Equine Education

General Horse/Barn Information

Topics Over View Discussed on this page

Horse Nutrition and Feeding

Understanding Your Horses Vision

How to Condition/Body Score Your Horse

Q&A on Horse Nutrition

What to look for in a Horse Boarding Facility

How to be a Better Boarder

General Safety Rules for Riding – Suggestions from Double J Farm

Horse Websites and Videos

Horse Nutrition and Feeding

Pasture forage has virtually the same nutrient composition on a 90 percent dry matter basis as hay (Table 1). Two differences exist—grass doesn't contain 90 percent dry matter (usually only 20–35 percent dry matter), and grazing permits a horse to eat only the most palatable, and usually the most nutritious, part of the plant.

Can a horse, grazing a good pasture, consume enough to meet its nutrient requirements for:

Maintenance—Yes. In fact, mature horses can get fat on grass, and yearlings and two-year-olds will make appreciable weight gains.

Gestation—Yes. Grass is usually a laxative feed that's high in protein and vitamins. Pasture provides an ideal environment for foaling mares.

Lactation—Many mares may actually gain weight while lactating. However, as the season advances, the amount and quality of forage begin to decline. Under those circumstances, the mare will lose weight while her foal will gain, but at a slower rate. If the lactating mare is to be rebred, a loss in body weight may result in lack of estrus (heat) and/or ovulation. For big, active and heavy-milking mares (Thoroughbreds, American Saddlebreds, etc.) 4 to 8 pounds of grain per head daily may be fed to maintain weight until the mare has conceived.

Work—Whether pasture will meet the requirements for work depends on the quality of pasture and how much the horse is ridden. Riding increases the energy requirements, over maintenance, by 35 to 200 percent, depending on how long and at what speed the horse is ridden. Feeding 2 to 6 pounds of grain per day, in addition to pasture, usually maintains weight and stamina.

What's the best pasture forage? Orchardgrass, reed canary grass, and bromegrass are about equal. These species provide good forage early in the season, form a good sod, and are very palatable and nutritious. Timothy and bluegrass don't produce as much forage and become dormant and unpalatable earlier in the summer. Reed canary grass is a heavy producer. However, the variety of reed canary grass is very important. It should be a low-alkaloid type. The old varieties become high in alkaloids by midsummer and become very unpalatable. Keep in mind all cool-season forages cease to produce during the warm and dry weather of July and August.

Legumes—alfalfa and clovers—contribute nitrogen to the grasses, lengthen the growing season, and increase the protein and mineral content. However, if grazed continuously or grazed in the fall, they will be killed out in about one year.

Produced by Communication and Educational Technology Services, University of Minnesota Extension.

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Understanding Your Horses Vision

Many times a horse’s behavior may be related to its vision or should I say lack of vision. Perhaps if we have a better understanding of how horses see, we can be safer around horses and even be more successful in training, showing or even increase our enjoyment while pleasure riding.

Horses have very large eyes and pupils. Since the eyeballs are basically on the side of the head it gives horses a wide field of vision (300-degrees) and the ability to almost see all the way around themselves. In ourselves and many other animals, the eyes are placed toward the front of the head, which limits field of view. Due to the placement of the equine eye, it gives the animal a frontal blind spot that extends 2 to 4 feet in front of the face; this means that a horse cannot see the food it eats.

Horses have both binocular & monocular vision. Binocular vision is when both eyes focus on an object, much like humans. A horse has monocular
vision when looking to the sides or to the rear. It sees a different image with each eye. This is very unique sending separate images are seen and transmitted to the brain at the same time. But, one needs to remember that the horse cannot use both binocular & monocular vision at the same time. It either sees forward, or to the side or rear but not forward and laterally at the same time.

So, when a horse sees an object with monocular vision, it will tend to turn toward the object to better hear and also, with binocular vision, better see the object. Binocular vision--use of two eyes--results in better depth perception and a more concentrated field of vision. A brief visual shift sometimes occurs as the horse switches from monocular to binocular vision, which can cause an unexplained “spooking” of the horse.

