The Basics of Good Arena Footing

The ideal footing needs to:

• Have traction
• Have no dust
• Have cushioning
• Deter injuries
• Boost performance
• Provide stability
• Provide rebound energy (the responsiveness and resiliency of the footing surface to return it its original form by returning energy back to the horse)

Factors that make footing poor quality include:

• Too deep
• Too hard
• Too uneven
• Too loose
• Too dusty
• Non-draining
• Slippery

There are three primary layers to arenas: the top footing, the sub-surface, and the base.

Sand is the most popular surface used across the world, both with and without synthetic fibers added. Others include wood chips/sawdust, rubber chips, grass, and dirt. The sub-surface has many options: a drainage layer, grid-mats, compacted stone, sand, or another manufactured material. Most bases are made out of clay, stone dust, and the natural native soil of the property.

What the arena is made of, how much traffic goes through it, precipitation and temperature all play a part in keeping an arena safe.

Different arenas have different requirements to keep them in peak performance, but most require the following:

• Watering regularly
• Regular dragging and grooming
• Removal of manure, urine and other organic material
• Adding new sand
• Raking upkeep
• Picking out weeds, rocks and other debris

Sand and Fiber Footing

Cynthia Brewster Keating is the national director of sales and marketing director for GGT-Footing. For more than 25 years, Polysols, the parent company of GGT-Footing, has been producing innovative equestrian footing products for riding arenas.

“The arena footing products are repurposed remnant virgin material that’s used to make various fibers and textile blends,” says Keating. “The focus is on developing the best combination of synthetic chopped non-woven material and combining it with the highest-quality sands from quarries across the county.

“The different disciplines require a different amount of tightness in the sand,” she adds. “The pleasure blend has minimal fiber and is designed to keep the sand fluffy. The dressage blend has 15 percent fiber and is designed to provide variations according to how it is groomed and maintained. The jumper blend has 30 percent fiber, designed to offer concussion, relief, and stability as well as rebound energy.”

Keating has found that the quality of the sand is not as good as it used to be in the United States due to amount of fracking and the oil industry.

“Because of this, we have found that it’s important to use more fiber, regardless of what your discipline is,” says Keating. “Ninety percent of our sales are blend. We use our competition blend at high-end horse shows, which is 50 percent geotextile and 50 percent fiber. [These shows] require the most support and concussion relief, especially in the Grand Prix dressage and jumper arenas.

“Nowadays, it’s recommended that you hire a consultant that can test the sand that you are thinking of using,” she adds. “Many professional arena builders are now using mixtures of variable grades of sand to achieve the best results.”

Keating says anyone building arenas should assess the level of riding and how many horses go through their arena each day.

“Across the country, there are a varying products available for base, so it’s best to work with a contractor who is familiar with your specific property and ground,” she says.

A Vet’s View

Poor footing can be a big contributor to lameness, according to Rob van Wessum, DVM, M.S., who practices at Equine All-Sports Medicine Center in Mason, Mich. He’s also a Grand Prix dressage rider who holds a diplomate from the American College of Equine Veterinary Sports Medicine and Rehabilitation (ACVSMR).

He says that close to 50 percent of his case load of lame horses is due to improper footing and improper training techniques in inadequate footing. He mostly sees tendon or ligament injuries related to both these factors.

“In deep footing with lack of stability, the horse moves the footing material too much, which means less rebound of ground-reaction forces into the horse, causing tendon injuries, especially suspensory ligament injuries,” says van Wessum. “The horse loses energy with every stride, moving footing instead of himself. That puts a lot of strain on muscles to deliver more energy. A horse is built for rebound energy stored in tendons, so a lot of kinetic energy is stored as elastic energy during the air phase and then used in the next stance phase. With deep footing, there is far less rebound energy.

“When muscles get fatigued due to excess work in deep footing for too long in the same kind of work, a horse can’t stabilize his core anymore, which will cause damage to the connective tissue as result,” he continues. “Connective tissue is often ligament, fascia or tendon. You can find it in the limbs but also in the back, neck, and pelvis region. Damage to all those regions is diagnosed daily in our practice.”

Consequences of Poor Arena Footing

Footing that is so deep the coronary band disappears is one of the most common kinds of bad footing.

“The opposite of too deep is too hard, which can damage to the bone structures due to concussive forces,” says van Wessum.

He explains that footing that has too much grip, like when too much fiber is added, can cause damage to the collateral ligaments of the coffin, pastern, and fetlock joint. This is due to rotational forces when riding in small circles, lateral gaits, or landing and turning after jumps—any time the foot gets stuck on the footing while the upper part of the limb turns. He also sees this with too-deep footing when it is muddy or clay-like and sucks the hooves in.

“Footing that is too slippery due to rain or over-watering causes many injuries, such as ligament and tendon injuries in the lower limb, but also spinal ligament injuries in the neck, back and pelvis,” says van Wessum.

One of the worst kinds of footings van Wessum sees is when the same arena has different areas within it, like harder, softer and then deeper areas.

“When the quality of the footing suddenly changes, a misstep and strain or distortion of joint or ligament is the result,” he says.

Van Wessum stresses that there is no general rule for quality footing materials.

“It depends on what the arena is used for, where it’s located geographically, the traffic through the arena (one or two horses a day versus 60), and the quality of the maintenance,” he explains.

The Best Prevention

What are the best steps a rider can take to protect their horse? Incorporate proper training and exercise to adapt to the quality of footing, according to van Wessum.

“When the footing is deeper, shorter bouts of more intense work, alternating with walking, helps the horse recover and avoid fatigue,” he says. “Proper shoeing and timely reshoeing so the angles don’t change too much is extremely important.”

Van Wessum does not see any advantage to boots or leg protection when it comes to preventing injury due to bad footing.

His client horses receive regular soundness exams (approximately every six months) to monitor any small changes in performance and sensitivity of tendons and ligaments before they become a bigger issue.

“We saw horses from the same facility showing tenderness in the suspensory ligament,” says van Wessum. “After looking at the footing, we could see that it was getting too deep because of less watering in dry times.”

It’s smart to take a walk in any new footing with your horse before riding, exercising or competing. Pay attention to the depth, consistency and condition of the arena.

What’s under your horse’s feet will affect his overall soundness, confidence and performance. Knowing how horses react to different surfaces will help you determine the best type of footing to ride in.

With patience and proper training, you can help your horse travel on many surfaces safely and without injury.

This article about arena footing appeared in the September 2024 issue of Horse Illustrated magazine. Click here to subscribe!

The post Arena Footing 101 appeared first on Horse Illustrated Magazine.

While many experts agree that fleas are an uncommon parasite for horses, ticks can be prevalent and potentially present a danger to your horse’s health.

Ticks are becoming an increasingly significant problem for horse owners in many areas of the country. These parasites can invade your pasture, but they also hang out in places you might routinely ride, such as cool, shady areas near creek beds or among tall grass where they wait to hitch a ride.

Protect your equine by watching for signs of flea or tick problems and treating issues right away or preventing them altogether.

How Common Are Tick Infestations with Horses?

“Horses aren’t the preferred hosts for fleas like dogs, cats and foxes are,” says Laura Stern, DVM, DABVT, director of training and quality assurance for the ASPCA Animal Poison Control Center. “The reason horses aren’t commonly affected by fleas, but do get ticks, is simple: They’re in places where they commonly encounter ticks, but not fleas. Fleas like dark areas, like dens. Those aren’t the places where horses like to be. However, ticks like long grass and wooded areas—places where horses are commonly found—making them a common target for ticks.”

“Fleas don’t like horses,” agrees Garrett Metcalf, DVM, DACVS-LA, an equine veterinarian at Pine Ridge Equine Hospital in Glenpool, Okla. “Fleas are species-specific, and horses aren’t a suitable host for fleas, so it’s rare to have fleas on horses. Ticks are a common problem and rather good at transmitting diseases to horses.”

Signs of a Tick Problem with Your Horse

Horse owners are very protective of their animals, and typically attuned to changes in their behavior. However, a tick’s small size makes it easier for them to hide, so it’s essential to be aware of signs you might blame on something else that could indicate a tick issue.

