[Vision2020] Ga$oline Price$

[Tony]

Ah a whimsical trip down memory lane......   All this talk about gas prices 
verses oats has me thinking we will haul out the horses before long. 
Remember that great opening scene from the old Mc Cloud detective series 
with Dennis Weaver, where he was riding his trusty steed down the traffic 
choked arteries of Manhattan?  TV just aint what it used ta' be....

Well Ya'll, it has been an interesting exercise this past year, and I know 
that my leaving this site will be accompanied by mournful tears and a 
pitiful gnashing of teeth from those on the left, but I'm afraid a recent 
commitment will preclude my further participation in this forum.  So, how 
does one sign off anyway?  I trust I can anticipate several helpful tips 
with this....

Alright now, this is where you all get to get the last word.  Knock 
yourselves out.  I will try to resist a parting shot of my own before 
signing off.



"Old bloggers never die, they just get writer's block."    -Percival 
Childers Eudelhorn


Ciao,

Tony


----- Original Message ----- 
From: "April Fingerlos" <aprilf at fingerlos.net>
To: <vision2020 at moscow.com>
Sent: Thursday, May 03, 2007 7:58 AM
Subject: Re: [Vision2020] Ga$oline Price$


>I don't feed straight oats because they need a ration balancer that offsets 
>any price gain, but I know Strategy has gone up $0.50/bag every 3 weeks for 
>the last several months. This is a big topic of discussion in horse circles 
>right now. The price of corn is skyrocketting, hay prices haven't recovered 
>from the last several years of droughts and hurricanes, and a sizeable 
>chunk of the hay crops as of yet unaffected are being swapped out for 
>soybeans or corn. Sticking with grass only won't cut it around here--we're 
>too selenium deficient, and the nutrient quality of local hay is awful for 
>the amount of work a horse replacing a car would be required to do. Good 
>hay will still have to be brought in from the Basin, and that hay is in 
>demand throughout the United States. Many Basin hay brokers exported their 
>portions last year.
>
> Wood for fencing has also exploded in price, and unless you have a private 
> supplier, obtaining shavings or pelletted bedding is going to hit your 
> pocketbook, too--a 50 to 75% increase is hitting the PNW right now. Those 
> of you that burn pellets for heat know how scarce that commodity was this 
> winter, and the difference between heat pellets and animal bedding is 
> slight--hard wood for stoves, soft woods for bedding, with most folks just 
> talking what they can get. Some local barns have stopped taking 
> boarders--they can't find a shavings supplier, let alone pass on enough of 
> their costs to boarders to stay afloat and actually keep boarders. Metal 
> for shoes and wire fencing has gone up due to scarcity of resources as 
> well.
>
> No, Dobbin isn't going to be any cheaper to maintain, but the good news is 
> that he'll be easy to obtain--rampant hobby breeding and the market 
> collapse of the huge production ranch breeder over the last decade in all 
> breeds has left a glut on the market, and now the three remaining 
> slaughter plants in the US are now closed, creating a new low to the 
> market. That new low is being seen under a new banner: "free horse". At 
> the bottom of the market, they can't even be given away now.
>
> I'm showing at the Canadian Appaloosa National Championships later this 
> summer on my gelding in Brandon, and I've budgeted my diesel figure at 
> $3.50/gallon. I've been tempted to readjust to $4.00. It won't prevent me 
> from going if it reaches that high, or even if it hits $4.50. I've chosen 
> to support Canada over the US Nationals due to proximity--I won't be 
> hauling to Oklahoma City (or, next year, Jackson, Mississippi) at even 
> $3.00/gallon.
>
> Sorry for the long post, Tom, but finally, a topic on V2020 I can 
> contribute to with a degree of expected knowledge! :-)
>
> April
>
> April Fingerlos
> Moscow, ID
>
>>>> Tom Hansen<thansen at moscow.com> 5/3/2007 7:18 AM >>>
>
> Those of you who live in our rural surroundings may want to get ol' Mr. Ed
> and Flicka out of the barn.  What's the going rate for hay and/oats per
> bushel?
>
>
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