This is a really cute mini donkey commercial!
You just can't underestimate these little guys!
Monday, January 4, 2010
Sunday, January 3, 2010
Rainy Day Activities: Preventing Stall and Paddock Boredom
I often feel guilty this time of year as I watch Comet and Lucky standing idly in their stall and gravel paddock. Unfortunately, the ground here in Western Washington gets too wet in the winter for grazing. Allowing them to go out on the pasture would just create mud, cause compaction and stunt and/or kill the grass I am working so hard to cultivate. So in these rainy winter months they are confined to their stall and gravel paddock. A few months ago, I came across a picture of a slow hay feeder. More research led me to an article that explained that by slowing down the rate at which your horses eat their daily hay, you can keep them from getting board. Slowing down their hay consumption also better simulates natural grazing, which is good for their digestive systems. The basic concept is that you use a hay bag or net with very small holes that only allows the horse to remove a small amount of hay at a time. After reading reviews of different products on the Paddock Paradise website I purchased an inexpensive ($10) 4 cm small hole hay net from Millers and a heavy duty NibbleNet with 1.5" holes ($55). I have been using them for about 2 months now. They both work great. When I feed Comet and Lucky their morning hay in a manger they usually have it mostly finished off in about 2 hours, then they hang out for another 8-10 hours until I feed them again. When I use the small hole hay net or hay bag the same amount of hay lasts them 5-7 hours. This means they spend much of their day gradually munching hay. I think they like it because it gives them something productive to do. They are grazing, rather then just standing around. They still get the same amount of food, it just lasts them longer.
I would highly recommend these products to anyone with a horse that is confined in a manner that does not allow for grazing. Just be sure to hang these low to the ground so your horse isn't breathing in dust from the hay. Feeding horse from hay feeders that are more than a few feet off the ground causes respiratory problems! Because the holes in these slow feeding nets/bags are small the risk of getting a foot stuck in the net is not the same as it is with a traditional, large holed hay net. (Note:Large holed hay nets should not be tied low because an animal can get a foot stuck, resulting in major injury.)
In terms of being easy to use on a daily basis, I prefer the 1.5" Nibble Net. I bought some hardware and mounted it in the stall. It is easy to refill. I just open the top that is secured with a metal clip, insert hay, and re clip the top closed. The hay net has to be taken down to be filled and then tied back in place. This makes it more labor intensive to use. In terms of keeping the horse busy, both products work equally well.
Eating out of a small holed hay net or bag still isn't as exciting a grazing, but at least Comet and Lucky have something to do to keep busy on rainy winter days. Just like kids, Horses need rainy day activities to keep them from getting into mischief.
I would highly recommend these products to anyone with a horse that is confined in a manner that does not allow for grazing. Just be sure to hang these low to the ground so your horse isn't breathing in dust from the hay. Feeding horse from hay feeders that are more than a few feet off the ground causes respiratory problems! Because the holes in these slow feeding nets/bags are small the risk of getting a foot stuck in the net is not the same as it is with a traditional, large holed hay net. (Note:Large holed hay nets should not be tied low because an animal can get a foot stuck, resulting in major injury.)
In terms of being easy to use on a daily basis, I prefer the 1.5" Nibble Net. I bought some hardware and mounted it in the stall. It is easy to refill. I just open the top that is secured with a metal clip, insert hay, and re clip the top closed. The hay net has to be taken down to be filled and then tied back in place. This makes it more labor intensive to use. In terms of keeping the horse busy, both products work equally well.
Eating out of a small holed hay net or bag still isn't as exciting a grazing, but at least Comet and Lucky have something to do to keep busy on rainy winter days. Just like kids, Horses need rainy day activities to keep them from getting into mischief.
Thursday, December 31, 2009
Dog Guests Love our Farm!
Photo of our dogs and cosine Shortcake. They were exhausted after a long day of playing on the farm!Back when we lived in Eugene and Portland, I remember being inconvenienced and annoyed by our friends wanting to bring their dogs with them to our horse for a visit. Funny how much things have changed. We now have our own dogs and an awesome dog set up. Our dogs enjoy having friends over to play.
Wednesday, December 30, 2009
Late Night Carrots
Sometimes events happen that remind me how important it is to live in the moment. The kind of events that make me remember that life is temporary and uncertain. This evening I learned that one of my favorite riding buddies, young, healthy horse passed away today. The horse was a super mare that carried her on many wonderful rides through mountains, down roads and through grassy meadows. This loss is shocking, unexplained and just plain unfair and unforeseen. It reminds me of just how important it is to really enjoy the things in our lives that make us happy. It is easy to get in a routine where we go through the motions of caring for people and animals in our lives without recognizing how special each moment with them is. We describe feeding our horse as a chore rather than a pleasure. There are many days where I am guilty of this lack of appreciation and awareness. This evenings events reminded me of how incredibly fortunate I have am to enjoy the company of my wonderful horse, companion, and friend for the past 16 years. It reminded me not to take him or an of my animal or human friends and family for granted. And so, late at night I went out in the rain and brushed my horse and donkey and fed them carrots. I cuddled with my dogs and reflected on just how blessed I am; right now, right here.
