Hay Bags

I like using hay bags, I've seen first hand that they reduce waste and definitely extend the chew time a horse gets from the same amount of hay.

At first Chance wasn't too sure about the hay net, he scouted out the piles I set out in the run-in shed since I had not purchased more hay nets yet.  He would eat the free hay first and then grudgingly come back to the hay net.

Dani is a pro, so she showed him how to work the bags and he's gotten to a point that it's no big deal.  Of course every pony wants huge mouthfuls of hay at a time.  These bags make them savor every little bite.

We finally got two more bags for the run-in shed feeding station.  I want to keep the bags in a protected place for when it's raining.  The ones I use in the stable yard can be moved to the stalls if we have heavy rain.   It's not ideal but I don't want all my hay getting soaked therefore being wasted in the yard.  Plus I like to help keep my ponies drier during the wet rains.  So far we haven't had any major skin issues, just Chances chest dermatitis.

Our hay routine seems to be working well but I definitely can't wait until the green grasses come back.  I'm sure the ponies can't wait either!  Yum!

Hay Trough

Sweet!!  Semi flexible tubing wound on the edges of the net appears to be working!!!!!

Why Do Horses Pee on Their Hay?

I removed my slow feed netting from the trough....I'm trying to see if there is a simple way to make the net ends stiff by placing some type of non flexible material on the edges.  The lattice worked so nicely but broke so easily.  Frustration.  I love my Nibblenet.  It's perfect and works so nicely!

Even feeding in the trough, of course without the slow feeding attachment, lots of hay gets on the ground.  Dani steps on it with a muddy hoof or lately, because it hasn't been warm enough to really dry things out in the shaded stall, her feet have pee mud on them.  She's also peed ON the hay!  Urge!!!!!  One of many reasons to use a feeder is to reduce waste.  I don't understand why some horses will pee on their hay.  At least it's not too regular of a thing but I've noticed it a couple times.  I just need to figure out a permanent fix for the trough slow feeder or just go out and buy another Nibblenet.  I don't want to spend tons of money on solutions that may not work nor spend that much time on it with the other projects I have going on in my life.  At least this issue doesn't seem to faze my mare....

Update:  Just did a quick search and got an idea!!!  

This idea will take very little extra hardware and cost me less than $10.  Granted if I had just bought a slow feeder....expensive as they are, I would have probably saved money!  LOL.  Sometimes trying to retrofit something it's the best plan.  Nibblenets will be my future purchases but I'm gonna make this trough work darn it!  

To Be Continued.....

Year End Review....2013

January

In January I took a lesson with Laurie when I was still getting used to riding Dani.  I felt much more confident after the lesson learning how to yield Dani's hindquarters under saddle.  The rest of the month I rode some but did the beginnings of Clinton Anderson type groundwork.  Dani showed a lot of attitude but eventually learned it didn't do her any good and she's become a pro now!

 February

My long time Ariat paddock boots died finally died so I was in the market to find a new pair.  I started looking at the boots and found that the Pinnacle tall boot was nearly the same price as regular paddock boots so I tried to determine my size.  Dani was working on realizing that the mounting block wasn't scary and I trained her to stand nicely at the block for mounting.

Dani met a couple of my friends, including their young son who absolutely loved her.  No pony rides though since I don't have a small child's helmet in my equipment storage.  Steve came to visit Dani a lot and enjoyed playing with her in the indoor arena....he still hasn't really ridden her yet though!

March

In march I finally go the right size Dublin Pinnacle boot and have enjoyed them so much!  Very comfortable boot with a casual look.

My friend Jessica came down to meet Dani and we borrowed a friends horse so we could walk around the arena together.  It was fun riding like when we were kids growing up.  Loved playing with Breyer horses as kids but it's fun to play with the full size model as adults! 

I took some fun St. Patrick's Day and some bunny ears pictures for a Julie Goodnight contest and one a DVD of my choice.  Dani was so tolerant and such a good girl!

April

I joined the Kit Carson Riding Club to meet some horsie people.  The group is awesome so I was excited about the future activities to get involved with.  I started looking for new places to board at and found one to move to at the end of the month.  I was mixed about leaving Whispering Winds since it was such a nice facility but I had reasons for moving...mainly the distance and secondly it was a little too busy of a barn for with lots of kids running around in the arena doing their jumps and making it hard for this still apprehensive riding trying to walk circles.  I started looking for hay as well....totally another major aspect of owning horses!

Our favorite appaloosa friend Rock died from several bouts of colic.  He was only 9 and had a lease rider that was so in love with him.  We were heart broken, Steve loved Rock and even though we weren't going to get a second horse anytime soon the connect Rock had with Steve was so cute!

