Daily Routine for Working Horses?

[j_maki]

I have yet to work our horses for an extended period of time. So far we have basically just driven our sleigh around along with the stone boat. Since we are fairly new to horses I really don’t know what routine one uses when working horses for a full days work. So if any of you wouldn’t mind I would like to here how you go about your day.

Presently we basically never used the horses for more than an hour at a time so we always just catch them and harness them up to do what we want. We then bring them back and let them cool down and turn them loose into their pasture where they have access to free choice hay and water.

There is really no one around that actually works with horses around here, a few people give sleigh rides but they basically do as we do. What I would like to know are the fine details like if you leave them hitched for breaks? Do you feed them throughout the day during breaks? How often do you water them or will they get enough from just snow throughout the day? Do they need a certain period of rest after feeding and watering them? What are some common mistakes that you absolutely don’t want make? I know there are probably just as many different routines as there are people but since we are new to all this I really don’t want to make any foolish mistakes that may potentially harm the Fred and Barney.

Thanks again for all you help..

Jeremy

[jac]

Jeremy I think each job is different regards routine. Haymaking, for example, can mean switching teams if you have the extra horses or more frequent rest periods if you only have one team.What I will say is that any feeding changes needs to be done slowly and feed as work increases and not in anticipation of work. If a horse has been working hard and fed accordingly and a day off on Sunday is planned for example, then I cut the grain down on Saturday night and dont increase again till mid day Monday…depending on the work load of course.. There is a lot of different ideas regards watering hot horses. I personally offer water often and never worry about a horse being hot. Let his breathing settle and even if the sweat is dripping you shouldnt have a problem. I recon if a horse is being chased in the wild and happens to stop next a river he will have a drink…Again every horse is different.. my old black gelding will never drink untill his work is done.. the bay gelding will drink every time… grain is a totally different issue. NEVER grain before water. Get this wrong and colic will be a real probability.We feed chopped hay and this slows them down from bolting their food…
John

[Mac]

As John said, it all depends on the job. When I farmed full time, I fed every morning about five, then went to work as soon as it was light enough to see. Depending on the weather and the work, I would rest them, still hitched, in the shade. For dinner I would un hook and either drive them to the creek or the barn for water and a little hay. They rested while I ate. Then back to work until near-dark. We went home, I turned them out, and fed after they drank. I found that this worked well for me, and that it still does, even though I only work on weekends now. I learned early on that resting in the shade was nice, not only for the horses, but for me as well, as the Arkansas heat is hard on man and beast. And finally, like John said, to feed a hot horse before watering him could easily kill him. Good luck and have fun,
Mac

[Gabe Ayers]

http://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=wu.89098654833

This is a piece of older information we use as required reading for our Biological Woodsmen apprentices.

Hope you enjoy it.

Best Regards,

[Does’ Leap]

Jeremy:

My routine changes in the summer and winter and has changed as I have gained experience with my horses. We started out with horses in what sounds like a similar situation to you (i.e not a lot of folks around the area who work horses regularly). When we got our team 3 years ago, my wife Kristan and I did everything together with the horses. We did this for safety reasons and also to hone our skills as best we could given the circumstances (bouncing ideas off each other etc.). A lot of our early work was moving wood in a wagon – one person holding the lines the other loading wood. We slowly added jobs as our confidence grew (basic field work, spreading manure, light logging and finally on to haying). The short answer to our early routine was there was none. We got out together with the horses as much as we could which was difficult given the demands of the farm and we took our lumps in the process.

These days we work the horses alone. My summer routine is similar to Mac’s. In the winter, I generally take my team out after I finish chores in the morning. I alternate cutting and skidding out in the woods and bring them back for lunch. I have last year’s firewood piled tree length and I return from the woods with a load. I take off their bridles, loosen the pole strap, hay and water them while they are attached to the logging arch. After lunch, it is quick to get them going and we are back to the woods.

George

[near horse]

@Does’ Leap 24120 wrote:

Jeremy:

….. I take off their bridles, loosen the pole strap, hay and water them while they are attached to the logging arch. After lunch, it is quick to get them going and we are back to the woods…..

George

Hi George,

It looks like you also chain the arch to a tree – sort of a parking brake?:)

[Does’ Leap]

Yes Geoff, parking brake is on. There is a round bale about 15′ infront of them, but out of the picture. The brake keeps them honest. This is how I secure them in the woods while I am cutting as well.

George

[Jean]

George, it looks like the other “horse” in that picture is a deer, its legs are so small.

[Does’ Leap]

Jean, I was wondering if someone would notice that. That is a new mare we purchased this fall to team with our halflinger. She is a 5 year old draft / paint cross. My other bay gelding was out with 2 abscessed feet :(and I have been working her in the woods. She is coming along nicely – learning to start a large load, pacing with her teammate, dealing with the chainsaw, etc. This size horse seems ideally suited for moderate loads over a long period of time – I imagine a good mowing horse which is the main reason we got her. However, I notice the lack of power when things are dug in.

