DISCLAIMER: These posts contain hints, tips and ideas from folks that have had some experiences dealing with this. It is NOT meant to be professional advice here - just related experiences. Please consult with a reputable professional if necessary. Date: Wed, 21 Oct 1998 20:47:08 -0700 To: equinerescue@MyList.net From: Pat Calloway Subject: EQ-ResQ: Winter Tips We don't really have a "winter" here in the part of Arizona where I live, but I thought it might be useful to share some tips and ideas on how to make Winter easier. Do you change feed this time of year? How about blankets? Special shoes? Special things that you do for horses that are being rehabbed during the cooler weather? Pat Calloway, Equine Rescue/Creatures Listowner epona@concentric.net (AZ) http://pages.prodigy.com/equinerescue/home.htm http://pages.prodigy.com/equinerescue/creature.htm From: PrfctPsFrm@aol.com Date: Thu, 22 Oct 1998 00:44:58 EDT To: equinerescue@MyList.net, epona@concentric.net Subject: Re: EQ-ResQ: Winter Tips In a message dated 98-10-21 23:49:53 EDT, Pat write: << We don't really have a "winter" here in the part of Arizona where I live, but I thought it might be useful to share some tips and ideas on how to make Winter easier. Do you change feed this time of year? How about blankets? Special shoes? Special things that you do for horses that are being rehabbed during the cooler weather? >> I live in central VA and here is what I am planning to do (or have already started): FEED: I changed my sweetfeed from 12% to 14% protien, pellets stay at 12%, and I give them a little more crimped oats in their PM meal. BLANKETS: I plan to use blankets on those horses who do not get winter coats (my TB and Anglo-Arabian mainly). I blanket when the temp drops below freezing on a regular basis. I want them to get as much of a winter coat as possible before I start blanketing. SHOES: All of mine are barefoot right now and will probably remain that way, unless they need to have shoes put on. REHAB HORSES: Well my rehab at the moment is Rose and as all of you know I am trying to get some weight on to her before the cold weather sets in. REMEMBER: Make sure your horses drink water when it gets cooler. They have a tendency to not drink as much which will make them COLIC!!!! My vet had a lot of problem with this last winter. Lisa Perfect Peace Farm, VA Bunny, Mayo, Ruby, Rose, and Sampson ============================================================ Date: Wed, 21 Oct 1998 22:52:35 -0700 From: "Ditty, Steven/Cheryl" To: "equinerescue@MyList.net" Subject: EQ-ResQ: RE: Winter tips Up here in Alaska is probably a bit different than any other place in the US. Our horses have their "Musk ox" coats in rather well now.  Both ( well, all 3 as soon as Lily gets here next week) were born and raised here.  Jack gets a coat on him that you can literally bury your fingers in. Kid gets this velour look to her that is really thick. She looks like a big stuffed teddy bear!   I feed them their regular rations, but give them a snack in the afternoon when it stays below 20 degrees at all times. The pounds go up per degree Mother Nature takes away. They get fed hay 24 hours a day when it gets below zero.  My water tank is insulated and the heater keeps the water approximately 40 degrees. I blanket them when it gets -10 or colder. I have to make sure I get the blankets off in the sunshine though, or they start to sweat! Like I said, they get thick coats!  I have my "winter" notches on my bridle and girth to fit "Jaque De Fluffy". I also keep my bridles inside, along with my blankets so they are warm.  When ( not if, it happens every year) it gets -20 to -40 F, they get warm mash for breakfast and dinner along with the hay 24 hours.  I am planning to buy new BMB blankets this winter, as they have trashed their old ones. I have tried putting hoods on them, but they spend their time trying to get them off. Every so often, if it's cold enough, they will leave them alone.  As for shoes, we usually leave them barefoot. I plan to put Jack in front ice shoes this year if we don't get a lot of snow, as he wears his heels down. Kid, she goes barefoot almost all year 'round.  This will be my first winter with a foal. Lily ( who now has her own page ay my web site) has a good coat started, but she is only 7 weeks old. I worry she will blow her "baby coat".  I have blankets ready for her.  