May

I purchased 30 bales of nice Timothy and Steve and I got to use our truck for hauling purposes...weee!!  We moved to a ranch just down the road from KCRC.  Uschi and I didn't have luck with Dani getting in her trailer but a gal, K, from KCRC rescued us with her trailer and worked Dani hard outside the trailer.  At a later date I had a training session with K on loading Dani into the trailer so I have an idea what to work on once I finally have a trailer. 

After less than a week at the new facility I moved Dani to KCRC.  I'd been warned about many things regarding the owners of the ranch and decided it would be safest for all to move to the barn at KCRC.  At the time GG was still there with her horse who was for sale, so was K and David of course had his mare Ducky and an older mare there are well.  We settled in well and got all the supplies we needed for taking care of my girl.  She began eating like a mad horse so it was obvious she wasn't comfortable at the other place either!

Around the time of the move I found a great Circle Y saddle on craigslist and tried it out on Dani.  It fit well and was comfy for both Steve and I do ride.  I did take it to a tack store to get the stirrups adjusted and to add some more D rings and such that were missing on it.  It was a great deal so I was pleased.

June

My brother and his family came out for a week to visit with family in Colorado.  I got to show Scott my baby....Dani and his son Bryson was able to meet his first horse!  It was a fun visit to include a nice picnic with extended family in the Black Forest Regional Park.

On the 21st, the Black Forest Fire started and horses were moved to KCRC among other locations.  Because of my work with Emergency Management I decided to voluntarily evacuate my horse since I wouldn't have the time to do so with my work and because she was a difficult loader and because I didn't have a trailer available to me when ever I would need it.  I had to make a quick decision that would help me do my job and not worry about Dani in the process.  Laurie was able to accept Dani during that time, she also had Rio and Orchid, Uschi's horses.  Uschi's house was fine but the fire burnt a huge patch of forest just behind her house.  It's amazing to drive through the forest and see the damage.  It's unreal that last year I was responding to the Waldo Canyon Fire around this same time period.   

 July

My best friend Marie came to visit for a week in July.  We were in a parade as pooper scoopers for the 4th of July!  Weeeee!!!  We chilled at the pool and just did other fun things.  I even got her up on Dani for a little pony ride.

I continued to work on improvements to horse care like adding a water filter to the trough.  I was also battling algae so found a natural preventative that helped keep the algae amounts down.  It's still a battle!  I was contacted by a gal that owned Dani's full sister, Maddie.  I learned a bit more about the horses pasts and was glad to here how well her sister was doing.  They look so much alike!

August

In August came the rains.  Everyday it rained and there was a river running through KCRC.  Part of the arena was washed out and I probably lost a lot of sand from Dani's run.  I had to respond for work several times for flooding around the county.  Up north of Denver it was really bad.  This has just been a year for natural disasters in Colorado! 

When I could I worked Dani on a few obstacles like the cowboy curtain.  I tied back the noodles and walked her through.  Slowly I let down more and more noodles until she didn't have any issues walking through.  Now I can ride her through them...just at the walk since even I don't want to get slapped in the face with the metal washers that hold the noodles onto the rope.  Dani learns fast so it's been fun teaching her to accept the noodles and negotiate other obstacles.

September

September continued with more rain and many busy days at work.  Steve and did manage to get 100 bales for the winter though.  We bought them from a hay charity and have been pretty happy with the hay purchase though I'll be looking for a consistent supplier this year and perhaps certified weed free hay.

My silly Aussie mix Loki, got trampled by Sugar when he ran into her pen and I didn't notice at first.  Luckily he wasn't injured but for a minute or so I was afraid some nerve or spinal damage had been done.  Poor baby!

October

I worked on more trotting and getting over the fear of speed.  We succeeded and have done many rides with lots of trotting about! Because of the rain and lack of putting on hoof oil as regularly as I should Dani had a hoof chip that freaked me out.  It actually wasn't a big deal but has made me more aware and now I round the hooves regular to prevent chipping in between trims.

My slow feeder has failed, the plastic lattice kept breaking so I've ended up buying a nibblenet.  It doesn't fit as much hay in it as I need so still have been working on making the trough into a slow feeder using a nibblenet sheet.  It's still a work in progress but at least it does slow her down and reduce the wasted hay.

I started to see Stubs around a bit more, running here and there.  I continued to feed her dry food but never got too close to her.  She seemed curious so I always talked sweetly to her when I saw her.

November

KCRC had a vaccine and floating clinic so it made it very easy to get Dani's fall work done.  The club also had a clean up day with a cow run.  Other club activities included being a pooper scooper for the Veterans day parade but this time I got tot drive an ATV.  That was pretty cool!  Someday I'll ride in a parade but not just yet....