The first step is to stay alert and physically look for ticks on your horse’s body while being aware of any potentially serious side effects of a tick bite. Besides the actual tick body, Stern says to look for a raised, hard bump where a tick was feeding. She says you might see your horse rubbing a particular spot where a tick is or was, and experience hair loss due to excessive rubbing.

“If your horse has a severe tick infestation or if he seems weak, wobbly or has pale gums, contact your veterinarian immediately before trying to remove any ticks, as you may cause damage to the skin or stress the horse in his weakened condition,” she cautions.

Metcalf advises looking around the groin, head, and region under the tail where ticks often like to accumulate. He says that you might notice swelling in areas where ticks have bitten a horse and edema around the bite site.

“If a horse is head-shy while haltering, lethargic, or has a fever, and ticks are present on the horse, it would be best to have the horse examined by a veterinarian,” he says. “Ticks are a common [cause of] swelling and pain around the ears, and most tick-borne diseases will cause fever and lethargy as the main clinical signs.”

Health Hazards of Infestation

Ticks infected with serious diseases don’t usually transmit those pathogens immediately. Instead, they usually must feed on the host—namely your horse—for a while before disease transmission occurs. This delay in disease transition makes it extremely important to remove ticks as soon as possible.

While less critical issues such as itchiness, hair loss, poor hair coat and local irritation can occur, Stern stresses that more serious problems such as infection at the site of tick attachment, anemia from blood loss in severe cases, and tick-transmitted disease could occur.

“Ticks can transmit a number of diseases to horses, including Lyme disease, equine granulocytic anaplasmosis and equine piroplasmosis,” says Stern. “Rarely, we may also see tick paralysis. There’s typically a delay of 24 hours between when the ticks attach and when they can transmit diseases, which makes it very important to find them quickly and remove them before they have the chance to transmit any diseases.”

An Ounce of Prevention

Prevention is always preferable to treatment, which is true of fleas and ticks. If you can keep your stable and pasture free of these parasites, you avoid having to remove ticks from your horse and could prevent potentially serious problems.

Metcalf suggests using permethrin-based products, which he says are the best store-bought products to combat fleas or ticks on horses.

“It’s rather difficult to prevent ticks from getting onto horses,” he cautions. “Concentrated, topically applied permethrin products may be the best option at this time. Some of these products need to be applied every three weeks.

“Natural remedies aren’t very effective against reducing ticks on horses,” he continues. “Some essential oil recipes use geranium oil as a possible tick repellent. Physical barriers, such as fly boots, may help reduce ticks from getting onto the limbs of horses.”

Stern also touts various tick repellents and products that kill ticks. She says there are some sprays you can use before a ride and topical spot-on products that work longer for horses more consistently at risk of encountering ticks.

“You can use a repellent to help keep ticks off your horses,” says Stern. “Repellents often contain a pyrethroid insecticide, such as permethrin or cypermethrin. Repellents have the advantage of not requiring the ticks to bite and take a blood meal. Avermectins, such as moxidectin and ivermectin, can also kill ticks, but [the ticks] need to take a blood meal first.”

She cautions the importance of always reading the label of any flea and tick product you use to ensure it’s appropriate for use on horses.

“Some cattle products can cause significant toxicity in horses,” warns Stern. “[And] some products won’t be labeled for use on certain horses, especially foals under 3 months of age. Always apply per the labeled [instructions] to minimize the risk of side effects, as well. Your veterinarian can help you determine what product will be best, based on the risk of exposure to ticks, the risk of ticks carrying disease, and your horse’s lifestyle and health history.”

Other Remedies

Besides treating your horse, you should always pay attention to his surroundings. Stern says ticks are generally more of an issue outside of barns, so you don’t typically need tick control inside your barn.

“If fleas are present in the barn, it’s generally not an issue for horses,” she says. “But you can minimize risk by preventing wildlife from entering the barn and ensuring that cats and dogs who have access to the barn are treated with flea preventatives. Treating the environment may be needed for heavy flea infestations.”

One of the best all-natural ways of minimizing tick exposure is to keep horses out of areas that contain a lot of ticks. Of course, that isn’t always possible.

“Ticks are often found in tall grasses and wooded areas,” says Stern. “They dislike hot, sunny areas with no plant cover. An easy way to minimize the number of ticks your horses are exposed to is by mowing any tall grass, removing weeds, and preventing your horse from entering wooded areas or hanging around the boundaries between woods and pasture. Preventing wildlife, especially deer, from entering pastured areas is another important step you can take to decrease the number of ticks in your pasture.”

Metcalf also suggests using pasture insecticides to help reduce fleas or ticks in your pasture. He cautions that whenever a heavy amount of wildlife traffic is present, there’s more of a reservoir of future ticks or fleas to re-establish residency in the pasture.

Tick Removal Tips

Any time you’ve been out riding—or at least once a day if your horse is on pasture—you should check him for ticks. A visual inspection is an excellent first step, but using your fingers to feel around for small ticks that might not be easy to see is also important.

“Deer ticks that transmit Lyme disease only reach 3mm when fully grown and can be hard to see,” says Stern. “The most important areas to check your horse for ticks are the chest, belly, flanks, mane, tail and ears—places where the skin is thinner and ticks can more easily attach.”

Even if you take precautions such as using tick repellents and keeping your horse out of areas ticks might frequently hang out, your horse will inevitably pick up a tick or several during tick season. Stern cautions that there are a lot of myths about the best way to remove a tick from a horse.

“You don’t want to crush the tick, use a hot match, or apply something like baby oil to try to smother it,” she says. “Instead, put on a pair of gloves and take tweezers and grasp the head of the tick close to the site of attachment to the horse. Then, slowly pull the tick away at a 90-degree angle from the horse. This will allow you to remove the entire tick.

“After you remove the tick, wash the skin in the area where the tick was attached with a mild soap and then wash your hands,” Stern continues. “Ticks should be placed in a jar of isopropyl alcohol, which can be disposed of when full. If you notice that the head of the tick wasn’t removed from the horse, contact your veterinarian, as the site can become infected.”

Metcalf agrees that physically removing ticks from horses with your fingers or a hemostat-like instrument is a safe removal method. However, he says some owners might want to kill the ticks first with a permethrin spray, then use physical removal methods.

“Your veterinarian is your best source of information about preventing or controlling ticks,” adds Stern. “They have knowledge of which products work best in your area and the best control strategy, given your horses and your facility. Having preventative measures in place before you have an issue is best. Scheduling a visit with your vet in the late winter or spring is an ideal time to get a holistic tick-control program set up for your horses, but it’s never too late in the year to reach out and get an expert opinion from your vet.”

Ticks and Horses: Key Takeaway

Because ticks can transmit serious diseases, it’s crucial for horse owners to stay vigilant by regularly checking their horses for ticks and taking preventive measures to reduce exposure. By staying informed and taking action early, you can minimize the risk of tick infestations and ensure your horse remains healthy and comfortable.

This article about ticks with horses appeared in the September 2023 issue of Horse Illustrated magazine. Click here to subscribe!

The post The Risk of Ticks with Horses appeared first on Horse Illustrated Magazine.

LENNOX, S.D. — Every great innovation begins with a moment of clarity, and for ZahnTech’s founder, Avery Zahn, it came in the most unexpected way. As Avery looked out his window one afternoon, he watched his horse stubbornly push against a corral built with railroad tie fences. Frustrated by their inadequacy, he had an epiphany: “I should build a better fencepost.”

The idea, however, had deeper roots. Avery had previously owned a plastic lining company for PVC pipes. His late father, George Zahn, often encouraged Avery to find a better use for leftover PVC material, a suggestion that lingered in the back of his mind. Years later, this vision became a reality with ZahnTech, a company now transforming plastic waste into durable, eco-friendly fencing solutions.

“At ZahnTech, we’re not just recycling; we’re reimagining the possibilities of waste,” said Dan Elliott, head of marketing and sales, and the creator of the company’s motto: “Give it better than it was given, and leave it better than it was left.” This guiding principle, adopted last spring, encapsulates ZahnTech’s commitment to innovation and sustainability.

Farming and Building Expertise Shapes the Vision

Joining Avery in leading ZahnTech is Vice President Billy Pollema, who brings a wealth of experience from his background in farming and construction building. “Billy’s practical knowledge has been a cornerstone of our product development,” Elliott explained. “He
understands the structural demands and real-world challenges, ensuring our products meet and exceed expectations.”