With the large pupil, the horse has the ability to pick up movement and in effect is a built-in wide-angle lens, which is further, enhanced by the placement of the visual receptors in the retina. The total effect is better peripheral (side) vision. However, it is believed that while the horse sees practically all the way around its body, the image is not as clearly defined as what humans see, especially within 4 feet.

Even with a wide field of view, as mentioned before there is a blind spot directly in front and directly behind a horse. You should avoid approaching a horse from behind because your presence may not be easily detected, and it could startle the horse. Some horses may instinctively kick in this situation. When you cannot avoid approaching a horse from the rear, make your location known by soothing noise to announce your presence. Do not sneak up on a horse from behind.

Depth perception has a great impact on horse behavior. Probably the only time a horse sees things in three dimensions is when looking straight ahead using binocular vision. However, a horse cannot possibly have depth perception when using monocular vision. This means that most of the time things look flat to a horse.

With a lack of depth perception, still objects appear to be positioned at about the same distance. Also, when using monocular vision something moving from a flat plane gives the illusion that the objective is leaping out. A example of this is if a white T-Shirt is hanging and flapping in the breeze might appear to the horse as a polar bear leaping out at it.

A question often asked is whether or not horses can see color. It was first thought that both horses and cattle were colorblind. If horses can distinguish colors, it is unlikely that their ability to see color is equal to that of other species, such as humans. However, they can see movement instantly, both far and near, and usually regard it with suspicion until trained to have confidence in their rider.

Another factor relating to the wide placement of a horses eyes is the peculiar illusion created when an object passes its field of vision, which is from one eye to another. A good illustration of this is: try holding your finger at arm's length in front of you. Close one eye and look at it with the first eye and switching to your other eye. You will notice that the finger appears to move from side to side. A stationary object may appear to move even more to a horse that has wide set eyes. This effect could be another reason why horses react the way they do.

Sight & Activity - When riding a trail, we give loose rein to allow the horse to raise and lower its head, to focus on near & far objects. When it approaches a new or strange object and lowers its head, it is not sniffing, but focusing to see the object. A good trail horse will lower its head when coming to a bridge or water to see better. If while riding the horse suddenly pricks its ears forward it has probably seen (or heard) something in a distance. If you notice this early warning action, you may better prepare yourself for what’s ahead.

A cutting horse carries its head low to act as a balance but also to better see the calf it is working. Some racehorses are fitted with blinkers so objects from the side do not distract them and cause them to lose speed. They must use binocular vision to see the track ahead because a horse will not gallop full speed if it cannot see where it is going. The same reason, horses pulling carts or buggies wear blinkers. It keeps them from shying on something on the side that could cause them to dump the cart.

The hunter and jumper. When a horse is ridden with a tight rein or a tie down, it cannot adjust its head to focus on obstacles ahead. If the horse and rider function together as a unit, the horse must have freedom to raise and lower its head. A horse with normal head carriage sees only 4 feet ahead when it approaches a jump. It no longer can see the obstacle it is jumping.

It is very important to approach a jumping fence straight on. Remember the horse has depth perception only when using binocular vision and is only possible when it’s looking straight ahead. Since everything looks flat when a horse is using monocular vision, you cannot expect to bring a horse sideways into a jump and ask it to jump something it perceives to be flat. Since the horse loses sight of the fence shortly before its feet leave the ground it must have a chance to size it up before jumping. So, jumping requires teamwork. Many horses are bold enough to
obey the rider's aids and some are constant refusers. This could be due to poor riding procedure; poor training or perhaps the animal is just reluctant to jump into a void. The fact that the horse can not see the fence from the moment its hooves leave the ground is perhaps the reason you rarely see a horse jump a fence when its alone in a pasture.A horse is a creature of habit and therefore a well trained horse can perform well without the ability to focus well it has been taught to respond to the riders commands/aids.

Hopefully, this information helps you better understand a horse’s behavior. Until a horse is trained, its behavior is dictated by traits developed for survival. When the predictable behavioral traits are kept in mind and understood, it will help in a training & riding program. When thinking of a horse’s vision, you might want to remember this old saying: Beauty is in the eye of the beholder - This simply means that it is not WHAT you see but HOW you see it.

