money, but it was a lot to me.  Even though I was an eager student (for $350, you better believe I was eager!) and took notes furiously in the classroom sessions and made the most of every exercise in the mounted sessions, I still felt like I didn't come away with enough new information and insight to warrant the price tag.  The clinician actually had me do some exercises with Harley that I already practice and use with my own riding students.  She was surprised that Harley could do them so well (didn't have the heart to tell her he knew them already), but didn't really offer the next step.  I hate to admit it, but I was disappointed.  Now, I save my money for occasional lessons instead.  Sometimes I kind of long for the comradery and "show-off" factor of clinics.  Harley always wins the heart of the instructor and auditors, which can be a lot of fun!

Oh yeah, and I do not own a truck or trailer.  That definitely saves me money, but also makes the attendance of the activities described above more difficult (and more expensive since I have to pay for hauling.).

If showing and attending clinics were my focus in riding, these would be disappointing areas to cut.  A great deal of my horse's training is done entirely by me.  Our mistakes and short-comings are my own and our successes are mine, too.  Besides literally saving money, I find great reward in this independence.

How do you save money with horses?
Practical advice welcome!

44 comments:

  1. Our biggest savings is co-owning our farm with my family and keeping the horses on our property. Also, since they are on our (closed) farm, I just, as my vet recommended, vaccinate for tetanus - and i do that myself. We also have a great hay supplier that we get nice grass hay from for $5/50lbs. I take lessons only once per month and have not shown in years. It's also nice that my pony is an easy keeper year round and my growing gelding is an easy keeper 3/4 of the year.

    When I used to board I'd do self-care or partial care board to help relieve expenses.

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    1. I am not sure exactly how much our hay costs (fluctuates), but I am led to believe that it is very expensive. *I think* that $5/50 lbs sounds really good. Our bales cost more than that and are not 50 lbs.

      I am sure there are tons of expenses in owning a farm that I get out of, but I am also pretty sure that if you have more than one horse, a farm or property is the only way to do it!

      It is great that you do not have to vaccinate like crazy every fall and spring. I am not a fan, but I do not think I have an option not to at another person's farm.

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  2. I do part-board, but actually end up paying equal to full board because I insist Salem have hay in front of him 24/7 (and I pay $36 per 125-lb. bale of orchard, which lasts about 6-7 days for Salem). If he was on full board, he would have far less hay, and unfortunately I have found that things like stall cleaning are never done to my standard. So, I just do it myself. I have actually donee full board plus bought extra hay plus redid te stall every, but that just was not worth it.

    I have bought both new and used tack on eBay for really great deals. I got a brand-new Micklem Comoetition bridle very inexpensively and bought a used dressage saddle that sells new for around $2,000--3,000 AU for a mere $225. So, there are deals to be had, but you really have to spend the time searching.

    I'm not currently taking lessons or doing clinics, but I hope to be able to in the future. I found a great dressage instructor who is unfortunately about 1.5 hours north of me, so I will end up riding one of his horses since I also don't have a truck/trailer.

    Other than that, I don't have any money-savings strategies. Horses really are expensive! When I do have to buy something, I shop around and try to find the best deal, find online coupons, spend enough to get free shipping, etc. And I try to buy only what I truly need (which is often very difficult!).

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    1. The part-board is a great option. If I could swing it with my schedule I would, but it would be very difficult to fit in even with my horse being so close to my house. There are some days that I just cannot go the barn (and it is not offered at my barn).

      I have purchased three saddles on Ebay, but I have decided that I will not do this again, since the dressage saddle that I bought was a horrendous thorn in my side and my horse's back until I sold it a couple years later. I thought I was getting a deal, but I lost in more ways than one in the end. I do like my Wintec jumping saddle though; it was a 12-midnight-stealth Ebay purchase. I was pretty happy about that one!

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  3. This was a great post and I can relate in a lot of ways.(i.e. showing not the priority and I don't take a lesson every week)

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    1. Yup. I hear you.

