It can't be winter, can it?

[tinkeralison]

So for the last two days, we've been poo picking, nothing odd about that, except for it  was with the quad, and the trailer, in the field, No Mud !  
Granted they have only been in there for a week, but can't believe it's so dry,  we never poo pick over winter usually 😎

I'm not complaining 😀

[Fi]

Not complaining either! Usually by now the yard has sectioned off a part of the field as a sacrifice area and the horses are turned out for only a couple of hours a day into this and stand there up to their kness in mud.

Thankfully they are still out all day in the big field. Am dreading trying to keep Old Sam going with his soaked haynets, grass is much better for him.

Long may it continue.....

[harveydales]

I know, it's wonderful, isn't it? This time last year I was struggling knee deep in liquid mud yet this year the ground is perfect. I'm not putting much hay out either because there is still plenty of grass. I'm not rugging any of mine so I thought I would have to give up on Eve fro the winter but so far I've been able to keep her clean enough to get a saddle on.

Fi, like you I'm dreading it when it does turn wetter and colder. It would be a matter of soaking hay for old Frankie or continuing to feed haylage which would work out very expensive. What are Old Sam's teeth like? Frankie still has good teeth according to the dentist but his fronts are very worn down so I don't see how he can graze short grass, but he seems to manage.

[Fi]

Pam, Old Sam has fewer every time the vet looks! He’s lost 4 or 5 on each side I think, and the vet pulled a loose one out last week. If he has dry hay or haylage I find chewed up, spat out boluses of it all over his stable so I know he struggles. I give him a soaked net, and also tubs of low calorie chaff mixed with soaked instant fibre, which he loves. Trouble is......if he’s in most of the time he’s going to get through a lot of it which is going to get expensive! And if he can’t keep weight on with it I might be forced into a decision. He also gets soaked hore and pony nuts. Everything is soaked! Which is why I’m also relieved it’s not been below zero much either!

[harveydales]

It is so hard when they get older. Frankie is 27 and has all his teeth. The last time the dentist did him she said they were all in good order but I know he struggles with hay/haylage because, like with your Sam, I find chewed up and spat out bits. I wonder whether he has arthritis in his jaw bones? I'm feeding him lots of well soaked fast fibre with a balancer and added linseed etc. He seems to be holding his weight but if the winter turns bad I'm not sure how he'll cope. He has to live out and at the moment we still have plenty of grass. Maybe the winter will stay like this........

[Debbie]

I used to have Galahad on 3 sometimes 4 soaked buckets of beetpulp and Purina's Strategy. I added a Tablespoon of coconut oil (copra) morning and night to help him get calories and mixed it all with very warm water to dissolve the coconut. Plus Galahad never drank enough water, so the soaked buckets ensured he had enough over winter. At one point the vet declared his molars were to the gums. I kept hay in front of Galahad but mostly we relied on his buckets to keep him in good health. Then a year later the vet asked if I wanted to float Galahad's teeth. what teeth?? He couldn't explain it, but over the course of a year, apparently Galahad had erupted more of his molars. The vet laughed and said he had no idea what happened, but we were happy for it.

Our winter's been fairly mild, more rain than last year, but not by much. We coud certainly use the liquid mud and rains to help us catch up after last year's drought.

[tinkeralison]

Any time now I'll start feeding the old ladies again, I use unmollassed sugar beet (long soak, cheaper), micronised linseed and maybe some grass or alfalfa nuts soaked

[harveydales]

I was thinking of adding copra to Frankie's diet but for now he seems to be doing well on what he is getting. The problem is he lives out with the 2 mares and so I can't give him ad lib wet feeds even though he is the boss.

Debbie - that's wierd about Galahad's teeth. I've never heard of that happening before.

[Debbie]

My vet hadn't heard of it happening before either. He reckoned he must have not been looking properly or he really couldn't explain it when I spluttered it had been the same vet who'd told me Galahad's molars were to the gumline! Since I took his word for it, either the vet messed up, or somehow Galahad erupted more molars over the space of a year.