© 2007 Cherry
Hill www.horsekeeping.com
From
where these comments come……..
7000
feet in the foothills of the Colorado Rockies
70 acres - 9 pastures
From
½ acre to 20 acres
5-10 horses
Foals - Seniors
2 person operation
The
Klim Team… all the credit, all the blame
Richard
- Design, build and maintain facilities
Sanitation engineer
Resident farrier
Cherry
- Training, Health Care, Grooming
Feeding, Breeding
Paperwork, Business
Together
- Daily Chores
Our facilities
include:
Main horse barn
Hay &
Equipment Barn with Senior Center
Outdoor arena - 100' x 200'
Round pen
- 66' diameter
Miscellaneous features:
Shop Building, Ranch Office, Sacrifice
Pens, Matted Hitch Rails
Horsekeeping
involves choices
- There is no one "correct"
way for all horsekeepers
- There are always new products and information
available
- Yet, in some ways, nothing is new
- The best bet is to
be informed
- open-minded and dedicated to being the best horsekeeper you
can be.
Effective horsekeeping
requires:
- Land & Facilities Management
-
Daily Chores and Care
- Breeding, Training & Riding
Successful
horsekeeping is characterized by effectiveness, not efficiency.
-
Efficiency…is doing things well.
- Effectiveness…is doing the
right things well.
Effective
Deworming (as an example)
- Master the
SKILL
- Know WHAT Product to Use
- Know WHEN to use it
-
Keep RECORDS of what you used and when
- Put a REMINDER on your calendar
for next time
The
trick is not in the knowing……….But in the doing !!!
Benefits
of Effective Horsekeeping
- Horses are
fit and content
- Land is healthy and productive
- Facilities are
safe, tidy, functional
- You'll save money !!
- You'll make good
use of your time
- You'll have more time for RIDING !!!
Horsekeeping
Tips
- Horses
-
Land
- Facilities
-
Budget
- Time
HORSES
Let
horses be horses.
Ground Feeding
It's
natural, healthy, and gives the horse's topline a good stretch.
It applies
to penned and stalled horses too.
The ideal is a sheltered, matted feeding
area.
"The nearer a horse is made to feed in the stall as he does
in the field, the better. The hay should be measured and put in a corner on the
ground where it can be easily reached.
The importance of this is now so well
understood that all first class horses are fed in this way."
D. Magner,
1916
Magner's Standard Horse and Stock Book
Socialization
Mutual
grooming might be hard on manes but it is satisfying to horses.
Exercise
It
is not optional. It is essential.
Purpose
Horses
are curious and interested in learning. Give them a job.
Feed
Horses Like Horses
- Feed according to horse's
weight
- Feed mostly hay
- Feed little or no grain
- Feed
according to need
- Weigh all hay and grain
Cold
Weather Feeding Rules
- Increase hay, not
grain, during cold weather……..Why?
- Hay is safer to increase
suddenly
- Less chance of colic
- Grain digests quickly, hay digests
slowly
- The heat from digestion is longer lasting from hay
-
For every 10 degrees F below freezing,
Increase
your horse's hay by 10% - If a 1100# horse gets 16 # hay per day
-
At 0 F, he would get 30% more hay/day
- 16 x .3 = 4.8 extra pounds or 20.8#
total
Choose
Management Style
Stalls
Convenient (Horses are clean, ready)
Space efficient
(Small acreage)
Individual Feeding
Safe (No fighting among horses)
Confining
(Lack of exercise)
Boring (Vices)
Unhealthy (respiratory, stocking up)
Expensive
to erect and maintain
Labor twice a day
Increased manure management
Unsafe
(cast, fire)
Pasture
Natural exercise
Respiratory health
Fitness
& Soundness
Comfortable place to lay and roll
Socialization and Recreation
Natural
feeding
Low daily labor
Land
is expensive
Difficult to feed individually in groups
Fighting and injury
Fence
and land maintenance time and cost
Horses can become wild and herd bound
Laminitis,
toxic plants, sand colic
Insects, wild animals, parasites, hunters
Horses
are very hard on land, trees, and water
Can be inconvenient for daily riding
Individual Sheltered Pens
Convenient
(Horses are clean, ready)
Space efficient (Small acreage)
Individual Feeding
Safe
(No fighting among horses)
Some exercise
Fresh air
Expense
to erect and maintain (panels, footing)
Labor twice a day
Moderate manure
management
Unsafe (cast under panels)
LAND
-
Take care of your land……..
