Routine Trip To Vet Tomorrow

[IdahoRider]

I have been struggling over my finances for several months now, cutting way back whenever I can on my horse expenses. I usually have had my gelding hauled in to the vet by this time to get his teeth floated and his sheath cleaned. I have put it off as long as possible, so he goes in tomorrow.
I just got off the phone with the vet's office confirming his appointment. I asked for a ball park figure to get an idea of how much it will cost. The teeth, sheath and spring shots will be in the "neighborhood" of $475"! Could go higher if he needs more than two sedation shots for both procedures.
I dug through my receipts from last year and note that I paid $317 for the same, exact stuff.
My board is due on Wednesday, and between the two expenses I'll be shelling out about $800 in cash. Not to mention the $50 trailer fee that will go to the BO for hauling my gelding along with her own tomorrow the 14 miles to the vet office.
I have had an advertisement running for several weeks now, offering a split lease on my gelding. I have had one response from a teenager who lives in Kentucky. I live in Idaho. I think I might expand that to a picture ad on Dreamhorse.
The next thing to go totally will be the lessons. I was taking two a week. I dropped down to one a week last fall, when I first realized I was broke. And for the last couple of months I have been down to one every other week.
I went back to school last year for a teaching credential. I am not working at all. My husband doesn't work, but gets a monthly check from his family's business, although we have not had a "raise" in that amount for 6 years. My 20 year old son moved back home, jobless and with a $300+ medical bill every month that someone has to pay for since he has no money and no insurance.
I know so many of us are in the same boat financially. It just feels so bleak right now. I can't imagine what life would be like without this horse. He is only 13 years old and is just perfect for me.
Why couldn't I have fallen in love with the type of hobby where I could just stick the stuff in the closet for a year or two until I could afford it again? Like golf.
Sheilah

[ImJumpin]

I know-- it sucks.

Not going to save you the big bucks (buy hey, every little bit counts), but could you clean your own horse's sheath? I am amazed how many people pay a vet to do this and it is a fairly simple task and should be done more frequently than the couple of times a year a vet does it. I'd say most horses do not need to be sedated-- you just need to be prepared to really "go in there" as they won't drop for you without sedation usually.

[IdahoRider]

I wish I could clean him myself. You're right, it would save more than a few bucks. But I can't seem to get the job done on my own. I have always joked that I have a husband, two sons and three male dogs. I refuse to be responsible for the care of another penis! But the truth is that I just can't do it right. After being kicked a few times in the process, I am just too cautious to get in there and do the job.
I think my next step is to switch to the bigger, less expensive vet hospital. My current vet is fantastic, but he is really expensive.
God, I hate being broke.
Sheilah

[Penthilisea]

Sheilah- hard times call for hard choices. You may need to consider working part time as a tutor or the like, or moving your horse to a less expensive farm, or moving to biweekly lessons.

I am in a very similar position, moved home, tons of medical bills, lost my job, trying to get certified to teach, and my horses are on the back burner. The vet comes to us when the BO's horses are due, so we share the farm call. They live outside to save $$$ and it has improved their fitness as well, since I do not have the ability to ride as much as they need.

[avezan]

Ugh. Did you ask them why the difference in price from last year? I am going to make a few suggestions that may be unpopular, but desperate times call for desperate measures. The teeth floating and sheath cleaning are both necessary, but maybe not necessary right now. Can you put those off for a while longer? Or maybe find someone in the barn who could clean your geldings sheath for you and pay them less than the vet? Are his teeth bad? Do they need to be done? Not every horse needs them done once a year. Some need them done every 6 months! But I would guess most could probably go 2 years. Spring shots need to be done, but can you do them yourself? It is so much cheaper than hauling to the vet. Or maybe find someone else who does their own and offer them a few bucks to do yours too. Does the vet ever come to the barn? $50 for hauling 14 miles with other horses seems a bit much. I bet a split farm call would not be that much. We all need to find places to save money without cutting corners. Good luck.

[Jo]

Have you tried calling around to other vets to see what they would charge for your spring routine? We did teeth, shots, and Coggins (I have a mare, no sheath cleaning) and I paid under $300, including a split farm call.

I realize it varies from area to area, but it might be worth a shot.

I'd also look at your other expenses - are there cheaper areas to board? Pasture versus stall? I'm currently at a place that has good care and great people but isn't as fancy -- and save a lot of $ on my monthly board.

[Blkarab]

Wow-

$475 seems really high to me. For shots and floating, around here, I paid $99 to have my mare floated and shots range in the $150 range, and I'm using a really good vet. (I have a mare, so no need for the sheath cleaning).

I second the farm call and finding someone in the barn who would be willing to do the sheath (only if it can be done safely).

[redears]

That is a lot! I just paid less than that for xrays and hock injections.

