I took advantage of a recent sunny day to build a hay feeder I had been wanting to do for a long time. It’s made from a piece of hockey barrier netting about 10′ x 12′, a few plastic coated cup hooks, three 2x4s and a sheet of exterior grade plywood. The posts had been put in my the barn owner in preparation for a shelter.
It is filled from the back without opening or closing anything. It will easily hold a small square bale, maybe even more. For now, I’m having them fed their usual meal of two to three flakes each. I may try going back to 24/7 free choice at some point. I’ll have to wait for the roof though, so the hay doesn’t spoil.
I had planned to split the net and have half hang to each side. That would make two separate feeding areas, so that a dominant horse wouldn’t monopolize the hay. I may still do that, but for now, Beau and Lily are sharing nicely.
I could see feeding stations like this in a couple of areas of a paddock paradise track, with an A frame roof off the two poles. It would provide a bit of a rain and wind break, along with a feeding station, without having to build a full shelter.
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I’ve wanted to set up a paddock paradise for years. It is a great concept. Many horses these days are kept in small paddocks or pastures and end up standing around. Horses have evolved to move. Feral horses on BLM land travel miles every day from forage to water to shelter. Without this movement and grazing most of the day, horses can develop all sorts of issues, from illness to behavior problems.
Yesterday afternoon, I went ahead and put up a single strand of electric tape on fiberglass posts to make a track. My horses’ paddock is 75′ x 160′, so not very large. Even so, I think that it was worth doing. I saw Lily and Sasha moving around the track even as I was putting up the fence. I think that they have enough incentive to move with their favorite shade tree in the NE corner, opposite the water.
Permanent fencing is black with gates in thick blue.
The electric tape that I put up today is in blue.
The water is light blue.
Rubber mats for hay are brown.
The shade tree is in the upper left.
The fencing is not hot at this point. I’ll have to look for a solar or battery powered charger before any grass starts to grow in the middle. The temptation would be too great to just push through or under the tape.
The next step will be to take some old carpeting that I’ve had for a while and spread that along the west track between the gate and the water. I will cover it with gravel and/or hog fuel. With the choice determined by my budget. The footing gets quite slippery in the winter with all the rain we have here. I hope that this change will help on that front; in letting some vegetation grow in the middle, and putting down a more solid surface in the higher traffic area.
At this point, I am not going to set up any slow feeding hay stations. Lily has gotten good enough at my small mesh hay nets to go through nearly forty pounds of hay in a day! I just don’t have the time to devise new methods to slow here down right now. So they will stay with their twice a day loose hay.
Sasha finding hay scraps along the north track.
Lily under the shade tree in the NE corner.
Lily coming up from the water towards the gate. Beau is in the alley outside their paddock.
The girls eating their dinner hay on the track.
Peaceful dinnertime - Sasha in the center, Lily on the track and Beau in the barnyard.
Hugin, custom glazed by Paige Patty Easley on a Lipizzan sculpture by Donna Chaney.
I’ve known about Bent Branderup for years. In fact, I had a bone china model horse custom glazed after his stallion Hugin. He did well at model shows too. You had to see him in person for the detail. The spots have hairline halos and he has pink and mottling in all the right places. And this was the size of a Breyer Stablemate! Paige Patty Easley, who did the glazing, is a wonderful finish artist.
Back to the point … I was impressed with how all the horses that Bent rides move so willingly and well. I was impressed straight off. Recently, I found Marijke de Jong on FaceBook. She is a student of Bent’s and has published these training methods in English. Her eBook, Academic Art of Riding is clear and concise at 44 pages long. She methodically takes you though the steps of training, why some things need to come first, why and how to build your horse’s strength and ability before moving to the next exercise, what the aids are and how to train the horse. She also gives the historical context for the movement, which is quite fascinating. It’s a lot of information in a small package, with excellent photos and diagrams to illustrate the concepts.
I’ve done some of these things already, but I will be going back with Lily and starting fresh with Sasha to fill the holes. I am especially wanting to work with Lily to build her up from her lameness. I am and have been treating her riding and working as physical therapy. This program fits very well with this, as it’s goals are the health and well being of the horse, along with developing him or her to their best abilities.
Sasha is coming down from Tired Dog Ranch tomorrow to start her work with me. Watch this blog for updates on her progress, as we progress through these logical steps. I am excited to have her to work with.
Pretty Shield (now SMR 3977) and I earlier this month
“There is a fine line between leadership and tyranny, between gentleness and cowardice, between strength and harshness, between kindness and weakness. Always finding just the right “tone” in the conversation with the horse is an art that takes a lifetime to learn and to refine. This is yet another level on which the rider constantly has to seek the optimal Balance between two extremes.”
This quote is from an article by Dr. Thomas Ritter that appeared in Flying Changes magazine. It is worth reading the entire article.
This sort of balance is something that useful in all areas of life. It’s just another reason I am glad I work with horses. They continue to push me to learn more about myself. in a couple of months, Sasha will move from her rehab time at Tired Dog Ranch to my boarding barn. I look forward to having the opportunity to learn from her.
I have tried quite a few saddles out this year. Some I demoed. Some I bought and then sold. And some I borrowed. Through this process, I developed the following checklist. Without it, I invariably forgot some aspect. Then later, if I wanted to compare saddles, I didn’t always remember enough to really compare them. So here, I offer it for others to use. I would love to hear from you, if you find it useful.
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