Caring for horses on a budget

In these economic times all horse owners are looking for ways to save money and keep their horses in good healthy condition. Housing - Healthy horses can thrive outdoors. Building a shelter for adverse weather is good enough for a horse. This will save money on barn maintenance and stall cleaning. Cleanliness - flies, ticks and mosquito's are responsible for a lot of viruses and diseases. Keeping your horses environment extra clean will help with keeping these pests at lower numbers around your farm. Safety - Improving barns and keeping up with regular maintenance will reduce the risks of horse injuries. Always have a good working relationship with a veterinarian. Have a plan set in place so if an accident does happen you will have an idea of how much money it will cost to get good care for your horse. This helps ,because you can save little by little ,so if this does happen you can have some money saved to help pay for the accident. The number one thing that will help any horse owner save money is utilizing pasture. Forage should equal to at least 50% of your horses diet. Horse nutrient requirement depend on their age, weight, exercise, ect..... Most people over feed their horses leading to wasted money and overweight horses. Removing unnecessary grain from diets can lead to huge money savings. Take hay samples and do soil tests to see what nutrients your horse is getting and what your horse really needs. For the full article see : http://www1.extension.umn.edu/agriculture/horse/care/caring-for-horses-on-a-budget/">

Keeping Horses Warm in Winter

What this boils down to is whether or not to use blankets on your horse during cold weather.  Generally, the recommendation is to not use blankets except in certain situations.  Those situations are if the horse is clipped, is very thin or stressed, or the horse is old and has trouble regulating body temperature in cold weather.

If a blanket is used for whatever reason, be sure that it fits the horse.  Ill-fitting blankets can cause rub marks and sores on the horse, or, if too large, can twist up and cause the horse to become tangled or destroy the blanket.  Check to see if the horse is too warm so it doesn’t overheat.  Blanket linings should not damage the hair underneath.  Be sure to groom blanketed horses often.

            One thing that we should all remember is that the comfort zone for a horse is much different than that of a human.  It is all too easy to think that our horses are cold when we are.  There is a big difference between us and our horses – we don’t have a thick coat of insulating hair all over our bodies!  Our horses do, so I’ll propose that the best way to keep a horse warm in the winter is to use what nature has given to the horse’s advantage.

            A horse’s coat has dense, under hair and longer outer hair.  In cold weather, those dense sets of hair work together with skin muscles to trap air under the hair coat, which provides an insulation layer that helps the horse to stay warm in cold weather.  Combine that with the management strategy of allowing the horse to gain a bit of weight as we are going into the winter months, providing a windbreak area and a roof to keep relatively dry, and most horses will stay very comfortable in some pretty cold temperatures.

            There are a couple of other factors that influence how well a horse keeps warm in cold weather.  Most horses are fed a forage-based diet.  As the microbes in the cecum digest that forage, a lot of heat energy is generated.  Remember that the cecum acts as a fermentation vat in the intestine, allowing horses to utilize forages for nutrition.  That energy release helps horses be comfortable in cold weather. 

            Horses also generate heat by exercising.  Horses are known to just kick up their heels and run around the pasture.  In cold weather, sometimes they are running around to generate heat.  They will also stand still and shiver to generate heat, but usually only for short periods of time.  If your horse is shivering all the time, be sure to take action to see what the problem is.

            People wonder just what adequate shelter is for horses in winter weather.  That answer can range from a wooded ravine that provides a good windbreak to a pole structure with a roof and one wall to cut both wind and rain, to a fully enclosed barn stall.  Be sure that there s plenty of fresh air if the horse is kept inside a barn.  Cold, fresh air is a much better environment for horses than a tight, warm barn with stagnant air.

            The worst weather condition for outdoor horses is cold and rain combined with wind.  The wind will break up the pockets of trapped, warm air and allow the rain to penetrate the hair and destroy the insulative layer.  The horse has a more difficult time keeping warm under those conditions, so then a roof and windbreak become even more important.  Most of the time, however, horses are just fine in cold weather as long as good common sense and management practices are followed.

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Think a Horse is the Perfect Christmas Present?

Think again.  Many young children beg for a pony or a horse for Christmas.  Make sure you know what you're getting yourself into before making that purchase.  The article, "Christmas Horses, Ponies Take Commitment, Money" talks about all aspects of owning a horse, from how much pasture and care they'll need, to how hard it is to sell a horse and their lifespan.  Not all aspects of raising horses are challenging, there are some rewards, but we want to make sure you know what you're getting yourself into before making your child's dreams come true. 

For more information on what it takes to raise a horse or a pony, please contact your local extension agent.

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Protecting Your Barn and Horses from Disease

Are you at risk for a disease outbreak on your farm?   Do you know how your horses get exposed to diseases?  Do you know what to do if your horses get sick?  Do you know what to do after a sick horse is identified?  Check out this video to learn about good biosecurity practices for your farm, your horses and yourself.

Grazing Winter Annuals

In mid-August I posted about Overseeding Permanent Pastures for Winter Grazing. Today, I'd like to follow up on that topic and discuss a bit about grazing these annual forages.

The first step in getting maximum use out of these forages is to allow them to become well established before grazing. Horses must be excluded from areas where these grasses are planted until they have developed a sufficient root system to prevent the animals from pulling them up while grazing. A good rule of thumb is to allow rye, ryegrass or oats to reach at least 6" tall before grazing, and to graze no lower than 3-4".

Another consideration is that if horses have been stalled or in a drylot with no access to pasture, then care may be warranted in introducing the animals to the pasture. The following is a paragraph from "Pasture:Evaluation and Management of Existing Pasture" written by Dr. Jenifer Nadeau, Equine Extension Specialist with the University of Connecticut. (The entire article can be found here.)

"If not grazing year round, be sure to gradually introduce horses to spring pasture.
There is no need to do this if horses are maintained on pasture year round, since the growth of pastures in the spring is not rapid enough to warrant stalling horses that are typically turned out. The only time to worry about this is if horses are stalled with no turnout and all of a sudden in the spring are going to be allowed pasture. Pasture grasses are high in sugars (sucrose, glucose, fructose and fructan) particularly during rapid growth. The simple sugars (sucrose, glucose, and fructose) can be digested in the small intestine by the horse but not the fructans, which reach the horse’s large intestine undigested. The fructans are then rapidly fermented by the action of microbial enzymes with the production of lactic acid and a decrease in cecal pH leading to colic and laminitis. The first day or two after the onset of pasture growth, try to limit grazing to 30 minutes to 1 hour. Then gradually increase the time over the next 7-10 days. Avoid grazing laminitis prone horses and ponies on spring or lush pasture that may trigger laminitis. Use a dry lot for overweight horses and ponies."

The final thought I will mention is that these annual forages benefit from rotational grazing just like your permanent pastures, and making good use of rotational grazing will greatly stretch the supply of available forage, particularly in the early part of winter when the growth of these grasses is slow, before the rapid growth with warmer weather in the late winter and early spring. Good rotational grazing will also allow you to move animals off the pasture before it is grazed too low for the plant to regenerate. After all, it's not cheap to grow these forages, the last thing you want to do is waste them.

For more information on grazing winter annual grasses, contact your local Extension office.