It’s no secret I LOVE DIY projects. I think I could re-brand myself as the DIY Equestrian. And one of the reasons I love to DIY is because it saves money. And if you have horses, you know how expensive of a hobby it can be. SO I have put together 5 DIY projects that will help save (or make you) money with horses.

There are a lot of ways you can save money by doing projects yourself, or making things for your horses that will save you money in the long run, and even give you an opportunity to make a little extra money too. All you have to do is get a little creative, and think outside of the box. And here are 5 different areas that you could DIY projects.

DIY Horse Jumps

This is probably one of my favorite things to make. They are not necessarily cheap to make, but it’s a lot cheaper to build your own jumps than to buy them!

diy horse jumps

I have made hundreds of horse jumps over the past 15 years, and not only did it save me a lot of money, but it also helped me to make some extra cash too. Because once you figure out a system of building the jumps, there will always be someone out there that wants to buy what you have made.

5 DIY Projects That Will Help Save (Or Make You) Money With Horses

The fun thing about this is you can always be crafting new jumps to use, and when you get bored with them, or need some extra money, you can sell them.

diy horse jumps

I can build a little vertical jump, including paint and jump cups for about $60.00. And then I can easily sell a jump like this for around $200.00 and that is still way less than what someone would pay if they were to buy a new retail jump.

DIY Horse Clothing

If you have a sewing machine, you can sew a lot of different horse wear items. Some things that come to mind for myself personally, ear bonnets, saddle pads, and even horse blankets. And you could also make polo wraps, tail bags or mane tamers.

how to make a tail bag

It’s also not to hard to make horse halter out of stiff rope.

And how about hay nets? You can make your own hay nets out of baling twine, if you have extra time.

And just like the horse jumps, if you get really good at it you could also use this skill to make these things for other equestrians. It might be a good way to make a little extra money.

5 DIY Projects That Will Help Save (Or Make You) Money With Horses

Right now I am trying to come up with a plan of making my own ear bonnets. I do have a sewing machine, but I’m not very good with it, yet. But I LOVE ear bonnets, but not the price tag that they come with. So over the winter, I am planning on figuring out my own pattern to make my own ear bonnets for myself, and possibly to sell.

5 DIY Projects That Will Help Save (Or Make You) Money With Horses

I will just have to see how it all works out. You’ll know if I have been successful if you see a blog post on how to DIY an ear bonnet!

DIY Tack Room Furniture

With all of the woodworking tools I have, I have made a lot of tack room furniture. And this has saved me a lot of money! You can make so many different and useful pieces of furniture for your tack room which will help keep your stuff organized, and easy to put away too.

Bridle Racks

5 DIY Projects That Will Help Save (Or Make You) Money With Horses

Those completely made of wood, or just customizing a piece of wood and adding on some bridle hangers.

5 DIY Projects That Will Help Save (Or Make You) Money With Horses

Saddle Pad Racks

5 DIY Projects That Will Help Save (Or Make You) Money With Horses

Again, there are multiple ways to make these. I made one out of wood that I can stack my saddle pads so they can dry out.

5 DIY Projects That Will Help Save (Or Make You) Money With Horses

Or you can repurpose a blanket bar, add a few skirt hangers and you have an efficient way to hang up your saddle pads.

Saddle Stands

There are many ways to create places to store your saddle. You can build a saddle stand out of wood.

5 DIY Projects That Will Help Save (Or Make You) Money With Horses

Or you can make portable saddle storage, so you can have your saddle close by when you are tacking up your horse.

5 DIY Projects That Will Help Save (Or Make You) Money With Horses

And you can make a saddle stand that hangs on your wall.

Ear Bonnet Hangers

How To Make An Ear Bonnet Hanger

But my ear bonnet collection has quickly outgrown the way I had originally intended to hang my bonnets, so I improvised.

5 DIY Projects That Will Help Save (Or Make You) Money With Horses

Grooming Totes

5 DIY Projects That Will Help Save (Or Make You) Money With Horses

I love my Noble Outfitters grooming tote. This is by far the best grooming tote I have ever had. But I also have a couple of grooming totes I have made, or repurposed to be a tote.

Like my wooden grooming tote which I have remade in order to use it as a ring side tote for horse shows. Heritage chalk paint is my new favorite paint!

5 DIY Projects That Will Help Save (Or Make You) Money With Horses

Or my little Ikea wooden tote that I keep all of my leather care items in.

5 DIY Projects That Will Help Save (Or Make You) Money With Horses

And so much more! Making furniture for your tack room isn’t difficult, you just have to get creative, and do a little research. Pinterest comes to mind for me, or you can just look around on my blog and you will find lots of different DIY tack room projects you can make yourself.

5 DIY Projects That Will Help Save (Or Make You) Money With Horses

And you don’t have to spend a lot of money to make these things. Many of the projects I have made have been from left over wood from other projects.

DIY Dollar Store Projects

I love the dollar store. And I love that I can find so many things there to use in my tack room, and barn.

You can find all sorts of things to use directly in your barn without any work on your part, like these over the door hangers.

5 DIY Projects That Will Help Save (Or Make You) Money With Horses

They work great for adding additional hooks for storage without securing them permanently.

And then there are the storage bins. Every once in a while, I can find so unique bins that I can doctor up for my tack room.

5 DIY Projects That Will Help Save (Or Make You) Money With Horses

They usually have a lot of different types of bins that work perfectly to help keep your barn organized.

dollar store bins

And then there are affordable options for general horse care too. Like a detergent which makes fast work of cleaning dirty blankets.

5 DIY Projects That Will Help Save (Or Make You) Money With Horses

And of course peppermints which can be a sweet treat on their own, or adding as a special extra to homemade horse treats.

You can even make stall signs or name signs for your horses or yourself from different signs that you can buy at the dollar store!

5 DIY Projects That Will Help Save (Or Make You) Money With Horses

Whenever I need things for a project, or a last minute item or two for a horse show, I always go to the dollar store first to see if they have what I am needing. It can save you a lot of money to look here first, before heading to the tack store.

DIY Equine First Aid Kit

As a nurse, and a horse mom with a horse who is pre-disposed to injury, I have multiple first aid kits in my barn. And every one of them, I have crafted myself.

5 DIY Projects That Will Help Save (Or Make You) Money With Horses

You can buy ready-made first aid kits, but they aren’t personalized to what you may need for your horse. And because I love to repurpose things, I have made first aid kits using different containers that we already have.

equine first aid kit

Then I fill those containers with the things I need, like vet wrap, silver wound gel, cotton padding, liniment, a head lamp, stethoscope, and well a lot of other things too.

5 DIY Projects That Will Help Save (Or Make You) Money With Horses

I actually made a comprehensive list of everything I have in my first aid kit which has served me very well. And you can find that blog post here.

5 DIY Projects That Will Help Save (Or Make You) Money With Horses

And there you have it! 5 different DIY topics, with lost of different DIY ideas for your barn, or tack room. By looking for different ways that you can save money, or maybe even make a little bit of money for your horses.

How about you? Do you have any DIY things that you do to save money with your horses? Leave a comment below and share it with the rest of us budget equestrians


Lisa
Lisa

I am horse crazy and love DIY projects, and finding great deals on everything horse related. When I have a new idea, or find a great deal I love sharing this information with you........AND just to have FULL Disclosure: Affiliate Disclaimer: Some of the blog posts on my site will allow you to purchase different products and services online provided by other merchants, and not myself. Some of the links that I post on my site are “affiliate links.” This means if you click on the link and purchase the item, I may receive an affiliate commission.* I am a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for me to earn a commission by linking to Amazon.com and affiliated sites. *Disclosed in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”

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