Sorry to get long winded. Cheryl http://www.geocities.com/Heartland/Flats/7109 ============================================================ Date: Thu, 22 Oct 1998 06:49:27 -0400 From: Mike & Chris Smith To: equinerescue@MyList.net, Pat Calloway Subject: Re: EQ-ResQ: Winter Tips > Do you change feed this time of year? How about blankets? Special shoes? > Special things that you do for horses that are being rehabbed during the > cooler weather? ERL (northern VA) doesn't change the type of feed used, just may add a larger proportion of sweet feed to the mixture. (For those that can have sweet feed) We do increase amounts fed, though, for everyone and may bring more horses in for individual feeding than during warmer weather. We have also had to add small amounts of rice bran to some horses' rations for extra calories. Everyone is monitored very closely for weight maintenance (I remember reading somewhere that a horse can lose several pounds just overnight from shivering.) Blankets are only used when needed. We don't use them as a routine measure because we want the horses to grow as much coat as they can and using the blankets when it isn't really cold will delay winter coat development. (Our 38-year-old QH mare turns into a genuine teddy bear and is kind enough to let us push our hands into her coat for a quick warmup when needed.) Most winters here, they may wear a blanket during the night, but can go without during the day. Overall, the horses seem to stay warm unless they get wet, then they come in until they're dry and then are turned back out. Our horses go barefoot most of the time anyway, but during the winter, if you *do* use shoes, be very careful about "ice balls." The shoe collects snow or water and as the horse walkes around, it compresses the snow into ice. It can build up to the point where the whole foot is actually off the ground and the horse is sort of skating around on the ball of ice. This isn't as much of a problem with barefoot because the snow and ice can drop off, but it gets caught under the edge of a shoe. We don't use tank heaters very often, but de-ice the water as often as needed, checking the tanks four or five times a day, more on really cold days. We use an old feed bucket with holes drilled all over so it looks like a colander...break the ice up with a hammer, then dip in the bucket. When you lift the bucket out, the ice stays in the bucket and the water drains back into the tank. Another thing to watch around the water tanks is frozen puddles. Of course, you don't want to use chemical de-icers, but we've found sprinkling a super thin layer of plain old dirt on the ice helps with footing. ('Course, the trick there is finding some unfrozen dirt to scrape up---we have a little place underneath one of the feed bins in the barn that we use as our dirt stash during the winter, then have to fill in the hole in spring ) I don't know that anything different is done for horses being rehabbed. The extra effort there goes into making sure they stay warm so precious calories are used to put weight on rather than to keep warm. Actually, I'd say one of our biggest problems during the winter isn't with the horses, its that the volunteer corps diminishes drastically. Thank goodness for our die-hards...if any of you are listmembers,,,,you are priceless and irreplaceable! Chris -- Equine Rescue League, Inc Leesburg, VA http://equinenet.org/erl/ ============================================================ From: "Teresa Wilson" To: , "Pat Calloway" Subject: Re: EQ-ResQ: Winter Tips Date: Thu, 22 Oct 1998 07:00:41 -0500 >Do you change feed this time of year? How about blankets? Special shoes? >Special things that you do for horses that are being rehabbed during the >cooler weather? Here in Oklahoma real winter doesn't get here usually until late November early December but we do cahnge feed from 12% to 14%. We have a heater for the tank when it starts getting cold enough to get an ice skim on the top. I don't blanket my horses because they both get a very good winter coat, even the TB gets a good coat on her. Teresa in Oklahoma ============================================================ Date: Thu, 22 Oct 1998 08:26:28 -0700 To: equinerescue@MyList.net From: The Murray Gang Subject: Re: EQ-ResQ: RE: Winter tips I live in western PA. It's nothing for us to get 40 inches of snow in one day. We often spend days at a time with wind chills below -20. I break ice in water tubs (and use the bucket with holes in the bottom to