Horse owner feedback please

[CarriBrown]

They are so cute! Funny thing about horses... they LOVE to be dirty!

 

[horsejody]

s6bee,
I grew up in Western NY (Knowlesville, NY). I live in Nebraska now. We have horses, and I board other peoples horses on my place. Cost per horse varies widely depending on location. First of all, don't buy your hay from newspaper ads or auctions. Find a local farmer that bales. You can get a better deal that way. If you are a regular customer and he can count on you to buy every year, it is cheaper. It's kind of like buying wholesale, instead of retail. I buy my hay that way and pay $3 per bale. Buying it through ads and auctions is $4 - $5. Secondly, if you have quality hay, you don't need the other stuff unless you work the horses hard or there are specific health issues. If you don't ride a lot on rocky trails or the road, you don't need shoes. You will, however, need regular trimming. I keep my horses on pasture for half of their feed for about 5 months a year. The rest of the year is just hay and a little bit of grain or pelleted feed. I don't stall my horses unless they are sick. They all have shelters they get into. I figure that my cost for feed, farrier & vaccinations is about $56 per horse per month. But that's me. I buy in bulk, do a lot of bargaining and have a truck and trailer to haul my own hay. Keep in mind that if a horse gets sick, the cost of keeping it gets pretty high very quickly. One vet bill can easily cost more than a year's worth of feed.

I would never give up my horses. We have a trailer with a living quarters and take them on week long vacations and weekend outings. I love to trail ride. I wish you lived closer. Then we could go ride