Horse grazing

I love to learn about horses and the best place to really learn about horses is by observing them in the wild.  In the wild horses graze free range all day when they are not traveling.   Horses also travel up to 20 miles a day when they are in their natural habitat.  We have domesticated our horses and taken away those possibilities.  Because of this, a lot of horses have issues around food.

We generally feed our horses twice a day one big lump amount of food.  Horses get very anxious around feeding and the reason is because they are fed unnaturally.  There really isn’t too much we can do about that, but we can be sure we don’t feed (pun intended) into that behavior and add any extra stress.

When NOT to feed a horse:

• Right after a work out and not for the reason you think.  Horses shouldn’t be fed right after a workout even if they have been properly cooled down because they will want to rush through the training session in order to get fed.  The focus will be on food and not the rider.
• Right before a training session.  Horses need to be able to finish their meal and relax and enjoy it.  A horse will resent you if you take him away from his meal and don’t allow him to finish all of his hay.  He should also be able to digest his food before a work out.
• As a training reward.  Feeding treats just isn’t what professional horse trainers do and the reason is, it just doesn’t work.  Horses stress out way too much about food for this to be a good way to train a horse.  Pat the horse on the neck and he will be focused on the reward coming from you and not food.

There are 24 hours in a day, and maybe you spend one to three of those hours working with your horse.  That means you can feed him any of those other 21 hours.  Ideally you would have a large area outside for your horse to graze for a few hours a day.

 What you can do to help your horse have a healthy relationship with food:

• Give him access to lots of quality hay.  If hay is garbage, your horse is going to waste a lot of it.
• Feed your horse three times per day if possible instead of two, even if that second feeding is just hay.
• Work your horse often and hard enough.  If he has a job to do and food isn’t his only focus he will be a much happier horse.

By following these simple tips you too can have a well-adjusted horse.

http:// deannacastro.com

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You know the drill, a horse sees a dog barking and he spooks.  The wind blows a bag and the horse will spook.  A car drives up the driveway and there he goes again.  This is extremely common behavior and can be corrected.  Horses are prey, and their instinct is telling them that they are going to get eaten.  They also have instinct to trust the herd leader.  If you are the herd leader then they will not worry about the goblins in the mailbox because you are always in control and make the herd feel safe.

1)   Exude confidence. A horse can feel what you feel, if you feel nervous or scared your horse will feel that.  If your horse scares you every time you ride him that will create a snowball effect and the two of you will feed off of each other’s fears.

2)   Go back to the basics of groundwork. If your horse is jumpy on the ground, he most definitely will be just as jumpy in the saddle.  Something is missing from your program, fill in the missing parts and then take it to the next level of riding.

3)   Longe your horse. Longe him with a purpose, don’t just let him run around in a circle dragging you all over the place.  This type of behavior is counter-productive and will not allow your horse to feel confidence that you are not only the herd’s leader, but an excellent one.

4)   Practice, practice and then some more practice. Don’t expect to go out to the barn once and a while and for your horse to have gotten better.  The only way for your horse to get better is by putting in lots of time on the ground and in the saddle.  Expose your horse to as many scenarios and things as possible.

5)   ABT – Always be training.  If you are not training your horse you are un-training your horse.  Start being the leader from the moment you get your horse from the stall or pasture until the moment you put him away.

If you do these five things, and do them correctly I guarantee you will no longer have a spooking horse, but a calm confident friend.

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 Horse names, are they really important?  I believe they are.

I am all for changing a horse’s name.  We have a horse who’s registered name is October’s Revelation.  When he first came to the barn with his previous owner she called him “Orion” and sometimes “O-ie”.  I didn’t like the name Orion because it was just too aggressive.  Orion is the hunter, and this horse wasn’t completely aggressive, but he did buck.  Horse names are not always easy to come up with, but they are extremely important.

Next, against my better judgement he fell into the hands of another girl who was so afraid of him.  They were a terrible match.  It made his bucking problem worse, she would never listen to me and it was a nightmare.  She renamed him “Waldo”.  That name made him sound so dumb.  He acted dumb too.. I

We now own him and have changed his name to “O-ie” as his original owner called him.  We retrained him and he is one of the most wonderful horses in the barn.  He is so light and supple and perfect for beginners.  It really does matter what you name a horse, don’t be afraid to change your horse‘s name to fit him.  Some horse names are worse than others, but there is nothing like the perfect name to fit your perfect horse.

If you would like to play with different names for your horse try the handy  Horse Name Generator.

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Natural Horse De-Wormer

Could there really be a natural horse de-wormer?  I always knew there should be a natural way to combat parasites in horses.   I recently was approached by Silver Lining Herbs to review their product.  I immediately was excited because I know there is an herb to heal everything!  I told them I’d love to try their product, but I wished that they would have a natural horse de-wormer.

I had been looking for a horse de-wormer that was natural for what feels like forever.  Every other month when I would inject the horses with a chemical product inside I would cringe.  I’m sure that stuff probably kills some good stuff along with the bad.  Plus the worms do eventually build up immunity to the chemical de-wormer and need to be on a rotation.

Much to my surprise, Silver Lining Herbs does have a natural Horse De-Wormer!  It’s called # 13 Worm Foe.  The ingredients are Cascara Segrada, Chapparral, Clove, Garlic, Juniper Berry, Kelp, Sage, and Slippery Elm.  All natural ingredients that create a hostile environment for worms.

We recently purchased a new horse who would be the perfect candidate.  Her tail was rubbed out at the top pretty bad, and I knew she had a parasite infestation.

I followed the instructions on the package which told me that parasites are most active around the full moon, and gave my mare the full one scoop dosage on the directions.  That morning she didn’t eat about half of her feed.  The aroma of the Worm Foe was pretty strong.  It’s not at all a bad smell it just has an odor.  I added more food and the aroma of the the Worm Foe was considerably lessened.  I then split the scoop between the morning and the evening feeding and it worked like a charm.  I decided to try a second horse to see if he would eat it or refuse the Worm Foe.  He ate every bit of his feed without any problems.

By the end of the ten days, my new mare looked a lot better. She didn’t rub out her tail anymore, and her hair coat looked much healthier.  A bag lasts one year if you de-worm bi-monthly or six months if you choose to de-worm monthly.

I’m really excited that I found a natural product that works.  I will never again have to use a chemical de-wormer on my horse again and that makes me really happy.  I’m looking to try out many more of their natural horse products for all kinds of ailments and conditions.  I highly suggest you check out the list if the other herbs can work as well as #13 Worm Foe, your horse no longer has to suffer from ailments you thought would always be a part of him.  Thank you Silver Lining Herbs!

All opinions expressed are my own and not biased.  I was not compensated in any way other than one complimentary product.

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