remove ice) and carry warm water from the house for them (to the tune of 100 gallons a day). The only thing we do differently in the winter is offer more hay. Good quality hay will do more for a horse than all the feed they'll ever eat. Our vet has an enormous Belgian stallion who gets nothing but hay year round. He's fat and sassy. Since we started following our vet's advice, our herd stays warm (even when the wind chills are -40 or below) and they consistently gain weight over the winter. When we started buying really good hay, our grain consumption dropped by about 50% and our hay consumption dropped by about 25%. They all come out of winter being overweight (at least our vet thinks so). I used to panic and worry about bringing them in and keeping them warm, but I discovered that they're not stupid (duh on my part). We offer good shelter from the elements and if they felt the need to use it, they would. They'll stand outside in a circle with the wind blowing like crazy, 2 inches of snow on their backs, and 4-inch icicles hanging on their sides. And I go stand in the middle of the circle and stay warm! That's the only time they can all be so close and not fight! Our herd is generally barefoot all year, so I just keep checking feet for ice. If we have a bad spell with a lot of ice, I put a layer of vaseline on the soles of their feet to help keep the ice and snow from sticking. I discovered years ago that if you try to keep an animal inside and warm and comfortable (especially an animal that is used to being outside), they tend to get sick more quickly. A woman I knew years ago kept her horses in her nice warm, draft-free barn during the winter and they were only allowed out when the temp was above 32 degrees. She forever had horses that were sick. My SIL raised show rabbits. During the spring, summer, and fall their little barn was open to the air. When winter hit, she closed it up and heated it. Her bunnies were sick a lot. Our bunnies were out in their pens year-round, lots of bedding, protection from the worst winds, and ours were never sick and lived longer than they were "supposed" to (Netherland Dwarfs normally don't live more than 5 or 6 years and ours lived 9 or 10). Once my SIL started leaving her bunny barn open in the winter too, her bunnies weren't sick all the time and they were living longer and having healthier babies. Janis M. :) ICQ # 7030297 ============================================================ Date: Thu, 22 Oct 1998 09:11:58 -0400 From: Amanda Trayes To: equinerescue@MyList.net Subject: Re: EQ-ResQ: Winter Tips I have been reading everyone's postings on winter tips, including blanketing in winter. My question is this: I live in Philadelphia, so our winters can be cold and snowy or rather mild (in the 30s and 40s). At my barn, there are two schools of thought about blanketing--one schools says the horses should not be blanketed because it never gets cold enough here to warrant it, and the horses (at least most of them) grow shaggy winter coats that keep them amply protected. The other school of thought says you should always blanket your horse when he is outside because when you ride, if the horse has a heavy winter coat, he/she is more likely to break into a heavy sweat and consequently could catch a chill. I have an Appaloosa mare who is starting to get a little shaggy. I've never seen her in a full winter coat and I don't know how furry she gets (I bought her in April--never have seen her in winter). I *do* ride during the winter in the evenings. Does this mean I should blanket her to keep her from developing a serious coat (and to keep her from sweating up her winter coat)? Or should I only blanket her when it gets below a certain temperature? Help--I'm confused. --Amanda Southeastern PA ============================================================ From: "Walsh, Sarah" To: "'equinerescue@MyList.net'" Subject: EQ-ResQ: Winter Tips Date: Thu, 22 Oct 1998 09:17:13 -0400 Hi! I live in New Hampshire, where we get some pretty cool cold snaps and a couple feet of snow. I think that it depends on the situation on whether or not to "winterize". Here's what I do with my horse: I ride continuosly during the winter. Most of the times, I ride about 1 1/2 hours plus add about 15 minutes for cool out. I do a lot of "hard" work in the winter--dressage and jumping! The winter actually begins early for me -- September. I have to scout out a place with an indoor