some mistakes I made starting our place from scratch: not putting up fence alleyways or corridors to move from one field to the other, so instead of opening gates so they could just move thru I was having to one at a time put a lead rope on one, take him outside the gate, walk him to the pasture gate, open the gate, put him inside, take off the halter, close the gate, go get another horse. was ridiculous!
having gates and alleyways so you can close them off and move the tractor or other vehicles in and out and not have to worry about horses getting out. THIS IS IMPORTANT- have a LOCKED UP AT ALL TIMES area for feed. if they have access to it, are just a fence away from it, they will find a way to get in it. feed or hay. or as in nasi's case, chicken feed. He ate so much chicken feed one time I had to watch and make sure he didnt lay an egg. but seriously, chicken feed, cat feed, dog feed, are all HUGE amounts of protein formulas and they can founder on a 25 pound bag. A firend of mines QH colicked and almost died from eating a 25 lb sack of cat food. I also caught nasi eating cat LITTER once.?? he had just busted the bag open and was standing there with those little menthol clay jibbles (refreshed with every step!" all over his muzzle and whiskers. Like "Me? Who me?? I would neverrrrr get into the cat litter..." Dont buy cheap plastic feed buckets. Go ahead and but the heavy rubber fortran ones, you'll save in the long run. If you have a really special tree, like me, I have a couple of magnolias, in the pasture, fence them off. Somehow they know our favorite trees and they eat them first. Get a soil test at your USDA, its free, and you will know what minerals your horses will be lacking in and can supplement accordingly, also you will know how to fertilize, how much lime you will need if any, etc. If you are on well water, it should have been in your contract to buy that a water test be performed but if it wasnt its usually no more than fifty bucks or so. have it tested for heavy metals, pesticides, and herbicides, and minerals. walk or ride the entire perimeter and pay particular attention for animal signs, for signs that critters are digging under your fence etc so you will know what comes around your horses. vaccinate for rabies if you havent already. in rural areas people put out stray dogs and they get hungry and come looking for food, so try and have a gate they cant get in, or they will kill and eat all your chickens, cats, chase your horses etc. make sure you have your system of feeding them where you dont have to go in with them. Just pour over the fence or whatever. thats all I can think of for now... Janice -- yipie tie yie yo
