Posts Tagged ‘good pasture’

You have decided you want a horse. Great! Given the current state of the horse market there are many horses who need homes. The price of buying a horse has never been cheaper. But – what must be considered before you buy that pretty purple halter and look for a pony face to put it on?

1. The purchase price of a horse is the cheapest part. We won’t even worry about how much to pay for a horse. Expenses simply begin to add up as soon as you take ownership.

2. Where are you going to keep your horse? To pasture a horse and rely on grass as the main source of feed, you’ll need between five and fifty acres depending on where you live. More horses, more acres.

3. Let’s assume you have sufficient pastureland. To maintain good pasture you have to mow, weed kill and fertilize as required or you’ll end up with a dry lot full of manure and weeds.

4. Whether you keep your horse in a pasture or dirt corral, you will need to provide a suitable shelter from rain, cold, snow or sun. Have you included a horse house in your budget? If your horse’s shelter isn’t sturdy and safe, I promise you will be calling the vet to stitch or patch injuries caused by screws, nails, wire, loose boards or sharp metal edges.

5. Horses eat a lot. Have you ever heard the saying, “He eats like a horse?” Hay, pelleted feed and oats are very expensive. You could easily spend $5 – $10 per day on feed alone. Providing clean, high quality feed is important. If you skimp in consistent quantity or quality, you’ll need to get out the phone and call the vet again when your horse colics.

6. Do you have basic tack and equipment? Saddle, bridle, halters, leads, buckets, boots (for both you and the horse), curry and brushes, hoof pick, longe line, longe whip, clippers? The list is endless; just take a walk through one of the horse tack and equipment catalogs.

7. Do you need lessons? Horses are wonderful animals; they will give you the most honest feedback possible on earth. One of you is always certain to learn leadership skills. If you’re not sure how to be a good leader, be sure to budget for lessons with a reputable trainer.

8. Make sure you know what you want to do with your new horse. Do you want to spend weekends riding in the country, win a world championship at a breed show, work cattle, rope, barrel race or jump? All horses can do most things, though not equally well. The higher your goals, the more specific you need to be when selecting your equine partner. Be certain the horse you select already knows how to do what you have in mind. Unless you are an experienced trainer, test ride the horse in the event of your choice before you buy; do not buy a ‘prospect.’

9. How much time have you budgeted for your horse? I always tell prospective owners, “You can have a horse or you can have a life. You can’t have both.” This isn’t just a piece of property you’re thinking about. Horses are herd animals in need of leadership, companionship and relationship. If you just want a pasture ornament, great. But, buy at least two. Don’t keep a horse alone unless you are prepared to spend hours with it every day.

10. Have we talked yet about veterinarians and farriers? The amount of routine and preventative care needed to properly maintain your horse is significant. In most areas of the country your horse will need to be shod every six weeks. If you live where there are no rocks you can get by with just a trim. Still, you may expect to pay between $35 and $125 every six weeks just for manicures. Horses need annual vaccinations, worming from four to eight times each year, dental check-ups for sharp teeth annually and yearly Coggins tests (by law.) Expect to budget another $500 to $1000 yearly for basic healthcare. Depending on your area this amount could be significantly more. Unforeseen problems? Get out the checkbook.

Okay, add up the numbers. Consider the time commitment. I know it seems almost too much. But, not if you have the time and place in your heart for one of the most rewarding relationships ever offered a human being. If you’re still reading, you’re still interested.

Nothing compares to the connection possible between human and horse. There are few experiences as magical as those moments when the two of you fly across the landscape as one, or simply spend a warm summer evening, lazing together under a shady tree sharing each other’s thoughts.

Lynn Baber is a Christian writer, business woman and retired equine professional. She shares the lessons learned in thirty-five years at the business table and round pen with her clients and readers. Highly credentialed in issues of leadership, customer relations and most things equine, Lynn has a unique perspective not found elsewhere. Whether the topic is customer service or training stallions, Lynn brings years of experience to presentations and articles. Her latest book based on our amazing relationships with horses is previewed at http://AmazingGrays.us

For more insights, visit Lynn’s blog at http://LynnBaber.net

Author: Lynn Baber
Article Source: EzineArticles.com
Electric Pressure Cooker

Feeding a stabled horse is slightly different than feeding a horse that lives on a pasture. A stabled horse will spend more time in a stall and will require a somewhat different feeding regime. This is because the stabled horse does not have access to the same amount of roughage that the pastured horse receives. The stabled horse will also eat a lot of high-energy feed, but then have nowhere to release that energy. This is why it is important that you understand what and why you are feeding the horse to ensure that he is receiving all of the nutrients the horse requires.

