Can it be?? A Seminar all about FOOD!

Hay Folks!

It’s that time of the year again. No, I’m not talking about roses, chocolate, and candlelight dinners. Sunday, February 8^th is the annual Horse Management Seminar and I can’t wait!  This year’s topic is all about FOOD! The official title is, “Grazing Rewards and Concerns: How and Why to Care for Your Pastures”.  It may not be about growing delicious doughnuts (I wish!), but more about cultivating lush pastures and maintaining healthy body weight for your horses.

Scary Scratches!

What’s up friends!

This is Snowdrift!  My buddy Lord Nelson asked me to help him out with this post to the “Holy Hoofprints” blog. As one of the fastest Horse Hero mares in the herd at the Rutgers Equine Science Center, he knew that I’d be able to write this in a jiffy!  Here goes! Read through it and check out the video of me running at almost top-speed on the treadmill!

With this fickle fall weather and Halloween creeping up soon, I wanted to quickly talk to you about a scary skin infection that is commonly known as “scratches”. I know horses that have had scratches before, and it is very unpleasant for us if not managed correctly! 

Super Turf

Hay Kids! Today is a great day because I am going to share with you some super cool science. Recently, a team of scientists at Rutgers studied different grasses and their qualities in horse pastures. You probably are saying, “Yea, so what? Scientists study at a lot of stuff; what’s the big deal about grass?” Well, I am excited to tell you what scientists have discovered, that will help you A LOT, just by staring at grass! What is even more exciting is that you can hear all about preserving and maximizing your pasture grass at the Equine Science Center’s special event “Evening of Celebration and Science” on November 19! Register NOW!!

Dental check up...Float on!

Hey Everybody!

I hope everyone had a wonderful Halloween!  The snow couldn’t stop me from getting some treats of my own.  As you already know, I love treats any day of the year and October 31^st is no exception!  I just can’t get enough of those sugary sweet delights!  But with my affection for confections, I need to take good care of my old chompers! I had a recent checkup from my equine dentist friend to help prevent any dental dilemmas. 

Sugar in Grass?? Sweet!

Have I mentioned how much I love this time of year?  Although the weather has been a bit dreary, I took full advantage of one the few nice days we’ve had and went apple picking with my good friend Magic.  The apple orchard is one of my favorite places to be; red delicious snacks above me and lush green grass below!  Speaking of grass, have you noticed how quickly it’s been growing lately? All the precipitation and cooler weather provide the perfect conditions for rapid pasture growth.  But as much as I love grass, I know that you can have too much of a good thing.

You may be surprised to hear that grasses contain large amounts of…sugar!  It’s no wonder why horses love it so much!  But just like humans, an excess of sugar could cause problems for horses.  Grass accumulates sugar and starch throughout the day and uses it for growth overnight, unless there is a freeze.

Consuming high sugar grass can cause a metabolic disorder called laminitis or founder in some horses, especially old guys like me, and also “easy keepers”; the chubby ponies and horses that get fat just thinking about grass.  Although it is not necessarily a bad thing, you should be careful not to use this term with a mare….I once told Christi she was an “easy keeper” and nearly got kicked in the noggin!  

If a horse is an easy keeper or has had laminitis before, limiting sugar intake by grazing it early in the morning before the grasses accumulate sugar (provided there was no overnight freeze) or by using a grazing muzzle throughout the day can hinder the development of metabolic disease.  This is especially important in the spring and fall, when sugar content is at its greatest.  My friends at the Equine Science Center are experts on this type of stuff!  For more information on metabolic disease, check out their Fact Sheet - Metabolic Problems in the Horse: Sorting out the Diagnosis.

 

Well I’m off to lunch…all this talking about grass and sugar is making me hungry! 

Until next time friends,

Lord Nelson

If You Can't Stand the Heat...

...get out of the sun!

While most of my human friends can enjoy the air conditioning on a hot and humid day, I seek the shade of a tree or run-in shed to keep cool. This heat is tough on any horse, and since I'm (a little) older than most, I have to be especially careful to be sure I'm consuming enough calories to keep my body functioning and maintain a healthy body weight. Some horses may lose as much as 7 to 10 percent of body weight in sweat per hour in extreme temperatures. That's about 9-10 gallons of horse sweat...gross! Dr. Malinowski keeps my diet high in calories by increasing my grain, adding corn oil to my feed, and feeding me a wide variety of...doughnuts!

"April Showers bring May Flowers..."

You've heard the phrase "April showers bring May flowers", but rain also brings lush green pastures that horses love! And now is the time for a delicious salad made from dandelions. As the spring season goes on, it makes me happy to see new sprouts of grass grow out of the dirt that dominated the pasture in the winter months. Don't get me wrong; I love hay, but there's nothing like grabbing a huge mouthful of fresh grass from the ground as the sun shines down and a warm breeze makes my tail float in the wind...it's almost enough to make me forget that the rider on my back is trying to get my head up!