riding arena. I keep my horse at my house spring, summer and fall, but I have to move him to an indoor during the winter, or he'll be out of shape when the spring (shows!) come! I take my horse to the indoor arena boarding facility around mid-November (right before Thanksgiving). In New Hampshire, you have to line up a place pretty early because if you don't they'll all be full by the time Thanksgiving rolls around. Anyways. My horse grows a VERY VERY VERY thick coat. I'm talking at least 5 inches. Right now, if I didn't blanket him, it would stand out about 3 inches. The coolest it's been here is about 32 degrees F....just freezing...so you can tell he'll definitely be a teddy bear by the "real" winter. In order for him to stay healthy (and me to save time!) I trace clip him (that's clipping the underside of the neck, chest, belly, flank and about 5 inches of the hind end). This cuts down A LOT on cooling out time, and it makes him less likely to get the chills when I'm done with him. Clipping the horse means that I HAVE to blanket him all the time. During the night time, he has a nice stable blanket (big D), with perhaps a blanket liner for extra warmth. During turnout, he has a turnout blanket that is waterproof and windproof. (I love that blanket!) As for feed, my horse always has hay. I put some extra pounds on him going in to winter, too...because he is constantly in work and burns a lot of fat/calories during winter keeping warm and doing work. I add corn to his ration during the winter for the extra heat. Shoes--my horse gets front shoes with studs and "no-ball" pads (the ones that have a convex sole--so the snow doesn't cake). Hind go barefoot. When I didn't ride my horse during the winter, I just made sure that he had plenty of hay, no shoes, no blankets, LOTS of hair (no clipping of whiskers or anything!), and a stock tank heater. He would stand out in blizzards and get all snowy! I certainly think he enjoyed that better, but I've decided that my horse likes working! I know that not a lot of people have the same situation as me. I only have one horse to take care of, therefore, I can spend all my money and time on him and only him (I'm also 21 and single, no kids!). If I didn't have this "luxury" I wouldn't do it this way. I think that if you're not riding your horse during the winter a lot, then the horse should be just fine "a natural"... horses have lived and survived for thousands of years without our interference, so they should be fine with just a little help from man! Sarah ============================================================ Date: Thu, 22 Oct 1998 09:31:20 -0700 To: equinerescue@MyList.net From: Pat Calloway Subject: Re: EQ-ResQ: Winter Tips At 06:49 AM 10/22/98 -0400, Mike & Chris Smith wrote: > >Our horses go barefoot most of the time anyway, but during the winter, >if you *do* use shoes, be very careful about "ice balls." The shoe >collects snow or water and as the horse walkes around, it compresses the >snow into ice. It can build up to the point where the whole foot is >actually off the ground and the horse is sort of skating around on the >ball of ice. This isn't as much of a problem with barefoot because the >snow and ice can drop off, but it gets caught under the edge of a shoe. > You guys are making me COLD and glad that I live where it's fairly warm in the winters (jeans and tshirt weather)! Question/comment on the ice balls on the feet - I've read that spraying Pam (the stuff you use on pans, etc to keep food from sticking) works to either keep snow from sticking to the foot or makes it easier to get the snow out. True or false? Pat Calloway, Equine Rescue/Creatures Listowner epona@concentric.net (AZ) http://pages.prodigy.com/equinerescue/home.htm http://pages.prodigy.com/equinerescue/creature.htm ============================================================ From: "Dana" To: Subject: EQ-ResQ: re: Winter Tips Date: Thu, 22 Oct 1998 11:39:24 -0000 X-MSMail-Priority: Normal X-Priority: 3 X-Mailer: Microsoft Internet Mail 4.70.1155 MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset=ISO-8859-1 Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit Message-Id: <199810221654.2025200@ipad2.tznet.com> Sender: owner-equinerescue@MyList.net Reply-To: equinerescue@MyList.net, "Dana" True!, Pam spray really does keep the ice and snow from sticking to the hoof. Here in central Wisconsin it gets mighty cold and jeans and T-shirts all winter