Part of this article was taken from:
4H Horse Project – Training, TRMU-1 Equine Eyes

How to Condition Score Horses

Condition scoring is a handy management tool to assess relative body fat without the use of scales, gadgets, calculators or anything other than your hands, eyes and a little experience. Condition scoring was originally developed at Texas A&M University for use in broodmares, but has since been developed for use in other species of livestock as well. If you've ever heard or read any of my talks about the Tevis studies, then you know that it's a great tool for performance horse owners as well. In very generalterms, animals are assigned a score between 1 and 9; 1 being a very emaciated animal, and 9 being an extremely obese animal.

First, a few of the misunderstandings-used correctly, condition scoring is independent of a horse's breed, muscling or aerobic fitness, conformation, age, hydration or gut fill. Contrary to a few opinions floating about, it has nothing to do with the amount of glycogen a horse has in his muscle stores. Why? Condition scoring is an assessment only of the amount of body fat covering certain skeletal landmarks on the body, such as the point of the hip and buttocks, ribs, spine and so on. While some of the observation points (such as through the hindquarters or around the tailhead) are also areas occupied by muscle, manual palpation and a little practice will easily differentiate between fat and muscle. Horses with a gut full of hay may look very rounded at first glance, but the prominence of the skeleton will not change upon closer inspection. Likewise, a dehydrated horse will appear tucked-up and long through the underline, but prominence of the landmarks will not significantly change.

So to get started, let's go over the areas of assessment. There are nine areas throughout the body:

1) Neck
2) Withers
3) Shoulder
4) The area directly behind the elbow
5) Topline
6) Ribs
7) Tail head
8) Point of hip
9) Point of buttock

A tenth area that I personally find useful as well is the "twist", the areabetween the thighs, as viewed from behind. Each area should be appraised and scored individually and then the scores averaged to produce a final overall score. This doesn't mean you need to laboriously write down and calculate each area. What it does mean is that you need to look at the total horse and take into account individual differences. Some horses can be quite plump and yet still look a little ribby, so the overall score should look at areas other than just those ribs. Other horses can have quite a bit of fat cover, but because of funny conformation through the croup, look thin in just that one area. Be sure to look at all the areas, then form a general overall score based on individual areas of observation.

When appraising each area, use your hands as well as your eyes. Skeletal landmarks can be hidden by a furry winter coat, dirt, lighting or just the way the horse is standing. Hold your hand flat, fingers together, and feel for the reference points. Then walk around the horse and see if your observations are consistent from the other side as well.

The original developer of this system, D.R. Henneke, has written that for a horse to correctly fall into each of the below described categories, every component of the description must apply. For example, if a horse meets all of the qualifications but one for a condition score of 3, then that horse should be categorized as something other than a 3. After having condition scored over a thousand endurance horses, I respectfully disagree with Dr. Henneke's opinion. As described above, many endurance horses that I've seen may be downright chunky in some areas and lean in others, and sometimes assigning a score halfway between two categories is appropriate. Trying to get more exact than that (for example, a condition score of 3.25) is probably not particularly accurate, as these observations are subjective, not quantitative.

The descriptions for the individual categories are as follows:

Condition Score 1: Emaciated: Bony structures of neck, shoulders and withers easily noticeable. Spinous processes, along the ribs, topline, point of hip and point of buttock all project prominently, with an obvious ridge down the back. Individual vertebrae may be identifiable.There is significant space between inner buttocks ("twist"). The animal is extremely emaciated; no fatty tissue can be felt.

Condition Score 2: Very Thin: Bony structures of the neck, shoulders and withers are faintly discernible. Spinous processes, ribs, topline, point of hip and buttock are prominent. Noticeable space between inner buttocks.

Condition Score 3: Thin: Neck, withers and shoulder are accentuated, but not obviously thin. Tailhead is prominent. Slight fat cover over ribs, but still easily discernible. Spinous processes, point of hip and point of buttock are rounded, but easily discernible. Twist is filled in, but without noticeable deposition of fatty tissue.

Condition Score 4: Moderately Thin: Neck, withers and shoulders are not obviously thin. Ribs are faintly discernible. Point of hips and buttocks are not visually discernible. Fat can be felt around the tailhead, prominence somewhat dependent upon conformation. There is a slight negative crease (a ridge) along the topline, especially over the loins and hindquarters.

