Tag: Horse

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Shredded Straw Bedding

Recently we purchased a Wallenstein BXM Chipper Shredder to help with chipping all the trees and scrub brush we took down in our soon to be new orchard area. When considering buying a chipper we thought about going all out and getting the shredder to see if we could make our own livestock bedding.

If you’ve read my past posts about my experiences with different types of bedding you’ll know my distain for straw. I just hate picking through traditional straw bedding.  The waste is just awful, it takes me much longer to muck a stall and once I get it out to the manure pile it takes forever and a day to compost.  The price of straw vs. the wood pellet bedding I’m using now is night and day and right now I need to bring down the cost of doing business.

In comes the shredder.  I’ve read about how shredded straw composts faster and is used at some dairy farms and also by mushroom farmers.  So I decided to give it a try.  I purchased a 500lb bale of straw for $40 and fired up the shredder.  We aimed the shoot into our little red TSC dump trailer, stood up wind from the shredding and let her rip.  3.5 of the big flakes of straw filled the dump trailer really quickly and  it filled one of our 11×11 stalls.  1 trailer full gave a great 4-6” deep bedding and covered the whole stall evenly.  For comparison 4 ($7) bags of wood pellets gave me the same results.  That’s $28 for pellets vs $8 for shredded straw. At this point I have a really big smile on my face.

With pellet bedding I have to add 1-2 bags per week for a stall with a mare and foal.  There’s very little waste and I only have to take out the soiled areas.  I know from past experience that with traditional straw bedding 3 flakes of straw would give me nice bedding but I had to strip the bed every day and add another 3 flakes.  How would the shredded straw do?

Shredding the straw brought down the stalk size to 2-3 inches in length and even broke the stalk open so it no longer was a tube.  The result is a very light fluffy bedding that sifts right through my favorite Dura stall fork just like wood shavings would.  It doesn’t fall though like pellet bedding but with a few shakes of the fork the horse apples remain and the clean bedding falls through.  Pee areas are sucked up nicely and are easy to spot and scoop up with minimal waste.  I managed to pick through 3 stalls using just 1 wheelbarrow! Try that with traditional straw bedding!

Shredded Straw

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Do Horses Sleep Standing Up?

The truth is, no.  Horses do not sleep standing up.  Adult horses will rest standing up and look quite out of it but they cannot “sleep” standing up.  For a horse to actually achieve REM sleep they must lie down and be stretched flat out on their sides.  REM (Rapid Eye Movement) sleep is a deep dreaming sleep and a horse standing up with locked legs would surely fall right over or sleep walk/run.

How much sleep do horses get?  With my small herd I’ve noticed many different personality types and their sleep habits.  Here is how each of my horses sleep.

Jasper: I have yet to see this old boy sleep during the day.  He’s middle of the herd hierarchy and spends most of his day trying to make it to the top of the pack.  Come night fall he finds his “spot” and conks out for a good 30 minutes and seems to get 2 long sessions in overnight.  

The General: This poor boy is at the bottom of the food chain and always gets picked on.  He really wants his beauty sleep and when he can he lies down and tries to get a few Z’s  Since his sleep is usually interrupted I find he sleeps more frequently in 24hrs but for shorter periods of time maybe only 5-10 minutes.

Fay: This cute little filly is higher up on the latter than the 2 previous boys and is 1 of 2 girls in the group under the watchful eye of the herd leader, Goliath.  Being young she resorts to being the snot that likes to wake The General up and chase him around.  She rests throughout the day and I only see her take 1 lie down nap at night.  Come warm spring weather she does lie down more frequently and really enjoys her sun baths. 

Cotton: Cotton is 2nd highest on the food chain and the beloved girl friend to Goliath the leader.  She has the ability to nap whenever she wants, where ever she wants and for as long as she wants. I notice she chooses to only take maybe 1-2 short 5-10 minute naps during the day and one long one late morning just before sunrise in the safety of her stall.  I’m usually the one who wakes her up in the morning. 

