Posts Tagged ‘long distances’
Do Pasture Horses Need Grain? Tips to Help You Decide
Horses were born to eat grass, it is their natural food. The supplemental feeding of grain was created by man in order to keep weight on horses as they were being used for beasts of burden. Horses pulling caravans across this vast country did not have time to graze, so man had to supplement their need for food. This is probably when feed bags were invented. As man settled and began to farm, horses were necessary for plowing and traveling long distances either for supplies or for herding cattle; again demonstrating the need for grain.
Horses can survive on grass alone. The need to give them grain will depend on the age of the horse, what kind of activity the horse is performing on a daily basis, the amount of pasture that is available for the individual and the quality of the pasture. Young horses that are weanlings (babies just weaned from their mother) and yearlings are growing at a fast pace. Actually any horse under the age of five for most breeds is still growing. If you want a horse that is strong and will grow to their full potential, giving them grain is the right thing to do. Horses that are being ridden often or on a daily basis should have grain. Now if your horse is in a pasture that has a lot of weeds or the grass stays short because there are too many horses in one pasture, then you may also want to supplement them with hay as well as grain. Another factor that comes into play is the breed of the horse. Certain breeds will need only a small amount of feed, others such as Thoroughbreds, need much more grain to accomplish the development of a healthy, strong animal.
Being a horse owner means that you must monitor your horses weight and condition constantly, whether they are in a stall or in a pasture. If you have a horse or pony that is an aggressive eater and is becoming too fat or even obese, when you are graining the other horses in the pasture, you will have to put that horse in a catch pen, usually built into a corner of a pasture, with no grain until the other horses are finished eating. Remember, if you are giving grain to pasture horses, the amount that you feed will be much less than that of winter time. Lets’ say you turn your horses out during the day in the winter. They will just forage around and pick a little on old dead grass that has little to offer as opposed to gorging themselves all day long and even during the nighttime. Horses can suffer from a severe condition called laminitis (founder) when they are carrying too much weight and producing too much heat in their bodies, and the heat travels to their feet. This condition is not only very painful for the horse but it is a permanent condition. They become more sensitive, can re-founder, will need extra care and specialized shoeing, and it can even cause them to loose their life if they are not removed from the environment that originally caused them to founder.
Horses have been around for millions of years and they survived without grain. The decision is yours and if you have horses in a rich pasture and they are not being ridden often and they have a healthy weight on them, then grain probably is not necessary. As long as your horse has a plentiful supply of rich grass, plenty of fresh water, trees or woods or a lean-to structure for protection, and you have them on a regimented worming program (will be discussed at a later date), life will be good for them without grain. Even though they seem to be self sufficient, horses always need to have a watchful eye on them at least once a day. It is necessary to check their water and clean the waterer or tubs often. Make sure all the horses seem happy, and are following their usual daily habits. You must also check them thoroughly making sure there are no serious cuts, wounds, or kick marks, and check their eyes for injuries or signs of illness or allergies.
Beverly Jansen
http://bevshorseadvice.com
I’m a licensed Thoroughbred Horse Trainer and a licensed Equine Message Therapist. I have devoted my entire life to horses and have over 40 years experience to share. My blog site was created to share my knowledge and will soon offer exceptional, all natural horse products that are above and beyond any other products in comparison and will guarantee fantastic results. I will also be posting “How To” videos on my youtube channel soon.
Author: Beverly Jansen
Article Source: EzineArticles.com
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Understanding Horse Breeds
A horse is a horse of course, so what is a breed?
There are more than 150 different breeds of horses in the world. Horses were originally a source of food and hunted by man. Since man has been domesticating horses he has bred for selective traits. That is man has bred for developing physical characteristics needed to perform a certain type of work.
Breeds began to take form by demand. When man needed horses to move heavy loads, horses were bred for strength. When man needed transportation he bred for speed and endurance. Horses are used in several ways overtime and different breeds continue to be developed. We can classify each breed into three main categories, namely: light, heavy and pony.
The Arabian horse is light and refined; it is the oldest and purest of all horse breeds. The Arabian developed as a fast horse with endurance, able to long distances in dry climates.
