How to Keep a Horse During a Recession

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By derbyka
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Keep a Horse During a Recession

During difficult economic times, many horse owners are forced to make the heartbreaking decision to sell their horses while they try to meet their budget. However, there is hope for those who want to try to keep their horse during financial trouble. These guidelines are not meant to be everyday money saving tips, but instead, larger scale measures that you can use to preserve horse ownership.

Difficulty: Moderately Challenging

Instructions

Things You'll Need:

resolve
horse friends
internet access
phone book

Step 1

Consider leasing or half-leasing your horse to someone during the recession. This is one of the most simple solutions to keeping a horse during hard times. The lessee pays for all or half of the horse's expenses such as board, feed, and farrier in exchange for use of your horse. If you decide to lease out your horse, make sure to have a contract that stipulates payments and how often the lessee can work with your horse.
Step 2

Pasture boarding your horse is another option for retaining ownership during hard recession times. Pasture boarding often costs significantly less than stall boarding. While it is essential that your horse be fed and cared for properly while pasture boarded, you may have to make do without certain facilities such as an indoor arena or tack room. However, being able to work or ride your horse less will be worth it in the long run since he or she will remain in your hands.
Step 3

Think about starting a horsey co-op. Get together with a few horse people that you know and trust and are in a similar financial situation, at least one of whom has pasture or stalls on their property. Move your horses in together and create a schedule so that the feeding, mucking, and maintenance work is split up by day and morning/evening. In this way, you can avoid having to pay outside help. You will also be able to divide up barn call fees from the farrier/vet and buy feed and hay in bulk.
Step 4

Advertise in your local tack shop and on classified sites such as Craigslist that you are willing to barter for hay. Offer to help on someone's farm in exchange for a discount on hay or for the hay itself or offer up possessions less dear to you than your horse, such as a second TV.
Step 5

Trade services with a local horse related non-profit. Search on-line for non-profits such as equitherapy organizations which will be feeling the money crunch as well. Offer to provide a service that you have experience with such as legal advice, insurance advice, advertising, fundraising, or simple barn work etc in exchange for board or discounted board at their horse facility. Be polite, not harassing, and prepared to demonstrate how the situation will work to the benefit of both parties. Furthermore, go into the agreement with an understanding that they will be running therapy sessions and classes and that you will probably have limited space/hours in which you can work your horse. A small sacrifice for getting to keep your horse.

Comments

deruiter said

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on 1/18/2009 A great way to GET a nice horse during this recession is to ask your vet. He knows who has good horses, who cares for them, AND WHO WOULD GIVE THEM TO A GOOD HOME FREE INSTEAD OF SENDING THEM TO AN AUCTION FOR MEAT when the owner no longer wants/needs/can afford his horses.

on 1/18/2009 Another great way to get a bargain on horse stabling is to exchange some stable work for part of the board. Private horse people with a small barn and an extra stall are often amenable to letting you keep your horse in that empty stall in exchange for putting all the horses in the pasture in the morning and mucking out the stalls. You might luck out and find a nice barn where you pay for your own horse's food, and have the stall in exchange for the AM barn chores.

BluegrassGal said

on 11/19/2008 These are all great tips. Another tip I might add is this: Now is the time to take the best possible care of your horse. That may sound like a contradiction - all of us know how expensive veterinary bills have become. But there are alternatives available that can keep your horse in excellent health and reduce vet bills at the same time. One such alternative is an equine supplement - an oral HA that will keep your horse's joints lubricated and healthy - reducing the need for injections in tight times. Take a look at LubriSyn - it's a supplement that helps thousands of horse owners today, and can have a significant impact on the cost of keeping your horse healthy.

Cherst1031 said

on 11/9/2008 Thanks for sharing this, I have been worried about the animals during this economic crisis - so glad to know there are options for the horse owners!