Keeping Your Horse Through The Recession
By Sariska
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10th Nov 2010 •
2,013 views
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1 comments
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We all know that horses are an expensive hobby, but most of us have never really though much about it, until the last few months. Chances are the country you live in is going through a recession right now, here are some handy tips on how to be more froogle with your horse expenses.
FEEDING
I'm sure that most people reading this article will have their horses in for the winter by now (in the UK at least) and will be feeding their horses either hay or haylage, but have you considered leaving your horse out for slightly longer? If you have your own field you might as well make use of it. Most horses can survive the majority of the winter, with a heavy rug on. If you are going to keep your horse outside for most of the winter, look for rugs with 12oz+ fillings.
BEDDING
Most horse owners choose to bed their horses with straw or shavings, considering them the best options. But have you ever thought carefully into bedding, and researched the different types? Chances are, probably not. Here is a list of the advantages, disadvantages, and costs of different types of bedding.
Straw - Straw is one of the cheapest forms of bedding, It is easy to obtain and easy to store, but does not soak up as much urine as some other forms of beddings, which can leave you with a wet floor. Straw can be very dusty, which can affect horses.
Paper bedding - This is basically just shredded paper. It is very costly, as a thick bed is needed for horses to lie down on, although it is good for horses with allergies as there is little dust from it. When wet, the paper can become difficult and messy to handle.
Wood shavings - One of the most popular types of bedding. It is easily obtained, although care must be taken to ensure there are no sharp pieces of wood or nails etc throughout the bedding. Wood shavings are not overly expensive to buy.
Hemp bedding - Extremely absorbent, clean and durable, although this bedding can also be quite expensive.
Wood pellets - These are quite dry naturally, and tend to expand when wet, settling down on the floor to create a nice even bed. This type of bedding, though easy to maintain has a high set-up cost.
Rubber matting - This should be used in conjunction with another form of bedding, although the amount of bedding can be greatly reduced. It provides good cushioning for the horse, is extremely absorbent, and very good value for money in the long term.
With the work that horses are subjected to these days, getting the right bedding is crucial. Too little bedding can cause swelling of the legs. Dirty bedding can cause thrush and other problems. Hopefully this has given you an insight into the different types of bedding available and the cost.
COMPETITIONS
When going to competitions, chances are you'll have to travel. This could cost you quite a lot of money as pulling a horsebox puts a lot of extra weight on your car. I recently came across a website, interdressage.com which lets you compete and show from the comfort of your boarding facility arena. Basically how it works is you send them a video of yourself riding the dressage test for your category, along with £10, and wait for the results. You can compare yourself to other people around the country riding the same test as you. Unfortunately I do not think that this website is available for the USA to use, but it does let quite a range of other countries use it.
If you find that competing affiliated is becoming too expensive, why not look for shows with cheaper entry fees? Where I live, it costs approximately £20 to do a basic round of affiliated show jumping. It costs £5 or less to do a round of unaffiliated show jumping. There are quite a lot of unaffiliated shows that cater for the more advanced competitors, who may think that they are above these "lower" shows, but that really isn't the case.
LEASE YOUR HORSE
If you're still strapped for cash, maybe you should considered horse sharing or leasing. The other rider(s) share the vet, feeding and farrier costs with you, in return for being able to ride and show your horse.
I hope this has given you an insight into the various ways to save money, and if you have any questions, feel free to message me.
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Seven Sins
i had to sell one of my horses because of the recession
i had to sell one of my horses because of the recession
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57 days ago
• 1,360 views
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