November meant a time change so the days got darker sooner.  I got a night light set up with one of those indoor work lights.  It did the job so I could do groundwork with Dani during the week.  Then we hit some cold spells and I didn't want to do groundwork.  Wuss I know!  Stubs started showing up and hanging out with me and my girl.  I got some wet food to start feeding her when I saw her and it became a consistent thing.  I started planning on how to trap her and get her spayed.  Local Trap Neuter Release groups never got back with me so I was sort of on my own.

December

In early December I borrowed a trap from a friend and brought Stubs home.  Steve and I already accepted the fact that she probably would be staying in our house if Armani my other cat was okay with it.  He was.  We got her fixed and all her shots.  She's been settling in very well and though we can't pick her up and hold her yet we can love on her, hug her and scratch her itchy spots.  She's made a great transition from feral cat to spoiled house cat in such a short time.

We've had some really frigid cold spells but Dani didn't mind.  The past two weeks I've been off from work which is nice to just chill and do nothing.  We've had a great Christmas too.

Hopefully the New Year will continue to have great blessings for us and our little critter filled home.  I really want to get Dani a pony friend but that mainly depends on my hubby and his work schedule.  None the less we are doing well and enjoying KCRC.

This next year I want to get a trailer, trailer train Dani so she is a perfect little loader and then I want to hit the trails with my horsie friends!  I just need to give confidence to Dani and have confidence in myself that we can overcome our fears....her's are of the trailer experience and mine the fast speeds.  I think we have gotten to a good level of trust in one another and will continue to develop that bond.  I love my girl!

Wishing everyone a great New Year!  Remember it's the Year of the Horse!!!  Make it a good one!!

Nibblenet

I've just not had luck with making my own slow feeder.  The DIY slow feeder worked nicely with the lattice but every other week something of the lattice would snap.  Could be my mare being to rough with it and trying to get around it to the hay.  I was going to try wood but it splintered like crazy cutting the holes.  There is probably a better material I could find to use in the trough but I just decided to go with a tried and true feeder.  At first I bought a sheet of the Nibblenet to use in the trough but Steve didn't think it was worth the extra effort to figure out how to make the flexible material work in the trough.  I'll have to send that back or sell it.

In comes the Nibblenet bag.  I bought the XL since it stated it would fit 50 lbs.  I really only fits about 15 lbs, I weighed it.  Perhaps I'm not stuffing it as compactly as I should but I fluff up each flake to make sure there is no mold.  Now my routine is to fill the bag up and then fill up the metal bin, without any slow feeding component on the trough.  There is hay left over each day which is good, I'm feeding about half a bale because upon weighing them I've realized that they aren't quite as heavy as previously thought.  No wonder she ate up all her hay pretty quickly!  I like there to be some hay leftover at the end of the day so I know she always has hay in front of her.  In all essence I free-feed hay to her.  Dani figured out the Nibblenet quickly.  In the evening she has the easy access hay in the trough and then can nibble the rest of the time in the Nibblenet.  It seems to be working nicely.  I like keeping her occupied when I'm not there.  Sigh, what we do for our ponies!

Hay Day!

Brome, orchard, timothy, mountain, prairie....grass hay.  Most tends to be around the same protein and nutritional levels.  I've done some research on the various types of hays. From my research I mainly want to avoid Tiffon or Bermuda since they can lead to impact colic.  Here in Colorado timothy is pretty expensive but a great hay (that's the 30 bales I bought back in May), prairie and orchard is pretty common and Brome also seems to be appearing more often during this drought.

I found a great document that describes all the different hay types Selection and Use of Hay.  It's a great read and very helpful in making decisions about what hay to feed your particular horse.

Above timothy seed heads are to the left and Brome is to the right.  The leaves themselves are not too different looking though Brome can often have more of a brownish green color when dried but it still has a great nutritional value.  I like feeding grass hay since I can feed more of it compared to the legumes.  I tend to essentially free feed Dani with her slow feeder.  She always has access to something to munch on; I couldn't do that with alfalfa even though it's a better priced hay in this drought.

I purchased 10 bales of Brome hay from Rocky Mountain hay up in Franktown.  They are nice heavy bales but a little inconsistent.  One bale is very green, other is rather brownish and I double check to make sure their is no mold.  Also twigs and twine bits seem to end up in these bales.  Oh well, Dani doesn't care, she grazes in fields with twigs and bits of other things in them....not like she can't eat around it and she does.  I pick out anything I see when I fill her feeder though.

I was thinking of purchasing more of this Brome but then found some awesome bales that a club member had purchased.  Nice heavy bales and green, green Brome!!  I tried to get a co-op together but I think at this point in the summer everyone who needed hay had already found what they needed.  Earlier in late June a group of us were all ready to get a load of hay.  Another member of the club was receiving a truck load a couple weeks before our group was to receive ours.  The hay dealer was a crook, the hay was BAD.  They refused it and so everyone (rightly so) backed out from our deal and we had to start all over.

