Most people think horses are big animals, so they cost a lot to feed, but they're wrong. Feeding horses can cost a large amount of money depending on what you feed them, but if you do things right, you can slash the cost of feeding your horse to not much more than a couple of Starbucks coffees each week, if not less.
1. Feed More Hay (Forage) & Less Grain - Grain feed is far more expensive to purchase than hay and most horses really don't need the extra grain. Good quality hay should be all that pleasure horses need to keep in top condition.
2. Purchase Hay Direct From the Farm - Cut out the middle man (the grain/fodder store) and go straight to the farmer for your hay. You'll find that the majority of farmers are quite happy to sell hay to you, and often in quite small quantities (5 or 10 bales at a time) if you don't have much storage. Keep an eye out in the classified ads section of your local paper or agriculture/farming newspaper and you'll see plenty of ads for hay.
3. Keep Your Horse's Food off the Ground - Feeding a horse directly on the ground increases wastage through trampling (especially in wet, muddy conditions) and toileting! They're not going to eat feed that's muddy, or been urinated or defecated on. Try to place your horse's feed in a hay net, an old bath tub, washing machine bowl, or a specially made feed container.
4. Worm Your Horse Regularly - If your horse has a belly full of worms, then each time you feed them you're also feeding the worms. If you don't want your horse to have to share his food with the worms, then you need to make sure they're wormed every 6 to 8 weeks.
5. Rug Your Horse in Cold Winter Months - You don't need to go and purchase half a dozen rugs from the saddler store. Just one warm, waterproof rug is all your horse needs to help keep them that bit warmer in winter. The warmer your horse is, the less food they'll need. A cold horse will need to burn more energy (the by product of their feed) to try and keep warm, so by rugging them you're reducing the amount of energy, & therefore food, that they need.
Feeding horses a good, well-balanced diet on a small budget is not hard to do. By following the tips above and being smart about what horse feed you purchase - not buying the latest supplement or grain feed just because the manufacturers tell you your horse needs it - you can keep your horse in A1 condition for a mere fraction of what many people spend.
Rachel Incoll is the author of EquestrianHub.com - the number one place for everything equine online. Visit her site to discover more great ideas on how to cut your horse feed costs, plus all the latest equestrian news, event results, horse riding tips & fun competitions.
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