What do people do when you are boarding horses and they need several types of food.  I have a reiner and pay 395 a month.  The hay is given only by weight and the grain is fair Acco. Low fat high protien.  The owner pays 7 $ a bag.  I want a 14$ dollar bag.   I feel the board is high for this area in Texas, The stable is beautiful, and lighted areana, I am the only one there boarding.  Vet recomended the 14$ bag but will settle for the other.   I need a high fat low protien of 10%.

How should I handle the extra cost?

Talk to the barn owner. If you want the higher cost feed buy it yourslef and have them feed it to your horse. Also since they no longer provide the feed itself i would expect a slight cut in the amount paid. I seriously doubt they would argue with you buying your own feed. It's one less horse to count in the feed bill. It's still basicly full board you just provide the feed.  Your end cost would be higher but you would be feeding what you want to feed. Also what area of texas are you in? As for it being high well where I am from it is high but it may not actually be so in your area. Remember you are also paying for the amenities that the barn has. You get what you pay for as the saying goes. You may be able to find a cheaper place but will it have what you need there? If so then try changing where you currently board at. The decision is yours. The amenities  werem't free to put up so their price will reflect that and so forth anywho best of luck and I hope i helped a lil bit. I don't own  a boarding barn but have had to board personal horses in the past. Just ask the BO and see what they say worst case scenario they say no end of story.

~Ree

Have you considered supplementing a high fat feed? In our area, Siminole makes a product called Ultra Bloom. My guy's are older, and just 1 measuring cup 2x/ day really helps keep them looking great. Also in my barn are 2 grand prix dressage horses - they are both on it as well - it just works!!! 13% protein, 20% fat

http://www.seminolefeed.com/pdf_files/ultrabloom_03.pdf

Supplementing may be the middle road for you - one $30 bag of Ultra Bloom lasts about 60-75 days - it might be worth considering!

Ditto 

Since you are the only boarder, talk to the stable owner and see if you can either go to a "partial care" situation where you provide all the feed or see if you could get a slight reduction in board if you provide the grain. Depending on the amount they are feeding, they might only be using 3 or 4 bags of feed per month. Therefore, probably the most discount you would get is $20 or $25 and your cost to buy the more expensive feed is about $50 a month. It never hurts to ask and the least that can happen is that they say no change in rate (which they are completely entitled to do). I would look into a supplement that could add some additional fat (or you could supplement with corn oil) but the stable may charge for giving supplements, too (many stable do charge extra).

The stable I was recently at charged a set fee of $50 a month to put the horse on any different feed than what they normally feed (Country Acres - about $6.50 a bag). Most stable owners will offer you an option but it usually comes at a cost.