What began as an experiment with leftover plastic quickly evolved into a groundbreaking
process. ZahnTech now accepts all types of plastics — items most recyclers won’t touch, from lick tanks to barrels and drums — and transforms them into high-performance fenceposts. Each 4″x4″x8′ post repurposes about 1,600 water bottles or 680 milk jugs, while a larger 6″x8′ round post contains 3,600 bottles or 1,125 jugs.

The manufacturing process is both straightforward and transformative. Plastic waste is ground into pieces, heated, and molded into sturdy posts that are 10 times stronger than wood and 20 times more durable. The posts are pest-resistant, water-proof, and can even be drilled into directly for electric fences.

A Perfect Fit for Horse Owners and Hobby Farms

ZahnTech’s products are designed with the needs of horse owners and hobby farmers in mind. Strong enough to keep horses secure yet requiring little to no maintenance, the posts are an ideal solution for those looking to upgrade their fencing. They also offer a sustainable option for equestrians who value eco-friendly practices.

The company’s commitment to education and sustainability is evident through their Waste:
ReImagined initiative. In partnership with students at Black Hills State University, ZahnTech is promoting awareness about sustainable recycling and encouraging schools, governments, and businesses to rethink waste management.

ZahnTech’s model also provides a zero-cost disposal option for businesses. “We don’t pay for plastic, but companies save on landfill fees,” Elliott explained. “Our process turns waste into something both practical and lasting.”

A Legacy of Innovation

ZahnTech’s fenceposts are already proving their worth across the U.S. Hobby farmers and horse owners alike appreciate their durability, eco-friendliness, and long-term value.

Reflecting on the journey, Avery Zahn shared: “We’re not just building a product; we’re creating a legacy. This is about reimagining what waste can become — transforming it into something meaningful and lasting.”

To learn more about ZahnTech, visit www.zahntech.com or call (605) 202-5192.

The post Waste: ReImagined – ZahnTech Repurposes Waste for a Permanent Fencing Solution appeared first on Horse Illustrated Magazine.

Depending on whether you and your horses live in Maine, Kentucky, Montana, or California, winter in each area manifests itself differently. Each region has unique patterns; winter pastures in Montana look whiter than those in Northern California, which might be soggy and green. Experts tell us one principle is the same for winter horse pasture management no matter where you live: Overgrazing and allowing horses on soggy, wet soils are the bane of winter horse pasture management.

The Off Season

“There is always an ‘off season,’ no matter where you live,” says Jay Mirro, senior resource planner for the King Conservation District outside of Seattle, Wash. Mirro develops farm plans for horse and livestock owners; farm plans are basically a road map for managing land and animals.

His tenet for winter horse pasture management is to never graze on wet soils and never graze below 3 inches of forage stubble height—the height of a plant after grazing or mowing.

“The off season is when you don’t put horses on pastures out of concern of degrading the health and productivity of your pasture,” he explains.

Wet Soils + Grazing = Compaction

“Ideally, it’s best for the pasture if you don’t do anything to it in the winter when the ground is wet and not frozen,” says Mirro. “Grazing ground that is saturated and soggy creates compaction. Compacted soils don’t drain as well and have less oxygen for plant roots to respire, creating an environment that promotes weeds instead of grass.”

All this reduces soil health, microbial life, and nutrient cycling of manure and urine, explains Mirro, who is himself also the owner of a 34-acre farm with seven acres of pasture for his beef cows, sheep, and goats.

“Grazing when the soils are wet makes for a higher chance that horse hooves will physically damage sod, tearing the grass out of the ground,” creating depressions and uneven pock marks in the soil surface, he says. “Next summer when you mow the field, you will curse because the ground is so uneven.”

Compacted ground is a bad deal if your intention is to grow a productive pasture. Compacted soils are much less absorbent, which causes water to run off, carrying soil sediment along with nutrients and pathogens from manure and urine. All of this is labeled as non-point pollution, and it can potentially harm waterways and the animals that live there.

“If the ground is wet enough that you wouldn’t consider driving [equipment] on it, then it’s too wet for animals to use it,” explains Marty Chaney, an agronomist and pasture management specialist with the Natural Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) in Olympia, Wash. She was named Pasture Conservationist of the Year in January 2023, and is fondly known as “The Grass Whisperer.”

The Cutoff Point

Northern climes that experience a white winter still need to be careful when grazing pastures.

“Snow insulates the soil,” says Chaney. “It’s possible that there is a layer of wet, unfrozen soil under the snow, which can be damaged. Even if there is no snow, frozen plant crowns can be subject to injury [from overgrazing].”

Pasture grasses do not grow during the winter months, so care must be taken to avoid animal consumption of available grass, as grass won’t grow back for months.

“By allowing horses to graze and harvest forage, you are reducing the insulation that grass provides, causing further chilling of the soil. Spring regrowth will be slower,” she explains, because of the required warming of the soil, which will be necessary after the lack of insulation during cold weather.

“If a pasture gets grazed down to the ground, it takes longer to regrow” once spring rolls around again, says Chaney. “Most grass species don’t like to be grazed below 3 inches.”

Confinement Areas

In the winter, you’re basically trying to protect the soil and plants. The two together will give you a healthier pasture throughout the year.

“Instead, create a good confinement area,” says Mirro. “This provides a great solution to horsekeeping in the winter.”

The confinement area becomes your horse’s outdoor living quarters, and it’s where you keep your horse when pasture growth has slowed, so your pastures don’t get grazed below 3 inches.

“A confinement area, roughly 1,000 square feet per horse with 6″ of a well-draining gravel product [for footing], will have stability,” he says.

Guidelines for Limited Grazing

This doesn’t mean no pasture in the winter.

“There are still opportunities when horses can graze in the winter,” says Mirro, as long as you are careful to keep horses off wet soils and keep turnout times short.

He offers a few guidelines for judicious winter grazing:

◆ Limit turnout time to 30-60 minutes max.

◆ Besides the concern for overgrazing or compacting wet soils, also be aware of significantly changing your horse’s diet, which can upset his gut biome, leading to metabolic disorders like colic.

◆ Choose your highest and driest fields.

◆ Be mindful of the weather; if it’s been dry for a few days, that’s the best time to do some limited turnout.

“If you absolutely have to use the pasture, it’s just 30 minutes twice a day,” Chaney agrees. “When you are starting to think about rototilling your garden” in the springtime when the ground is firmer, that is the time to slowly begin integrating pasture back into your horse’s diet.

Getting Help for Winter Horse Pasture Management

Both your NRCS office and your local conservation district can offer free, non-regulatory education and technical assistance (see “Know Your Resources” below).

Two other sources of information can also provide management guidance:

◆ Soil Type: The Web Soil Survey is an online database operated by the USDA that provides information about the unique properties of each landowner’s soil.

“The front page is self-explanatory, and they have links that explain characteristics of soils,” says Chaney. Some examples include texture, ability to drain, parent material, and distribution over a landscape.

◆ Soil Nutrient Testing: “It’s good to get one done every few years to see what’s going on,” says Chaney. “Most labs will provide advice, too, on how to manage your pasture based on your soil testing results.”

Contact your conservation district or NRCS office for more help.

“Take a walk regularly in your pastures to see what’s happening,” Chaney suggests.

She often tells landowners to photograph a section of their land and compare it over the years.

“You will more easily see the changes in types of plants and productivity, both positive and negative, this way. This will give you feedback on how your management is affecting the field.”

Winter Horse Pasture Management: Key Takeaways

“We need to balance the needs of the horse with the needs of the pasture,” says Mirro. “Many horse and livestock owners treat pastures as turnout exercise areas, and we don’t want to get to the point where we don’t have any grass in a pasture, because that’s not ecologically sustainable.

“We need to be thinking about pastures with their effect on soil health, runoff, and the local environment. There are ways we can graze in the winter, but you just want to be mindful that you aren’t doing damage or increasing potential problems,” he concludes.

“Pasture plants in more northern climates actually start their annual growth in the fall, so how you manage them in the winter will have a significant effect on how they perform the following spring and summer,” adds Chaney.

Winter horse pasture management is critical to maintaining both healthy horses and thriving pastures, no matter where you live. While it’s important to provide winter grazing opportunities when appropriate, careful attention must be paid to soil and forage conditions to prevent harm to both the pasture and the horse’s health.

