Preventing Dehydration in Horses

3:39 pm

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Well, the official kick-off to summer has come and gone, and although some spots in the country might still have snow on the ground, there’s no question that most of us will be seeing hot weather very soon — if not already!

It’s nice to put away the blankets and jackets, of course, but hot weather comes with its own set of challenges for equine health.

One problem that often crops up in the summertime is dehydration. Keeping horses hydrated can be quite the challenge. (You can lead a horse to water, but if the horse doesn’t […]

Five Tips for Relieving Horse Boredom

3:43 pm

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Equine Care, Facility Planning & Design

Picture this: It’s six thirty in the evening. You’re tired from a long day at work. All you want is to get to the barn, get your horse’s stall cleaned, and maybe get in a quick ride before you head home to eat dinner and collapse.

You walk into the barn and sigh. Your horse’s stall is a wreck. There is more hay beneath his feet than bedding. He’s been working on that tunnel to freedom again, too: the gnawed spot on top of his stall door is easily an inch deeper than […]

I Want to Ride Like a Child

1:20 am

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Guest Author Farmgirl, Misc.

When I was a child I rode with no fear.

I would always ride without a saddle and sometimes even with just a halter. When I was a child I could ride with no hands. I rode with the wind. I would jump anything in my way. I was one with my best friend, my horse. With him I found my peace through the ups and downs of childhood and adolescence.

I’ve been thinking about this a lot lately. It seems so unfair, as we age, no matter how often or how much we ride, that our […]

Organize Your Tack Room

8:00 pm

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Equine Care, Facility Planning & Design

Winter is the perfect time to makeover your tack room and be organized for spring activities with your horse(s).

One of the easiest ways is to take everything out and separate items into piles: keep, store, fix, give away and throw away

•The “keep” pile might include the tack you use every day; first aid items, boots, and bandages and other frequently used items. These items should be clean and ready to go. Thoroughly inspect all your leather tack to see if it belongs in the “fix/clean” pile to repair any damage and give it a […]

Book Review: The Eighty-Dollar Champion

3:35 pm

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Guest Author Farmgirl, Misc.

Snowman, the Horse that Inspired a Nation

By Elizabeth Letts 336 pages (includes notes, bibliography and index), 2012 Ballantine Books.

Much in the fashion of Secretariat and Seabiscuit, The Eighty Dollar Champion is a well documented historical non-fiction novel, this one written by an equestrienne.

I had originally read the original children’s book many years ago, Snowman by Rutherford Montgomery published in 1962. So while I was familiar with the story, this adult version tells the comprehensive tale of the symbiotic relationship between a horse and a man with extensive detail of […]

In My Most Humble Opinion: ARENA FOOTING

6:02 pm

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Facility Planning & Design, Guest Author Farmgirl

I have been asked, more than I ever expected, questions about my choice of arena footing.

As any horseperson is well aware, in the horse world, everyone has their own opinion about everything and their opinion is the only right one.

With that and one more caveat, I am taking a deep breath and going out on a limb to share with you my opinion on footings. The caveat is: this is the footing that works best for me. Your situation may be far different depending upon material availability, weather conditions, riding discipline and personal experience.

In the […]

Just a Barn Cat

6:02 pm

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Guest Author Farmgirl, Misc.

His name was Jester. Actually it was Chester when I got him, but he quickly earned the name Jester.

His perfect black and white markings, and his entertaining personality made me think of a court jester.

He came with the farm. I didn’t want him, had too many cats already. But the seller had to leave him behind. He had come with the place when she bought it, and with her divorce, just one more thing she could not deal with. She smoothed over my objections, “He is just a barn cat, no trouble, doesn’t need […]

The Pros and Cons of Legislating Green Construction

6:14 am

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Facility Planning & Design

There’s a lot to be said about going Green. Often times, the benefits are accentuated. And generally speaking, those benefits inspire us to invest in what we believe will be a better and more efficient future for generations to come.

Makes sense, right?    With this being an election year, my thoughts take me to the campaign process and recent debates. Each candidate expresses their views, experience, and opinion with great passion and conviction. For the most part, they present a compelling argument. However, I tend to wait for the Fact Check coupled with my own research, values […]