Just the Facts - Cost Reduction Strategies for the Horse Owner

by Megan Dykeman

In Article one and two we covered the two types of expenses you encounter with horse ownership, fixed and variable expenses, along with the costs of purchasing a horse. In the last part of this series we will look at how you can reduce some of the expenses of horse ownership.

Overall whether you are on full or self-board the most annoying costs that add up yearly are fees. It seems as though no matter what service you need there are fees. You can though, with planning, reduce some of them. Veterinarians charge call fee's to help cover some of their expenses, but usually they will split them if more than one person calls them out for a visit at one time. If you know that you need a vet to come out, let other boarders and the barn manager know. This can be very convenient with routine things such as vaccinations. If your regular vets call fee is $50.00 and you can get 5 people to have services done at the same time your portion of the call will be $10.00. That is a huge savings. Annually if you have the vet come out 6 times lets say and you are able to get the same reduction every time than you have saved $320.00. Farriers sometimes give barn reductions if enough people have them do their horses at the same time. The small savings with that will also add up.

With lessons you can save money in a similar way. If other people are close to or at the same riding level as you, consider getting together and doing a group or semi-private lesson. You can save money that way, as the coaches will charge less for those lessons. This will allow you to take more lessons and save you money. If you have to bring in a coach, sometimes they will give a small discount or waive their travel expenses if several people have a lesson on the same day. You could also organize a group or semi-private lesson when you bring this coach in to split the costs with someone else.

Feed stores will often waive delivery costs if your order is over a certain amount. If you are on self-board and have your hay and grain delivered, see if anyone else wants to order feed at the same time. You can save the delivery and perhaps get a bulk discount that way. Annually that adds up. If the delivery fee is say $30.00 and you usually order monthly that is an annual savings of $360.00. Even if you did not order your feed before, if you check your supplier minimum free delivery rate and what their bulk discount amounts are, and you find that you can get other people to order at the same time, it is worth while and you will save gas costs, time and cash!

If you are doing self-board there are more ways to can save money than with full board. Despite that the monthly boards costs are lower it is well worth the effort to lower your other expenses also. One of the factors you must take into account is your gas price especially if you have to drive to the barn a few times daily. If you can organize a co-op type arrangement with other boarders, you can cut that cost a bit. One of the ways you can do that is have the feedings shared. For instance have "Sally" do the AM feed and turnout, "Jane" do the lunch and you do the PM feeding and turn in. Perhaps rotate it weekly so that it is fair for everyone, if everyone's schedual agree, whatever arrangement works best. If you are sure that the people you choose to share with are reliable and trustworthy, this works well and saves everyone time and gas money. If you can compound that with the feed and fee's reduction strategies we discussed earlier you can save a substantial amount of money. If none of these ideas work with your arrangement you may want to re-evaluate whether or not self-board is truly cheaper for you. In some cases it is not when you add up all your expenses. That is when you have to look at the monthly cost of full board in this area, an average of $375.00 per month, and see if that is indeed cheaper. It is a higher amount to put out at the beginning of the month, but it may be cheaper in the long run.

Strategies for reducing other everyday expenses :

Tack and equipment can be costly, used tack can offer you a huge savings. Good places to look are classifieds, tack shops and EBAY â always use caution especially when shopping on websites, remember, "Buyer beware". It is a good rule of thumb when shopping online to look at the feedback ratings from past customers and try to stick with reputable companies.

Anything you can do yourself will save you money like worming your own horse (on a regular schedule, following directions) instead of having the vet do it. Vet's mark prices up and charge you a fee to do things like that.

Another thing to consider is leaving your horse barefoot if they have good enough feet to not need shoes. Otherwise, if their hooves are good enough, have them on only during show season or if you will be riding on roads or gravel/rough trails.

If you do not ride everyday you may want to consider part leasing your horse out a few days a week. This would allow you to save money and have your horse receive more exercise, reducing the boredom that occurs if your horse is not worked regularly.

It is always a relief to reduce expenses and leave you money to spend on the fun stuff for you and your horse. The important thing to keep in mind is to never sacrifice quality, care or safety for you and your equine friend. Never skimp on feed, use ill-fitting tack or cut back on other things that your horse needs. Always make sure that your feed is of a good quality and not moldy or dusty. Cutting costs in these areas is not only unsafe but will, in the long run, increase your vet bills.

With careful planning and organizing your horse activities and ownership can be fun and fulfilling without being too hard on the wallet.

Megan Dykeman- 2004-2005 (c)

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