Spring ~ Horse Maintenance

 After a long cold, wet winter... 

Spring is finally on the horizon around here. My girl is shedding, which means there are little hairs flying around. Some getting ingested with her food and hay. 

She had a serious case of Rain Rot when I got her years ago and every time we pasture over the winter, she gets a little bit on her back. {She's not a fan of blankets, we've tried.} So we use our medicated spray when we groom. And the blanket... makes a good BBQ cover.

We use Absorbine Fungasol Spray, for that Rain Rot

easily ordered on line from Statelinetack.com. 

In addition to all those little hairs flying around, there is the fact that it's been wet and muddy. The grass is low and the ground is more brown than green... 

Even using hay bins and feeders, horses still eat off of the ground. They ingest mud along with their grains and hay. Add that to the little hairs and you can only imagine what's going on inside their tummy in the spring. So it's time to run a week of SandClear. 

I actually go to TractorSupply to pick this one up. That would be one of the few stores I actually like shopping in, it's always nice to see what's new for the barn. 

Something I do a few days before adding the SandClear to Miss StarBright's diet is - her spring worming. This way we can get rid of the worms and really get her belly cleaned out.

Everyone has their own preferences and Vet recommendations regarding wormers. I personally like to order again, from Statelinetack.com . They have a great AUTO SHIP program so you never forget or miss a worming!

And they carry a large variety of wormers for every type of horse, and location. Yep, your location and weather play a part in the types of worms you have to watch out for.  

https://www.statelinetack.com/Search.aspx?query=wormer

 

Here is one   Deworming Schedule

• APRIL: Deworm all moderate and high horses with an Ivermectin product or Quest. Deworming of low horses is optional.
• JULY: Deworm all moderate and high horses with Strongid. Do not deworm Low horses.
• OCTOBER: Deworm all horses with Quest Plus.
• DECEMBER: Deworm only High horses with Ivermectin.

Other than Spring and Fall routines, 

My girl is really an easy keeper:

* Lots of fresh water

* Good Timothy and Alfalfa-2 flakes 2x day

* Fresh Pasture 4 - 6 hours daily

LUNCH

* 1 1/2 lbs Senior Kibbles

* 1 Scoop HORSE GUARD

* Fresh fruit/vegetables

* Mineral Salt Blocks - 2 flavors.

I love what Purina Senior Kibbles and HORSEGUARD has done for her the past few years. She acts half her age and looks it too! We don't lose as much weight over the winter months either.

 I call it a KISS diet! Keep It Simply Satisfying!

Did you know you can order directly from Purina and get it fresher!

Check it out!

Do you have a SPRING ROUTINE/HORSE MAINTENANCE routine? 

We would love for you to share your knowledge 

 Blessed by God

Life's good @ the Bright side of the Barn

Thanks for stopping by

Until next time, Stay Safe and Happy Trails.

Upside Down and Right side Up

It's been a crazy stressful couple weeks. I have to say the cold weather has played a part in the negative health issues we're struggling with. Now that the sun is coming out more, perhaps we can get back to a steady work schedule. That will help stabilize the finances a bit.

There have been a lot of prayers going up around here and I've seen a lot of miracles happening every day. Little things and somewhat bigger things. Solutions, one by one as we over come the obstacles. Not out of the woods yet, as they say. But we are seeing a light at the end of the tunnels. 

Some of the things that have happened - 'have never happened to me before in my life'.  Like finding $60 while at the store! or having a check show up a week early... 

I'm in the midst of a difficult decision that I've been needing directional help with. Seems the situation is pushing me to choose my morals over $$ and that will help in the final decision. I'm going to need to rely on Events this summer to help make up for the lost revenue, but I think I will sleep better. 

Sometime, doing what's right is the lesser of value dollar wise, but the greater of value in the long run. Usually the dollars add up and you end up on the better end of things in the end anyway. Doing what's right is always the right thing to do. Even if it means we tighten the budget for a while. 

Things are looking up and getting brighter, stick to your goals. Make those lists. Organize and prioritize. Check off the accomplishments and reward yourself!! Even when you don't feel like your getting very far. Or when you slip up and feel like you have gone backwards. You can look at your lists and see what you HAVE Accomplished, you can see that you are getting closer to what you want to happen...

Sometimes life looks upside down, just keep moving forward and it will turn right side up! 

Blessed by God

Life's good @ the Bright side of the Barn

Thanks for stopping by

Until next time, Stay Safe and Happy Trails.