sound good to me! I do keep a can of Pam on the barn shelf all winter long, heck, don't cook, has to get put to good use! Dana, D.J. and Jake ============================================================ From: ESMSatHome@aol.com Date: Thu, 22 Oct 1998 12:56:52 EDT To: equinerescue@MyList.net, epona@concentric.net Subject: Re: EQ-ResQ: Winter Tips In a message dated 10/21/1998 8:49:40 PM US Mountain Standard Time, epona@concentric.net writes: <> I change Karro's hay from all Bermuda to Bermuda in the AM (since it gets warm in the sun) and Alfalfa in the PM for the cold night. Also, I change his whole oats to sweet feed. <> The only blanket I use is a water repellent winter blanket - he only wears that for during cold winter rains. <> Nope. Mine goes all year with light aluminum shoes on the front and bare on the back. Well, that's my routine. Any comments, questions, etc? Lalania Mueller, Arizona Karro 6yo Arab Gelding, Bobcat 1yo Quarter/Arab Stud Colt ESMSatHome@aol.com ============================================================ From: "Keith Day" To: "equine rescue" Subject: EQ-ResQ: Re Winter feeding Date: Thu, 22 Oct 1998 13:39:59 -0400 >>I add more loose salt to their feed during the winter to make sure that they >>drink plenty of water >> >>Bonnie in FL >> >>- >>>REMEMBER: Make sure your horses drink water when it gets cooler. They >>have a >>>tendency to not drink as much which will make them COLIC!!!! My vet had a >>>lot of problem with this last winter. ============================================================ From: "Walsh, Sarah" To: "'equinerescue@MyList.net'" Subject: RE: EQ-ResQ: Winter Tips Date: Thu, 22 Oct 1998 14:00:04 -0400 Question/comment on the ice balls on the feet - I've read that spraying Pam (the stuff you use on pans, etc to keep food from sticking) works to either keep snow from sticking to the foot or makes it easier to get the snow out. True or false? Absolutely true! But it smells pretty bad when you mix it with horse manure ;) Sarah ============================================================ Date: Thu, 22 Oct 1998 13:59:32 -0700 To: equinerescue@MyList.net, "Keith Day" From: The Murray Gang Subject: Re: EQ-ResQ: Re Winter feeding >>>>REMEMBER: Make sure your horses drink water when it gets cooler. They have a >>>>tendency to not drink as much which will make them COLIC!!!! My vet had a lot of problem >>>>with this last winter. A good way to ensure them consuming sufficient quantities of water is to leave trace mineral salt blocks out all the time. My herd all make the "rounds" several times a day: from hay to salt block to water tub to hay, etc. Janis M. :) ============================================================ From: Janis.Comstock-Jones@ecr.net To: equinerescue@MyList.net Date: 22 Oct 1998 16:32:04 EDT Subject: EQ-ResQ: Winter Tips Our winter care is just about identical to Janis M.'s, and our horses also spend more time outside by choice than many people expect. One of my former co-workers, who had grown up on a farm with a show string of ASB's, was just convinced that I was abusing our fluffy kids...she'd never seen a winter coat, though . I like to put a bare hand under the hair coat to see how warm it is under there. The show doesn't melt when it falls on their backs, because they are so well-insulated...and cuddly. We've only had two horses get sick, one from her summer allergy and one worming-related colic, but no respiratory illnesses. One thing we do for convenience is arrange for a neighbor who makes large round and rectangular bales to deliver a load occasionally. We make 60-70 pound bales, and the 1000-pound rounds help us keep the feeding from becoming a feeding frenzy . We stash the small bales for the less agressive kids to eat in peace. Our goats also enjoy eating outside, though I've been warned to watch the goats lest a big bale collapse on one and pin her there. Janis (SPHO--Ohio) mailto:Janis.Comstock-Jones@ecr.net http://www.ecr.net/gallifry/spho.htm ============================================================ Date: Thu, 22 Oct 1998 17:44:59 -0700 (PDT) From: Sadlsor Subject: Re: EQ-ResQ: Winter Tips..Northeast To: equinerescue@MyList.net Those of us *lucky* enough to live in the Northeast usually start getting ready for winter in Aug. Aug because you should have your hay reserved by then. Don't laugh Every year at least 3 poeple come to me "Do you have any spare hay or know somebody selling it?" Blanketing --the