Thursday, December 24, 2009
Horse Blankets are for the Dogs?
After weeks of freezing weather, I grew tired of not being able to leave our short coated farm dogs outside during the day. So I set out to invest in dog blankets. After discovering that they were sold out at all the local stores, I called my friend Connie at the Tack Room in Laramie, WY. She always has hard to find items in stock, and the dog blankets were no exception. Connie promptly mailed me my new dog blankets.
Yesterday was the first day our dog Cleo sported her new plaid Weatherbeeta brand dog blanket. For all you non horse people, Weatherbeeta is one of the big horse blanket company's and is the manufacturer of most of Comet's horse blankets. What ensued surprised me.
Comet took one look at Cleo and began snorting, with his head high in the air he ran back and forth in his paddock, as to express shock and outrage. He was so worked up he would not even go in his stall to eat grain. ( He loves his grain. There are few world events that would cause him to refrain for eating it immediately) He was committed to keeping an eye on this dog in the crazy plaid blanket. Perhaps he was just jealous that I had given brand new high quality "horse" blanket to a dog.
Tuesday, December 22, 2009
Freezing Weather Horse Care Tips
This is a post I distributed to horse friends earlier this winter. I thought I should share it with my blog friends too.
In extreme cold weather help your horse by:
• Feeding more forage, such as hay and grass.
• Ensuring access to reasonably warm drinking water. (Use bucket or tank heater, or bring warm water out from your house at least 3 times per day.)
• Providing shelter and windbreak.
• Blanketing horse with a waterproof blanket if shelter is not available, horse is underweight, or otherwise vulnerable.
• Use a cooler blanket to properly cool down your horse after workouts so it does not become chilled.
Explanation:
Anytime your horse is exposed to severe weather the horse can develop health problems.
In colder weather, a horse burns more calories to generate body heat and maintain its normal core temperature. In the past, horse owners fed corn during the winter to help horses generate more body heat and reduce the stress of cold weather. However, a horse is able to generate more heat in the hindgut from the fermentation of forage, such as hay and grass. So increasing the amount of hay feed can help your horse more easily maintain its body temperature.
Check the food supplies in the pasture every day and make sure that the water left out for the horses doesn’t freeze. If you are concerned about your horse’s water bucket icing over, use heated water buckets available at most horse supply stores or feed stores to keep the buckets from freezing.
When the cold weather begins, horse owners can notice a greater frequency of impaction colic. One of the main causes of impaction colic can be dehydration from reduced water consumption, inadequate water availability, and eating hay (which only contains 10% water) rather than grass, which contains 80% water.
Making sure that horses have good access to unlimited warm water can help encourage horses to drink more and prevent impaction colic. When a horse drinks cold water, they must use extra energy to replace the heat lost to the chilling water, and they instinctively drink less. Adequate water intake ensures that the fiber in the digestive system stays hydrated, which allows it to be broken down by intestinal bacteria. Adding a free-choice mineral supplement or mixing salt, mineral supplements and electrolytes into a horse’s feed can also simulate a horse to drink more water. Providing adequate exercise also reduces colic by helping to aid gut motility.
Pay attention to the barn’s ventilation. Good air flow is even more vital than warmth to horses kept in a closed barn. Also, care should be taken when feeding hay to horses kept in enclosed barns. Horses that are fed hay from nets above their heads have more frequent respiratory problems than horses that eat hay from the ground or from hay nets hung low enough to allow the respiratory tract to drain down. However, be careful not to have the nets hung so low that a horse can get its legs tangled in them.
Add extra bedding to your horse's stall when it’s very cold to act as insulation
If your horse has a short coat or if it’s very cold where you are, make sure that your horse is blanketed during turnouts and that the blankets are securely and correctly fastened so that the horse will be safe. If your horse does wear a blanket, remove the blanket at least once every few days for grooming and to make sure that the horse’s coat isn’t dry or irritated because of the blanket. Wash blankets regularly.
Use a cooler to cool your horse down after riding in the winter. When a horse has been ridden and is all sweaty and warm it can catch a chill in the cold winter air or its muscles can stiffen up and cause problems. Using a cooler will allow your horse to cool down naturally without the risk of catching a chill. If you are not prepared to take time to properly cool down your horse, do not exercise it to the point where it becomes sweaty.
