From the article: Money Saving Tips for Horse Owners
Can you cut costs, without compromising the quality of care you give your horse? Share your money saving tips with other horse owners. Share Your Tips
Hay and grass
- It might be cheaper if you take your pony off grain and feed it hay in the winter (fall?) and let it graze in the summer and spring. That makes it that you only have to pay for hay. When i get my pony, this is what i will do.
- —Guest horse
Boarding
- To get the price lowered of the boarding fee, maybe if you let your precious horse be used in lessons, they will lower the price. Also maybe if you muck out stallls that are not yours (and pasture) they will lower the price.
- —Guest horse
Treats
- You don't have to go out and buy your pony treats. You can just make them here at home. Horse's and ponies are allowed to eat the following Corn husks Banannas watermelon oranges fruit popsicles candy canes and mint candies cough drops butter cookies ginger snaps bread pretzels Almost any vegetable The following should NOT be fed to ANY horse: Any part of a tomato or potato plant Fruits with pits in them (okay if pits are out) Yard and shrub clippings Lawn trimmings Caffeinated drinks cinnamon chocolate nutmeg persimmon sassafrass soda willow leaves Hope this helped!
- —Guest horse
Pasture
- Horses should be at pasture at least once a day. Why don't you try putting your pony in the pasture in the day and in the stall at night? Or the pony in the pasture 24/7? Here are the reasons why: 1.Saves money on board 2.Prevents colic 3.Gets daily exercise 4. Natural If your pony has to stand in the stall all night, it could get frusterated and become colicky. This saves money because if your horse doesn't get colic, the vet won't come and have you pay bills!
- —Guest horse
Baby Shampoo
- Save your money by not buying the expensive horse shampoo. Just by baby shampoo. Here's what you need: Clean & empty ketchup bottle Baby shampoo water Fill up the ketchup bottle with lukewarm water. Once you filled the bottle with water, put in a drop of baby shampoo. Don't fill it up all the way because you need to mix it together. This solution is enough to bathe a full horse once. Happy Bathing!
- —Guest horse
Sun Burn
- If your horse has a pinky muzzle, you can apply a little bit of human sun block to protect your precious pony's nose. Any comments about any tips i posted will be greatly appreciated! Thank you!
- —Guest horse
Horse Books
- Horse books tell you what you need to keep a pony, but sometimes they tell you to get items that you don't need. You don't need a water brush, mane and tail comb, or a face brush. You can brush the pony's face with a body brush. In place of a water brush, you could use a curry comb and just use the brush until you get the mud off. In place of both combs, you could just use one extra hair brush you have or buy a super cheap one. You don't need a sweat scraper. Instead, use the side of your hand. So what i'm trying to say is that you don't need to buy EVERYTHING the book says, just most of them.
- —Guest horse
Jumping fences
- If you like to jump and want your own fences, buy one with peeling paint but sturdy enough that if your horse knocks it down it won't break. You can just paint it afterwards to make it look nice.
- —Guest horse
Horse Feed
- If you buy a pony that eats grain as well as hay and grass, eliminate grain because it is cheaper. It won't be cheap, but cheaper because that is one less thing you have to feed. If this helps, this is how much hay costs (about): Small bale = $9.00 Medium bale= 13.00
- —Guest horse
Making Money
- If you are 13 years old or older, you can probably make money working at a snack bar at football games, hockey games, baseball games, or basketball games. Another way is to work at Baskin Robbins. Hope this helped! I wouldn't recommend getting a pony if your saving by yourself untill you get a part-time job or if your parents are helping you. I'm saving for my pony and i will probably get one when when i'm 13 or 14. Just start saving and you will be VERY succesful!!!!
- —Guest horse
Beautiful halters
- You don't have to pay for an expensive halter for its looks. You can buy an inexpensive and used ugly halter that is sturdy. To make it look nice, use duct tape of your favorite color (the small roll will do). Apply the duct tape to the halter. If you really want to make the halter really eye catching, apply beads, glitter, sequins, or all the above to the outside of the halter. Just glue it on.
- —Guest horse
Buckets
- You could use plastic buckets, but i preferr the rubber ones because they last 100 x longer. My riding teacher's horses bop eachother on the head with it and toss it around but is still 100% durable. These buckets cost about $13.00 but it is less expensive to buy one of these that lasts basically forever than to buy lots of plastic buckets!
- —Guest horse
Clipping your horse
- As long as you give the clippers a rest very often to cool down, you can use human hair clippers to clip your horse. They might be used only 3,4, or 5 times but you usually don't have to clip your horse very often. Look at the prices of each: Human hair clippers= about $15.00- $30.00 Horse hair clippers= about $200.00-$400.000.
- —Guest horse
Gaining experience
- If you want to gain some experience before you get your pony, try volunterring at your local rescue or taking inexpensive riding lessons.
- —Guest horse
Water Buddy
- To save money on water bills, wear something unusual around your neck with string. Wear the buddy on your neck while the hose is on. When your done with the water, take the buddy off and tye it on the pump. That way you know you didnt waste any water. Please know that all the tips im giving you are ot my own. I'm just sharing them with you.
- —Guest horse
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