How to save $25,000/year with 6 horses
As I was creating pastures yesterday, my mind continually thought about everything we are doing and how I can get the word out to others. I love to save people money and tell them about things that work. Adaptive grazing principles work with horses. You, your horses, and your pocketbook will benefit.
Today I want to tell you how I am currently saving $2000/month by NOT feeding hay and NOT cleaning stalls. The process is incredibly simple, and it also makes your pastures healthier. Our farm is not fancy. It is an old Angus cow farm from the 18th century. Many buildings are hanging on by a thread, and the infrastructure is very much in need of repair. We are very aware, and we are working on it! The money that we save through adaptive grazing allows us to spend money on what matters. Right now, the most important thing is that our animals and our pastures are thriving. I am so proud every time I go out and look around. Everything is glowing.
As a successful business owner in the property management space, I want to apply business principles to farming. If we can’t focus on decreasing excessive farm expenses to make farms more affordable, the next generation will never want to attempt this industry. What’s worse is how we house horses has been shown to cause significant harm via increased stress indicators. . You can check that information out in my other blog article discussing the latest Kentucky Equine Research on stress indicators in stalled horses. Their research is challenging the status quo.
Today I am discussing saving money with horses. As I created a new pasture space for them, I calculated how much hay we do not have to feed them and how much shavings we do not have to purchase. (When we feed hay at shows, we only feed hay purchased from Nicole@ SweetGrassFarms.)
Today, I made this video going over a new pasture space, and it only took about 45 minutes. I have six horses and created their living and eating space in 45 minutes. Let that sink in for a second. If you have cleaned stalls before, the average stall takes about 15 minutes, including filling water buckets, taking horses out to pasture after or bringing them in, replacing shavings, and sweeping up after. Folks, you are MOVING if it only takes 15 minutes/horse. That would mean cleaning stalls for six horses takes an average of 1.5 hours. Some barns take much more time, so the savings could continue to increase if the barn work is more tedious.
Here’s what I do NOT have to do/pay for by creating a new pasture space:
Clean stalls- Savings of paying barn help and an additional 1-hour day, 7 hours a week, or 365 hours/year. At $12/hour, that’s a $4380/year savings.
Shavings- $200/month or $2400/year in savings.
Barn utilities- Savings of at least $100/month or $1200/year.
Hay- Savings of $60/day for my situation- $1800/month or $21,600/year in savings.
That’s a total of $29,580 saved with 6 horses.
I have a large run-in barn where the horses can always go. I let the animal decide what it wants. It’s amazing what happens when you do that. Each of my pastures is connected to the run in the shelter so they can decide when they want to get shelter.
So how do you save over $25,000 a year if you have six horses?
For any of this to work, you have to think differently. You have to step away from current industry norms. The horse industry seems to be a big competition on who can create the most prominent and prettiest barn. It is just a little ridiculous when you think about it because none of it focuses on the benefit to the horse. It is all who can create the best aesthetics. Horses were meant to graze continuously in their herd. They wouldn’t run to the prettiest build barn if they had a choice. I want to encourage horse and land owners to use horses (and other herbivores) to work their land for them. Think about what spaces are not currently fenced in and wonder if they could put their horses there instead of turning on their mower. This is how you get healthy soil and don’t have to supplement it with hay. Think about heavily wooded areas that could be thinned to create more pasture space. You win by looking around and being creative with what you have. You may have too many horses that your land can handle. Leasing land may be a good option. Just drive down the road and contact landowners whose land looks forgotten. I bet they would be grateful if animals started grazing it. The ideas are endless.
If you want a jump start on adaptive grazing with your horses, sign up for our adaptive grazing mini course on our website. You can connect with us by clicking this link if you need more help.
The money you save could be used for things that matter. I’d love to hear your comments on what good things you can spend money on instead of things that may not matter.