Well I guess I was wrong

[lovelyepona]

I get a call today that my mom's credit card won't accept the total for the vet bill. So I call mom, she looks over her statement online. They charged $2000 for 4 days of treatment, $738 for the first two days and then $2913 for this final bill. We told them to let us know when they got to $2000, they kept reassuring us that it hadn't untill the last few days. Lukky was home a total of 5 days for those two weeks. So for 9 days of care it was $5631.
I don't know how I'm going to pay this, I'm can't belive this. It was nice that the vet took off $1000 but sheesh in retrospect it really wasn't that great of a deal!

[Heather T]

Lovely....I'm so sorry that this has hit you once again. I'm sure you just start to heal and then this is a constant reminder. They will have to take a little at a time...that's all they can do. They can't take or demand what isn't there to give, and while the $1000 doesn't seem like alot to take off, it is $1000 less.

This too shall pass.....we'll get you through.

[erikasbackyard]

It took me years to pay the vet school for the $3500 colic surgery on my old mare, and they just had to take what they could get. All the collection threats in the world can't do much if you are paying even a tiny amount each month. My local vet is actually STILL carrying a balance from that episode, bless him, and it happened ten years ago. In between there have been years when I couldn't send him anything, could only try to keep up with current stuff, and I told him long ago that he would eventually get every penny. So now I'm in a little better shape and am paying it down pretty steadily, I hope to have it all paid off by the end of this year. In all that time he and his office have remained pleasant and willing to treat other animals for me. In exchange I have tried to pay a little more than whatever was current, even if it was only an extra $10 toward the ancient. I know it feels awful, and panicky, but try to take a deep breath and realize that they are used to deadbeats - if you are obviously making an effort, they'll just have to live with it.

[wendi (calif)]

Lovely I know how your feeling,we went through it with Blaze
last year:( Hardest part is paying when we have nothing. But God knows the vets tried so hard and like you disscounted our bill a 1000$ as well. It took us a Long time to pay it off The vets worked with us and accepted what we could pay each month.
You'll be OK a few of us here can tell you You will get it paid and will go on. Allthough a lil part of your heart will Always be with Luucky.
Hang in there you will get it all paid..and go forward!

[lovelyepona]

My mom paid for it with her credit card, so it has to be paid on time. And those of you in Texas know that we are in our second year of drought. Hay is 9.25 a bale and will only get more expensive. I can't afford their shots or coggins at this point. This really has hit me like a ton of bricks. If I could find affordable day care I would get two jobs.
I'm just stressing, frustrated, and feeling overwhelmed.

[wendi (calif)]

LOvely I Understand 100% where your coming from.NOt Only did I lose blaze last year at 4wks after 2 surgeries This year her MOms baby Me Me went to same clinic $$ and My Filly at the track Flipped over 2weeks ago and has a Fractured pelvis and had brain swelling TG she IS recovering BUT again Vet bills..
I'm In so Ca and for us alfalfa hay is 13$ and Timothy in some places is 20$ yes thats a BALE!
so I WILL get the Vet Paid won't happen overnight and Hay Have to get and shots..NOT Easy when we have horses thats for sure.
Maybe your Mom can work something out with the CC company To lower the payments for awhile...Can try!
You'll be OK we all will be..

[breezykat]

I can't believe you guys pay that much for hay. Last year I got 850 bales of alfalfa for $1000. It will probably be about the same this year. I would have to get mini horses if hay was that much around here. wow, what just amazes me.

[h2opony]

Wow wendi! You should drive down here to Arizona, its down to $9 a bale for alfalfa and i think $14 or $15 for Timothy which is still ridiculous!

Lovely I know how all this expenses go, being young and on my own i am spread pretty thin with 6 head of horses, plus the 4 in training me, the goat, and the three dogs haha they all eat better than me and the beau.

Hopefully the vet will be understanding in your situation and payments!

[Marion]

I am so sorry about the bills. Good hay is getting hard to find because we haven't had the rain we need this year. I have been luck because we are having to pay 2.50 a bale for Coastal Bermuda hay.

[wendi (calif)]

Thanks H2o..LOL and I need to order more and bet it's Gone up will know tomorrow..and of course 4 of the 8 horses here HAVE to have Timothy I guess the only Good thing IF I can say that LOL..is they Both weigh in at about 125-130lbs a bale.. BUT Man between GAS and HAY and vet bills I have NO clue what Xtra $$$'s are.. ???and Now My Big Horse is sore THNKING absess so he's in his Bootie,,,Man always something with horses..LOL
How;d you all get cheaper then US???

[wendi (calif)]

Marion would ya like to take a vacation To So Cal...I have a nice Guest rm LOts of horses Babes etc;)...OH DID I Mention Ya have to BRING LOTS of 2.50 HAY with ya...LOL..LOL
Man I'm Jeolous!!!!!

[Regret]

Wow.. 9.25 a bale? I can make that look cheap. It is $13/bale of Alfalfa and $11/bale for Oat around these parts! At least you don't live in California.

I'm so, so sorry for everything, lovely. As soon as I have some extra cash (money is really, really tight right now), I'll send you what I can. I want to help so badly, I just can't afford to right now. I can't even imagine what you're going through.

[twnpnds]

Here's how I got a bill collector to hang up on me. I was in college. I had a doctor bill that I was paying on. Was only paying $5.00 a month. I didn't have a regular job. I would help my dad at his store once in a while or take care of some horses a few weekends a month during show season. Well one day a collector called me and started asking me all sorts of questions. Wanted to know if I was employed. I told them not really. I explained I was a student. Well she got kind of snotty with me and wanted to know how I could afford to go to school. I told her she was paying for it with her tax dollars. I also thanked her for her contribution. She hung up and I never heard from them again. LOL.

[lovelyepona]

OKay first off I had to pay immediately, so I used my mother's credit card. Your not allowed to make small payments via a cc. They tell you the minimum and you pay that much.
Secondly 9.25 a bale is for grass hay, coastal. Anything else is more expensive. I lived literally in the middle of hay pastures. My house is on what use to be a hay pasture.
If we can find hay we pay 9.25 a bale (or more now even). Most with hay pastures here have cattle and after a second year of drought they are hanging on to everything they are producing (hay). The hay production has been cut by more than 80%. The first cutting was so slim that many farms are selling off their remaining cattle that they didn't sell off last year.
I am not asking for money. I'm frustrated with all this crap happening to me. And its going to be another year of making sure I can find hay to feed the horses and by Nov hay prices here are going to make the ones in CA look sweet. My point was that after this vet bill I won't be able to afford to buy the more expensive hay. Its going to be year of STRESS for me.

[devotee]

Lovely, here's another idea you could try, as far as finding cheaper hay goes. Find some way to locate hay dealers who will ship suitable hay to your area. There might be restrictions on what types hay can be imported to your state/county, so be careful. During drought, many county extension services will keep lists of places that have hay available, so you might want to try yours and see if they can help with that. Otherwise, there is always the internet or local horse publications and grapevines. If you can team up with another barn, person, or group who need hay, you can usually ship in a huge load of hay and then split it up among you. Even with the added cost of shipping long distances, you can often make out MUCH cheaper than on local markets.

Given the hay situation you describe, you probably live down the road from me.