I know I'm not the only one who gets super excited when it's time to go grocery shopping for myself. But am I the only one who gets just as excited, if not more so, when it's time to buy feed for my horse? Because let me tell you, there is nothing like finding a great deal on feed to make your horse's budget your happy place. So today, I'm going to share with you more of my favorite tips and tricks for keeping your horse's feed bill under control without sacrificing their quality of life. Stay tuned!

In a recent blog I shared some thoughts about how to save money on hay. If you didn't see it, check it out, here. They are not the end-all solution and are offered, if for nothing else, than to help you think about ways to control costs in the current economic state! Today I'll continue this discussion with feed and supplements.

I will always start out by saying I am a firm believer that organization saves time and money. An organized feed room leads to less waste. We save time feeding because of the organization. We don't have to hunt for this or that, everything is where it should be. I'll also add that you don't need a fancy stable in order to achieve a healthy environment. It just takes a little imagination, elbow grease, and an afternoon with friends, to create a great feed room.

So let's start out with the most basic necessity: a room for feed. Maybe you do not have the luxury of a stable at the moment. Maybe you have a loafing shed in a one acre pasture. That's great! Let's get to work. Does your family have a garage? Is it a little unorganized? Take a look at it, talk to your parents if need be, and find out if there is anything you can donate or get rid of. Do a proper clean out! Now you've done a clean out, and there is some room (maybe 10 feet on one side of a wall). Great! That's all you need!

Let's talk storage. First off, I'm not a fan of plastic storage. No matter how thick. Rodents can find their way in no matter what. So that leaves me with metal storage. Doing a search on line, I find there are some nice metal feed storage bins out there. I'll look at one I see in more than one place.

Now ...we're going to do some math. I know! Yuck! But ...there is a reason! This particular feed storage sold in a variety of places, has dimensions of 47 inches x 27 inches by 32 inches. If I do the math to convert to cubic feet of storage; it equals 23.5 cubic feet of storage, at a cost of around $1750.00. That's pretty expensive. I began storing feed eons ago in metal trash cans. I had them, they were easy to purchase ...and I collected them. They're good in that I can usually hold two 50 pound bags of feed in them, or 4 bags of beet pulp shreds. But they can cost between $70 -$90. So if you want to store different items they can add up in cost.

Finally, at some point decided to look at truck bed tool box inserts. I think I saw one on sale, and my mind just went there! As with everything, the cost of these has gone up too. But you can look for sales during the holidays or during seasonal sales. So just browsing I find one with the dimensions of 70 inches by 20 inches by 19 inches.

That comes to 15.39 cubic feet of storage. This one costs around $480.00. Now we're one to something! For about three and a half times less cost, I can have almost 3/4 the cubic storage as the large one for $1750.00! So TWO of these tool box containers will actually hold MORE feed than the one large one and STILL cost almost half the cost of the large one! And if you're trying to create a storage area in a garage, the tool box will fit nicely against the wall!

So everything takes time, and you might have to wait to find the right time to purchase this. I started out with nothing. I sanded and sealed the wood walls, hung the scale, etcetra.

Still, you can start with some metal trash cans and store smaller amounts in the mean time. Once you have them, you can use them in a variety of ways. You can empty whole bags of feed into them, allowing for 6-8 months of feed for one horse depending upon amounts. I use one bin for alfalfa cubes. I do not feed alfalfa hay. I feed grass. I supplement the horses' diets with the alfalfa cubes. The benefits of this are numerous, and I'll list just some of them: Storage is clean. The alfalfa cubes are processed in a facility where there are little to no contamination of weeds or grasses. They are pure alfalfa. No bugs. There is no alfalfa hay getting loose and blowing around or making a mess, or being lost.(adds on to costs). I feed alfalfa cubes soaked in water, plus salt and oil and change the amount based one the amount of work they are doing. I have a scale on my feed room which makes it easy to be accurate. The fact that the alfalfa is soaked is beneficial to the horses' diets. the other truck box stores extra bags of feed. So I can buy in bulk and save money! The trash cans (why get rid of them once I had them?!) hold the salt, supplements and treats. If you're following, that's a lot of storage! So imagine doing something similar for one horse!As I've said before, You'll save cost as well as time and fuel for having to go out an buy feed more often!

There are problems with buying bulk feeds. One horse might not need it all. This is where your friends come in! See if you can share a bulk purchase with some horsey friend or neighbor. If you have a stable you ride at regularly, see if anyone there might want to go in on a bulk purchase with you! Cost savings in the current economy can make life a little easier, less stressful and more fun with your four legged friend. Again, this blog is only tackling one little part of caring for your horse. I'll go into more detail in future posts, including how to keep track of all this organization you're building, how to know when you'll need to order next, and how to build on the idea in other ways. Love to hear your thoughts or tips you have!

Until next time! Hope to see you again here at Little Pine Stables!