This article about winter horse pasture management appeared in the November/December 2023 issue of Horse Illustrated magazine. Click here to subscribe!

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The Ups & Downs of Boarding Your Horse

Hiring someone else to deal with the heavy lifting of horse care may sound like the “easier” option, but you may have limited say in how your horse is cared for and handled. The facilities may not be up to your standards, and you may or not be comfortable with barn policies or the services they provide.

While there are exemplary boarding facilities that place your horse’s welfare first and run their business with absolute integrity, there are also those that will cause you sleepless nights as you wonder whether your horse has enough water, if a loose fence board is going to cause an injury, or if someone is riding your horse without your consent.

When you board, you are basically renting space for your horse to live in someone else’s “home.” Your monthly payment should include safe housing; a low-stress environment; opportunities to run, play, socialize, and rest; shelter from inclement weather; access to quality forage; a balanced diet; and fresh, clean water. Generally speaking: a good quality of life; check out the Five Freedoms for equine welfare here.

You can increase the odds of finding a safe and suitable place for your horse with a bit of preparation and effort. Start with a complete list of all your must-haves before you meet with the farm manager.

Be picky! If your horse needs a dry lot in the spring, his hooves cleaned regularly, and a specific type of hay, find out if those services are available. Also ask for references from current and past boarders for a clearer perspective of day-to-day goings on.

Discuss fees up front. Some farms have a flat boarding rate with add-ons for additional services, such as holding horses during vet and farrier care. They may have policies regarding general health care, such as worming and vaccinations, that you’ll be required to follow.

Winter blanketing could be another added expense, and with the high cost of feed these days, the cold weather may also mean hay surcharges.

Ask questions about what your horse’s daily routine will be. Will he be turned out with other horses? Will it be a compatible herd group?

Some farms leave horses in whenever it rains, which can add up to several days in a stall, while others leave them out, no matter the weather.

Know when feeding time is, too, so you can plan your barn time around when your horse is happily eating instead of fretting about him missing a meal. Learn how barn management handles illness and injuries, too.

Former home horsekeeper Cindy Peden of Chapel Hill, Tenn., decided boarding was the right option for her in terms of overall enjoyment and peace of mind.

“While I miss having my girls right out my back door, boarding them has greatly reduced my stress level and allows me more time to just enjoy them,” she says. “I have more flexibility and freedom to do things like travel and spend time with family and friends. I have a wonderful boarding situation where I know my girls are well taken care of, and I get to see them often.”

Special Requirements to Consider

Feeding is one of the biggest worries for horse owners, and no two boarding barns do it the same. Some include supplemental feed in the cost of boarding. Others charge extra for anything in addition to hay or available pasture, while some won’t provide anything outside of forage and water.

If your horse is on a special diet, you may have to purchase the feed yourself. Try offering to pre-mix and bag your horse’s meals to make it faster and easier for the farm staff. Special requests do have an impact on farm routines, and may be impossible to meet or require an additional fee.

You may also find the barn is strict about what’s on the menu and unwilling to give your horse anything other than what they already offer, regardless of what he needs or you want him to have.

You may need to supplement your own hay at times, too, which can be difficult if your horse has pasture mates—you’ll have to pull him out of the field and wait while he eats.

Be upfront about all of your horse’s special requirements and quirks. That will give farm management the best chance at doing a good job for you and your horse. Ideally, the facility will provide a contract or agreement that details your horse’s needs, the farm’s obligations, and your responsibilities so everyone knows what to expect.

You deserve to have a great experience where your horse resides, so make sure the vibe of the barn suits you, too. If you prefer a casual culture, a competitive show barn may not be a good match. It will make your barn time happier if you find a place that’s in alignment with your sensibilities and has boarders with similar interests.

If you’re not interested in traditional boarding, but don’t own a property where your horse can dwell, look for a facility that offers “self-care.” Your monthly rent covers a space for your horse live and use of the facilities. It gives you the freedom to care for your horse as you wish, within the parameters of farm rules and regulations. It also means you’ll be responsible for feeding and cleaning, but you might be able to form a cooperative with other owners and share daily mealtimes and mucking chores.

Keeping Horses at Home

If your horse lives on your property, you have total and complete freedom. There are no rules except your own, and you’ll never have to question policy or be concerned about your horse’s well-being or care.

Oh, wait, isn’t that horses’ well-being or care? Horses are not solitary creatures. They need a herd group to feel safe, secure, and have their needs for social interaction met. One horse can, and should, quickly grow to two or even three, especially if there’s angst when one horse is left behind. The best herd mates will be other equines, but friendly farm animals can fill in, in a pinch.

Another way to increase your herd size is to invite other owners to board with you. Bringing on boarders might be a good way to offset costs, too.

It’s a common belief that having horses at home will save dough, but when it comes down to it, you might not be that far ahead. Feed, supplies, and maintenance add up—including your time and/or the price of paid help.

There are additional expenses, such as the purchase and upkeep of equipment, barn and fence repairs, and having manure hauled away if you’re unable to compost and/or spread it.

Also consider what you’ll spend on bedding, mud management, arena footing, pasture care, electricity, water, and unforeseen issues (busted pipes, insect and rodent control, tractor breakdowns, et cetera), all of which will require both your time and pocketbook to resolve.

“Having horses at home is a lot of work, more than I ever imagined,” says Ann Deklerk of Lynchburg, Tenn. “But it finally gives them true free choice, as it does me. At last, we can be on an even playing field.”

The bottom line is that wherever you house your horse, he should be safe and have all his needs met for a happy and healthy life. It should also be as stress-free for you as possible.

If your horse’s current accommodations aren’t hitting the mark, look into other options that might be a better fit. You both deserve to have great experiences and enjoy your time together to the fullest.

This article about the horsekeeping decision to keep horses at home or board them appeared in the September 2023 issue of Horse Illustrated magazine. Click here to subscribe!

The post Horsekeeping: Should You Keep Your Horse at Home or Board? appeared first on Horse Illustrated Magazine.

What do you picture when you think of a horse pasture? Probably a beautiful, rolling carpet of even, green grass. In reality, they are too often a piece of hard, compacted ground laced with tall weeds going to seed, spreading more weeds. Little, if any, productive grasses exist between bare spots that become dust bowls in the summer and mud holes in the winter. That’s why proper horse pasture management is key.

A well-managed pasture can have huge payoffs in terms of horses enjoying a high-quality, nutritious diet that reduces the feed bill as well as providing an outlet for equine exercise and improved emotional health. Plus, a good stand of healthy grass will have strong roots to hold soil in place, preventing erosion from wind or rain.

Vigorous grasslands are also an important component of a healthy, dynamic ecosystem; pastures contribute to creating healthy soils, which in turn provide habitat for microorganisms, beetles and many other beneficial insects, and larger wildlife.

Plants also help mitigate the effect of climate change by taking in carbon from the atmosphere and locking it away. Plants absorb carbon dioxide during photosynthesis and store it in their leaves, shoots, and roots. Since carbon dioxide (CO2) is one of the main greenhouse gases that traps heat in the atmosphere, creating the “greenhouse” warming effect that the planet is currently experiencing, removing some of it benefits us all.

The Epidemic of Overgrazed Pastures

“Traditionally, people have taken a large tract of land [to graze their animals on],” explains Sandra Matheson, a beef producer and co-founder of Roots of Resilience, a collaboration of sustainability activists dedicated to the restoration of the world’s grasslands. (See more about Matheson below.) “People often just leave them out on the pasture until they run out of [grass]. Then they feed hay. They are left out there until the plants are gone, and it’s pretty much just dirt.”

Through her teachings, Matheson offers a paradigm shift to the pasture management approach, called holistic planned grazing. This begins with looking at the land from the grass plant’s perspective.

Grazing Recovery Time

“[Normally,] the grass is growing, the animal takes a bite,” says Matheson. “As time goes on, the animal goes back and bites the plant again and again because it’s sweet and tender.”

When this happens, the plant is using up its supply of energy in its roots. The grass needs leaves so the plant can photosynthesize and put energy back into the roots.

“If the animal keeps eating the leaves, then the plant loses roots and gets smaller, eventually dying,” she continues. “The plant’s recovery has been ignored. Planned grazing means having adequate recovery time after [the grazing animals] have bitten the grass.”