[pines4equines]

Hay

OP said: "I refuse to be responsible for the care of another penis!"

Okay, now I spit my coffee all over my keyboard!!!

Cleaning weenies is really not all that hard. My guys used to be hard to do but now, they sidle up to me and act almost like: "Come here babe..."

You might be able to buy the syringe of sedative from the vet and then do the nasty on your own as well. That will save some dough.

Also, ask about the shots. If your horse is not going anywhere, shows, etc., you might be able to just do the absolutely necessary shots. Shoot, when my mare turned 30, I just gave her rabies every year as that was required. I sometimes think we over vaccinate year after year, ask the vet honestly what they think. I'm sure you're not the only one asking.

Also with floating, my guy went a year and a half and I thought I was being a bad owner. When the vet came out, there were was nothing wrong. He could have gone another 6 months. But you know your horse.

I too hate all this scrimping and saving...Shoot and I'm sick of peanut butter sandwiches!!!

[IndysMom]

Sheath cleaning

Actually, according to an article in Equus magazine, unless your guy is really really dirty and it's causing problems, you don't need to clean it at all...

[IdahoRider]

There is absolutely a cheaper vet in the area. I have been with this vet for many years, and he was the one who kept my senior gelding comfortable and happy for years. But this gelding is sound, without all the health issues that my old guy had. There is no reason for me to stick with the more expensive vet, except for habit.
I switched farriers recently for the same reason. The farrier I had been using for a gazillion years was the specialist that had kept my laminitic old gelding comfortable. This gelding has fantastic feet and is barefoot. I stuck with the old farrier from habit, but when I started to go broke a couple of months ago I decided paying $85 for a trim was beyond stupid when the horse doesn't need anything special. I am now paying $30 for a trim that is really good.
I thought that if life got really bad I could always put him out on pasture board somewhere. But when I started looking around I discovered that while I wasn't paying attention, all the places that offered pasture board disappeared. They have been swallowed up by subdivisions. This is freaking IDAHO! You would think I would be able to find safe pasture board within a 30 minute drive of my home. I don't know how it happened, or when, but at some point $325 a month became reasonable around here.
But I'll keep my eye open. A lot of stuff gets done by word of mouth around here. So I have put the word out that I am looking for decent pasture board for my easy to live with gelding. I think I am going to put up lease available flyers at the tack store as well.
Plus I am biting the bullet and dropping lessons down to once a month. And if I have to I'll stop lessons altogether until the economy picks up.
Maybe I can find an equine dentist that is cheaper than the vet, and while he is knocked out for that I can clean his sheath myself, since he would be dropped and just hanging there.
Sheilah

[pines4equines]

Hay

OP said: "since he would be dropped and just hanging there"

Yeah, man up and "scrub" that thing...Arh, arh!

I'm still laughing at: "I refuse to be responsible for the care of another penis!" That is going to end up as someone's sig line or possibly a bumper sticker! Arh, arh!

[veebug22]

Do you know how to give shots? You could buy most of the vaccines yourself (depending on whether you need to be able to prove anything down the road at shows, boarding barns, etc.). Between that and doing the sheath yourself, you could save most of that money.

I hear you though... by the end of this month, I'll have put about $3500 into my mare since Nov/Dec just diagnosing and treating Lyme and its resulting lameness!!! It's not going to ruin my life to pay the amount, but it does make things tough for me financially. She may also need stifle injections, but a couple hundred at this point is like drops in a bucket. Now granted, she's a bit of a special case as there is sometimes severe lameness involved and the first treatment, which included a week of IV, did virtually nothing. She's now in the vet hospital on a 30-day course of IV oxytet. I am scrambling to come up with the money, but my option is to put her down or try to find a pasture-mate situation where someone is willing to pay for annual treatment. I have considered both, and one of those options may still need to be considered in the days to come, but I will take things as they come. Cornell and the vet thinks she's going to need annual treatment. At this point they're not sure her titre count will ever come down, so we'll just treat the symptoms every year and try to keep her comfortable in her job. I'm so frustrated. She's supposed to be my younger horse that's never been unsound a day in her life... until now. Between her and my older gelding, I am really coming to realize how much money I spend on these horses every year. I would guess that between all of my equestrian expenses, from board to hay to my own apparel and events, it is probably close to $20,000 a year. That's off the top of my head. I have a feeling if I actually calculated things out, it may be above that. Well, at least I'm contributing to the economy. But I hear you, sometimes it gets to the point that it is just too much.

[SevenDogs]

Seriously, call your vet again. It is possible that the person who estimated the costs made a mistake. If the same procedures cost you $300 last year, this is a 58% increase, which doesn't make any sense. If it is correct, it gives you a chance to say "Thank you but I can't afford that type of an increase" which may make them re-evaluate.

