Have you ever thought about what it costs for a weekend of trailriding?.....

Organized ride fee..................$120

Grain and hay........................$30

Farrier bill.............................$100

Snacks and drinks..................$50

Fuel....................................$100

                                   =   $400

Sitting around the campfire swapping lies after a long days ride..........PRICELESS!

RIDE ON!

I must be cheap.  I've never paid more than $50 to go on a ride (most around here are free) and I keep my horses bare foot so its only $15 for a trim.  Everything else is pretty close. 

I'd love to go on the Chief Joseph trail ride someday, but by the time I can I'll probally be to old to go.

Plus $30 for the health certificate and 28 for Coggins test, if required.

....and still worth every penny!

Who cares what a weekend will cost. The serenity of being on the trail with your favorite mount,friends and having mental therapy is all worth it!!

If we we're worried about money we wouldn't have horses

Teri,

The "organized ride fee" is for three nights campsite with electric, 2 stalls and 3 meals a day. Not bad considering what it would cost to rent a motel room and eat out for a weekend doing something else.

Definitely worth every penny.

RIDE ON!

lol !  I agree!

Besides, has anyone priced "therapy" these days? Not to mention that my horse and mutt think I'm "all that and my "horse friends" are  the best in the world!

Tame the beast within.....Ride!

Some friends of mine recently spent a long weekend at Gatlinburg, TN and they racked up over $1000 for their room, entertainment and eats. I'll bet they didn't have any more fun than we had for less than 1/2 the price!

RIDE ON!

Shari:

I also lost a son and my aunt 6 days apart. Devastating. I agree with you. My horses have gotten me through this extreme sad,' hole in my gut' rough period .....Just going to the barn lifts my spirits. I don't think I would have survived without my four-footed friends. My sympathies to you on your loss. No one understands like a mother.

Keep riding

I trim My own horses,use LQ trailer,camp on National forest or BLM land and make my own trail rides.

That way it gives Me more money to pay for the truck trailer and feed.

Of course some rides include meals and drinks so sometimes they are a bargain.

Heck it's only money and ya can't take it with ya.

Like Dr Phil would say "this could be a changing day in your life" "You need to get real" so saddle up and ride.

Terri:

How do your horses or horse do without shoes?  Our trails are rather rocky here and we need shoes on all fours.  Don't their feet get tore up from the trails?

My farrier sent me a notice......."Price Increase"........$140.00 for 4 shoes, $100 for fronts and back trim., $60.00 for trim only.  If you have more than one horse $40.00 for trim per horse.  Oh, and if you get the "clip type" shoes, it's $30.00 more.

Yikes...........needless to say, our two main trail horses will have shoes. The rest are going barefoot............

I do my own trims and if I ride in a rocky area I use Old Mac boots that I have wilderness tested and they are great!! went thru mud,rivers,large rocks,steep hills, and never lost one !

All My horses are bareboot and after a while ther get real hard soles and can handle all terrane. The trick is to take off excess hoof wall and not sole.This keeps the foot nice and tuff.If you ride alot they keep worn down by themselves.Just keep a rasp handy to keep the hoof in good condition.

I also notice a difference it trailering,not as much stomping and better footing.

Figure wit 3 horses thats quite a savings.

Can you elaborate further on the Old Mac boots?  I have been wanting to buy a pair but don't know anyone that uses them (within my circle of trail buddies that is).  Are they hard to take on and off? In your opinion what are the pro's and con's? I've seen the Boa boot and it seems like they  would be easier to get on and off. 

I would love to stop with the shoes.  Trimming my own is out of the question, but my farrier will come out and just do trims and would be fine with just doing that.  He's a nice guy, but expensive.......

Thanks

Barbara,

I have a Standardbred gelding that I do long distance trail riding on. He continuously lost front shoes. Everytime I went to ride or was leaving to go camping with the horse, he was missing a shoe. I finally got fed up with it and decided to go barefoot with him. I had to do something- farrier's fees going up and all, also the farrier's were cutting all his heel off and leaving toe long, his heels were also starting to contract as well from the poor shoeing! I went through something like 4 farrier's!!!

I now have no problems with this horse- This is what I did-Mind you, he too has tender soles. You need to have a barefoot/pasture trim done. Find a farrier that knows what this is. (Alot of farrier's do a shoeing trim instead of a pasture trim.)I used the easy-boot epics for a while then switched to the Cavallo boot and love it. They are easier to put on and my horse is fine!! His feet will always be tender out in pasture without the boots on but, his hoof wall is so strong now. No more chipping or cracks. The popping sound in his hip is now gone! He also started "popping" in the neck and shoulders and now it is gone. I never have to worry about going to catch my horse for a ride and find that a shoe is missing!! I am so much happier now. Also have saved a lot in expenses. Plan to do this with the other horse now as well. Also, just found a new item in Valley Vet catalogue."comfort pads". I bought a pair of these and inserted them into both the easy-boot epics and the cavallo boot. LOVED THEM! Only $4.99 a pair. Good Luck!

-Tara

Tara,

Thanks so much for your take on this subject.  I will check the catalogs for the cavallo boot.   My farrier is due back in the next few weeks and I'm going to discuss this issue with him.

Farrier fees are way out of control here in Maryland. It's amazing to see all the new farriers that move here from out West, too.  They say because the people here will pay big bucks for their services.  Supply and demand I suppose.   But that can come back and kick them in the butt too.  They will find that they will be shoeing less, trimming only and people will be stretching out the visits too.......

This is what I had done prior to my farriers increase:

2- Full sets

2- Front shoes/back trim

2- Trim only

Now:

2- Full sets

4- Trim only

Let him add it up.........

The Old Macs are real easy to put on and take off much nicer than the easy boot !.The important thing is to get the right size.

http://www.oldmacs.com/

On My paint he is real sensitive on his front feet and it takes quite a while when off shoes to get the feet conditioned .But when you do it is much nicer.

When trimming trim the excess wall and take nothing off the sole..it exfolliates by itself usually the toes get a little long and need the most trim.Leave the frog alone except to trim any dead pieces.

Used the macs in the wilderness and I believe their traction kept both of us from sliding off a steep mountain.

I used the easy boot but will loose them if not carefull.Painted them bright orange so I can find em  !!

I talked My sister into the BAREFOOT method and she found a farrier that was familiar with it and since then Her horse has improved 100 0/0 he too had hip problems.I still carry extra shoes and stuff in My farrier box just for occasion when I am out camping and someone in the area looses a shoe or is pulling one off.

More than once it has saved the weekend of some riders that were loosing a shoe or just needed one tightened up.

It allows them to enjoy the ride and I get to meet new people.A win win situation.

We only shoe in the front. We ride a lot of hills and rocks and feel the drilltex helps give better traction.

RIDE ON!