Condition Score 5: Moderate: Neck, withers and shoulder appear rounded and blend smoothly into the body. Ribs cannot be seen but are easily felt. Back is level with neither a ridge nor a gully along the topline. Fat around tailhead is beginning to feel spongey. Slight amount of discernible fat deposited between buttocks (twist).

Condition Score 6: Moderately Fleshy: Fat beginning to be deposited along the neck, withers and shoulders. Fat over the ribs beginning to feel spongey, ribs cannot easily be felt. Fat around tailhead feels soft. May be slight positive crease (gully) along the topline. Noticeable fat deposition between buttocks.

Condition Score 7: Fleshy: Fat deposited along neck and withers and behind shoulder. Individual ribs can be felt, but with noticeable filling between ribs. Slight positive crease down back. Fat around tailhead feels soft.

Condition Score 8: Fat: Noticeable thickening of neck. Area along withers is filled with fat, area behind shoulder is filled in flush with body. Ribs cannot be felt, noticeable positive crease down back, fat around tailhead is very soft. Significant fat deposited along inner buttocks.

Condition Score 9: Extremely Fat: Bulging fat along neck, shoulders and withers. Flank is filled in flush. Patchy fat appearing over ribs, obvious positive crease down back. Obvious fat deposited along inner buttocks.

What to look for in a Boarding Facility

Not everyone has the pleasure of taking care of their equine at home and sometimes they opted to board them at boarding barns and facilities. It is always important to know if the farm caters to your age group and the style that you ride, whether it be English, Western, Trail, Eventing or Showing.

Below you will find some useful information about how to find a good stable and information about ours as well.

Stalls

Ask about the sizes that they have, cleaning schedules, and air quality of the indoor barn.

Size

· How big are the stalls? Typically they will be 12x12, Double J Farm has three stalls this size and two that are 10X12

· How big are the foaling stalls? Typically 12x16, Double J Farm has two stalls this size

Stall Management

· Who cleans the stalls: the horse owners of the facility? At Double J Farm the facility staff typically clean the stalls, it depends if you are FULL or PARTIAL board.

· How often are they cleaned? Double J cleans daily

Stall Environment

· Is hay or feed stored above the stalls, which may cause and excess of dust? No, not at Double J Farm, we have a seperate hay barn

· Is the stall near an indoor arena, which may cause a dusty environment? No, they are not located near an arena at Double J Farm

Pasture Access

· Do the horses spend all their time in the pasture? At Double J Farm, stall boarders have turn out to pasture for at lease 10-12 hrs (weather permitting) with a shelter

Fences

· Are fences in good repair? All fencing at Double J farm has been installed in the last 1-2 years

· How many horses have escaped in the last month? We have been fortunate at Double J to have no escapes.

· What are the fences made of? High Tensile Wire, that is electrified and flagged heavily for visibility

· Does the facility use barbed wire? Highly discouraged. We do not use Barbed Wire at Double J Farm

· Does the farm use temporary plastic twine or tape fencing? If so, is it to divide pastures or is it a perimeter fence? Double J Farm may use temporary fence to only separate the permanent pastures for pasture management programs

Feed

· Do they feed hay only? No, Double J Farm feeds both feed and hay

· Do horses have access to salt? They do have access to salt at Double J Farm

· Is feed included in the price of board? Yes, in most packages at Double J

· How many times a day does the stable feed? At Double J Farm depending on the needs, once to twice daily

· If the horse requires more than the “normal ration” of feed or hay, is there an extra charge? At Double J we do charge extra for the amount given extra to the horses, but it is at cost and no added charges

Water System

In Stalls

· Does the stable use automatic waterers? Double J does not use automatic waterers because we are on a well

· Do they use buckets? How often are they filled? Double J uses buckets and they are cleaned at least twice a week or as needed, water filled daily

In the Pastures

· Do they use automatic waterers? Double J does not.

