Games of Knowledge

Surviving the credit crunch is never easy, but when you have ponies and horses which completely rely on you for food, shelter and medical attention, every little bit saved helps.

It’s tremendously sad that many horses and ponies are given up every single, as owners struggle financially with the economy as it is, because of this there are presently many horses for sale.

Sara Tuppen from the Horse Refuge in Kent, knows all about looking after horses on a tight budget, having to rely purely on donations to help keep more than 40 rescued horses in good condition. She believes there are a few points which could help make owning a horse on a budget a little easier:

1. Many horses can live quite happily outside for the majority of the year, as long as there’s nurishment, water and a place to shelter available. Providing this is an acceptable option for your horse, it could help reduce your stabling prices by a large amount.

2. Taking off shoes can be an easy way to keep costs down. If only ridden occasionally, and not ridden on rough surfaces, many horses will be happy without shoes.

3. Sharing your horse is a great way to severely reduce costs, and helps to provide a cheaper introduction to horse ownership for another person.

4. Quite often it is possible to receive free stabling and perhaps even hay and bedding in return for helping out around the yard. Mucking out, grooming the horses, yard and paddock maintenance etc. are all ways which could save you money for a little hard work!

5. Vets bills are an unknown quantity but still have to be considered. If money’s a little tight, you may find a lot of Vets will allow you to pay in instalments.

6. Many people can also make lifestyle changes! It’s not just finding ways to keep your horse more cheaply, you can do it too!

7. If achievable, horse owners can often join forces to purchase feed and straw in bigger numbers, reducing the entire cost and passing on savings to all.

8. As a last resort, you can look into getting your horse a foster home, even as a companion.

If you’re in a position to share, or even buy a horse or pony, there are still many horses for sale and ponies for sale available.

Tags: Bedding, Credit Crunch, Food Shelter, Horse Owners, Horse Ownership, Horse Refuge, Horses And Ponies, horses for sale, horses on budget, horses recession, Instalments, Last Resort, Lifestyle Changes, Looking After Horses, Many Horses, Medical Attention, Owning A Horse, Paddock Maintenance, Ponies For Sale, Rough Surfaces, Tight Budget, Unknown Quantity, Vets

This entry was posted by knowledge on Thursday, March 11th, 2010 at 7:00 am and is filed under sports games. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.