Is alfalfa a hay you prefer and have to purchase out of state? This article, written, by Dr. Miguel Castillo, NCSU Extension Forage Specialist, may be of great interest to you! Other articles, fact sheets and guides can also be found from our NC State Extension Forage Webpage.
https://forages.ces.ncsu.edu/2022/05/high-quality-alfalfa-also-comes-from-north-carolina/
My first horse was an ancient (28 year old), retired mare I inherited from my riding instructor when she moved barns. She was my favorite horse, and I was equal parts delighted I'd get to see her everyday and nervous I wouldn't be able to properly take care of her. The first couple of days (weeks, months, lifetime), I pestered my Dad with questions about anything and everything.
"Dad, her ears are drooping. Is that normal?" - She was just relaxed.
"Dad, she sneezed/coughed. Is she okay?" - That's what happens when they're eating hay and dust gets in their nose. While a little dust is fine, too much can cause respiratory problems, such as HEAVES.
"Hey Dad! How can I tell if she's colicing? I think she's colicing right now!" - She wasn't. She was scratching an itch. She never colic a day in her life and was offended I'd even entertain the thought. Never-the-less, knowing the signs and how to PREVENT COLIC is important.
"Dad, what are these weird bumps? Does she have cancer?" - They were bug bites. Use FLY PREVENTION.
"Dad, her poop is weird. It's green! That is not normal! Can you come look at it?" - That's what happens when horses eat a lot of fresh forages. However, ANALYZING YOUR HORSE'S MANURE can be a great health indicator.
My poor, patient Dad answered every question, and eventually I was able to establish a baseline of what is normal and abnormal. While it is funny (and a little embarrassing) to look back on this time, never-the-less, establishing a "normal", or baseline, is an important step when becoming a horse owner. It not only helps you detect signs of disease early, but also helps your vet form a diagnosis in critical or emergency situations.
Arizona Cooperative Extension has a great resource any savvy horse owner can use to establish a baseline on not only behavior and eating patterns, but also vital signs, gum color, and more (link below).
Knowing What is Normal for Your Horse
Monday, April 18th at 7:00 p.m.
Online registration: https://go.ncsu.edu/haywhatsup
This online webinar will address the following:
Common types of grass and legume hays, hay quality
assessment factors, significance of cuttings, value of forage testing, how to
interpret forage test results, how much hay should you buy, how to calculate how much to buy, why hay prices will likely rise in 2022 and possible hay/forage alternatives
Monday, May 2nd at 7:00 p.m.
Online registration: https://go.ncsu.edu/equineparasites3
This online webinar will address the following:
Review of dewormer drugs, review of internal equine
parasites, strategic deworming, fecal egg counts and types of egg shedders,
means of parasite transmission, emerging resistance issues, how to handle
resistance issues and deworming strategies for adult horses, foals and yearlings
Although most of us love spring with the warmer temps, longer days and more chances to spend time outside and with horses, spring time also brings along some not-so-nice things like pollen and FLIES. Now is the time to start making some preparations to deal with these pests. Here are a couple of key things to remember:
1) There is no silver bullet; you'll likely need multiple methods to reduce (not eliminate) flies
2) Know what flies you are dealing with, their life cycle and how to best control them
3) Be aware that chemical resistance can develop
Filth flies include house, stable, horn and face flies. These flies develop in moist organic debris such as: aging feces, soiled animal bedding and rotting feed debris. Cleaning up these areas can help reduce filth fly populations. Insecticides used on horses can provide relief. Insecticides use in and around the premises can also be beneficial. ALWAYS READ AND FOLLOW INSECTICIDE LABELS. Fly traps are also an option to help reduce fly populations. Parasitoid wasps can be beneficial as well.
Black flies, deer and horse flies, biting midges, and mosquitoes are all biting flies, not filth flies. Being inside or in deep shade can help provide relief from black, deer and horse flies and biting midges, but not mosquitoes. Being inside and behind screened windows and doorways can provide relief from mosquitoes. Eliminate standing water to reduce mosquito populations.