Exercise must be considered when developing a feeding program for your horse. The horse’s age, gender and size will all play a determining role in how much the horse is fed. A horse that is four years old or older and is only ridden on the weekends or one hour per day will only require a maintenance ration. If the horse is not working extremely hard, then the horse is considered to be lightly worked. In this case, it does not matter what gender the horse is and a maintenance ration will be sufficient. You will need to fee the horse approximately one percent of his body weight in hay per day and then use your feed tag to help you determine what percentage of the horse’s body weight should be fed in grain. A horse that is on a very good pasture may not even require a grain supplementation until the cooler months.

Horses that are used for events such as jumping, roping, cutting, polo or racing are going to require a more customized feeding program. These horses will still require about one percent of their body weight in hay per day, but they may require a higher protein ration. Some horses may also need a fat added ration depending on how much energy they are burning in their work and if it is causing them to lose weight. A good general rule of thumb is that if the horse needs more energy then you should gradually increase the amount of feed that the horse is receiving. Racehorses and polo ponies may require fat added diets because they need to sustain their glucose levels throughout their competition.

The mature adult horse requires eight percent protein for daily maintenance. This means that a horse on very good pasture or alfalfa hay will not require supplementation from grain. Younger horses will require a ten to twelve percent daily protein depending on how quickly they are growing. High performance horses may require 14 percent protein depending on the amount of work they are doing. Owners should consider purchasing a well balanced sweet feed with a good hay, either alfalfa or grass, to meet their horse’s nutritional needs.

Once your horse is feed go inside and enjoy your horse home dcor.

Author: Jo Thompson
Article Source: EzineArticles.com
News of Solar Power and Alternative Engery

Not everyone needs to clip their horse, and if you don’t enter a show ring very often clipping and trimming may not seem very important. But most horses look better – and even feel better – with a little tidying up around the edges, especially in the winter months. Trimming around your horse’s face and legs will not only make him look good, it can make keeping him healthy and comfortable a lot easier. A good set of trimmers in your horse grooming supplies makes this job easy to do.

Why trim the face?

We’re not talking about a show ring presentation here, where you trim around the eyes and ears. What we’re looking at is trimming around your horse’s jaw and muzzle for comfort as well as looks. The long hairs under your horse’s chin can easily get caught in halter and bridle straps, and most riders can recall catching the muzzle hairs more than once when fitting a bit or a curb chain.

These hairs do serve a purpose. The muzzle hairs help your horse find small bits of food, and the long jaw hairs draw water away from the face in rain and snow. Even so, if you horse has work to do, you can trim these back for comfort and appearance, without losing the natural benefits. Most horses today won’t need the hairs under their jaw, because they aren’t exposed to long periods in wet weather. And for those that are, you can be sure that no horse appreciates the muddy icicles that can form under their chin if those hairs are left untrimmed. You can safely trim back the jaw hairs underneath the jaw, making it easier to fit your bridle, and your horse more comfortable without any pinched hairs. Leaving the hairs longer at the side of the face will carry water away, but if it’s dry, you are showing, or your horse is stabled, you can shorten these up too.

The hairs on the muzzle are a little more important, but again, most horses don’t use them as much as their wild counterparts. You horse most likely is well fed, on good pasture, and doesn’t have to forage for feed. That said, unless your show ring requires you to, don’t clip these hairs completely away. Trimming them back to about half an inch gives your horse the information he needs to sift for tiny grains or the best grass, but keeps these sensitive hairs out of the way of the bit and bridle.

Why trim the feet?

There’s two parts to trimming the feet and legs – around the coronary band at the top of the hoof, and clipping the long hairs at the back of the leg. Trimming around the coronary band isn’t just for appearance, although it will make the hoof look rounder and neater. If you use any hoof preparations, keeping these hairs trimmed will keep them from getting dirty with hoof oils and creams, and also help you make sure you get these treatments right up to the top of the hoof where it grows and where it is needed most.

Clipping the back of the leg is more sensitive. Again, if your horse lives out, or spends a lot of time in wet muddy conditions, these hairs can help carry the water away from the heels, where it can lead to sores and infections. But these hairs can actually cause problems. If your horse has a lot of hair, or ‘feathers’, these can get matted with ice and mud, and if they never get to dry out water can still get trapped around the sensitive areas of the heel.

If you are showing, or your horse is stabled, you can clip these hairs off. This is one of the most effective techniques to make any horse look neater! But if you do, you need to be sure to clean and dry your horse’s heels regularly. If you want to tidy up your horse, but leave some protection, you can take away the long hairs at the back of the cannon, and just leave a small tuft at the fetlock. This leaves a small channel to carry the water away from the heel, but allows you to easily wash and dry the area, and prevents mud and ice from becoming packed into the hairs.

