Horse IQ

Horse & Rider’s lifestyle editor Juli Thorson is usually right on the money when it comes to horsekeeping issues. Her post from this past Monday is no exception. The rising costs of grain, bedding, pellets, and other horsekeeping commodities is forcing us horse lovers to make some hard, painful decisions - decisions that come with a dollar sign on them.

So how do you combat horsekeeping costs that never seem to stop creeping up, up, up? Here’s the best way I know of…

I’ll give you my take on it in a moment. But before I do, read the quote below and you’ll see just how bad Juli’s situation is.

“When I add it all up, the numbers clearly tell me that my costs have risen enough–just from the factors above–to be the equivalent of having one extra horse to support per month. I don’t have much choice but to pass this bad news on to my friends who board their horses at my ranch, and to tell them that their boarding fee HAS to go up.

Nor can I avoid taking the required hard look at my own little herd and decide who needs to be first to go. (Which begs the next question: Go where? If a horse-owning lifer such as I is starting to feel priced out out of her passion, how must the cost of horse ownership look to someone just now thinking of joining us? And if I’m feeling pressured to reduce my horse numbers, why wouldn’t other established horse owners be feeling the same thing–and be wanting to sell instead of buy?)”

Now, Juli lives in Moscow, Idaho, about half way between Helena and Spokane. I haven’t been to her ranch, but I’ve been to that part of the country. Livestock outnumber humans by at least 3-to-1.

That’s not good news if you’re nervous about your horse budget. Why? There’s not much competition out there in the horse commodities market. And when there are few competitors, there’s little reason for sellers to control prices. I’m not saying that’s good or bad. It’s just the way it is.

I live in the northern suburbs of Atlanta, GA. A lot of people live here (too many, in my opinion). But the upside is there are a lot of competing vendors for equestrian related supplies.

If I don’t like the prices at Atlanta Saddlery, all I have to do is drive over to the Tack Shack in Woodstock. Or Frank’s Farm up in Canton, GA. Or any of the other hundred-or-so competitors within an hour’s drive of my home.

That may not be an option where you live. It sure isn’t in Juli’s case. So what do you do then? Well, sometimes you just have to get a little bit creative.

Here’s an idea for you: why not form a co-op for the purpose of obtaining better prices for the commodities you need? If you’re not familiar with the idea, here’s what a co-op is, in a nutshell…

A cooperative is a private business organization that is owned and controlled by the people who use its products, supplies or services. Although cooperatives vary in type and membership size, all were formed to meet the specific objectives of members, and are structured to adapt to member’s changing needs. Cooperatives are formed by individuals who coordinate among themselves (horizontal coordination) to achieve vertical integration in their business activities.

Courtesy Rural Cooperatives Center, University of California, Davis.

That’s a fancy way of saying get together with some of your neighbors who are just as tired as you are of paying high prices for grain, bedding, and the like. Form an informal “organization” of rural horse owners and approach vendors in your area (or as close to it as you can get).

Tell them your organization - or “co-op” - is willing to buy all it’s horse supplies from that vendor…for a significant discount in price, free delivery, easy payment terms, or whatever other benefit you might want.

If they balk at it, approach another vendor. And another. And yet another until you find one that will give you what you need, in the quantities you need it, at the price you want to pay. If you’re persistent, you’ll find a vendor that is hungry enough for your business that they’ll meet your price and terms. It may be uncomfortable for you, but it’s a lot more comfortable than deciding which of your beloved horses should be the next to go.

Think this can’t work? It’s already working. Some friends I go to church with have created a co-op for the purpose of getting better prices for grass-fed beef. Putting the arrangement together took a little bit of time and effort, but the benefit was very high quality beef and a ridiculously low price. And they’ve got a written agreement at those terms signed by the vendor for several years out.

And all because they found some like-minded people who were all in the same situation. They got a little bit creative. And it paid off in a big way. The key to making it work is a significant number of people who all need the same things. The only way you’re going to get a vendor’s attention is by showing him some big, steady potential sales.

Can the same thing work for you and your neighbors when it comes to buying horse products? Maybe. But you’ll never know unless you try. And it beats the heck out of the alternative, I’m sure you’ll agree.

So the moral of this story is this: if you don’t like the price you pay for hay (or anything else, for that matter), be willing to take your business elsewhere. And if that’s not an option for you because of where you live, do like my friends did. Employ the most effective weapon against rising horsekeeping costs: your own creativity.

Yours for Better Horse Care,

Sierra Lynch

Tags: Horse Issues, Horsekeeping Costs

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