Horses... It's always something.

[lman]

Rotating pastures is necessary with horses. They graze like sheep. Overgrazing without rotation is hard on pastures. A corral area is necessary to use in the spring after snow is gone until grass is growing good.

 

[NoTrespassing]

We don't financially spend much on our horses, just wormer and vaccinations. We have pasture and hay ground. Guy down the road bales our hay and we get what we need, he gets the rest to sell to Amish.
I maintain hooves and wife helps stack hay. Beats sitting around watching TV or pounding a keyboard.

They must be "easy keepers". Mine was, hers wasn't.

If we didn't keep hers shod his hooves, what little he had, would fall apart. I forgot about the hock problems he had, probably arthritis. And, she was riding him in dressage of all things, jeeze, I'm having flashbacks now. I tried so hard to talk her and her instructor out of buying that animal.

 

[gsganzer]

Rotating pastures is necessary with horses. They graze like sheep. Overgrazing without rotation is hard on pastures. A corral area is necessary to use in the spring after snow is gone until grass is growing good.

I agree completely and it requires a lot of diligence and work. In our part of TX, you need at least 2 acres per horse. Double that, if you're not up to the work.

 

[gsganzer]

They must be "easy keepers". Mine was, hers wasn't.

I think the term "easy keepers" is a fleeting fallacy. We had stretches where all was good, but they never lasted. And that's with having vet friends and having a farm vs. pet mentality. It seems you end up paying the piper at some point.

 

[NoTrespassing]

I think the term "easy keepers" is a fleeting fallacy. We had stretches where all was good, but they never lasted. And that's with having vet friends and having a farm vs. pet mentality. It seems you end up paying the piper at some point.

I'm sure, and that's why I wasn't sad to see mine go.

I think I got the same out of him that I paid for him $1,500, but he was you and unbroken to saddle when we got him. He went to the daughter of our vet and was shipped to Florida.

 

[ponytug]

I have limited experience with horses, but enough to know that they were pretty much the boss. After falling off into a thick patch of goat heads, I was even less a fan.

My dad was raised on a farm, and worked horses until they got a tractor in the mid 30's. He told stories about his horse; riding it to school when he was in grade school; friends with skittish horses, etc. One time when I was maybe 10 years old, I made the comment "It must have been fun in those days, working and riding horses all the time".

His reply "Hell no! Horses are dumb, unpredictable, and a lot of work. If you aren't smarter, they will kill you or mess you up! Tractors are the best thing that ever happened to farming!".

Come to think of it, the old daily paper in this town used to re-publish editions from early statehood; made interesting reading...and it seemed like every edition had something about a resident being killed or injured by a horse falling with them, kicking them, or otherwise involved in some kind of accident.

I think that there is a fair bit truth in both halves of your dad's comments in my opinion as a horse and tractor owner. I've watched friends survive falls and being rolled on, but their experiences make me very careful which horse I ride, as I don't consider myself a gymnast. Horses are prey animals and much stronger than humans, and it is easy to forget those things. I'm am a proponent of highly training horses to overcome their innate fears and reactions to novel experiences. It is part training and part earning trust. My retired horse was definitely a "nervous Nellie", and unfortunately came to us with an unfortunate shoeing accident the day before we picked him up at the trainer's. (The trainer tied a leg up to give the horse shoes for the first time the day before. The horse went sideways through a railroad tie and 2x6" cattle chute. Twenty five years later he is still not wild about having anyone handle his hind feet, but we still do it carefully, every single day.) He and I worked on not spooking, and if he did spook, having him walk up and touch his nose to whatever spooked him. After a few years, he almost never spooked, and when he did, you could practically see the hoof come up and the thought bubble "My bad. Sorry! I'm walking over to it now." and then he'd walk himself over to whatever it was. I tried, but didn't always succeed, in not laughing.

But, yes horses are dangerous and there are lots of ways to get seriously hurt, so please wear a helmet if you value your life and lifestyle.

Eddie, you're not kidding. The thing with horses is they don't snip off what they eat, they pull it up by its roots. It's especially hard on bermuda and the runners.

Between the horses and the freeze/drought, they've wiped out my 6 acre pasture.

Sorry about your pasture. What kind of soil do you have? Goats are known for pulling up plants by the roots, but that is not how horses graze.

That said, with enough grazing pressure, just having horses or cows walking around will kill off any ground cover. We favor rotational grazing of varying duration to give plants time to regrow, but we don't have enough acreage to support the animals year round. (Intentionally. The cows and horses are here to get the grass short before fire season kicks in, so we typically feed extra hay from June to November or so. Everyone has different needs or goals; fire safety is ours first and foremost.)

All the best,

Peter

 

[BravoXray]

Years ago, I had a friend who's wife badgered him for years to get a horse. He finally relented and she bought a horse and boarded it at a place several miles away. After a couple of years, all the tack, grooming, stable and vet fees got to be a drag on their finances, but she wouldn't sell the horse, even though she rarely ever rode it. Finally, after a stretch of over two months of her not even going to the stables, unbeknownst to her, he found a buyer for the hose and tack and sold it. Never told her until she finally said she was going to the stables for a ride after three months. Big argument followed, but he showed her how much it was actually costing to have the nag, and she cooled off. He let her get a dog though.

 

[ultrarunner]

When my brother bought his place it came with a 25 year old horse put out to pasture.

The pasture consisted of a full 40 acres and all my brother promised was the waterer would always have water…

8 years with no care other than the sellers sent a vet once a year… and placed a salt block.

The kids would go up with carrots and the horse would come down to them and was easy to pet…

Maybe being the 40 acres was home was the key…?

No injuries and hoofs good and Maggie was always in motion as in walking elevation.

I can say 40 acres is enough for a single horse and the only place trampled was ground at the waterer.