Comment

Comment by Frances Tufts on March 15, 2011 at 8:08am

Hi Rose, we are fortunate to have what I call a " sacrifice pasture" where the horses are able to stay out all the time.  When the new grass is coming up in the spring we either leave them in this pasture (where it is pretty scrubby) or we close them in the  paddock and let them out only for a couple of  hours. The horses love those fresh new grass shoots though. But I also don't want them wrecking the  ground as by that time the Canadians will have shoes on.

We still have at least a foot of snow though so  unless it goes really fast... I won't be worrying about pasture for a while.

 

Comment by Rose Cook on March 14, 2011 at 8:46pm

Frances do you leave them out in pasture while the new spring grass starts to grow?

Comment by Ferrous on March 14, 2011 at 10:51am

Just a reminder that the UCD Riding Clinic is less than two weeks away. We hope to see you there.

The UCD is also planning future events, so keep an eye on their events page for more fun stuff, including a nutrition clinic that is being planned for April.

Comment by Frances Tufts on March 14, 2011 at 6:56am

Hi Rose, my horses are out 24/7 except when they come in every morning  for grain ( about a handful)  and handling. We spread the hay into 5 or six seperates piles so they move around from  while they eat.  We see where they leave the hay for a while and come back to it at times. They sure do know when the evening hay time is as they congragate around the hay doors.

Outside they wander around  in their  10 acre field and I can see where they nibble on some old apple trees in some places, they roll in select places.... they love to find  sunny spots and lie there soaking up the sun. The other day they had a terrific time running in an area they have not been in  for months because of the snow.... it sure looked  like they were  enjoying themselves. kicking, bucking, snorting and farting all across the field. They seem to keep themselves pretty entertained and happy. We do not have an indoor arena so unless the weaterh conditions  and footing are good, they don't get driven very much in the winter.

Comment by Rose Cook on March 13, 2011 at 10:02pm

Frances How do you keep your horses busy after eating 1/2 a bale? Thats like 4 leaves. Mine finish a leaf before I could leave the barn. I put hay nets over my hay racks to slow them down and tried a slow feeder feed bag that my mare tore apart by morning. There went $25.00.

Comment by Rose Cook on March 12, 2011 at 8:46pm

My Grandaughter and I attended a Clinic by Scott Carmichael in Fonthill today. What a great clinic. It was a Rusty Rider Clinic . We were aditor for $10.00 and learned more in that one Clinic than in the 3 years of Riding lessons that I payed for my Grandaughter. The Clinic cost $100.00 for riders , a reasonable price compared to most clinics. He is planning other Clinics and are well worth it. Check out his web site.

Comment by Rose Cook on March 12, 2011 at 8:37pm

Funny you should say that Sherry. I have a book here that says a 1000 lb horse requires only 12 lbs. of hay a day. Can you imagine only giving 12 lbs of to our breed? They would eat the fence boards off. I weighed our bales which are an average 40lbs. So thats approximately 1/3 of a bale.

Comment by Ferrous on March 9, 2011 at 2:50pm

Our Canadian also gets free choice grass hay. (and he gets just enough grain to hide his supplements twice a day)

Comment by Queenrider on March 9, 2011 at 10:50am

Scooter is getting basically free choice grass hay (round bale) plus 1 cup of Purina Equalizer twice a day and supplements in the morning.  He is ridden 5 days a week for 30 to 45 minutes.

Comment by Frances Tufts on March 9, 2011 at 7:35am

RE: Hay: Good question Rose.

We feed 1/2 bale per horse in divided feeds.  1/4 bale in the AM and 1/4 in the PM. We don't use round bales.

We don't weigh the hay so I can't comment on the weight question. This winter, the horese are well-covered but not fat. If we ever get rid of the snow and ice, we will start driving them to get them back in shape.

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