Here are some additional resources:
https://extension.psu.edu/filth-fly-control-on-horse-farms
Below is the link to the Insect Control section of the NC Agricultural Chemical Manual. Insect control for horses begins on page 148.
https://content.ces.ncsu.edu/north-carolina-agricultural-chemicals-manual/insect-control
Rotational Grazing can be a scary concept for horse owners. Most people have an image of horses on the wide-open pastures and see rotational grazing paddocks as confinement. Even though the horses are in smaller pens in a rotational grazing model, they still have plenty of room to run around and enjoy themselves.
Horses require 2-4 acres per horse for grazing. Pasture space is often the limiting factor for farms that have grazing animals. There are 559,000 acres of land used for horse-related purposes which include riding fields/courses, arenas, trails, and pastures in North Carolina, and more than 306,000 horses. This means there are 1.8 acres per horse in NC and not all of those acres are used as pasture. We can estimate that only 75% of the 559,000 acres are used to house horses. That leaves 419,000 acres for 306,000 horses or 1.3 acres per horse. In Short horses in NC on average have 2- 4 times less land than they need for grazing. Most horse farms use continuous grazing, meaning that horses are allowed to graze the pastures all day or feed hay on dry lots. This leaves no time for the pasture to rest and regrow which leads to poor pasture quality and soil health. The benefits of rotational grazing include better soil health, pasture quality, decreased hay needs throughout the year, and lower parasite numbers.
How can horse and pasture owners combat this? Grazing Carousels. This involves sub-dividing your pastures either with a permanent fence or temporarily using polywire and step-in posts. Using a temporary setup allows flexibility to increase paddock sizes depending on forage levels and the number of horses grazing at a given time.
It is ideal to not let horses graze the pasture until the forages have reached an appropriate grazing height, between 5 and 8 inches tall for cool-season grasses such as fescue and 3 to 5 inches for warm-season grasses such as Bermuda. The goal is to keep the grass in the grazing “sweet spot.” it is important to monitor the forage height and to move the horses off of a paddock before it is grazed below 3 inches. In addition to preventing pasture-associated laminitis, it allows maximum regrowth by reducing stress on the plant, which slows growth. This also prevents the plant from going to seed when it reaches its mature height which stops the growth.
Paddock sizes should be created based on the number of horses The weather, soil fertility, and pasture conditions determine how long a paddock can be grazed. Horses shouldn’t be in one paddock for more than 7 days, and should ideally be moved every 1-2 days. This may sound like a lot of extra work, however, taking down and putting up temporary fences can be quick. Depending on the size of the paddock, the step-in post and polywire can be put up in as little as 5-15 minutes. This is often less time than it takes to feed hay!
In addition to the soil and forage benefits, rotational grazing can aid in parasite prevention. Overgrazing can lead to increased intestinal parasite load because when grazing low stubbly grass horses are more likely to ingest them. Grazing on taller grasses can help prevent this, which makes rotational grazing a great additional management strategy for high shedding horses.
Rotational grazing can help improve soil health. Better soil leads to more grass and more grass leads to less hay. Using less hay will decrease the amount of input required for horse ownership. For more information about rotational grazing for horses and pasture plans take a look at this link from Penn State Extension: https://extension.psu.edu/how-to-make-rotational-grazing-work-on-your-horse-farm
Spring has finally arrived! With the arrival of spring, we also see an increase in green grass and exercise, and drastic temperature changes from day to day, which in turn may increase the possibility of colic in your horses. Now is a good time to remind ourselves how we can strive to avoid colic as well as refresh or establish a relationship with an area veterinarian in case of emergency.
From the American Association of Equine Practitioners:
"The No. 1 killer of horses is colic. Colic is not a disease, but rather a combination of signs that alert us to abdominal pain in the horse. Colic can range from mild to severe, but it should never be ignored. Many of the conditions that cause colic can become life threatening in a relatively short period of time. Only by quickly and accurately recognizing colic – and seeking qualified veterinary help – can the chance for recovery be maximized.
While horses seem predisposed to colic due to the anatomy and function of their digestive tracts, management can play a key role in prevention. Although not every case is avoidable, the following guidelines from the American Association of Equine Practitioners (AAEP) can maximize the horse’s health and reduce the risk of colic:
