My track system has been running smoothly for a while now. Feed routines settled, horses happy, costs predictable. Then, in the space of a few weeks, three things changed at once – none of them my idea.
It started with fuel. Conflict in the Middle East sent diesel prices sky high, and that had a knock-on effect I had no control over: the availability and cost of Rhodes Grass hay. My Rhodes hay comes from Broome, roughly 2,000 kilometres north of here, grown in the tropical climate that suits it perfectly. When diesel is expensive and scarce, freight costs bite hard – especially over that kind of distance. I have a couple of months’ supply in the shed, but once that’s gone, restocking is going to look very different, both in timing and price.
Then I lost my beautiful old pony Beau to colic. There were lots of tears. My dear friend Lou kindly lent me her pony for a few weeks to keep Melody company while I got organised – but Lou’s pony wanted nothing to do with Rhodes hay. Wouldn’t touch it. As it turned out, neither would Melody, which meant I was improvising feeds on the fly and throwing a lot of Rhodes hay on the poo pile.
And finally, Melody’s new permanent companion will be a full-sized horse – which means the quantities I’ve been feeding, all need recalibrating.
So a change in availability, a change in cost, and a change in consumption. All at once.
I won’t deny that I’m a dead set nerd, which means when in doubt, I do the maths. And hay in particular is a maths question, because if you’re not making decisions on a cost-per-kilo basis, you’re missing out on valuable information.
I started by re-weighing my hay bags – empty and filled – to get exact kilograms per bag I was making up rather than guessing. Then I noted how many bags were going out morning and night for my new audience, and whether the horses were finishing them. From there I worked out the cost per kilogram for each hay type at current prices and format, and calculated the total daily weight I should be feeding based on 2% of body weight.
The spreadsheet I put together gave me the information I need to work out how much hay I’ll be using going forward and what it will be costing me, based on what each set of horses will need.
In case you’re not a spreadsheet nerd, I’ve attached mine for you to download. It lets you run your own numbers by adding your values in the grey boxes and the calculations will fill themseles in automatically.
It won’t solve a Middle East fuel crisis, but it might take one variable off your plate. And shout out on the Facebook page if you have any questions.