Heavy draft horses, such as the Belgian Horse developed from the need to pull plows and help with other farm work. Ponies have developed from most, if not all breeds, being needed to transport children as well as to work in mine shafts. Ponies have also been beneficial for work where the forage was insufficient to support larger draft animals.
Other jobs horses have been bred to perform include carrying heavily-armored knights, herding other animals, pulling carriages, racing and packing supplies. Man has taken the job and the horse and bred for selective traits to produce a capable animal.
Much of how the horse developed can be learned from his history. As early man became more mobile horses began to be used as pack animals and later became a harness animal to replace oxen. Today horses are used mainly for sport or pleasure.
You may often hear of a breed and live never to see one in person. Some horse breeds are very rare and other horse breeds are in other parts of the world. It is not always easy to tell a breed of a horse at first glance. Most horse and ponies are cross bred, that is they descend from different breeds.
Knowing different horse breeds and their specific traits certainly helps out when you want to buy a horse! There is always the possibility of a scam in any market and the horse industry is no different. Read about the horse breed before you make your purchase.
If you are looking to buy a quiet horse for calm, no fuss long trail rides then you sure do not want to buy a thoroughbred that just ended his race career. You might be more suited to a Quarter Horse, but they are not available in every country.
Look at your local classified ads, visit a riding stable and find out what type of breeds are available and then read about that horse breed! You do not need to get suckered into buying a horse that is bred for pulling carriages. Knowing at least something about the breed would prepare you. It will save you time and money and if you still want to buy the horse, you will sure know that you are in for a bumpy ride!
Get information on buying, owning and caring for your horse, learn about Horse Breeds. Learn about your horses anatomy.
Author: Benjamin Wise
Article Source: EzineArticles.com
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Steel Horse Trailers – Heavy In Weight, High in Value
As the name suggests, steel horse trailers are those trailers which are used for hauling horses over long distances, and are made of steel. There was a time when the steel horse trailers used to rust over time. Not any more. With the advent of horse trailers of other materials holding their sway in the market, the rate of purchase of steel horse trailers has decreased to some extent. At a time, when steel used to rust very often, the predominant metal was aluminum. Steel Horse trailers had many advantages. It was very simple to work with the Steel horse trailers. In addition, Steel horse trailers had a good tensile strength and were easy for repairing purposes. Apart from that, steel horse trailers maintain their shape for a long time. Still, rust was the only disadvantage of the Steel horse trailers, which ultimately brought about its downfall.
Steel Horse Trailers:
Numerous other steel manufacturers, which used to manufacture the steel horse trailers at that time, fought the only glaring disadvantage of the steel horse trailers. They used to prepare steel of a heavier gauge. This resulted in the manufacture of heavy gauge for the use of Steel Horse Trailers. This made the Steel Horse trailers very heavy to transport and tow with trailers. Again, modifications were made by preparing a steel of a better grade, so that the Steel horse trailers wont become too heavy. Although, the new grade steel was lighter, it used to rust. Many of the steel horse trailers manufacturers were too small to look down, as to whether the Steel horse trailers would last that much or not.
Features of Steel Horse Trailers:
Steel horse trailers are the preferred choice in areas having very low humidity. This decreases the possibility of Steel Horse trailers gathering rust. Although, rust would be a factor after all, but the rate of rust would decrease and the overall life of the steel horse trailer would increase. Steel horse trailers exist for a longer period than the newer horse trailers, which are made of different materials. In addition, steel horse trailers are more common in nature. Steel horse trailers are more common in nature. Apart from that, Steel horse trailers are also heavy. Not only this, steel horse trailers also need frequent maintenance in the form of waxing and washing for the prevention of corrosion. The maintenance factor for the Steel Horse trailers increases, in cases when the climate is more salty in nature. This is mainly because, steel horse trailers have a tendency of breaking down in case they are not maintained in a proper condition. In addition, customers also needs to take care of the fact that, the steel horse trailers dont prove to be a good option in case of those customers, who dont have time for the maintenance of their steel horse trailers. Hence, individuals need to take utmost care, when they embark on the purchase of steel horse trailers.
Want more information on horse trailers? Then visit our web site!
Author: Dave Demink
Article Source: EzineArticles.com
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