      I am impressed that you make it work with Missy given your very busy schedule as a student. Missy is teaching you some extremely valuable life lessons about finances and responsibility (and other more fun things too).

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  4. I am always looking for ways to save money too. The Irish economy crashed years ago, my husband was a kitchen designer, but nobody is buying kitchens anymore, and as for people buying art or taking art classes, Ha! Fortunately, we do own our own land, so I have no livery fees, but I still have to buy hay because the last 3 years were so wet I couldn't cut my own.

    I save money like you: no lessons, competitions or clinics, I avoid tackrooms and have taken to riding in cheap stretch jeans, which are a fraction of the cost of even bargain bucket riding breeches. The biggest saving I'm making is buying my feed in bulk. It means up-front cost, but the saving is really good.

    I like your husband's idea of the wireless camera as baby monitor, very creative!

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    1. You are very resourceful! It is too bad that you can't cut your own hay, but maybe that will be possible again in the future. The stretch jeans are a good idea!

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  5. Interesting post - it is hard to save money with a hobby like horses! I try and buy used tack where I can and up until last June, I boarded at cheaper places when I could. Luckily I've owned easy keepers, so I don't spend much, if anything on grain and supplements. No truck and trailer for me either, which limits what you can do, but saves money in the end probably.

    I have my horse at home now and it is cheaper than board on paper, but the increase on our mortgage payments for the property would cover board at a nice facility, so I'm not really saving anything! :-)

    Up until now, I haven't spent much money on lessons, shows and clinics. This year that will change as I'm about to start taking weekly lessons again, with the hope of going to a few club shows. So, there goes my money! lol

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    1. It's tough, because you have the horse, so you want to participate in horse activities, but everything has a price and with horses nothing is cheap!

      I completely understand. I also realize that if I were to make the farm thing worth my while, I would most likely have to make it a money-making venture of some sort.

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  6. I had to laugh at the title of this post. I'm fairly convinced that it's not possible to actually save money with horses. You can certainly not SPEND extra by not doing lessons, clinics, or shows, and not having your own truck and trailer, but at the end of the day, there's no way to get around paying for feed, trimmer/farrier care (or DIY), and vet care. Assuming you're doing a half-decent job of horse care, of course.

    I keep mine at home, so board is "free". Well, except for the cost of fencing, grass seed, the mortgage, the barn that we built... not to mention all my time and energy for taking care of them every day, twice a day. Don't get me wrong, it's nice to have them right out the window, but having them home definitely puts a crimp in your schedule. I mean, Red will call the SPCA if I'm 10 minutes late with dinner!

    Of course, I still have to pay for feed and hay, not to mention go get it myself, so that cost is fixed. I save a little money by buying hay from a friend when she has extra, but I have to drive to it, load it, unload, and stack it. I could pay for the feed store to come do it if I bought my hay from them. So it's really either my time or my money.

    Hubby and I really enjoy taking lessons, foxhunting together, jousting, and I'd like to do more eventing. It's pretty much why we have horses in the first place, to be able to do these things. It absolutely costs $ to haul but we get so much enjoyment from it. Of course, our truck is 15 years old, and so is our trailer, so if we're not saving money on travel, at least we're not out a huge amount on a fancy new rig. Although I do lust after them sometimes...

    Anyway, the best way I can think of to save money with horses is to lease one instead of buying. Or perhaps take up driving race cars as a sport instead. It's probably cheaper! ;)

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    1. The title is hilarious, isn't?

      I hear you. There are no secrets to saving money with horses, and that was my point. I can't even cut anything out, because I already abstain from some many horse-related activities.

      However, if you want more than one I think owning your own property is the only way to manage it. I value the freedom that I have by boarding my horse. I do not have to worry about finding horse sitters if we go away, although that doesn't happen very often.

