Making sure horses are comfortable in their stalls is important to all horse owners. Here are a few things to consider when bedding your horse down for the night. How do you buy shavings? Does size of bag matter, or do you measure the number of bags per stall? Bag sizes vary from 2.5 cubic feet offered by one major retailer, through to 3.5 cu ft. Price should vary along with size allowing you to

Last year’s hay is nearly gone from your hay lofts. The farmers have been busy growing and harvesting their hay crops, and fresh, new bales have just arrived at your farm. It should be a beautiful sight, right? Those bright green bales riding up the bale elevator to be stacked in your loft, ready to be greedily consumed by your horses. Yet some people have concerns about fresh, new hay. Will the horses colic or

While your hay may be delivered in perfect condition, how you take care of your hay loft may determine the condition it’s in when it reaches your horses’ mouths. Hay lofts need to be clean. Old hay, insects, heat and moisture, will be very detrimental to the new hay stored in the loft. It’s a great time of year to inspect your loft. Does it smell like somebody’s musty attic? Horses like, and therefore eat,

A constant problem in horses, parasites can result in unthrifty condition, ulcers, respiratory problems, anemia, chronic colic and even death. Yet with the development of de-worming products that can be given orally rather than by tubing, allowing more widespread and frequent use of de-wormers, parasite infection has diminished and the pot-bellied, fuzzy haired “wormy” horses that used to be commonly seen are rare sights. The pendulum has, however, swung, and wormers have unfortunately become too

Is your pasture looking like a herd of elephants stampeded through it? Or are you cultivating a robust crop of weeds instead of proper forage for your horses? Fall is the time to take care of those pastures, and start the process of reclaiming them for healthy fields of nutritious grass for your horses. Why fall? Rain in the fall, plus snow over the winter, assures that any lime applied to the fields have a

You want to buy the best hay for your horse. But how do you find it? Here are some points to consider: Use all of your senses when buying hay. Does it looks good? That nice bright green that is attractive to our eye also means the hay is fresh and full of the vitamins and protein your horse needs for a healthy diet. Although the outside of a hay bale may be bleached and