i want to keep my horses

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Hillary_Indiana

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hey guys,

i have four horses, and my dad pays for the hay/feed. we used to just have two horses, so the feed bill has gone up (considerably). I'm sure we are giving them more than they truly need and I was wondering where we can cut costs because he wants me to sell two of them. They go through like a round bale of hay (free access) in a week. given the ground is snow covered. Those round bales are 35 bucks a pop...not to mention we go through about a $7 bag of feed a week.

any suggestions?

ps most of the snow just melted, so the grass is showing now...but they only have about 2 acres to eat on.

hillary
 
Well...$42 a week ($168 a month) for 4 horses = $42. a month per horse. If you're only paying $35 for a round bale...count your blessings. Of course it depends a lot on how large and/or how much the round bales weigh.

$42 a month per horse (not including vaccinations, hoof trims, minerals, salt, water, etc.) is very reasonable to maintain a horse.

If you reduce or cut back on "needed" nutrition, you will end up "shooting yourself in the foot", so to speak.
 
Go along with your dad and sell two of them. Be happy that he is willing to go along with you on feeding two of them. 2 acres is not going to feed 1 horse.

With two you will be able to take better care of the two than tring to take care of 4 horses.

Why would you want 4 horses ? My wife has 4 and wants to have a colt out of one of them. I drew the line and told her if she wants a colt to make some room. Four is the limit. If she wants a colt she needs to get rid of one.

Her reason for wanting a colt is because she barrel races and the four horses she has is getting old. I tried to explain to her horses are big exspensive animals and we are not running a retirement home for old horses.
 
Hillary_Indiana":eozgl671 said:
hey guys,

i have four horses, and my dad pays for the hay/feed. we used to just have two horses, so the feed bill has gone up (considerably). I'm sure we are giving them more than they truly need and I was wondering where we can cut costs because he wants me to sell two of them. They go through like a round bale of hay (free access) in a week. given the ground is snow covered. Those round bales are 35 bucks a pop...not to mention we go through about a $7 bag of feed a week.

any suggestions?

ps most of the snow just melted, so the grass is showing now...but they only have about 2 acres to eat on.

hillary

1 - Stop feeding free choice hay - figure out what they need based on the weight they should be at and feed that much per sitting. A good place to start for that is http://www.equisearch.com

2 - Unless they are performance horses or your hay is sub-quality, there is no reason for the extra bagged feed. Have your hay tested so you know the protein content, and cut the bagged feed out of their diet. If you feed treats, cut them down to once or twice a week.

3 - Find a part-time job to help support your horses and take some of the burden off your father. These are your horses, why not shoulder some of the responsibility for their upkeep if you want to keep all 4?
 
I agree with others. Why have 4? They can not all be getting the riding/training time they could have. And all horses need some sort of training. Its not fair to have them and let them sit. How often do you ride? On the feed subject, you dont mention, breed, weight, age or work requirements or current grain. That could all make a difference on what they need.
 
Hillary_Indiana":22q77diq said:
hey guys,

i have four horses, and my dad pays for the hay/feed. we used to just have two horses, so the feed bill has gone up (considerably). I'm sure we are giving them more than they truly need and I was wondering where we can cut costs because he wants me to sell two of them. They go through like a round bale of hay (free access) in a week. given the ground is snow covered. Those round bales are 35 bucks a pop...not to mention we go through about a $7 bag of feed a week.

any suggestions?

ps most of the snow just melted, so the grass is showing now...but they only have about 2 acres to eat on.

hillary

Stop feeding round bales and bagged feed. Manage the amount of feed by feeding small square bales and do what msscamp said, feed based on daily requirements based on body weight, 1200 lb. horse on maintenance diet needs .02(1200)(100)= hay requirement of a low quality 8%protein hay will be just fine for them.
 
:lol: I DO have a retirement- rehab for OLD horses. Mine are
30,27, 26, 25,and 22! :lol2: AND, we still ride and and show them. They are priceless and safe for the kids to learn on.
 
I thought you said 4? That's 5. See if you can find a place where young children go to ride. They might take one or two off your hands.
 
Having had up to 13 horses at one time, I have found that less is more in the recreational ownership of horses. As your attention focuses to one horse you can become true partners and both of your pleasures will increase greatly.

Stress goes down, fun goes up. :D
 

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