Surviving the credit crunch is difficult enough, but when you have horses and ponies which rely on you for nourishment, shelter and veterinary care, anything that can be done, helps.

It’s a shame that many ponies and horses are abandoned or given up every week, as horse lovers fight to cope with today’s financial climate.

This is especially thorny for pony charities and Sara Tuppen from the Horse Refuge in Wittersham Kent, knows all about looking after horses when money is scarce, having to rely solely on donations to keep over 40 saved horses in good wellbeing.

She lists below a few points which should help make owning a pony on a tight budget more manageable:

1. Many horses can live quite contentedly outside for most of the year, just make sure there’s nourishment, water and shelter available. If this is a suitable option for your horse, it could diminish the cost of stabling significantly.
2. Removing shoes is an easy way to keep costs down. If not ridden regularly, or on rocky ground, many horses will not require shoes.
3. Sharing your horse is a wonderful way to reduce (even halve!) costs, and provides a cheaper introduction to horse ownership for somebody else.
4. Frequently you can get free stabling and occasionally hay and bedding in return for doing everyday jobs. Mucking out, grooming, maintenance etc. are all tasks which could save you money for asmall amount of hard work!
5. Vets bills are an unknown factor but still have to be considered. If cash is a little tight, you may find a lot of Vets will allow you to spread the cost, and pay in instalments.
6. Can you change the way you live? It’s not all about finding ways to keep your horse more cheaply, see if you can do it for yourself!
7. What about your other animals, you may have put animals in kennels, what about a pet sitter? The animal may prefer it and the pet sitters often do other things.
8. Wherever possible, horse owners can often club together to buy feed and bedding in bulk, reducing the overall price and passing on savings to all.
9. I hope it does not come to it, investigate getting your horse a foster home, even as a companion.

If you’re in a position to loan, or even buy a horse or pony, there are many horses and ponies that are for sale, a good source of information is the Horse and Pony Directory.