Posted by SierraRanch on January 11, 2010
I know many of us have already been through the worst, or hopefully the worst, part of winter, but these are good tips to keep in mind. remember you can ride in the winter, it just takes a bit of preparation!
COLD WEATHER HORSE CARE REVIEW
Winter has an icy grip on most of the United States, and with even sunny Florida facing record freezing temperatures, horse owners across the country need to keep a close eye on their herds to prevent cold-weather related ailments. In cold weather, horse owners should be thinking “water, water, water,” said Jean T. Griffiths, extension horse specialist at Cornell University in Ithaca, NY. Continue reading…
WINTER WORKOUTS
Come May, Trisha Dowling of Saskatchewan, Canada, is ready to take on the challenges of competitive endurance–and, equally important, so are her horses. The same can be said of Carey Williams of New Jersey. Her sport is eventing, in which she competes spring through fall. Andy Kaneps of Massachusetts used to raise and compete hunters and jumpers; today he prefers riding noncompetitive dressage year-round. Continue reading…
WINTER HORSE CARE RESOURCES
What to do when the weather turns bitter? Bring the horses in or leave them out? Blankets or no blankets? Hay or grain? Or both? While bringing your horse into the house might seem like the simplest option, TheHorse.com offers a wealth of information on winter horse care to help you handle the dropping temps. Continue reading for the highlights.
You may have to create an account with The Horse to read these articles, however the account is free.
We apologize for the interruption of our newsletter. We have been working on getting another business online and hope to be posting more regularlly now we have it going. Thanks for your understanding.
Until we meet on the trails!
Deb Stowers
Sierra Ranch, LLC
Http://sierraranchok.com
http://sierraranchok.net
Posted by SierraRanch on August 3, 2009
BARN FIRES: AVOID HAY BALE COMBUSTION
Experienced agricultural producers in the southern Great Plains know that low wind speeds, high humidity, moist hay, and hot temperatures can be a recipe for disaster. Under such a set of circumstances, tightly stacked hay bales have been known to combust. Without proper preventive measures, hay barns or any other structures close to the blazing bales potentially might be lost. Continue reading…
AGED HORSE HEALTH SCREENINGS RECOMMENDED
Lameness, weight loss, colic, and equine Cushing’s syndrome are the four top reasons for euthanizing an older horse, said Catherine McGowan, BVSc, PhD, RCVS, European specialist in equine internal medicine, who presented research by Thomas McGowan, BSc, DVM, PhD, at the American College of Veterinary Internal Medicine Forum, held June 3-6 in Montréal, Quebec. Continue reading…
CRIBBING: CAN YOU STOP IT?
Many horses kept in unnatural environments and subjected to the stress of performance careers resort to repetitive behaviors (called stereotypies) such as cribbing, weaving, or stall walking. The cribbing horse grabs a surface with his top incisors, arches his neck, opens his throat, and swallows air with a grunting sound and a backward pull of the head. This activity wears down the top incisors and develops unsightly muscles under the neck that can interfere with proper neck flexion when ridden. Serious cribbers might lose weight because they become so addicted to their habit they’d rather crib than eat. Once the habit starts, many horses keep cribbing even when turned out to pasture. Continue reading…
Hope you enjoy these tidbits of information. Check out this:
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Deb Stowers
Sierra Ranch, LLC
Http://sierraranchok.com
http://sierraranchok.net
Posted by SierraRanch on June 26, 2009
With the heat index increasing and the humidity as heavy as it is, be sure to watch your horses.
Determine:
Temperature (F) + relative humidity (%) – wind speed
For example:
Temperature (F) 79 + Relative Humidity (%) 58 - Wind Speed 4.6 (MPH)
Answer = 132.4
130 or below: Ride! Horses can function to cool themselves assuming adequate hydration.
131-170: Use Caution. A horse’s cooling mechanisms can only partially function as intended. Some cooling management procedures will need to be performed.
180 or above: DON’T RIDE! A horse’s cooling systems cannot and will not function adequately. All cooling procedures will need to be utilized
IF THE TEMP IS 90 degrees or above and Humidity is 90 or above – DON’T GO!
Thought we might all need these riding tips. Check out the Horse Salt page for more information on getting great minerals into your horse.
Keep Cool!
Deb Stowers
Sierra Ranch, LLC
Http://sierraranchok.com
http://sierraranchok.net
Posted by SierraRanch on February 11, 2009
If you have read our newsletters before you know we are about how to protect you and your horses from diaster. We have lived through at least one. You can still see our barn pictures from last summer. And we feel everyone is better to at least think about these different possiblieties before these things happen. Happy reading!
At the 2008 American Association of Equine Practitioners convention, held Dec. 6-10 in San Diego, Calif., Rebecca Gimenez, PhD, noted that barn fires are the No. 1 local emergency that affects everyone from horse owners to veterinarians, and property owners to the horses themselves. Barn fires kill more horses annually than any other type of nonmedical emergency. Of 11,500 agricultural storage facility fires per year, 88% are barns or stables with animals, resulting in about $250 million in property losses annually. In 87 horse-barn fire incidents reported in 2006 and 2007, 461 horses died and an unknown number were injured. Read More…
Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) bacterial infections have become hot news lately, especially among horse people. This topic likely won’t die down soon because recent research shows that MRSA is up to 10 times more common in equine veterinarians than in the general population–and that it can spread from horses to humans. “MRSA appears to be an occupational risk factor for large animal veterinarians,” noted Maureen Anderson, DVM, DVSc, postdoctoral fellow in the Department of Pathobiology of the University of Guelph in Ontario, Canada. Read More…
Ice is an unavoidable part of winter in many parts of the world, but there are ways to minimize slipping incidents around the barn. Heather Sherratt knows something about keeping horses in icy conditions. Her farm, Elphin Mountain Connemaras, near Ottawa, Canada, was hit hard by the 1998 ice storm that caused weeks-long power outages and several deaths in Canada and parts of the northeastern United States. “My ponies are barefoot, and that helps,” she said. If going barefoot over the winter isn’t an option, farrier Pat Sweeney of Mandan, N.D., recommends applying borium to shoes to increase their grip. Sweeney also said that snowball pads and rubberized rim pads will help keep snow from packing into the foot. Read More…
Hope you enjoyed reading more about horses in the news! Have a great weekend and look for our full newsletter soon! You can also sign up for our newsletter on this page and recieve it in a different format!
Happy Trails!
Deb and Rick Stowers
Sierra Ranch
deb@sierraranchok.com
www.sierraranchok.com
www.sierraranchok.net
Posted by SierraRanch on December 6, 2008
Betsy Keyser is a friend I have met on SparkPeople.com. She and I have comman goals in deveoling a way of making our horses help us make money for the horses. I know… But others have made it work and Betsy has developed a novel (pardon the pun) concept that is really cool. Check out the info below and visit her website to get more information and buy the book. Every horse owner should be doing this!
My Horse Book, written by a horse owner, specifically for horse owners, will help you keep accurate and complete records that are vital to a healthy and happy horse. Visit her website by clicking here! The ONE STOP ORGANIZER for all your horse records including…
- Ownership Papers & Brand Inspection
- Health Certificates
- Fill-in forms for Farrier, Vet, Vaccinations, Worming Records
- Articles about general care, stables, tack
- Sample agreements for hauling, boarding, bill of sale, lease and more!
- Forms for tracking shows, trail and horse fun
- Reference Lists of state livestock contacts, state veterinarians, breed associations and more!
- Photos WAIT! There is more to read… read on »