· How often are they filled? Double J fills daily

· Does the facility allow horses to drink from a pond? Double J does not allow them to drink from ponds

Health Care

Disease Prevention

· Do they require vaccinations or test before a new horse can be brought into the facility? Double J requires them to be up to date on all recommended shots and show proof of a negative coggins

· Does the facility check to see if customer has their horses updated? Double J requires that all coggins and vaccinations be on file for each horse

Deworming

· Who does the deworming? Double J Facility

· What product does the facility provide? Double J provides a variety of wormers from Quest, to Safeguard, Ivermectin…on a rotational program

· How often do they Deworm? Double J deworms every two months

Routine Emergency Veterinary Care

· Is there an item in the lease/contract about how the facility handles an emergency? Double J does have a plan to handle emergencies

· Can the client choose a veterinarian? Double J does not require you to use our veterinarian, you may use whomever you like

Farrier Service

· Does the stable use only one Farrier? No, you can use whoever you like at Double J Farm

· Who makes arrangement for the Farrier? Double J Farm makes arrangements for clients in most packages

· Will the stable attend to the clients’ horse while the farrier is there? Double J Does tend to the horses in most packages

Securtiy

- Who checks on the horses? Double J Staff and owners check on the horses several times daily

· How often are they checked on? Double J staff checks on the horses between two and four times daily

· Is there a secure area for tack? Double J does have a secure tack room

· Is there a video Monitoring system? Double J has looked into these possibilities for a later purchase

· Are there specified opening and closing times at the facility that clients need to follow? Yes, Double J is open from 8:00am to 9:00pm

Riding Trails

· Are there trails available close to the stable within riding distance? Yes, At Double J Farm there is a mountain directly behind the barn to ride on

Arena

· Is the arena indoors or outdoors? Double J has an uncovered round pen, outdoor lesson arena, and outdoor jumping arena

· Are there jumps? Double J does have jumps

· What type of bedding is in the arena? Double J has a mixture of soft dirt and sand rock

Training

· Does the facility provide any training for horses? Double J does provide some training

· Do they offer lessons for riders? Double J Farm does offer lessons, please see the "Riding Lessons" page

Winter Care

· Does the facility provide winter blanketing? Double J will be happy to blanket for the owner, provided that the owner provides their own blankets

Horse Related Events

· Does the facility offer any events? Double J does not hold events, but will hold clinics

· Do they provide trailering to an event? Double J does not provide trailering to events

Being a Better Boarder

Finding a boarding facility that makes both you and your horse happy can be a real challenge but it can make a huge difference in how much you enjoy your horse experience. Here are 12 tips that will make you and your horse welcome at any boarding facility.

Referenced from the following site: http://www.saddleshop.com/sentinel/articles/2005/betterBoarder.htm

1. Learn the barn rules and follow them
Ignorance is no excuse for the law and it isn’t one at boarding facilities either. Many boarding barns provide new boarders with a list of rules including policies, hours of operation, feeding schedules, etc. BEFORE the horse even arrives so if you don’t agree – it might be best to keep looking. These rules usually are set for a reason and getting the owner or manager to change the rules AFTER you arrive is unlikely and constant nagging or debating will result in you being asked to leave.

2. Clean up after yourself or your horse.
This one sounds like a no brainer until you step into a fresh pile of manure that someone (no where to be seen of course!) has left standing in the middle of the aisle. If you picked a facility because it is clean, do your best to help keep it that way.

3. Don’t take extra feed, hay, bedding or anything else without permission.
You might like having a big pile of hay in front of your horse at all times but most boarding barns have specific feeding schedules because that is what works best for them and that is how they priced their service. Feeding an extra flake to your horse can upset the other horses that are near by, getting them so agitated they damage themselves or their surroundings. Understand the feeding schedule before you sign the boarding contract and leave the feeding to the barn manager. Ditto for the barn’s bedding choice and policy. A deep bed of straw or shavings may seem like horse heaven to you but you don’t have to pay for it or dispose of it.

4. Don’t feed treats to other people’s horses without permission.
Yes, those eyes are gazing at you longingly and are very hard to resist but the horse may have special dietary needs or allergies, or there may be other issues you are not aware of. Always ask permission first and respect the owner’s decision.

