[jen judkins]

Just a stupid question….why the 12v heaters? Why not just buy the plug in elements?

[jen judkins]

Nothing wrong with the mineral mix you have, except that it contains alot of different minerals. Horses that are deficient in a mineral can overdo it with a mix like this, accidentally overloading them on other minerals, exaccerbating the problem, which is why I like to free choice a variety if salts. Your pregnant mare will need alot of calcium (in the proper ratio to phosphorus) to support the bone growth of the foal without leaching her own bones.

[jen judkins]

Kenneth, I am not familiar with the DuMor loose minerals for horses…just their mineral blocks (which are full of crappy by-products and molasses). Are you sure you don’t have a bag of the cow minerals? In that case I would not feed to the horses as the potential Urea cross contamination could make them sick.

When it comes to free choicing minerals, buy clean minerals without molasses. Free choice and molasses do not belong in the same sentence. I use alot of free choice minerals and also feed out 100 lbs of kelp each year free choice (a 50lb bag each in spring and in fall) for 6 horses.

I use dynamite free choices. They are good quality and cover my needs nicely.

https://www.dynamitespecialty.com/OrderCustom.asp?InvDispCatID=4&InvDispSubCatID=40

ABC has a long list of free choice minerals and I have used them in the past (the copper and magnesium in particular) with good results.

http://www.abcplus.biz/Categories.aspx?Id=Free_Choice_Minerals

Horses are amazing in that they will forage for minerals in their environment very intelligently. You can encourage this instinct by fencing a browsing area for them in your pasture (some shrubs and wood trash). Mineral deficiencies are more common in horses with limited turnout, because of this.

What do you feed your horses?

[jen judkins]

Looks nice and quiet, Jay! Smart…bringing them out together and then splitting them up as a first step toward confidence as a single.

[jen judkins]

@mink 37566 wrote:

bottom line of this oxen team at this college was that it was in the public eye. at ones private farm or homestead it wouldnt be an issue except for the farmer , teamster , or lamb raiser. if a person wants to eat them, bury them or compost them it should only be an issue to the party involved , not all the goody goodys.

Mink, I am concerned about your ‘lack of concern’. These VINE and PETA people will use their success with GMC to attack every small farm in america. These people are fanatics with a fair amount of backing and want to eradicate the domestication of any animal. They scare the shit out of me and I think with good reason. Jennifer.

[jen judkins]

Its too bad he could not have been composted on site for future benefit of the college farm.

[jen judkins]

I would have done the same, lol. Hay is like gold around here. Glad you are safe though.

[jen judkins]

Hey Rookie and welcome! I will reiterate what Donn said and encourage you to research old threads on these topics. In regard to your stall size, since you are building soon…. I have 12 x 12 stalls at my barn and the horses have free access to them. I frequently find 2 or 3 horses in 1 stall, so big horses don’t need that much room, lol.

[jen judkins]

You gotta love the trotting horses…having ridden arabians for decades, I can tell you they can move like that for many miles…mind boggling. If you look carefully, you can see that these trotting horses actually change the rotation of their hips so they track wider behind to avoid any interference. Amazing animals.

This was a thrilling race, though I agree, some very strange and scary driving behavior! Does anyone know where this took place? I thought the Irish were primarily english speaking.

[jen judkins]

That’s great, Jay.

I have to say, I really enjoyed listening to Neal talk about generational farming and his thoughts have stayed with me to stew over. Having no children, I have often wondered who would take care of me when I finally get a little addled..you know like in my 90’s. I think its a long way off, but worth thinking about. Also, not coming from a farming family, but wanting to leave my efforts at sustainability on this planet for generations to come, I want to find a way to preserve the form and function of my farm, in stead of having it sold and broken up on my death. Assuming I would have some wisdom to offer some young folk just starting out, I think my plan might be to bring on a young couple or family, while I still have my wits and have them gradually take over the operation. They take care of me when I can no longer work and they get the farm and what ever I can do to get them started. Its an odd business plan, but I like the feel of it. No money changes hands…..just a shift from being the worker to the wisdom of the farm and then the cycle can continue…

Any thoughts?

[jen judkins]

I still need photos from Andy Carson, Andy McEvoy, Donn Hewes, and Brad Teeter. Send me one you like, or I will find one, I do. 😮

[jen judkins]

I like your thoughts about the partnership. I have some draft documents to help plan events ‘stuck’ at the top of this forum. Might be a good starting point to refine the structure of these events, planning wise.

[jen judkins]

I will second Grey on the Liverpools. While I drive all my horses on the snaffle (highest, no leverage) setting, I set it down when I am starting a new horse or working on any new equipment. Just temporarily, until I am convinced they are confident with the task at hand. Sometimes it is overkill and unnecessary, but better safe than sorry and I can jump out and set the reins up to the snaffle setting in a jif. The bit is only as harsh as your hands are. A broken snaffle can be way more harsh than a mullen mouth liverpool.

[jen judkins]

Where do you live, Marshall? No one in my town would think of opening a gate that was closed and not shut it behind them….

[jen judkins]

Sorry to hear about your runaway, Ellen. That’s always alittle discouraging. I know you have worked really slow and careful with your mare. I am certainly not an expert trainer, but over the past year I have been fortunate enough to help several new teamsters get their single horse hitched to a wheeled cart for the first time and have some thoughts.

First, some people start young horses to a cart by hooking them with a veteran horse and while I know that’s not an option for you, I bring it up because they typically can get started just about anywhere….in a field, on a road or in the woods without getting into too much trouble. Doc Hammill is pretty firm about starting a single horse to a cart in an enclosed space….round pen, arena or small fenced area. If your mare had been in an enclosed space she might have gotten away from you, but could not ‘run away’. I recommend Doc Hammill’s ‘ten steps’ DVD series, which outlines the steps to hooking to a cart (including getting the horse used to the shafts, as Mitch mentioned).

Second, there are several parts of the cart that the horse needs to gain confidence with. And a horse does not get experience with all of these ‘parts’ skidding wood or ground driving. These ‘parts’ represent pressure that the horse has to learn to be comfortable with. First is the pressure of the collar or breast collar. Your mare probably has enough experience with this pressure from skidding wood. Second is the breeching pressure, which only engages properly when going down hill or when your horse backs up into a load. Most people overlook this area of the horse’s education and are surprised when their horse over-reacts the first time the breeching gives them a squeeze from behind. Most horses who do not understand this pressure will move forward away from it…sometimes in a panic. The last is the shafts. You can build a travois (or false shalves) pretty easily which can help you with both of those latter pressures. There is an article on Doc Hammill’s website describing how to build one. You might consider going to that briefly before going back to the cart…as a bridge between the cart and ground driving. You can’t backup in the travois, but you can back your mare into the breeching to get her more confident with it.

Last is the cart itself. You may have done this, but I like to enlist some help and have the cart follow the horse for awhile, including sharp turns where the horse can even see the cart, without it being attached to them.

We only hitch to the cart when the horse shows calm confidence with all of the pressures mentioned above and the cart traveling close behind them.

I’m glad no one was hurt and your new cart is still in one piece. Don’t be discourage or afraid to go forward. Just take alook at where your holes are and go back and patch them up. 😮

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