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Extreme Veteran
Posts: 342
 
Location: Alabama | Thanks to the joy of working & going to school full time my budget is tight, my horses are my pride and joy and every extra cent I find goes to them & I want them to be treated the absolutely best... What tips or tricks do you have to help save money? Such as suplements ect... |
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Meanest Teacher!!!
Posts: 8552
   
Location: sunny california | hauling buddy to split gas. bring ice chest and food. |
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Extreme Veteran
Posts: 477
Location: Lost in the swamps | ^**this!! hauling buddy to split fuel, bring your own drinks,snacks, ect don't buy items from concessions. Don't make unnessisary tack purchases. Pick and choose the races you go to carefully. If you love to run but don't have the time or the money,find races in your area and stick closer to home. As far as suppliments. Research Try and finda do buy when they are on sale. Shop online for them and compare prices, and shipping. Buy all your wormers,and necessities at one time, some places offer free shipping if you buy a certain amount. This part too is when it's good to have a buddy to help save money. My boarders and I all buy our vaccines and wormers at the same time in bulk so we all cash in on the deals. |
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Miracle in the Making
Posts: 4013
| and make sure your not buying the stuff because it make You feel good
if your not campaiging hard they probably don.t need it
horses are a lot tougher than u thonk |
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 Elite Veteran
Posts: 695
Location: Missouri | For supplements we started animal element detox which has a super joint supplement in it along with everything else they would need! Lol it is very affordable and I even cut back on feed after they were on it about 30'days!
Good luck just make sure school comes first, you can spend more time on horses once you have your education competed! |
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Expert
Posts: 2685
| I have to agree with hauling buddy and bring you own food/ drink. Also, I agree with the buying the supps when they go on sale. I use smartpak and when they have sales I buy as much as I can. The other thing I did last year that worked for me was paying entry fees when I had the $ meaning if I had the $ to go to a big race I wanted to go to 3 months early I would put the $ and the entry form in an envelope and leave it on my desk until the entries were due that way I could go when it came up even if I didn't have entry fee money when it came time to go, it was already paid. The other thing I did was make my horses share a lot. Share a hay bag, share boots ect. |
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I Really Love Jeans
Posts: 3173
Location: North Dakota | When I was in college I sold every horse but one!! I know it is hard but it helped me save lots of money!!
Edited by angelica 2015-12-27 6:07 PM
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The Advice Guru
Posts: 6419
| Keep the feeding simple
Go with oats and hay, don't buy the processed feed, you will save money this way. If you need fat go with whole flax or an oil rather then buying that specialized diet.
Don't shoe unless absolutely necessary, barefoot barrel horses exist, this will save you lots of money.
Administer your own vaccines, try to do as much as possible with your horses instead of hiring it out, ex farrier, vet.
Unless you have a true 1d always in the money horse (the rest is a gamble) go to smaller jackpots, local series, play days, as a rule of thumb they will be cheaper.
Instead of joint supplements, if you are looking for preventative go with something like acetyl d glucosamine injectable, it costs 20/bottle and does 10 weeks.
Buy used instead of new, but look at new prices so you know you are getting a good deal. I have got smoked deals on a few high quality items, patience is key.
Edited by cheryl makofka 2015-12-27 6:46 PM
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 Take a Picture
Posts: 12838
| I know you don't want to hear this but get down to one horse. I feed an inexpensive pellet made at a local feed mill. Cost is about $12 a sack. I can get 8 meals from one sack. I feed twice a day, so approximately $2.50 per day. I buy a very high quality hay but I do have it delivered. You could save some money by getting it yourself. I feed Platinum Performance which costs me less than $1 per day. I buy multiple wormers when it is on sale. I usually buy vacinnes when they are on sale from Valley Vet. I give them myself.
You probably already have a saddle and some tack so use what you have. I use very plain tack that I bought on sale because I have found a lot of used tack costs as much as new and usually is not worth it. Smith Brothers has the best sale prices on quality utility tack. I bought Tod Slone pads years ago and have won a few. I think they will last me the rest of my life. I don't have to have everything color coordinated. I don't have to have the latest patterns---i usually buy Classic Equine on sale, they seem to last well.