Choosing an everyday trimmer

Every owner of a working horse should consider having a good set of horse trimmers in their horse grooming supplies for trimming the face and legs. For all horse owners, a good set of trimmers is useful – they are invaluable in the first aid kit for cleaning up wounds or tidying up areas under bandages. So even if you aren’t showing, an investment in a good quality set of trimmers is a wise one. Here’s some good choices:

• Wahl horse clippers. The Wahl Pro Rechargeable is an economical and versatile cordless trimmer. Fully charged, it will last for 40 minutes, enough to get around the face and legs. The blades are an easy pop-off design, making replacement simple. Best of all, the low price means you can keep a kit in several sets of horse grooming supplies, or a spare in your first aid kit.
• Oster horse clippers. The Oster Whisper Quiet Trimmer is ideal for nervous horses. It gives a neat finish, there’s a good choice of blades available, and if your horse is likely to fidget when you are trimming around its face or legs, then this is a great choice. However, if you need to get through thick leg feathers or matted hair, you’ll need something more robust.
• Andis horse clippers. The Andis Ruby clippers give you the option of corded or cordless operation. Use the cord for quiet horses, or if you have a lot of horses to do and don’t want to wait for recharging. But if your horse is nervous, you don’t have easy access to an electrical socket, or want to take it with you to shows, then go cordless. It’s light, and comes with several comb attachments so it’s ideal if you are moving form precise trims to more general areas.

Choosing clippers from Wahl, Oster, or Andis is wise. These major supplies or horse clippers will provide you with a good warranty, a safe product, and replacement blades will be easy to get. Most of these suppliers offer a choice of attachments and blades so you can make sure you have the right tools for each job in your horse grooming supplies.

This is the last in a series of five articles on horse grooming. This article has some excellent tips for your horse’s face and feet whether it is on the winter show circuit or not. It provide some great tips, that first and foremost make your horse happy and healthy, but also makes recommendations on the right horse grooming supplies for a great looking coat anytime. Stay tuned for our next series of articles, coming very soon, on keeping your horse proud and standing tall!

Author: Marcus Koll
Article Source: EzineArticles.com
Provided by: Electric Pressure Cooker

While you might think this is a easy thing to do – feed your horse – you’d be amazed at the number of horse owners that don’t know about the fundamental principles. There is nothing called standard, when it concerns the nutrition requisites of a horse, as it would mostly be based on the amount of activity, its age and body weight. To start with, your horse by nature uses forage as a primary ingredient of their diets. This by the way is one of the most critical components of his diet, which keeps his digestive system functioning correctly, and when we say pasture we are meaning a combining of natural grass and cut hay.

Large horses normally consume about 2 to two point five % of their body size in food every day so a 1,000 pound horse will eat around 20 to 25 pounds of feed each day. Feeds rich in nourishment are what horses need and high-fiber feeds should not be give to them, as it may upset the digestive system. In fact, a horse would be happy if you fed him with a feed of hay/pasture grass amounting to one percent of his body size. For horses, which do not do much activity, a feed of forage only without any grain is sufficient. On the other hand, developing, breeding, or working horses must have supplements in addition to pasture – such as grain or a supplement concentrate. Thus, for optimizing growth and development of the animal, foraging should make up for at least half or more of the body size, as part of his everyday diet.

When you are considering a balanced diet for your horse, consider the nutrient content as well as quality criteria of the grass. This information would help you to gauge the amount of nutrients he would need. The best source, and the least expensive one for summer food is your grass fields and, in most cases good pasture by itself can provide all the nutritional requirements your horse needs. But how do you come to know how much pasture is right for your horse? Using a weight of 1000 to 1200 pounds, here is a rough guideline. This means that a mare and foal 1.75 to 2 acres – yearlings 1.5 to 2 acre and weanlings 0.5 to 1 acre.

Winter feed of course would be cut hay, and again, high quality if you can provide it. Ensure that the hay is leaf-like and green in colored and cut in a systematic way, free of dust, moulds weeds or stubble. This feed is usually rich in protein, minerals and vitamins. While alfalfa hay is food for a developing horse as the protein content is very high, but you have to be careful as it contains abnormal calcium in comparison to its phosphorus content. Too much calcium is not good for growing horses so if you’re not sure about hay quality, have it analyzed.

You will be able to locate some of the best deals on used horse trailers for sale online. There are many used horse trailers for sale, but which one is the right one for you and your horse? Well if you take your horse out only every blue moon then a simple trailer will suffice. The single most important thing to consider when buying any kind of used horse trailer is the floor. Make sure it is stable enough for your horses to stand on and that wood is still strong and not rotted away.