      Harley would also be on the phone. He takes dinner very seriously. ;)

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  7. Shy sees the vet, dentist, and farrier regularly. I do feed her supplements (red raspberry leaf, magnesium, B1, and a multi-vitamin), but other than that I try to save whenever possible. I pasture board her, not just to save money, but I truly believe that she loves being out more than being stalled. And it is good for her. I am not in training (but I probably should be) and the shows we go to are like $3-5 a class. I wear my barn clothes until they wear out, too, including boots. And since I wear jeans to the barn, they are usually the jeans I don't wear anywhere else.
    A tax break for boarding horses would be amazing! And that stinks about the clinic, I would have been disappointed, too.

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    1. Seriously. I want a tax break. My horse is a dependent and he is domestic, so someone has to pay to care for him. Right? Right?

      The Romney's were able to deduct expenses for their Olympic mount, why can't I claim a loss on mine?

      (No offense to Harley. I am only talking about dollars, not his true value to me which is immeasurable!!!)

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  8. I work 3 jobs. One full time 2 part time. It sucks sometimes but I'm working to live, not living to work. Minimize Expenses Maximize Earnings, in a way I'm super glad the work ethic is there for me in riding and otherwise because it looks like I'll be able to cash roll my Master's Degree.

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    1. How do you find time to spend riding?

      I worked two jobs during the summer in college and always had a campus job, but if I worked a second or third job now, I would never see my husband or my horse (and the house would be cleaned even less frequently!). When I was growing up, my Mom stayed home and my Dad was the sole income earner. That just isn't possible for a lot of people these days. Not that I would want to stay at home. I would be a terrible house wife.

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    2. I still ride 3-4 days a week and the part times are freelance/consulting work, I only pick up what my riding /full time schedule allows. Mainly to maximize income and during slow riding months I pick up extra work from clients I worked with before. I am lucky that my boyfriend is as passionate about his sport as I am at mine, he also loves his job and works a lot but somehow it all fits in. Housework is a minimum when you clean as you go and have no other pets. I read somewhere that its not about adding more to your life but taking a good hard look at the things you don't need and cutting it out because our lives are too full already. I kinda took it to heart and cut out lounge time for the freelance work.

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    3. That is very good advice. That is why I choose to let certain things slide and keep the important stuff in the foreground. It is nice that you can supplement your income with freelance/consulting work. That sounds ideal, actually.

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    4. When I was in school I made a lot of money tutoring high school students, you are a teacher right? That could be an option for you, I tutored english two or three times a week for 2-3 hours and made about $25/$30 hr, I helped the kids raise their grades substantially so the parents found it worth the money. I'd keep tutoring but I make more consulting/freelancing, but if I didn't have that I would totally tutor.

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    5. Yes, I am a science teacher!

      I had several tutoring gigs in college, but my schedule can no longer accommodate several hours of work after my already long work day (which often includes more grading later in the evening). Plus I teach all day. My brain needs a break from teaching if I am to remain on top of my game. I believe in this very strongly.

      Thanks for the suggestion, though.

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    6. Your welcome! And I agree taking a break is needed for the brain from all and too many tasks. My SO's dad is a Math teacher and I always forget that you teacher's have some crazy work cut out for you with the grading/lesson planning before you actually get down to the teaching portion.

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  9. If I had to board, I'd have to sell off at least 2 of my horses. I'm lucky so far that I do not. Although I never know when that day may come.

    When I was single I lived in a crappy little trailer on 5 acres. Lowering my own standards of living made it possible for me to have Danny with me. (I only had him back then) I would take out a loan each year to buy hay and then pay it off over the year. It made it possible for me to be sure I had enough to get through the winter. I was also raising 2 boys. We ate lots of hot dogs and mac n cheese. Not that they minded! I built my own fence for Danny, and with a little help from a friend, built my own shelter too. Danny is pretty easy to keep. Hay and Strategy was all he required. Vet bills were minimal but if need be I was always able to make payments, so that helped. I had a friend who did my trimming for me for 20 bucks a pop. So that wasn't bad either. My tack was old and crappy, but we did not compete. I did own my own pick up, but no trailer. I've always been a pick up gal, but being able to use it to haul hay was a bonus. It also helped that the truck was paid for.

    Now that we are a 2 income family, one kid is gone and on his own, I make more money than I did, and he makes more money than I do, we do not save any money with our horses. Well maybe we do. We don't board, probably never will. When we buy something we pay cash, if we don't have the cash we do without. Saves on interest. We feed haycubes instead of hay. More expensive to buy but saves money in the long run. Less waste, and you don't feed that much I don't think. Of course anything we might save goes towards healing the lame horse, training the runaway, training the rider (me), and things like that. I still buy used tack almost always. We are getting ready to buy a bigger trailer, it will used.
    So I really don't save much right now. Hopefully soon I will be in a place where I can use our horse property with a lighted arena to actually help with some of my own horse costs. (if we get the one we want)

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    1. Wow! I am impressed. You really made it happen and I admire that.

      A nice indoor can be rented out for individuals, lessons, or clinics (unless you give your own, of course). That could be a way to make some money and enjoy riding in all weather. I used to have access to a nice indoor for free (I worked there). It was the best.

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  10. I save (barely) on keeping track of what meds/supplements work and if not, he's off. I also got extremely lucky and found a better boarding facility, closer to me, for almost half the cost. That was HUGE for us. HUGE. Other than that, I justify the cost of Laz because of the happiness he brings, which is just not valued by money-it surpasses it.

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    1. Cutting your boarding costs in half is amazing! That is definitely the area that hurts the most. I am just not willing to spend much beyond that, which is disappointing.

      I cannot place a value on my horse, but unfortunately he does show up in the checkbook and bank account, which cannot be ignored.

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  11. Funny title, right?
    I should try to make money as a comedian. ;)

    I agree. There is nothing left to cut out, but at least we have our horses. I am always grateful for that.

    People didn't believe me when I told them that we didn't have TV. We still watched DVD's and some shows online. It really wasn't a bad way to save!

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  12. Do you how you make a million dollars with horses?

    Start with 2 million!

    I have over the years received some unasked for input about how much money I "waste" on horses. Anything that feeds your soul is not a waste. My view is that you take your income and figure out what's important.for me it's horses. Now that I have a spot it's cheaper in some ways. But the pay off is so much better.

    I am careful with my money- I pay for vet and farriers. I give some vaccines myself. I buy on e-bay or kijiji. I won't buy a second hand saddle unless it's been fitter. I do find it a bit ridiculous that a bridle is $300 or more. or that only $200 breeches will do.

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    1. *laughing*

      So true about the million.

      "Anything that feeds your soul is not a waste."
      I think you said it perfectly. :)

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  13. Hmmmm - not much saving happening since I became a horse owner. However, if I hadn't been boarding Val on what is now my property, I would never ever have had the opportunity or gumption to purchase it. (Former owner signed a years boarding lease with me and then put the land up for sale 3 months later)

    I do think that horse ownership puts you in the frame of mind of doing more with less... and not spending is like saving - sort of. ;D

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    1. Yeah, that "saving thing" was totally tongue-in-cheek as far as horses go!

      So that is why you bought the land? That is great for you now, but must have been a flooring experience at the time. Sheesh. Glad you got your farmette out of it.

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  14. Great discussion. I won't even do the math on wha we spend on horses - I don't want to know. I DO know we're building our horse facility in hopes of financing my addiction :)
    One way we save money is using soft mats in the stalls (approximaatelt 2 to 3 in. thickness of granular rubber, under a rubber sheet). We got them to increase the horses' comfort, but it really decreases the amount of beding needed and they never get pressure sores as I've seen in some boarding barns. The initial cost is high - around $500/stall - but they pay for themselves in reduced bedding and also reduced labour if you pay someone to clean stalls.
    Round bales instead of sqaure bales also saves money.
    Sorry - all my ideas are for horse keeping at home.

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    1. Glad you enjoyed the discussion. I am enjoying the comments thoroughly. I think that building a facility to make your passion into a potential money-making venture is great!

      The stalls have soft mats as you described, which definitely reduces bedding and is more comfortable if your horse sleeps in his stall.