5. Put your toys away.
Horse owners seem to end up with more paraphernalia than the first-time parents of a new baby. This is fine because everyone enjoys seeing the endless supply of halters, fly spray, boots, wraps, etc. But no one likes tripping over them in the aisle or having to pass by a mountain of stuff hanging off the front of a stall door.

6. Play well with others.
Boarding barns are a notorious breeding ground for cliques but you can help inoculate against an infection by treating everyone with respect and kindness. Sure – all you may have in common is that you love horses and you don’t have to love your fellow boarders. Just treat them as you want to be treated. Many of us see the barn as a place to relax and this is hard to do if you feel like you have to constantly be looking for a fight or trying to avoid one.

7. Treat the barn support staff with respect.
These are the people who take care of your horse every single day and the good ones know your horse as well, if not better than you do. A few simple words like “hello, good-bye, and most important, thank you” go a long way. An occasional monetary tip for birthdays, Christmas or even just because can go even further.

8. Don’t call the barn manager/owner every day.
Yes, you are normal - you want to know if your horse was turned out or not but if every boarder at even a 12-stall facility called every day that is a LOT of time spent answering phone calls. This is a situation where you need to trust that the barn owner or manager has your horse’s best interests at heart. He or she knows if the footing is safe for turnout, how badly the wind is blowing at the barn or if it is raining there or not. Trust them.

9. A sick horse is ultimately your responsibility.
Most barn owners will bend over backward—and then some to help out a horse (or boarder!) in distress. But if the vet says the horse needs to be watched for two hours and it is midnight- grab a blanket and a chair because YOU need to be sitting there watching – not the barn owner. Yes, you have to get up and go to work tomorrow, but so does she.

10. If it isn’t working, don’t burn bridges.
If something about a facility isn’t working for you for whatever reason, then move on. You may certainly talk to the barn owner and discuss the issue and make suggestions, and atleast give a chance to solve the issue, but complaining about the barn manager or the other boarders isn’t going to change a thing and will only make you unhappy. Sometimes what is a great fit for one person doesn’t work for another at all. That’s ok – just find other accommodations, give the notice you agreed to in your contract, stay civil and preferably cheerful, and leave on good terms. It is a small world and your paths may cross again.

11. Pay your bills on time.
Despite our best intentions we all occasionally trip up – after all we are human.—but these trips are likely to be overlooked at least occasionally if we keep our accounts in good standing. Boarding is not a high income business, the margins are slim and become even slimmer when the barn owner must pay interest because board bills are late. And keep current with the vet and farrier, too. A barn owner who is trying to get emergency care for a sick or injured horse can be in bad spot if the owner isn’t available to guarantee payment and is already on the vet’s late-pay list.

12. Be reachable.
Keep your contact information current. If you are out of town leave your contact information and insurance information. Better yet, leave instructions for what to do in case of an emergency, including an advance directive with a current credit card number. The advance directive gives your barn owner permission to make decisions on your behalf and backs those decisions with your dollars. Emergency colic surgery can run into thousands of dollars and if you can’t be reached to guarantee payment, your horse will be the one to suffer.

General Safety Rules for Riding – Suggestions from Double J Farm

1. ALWAYS WEAR a hard shell helmet that is securely fastened - SEI-approved safety helmet – This means ADULTS TOO

2. Don’t ride alone - When at all possible ride with someone else and let others know where you are going.

3. Ride only the horse that is appropriately suited for the skill and experience of the rider. Do not over estimate your ability or the horse’s ability.

4. Never ride in tennis shoes or shoes without heels (not anything with a flat sole). Why you ask – many injuries can occur simply because a shoe slips through the stirrup and causes the rider to get hung up and dragged.

5. Consider wearing Body-protecting gear to protect your vital areas such as your ribs, hands, elbows and footwear. Do not wear baggy or loose-fitting clothing. Wear long pants.

6. No room for horse play – Even if you don’t get hurt it your actions may cause someone else to get hurt!

7. Speed Kills – Use some common sense, slow down and don’t ride where terrain is not safe such as uneven ground or slippery ground. Stay off
     of highways when possible. Folks drive cars recklessly and especially those who have never been around horses. They will zoom right by you
     sometimes inches away leaving no room if your horse reacts. If you do ride on the road, for heaven sakes be smart about it, don’t get caught
    up in the cowboy of it all just so someone will see you on the back of a horse. That does not read well on a gravestone.

