Equestrian Goods

I have two horses and two goats. How do I keep my goats from eating my horses tails? Without haveing to seperate my goats from the horses.

Grandma put tobasco sauce on things so the goats would leave it alone.. try it and see.

My horses tail has been recently chewed off by another horse. And not just a little bit. Her tail is basically nonexsistant now. What is best to use to get it to grow back out?? Thankss in advance.
Also, shes only a year old. And theres no tail left to braid or to tie a tail bag in. I've been using Mane N Tail Conditioner, but it hasn't been working.

Mane and Tail shampoo and conditioner….lots of brushing …and add biotin15 to feed works wonders, and it will noticibly help coat ,mane and even chewed off tails..

I am looking at renting 80 acres of fenced land. It is separated into 11 different pasture areas plus a barn area. The owner that is renting it has to keep the grass at 4-9 inches length. So I am wondering about how many horses that would take (so I can get some boarders)? I have 4 full-size horses and 2 minis and he says he thinks it would need 20-25 horses minimum. Thanks!

1 full-sized horse can easily manage about 1 1/2 acres on its own, so I think the property's owner has it about right. 20-25 horses would probably keep the majority of the pasture clipped without overgrazing. If you have the room, you can consider boarding some extra horses and rotating pastures - as the ones in use start getting grazed down, move the animals to the next pasture area.

However, if you don't have the option of caring for that many horses, have you considered adding some sheep? They don't need the same housing that horses require (run-ins or lean-to shelters work just fine). They are also terrific natural lawnmowers (very heavy grazers) without the manure build-up that you get from cows or other larger livestock.

On that many acres, I would think that the owner would be in the hay business as well. If he's not, consider talking to him about contracting someone to cut and bale about 50 acres or so. Many people who have the land don't necessarily have the equipment to cut and bale. You could probably very easily work a deal with another local farmer - allow them to keep 1/2 of the hay for their own expenses and/or sale, and give you the other half. Free hay for you and free maintenance for your landlord - this would be my first choice if I were in your position!

You may consider adding a flock of your own sheep or sub-leasing pasture and grazing rights to a third party who might be interested in using the pasture. If they're a meat breed, the majority of the flock would be sold for slaughter on a yearly basis, which would also make flock management easier too.

The horses you have would easily keep up with about 7 acres or so on their own, but you also have to consider if we get another drought (like there was two years ago), pasture can burn up or go dormant. Don't cram your acreage to maximum capacity, or you may be looking at buying hay to supplement a large herd.

With that much acreage, you do have lots of choices. Hope one of these ideas (or a combination of all of the above) works out for you.

We have a little debate in the stable where i work, I say that too much washing and water will gradually make the horses hooves them dry, we should continue to oil the hoof regularly and avoid water as much as possible, but another employee insists that we should wash the horses hooves every day regardless, whether they are dirty or not! She seems to think water will moisten the hooves. I would really like to learn what is right, as I only want the best for the horses and to stop the hooves being so dry. Any suggestions?

washing your horses hoofs unnecessarily will crack and dry them out i have event horses and unless its necessary never wash there hooves i never use hoof oil either unless I'm competing and use a hoof wax just to shine the hoof it drys the hoof out and causes more problems in the long run,i use a product called farriers formula in there feed it has biotin and strengthens there hooves its in pellet form and you add it to the feed and it promotes healthy hoof growth and strengthens there hoof its a supplement Ive been using for years and its made my horses feet crack free and prevents them loosing shoes.another product i use is called keraton its a paint on liquid which also strengthens the hoof,its expensive but it is applied once a week and for my horses it works they hardily ever loose a shoe and the farrier i use says my horses have lovely hooves and strong before i used the product,my horses feet were chipped and brittle and never kept shoes on this stuff worked wonders

Is it true that horses could attack enemy soldiers by biting and kicking? Were they trained to rescue their masters if they were wounded or fell down?

Middle Ages in Europe did not have fighting training for horses, not when they had to gallop with armour and armoured man on their back.
Later, when the armour disappeared horses were taught war moves, which are now showed as spectacles by such school as the Spanish school of Vienna. All those moves are in fact war moves, back kick, rearing, cabriole… (see the links) to be done when the rider give the right signal to the horse.
Horses are not intelligent and aggressive enough to go to the rescue of their riders, especially in the middle of a noisy scary fight. Without a rider to direct them horses listen to their instinct and run away. And a badly trained horse will not even listen to his rider and run away with his rider still on his back. That's called take the bit between his teeth.

http://greybear.greydawnfarm.com:81/about/dressage/images/spanish_riding_school.jpg
http://www.viennaticketonline.com/repository/images/hofreitschule2.jpg
http://www.onlyhorsespictures.com/images/lipizzan/lipizzan.jpg

It is stressed in so many feeding books and articles that all horses need a supply of salt in their diet. They say that they cannot get this salt from grazing.. So if it is so important that they get the right amount of salt intake, how would they get it in the wild?

In the wild they would not be limited to the area they can roam and would be able to acces natural mineral deposits the same as deer, elk, moose and other wildlife. There is also a big difference in quality of life between wild horses and domestic horses.

My barn is very busy and allows up to 8 horses in the indoor arena at any time. This includes 3 trainers/lessons. Is that too crowded? Or is it just me.
I would say the arena is larger than a standard arena but not enormous.

it depends on how big your arena is. If it is huge, it probably doesn't matter. 8 is a lot but that's not ridiculous. consider yourself lucky, there has been 14 horses in the arena I ride in, including multiple lessons and its ridiculous!
I'd recommend finding a time when there is less people in the arena to ride. That way, itll be much less crouded!

Some horses have very good conformation and some have their bads. Like in at the knee, cow-hocked, pigeon toed,and so on. Please answer me this question. Can horses that are cow-hocked/in at the kness still show and win more than a horse with perfect conformation?

They sure can win as long as you train them and show them to their potential.
In a confirmation, halter, or model horse their will be no winning though.
Some horses carry themselves well with with conformational un correct legs.

I cant say its going to win more, its all up to the owner, the trainer and the rider to make that horse look good.

If the horse is really badly cow hocked ect, there may be some visual issue, but like I said its all in the training.

This is referring to the horses that I mentioned in my last question. One of the horses has cuckleburs on her face & on her bridle. Can anyone tell me a way to get these off without losing the horses trust?

put a little baby oil on the burs. they will lose their hold and you can take them off without your horse even noticing.

Hi, I am from Australia. I have been thinking about doing a horses massage course and becoming a qualified massge therapist for animals (mainly horses). I am expereinced with horses and alnimals of all kind but cannot find out how to get into a course like this or find workshops anywhere. Any infomation on this would be greatly appreciated.

My best suggestion is not to even try to get "certified" as an equine massage therapist, UNLESS where you live requires some kind of certification. And if that is the case, then the department issuing the license should be able to tell you how and where you can get certified. You would be better off getting a license as a human massage therapist and then including animals in your practice. I have attended several of the so called "equine massage" schools here in the US and they are nothing but a rip off.