I know the internet sites that have the best sales and since I buy from them so they email me sale information. I buy my jeans and boots on sale. Basically, I buy everything on sale.
I have several horses that have to have shoes so I just have the front shod.
I feed in plastic barrels that have been cut in half lengthwise. (Cut with a jigsaw). Can't get much cheaper than that. Great for hay too. Hope that helps.
I do need to add that I have to have food because I am diabetic so I always keep an ice chest with diet drinks and real food,even if just sandwiches. Somehow I can't imagine a barrel race without a concession stand but it happens.
Edited by streakysox 2015-12-27 10:36 PM
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Extreme Veteran
Posts: 509
| All good advice i barrel raced more when i was on a budget, i usually stuck close to the house i could show all summer on what people spent going to big shows. I went home at night no stalls or hook up fees, good farrier and feeding on a schedule turn them out Dailey goes a long way. |
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 Thick and Wavy
Posts: 6102
Location: Nebraska | I recently made it through nursing school with all 5 of my horses. I buy grain and stuff in bulk. I would also buy wormer and stuff when it went on sale and would buy enough for the year if possible. Sometimes it wasn't doable. I bought all my school books from Amazon. I didn't go out much at all and didn't buy but the bare minimum for myself. My tax return went strictly for hay every year and I would buy enough for a year and go get it out of the field myself. As for barrel races, I hauled with a friend for a couple of years and that helped. I also put all the money I won into an envelope and would only use that to pay entry fees. Using that system, I maybe took 20 out of my work paychecks to pay fees and it wasn't from every check. I also utilized coupons for everything and money saving apps like Ibotta, savings catcher, and some others. It takes extra time, but I saved over $300 last year on groceries and that was just on stuff I normally buy. I didn't have the time to look at sales and "extreme coupon". |
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Take a Picture
Posts: 12838
| Right now Smith Brothers has Professional Choice boots on sale for $39.95. I buy up several pairs for gifts. Glad I did. A family in Marshall lost all their tack, truck, trailer, and one horse. (House too) Just replacing tack is expensive so I have a cheap gift. |
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  Whack and Roll
Posts: 6342
Location: NE Texas | Whole oats, alfalfa hay, Cur-OST EQ Total Support. It seems expensive at $120 a month, but considering you won't need any other supplements whatsoever (no probiotics, no joint supplements, no stomach supplements, no nothing) it's very affordable. I only feed a half scoop of oats one time daily with hay twice daily. The changes you'll see in your horse, even a horse who you thought was healthy to begin with, will blow you away! |
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 Three in a Bikini
Posts: 2035
| I think it depends on what stage of life you are in.
When I was going to undergrad school I took one horse with me to college and it was a joke. I did not have the time or money needed to adequately care for the horse so back home he went.
Now that I am in grad school and working full time I somehow figure out a way to get it all done but I attribute this to growing up. :)
My budget tips = Invest in good grain and hay.
If you have a solid foundation in your feeding routine you wont have to fork over as much for supplements in the long run.
I also take GOOD CARE of my equipment. Washing and oiling all of my tack. Winterizing the trailer. Maintenance on the truck.
Making sure that I have all my ducks in a row with euipment helps everything last longer and look nice! |
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Industrial Srength Barrel Racer
Posts: 7264
| another has been - 2015-12-27 5:17 PM
For supplements we started animal element detox which has a super joint supplement in it along with everything else they would need! Lol it is very affordable and I even cut back on feed after they were on it about 30'days!
Good luck just make sure school comes first, you can spend more time on horses once you have your education competed!
I love this supplement also! |
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Meanest Teacher!!!
Posts: 8552
Location: sunny california | Taking winter off and saving money for the big races helps a lot. I don't like cold anyway so I just sock money away to spend when the weather is better and give the horse a break |
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Thick and Wavy
Posts: 6102
Location: Nebraska | kwanatha - 2016-01-01 1:44 PM Taking winter off and saving money for the big races helps a lot. I don't like cold anyway so I just sock money away to spend when the weather is better and give the horse a break
Yep! I used my winter break and worked as many hours as I could sign up for so I'd have $$ during the school year. |
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Barrel racer on a budget