The rest period allows grass leaves to grow back so the plant will be able to photosynthesize and produce food for itself.

When overgrazing occurs, Matheson suggests it’s a function of time.

“It’s no longer a matter of animals per acre, it becomes a matter of timing,” she says. “In one month, they might have eaten all the good stuff, and all that’s left will be weeds going to seed.”

Matheson explains that plants need time to grow back leaves and replenish roots, adding that recovery time can vary with the season, climate, and soil type.

“It might be 30 days or maybe up to 90 days, or it might be a whole year,” she says. Recovery just needs to be enough time so that the plants grow back.

Matheson suggests allowing horses to graze an area until it is grazed down to about 3 inches, with the goal of not leaving animals out so long that the plants are bitten again after they try to regrow. Then remove the animals and allow the grass plants to recover and grow back to 6 or 12 inches.

“Plan grazing time so you have adequate recovery of the plants,” emphasizes Matheson. “That’s really the key here.”

Climate Resiliency

Climate change, or the ongoing increase in global average temperatures, is primarily attributed to an increase in carbon dioxide (CO2) in the atmosphere. How do productive horse pastures help make for a more resilient climate?

“In the pasture we have soils and plants, and both are living entities,” says Sonia Hall, Ph.D., a research associate at Washington State University’s Center for Sustaining Agriculture and Natural Resources in Wenatchee, Wash. “One of the big things that moves through those living beings is carbon. Plants are able to move carbon through their biomass and transfer that to the soils, [which becomes] food for organisms in the soil.”

How much carbon pastures absorb “is very hard to accurately quantify,” says Hall, because the situation is so variable and depends on so many things. “But we do have some idea of how to move it in the right direction.”

Going back to the comparison of good pasture management versus poorly managed pastures, Hall says good pasture management allows plants to grow and add organic material to the soil.

“Don’t have your horses graze everything off,” she says. Echoing Matheson’s advice, Hall emphasizes proper recovery time for the plants.

“Graze, then give the plants a chance to recover and accumulate some reserves again, before you graze them again,” she says. Rotating grazing areas helps avoid overgrazing and moves horses to fresh pasture in response to how the plants are doing.

“Adding organic matter to the soil will help your soil become healthy,” adds Hall. On a horse pasture, this could be dead plant material (such as after mowing), straight manure, or compost.

In poor pasture management situations, according to Hall, the pasture is likely releasing more carbon into the atmosphere than the plants are absorbing, becoming a carbon source instead of a sink.

Sink vs. Source

“Your pasture is constantly taking up carbon dioxide from the air through plant photosynthesis and growth, and simultaneously releasing it through what the horses eat, digest, and breathe out, as well as through what the plants breathe out—yes, plants do that too!” says Hall.

Soil microbes and insects decompose and breathe out as well.

“If the carbon intakes through plant photosynthesis are more than what the horse, plants, and the soil breathe out, the pasture is accumulating carbon and is called a carbon sink,” says Hall, who refers to this as being “climate-friendly.”

When a horse overgrazes a pasture by taking grass plants down to the soil, then the plant can no longer photosynthesize as much and take in carbon from the atmosphere. If the amount of carbon that the horse, plants, and soil breathe out is larger than what the plants can capture through photosynthesis, then your pasture system is losing carbon to the air, and this is called a carbon source.

“If you have properly managed livestock on pasture, you are going to have healthier animals, more organic material in the soil, nutrients cycling through it, and increased biodiversity of plants there,” says Matheson.

Top 7 Tips for Horse Pasture Management

Healthy horse pastures don’t just happen; they are actively maintained with proper management practices. A well-managed grass pasture is one of the most cost-effective and nutritious feeds, and can be produced and fed by a horse owner.

Healthy pastures also support the goal of cleaner water by avoiding soil erosion and runoff of nutrients from manure and urine. Healthy pasture plants also reduce greenhouse gases by sequestering carbon. As a successful pasture manager, you are helping combat climate change.

Here are seven tips for keeping both grass plants and horses healthy with proper horse pasture management:

1. Establish a Confinement Area

Improve the health and productivity of your pastures by creating and using a paddock area where you confine your horses when they are not grazing pasture. You will be giving up the use of this land in grass production to benefit the rest of your pastures.

Confine your horses to this area during the winter and early spring when grass plants are dormant and soils are wet to help prevent soil compaction. In the summer, use the confinement area to keep pasture from being grazed below 3 or 4 inches, or any time when soils are saturated, such as during irrigation or storm events.

2. Keep Horses Off Soggy Soils

One of the most important aspects of horse pasture management is the time you keep your horses off pastures. Saturated soils are easily compacted, suffocating the roots of grass plants. A simple test is to walk out in your fields and see if you leave a footprint. If you do, it’s too wet for your horses.

3. Evaluate Current Soil Status with a Soil Test

How much compost or fertilizer you apply and the time of year you apply it should be based on the results of a soil test. Soil tests also determine if your soil’s pH will allow for plants to uptake nutrients, as well as if you need to fertilize, and the right mix of nitrogen, phosphorous, and potassium.

Talk with your local conservation district or extension office for help on how to take a soil test, where to have it analyzed, and how to interpret the results.

4. Spread Compost

The best time to spread compost is in late spring or early fall—but anytime during the growing season is good. The nutrients, organic material, beneficial bacteria, and fungi in the compost will help your grass plants to become more productive and help your soils retain moisture.

Depending on the size of your pastures, compost can be spread by hand with a wheelbarrow and pitchfork or with a tractor and manure spreader. Go back through with a garden rake or harrow to spread compost into a thin layer so grass plants aren’t smothered.

5. Rotate Grazing Areas

By dividing a pasture area into smaller fields and rotating horses through them, you can encourage horses to graze more evenly, keep pasture grasses from becoming overgrazed, and provide fresh grass for a longer period during the growing season.

6. The Golden Rule of Grazing

Remember the golden rule of grazing: Never allow grass to be grazed shorter than 3 to 4 inches. This ensures that the grass plants will have enough reserves left after grazing to permit rapid regrowth. Consider the bottom 3 inches of grass an energy collector that needs to be left for the plant. Once horses have grazed most of the grass in a pasture area down to 3 or 4 inches, rotate them on to the next grazing area. You can put horses back on the first area when the grass has recovered and regrown to 6 to 8 inches.

7. Try Fencing Pastures According to Wetness

By fencing pastures according to how wet they are, in the spring you can let horses onto the higher, dry areas first and save the wet areas until later in the summer when they dry out.

Final Details for Horse Pasture Management

Make sure that pasture areas are large enough for horses to run and that gates are placed so that horses can easily be led from the confinement area to the pasture and back.

Remember to have a source of water for each grazing area. You can have separate water sources for each pasture or have a single water source that is accessible from more than one grazing area.

Also consider dividing the pasture in such a way that horses can have access to shade or shelter, especially if they will be in these areas for more than a few hours on hot summer days.

This article about horse pasture management appeared in the September 2023 issue of Horse Illustrated magazine. Click here to subscribe!

The post An Overview of Horse Pasture Management appeared first on Horse Illustrated Magazine.

The job of the base is to make a level surface to support the footing above. If the base is properly installed, there will never be low spots, deep spots or areas that collect water in your arena. The ideal footing helps cushion your horse’s every stride by allowing his hooves to slide just a little bit as he sets them down and provides a firm surface for his hooves to dig into as he pushes off. Leaving your ground as is will never provide these benefits, so as a result your horse’s performance will suffer because he won’t be able to trust the footing, and he will remember, perhaps spook, at uneven spots. Without proper drainage, you may also find your home riding arena under water and unusable most of the time.

Robert Malmgren, author of The Equine Arena Handbook: Developing a User-Friendly Facility, is considered the foremost authority on horse arenas. He says creating a riding arena at home on your own is very hard if not impossible because you need several players to help you avoid pitfalls.

“Making an arena seems like a lot of complications, but you’ll avoid mistakes if you plan right and employ the right people,” explains Malmgren, who is from Colorado Springs, Colo. “Mistakes are very costly to correct after the arena is installed.”

