Released March 20, 2009
LOGAN, Utah -- The purchase price of a horse is usually small compared to managing a horse for all the years after. Owners in a tight economy are looking for ways to reduce their expenses and still maintain healthy horses. According to Pat Evans, Utah State University Extension equine specialist, owners can develop skills that allow them to be more involved in their horses’ care, thus reducing health costs. She suggests these tips for reducing the cost of horse care.
Veterinary care: This can be an expensive part of horse ownership. Having a good working relationship with local veterinarians can help them understand what tasks an owner can handle. Taking an active interest and being involved with the daily care of a horse needing wound or medical therapy can increase owners’ education and interaction with their horse.
For instance, caring for leg wounds that require wrapping can be expensive if the veterinarian is involved on a regular basis and if vet wrap, elastikon and cotton sheeting are used and changed on a daily basis. Instead, owners can save money by caring for the wound themselves with veterinary direction and using quilts and polos that can be washed and reused.
Learning to give intramuscular and intravenous shots will allow owners to give vaccinations and medications prescribed by the vet. Owners can also save the farm-call charge, which can cost from $30 to $60, by hauling the horse to the veterinarian.
Fecal Test and Deworming: Internal parasites rob horses of feed nutrients and are a leading cause of colic. It is important to follow a deworming program that consists of testing for parasites and deworming with the appropriate product and amount. A fecal test indicates the numbers and types of parasites that are present. The test costs from $11 to $15. Deworming may not be necessary if the parasite load is light.
Most schedules include deworming or testing every 8 to 12 weeks. It is important to deworm according to the horse’s weight, since many times one tube of dewormer is not enough to cover the entire weight of a horse. A weight tape can be obtained at many feed stores or through a feed company. Because the tapes are not 100 percent accurate, it is appropriate to add 200 pounds to the weight and give enough dewormer to cover the horse’s weight plus the 200 pounds.
An important part of parasite control includes reducing the reinfestation rate. Clean pens or stalls daily to prevent the horse from having contact with manure, where parasite larvae live. Composting manure before spreading over fields will kill existing parasite larvae and better prepare the manure for spreading. These steps will reduce the need for chemical control while maintaining a healthy horse at a reduced cost.
Vaccinations: Vaccinations are usually given on an annual basis, although some are given more often. Vaccines boost the horse’s immune system and help it fight disease. It is far less expensive to protect the horse with a vaccine rather than treat a disease or lose a horse to a disease. Discussing a vaccination schedule with the vet can give owners a plan to maintain horse or herd health. Owners can save money by buying the vaccine from their veterinarian or checking online for veterinary supply sites, which may be less expensive. Most veterinarians will meet lower prices found by owners at online sites or through catalogs.
Nutrition: Proper feeding is an important aspect of maintaining a healthy horse. When making changes in hay or grain diets, do so over 7 to 10 days. If new hay is purchased, feed 25 percent or less of the new hay mixed with 75 percent or more of the old hay. Increase the amount of new hay daily until all new hay is fed by the 7-to-10-day change period. Quality feed on a regular schedule at least two times a day can decrease the chance of colic.
With hay and grain costs rising, it is important to make the best use of these feeds. Many people overfeed their horses, leading to wasted money. Horses should be fed according to their weight and body condition, not just in armfuls of hay and coffee cans of grain.
A horse needs 1 to 2.2 percent of its body weight in hay per day. This translates to 10 to 22 pounds of hay per day for a 1,000 pound horse. Easy keepers will be near 10 pounds per day while harder keepers will be closer to 22 pounds per day. Use a bathroom or food scale to weigh the food.
Most horses do not need grain unless they are in hard work, late gestation, lactating or growing. A working horse may only need added protein if it maintains good body condition, so a protein/vitamin/mineral supplement may be better than a complete grain.
Many people incorrectly believe feeding grain in the winter helps the horse stay warmer, but hay actually produces more body heat. If grain is needed, it should also be fed by pounds, not cans or volume. The least expensive bag of grain may not be the least expensive to feed. Feed horses a concentrate (grain) that gives the most calories per pound. This will feed less with a greater impact and save money, even if the initial cost is slightly higher.
Keep a hanging scale or food scale in the feed room so that concentrates can be weighed at each feeding. This will save guess work and money by providing daily consistency. Removing concentrates from a horse’s diet that are not needed to maintain its condition can save money.
Feeding quality hay will save money in the long run. Low quality hay is usually more mature, stemmy with less leaf, gives the horse fewer nutrients and is usually less digestible. Lower digestibility requires more hay to maintain body condition. Make sure the hay is leafy without mold or dust as this indicates good nutritive value and less chance of causing digestive problems. Storing hay off the ground and under cover will make the entire bale available whereas hay stored on the ground can become wet and moldy so part must be thrown out. Feeding off the ground will help prevent trampling and lost hay. Containing large bales in a large feeder will also help save hay. In group feeding of large bales, as much as 20 to 40 percent of the hay can be lost due to trampling. At $220 ton, a loss of 20 percent will mean $24 lost and a 40 percent loss equals $48 lost. It also means owners will have to purchase more hay to feed the horse for an additional 26 to 52 days.
Another way to reduce hay costs is to co-op with others. Hay producers will charge more for the 20 bale sale versus the 200 bale sale.
Dental Care: Dental care is important so the horse can chew properly, allowing it to get the nutrition provided through the feed. A horse’s teeth develop points, hooks and other irregularities due to the fit of the jaw and the continued eruption of the teeth from the skull. Lack of dental care can lead to mouth sores, loss of body condition and colic. An annual floating (rasping of the edges) may be all that is needed to give the horse a proper grinding surface.
Farrier Care:
Many horses that are shod likely would be just as “usable” if barefoot, especially those that spend most of their time in the pasture. Maintaining healthy, balanced hooves requires daily cleaning and trimming or shoeing every 6 to 8 weeks. Depending on the farrier used and what is needed, this can cost from $40 to $100 per horse per visit. There are shoeing or trimming schools available to help the owner feel comfortable taking over most hoof care. Boarding versus Home Stabled: Horses kept on home property with owners responsible for daily feeding and care always costs less. This is not an option for all owners, so some horses have to be boarded at a public facility. Many facilities offer the option for owners to clean their own stall and feed their own horse for a reduced board bill. Others may allow the boarders to help with keeping the entire facility clean and feeding all horses a few days each week to further reduce costs.
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http://extension.usu.edu/htm/news/articleID=4386
Contact: Lamar James, (501) 671-2187, ljames@uaex.edu
