>>> My husband and I are finally getting a place with enough land for me to >>> keep Svort at home with me and I have two questions that maybe you can >>> help me with....
Ooh, exciting! >>> The first is, what other animal besides a horse would you consider for a >>> companion animal and why? Goats, donkeys, mini-mules work well. I suspect they prefer another equine-type though, but we had a goat for my old horse when he was sick and no longer accepted by the herd. He loved his goat. Some people use mini-horses, but remember that they will require about as much cost to keep us as a riding horse. They may eat less, although probably not noticeably less than an Icelandic-sized pony/horse, but the farrier and vet bill will be the same, and some are prone to health problems, especially founder and certain dwarfism-related conditions. Some farriers don't like to work with mini's, just as many don't like to work with drafts. (Apparently either extreme in size makes the back-breaking work even more so.) Goats don't need as many vaccinations (can't remember now what they need, but I remember that one tube of wormer seemed to last FOREVER), and need only minimal hoof care, and if Buck is any indication, mules and donkeys seem to require a little less farrier work, less dental work etc. (They DO need farrier and dental work however, and as always, any individual may not adhere to the "in generals"!) >> And the second question is actually a bit more complex. I am planning to >> have a paddock/sacrifice area to keep her on when she shouldn't be in the >> pasture , because it is too wet, to lush, frozen and fragile, etc. Many >> people around here use blue stone, i.e.stone dust for that application >> but it becomes extremely hard and compacted if you don't groom it. We have access to something here that is called "pit gravel". I am not sure they are universally available though, and may be known by other names. I really like them for this sort of use. The texture of the gravel in the brownish mix varies from coarse sand to gravel to small rocks, and the rocks are sort of crumbly, with no really sharp edges - blue stones here are nice for driveways, but can be sharp enough to cut. We don't put it down too thick though, so that it sort of settles and mixes with the top layer of dirt, but enough that it cuts down on the mud significantly. It makes for a rough surface, even slightly abrasive, but not so rough that it is too hard on the horses. The varying sized particles seem to keep it from packing so hard too. We used it in our paddocks, in the "oval pen" and around the water tanks and gates where traffic is high. It's also the base surface in my barn, and it's worked well for that. I just had a load delivered yesterday so we can freshen up the surface in the foaling paddocks. I'll see if I can get some close up pictures so you can see what I'm talking about. We've been using it this way for over 15 years, and we like it. Karen Thomas [EMAIL PROTECTED]
