(Post written by Jason) We have a group of horses that come in every day to get a hay cube mash, some year round and some seasonally. There are a variety of reasons owners may choose to have their horse handled this way. Some of the horses are hard keepers that struggle to maintain weight no matter how many calories they get every day. These horses get straight alfalfa cubes soaked into a mash. Some may have poor dentition which may limit their ability to chew grass and hay. Some of the horses come in simply because their owner chooses this option along with daily grooming for their horse. As far as we're concerned these are all excellent reasons but one of the problems of full time, or mostly full time, group turnout is that the horses become *extremely* herd bound. Depending on the horse's temperament removing them to another area of the farm to stand in a stall where they can't see their herdmates is challenging. In some cases it worries the horses so much that it cancels out all the benefits of additional feed and in a few cases it is almost impossible. Having stalls that are located close to all the pastures is a huge help in overcoming the separation anxiety .
Some of our astute blog readers may remember that we built a couple of extensions on two of our barns earlier this summer. We built the extensions so that we could add more stalls that were proximate to ALL the pastures on the farm. We will now have stalls in three locations around the farm.
The addition on the rear barn shortly after it was completed this summer, ready to be turned into a shedrow of stalls.
These areas are now graveled in and, as of today, partitioned for stalls. We have had a run of fabulous weather lately that has allowed to finish these projects without whining about being hot or cold. It is hard to complain about that as November draws to a close. Our newly finished stalls will now begin welcoming some daily residents. Hopefully their rooms with a view will encourage them to stay relaxed and eat.
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O'Reilly, Walden and Fabrizzio
Thor
Lotus and Asterik
Renny and Dutch
Trigger and Homer
Bergie was keeping an eye on Johnny
Silky and Maisie dozing in the sun
Elfin and Leo
Grand
Romeo showing off his new 'do
Who doesn't love the snarky pony faces? Cuffie and Traveller
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2 comments:
My pastures are no where near as big as yours, so my one old guy who gets Senior mush twice a day just lives in a 2-acre pasture in between the two pastures that his "3-mare herd" are in. He can take as long as he likes to eat, or go back to it whenever, but has his girls right there.
My 2 dentally impaired mares are in a paddock together and get a mash 3 times a day. They also get about 8 pounds of rabbit alfalfa hay each and it takes them a full 24 hours to eat that. I had been wondering what you fed the horses that needed a hay alternative!
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