Proper Planning Prevents Problems

Before you put a shovel in the ground, sit down and get organized. Think about where you want to put the horse riding arena at home. Right next to the barn may seem convenient, but if that area collects water, think again. Drainage is an issue in every arena, so you’ll want to avoid land that’s a perpetual pond, if possible.

“As we get into global warming and climate change, we are going to have some extremes in moisture,” Malmgren adds. “This year in Colorado we’ve had some very extreme rains with a long duration of storms. That kind of rain would inundate an arena with drainage problems.”

Next, you need to determine the soil type in the site. Malmgren says to seek free assistance through people at your local office of the Natural Resources Conservation Services.

“They are the government’s soil people for the entire country,” he says. “Every county should have an office. Go in and tell them what you’re building and ask about what kind of soil you have. They usually have the information at hand, and can tell you whether it’s possible to create an arena in that area. They also provide good information, such as the percentage of sand, silt, clay and gravel in your soil. They will often come out to your site.”

Make sure to have a plat map of your property with you so the NRCS officials can pinpoint the location. They might not be familiar with the arena characteristics you require, so tell them what you need to know: type of soil, three feet in depth. Also, ask if the soil is high in clay, which is important regarding water absorption and base stability.

The next step is to obtain a permit. Getting a permit for a home riding arena might sound like overkill, but most counties require at least a grading permit if a certain amount of land is disturbed. You may also need an erosion and sediment control permit. You may not think you are disturbing that much land, but you will disturb twice as much earth as the size of your horse arena.

Even if you don’t think you need a permit, double check with your local government about its building inspection procedures because rules do change. If you begin building before proper approvals or inspections take place, your local government’s building inspection department has the right to stop the construction until proper permits and procedures are met. Sometimes this includes paying fines and penalties.

You’ll need to get yet another expert on your side—a soil consultant. Soil consultants are engineers who understand all the ins and outs of working with soil. They are the ones called in to advise facilities such as baseball fields, golf courses and parking lots. Look for a soil consultant under listings for engineering consultants.

The NRCS office may also recommend someone in your area. “A soil consultant is important because you’ll be moving soil and he’ll know how to help you do that correctly,” Malmgren says. “He can look at the NRCS’s information and tell you what you need to do to make the arena work for your situation.”

Starting at the Bottom: The Base

The base is important for a successful horse riding arena. Bottom line: You will never have a good arena without an adequate base. Your soil consultant will help determine your base requirements and if the soil will form a stable base. The base should be about six inches below the surface, if it’s a stable base. “If it isn’t stable, you might have to bring in some crushed stone to create a firm base,” Malmgren says. “You want the base to be firm because it will create a level surface for the footing above. The stone will have to be rolled when installed to create maximum hardness and evenness, and so it stays in place.”

Your topsoil might make a good base and you can put your footing right on top of it, but that’s the exception rather than the rule. Soil situations are different for everyone. It can even be vastly different within the same locale. One neighbor might have clay soil while another has sand.

Some areas of the country are subject to “frost heave” where the ground expands in the winter, causing rocks to come up to the surface. In the spring you’ll find rocks on the surface, and you’ll have to pick them up every year. The soil consultant will tell you if frost heave might occur in your area. If you have frost heave, extra heavy rolling at the time of construction will help keep your base in place. The NRCS may also give you this information at no charge.

Creating a Drain for a Riding Arena

Anyone who has had training interrupted because of a flooded arena knows how frustrating it is. Sinking money into a horse arena that sits underwater part of the year is a waste. Your soil consultant can help you avoid drainage issues.

He or she will first determine what your soil is like from the surface down to three feet deep. So perhaps you’ll have three feet of pure clay or maybe six inches of loam and then six inches of sand, followed by gravel.

“This is important to understand because you need to know how your soil handles water,” Malmgren says. “For instance, a gravel layer is going to hold some water where clay will not. If you have heavy rains, you’ll know how much water you’re going to be able to store before you have problems. And then during construction, you’ll know how to work with that.”

If your soil doesn’t drain well, don’t give up on your dream arena. There are ways you can limit flooding. You can install a French drain, which carries water away from the arena. There are several ways to create this type of drain for each area of the country. The NRCS and your consultant can help with water drainage issues.

You can also crown the arena, so that water drains off it. Or you can raise the whole arena above ground level.

What’s Underfoot in a Riding Arena?

Many types of footing additives are on the market, from shredded felt to crumb rubber to poly microfibers, but most footing “recipes” begin with sand. And any old sand won’t do. You want sand that will bind and hold together.

Sand comes in a variety of shapes; some is sharp and angular, and some is rounded. Sand performs in different ways depending upon its characteristics. It can be slippery if it’s round, like tiny ball bearings. The round grain will act like beach sand and be unsteady underfoot. It will be difficult to move through it, particularly if it’s dry.

Sharp sand binds together to hold better, which is the preferred footing for arenas. “Look at your sand grains with a hand magnifying glass if you want to get down to details, so you know what you’re getting,” Malmgren says.

Finding quality sand can be a challenge. If you have neighbors who have an arena, ask them if they are happy with their sand and where they got it. If your neighbor has a good riding arena and soil similar to yours, then you know that type of sand at your home will work for you. Also, ask how many inches your neighbor used. Footing depth ranges from two to six inches, depending upon your land situation and discipline. (For example, dressage riders generally prefer a shallower footing while reiners like deeper footing.) However, always use less footing than you think you will need. It’s easier to add more than to remove.

Sand by itself works well, but you need to be careful when watering. Too much water can flood the arena, making it unworkable for a long time. Wet sand is harder than dry sand, but very dry sand can be inefficient and create a dust problem.

Footing additives can help to improve cushion and improve traction. They also clump sand together better and prevent compaction. Some may help prevent freezing and cut down on trenching along the walls of the arena. Additives also create footing that requires less harrowing and watering. When choosing any additive, make sure that it’s manufactured for riding arenas.

Sometimes people use arenas as dumping grounds for horse manure and shavings. Although it can hold water well, manure creates a health issue for both humans and horses. The shavings also break down quickly and create a slippery surface.

Most arenas with heavy use will have a rut with half of the footing falling out of the arena. Pulling the footing back in the arena is a killer, Malmgren says. “Boards installed around the arena will solve the problem,” he advises.

“Untreated, unpainted lumber is best. I don’t like using any chemicals in an arena. If horses are turned out, they can gnaw on the boards. The height of the board depends upon the nature of your footing. If it’s a lot of footing, you’ll need bigger boards. It’s best to use higher boards because you may need to add more footing later on.”

Grass (turf) arenas are suitable under the right circumstances, depending on your annual rainfall and the type of grass. “Bunch grass doesn’t make good footing because soil is in between the plants, creating an uneven surface,” Malmgren says.

Key Takeaways

In this article, you’ve learned about building a horse arena and the DIY aspects of creating a home arena, including proper planning, the importance of the base and footing, drainage solutions, footing materials, maintenance, and grass arenas.

Read on for tips on arena maintenance so that you’re prepared to maintain your home riding arena.

This article about building a home riding arena originally appeared in the September 2007 issue of Horse Illustrated. Click here to subscribe.

The post How to Build a Riding Arena at Home appeared first on Horse Illustrated Magazine.

Some fencing is simply not safe for horses under any circumstances; these include barbed wire and large, square mesh. Barbed wire can easily entrap a panicked horse that tries to run through it or jump over it, ripping hide and doing career- and life-ending damage to tendons and other internal structures it exposes. Fencing made of square mesh should ideally have openings of no more than 3 inches square; any larger and you risk trapping a hoof in the fence.

If you’re putting in fencing on your own horse property, there are quite a few factors that come into play during the decision-making process, including terrain, budget, aesthetics and maintenance. All fences should be between 4 ½ and 5 feet tall (at minimum) to safely contain horses. The bottom part of the fence should be 6 to 8 inches off the ground, which will prevent foals from rolling out of the field (if you have them); it will also discourage equines from sticking their heads under the fence to graze.

Some commonly used fencing options include:

Wooden Fencing

Highly visible and strong, wood fences can be expensive to install and can require a lot of maintenance. Weather and teeth can take a toll on even the most well-constructed board fence, necessitating regular repair and replacement of boards.

Horse-Safe Wire Fencing

◆ Woven wire is one of the more inexpensive options for horse fencing, though it is recommended that the visibility of this fence be improved by using a top board or electrified tape at the top. This will also discourage horses from leaning on the fence.

