Archive for December, 2010
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Many fly prevention products make wonderful claims, (to get you to spend your hard earned dollars); but results are mixed. Many factors contribute to how well or how poorly a fly prevention product performs. Forgoing the chemistry and other technical discussions, some factors are:
1. Cleanliness of the horse at application.
2. Product application.
3. Time between applications.
4. How often your horse rolls in the field.
5. How often and how much your horse sweats.
6. Whether the horse is in the rain.
8. Product quality.We have tried several products following the application requirements, and most work for a day or two, even the ones that claims to work for 14 days. Therefore, we do not use fly spray that is sprayed on because of the variables listed above.
We recommend:
* Stalls be kept clean
* Disposed of manure properly
* Rake (with a harrow) your fields at least three times a week
* Install large, industrial fans (out of the horse’s reach) in the stalls (the fans not only help to keep the flies off the horses, it cools a stall considerably.)
* Install and change frequently fly strips.Here are the fly products we have tried. We use the strips and round traps, as together with the above recommendations, keep flies to a minimum.
Fly Strip Fly Round Trap Fly Bag
(Picture) (Picture) (Picture)
Filed under: Fly Products -
Fencing: General
Dec2
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No Comments »Thursday at 3:42 pm | posted by: Peter DvorscakGood fencing is like a good cigar, lasts a long time and is expensive. Basically fencing is divided into board fencing and wire rope fencing. The former is very expensive to install, may not be the best option, and can require long term maintenance. Without a doubt it is always associated with a ranch and if installed correctly will last many years. The latter is much more horse safe, requires less maintenance and is far less expensive. If you are going to do it yourself we recommend wire rope. If you have a money tree, then board fencing might be your best option for your bag of cash!
We installed a combination of both at WCR, but with careful consideration as to the location. We installed plastic board fencing at the front of the property and to surround the yard. The wire rope is exclusively for the pastures.
Horses can get their legs caught in between the boards, get abrasions from rubbing or attacking it, in the case of stallions, and can be a haven for wasp/hornet/bee nests.
The wire rope fencing we installed was supplied by Kenkove and we have no regrets especially after the stallion charged the fence one day and came away w/o any abrasions.
Put in picture of fencing.
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Hoof Supplement
Dec2
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No Comments »Thursday at 3:34 pm | posted by: Peter DvorscakThere are an abundance of supplements for every part of a horse. The keys to choosing a supplement is to ask two questions: “What is the horse’s deficiency?” and “Why or what is causing the deficiency?” Once you have these answers you can begin to determine if supplements are required.
Compare yourself to the horse. When you have a deficiency do you run out and buy the first supplement recommended or do you seek advice first? You probably seek advice first. Again, your Ferrier, vet, other owners and of course this site will be your best sources of information for supplements and guidance.
Often, supplements are not required. Take a close look at hay and feed quality, feeding habits, amount of feed and hay and of course exercise. All these should be looked at first and determine if adjustments can be made there before supplements are researched and your hard earned money is spent and possibly wasted.
Once you have reviewed feed, hay, feeding, exercise and spoken with the professionals, consider having the vet do some blood work. Just as we use urine and blood to assist the doctor with the diagnosis, this will also help the vet. Of course depending on the ailment, it may not be required.
Once you have determine it is not necessary to adjust the feed, hay, feeding schedule and get the results from the blood work, now is the time the real homework starts.
A properly identified deficiency is the basis for identifying the required supplement. You can begin to identify what supplements will provide the necessary vitamins, minerals or nutrients, to correct the deficiency. YOU MUST look beyond the front label and read all the information on the product. YOU MUST understand how the supplement works on the horse and how it is processed by the horse. Avoid myths and wives tales, work on facts. Many vet schools and agricultural collegeshave access to a wealth of first hand experience on supplements and the results. One excellent location is the VA Tech facility in Blacksburg, VA.
Once you understand the composition of the supplement and how it will interact with the horses system, look for a reputable distributor of the supplement.
Do not look at brand names, as we all know from personal experiences, many prescription drugs work as well in a generic form as in the proprietary form. Look at ingredients then the manufacture. REMEMBER – labels and packaging are designed for three reasons:
* To entice you to buy the product!
* To provide the most cost effective product delivery method.
* To entice you to buy the product!Product selection begins well before you enter the store. The distributor must not only be qualified to sell the supplement but they should have employees who are knowledgeable on supplements. We shop prices on-line, but enjoy the face-to-face discussion and rapport building that occurs at our local feed store, Southern States.
Go to the distributor informed, as this meets my dad’s old but wise guidance, “Ask the question, when you all ready know the answer!” This approach validates the information you have and tells you if the person at the store is knowledge and is being honest with you. Once you have determine the composition of the supplement, focus on the manufacturer. Once purchased, ENSURE you follow the directions. The directions are on there for a reason, not to just fill up label space.
Now a story and why we recommend this approach.
Both Andrew and Sassy, in late 2009, constantly had cracks in the outer hoof wall. We mentioned it to the vet and she suggested a hoof supplement, Ferrier’s Formula®, a produced by Life Data Labs ®. We followed the steps discussed above for product selection and selected the product. We diligently followed the directions, feeding the recommended amounts. The supplement started in February of 2010 and in about three months we still saw cracks in the outer hoof wall. We continued with the supplement because the ferrier, Dave Giza was telling us the hoof wall was building up nicely. The supplement is not designed to prevent all the minor cracks that occur on the outer hoof wall. Ferrier’s Formula® worked exceptionally well and the Ferrier, Dave Giza, has been very pleased with increased thickness of the hoof wall. We reduced the supplement to a smaller portion once the hoof was were built up.
Some other info we discovered along the path of hoof supplement selection includes:
For the same amount of supplement by weight, 11 pounds, the vacuumed packed package is a few dollars less than in the plastic bucket. (Remember the three rules of packaging!)
Read ALL the info on the supplement, if we had, we would have been taking pictures of the underside of the hoof not the outside!!
Some recommended putting the supplement on the top of the feed so the horse would eat it. Believe me when I write that when you put feed in the feed bucket a healthy horse will eat what is in there regardless of whether it is on the top or mixed in.
The vet’s guidance was excellent and the Dr. was a good source of information. Great results.
Know, in advance, what to look for to determine or measure the success of the supplement.Filed under: Supplements -
WCR Team
Dec2
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No Comments »Thursday at 3:14 pm | posted by: Peter DvorscakThe WCR team includes:
Dave Giza, Genesis Farriers
Dave Yauch, Practical Equine Training
Jay Yankee, Yankee Farm Service
Dr. ????, Old Waterloo Equine
Peter & Karen, Ranch Management
Andrew, Championship Paint Stallion
Pres Mullins, W P Mullins
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No Comments »