8. Use proper fitting saddles. For saddles with back cinches - cinch up back cinch last and undo back cinch first. Check girth straps often

9. Make sure all equipment is in good repair

10. Never grain or water a hot horse. Cool horse down before putting horse up or allowing horse to eat. Current research suggests that if horses are very hot, cooling the horse down is most important and thus water can be given during the cool down.

11. Learn and use your animal husbandry skills, listen to what your horse may be telling you while riding.

12. Do not ride when there is a risk of bad weather. Animals react differently in these events (so do people) not to mention the physical dangers such as falling debris, wind, hail and lightening – if you are within 10 miles of the storm’s center you could be at getting struck by lightning.

Horse Websites and Videos

Equine Helmet Safety: Every Time...Every Ride (Video at site)
http://www.extension.org/pages/Equine_Helmet_Safety:_Every_Time...Every_Ride

Young Horse Management Series
http://www.extension.org/pages/Young_Horse_Management_Series

What Riders Should Do When Caught Horse Riding in a Lightning Storm
http://www.horses-and-horse-information.com/articles/0199lightening.shtml

Riding Horses: Horse Riding Safety (Reverse side of road since this
article is in UK)
http://www.equine-world.co.uk/riding_horses/horse_riding_safety.htm

Saddling, Bridling and Riding the Western Horse, MU Extension
http://extension.missouri.edu/xplor/agguides/ansci/g02881.htm

NASD: Horse Sense 4 Kids: Preparing to Ride
http://www.cdc.gov/nasd/docs/d000801-d000900/d000900/d000900.html

South Dakota Cooperative Extension Service 4h Horse Safety Manual
http://agbiopubs.sdstate.edu/articles/YD4H413.pdf

Basic Horse Safety Manual - UNIVERSITY OF KENTUCKY
http://www.ca.uky.edu/agc/pubs/4af/4af05ma/4af05ma.pdf

American Medical Equestrian Association News – University of Texas
http://tarlton.law.utexas.edu/dawson/amea/nov93nws.htm

Safety at Horse Shows
http://www.utextension.utk.edu/publications/animals/EquineFacts/TNH3006.pdf

Q & A on Horse Nutrition Questions

What are the basic food supplements I need for my horse?

Answer:

Carrots and apples, especially apples
Cod liver oil, rich in vitamins, mix it with food
Molasses, mix it with dry food or medicines
Corn oil, a rich source of energy
Salt lick, one designed for horses, not cattle
Beet pulp, rich in energy and protein, soak before feeding

Question:
What are the two classes of hays fed to horses?

Answer:

grasses such as orchard grass, timothy, fescue
legumes such as clover and alfalfa

Question:
Is it true you should feed horses hay before grain?

Answer:
By feeding hay before grain you may get some stabilization of the microbial bugs in the large intestine which ferment the fibre in the horse's diet. However, some studies suggest that this may decrease the ability of the horse to properly digest the grain. You may want to feed hay about 15 minutes prior to feeding grain.

Question:
Do oats hold any nutritional value for horses?

Answer:
Oats are not the best feed to give your horse on their own. They have unbalanced levels of calcium and phosphorus. However, if you are feeding a mineral supplement and some alfalfa hay, then you should be ok.

Question:
What type of salt and what general guidelines can you suggest for an adult horse that and gets moderate exercise is in excellent health?

Answer:
Salt blocks are very important for your horse because most horse feeds are low in sodium and chloride, You can also buy a trace mineralized salt blocks that has other minerals too, but be sure that is one specially designed for horses!

Question:
What would cause a horse to lick the dirt?

Answer:
The most likely reason is that he is not getting enough salt or trace minerals in his diet. Try offering him a trace mineral salt block.

Question:
Oil, such as corn oil, can help keep/add weight and improve the hair coat. Three tablespoons daily is good. Does it matter what kind of oil, such as Wesson or soybean oil?

Answer:
Adding oil is safe and effective way to add energy to your horses' diet without increasing the grain portion of the diet, Any kind will do just fine.

Question:
What kind of hay does my horse need during a cold winter?

