Archive for October, 2008
Turn him out during the day when the bulk of the activity is going on. He should eventually get used to everything that is happening around your farm. After he seems to be comfortable and not paying attention to what is going on around him, lead him around the farm. Walk him up to those things that he seems to be afraid of and simply let him smell and stand near the object. This process may take several trips to get him used to the objects that frighten him. The next step is to carry out the same procedure while riding. Be patient. He will soon not pay attention to the things on the farm that spooked him.
You can also sack out the horse—help him become accustomed to a variety of objects such as towels, saddle pads, raincoats, tarps, umbrellas, etc. The goal of sacking out is to develop the horse's confidence—not make the horse more afraid. To do this, you introduce an object (the least-scary object first) by letting the horse smell and see it. Then rub the object all over the horse's body until the horse stands still. If the horse moves, continue rubbing with the object until the horse's feet stop moving. Then, take the object away and praise the horse by petting it. Continue with that same object until the horse will stand still without tension through various activities with it—rubbing, flapping, throwing, walking it over the horse's body, etc. Introduce the more scary objects as the horse progresses. With machinery, you can also work the horse around the equipment without focusing on the machine to keep the horse's mind on work and not the machinery.
For a three-horse slant load trailer, you can load one horse in the very front slot or the middle slot. Generally, the horse should be in front of the trailer wheels to distribute the load and ensure comfortable hauling. Make sure the other dividers are securely latched prior to hauling the horse.
Yes. Distillers grains can be safely fed to horses. Brewers grains have been used as part of horse rations for many years. (Dried brewers grain is a by-product of the brewing industry that results from drying mash solids.) The expected protein content is around 24 to 25%, which is a percentage between crude protein concentration in grains and that of protein supplements such as soybean meal. It is relatively high in crude fat (9%) as compared with grains and, although moderately variable, is similar in energy content to high-quality oats. Distillers dried grains with solubles (DDGS) have been fed to levels of 10% with no effect on palatability, and at 20%, they showed an increase in feed intake.
When you state stifle problems, we assume that lameness is involved. Horses with stifle problems are going to be lame in the hind end. The lameness can be on one or both sides, depending on if one or both stifles are affected. Usually the stifle joint will be swollen and possibly painful but not always. If the problems have been going on for a period of time in one leg, the other leg may develop problems from supporting too much weight. Diagnosing the problem requires a good physical exam, radiographs, possibly ultrasound and arthroscopic surgery. Prognosis is based on the diagnosis but is often guarded. If your horse is not lame but just locks his stifle, he is getting his patella (knee cap) caught. These horses will get their leg stuck out behind them and will be unable to flex (bend) the leg. Having the horse back up slowly or manipulating the patella will normally allow the patella to release. Treatment is directed to building the muscles of the area by allowing the horse to move at will and not stabling the horse. If you have some hills in the pasture, this will also aid in muscle development.
Blankets are used on horses for several reasons. One is for warmth on extremely cold days. Another reason is to assist in preventing hair growth during the winter months, particularly for horses that are placed under lights to prevent winter hair growth. To prevent or lessen the growth of a winter hair coat, a horse will need to be placed under lights, to mimic the long days of summer, and blanketed to provide warmth.
The most common lighting regime is to leave the lights on until 10 or 11 p.m. when the days start getting short. This lighting regime will need to continue until the natural daylight matches the artificial lighting pattern. A way to determine whether you have adequate light in the stall is to turn the lights on at night and sit in the darkest corner of the stall with a newspaper. If you can read the newspaper, you have enough light.