Goliath:  The leader of the pack and the laziest horse in the group. Since he is the big cheese no one ever bothers him and he can sleep for as long as he wants.  Most vets will tell you that a horse that is lying down longer than 30 minutes should be checked on because the weight of the animal will start to crush its innards.  Apparently Goliath could care less about science and takes record breaking 1-2hr naps.  I’ve gone out and poked him on several occasions just to make sure he’s doing ok.  He appeases my pestering by rolling over and lying on the other side instead.  I’ve noticed that the rest of the herd usually takes the “it’s time to sleep” queue from Goliath.  Jasper is the one who stands guard while the others get a few precious minutes in.

Until recently I wondered if horses legs would fall asleep like ours do when they fold them up under themselves to sleep.  Even after a long nap they always seem to stand right up and walk off without so much as a hitch in their gait.  That was until just a few weeks ago.  I had woken Cotton up from her morning slumber and she bolted up to a standing position.  This morning something was off, she kept picking up her hind right leg and shaking it and then would pound it on the floor.  Ah ha!  Her hind leg had fallen asleep!  After a few good shakes and stomps on the ground the pins and needs must have subsided and she put full weight on it and came over for treats.
(Left to Right)  Faye, Cotton, Goliath

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Winter Riding Tips – Post Ride Care

 Most of our horses here in WNY are built for the cold.  They are very fuzzy this time of year with thick winter coats to keep them warm in sub zero temperatures.  These winter coats are great for battling the cold but not so great for exercising under saddle.  Often just a light ride with friends out on the trail can work up a sweat for your horse.  Be sure to care for your equine friend the right way after your ride.

–       End you ride with a nice long walk on a road or packed snow if possible.  Just walking through deep snow is quite a workout. Your horse can get pretty warm even with a simple walking ride.

–       A sweaty horse after a ride is a cold horse.  Do your best to dry your horse off and use a fleece cooler to help draw the moisture away from their body while keeping them warm.  Do not turn your horse out until they are dry!  Because of the cold it will take longer than normal for a horse to dry off.  Be prepared to have your horse cooling off in a stall for 1-2 hours after your ride before they are dry enough for turn out.

–       Clipping your horse.  Depending on how much winter riding you do you might find it beneficial to clip your horse.  This will help them regulate their temperatures better during winter work so they aren’t prone to sweating.  Just be sure to follow proper blanket management for the type of clip chose for your horse.

–       Offer warm water.  Hot horse drinking cold water could cause colic.  Wait until your horse cools down and offer them heated water.  Either boil some in a teapot and add to a bucket or better yet use heated buckets! 

–       Dehydrated horse? Believe it or not most horses like Gatorade (mine like orange flavor).  The sweetness of a few scoops of Gatorade in their water bucket entices them to drink up and the added electrolytes help their system rebalance.

Winter riding is a blast and there is nothing more beautiful than enjoying a fresh snow on a crisp winter morning.  Ride Safe.

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Winter Riding Tips – Hoof Care

So you want to enjoy your horse during the winter months but every time you hit the trials your horse’s hooves fill up with hard snow making the bottom of their feet look like a snow cone.  Not the safest of situations.
There are several ways to keep the snow from packing up in your horse’s feet

Cooking or Silicone Spray – This offers a temporary solution and is really easy to apply. Just pick up the foot, brush it clean and spay. Usually this method will prevent the snow from packing up in the hoof for 5-10 minutes.

Full Hoof Snow Pad – Made of hard plastic
Pros – You will never have to worry about snow building up in the hoof, period!
Cons – You can’t see the hoof! What’s going on under there

Silicone Snow Pad – A ring of silicone that fits between the hoof and the shoe.

Pros – you can see the bottom of the hoof and clean under the pad
Cons – This pad still can allow snow to build up if it packs up under the pad and is horrendous to clean during mud season

Horse Hoof Boots – My personal favorite  Choose your style and manufacturer there’s tons of them out there. Your horse can still be turned out barefoot and strap the boots on when you need them. I personally like the Old Mac’s because of the hiking boot type tread that is on the bottom which gives better grip.