There are many hobbies cheaper than horses, but few are as rewarding. As a pony mad child my father would tell me with ‘having a horse is\u00a0like throwing \u00a350 notes out of the window’. Then he would try to persuade me to take up bowling.\u00a0But to no avail.<\/p>\n
While it\u2019s true horses have cost implications, with a little bit of planning and time there are many ways you can reduce the costs. Tamsin Pickeral, author of Budget Horse and Pony Care,<\/em>\u00a0shares her tips.<\/p>\n 1<\/strong> The most important consideration with a horse is to do your maths before you take one on. Make sure that you really do have enough spare cash each month to feed and care for another hungry mouth. Be realistic and write down ALL the costs \u2013 from farrier to insurance \u2013 it’s amazing how it all adds up.<\/p>\n 2<\/strong> Finding a sharer can half your outgoings. This is particularly good if both parties enjoy doing different activities such as hunting or dressage, or one person just wants to hack out and the other likes competing.<\/p>\n 3<\/strong> Share services with other people. Farriers, dentists, vets, saddle fitters etc will often reduce their costs if there are a number of horses for them to see in one place. If nothing else, their travel costs will be reduced when split between a number of owners.<\/p>\n 4<\/strong> Buy food and hay in bulk. The more you buy, the more you save. If you’re concerned about using it before the item’s sell-by date (eg hayledge), get together with other people on your yard to split the cost and use it up more quickly.<\/p>\n 5<\/strong> Don\u2019t be fooled by the vast array of products on the market. It is (generally) not necessary to spend hundreds pounds on lots of different supplements and feeding them won\u2019t guarantee you a performance horse, despite what the packaging says!<\/p>\n 6<\/strong> Some products such as leave in mane\/tail conditioner can be simply and cheaply made. Mix two pints of water, two tablespoons of baby oil and one tablespoon of Listerine original.<\/p>\n 7<\/strong> Many items for your horse, such as sponges, cotton wool, buckets and brooms, are much cheaper on the high street than your tack shop. You can also try using a mild baby shampoo instead of expensive horse shampoos.<\/p>\nMoney-saving tips<\/h2>\n