◆ V-mesh wire (also called no-climb fencing) is one of the safest fencing options out there. This type of fence has a diamond pattern that makes it as effective at keeping animals out as it is in keeping horses in. The downside is cost; it is the most expensive wire fence for horses.

◆ Smooth wire fences, though inexpensive to construct, are some of the most difficult fences for horses to see; because of this, smooth wire used for horse pastures is usually coated with white PVC and used with some sort of electric (either tape or a hot strand) to keep them from leaning on it.

PVC Fencing

While very visually pleasing, PVC fencing is extremely costly and is designed to break under pressure. It’s a good idea to use some type of electric fencing in conjunction with PVC fence as horses will soon learn that the boards will give if leaned on.

Pipe Fencing

Though pipe steel fences are strong and durable, there is no “give” should a horse run into it. Transport and labor to install this type of fence can be high, and, once installed, modifications are difficult to make.

Electric Fencing for Horses

Electric fencing can be used by itself or in conjunction with almost any other type of fence. Electric wire and tape are inexpensive, yet they increase the effectiveness and longevity of other fencing materials by preventing horses from leaning or chewing on them. It typically takes only one run-in with a charge to keep horses away from fencelines that are hot.

No matter what type of horse fencing you choose, the safety of your equines should be your No. 1 priority.

Further Reading:
◆ Seven Fencing Mistakes
◆ Fence Maintenance
◆ Fence Repair Checklist

The post 5 Best Types of Fencing for Horse Farms appeared first on Horse Illustrated Magazine.

Picture this: a lush, green field with a horse peacefully grazing. This image is almost every horse owner’s ideal vision of their horse at his happiest. But danger can lurk for some horses if you look a little deeper.

Certain horses and ponies are prone to grass founder (laminitis), particularly in the spring when grasses are high in sugar. Most horse owners would rather prevent laminitis than deal with it after it happens, so the best course of action is to recognize the red flags—times to be more vigilant—and know what to do next.

High-Risk Horses

Horses most at risk for laminitis are those with equine metabolic syndrome (EMS) and Cushing’s disease (also called pituitary pars intermedia dysfunction, or PPID).

Horses and ponies with EMS often have telltale symptoms, including a tendency toward obesity, insulin resistance and recurrent laminitis. Abnormal fat deposits along the crest of the neck, tailhead and above the eyes are typical, even when the horse is at a normal weight. The condition most often occurs in ponies and other breeds that evolved under harsh conditions and tend to be easy keepers.

Horses with PPID may have symptoms similar to EMS, such as patchy fat deposits and insulin resistance, but PPID usually begins to appear in older horses (over age 15). They may also start to lose topline muscling and develop a thick haircoat that sheds out later than normal, or eventually not at all.

If you suspect your horse has either of these conditions, schedule a vet visit for blood tests that will help confirm a diagnosis. If your horse has a metabolic disease, consider it a huge warning flag that he is at high risk for pasture-associated laminitis.

The Carbohydrate Connection to Founder in Horses

Laminitis can be caused by grazing on pasture that is too high in non-structural carbohydrates (NSCs). These include fructan, sugar and starch. Structural carbohydrates are the fibrous parts of the cell wall that give the plant rigidity; these are digested differently from NSCs.

You may have heard that fructan is the singular evil element in grass that causes horses to founder. However, more recent research has shown that pasture-induced laminitis cannot be attributed solely to fructan. There is no fructan in warm-season grasses, yet horses can still founder on them. Since the same environmental conditions that create high fructan concentrations also increase sugar and starch levels, it’s best to just limit all NSCs.

Conditions that Spell Trouble

In order to prevent laminitis in high-risk horses, you’ll need to start thinking about weather and grass-growing conditions. When the sun is shining brightly but other conditions limit the growth of the plant, NSC concentration in pasture plants will increase.

Here is a list of the danger signs to look for:

Temperature

“If it’s below 40 degrees Fahrenheit, the enzymes that help the plant grow don’t function anymore,” says Kathryn Watts, an internationally respected consultant and researcher specializing in pasture grass and horses and ponies prone to laminitis. She is based in Colorado and maintains a website at safergrass.org. “However, photosynthesis [which creates sugar] happens as long as the sun is shining, provided that the plant is not frozen solid.”

Concentrations of NSCs can double or even triple if these conditions (sunny and below 40 degrees) continue for several weeks. Since this commonly happens during spring and fall in many parts of the country, these seasons are often associated with grass founder in horses.

TIP: A useful tool that you can find at any hardware store is a min-max thermometer. Put it on the back porch and check it every morning. If it’s been below 40 degrees that night, start paying careful attention to any high-risk horses. After a few nights below 40, any horse that’s had laminitis in the past or has the body type that says “founder waiting to happen” should probably be removed from pasture entirely and fed hay that’s tested for low sugar content (see “Testing Sugar Content,” below).

Lack of Fertilizer

“Another thing that can limit plant growth is lack of fertilizer—usually nitrogen,” says Watts. “The plant might have enough sugar, but if it doesn’t have enough nitrogen to put that sugar to work and grow, the sugar starts piling up. I use the analogy of an assembly line: If the plant does not have all of the elements it needs to grow, the line shuts down and the other raw materials pile up.”

Since a lack of nitrogen can limit grass growth, it’s important to have the right fertilization schedule for your region. “Approach your extension agent or fertilizer dealer and tell them you’re looking for a moderate fertility level, not maximum production,” Watts advises.

Drought

Drought is another form of stress that will result in sugars piling up within the plant. “For example, in Texas, founder season happens when it’s very sunny and very hot,” says Watts. Drought may also cause fructan in cool-season grasses to turn to sugar, increasing chances of metabolically driven laminitis.

Mature Grass

When managing pastures, it’s important to mow or top the grass before seed heads appear. “Sugars and starch are very concentrated in the developing seed heads,” says Watts. “Many horses selectively graze them off; it’s like horse candy.”

Weeds

Most pastures are filled with weeds that horses are more than happy to consume.

“Some of the weeds in your pasture have the potential to contain more sugar than the grass,” says Watts. “The ones that I have tested personally that are really high in NSCs include dandelion, plantain and thistle.”

You can treat pastures with an herbicide to kill broadleaf weeds such as dandelions, which are particularly palatable to horses. Often this is enough to decrease the incidence of founder.

A thick, healthy stand of grass is the best defense against invasion of weeds and clover. While proper fertilization can decrease sugar concentration per mouthful of grass, there may now be more sugar per acre. When grass is more plentiful in previously overgrazed pastures, you may need to start limiting intake with a muzzle or decreased time at pasture.

It’s important to note that weeds may grow around dry lots where horses and ponies are housed to keep them off pasture. If those weeds are within reach of desperate flapping lips of horses, the risk of founder is still there. You may very well save your horse from foundering just by running a weed-whacker around the dry lot.

“Safe” Grazing

Regardless of what season the calendar says it is, keep an eye out for dangerous grazing conditions all year long.

“The worst places for laminitis are those where the grass stays green all winter long, like in Great Britain and the Pacific Northwest,” says Watts. “Their grass doesn’t ever really die. When the temperature is below 40 degrees, any green grass creates a problem for high-risk horses, regardless of what month it is.

“Here in Colorado, by December the grass is completely brown,” she continues. “If the weather has been dry, the grass can still be high in sugars.” Sugars may be leached out eventually by rain and melting snow, except in the case of grasses with a waxy coating, such as fescue. Fescue is commonly found in Kentucky and the Southern states, so keep in mind that it may be holding on to sugar longer if you are planning to put your horse on it in the winter or during a summer drought.

“People assume that dead grass has no nutritional value if it’s brown,” adds Watts. “But sugar is not green. The chlorophyll and protein may be gone, but the sugar isn’t necessarily gone. Don’t assume that brown grass is safe.”

Testing Sugar Content

If you’re unsure about your grass or hay’s sugar content, the best thing to do is get it tested. “Grab a few handfuls of brown grass and send it to Equi-Analytical Laboratories [the equine division of Dairy One Cooperative Inc.] and have it analyzed,” says Watts. This is only accurate if the grass is completely dead. (If the grass is green, you would have to flash freeze it and send it overnight on dry ice, which is very expensive.) If it’s dead, you can treat it like hay.