jury is still out on that. I blanketed last winter ..someone suggested it because we had a hay shortage. what's the connection?? Blanketing saves calories and IT WORKED!! I could see a difference. The only thing I had to do extra brushing to keep the skin stimulated and make sure the blanket wasn't chaffing. Shoes depends on whether or not you're a winter rider. Where I live shoes are necessary because the pasture is mostly hills and ice is a constant. Borium tips for traction and pads to keep the snow from packing in the shoe. Check the ol' Tank warmer. See if any wires are exposed. Last yr a friend of ours couldn't figure out why the new horse they picked up wouldn't drink out of the water tub ..he put his hand in one day to pull out some hay that had gotten in there and got a *good* zap from the water..not being sure he put his hand in again and got shocked (we didn't let him live it down :) Keep a snow shovel handy. You never know when that unexpected snow storm will hit overnight and need to dig the door to the barn out. Don't throw old hay away..it makes great footing in icy situations..the barn floor, the hill, trying to cross the driveway to get to another paddock or the front of the water trough.(ours gets very icy there) No matter how well your barn is sealed the 1st storm of the season will show you the crack you missed.. usually on your best saddle. :( If you feed round bales check them b-4 the horses get to them. I take the pitch fork and pull,loosen, and shake the hay loose..check for dust and any foreign objects in the hay. (this is for any time of the year but I feed them only in the winter.) Bring your bridle in the house if you ride in the winter..I know many people who just shove the bit in without warming it first..not to mention leather will crack in cold temps. That's all I can think of right now...... Dawn ============================================================ Date: Thu, 22 Oct 1998 21:27:27 -0700 To: equinerescue@MyList.net From: Pat Calloway Subject: Re: EQ-ResQ: Winter Tips..Northeast At 05:44 PM 10/22/98 -0700, Sadlsor wrote: > > Aug because you should have your hay reserved by >then. Don't laugh Every year at least 3 poeple come >to me "Do you have any spare hay or know somebody >selling it?" > That brings up a good point. How many of you got snowed in last year? Did you have adequate food for the animals (and yourself of course! ) or were you afraid of running a bit low? What's a good rule of thumb in being sure that you have the right amount of food if you are snowed in for a week or more? How do you rotate any foods that might spoil to be sure that everything stays fresh? Pat Calloway, Equine Rescue/Creatures Listowner epona@concentric.net (AZ) http://pages.prodigy.com/equinerescue/home.htm http://pages.prodigy.com/equinerescue/creature.htm ============================================================ Date: Fri, 23 Oct 1998 12:00:16 -0700 (PDT) From: Sadlsor Subject: Re: EQ-ResQ: Winter Tips..Northeast To: equinerescue@MyList.net, Pat Calloway ---Pat Calloway wrote: > > That brings up a good point. How many of you got snowed in last year? Did > you have adequate food for the animals (and yourself of course! ) or > were you afraid of running a bit low? For the Northeast we plan on winter starting in Oct and ending in April..and stock up. Some of us can reserve the hay and store it with the people we buy it from..others have to have all the hay brought to their house and store it. Talk to your Hay supplier and see how the summer was...Did they get alot of Hay cut or was there a drought or something that caused the hay to not produce as much. Our supplier can tell us by Sept what the outcome will be..In other words is it 1st come 1st serve or can they store some for us? > What's a good rule of thumb in being > sure that you have the right amount of food if you >are snowed in for a week or more? Learn to make The Weather Channel your favorite Channel. Take note of the weather in the Central and Western parts of the States so we can prepare for any big storms. Unfortunately the BIG unexpected storms do come as the Ice-storm in Northern NY,VT and into Canada did last year. The rule of thumb generally is..get more food (grain supplements etc..) than you need. It's better to throw extra out than run out too soon. Keep the extra food in a cool but not cold place..i.e. cellar, house. Stock up the second you hear of a big storm coming that means