[WorthTheWait95]

Yup do the sheath cleaning and shots yourself. The cost of vaccines should be around $60 bucks if you buy them online (depending on what you give) and cleaning a sheath is super easy (and basically free!).

I've never heard of hauling in to have teeth floated before...esp if the clinic is only 14 miles away. How can an equine vet not make farm calls? Seems like hauling in is a real hassle if they do offer farm calls (which would be cheaper too!).

[purplnurpl]

My vet clinic does this Health Program where you get:

Spring
call charge
general exam and health report
dental float if needed
coggins
spring shots
nutritional consultation

Fall
call charge
general exam and health report
lameness screening
dental exam
fecal test
fall shots

a year's supply of wormers

all for $487.00 which can be paid over the course of several months.

wowzers. You're guys are a little silly with their estimate.

As for your situation I feel your pain. There may be some spots that you can trim to cut costs.
1. See if you can buy the shots
2. I'm sure there is a kid that will clean the sheath for 20 bucks
3. And if your horse is older and his teeth have not been an issue just get someone to come out and do a quick power float. Personally I'm very careful with them when they are younger but once the major growth years slow I go for the power tools. : )

[IdahoRider]

Wow, I wish we had the option of doing the combined cost thing where it is all combined into one yearly fee.
I also wish this vet gave his established clients the choice of making a few payments spread out over 4-6 weeks. In 2003 he went to a pay-as-you-go system where the entire bill is due and payable right then and there. They won't bill any more.
Last time I used any other vet I used the big practice next door to the Idaho Horse Park in Nampa. They at least billed you. But that was almost 8 years ago, so maybe that policy has changed there as well.
I have given shots before. I don't see why I couldn't do my own if a vet was willing to sell me just the dose I need.
In the fall it isn't so bad since I share the farm call and he only does shots. I think my bill is around $78. But boy, the sheath cleaning and the teeth are killing me.
I wish I could find some young kid that would be willing to clean him for me. But I am surrounded by other middle aged women, just like me. I think us older re-riders are just too hesitant to get that job done. Although I did just think of my riding instructor. She is so tough that she pees in the stall when she has a full bladder. If she can do that maybe she could do the weenie cleaning thing, too? That stall peeing ability just screams "TOUGH CHICK" to me. But that is probably because I would pee my pants before doing something like that.
All I know is that I don't think I do it right and it ticks the horse off to have my freaking arm, up to my elbow, rooting around in his particulars. It is gross and I really, really wish I still had the money to just pay someone else to do it.
Sheilah

[WorthTheWait95]

Although I did just think of my riding instructor. She is so tough that she pees in the stall when she has a full bladder. If she can do that maybe she could do the weenie cleaning thing, too? That stall peeing ability just screams "TOUGH CHICK" to me. But that is probably because I would pee my pants before doing something like that.

You would freak out at my barn then! My BO and I pretty much exclusively pee in the stalls since the only bathrooms are down at the house and it's just way too far to walk . But then we also clean sheaths gloveless since it's easier to get the bean

Out of curiosity why is that you don't want to try cleaning the sheath yourself? It really is super, super easy and not that gross. Sure it smells a little funky but that's no big deal. I'm sure your trainer probably knows how just ask to see if she'll show you. If not then just watch the vet or have him/her show you so you can do it in the future.

Oh and you can buy vaccs online, you don't have to buy them through your vet if they are unwilling to sell them to you...no script required.

[tuppysmom]

You can purchase your vaccines at D&B or Farm and City for about $45 depending on what you need. Just go to the check out counter and ask the clerk to unlock the refer case where they are kept. You'll have some options about some combo vaccs. Your instructor may be willing to walk you thru the admin. of the vaccs.

Don't worry about the sheath unless he's really grubby.

Stick your fingers inside his cheeks and feel how rough. or not, his teeth are getting. If he isn't too sharp you can probably put it off until next month.

Gather up some friends and have the vet out to do the whole group of mouths and save some by sharing the farm call. You may be able to get a group discount too, never hurts to ask! Most of the 4H groups around have a group vaccs./teeth/coggins/ day at some point in the spring. Maybe you can get in on one of those.

[pines4equines]

Hay

OP said: "She is so tough that she pees in the stall when she has a full bladder."

No one pees in our stalls...they have to pee OUTSIDE on the manure pile! Only horses pee in the stalls.

A woman farrier once asked to pee in our stalls and I said absolutely not, "Outside with you and onto the manure pile like the rest of us!!"

Not to gross you out but imagine, someone peeing in the stall, then your horse goes in, lays down in that particular spot and gets a big wet spot on them that you then have to clean!!! Ugh!

We've always wanted to build a little outhouse at our barn...you know a big hole in the ground with a cute little wooden house on top with a cut out moon on the door!??!