- And it will be there when you need
it
Grazing Guidelines
-
Cross fence and rotate
- Graze when grass is 6-8" tall
- Limit
number of hours of grazing
- When 50% of vegetation is gone or 3"
in favorite spots, remove horses
- Mow to uniform height of 4-5"
-
Seed bare spots
- Keep an eye on weeds
- When grass regrows to 6-9"
(2-6 weeks) return horses to pasture
- Use sacrifice pens when pasture
is not available.
Overgrazing
stops root growth
(example - horse turned out on 6-8" grass) |
Grass
Plant Grazed (%) | Root Growth Stopped (%) |
10 | 0 |
20 | 0 |
30 | 0 |
40 | 0 |
50 | 2-4 |
60 | 50 |
70 | 78 |
80 | 100 |
90 | 100 |
Land - Riparian Areas
Riparian
refers to vegetation and soils alongside streams, creeks, rivers and ponds.
Precious
areas easily damaged by horses
-
Manure +
- urine +
- overgrazing +
- destruction of brush
and trees +
- creation of muddy banks =
- Less vegetation
-
warmer water temperatures
- more algae
- less fish
- decreased
wildlife habitat.
Land -
Wetlands
- Wetlands are sub-irrigated "swampy"
lowlands
- Often considered undesirable wasteland
- Wetlands filter
pollutants and help prevent flooding
- They are a valuable resource that
should be protect.
- When wetlands are wet, keep horses off.
And
Richard says...
- Besides protecting the land
-
You'll be protecting your horse's hooves
- Hooves exposed to too much moisture
can develop cracks, thrush, white line disease, poor hoof quality and loose shoes.
Land
- Manure Management
- 1000# horse produces
50# of manure/day
- 6-10 quarts of urine per day
- 50# of wet bedding/day
-
5 horses in stalls produce 90 tons of manure and bedding per year.
Land
- Composting
- Reduces volume
-
Reduces odor
- Reduces insect breeding area
- Prevents water contamination
Heat
of composting kills parasite and fly eggs and larvae. |
Good
bugs thrive | 100-150 degrees F (38-66 C) |
Bacteria,
virus, fungi, protozoa,
weed seeds, fly larvae die | 130
degrees F (54 C) |
Parasite eggs killed | 145
F (63 C)
for two weeks |
FACILITIES
Take
care of your facilities and, not only will they be safe for your horses, but they
will appreciate in value.
Wood Chewing
It
affects horse health, facilities value and safety…..it is a bad, unnecessary
habit…………Prevention is key !!!
Wood
Chewing Prevention
Long stem hay not pellets or wafers
Increase hay during cold, wet weather
Cover all edges with
steel at least .06" thick (1.6mm; 16 gauge)
Apply anti-chew product to
all other wood surfaces
Sacrifice Pens
When
horses must be in off pasture, well-drained, sheltered pens come in very handy.
Fugitive Dust
Airborne particulate
matter that arises from bare patches of earth such as fields, vacant lots, overgrazed
pastures, horse
ens, arenas, and round pens.
Nuisance, health concern and could be legal issue with neighbors.
Prevention includes
No overgrazing
Minimize
work on windy days
Apply dust suppression (water, chemicals)
Pave or gravel roads and paths
Minimize areas disturbed
Keep excavation to a minimum on construction sites
BUDGET
-
Think Ahead and………save Money
- Be Innovative and save Money
Feed
Grain and Hay by Weight…….. not Volume
-
To avoid overfeeding, underfeeding, and colic
- And to save money
Buy
Hay in Bulk Factor in labor, fuel cost, delivery cost
and/or convenience, and feeding convenience below. Using some sample prices from
recent Colorado hay sales. |
50#
small grass bales | Bale | Ton |
Small
bales- store | $6 | $240 |
Small
bales - stack 20 | $5 | $200 |
Small
bales - stacker | $4 | $160 |
Small
bales- field | $3.50 | $140 |
Small
bales - semi trailer | $3.50 | $140 |
Large
bales - semi trailer | | $105 |
| | |
| | |
| | |
TIME
-
Save time by being on time
- Stay on schedule with farrier & veterinarian
-
Make an annual TO DO list
- Get organized
Annual
TO-DO List (example)
- Buy hay
-
Spread manure
- Remove bot eggs
- Breeding program dates
-
Gelding
- Annual immunizations
- Taxes
- Dental care
-
Insurance due
- Registrations
Organization
examples
- A place for everything
-
And everything in its place
- Especially important when several people
use the same equipment and facilities
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