 |
FW: RE: [RC] cutting costs for feed - Rebecca HackworthYes, hay is up. But when you get right down to it, hay is $20/bale at 5 bales / month. So if you are feeding at home, cost is only $100/mo. Yeah, it's expensive, but so is everything these days. I don't grain when they don't work. If it is extra cold, I will give a warm beet pulp mush in the evenings, just to get extra water in to them. I cut costs elsewhere. I do my own vehicle maintenance ( oil, filter changes) Huge savings. Comparison shop for everything. Don't eat out much. Wait for movies to come out on DVE instead of the theaters. Drive the 30mpg hybrid whenever I can though I prefer driving the dually much more. I sew. I install myself. I learn to repair everythin instead of just buying a new on (of anything) I say NO to any "free horse" because we all know there is no such thing. Merry Christmas All ---- Original Message ---- From: dotwgns@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx To: ridecamp@xxxxxxxxxxxxx, AERCMembersForum@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx Subject: [RC] cutting costs for feed Date: Sat, 13 Dec 2008 23:35:02 -0700 New topic, how to save some money on feed. I learned this many years ago when times were really tough for us. We had quite a few horses and it wasn't practical to sell as they were our working income most of the year. They were not working during this winter. If pasture is non existant, and hay is costly, you can get by feeding less hay if you feed at least 4 times a day rather than once or twice. If you are allowing 25 # good hay per horse, they will hold their own on less than 20# if you split it into 4 feedings. It's very important that each horse gets a full share and time to eat in peace. Plenty of fresh water, warm if it's cold out, and shelter from wet and wind. We couldn't blanket at the time but each horse had a stall overnite. If you can add a lb or so of grain, oats, corn, anything, it will help without adding many $$. Wasn't any then, but expect beet pulp could be in this mix today. Today I would be sure worming and teeth were up to date, not easy to do that long ago. The key is small feedings often, and quality feed. Most adult horses will maintain just fine on this method all winter. Youngsters need more for growth but will not be harmed for a few weeks this way. =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= Ridecamp is a service of Endurance Net, http://www.endurance.net. Information, Policy, Disclaimer: http://www.endurance.net/Ridecamp Subscribe/Unsubscribe http://www.endurance.net/ridecamp/logon.asp Ride Long and Ride Safe!! =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-= =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=- Ridecamp is a service of Endurance Net, http://www.endurance.net. Information, Policy, Disclaimer: http://www.endurance.net/Ridecamp Subscribe/Unsubscribe http://www.endurance.net/ridecamp/logon.asp Ride Long and Ride Safe!! =-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-
|