having a few extra dollars on hand for the last minute purchase(s). The cold doesn't harm food..it dampness, wetness that sort of thing that does. And of course the mice and Rats get hungry and will start knawing thru the bags so Rodent proof containers are a big plus. (this is usually a yr round thing though but they come out in droves in the winter). >How do you rotate any foods that might spoil to be >sure that everything stays fresh? Don't open anything you don't have to. Watch your hay closely... if you pull out a couple of moldy bales from a certain area in the hay pile keep pulling bales out until you get to good ones. The mold will spread.. so if you can get them out it will spare the rest of the hay to a degree. Around Feb it important to really watch the hay as by then it WILL start getting moldy and dusty if it's been exposed to the weather i.e. ...cracks in the wall, roof etc..and the snow has been able to get on it. Come to think of it Taking care of your hay is like taking care of your horses :) That's all I can think of for now....(It usually takes the 1st snow storm for me to get in the groove of winter) :) Dawn ============================================================ From: RayandMissy@webtv.net (Raymond Terry) Date: Sat, 24 Oct 1998 09:34:41 -0400 (EDT) To: equinerescue@MyList.net, bdunlop@nctc.com (Beckie Dunlop) Subject: Re: EQ-ResQ: Winter hay rolled vs baled I'm with Becky on this one...I've got about 150 huge rolls of hay lined up about 500' from my horse pen...sure would be easy to buy them from the farmer and have him swing them over closer (+ he only wants $15 a roll...and they are over 6' tall!) Some of the stuff looks almost like sticks..earlier cuttings, but the 80 he just cut look really nice! They are from my lower field, and it was wonderful looking grass last week. Is it ok for horses? If it is, how many would I need to get 1 horse thru the winter? He'd also be well grained, and I'd maybe add some alfalfa to is his diet too. Appreciate any feedback, as I really never dealt with rolls before, but it sure would make life easier! Melissa in Kentucky "Show me your horse, and I will tell you who you are" old english saying ============================================================ Date: Sat, 24 Oct 1998 08:43:53 +0000 From: Johnanne To: equinerescue@MyList.net, Raymond Terry Subject: Re: EQ-ResQ: Winter hay rolled vs baled > Appreciate any feedback, as I really never dealt with rolls before, but > it sure would make life easier! > > Melissa in Kentucky Hi Melissa, I can't estimate how many you would need, but I can tell you from experience, that round rolls is all that I feed, except if I have to keep one up in a stall, then we do have square bales to use for that. My horses aren't the type that takes kindly to having to stay up. They just prefer the outside, but if it is freezing cold, then they go up or if there is snow. I have always used round rolls and I do put a hay ring around it to keep them from rolling it, some will and some of mine won't. It is easier to use and they have free access to hay. Just my opinion. Ann ============================================================ From: "Teresa Wilson" To: Subject: Re: EQ-ResQ: Winter hay rolled vs baled Date: Sat, 24 Oct 1998 08:53:50 -0500 Melissa I use round bales and go through about 4 in the winter time. I only have two horses and still have grass till about mid November though. I have never had any problem with using round bales. But we do pull off the hay where the bale was sitting on the ground. I don't have a metal feeder but I do place it on pallets so it is not laying back on the ground. Teresa >> Appreciate any feedback, as I really never dealt with rolls before, but >> it sure would make life easier! >> >> Melissa in Kentucky ============================================================ From: RayandMissy@webtv.net (Raymond Terry) Date: Sat, 24 Oct 1998 09:57:22 -0400 (EDT) To: equinerescue@MyList.net, mbj@horizon.hit.net (Teresa Wilson) Subject: Re: EQ-ResQ: Winter hay rolled vs baled Recieved some good advice on the rolls, and I am going to go ahead and buy a few for Sham. It will be set in a covered area (shed) were he can reach it, l also will put pallets under it. If it starts to look nasty, we'll get rid of it and put in a fresh roll. At $15 a roll we could afford a new one every 2 wks. if need be...and putting the replaced bales somewhere is really not an issue...got PLENTY