Spoiler Alert: Horse feed storage is critically important

 Specialty feeds for horses come with all sorts of intriguing extra ingredients, mostly for added vitamins and minerals and other nutritional bonuses. Sometimes equine grain formulations are aimed at easier digestibility, or even better taste.

 

Horse owners pay extra for all that good stuff.

 I was all-in for my horses, willing to shell out extra dough-re-mi to obtain the optimum feed choices for each of them. And we were basically happy with our feed supplier, who was generally pleasant and dependable. Also, he was local and accessible and convenient, storing his inventory in a big airy outbuilding not far from the horse farm.

 So I bought bag after bag after bag from him. And all was well.

 

Then I found a surprise inside a bag of pricey grain.

 Fuzzy, stinky, damp, decaying horse feed was not exactly what the equine veterinarian ordered. My horses wouldn’t be likely to approve of it either. 

Most horses will reject moldy grain (or moldy hay), if possible. But if they consume the offensive feed, it can cause digestive troubles (even colic), chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (heaves), reproductive problems and other issues.

 Avoiding this exact situation was one of the main reasons I bought our horses’ feed on an as-needed basis, rather than stockpiling at the stables.

 

I was a little steamed. Maybe more than a little.

 I schlepped the bulky bag back to our animal feed guy. He blamed the unseasonably humid weather we’d had for the moldy grain. He offered to credit me for half the price of the product.

 Let’s see … how much of that fungus-filled feed was I going to be able to use?

 

Hey, sometimes ya just gotta break the mold.

 Or at least, sometimes ya just gotta find a new feed supplier, if the grain comes with mold.

 Ever since that moldy mishap, I have purchased our horse feeds from merchants with climate-controlled feed storage. They’re a little out of the way, but worth the trips.

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Image/s: LAN photo/s – All rights reserved.

Sign of spring: Horse blankets are washed and stowed

The snow has melted. The green grass is springing up everywhere. Bulbs are budding and blooming. Songbirds are building their nests. Mud season is in full swing at horse farms all over.

Horses are antsy, eager, extra-attentive to surrounding stimuli (Read: “spooking at every sight”).

That’s right. It must be spring.

So I have taken a leap of faith. And it is sort of like daring Mother Nature to bring her worst back. But I have looked at the long-range forecasts (as if those matter), and I’ve gone and done it anyway.

My horse blankets are washed, folded, packaged, and stowed for the year. I’m sincerely hoping they can stay that way till at least November. Given the wildly fluctuating weather we’ve experienced in the Upper Midwest over the past few months, this really is an act of faith.

But here we go. Bring on warm-weather riding! Let’s have those bright, sunny, outdoor arena sort of occasions.

Sure, we have a few more weeks of spring rains and slop to slog through. But brighter days are coming. My horses and I can hardly wait.

Image/s:

Adapted from public domain artwork

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eXperts criss-cross leg straps on horse wear.

Ever see a horse get tangled in a blanket, show sheet or fly sheet? It’s not a pretty sight.

Leg straps can help prevent this. Sure, horses can still find ways to twist up their apparel, but it’s not quite as likely with properly fitting leg straps.

Plenty of savvy horse owners criss-cross these stretchy straps under their horses’ tails for added security.

Most leg straps are made of elastic webbing with snap clips attached. Usually, they are easily adjustable, and some even come in a variety of sizes (such as small, medium, and large).

It’s important to make sure these straps fit the horse well, so they do not hang down and potentially become tripping or catching loops for the horse’s legs.

Horse blanket leg straps are pretty simple to make, if you know anything about sewing. But they are also readily available.

Now that spring is well underway, many horse owners are laundering winter horse blankets and storing them for several months.

Why not replace those missing or broken leg straps, so your horse blankets are ready to wear when cold weather returns?

Here are a few examples of leg straps for horse apparel:

• AJ Tack detachable Elastic Leg Straps for Horse Blankets Sheets -Pair
• EOUS Heavy Duty Leg Straps
• HorseLoverz Elastic Leg Straps - Black
• Intrepid International Replacement Elastic Horse Leg Straps
• Kensington Leg Straps, Black
• Lami-Cell Elastic Leg Straps
• Weatherbeeta Single Snap Blanket Leg Straps

The Mane Point: A Haven for Horse Lovers is participating in the April A to Z Blogging Challenge again this year. Stop on back, so you don’t miss a single post!

Image/s:

Blanketed Horses at Play

 by Oliver Dixon

Creative Commons Licensing

Blog series graphics created by this user

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Muck boots march in mud

Oh, my. The Midwest is mired in mud. Muck boots to the rescue. Call ‘em galoshes, gumboots, or willies. This basic waterproof footwear is essential for barn folks in spring.

Manufacturers market multitudes of muck boots:

• CHB12 Muck Chore Boot
• Chooka Top Solid Rain Boot
• Flat Festival Wellies Wellington Rain Boots
• Kamik Rain Boot
• Nomad Puddles Rain Shoe
• Roper Barn II Equestrian Boot
• Sloggers Rain and Garden Boot
• Sorel Cheyanne Premium Rain Boot
• The Original MuckBoots
• Wellies Rubber Rain & Snow Boots 

Are you rocking the muck boot look?

Watch your step in those muddy meadows!

Most horse lovers know the misery of stepping right out of a muck boot and plunging a sock right into knee-deep mud.

The Mane Point: A Haven for Horse Lovers is participating in the April A to Z Blogging Challenge again this year. Stop on back, so you don’t miss a single post!

Image/s:

Muck Boots 

Creative Commons Licensing photo

Blog series graphics 

created by this user

Feel free to follow on GooglePlus and Twitter. You are also invited to join this writer's fan page, as well as the Chicago Etiquette Examiner, Madison Holidays Examiner, Equestrian Examiner and Madison Equestrian Examiner on Facebook.

Holy horsey heat wave!

96 in the shade? Did anyone actually ride today?

My mare enjoyed a horsey spa delight - for the second day in a row. It was no work and a full shower!

So much for planning to show this weekend!

But she's worth it.

And, at least in the Upper Midwest, a thunderstorm may just roll in to cool things off by tomorrow night. Phew!

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