      I asked my vet one time about round bales and she said that she tells clients they can "supplement" with round bales. What she means is that your horse should not be getting the majority of his nutrition from the round bale. There is a risk of botulism (she has seen some pretty awful situations) when the horses are too hungry and eat from the bale indiscriminately (wet, soiled hay). She recommends a botulism vaccination if horses are on round bales. I was considering it when I wanted to try and get more hay in front of my horse. I changed my mind.

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    2. I actually found round bales MORE expensive to feed, because my boys wasted about 1/3 of each bale by peeing and sleeping on it, or because the outside of the bale was weather-damaged. Because we don't have a tractor, they are also really hard to move and store. With squares, there's never any wastage and I can throw them around easily. I can also store a whole lot of them if we do a good job stacking. BUT... there are times when I really REALLY wish I had a round bale out there, usually when I'm out throwing hay in the dark and it's freezing and raining!

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    3. Yeah, the weathering of the hay worries me. My barn stacks about 500 bales at a time, which is good and bad. I *think* there is a discount involved, but by the time we get to the end of the batch, I am wishing it was just discarded.

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  15. You know I don't save ANY money with my horses and we all know EXACTLY how much I spend. Sorry, wish I could offer some advice, but I can't. :0)

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    1. That was a very brave series you authored! It's a good thing horses make us so happy. :)

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  16. I don't think there is really a lot you can do to save money with horses. We always buy a winter's worth of hay and pay cash so we can get a discount. You really need to haggle a bit for it but the dealers are usually willing to come down in price for cash. We do use SmartPak for the supplements, it just seems easier and more organized. As for tack, we have lots of it from many years and many horses so something from the past is usable for a horse when we need it. Shows and clinics are a thing of the past as are lessons so there's a big saving there. If you're looking for a nice pair of stretch jeans to ride in I buy mine from Old Navy (now don't laugh) they are called Rock Star Jeans. So I'm rocking out in those, very comfy and about $20.

    I know horses are a huge expense but I don't mind giving up fancy dinners,jewelry and vacations etc. I did the same things when my kids were small. The horses are worth it for the peace and happiness they bring and if I have to do without some things so be it.

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    1. I will have to check out the Rock Star jeans once I can wear normal clothes again. I think that is great!

      Horses are definitely worth sacrificing some luxuries. My horse is my greatest luxury in life.

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  17. Harley is so fortunate to have such great stewardship from his owners - I include Valerie's husband because he is very much a part of Harley-World---Harley does win the hearts of people he meets and people he knows each day ---Priceless!

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    1. Harley truly is priceless to me, but, unfortunately, he is not without literal costs. A supportive husband is a must as I could not keep Harley living up to my standards without him. :)

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    2. Your article on how to save money owning a horse was of great interest to me as I have wondered about all that is involved in horse ownership. Horses rely on their humans to keep them fit, provide medical treatments, vaccinations, care of hooves/feet, when its hot out--a cleansing soapy shower, a good brushing down, care of the mane & tails (braids anyone). Of course, proper type of food, hay, vit supplements, a horse blanket in the winter cold, its adds up. I think you have educated yourself about horsecare - for example, trimming Harley's hooves, you give Harley allergy shots, provide him with special feed so he can keep weight (Harley really looks nice & round), and using sound judgement when the Vet needs to be called to the barn----to name a few things you to for Harley. He is a large animal with a big heart. I have a better pictue of how much this all must cost.

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  18. We attended our first open show (at our barn!) and it was fun, but not a priority. We will participate with what our barn offers this year. I prefer one - on - one lessons as well and space them out. I watch a lot of videos and well, we have fun. Great post

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    1. That is a great way to participate in horse activities. Transportation and stall rental are required and your horse is probably relaxed at his home base so you can get a lot from the experience.

      I have some favorite videos and books that I return to again and again. Having fun is what it is all about. Sometimes I think that intense training or lessons conflicts with this. For this reason, I don't miss weekly lessons.

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    2. insert *not required* in the first part

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