I then learned from a club member that the Colorado Horsecare Foodbank is starting to sell the hay they acquire.  Before they have mostly worked off donations to provide hay to those in need.  If people lose their job, have an illness in the family etc. and find it hard to pay for hay they can apply and get hay for free to help them out and keep their beloved family members!  What a great organization!!!  I called them up and went out to look at some small bales.  It was an alfalfa mix, not straight grass so I wasn't too keen on purchasing it.  The rest of the bales were large 4 x 4's or 3 x 8's.  Yes, someday these size bales will make sense for me to buy since by the pound the hay is cheaper even when prices are as high as they are right now.  I don't have a tractor to move and stack these sizes so I'm limited to the small bales.

My Superhero, Horse Husband!

I found out they were getting some grass in from Grand Junction so I discussed with them about the quality.  It's a great group of people and sight unseen I knew it would be good hay so I put my name on 100 bales.  We rented a trailer and hooked up Buddy our Sierra 2500 HD this past Saturday and went to get our hay.  It was just as expected, soft, heavy bales and green green green!!!  The only issue was that the semi was loaded oddly.  200 bales were alfalfa, 200 were a mix and 200 were strait grass.  We picked through each bale that the loaders chucked at our truck and made sure each bale was strait grass.  We only unloaded a few rejects but those were going to a home that wanted them later that day.  Once we found about 60 bales of grass hay we kept hitting more and more alfalfa bales so we hopped into the barn with the crew and we unloaded the rest of the semi.

Then we headed to a pile that was mostly grass that had been unloaded earlier and finished up our count to equal 100 bales.  A lot of work!!!  We were sweating!!!  We paid for our bales ($11 for 65-70lbs bales and a couple dollar per bale goes to the charity....WIN WIN!!!!).  Steve and I headed back to KCRC.  We aligned the truck with a small shed on the property that I'd been given the go ahead to load up with hay.  We could have fit all our hay in there but I wanted at least 20 right where Dani's stall is for ease of feeding.  Dani grazed while we unloaded.  I don't think she really noticed the hay bales at first but when she did she walked right up to the truck and took a big sample.  She was so cute.  Pony stamp of approval!

My husband rocked, he arranged the hay bales in the shed like it was a scratchy, dusty game of Tetris.  We covered part of the bales with a tarp since the door doesn't close all the way, locked it and went to the stall and loaded the last few bales in there.  Then we swept up the bits and pieces in the bed of the truck and trailer and put them in Dani's feeder and a wheel barrow for the next days feeding.

The rest of the day was spent on our sofa at home watching Game of Thrones.  We were beat!  I'm a satisfied little squirrel though.  My nuts are safely stored for winter, I got a good price on hay and my girl is set for the winter, perhaps even the next year.  My whole entire sports bra was filled with sweaty hay bits and my arms were scratched up and itchy but it was worth it.  Just think, when we have two horses it will be double the supply of hay!!!!  I'm curious, what are the small bale hay prices in your neck of the woods?

Anyhow, I'm sure Dani loves having the bi-peds slave over her and provide for her every need.  Of course I wouldn't have it any other way but a tractor to move hay doesn't sound like too bad of a deal either.  Someday.....

Slow Hay Feeder

With my mare at a new place with a smaller area to roam I want to make her pen as palatable as possible.  I want her entertained with toys and lots of time to eat her food.  I've search online for slow feeder for hay.  There are many nets and these are fine but I wanted to also have her in a more natural grazing position if possible.  I was worried with having nets lower to the ground and her potentially getting caught up in it.

I found an idea online that used tubing and metal grates to make a slow feeder out of a galvanized trough.  Since I read that horses teeth can wear more trying to grasp hay through the metal I wanted to use either wood or plastic and found a site that used the privacy lattice for their slow feeder.  It looked great!  While looking at the lattice Steve and I decide the vinyl one would be safest.  It did not have little staples in it and the plastic could be cleaned easier as well.

Steve went to work with nuts, bolts, eyelets and chain to hold the lattice in place.  On one end we use a carabiner to be able to open the feeder to put hay in the trough.  It was really easy to drill the holes and get locking nuts to hold the eyelets in place.  There is nothing sharp on the chains or the lattice, we made sure to file the cut edges.

The lattice easily moves down as the hay level decreases and it gives Dani a little longer time to eat since she has to work the hay out of the holes.  The holes are about 3 inches.  I might end up finding a smaller lattice at some point because my mare seems to be pretty inept at getting the hay in big mouthfuls but it's still smaller mouthfuls than without.

I really want her to have hay available at all times and hope that this unit will help.  Below is a video of Dani figuring out how the feeder works.  It was raining pretty hard outside so that's what the noise was.  We need the rain so I don't mind not being able to ride!  Sorry I wasn't able to attach the video below but here is the link.  Not sure why my youtube videos were not being found by blogger.