Answer:
To help keep them warm in the winter, feed them as much forage such as hay that they will eat. When fiber is fermented in the large intestines of the horse, it gives off heat as a by-product. This can help keep them warm.

Question:
What are some foods horses should avoid?

Answer:

Red Clover: can cause slobbering, not toxic but not very aesthetically pleasing
Sweet Clover: when moldy can cause blood clotting problems
Alfalfa: blister beetles can cause ulcers, liver damage etc.
Sudan Grass/Johnson Grass: can have cyanide in it, cause cystitis, ataxia, abortions
Tall Fescue: Endophyte can cause reproductive problems; don't feed to mares after their 9th month gestation
Ryegrass: may cause neurological problems or founder
Bran Rice/Wheat: high in phosphorus, so feed with care (make sure diet has enough calcium to accommodate for higher phosphorus)

Question:
What are some plants horses should avoid?

Answer:

Deadly: Wild blue Flax, Elderberry, Milkweed, Foxglove, Oleander, Lily of the Valley, Water hemlock, Yew, Avocado.
Colic/Diarrhea causing: Horse chestnut, Pokeweed, Laurel, Azaleas, Mesquite etc.
Others: Locoweed, Horsetail, Bracken Fern, Yellow Star Thistle etc.

Question:
Are ther extra food things you should you feed pregnant mare?

Answer:
The mare will need a more nutrient-dense diet. Beet pulp has more energy per pound than most hays, but less energy than grain. For example, if you are replacing grain, then you'd have to feed more of it to have the same amount of energy as a given weight of grain.

Question:
What should I be sure to feed my mare to keep her healthy and strong. We ride daily and do a lot of jumping.

Answer:
An active horse has very high energy requirements. Make sure she has all the hay she can eat. To help her get enough energy, add up to two cups of oil to her diet a day. That way you can decrease the grain intake (and decrease risk of colic) and still give her lots of energy. Also, make sure you provide her with a water and a salt block.

Question:
How good are "complete feeds"?

Answer:
Really best as a supplement. Hay is really the best for horse health - fiber for intestinal health, chew time for sanity and decreasing the chance of developing bad habits. If your hay isn't good quality (nutrient-wise, never feed moldy or really dusty hay), you can still feed it just to give him something to eat and then feed a complete feed to make sure he gets his nutrients.

Question:
Are there supplements of some kind to make our hay go farther?

Answer:
For the average 1000-pound horse, don't go below 10 pounds of forage (hay or pasture grass) per day. If you need to go below that, try upping the fiber by purchasing some hay cubes or beet pulp. Also provide some straw, such as oat straw, just for munching on. There is little nutrition in it but it keeps the digestive tract healthy.

Question:
What are some people foods that I shouldn't feed my horse?

Answer:
Well, there are lots of things that I wouldn't feed my horse: chocolate, anything with caffeine, meat. If you're not sure, don't feed it!

Question:
Can too much alfalfa give a horses diarrhea?

Answer:
Too much alfalfa may give a horse some diarrhea, but may not be the only cause. Basic guidelines for a pleasure horse: feed him lots of good quality hay (maybe a mix of alfalfa, grass hay), and make sure he always has water and salt.

Question:
What is recommended for growing manes and tails quickly.

Answer:
Flax seeds or oil have been used often to improve coat quality. Just make sure if you use whole seeds, you add some water and boil them (releases the oils from the seeds). Some other vegetable oils (wheat germ, rice bran) can be useful too. Whether on not any of these will make the hair grow faster is unlikely - but it will be stronger and shinier when it does grow.

Question:
Will black walnuts make a horse sick?

Answer:
Black walnuts, black walnut trees and their shavings can cause depression, anorexia, colic and laminitis in horses.

Burlington, NC

Office: (336) 421-1556

Cell: (336) 516-2677

Email: doublejfarmnc@gmail.com

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Thank you for your interest in our barn I hope you find the information on our site to be useful. If you find that you have unanswered questions, please call us (336-421-1556) or email us (doublejfarmnc@gmail.com). We are here to serve you. We strive to build long lasting relationships with each boarder client and work closely with each client to ensure that each horse has personalized care.