Blog
Blog.
Silly and Sassy Livin’ Large
Here are two wonderful companions. Silly is the mare and Sassy is the foal. Livin’ large in the front pasture.
Fields of Dreams
Summer brings us freshly tilled
and planted pastures bringing the
horses newer grasses.
Entrance to WCR
Old Glory and the USMC colors grace
our entrance.
Neither rain, snow nor dark of night
dampen both flag’s glorious flight!
Southern States Horse Feed Guide
Southern States staff are generally very knowledge and we patronize the Manassas and Catlet stores. We used the Southern States Horse Feed Guide to help us select our feed. Here it is for your use.
Bedding
Horses in the wild do not have bedding, so why use it? Well, there are a lot of reasons. Manure will stick to it making manure removal simpler, absorbs urine. insulates the horse from the ground.
We have tried all the various types of bedding: saw dust, fine shavings, coarse shavings, cedar shavings, pellets and the list goes on. Some people avoid bedding that generates “dust” in the stall, others want to buy the most expensive, some buy for the name some don’t buy any at all.
Manure Rake Review
One of the many lessons we learned regarding equipment was of course by use of the equipment.
There are many styles and manufacturers of manure rakes. We have used most of them and have settled on a rake with sides.
We, of course, as new horse owners, were looking to save money and bought the rake you see on the top. It does not have sides on the rake, so when you shake the rake to allow the bedding to fall through, manure often falls off the sides.
The picture below, a rake with sides, holds the manure in place, SO YOU DON”T HAVE TO PICK IT UP AGAIN, while you shake the rake to let the bedding fall through. It also holds more manure.
The tynes are important. Buy rakes with the thickest tynes available. Thicker tynes are less likely to break off.
Look for rake that use two screws to hold the rake to the handle. Single screws can work loose resulting in the rake falling off the handle.
If you can find one with a fiber glass handle, but it, as it will last much longer than a wooden handle.
HINT: To scoop a lot of bedding we use a heavy duty plastic snow shovel. It is much lighter than a metal one and not subject to rust or corrosion from the acidic manure and urine.
Horse Myths
1. Horses cannot lay down for longer than one hour or health problems will develop like colic.
Truth: Our horses have laid down for more than one hour w/o any ill effects. Sassy was down for for 18 hours once. If they are lying down and will not get up for you, then there is a problem.
2. Put supplements on top of feed so they will eat it.
Truth: It depends on the supplement. We mix our hoof supplement in with the feed and the horses do not hesitate to eat all of the mix. Some supplements require creative solutions depending on the scent of the supplement. Apple sauce works for some, Dave Giza used a caulking gun loaded with apple sauce to shoot the mix into the horses mouth. Your vet and others are good sources of methods to administer supplements, but think through the recommendation with common sense before buying gadgets or email us with a question and we will go to our experts for suggestions.
Past Entries
RECENT BLOG ENTRIES
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Inspection of Mare Placenta
March 10th, 2012 -
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Foal Imprinting Tutorial (Very Informative)
March 3rd, 2012 -
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Nokesville Horse Society BBQ 2011
March 3rd, 2012 -
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Silly and Sassy Livin’ Large
December 4th, 2010 -
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Fields of Dreams
December 4th, 2010 -
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Entrance to WCR
December 4th, 2010 -
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Southern States Horse Feed Guide
December 4th, 2010 -
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Bedding
December 3rd, 2010 -
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Manure Rake Review
December 3rd, 2010 -
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Horse Myths
December 3rd, 2010 -
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