Average grass hay is around 12 percent non-structural carbohydrates on a dry matter basis but can range up to 30 percent. For high-risk horses, grass or hay should be less than 11 percent. This varies by individual horse and how much exercise he’s getting. As you test more hay and compare how your horse does on each batch, you will learn what he can handle without gaining weight or getting sore feet. There is no “one size fits all” recipe.

If your high-risk horse has been pulled off pasture, it’s important to test your hay for sugar content. “Any kind of hay can be high or low in sugar,” says Watts. “It’s not about species; it’s about growing conditions.”

For a list of other National Forage Testing Association certified labs, visit www.foragetesting.org.

Managing the High-Risk Horse

If you have a high-risk horse with a cresty neck, one of the best things to keep an eye on is his neck. “When the sugars get high in the grass, you can palpate his neck and feel a difference,” says Watts. “I call it ‘the Neckometer.’ When you put him in the dry lot, within a couple of days you should feel his neck getting softer. If you do something wrong, his neck will get hard very quickly.”

If the weather is conducive to making high-sugar grass, horses with more mild risk factors may still be able to stay on pasture with a grazing muzzle on. “But if you put the grazing muzzle on and his neck is still getting bigger, then it’s time to put him in the dry lot and leave him there,” advises Watts. However, she emphasizes that the only way you can really assess your horse’s risk level is to get his insulin levels tested.

Early Signs of Laminitis

Another tool Watts recommends to carefully monitor high-risk horses is a daily brisk trot on firm footing. Since the metabolic form of laminitis comes on very slowly, it’s possible to look for these subtle signs and get ahead of the problem.

“If you have a horse that normally has a nice, big trot and suddenly he just shuffles along stiff-legged or refuses to trot at all, that’s the horse that you bring back to your dry lot,” says Watts. “Feel his feet to see if there’s excess heat or an obvious pulse. These horses will often respond to being withdrawn from pasture very quickly.”

Keep the horse off of pasture until weather conditions have changed completely in a way that will lower the concentration of sugar in the grass. For any case of acute laminitis, contact your vet immediately.

Since metabolic laminitis is a relatively new area of research, make sure your vet is up to date on the condition and knows how to treat it.

“Endocrinology is a veterinary specialty,” says Watts. “The same goes for farriers. The farrier you loved when your horse was healthy may not have the skills to help him once he’s foundered.”

Exercise is Key

Many of the horses that struggle with grass founder are not exercised at all, or only very lightly.

“Except for a few rare cases of very hard-to-control insulin resistance, if you exercise the horse hard enough (to a sweat) three times a week, you can fudge a lot more on the diet,” says Watts. “It’s about balancing the amount of exercise with the amount of NSCs in the diet.”

Horses that are prone to insulin resistance should not carry excess weight. Watts recommends horses be kept fit, even with a slight hint of ribs showing. But the horse should also carry good overall muscle tone from an active fitness program—whether it’s riding, driving or longeing.

If you have a high-risk metabolic horse and you want to maximize his grazing time, you’ll need to be prepared to carefully evaluate him and the weather conditions every day. At the first sign of foot soreness or the crest thickening/hardening, move him to a dry lot and feed him low-sugar hay, or soak his hay for a couple of hours in plenty of fresh water to remove excess sugars. When your horse and the grass conditions improve, he can go back out again. However, it may not be until the season is over. Be prepared for a time-consuming challenge.

Further Reading
◆ Treatment and Recovery of Founder in Horses
◆ Feed to Prevent Founder
◆ An Overview of Laminitis

This article about grass founder in horses originally appeared in the April 2013 issue of Horse Illustrated. Click here to subscribe!

The post Preventing Grass Founder appeared first on Horse Illustrated Magazine.

1. Oak

There are a lot of reasons to love oak trees: they’re tall, majestic, and they possess large leaves that offer perfect shade for any lawn or park. But one place you might not want oak trees is in or alongside your horse pastures. Oaks leaves contain tannic acid, which can cause colic and other digestive problems in horses. The buds and twigs of oak leaves also contain tannins, as do the acorns. The risk in the leaves probably decreases as the leaves decompose, so fresh spring leaves are likely more potent than old brown leaves on the ground from last year. Oak trees are common all over the U.S. and tend to leaf out a little later in the spring than some tree species.

2. Red Maple

Unlike oak leaves, in which the toxins decrease as the leaves wilt, the leaves of red maples are troublesome because they become highly toxic to horses after the leaves have separated from the tree. It’s not known what the toxin is exactly, but wilted red maple leaves can be fatal to horses who consume them. The unidentified toxin causes the destruction of red blood cells, leading to anemia. The bark of the tree is also problematic.

Other maple species may also be toxic, though not as severely as red maple. Maples in general are native to the eastern half of the U.S., but may be cultivated in other regions.

3. Walnut

Walnut trees are an oddity in that they affect horses in ways you wouldn’t suspect. There are various types of walnut trees around the U.S., but the most problematic is the black walnut. Always check with your shavings supplier to make sure that it doesn’t have black walnut in the product because horse bedding contaminated with it can cause laminitis. The branches, leaves, pollen, and nut hulls of the various walnut trees can also poisonous and can cause respiratory problems or even liver cancer in horses. The problem is thought to be a chemical produced by the walnut tree called juglone, which can also affect other plants growing in its vicinity.

4. Yew

It’s true that yew is an attractive evergreen shrub/tree, and for this reason, it’s planted for decorative purposes in landscapes around buildings. At the same time, it’s also true that yew is very poisonous and very dangerous to horses (as well as people and other types of livestock). If horses consume yew—perhaps by gaining access to clippings or a shrub near a building—the results are often quickly fatal, so it’s critical to ensure that your horses never have access to these toxic trees. Yews can grow for hundreds of years, and are poisonous all year long, but more toxic in the winter.

5, 6, 7, and 8. Cherry (and Chokecherry), Apricot, Peach, and Plum

You probably haven’t planted any orchards in your horse pastures, but there might be fruit trees incorporated into your farm’s landscaping, or orchards on other areas of the property. There are some fruit trees that are toxic to horses that you need to avoid—those of the prunus family. This group includes familiar fruit trees like cherries, apricots, peaches, plums, and others. They’re all poisonous to horses in basically the same way; leaves from prunus trees become more toxic after they’ve fallen from the tree and begun to wilt, because it’s at this stage that the leaves contain cyanide. The bark and young shoots are also poisonous, as well as the fruit pits. Horses that ingest these parts of the tree will no longer be able to extract oxygen from their blood, leading to increased respiration and bright mucus membranes. If caught quickly enough, a veterinarian can sometimes intervene successfully.

You may also find undomesticated cherry and plum trees growing wild along the edges of your pastures, particularly in the eastern half of the U.S. The problem here is that the leaves may blow into the pastures and into the reach of your horses, or summer storms might break branches off, and they land inside the fence. Periodic culling of small trees may be necessary to keep your horses safe. Also, watch out for the similar chokecherry, common throughout the northern half of the U.S. The berries have been used for hundreds of years by various Native American tribes, but the seeds and leaves are poisonous to horses.

9. Oleander

Oleander is a small evergreen tree (or it may be shaped into a shrub) that is planted for decorative purposes and found in the southern U.S. It’s an attractive tree with beautiful flowers, but it’s quite toxic to horses — the tree’s sap is even utilized in rodent poisons! Horses that consume oleander — and it only takes a handful of leaves — may show colic-like signs within a few hours, and the poison may be fatal fairly quickly after that. Summer and fall are times of greatest concern.

10. Horse Chestnut

Also known regionally as “buckeyes,” the leaves, seeds, and sprouts of horse chestnut trees are poisonous to horses and can cause multiple digestive ailments, and, if severe enough, some nervous system issues. Though horses may be able to recover with veterinarian aid, horse chestnut trees are nevertheless quite toxic; even the nectar can be poisonous to bees. You’ll find horse chestnuts growing throughout most of the U.S., except for the far southern and far northern regions.

Have you have any problematic or toxic trees that you’ve had to remove from your horse property? Let us know in the comments.

Further Reading

◆ Ten Plants Toxic to Horses
◆ Managing Buttercups in Horse Pastures
◆ Poisonous Plants to Horses from the University of Tennessee

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