Horses deal with cold temperatures better than a lot of animals and many horses actually prefer to be outdoors in the cold weather rather than being stuck inside the barn. Don’t keep your horse locked in the stall all winter. Even if you are riding your horse regularly during the winter, give the horse a good amount of turn out time during the winter so that the horse can play outside and get some fresh air.
Content courtesy of http://www.horsehealthcare.info/horse-care-tips-for-cold-weather.html and http://www.horses-and-horse-information.com/articles/0102frozen.shtml
In extreme cold weather help your horse by:
• Feeding more forage, such as hay and grass.
• Ensuring access to reasonably warm drinking water. (Use bucket or tank heater, or bring warm water out from your house at least 3 times per day.)
• Providing shelter and windbreak.
• Blanketing horse with a waterproof blanket if shelter is not available, horse is underweight, or otherwise vulnerable.
• Use a cooler blanket to properly cool down your horse after workouts so it does not become chilled.
Explanation:
Anytime your horse is exposed to severe weather the horse can develop health problems.
In colder weather, a horse burns more calories to generate body heat and maintain its normal core temperature. In the past, horse owners fed corn during the winter to help horses generate more body heat and reduce the stress of cold weather. However, a horse is able to generate more heat in the hindgut from the fermentation of forage, such as hay and grass. So increasing the amount of hay feed can help your horse more easily maintain its body temperature.
Check the food supplies in the pasture every day and make sure that the water left out for the horses doesn’t freeze. If you are concerned about your horse’s water bucket icing over, use heated water buckets available at most horse supply stores or feed stores to keep the buckets from freezing.
When the cold weather begins, horse owners can notice a greater frequency of impaction colic. One of the main causes of impaction colic can be dehydration from reduced water consumption, inadequate water availability, and eating hay (which only contains 10% water) rather than grass, which contains 80% water.
Making sure that horses have good access to unlimited warm water can help encourage horses to drink more and prevent impaction colic. When a horse drinks cold water, they must use extra energy to replace the heat lost to the chilling water, and they instinctively drink less. Adequate water intake ensures that the fiber in the digestive system stays hydrated, which allows it to be broken down by intestinal bacteria. Adding a free-choice mineral supplement or mixing salt, mineral supplements and electrolytes into a horse’s feed can also simulate a horse to drink more water. Providing adequate exercise also reduces colic by helping to aid gut motility.
Pay attention to the barn’s ventilation. Good air flow is even more vital than warmth to horses kept in a closed barn. Also, care should be taken when feeding hay to horses kept in enclosed barns. Horses that are fed hay from nets above their heads have more frequent respiratory problems than horses that eat hay from the ground or from hay nets hung low enough to allow the respiratory tract to drain down. However, be careful not to have the nets hung so low that a horse can get its legs tangled in them.
Add extra bedding to your horse's stall when it’s very cold to act as insulation
If your horse has a short coat or if it’s very cold where you are, make sure that your horse is blanketed during turnouts and that the blankets are securely and correctly fastened so that the horse will be safe. If your horse does wear a blanket, remove the blanket at least once every few days for grooming and to make sure that the horse’s coat isn’t dry or irritated because of the blanket. Wash blankets regularly.
Use a cooler to cool your horse down after riding in the winter. When a horse has been ridden and is all sweaty and warm it can catch a chill in the cold winter air or its muscles can stiffen up and cause problems. Using a cooler will allow your horse to cool down naturally without the risk of catching a chill. If you are not prepared to take time to properly cool down your horse, do not exercise it to the point where it becomes sweaty.
Horses deal with cold temperatures better than a lot of animals and many horses actually prefer to be outdoors in the cold weather rather than being stuck inside the barn. Don’t keep your horse locked in the stall all winter. Even if you are riding your horse regularly during the winter, give the horse a good amount of turn out time during the winter so that the horse can play outside and get some fresh air.
Content courtesy of http://www.horsehealthcare.info/horse-care-tips-for-cold-weather.html and http://www.horses-and-horse-information.com/articles/0102frozen.shtml
Sunday, December 20, 2009
Lights, Shovel, Action
It is the season of lights. Lights on houses and trees, poles and wreathes. So it is only appropriate that we are celebrating the holidays with new lights on horse shelters, outside area and hay storage shed. Oh rejoice, the glorouis nights of feeding our animals with a camping style head lamps have come to an end. The state inspector has come and blessed our new lights. So now we go, hi ho, hi ho, hi ho, to take our shovels and fill the trenches, hi ho, hi ho , hi ho.
- And there was light and it was good!
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