George

[j_maki]

Thanks for the help. When I was a kid I should have paid more attention to the way things were done on some of my friend’s farms although none of them had workhorses. But I never thought I would be farming lol. To me it looked so easy just throw a little hay out and water the animals a couple of times a day or put a few seeds in the ground and harvest the reward the fall. Now as I learn it wasn’t quit so simple. Oh well just have to do a little more research and reading .

I still got a few questions-

1) Most articles talk about feeding horses in their stalls after working- why is that? To me it seems much more practical to just put them out on pasture for the night after they have cooled down, my way of thinking is why bring feed to them when they can go to it. Is there some reason why you shouldn’t pasture a horse doing heavy work?

2) In the winter right now all we can get around here are round bales we feed them buy giving the cattle the outer shell and them bring the bale into the horse pasture and unrolling it till we get about a 2 foot core which we take back to the cattle. I do this because I feel it gets rid of a lot of the dust in the round bales, plus I can check all the hay for any mold. We let all our horses have access to the hay 24/7. Is there a reason why workhorses can’t or shouldn’t have access 24/7?

3) During breaks in the summer is it all right to just let the horse eat fresh grass instead of hay?

4) What are guys doing for food and water in the winter when you are in the woods for the day? Would a guy just bring some hay for them or do you just wait till evening—seems like a long time for them to go without food. As far as the water goes would they get enough from the snow or do they need water when they are doing heavy work.

5) It seems like all the older publications say to give a pretty high percentage of grain to horses (both drafts and “regular”). This kind of contradicts what a lot of newer books and articles say to do which tend to promote grass-based diets. So how much grain are you giving your horses when working? Have any of you had your horse on a strictly pasture/hay ration while working?

6) Do any of you worm with DE?

Once again thanks for all the help.

Jeremy

Ps George-I like the parking brake idea

[Mac]

Jeremy:
Mine don’t go in the barn unless we’re loading the wagon. I feed mine in a trough twice a day and they get all the hay they want. They stay in a lot about an acre in size. Not much grazing, but like I say, they get all they want to eat. Big water trough too. Some of my friends take a bit of grain to the woods with them, when they go, but often they just wait. And most of the time there is a pond or creek you can water in.
Now, as far as grain goes, you’re gonna love this. I feed mine five ears of whole, unshelled corn twice daily, along with two or three hands of cane fodder, all raised on my ground. And contrary to popular belief, you can feed whole corn to horses. I’ve done it for years, as has my grandfather and his father before him. However, mine get worked almost every day of the week. So they need the energy.
As far as wormer goes, I use Ivermec. And every spring each one gets a Kentucky twist cut up in some sweet feed. It works quite well I think.
Mac

[sickle hocks]

Jeremy…thanks for bringing this up, i haven’t worked horses full time before and i’m also wondering about a grazing / working routine. By June I won’t have a flake of hay left and more grass than I know what to do with.

I was wondering about night pasture and grazing on a tether for some hours in the heat of the day. The rich spring grass will make me worry about founder.

My understanding is that a horse hard at work needs about the same amount of roughage or feed volume as a horse at ease (for the stomach to work properly)..but the working horse needs way more nutrient and you need to make up the difference with a more concentrated feed ie grain…

You’ve probably read of ‘tying up’ or azotrurea, but there should probably at least be a mention of it in this thread, and the warning to reduce rations on rest days..

hope someone experienced can help us out with the grazing question..

[jac]

The way I have done if is give them the bulk of their hay ration at night. Over much hay for a hard working horse can lead to excess sweating and blowing. I feed chopped hay and mix the grain ration with soaked beet pulp..this way the ration can be adjusted more easily to suit the work load. I not only cut the ration on rest days but cut it the day before and resume full ration after a day at work. Feed for actual work and not anticipated work. Regards the grazing we let them out at night and in the barn during the heat of the day if the grass is in abundance when they arnt working…as I always say… it works for me.. good luck and enjoy those horses..
John

[mitchmaine]

in summer, they pasture and pull grass all night. in tie stalls during the day with as green a hay as we got to match the grass. a handful of grain to get them through the door and more when they work. water all the time. reverse in the winter. like john says, “works for me”…good luck and enjoy them hosses”

[TBigLug]

I’m a little late to the fray, but I’ll give you an idea of our routine. We do more fieldwork then woodwork (although I try to do more of that now). They’re brought in from pasture about 7:00 in the morning where they’ve had full access to grass and water all night. I give them half their grain ration when they come in and they have a manger full of hay. After I eat my breakfast we head out to the field. About noon I drive them back up to the barn. Leave them in harness, offer them a drink, put them in their stalls to eat hay while I eat lunch, offer them a drink after I get done. Hook them back p, work until 5:00 or so, bring them back up, offer them a drink, pull ther harnesses and tie them back in their stalls while I eat dinner. Give them the other half of their grain after I eat dinner then cut them loose to pasture until the next morning when we do it all over again (schedules permitting). I didn’t notice on your profile where you’re from. If you are ever in the area on a when we are working them you’re more than welcome to stop by and see in person!

[Author]

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