of room (but I'll hate myself come spring and the clean-up!!) If this plan sounds outrageous, let me know! Melissa in Kentucky "Show me your horse, and I will tell you who you are" old english saying ============================================================ From: Arabians77@aol.com Date: Sat, 24 Oct 1998 10:24:47 EDT To: equinerescue@MyList.net, RayandMissy@webtv.net Subject: Re: EQ-ResQ: Winter hay rolled vs baled I am concerned about putting the bale on a pallet to actually feed the horse. I guess with one that isn't accident prone that would be OK, but I would worry about the pallet breaking, or a hoof getting caught. I have fed round bales. My horses never touched the moldy parts. Just make sure you replace the hay soon enough that the horse isn't required to pick through the remains. I never used a feeder, but always had at least four horses on a bale, so it didn't last as long. I never put it under my shed because I didn't have enough room under my shed for the hay plus the horses. I also keep square bales around. Karen H. ============================================================ From: slyshot@mindspring.com To: , Subject: Re: EQ-ResQ: Winter hay rolled vs baled Date: Sat, 24 Oct 1998 10:34:38 -0400 >I am concerned about putting the bale on a pallet to actually feed the horse. >I guess with one that isn't accident prone that would be OK, but I would worry >about the pallet breaking, or a hoof getting caught. I have fed round bales. The round bale will be substantially larger than the pallet and thus you wouldn't have to worry about danger for a long while. Just keep an eye on the hay level. As a side note, my horse got loose and wandered into the hay room at the barn one night, where hay is stacked on pallets. All I could do was stand and cringe as he walked across the pallets looking for choice morsels, cause I didn't want to rush in and spook him. The pallets bent and creaked but held his 1100# weight at a slow amble. Cris May ============================================================ Date: Sat, 24 Oct 1998 23:25:12 -0400 From: gafarm To: "equinerescue@mylist.net" Subject: EQ-ResQ: Winter Tips I can't get some of my horses to eat/lick the salt blocks, so when I see they aren't consuming enough water I just add about 2 tsp. of regular table salt to their feed to get them to drink more water in the winter. For those of us that have to haul warm water to the barn in the winter: Add a handful of bran to each water bucket. It will keep the water from freezing as fast and makes it easier to remove the ice from the buckets when it does freeze. Just make sure to dump it out and fill with fresh water if the temp. warms up during the day or it will sour or start to ferment the water. Betti Goddard NE Ohio ============================================================ From: WCarol7723@aol.com Date: Sun, 25 Oct 1998 05:45:31 EST To: equinerescue@MyList.net Subject: Re: EQ-ResQ: Salt/Winter Tips Hi Gang, Ya'll know I'm still learning EVERYTHING and would not presume to know very much. Just thought I would mention something though. << I just add about 2 tsp. of regular table salt to their feed to get them to drink more water in the winter. >> I was told me to use either Morton Lite Salt or NON-iodized salt when I was adding salt to the JUDGE's food when he wasn't drinking enough. Don't know how important this is but thought I would mention this in case it is important. Not trying to correct anyone or anything. CAROL and the JUDGE and soon the JURY (TODAY!!!!) Sox and Pepe' Be kind to the animals for they are the true innocents. SANCTUARY of the INNOCENTS ============================================================ From: "Teresa Wilson" To: Subject: Re: EQ-ResQ: Salt/Winter Tips Date: Sun, 25 Oct 1998 07:08:32 -0600 I was told the same thing. My sister takes care of a 30 year old stallion at the stables and she addes salt to his food so he will drink. Didn't know you could add table salt to the food, but she said it is fine as long as it is NON-iodized salt. Not sure of the difference either, but that is what we were told too. teresa > >I was told me to use either Morton Lite Salt or NON-iodized salt when I was >adding salt to the JUDGE's food when he wasn't drinking enough. Don't know >how important this is but thought I would mention this in case it is >important. Not trying to correct anyone or anything. > > ============================================================