Rolling Acres Stables

10/04/2022

Horses have no concept of time to come. They only know how they feel in this moment. Let them go when they are still feeling good. It’ll save lots of heartache when it’s super cold and a huge winter storm has come and no vet can get out in time.
It’s hard and it sucks. But in the end it’s the kindest thing to do.

A tough topic about an even tougher decision.

It would be easier if they just made the decision for us. Laid down to rest one warm fall afternoon surrounded by their herd mates, never to wake again.

Easier also is in the face of dire emergency, where the only choice is clear, the path to quick mercy.

Unfortunately for us as horse owners, there are blessed few who have that decision made for us. Most of the time, it’s up to us to make that last call.

The majority of us are left with the horses who served us well right up until the end, maybe even enjoying years of retirement. When you see them out in the pasture and wonder, “is this the end, or just a bad day? A bad few days?” “Oh – they look perky today, maybe things are looking up. What I thought I had to think, I don’t have to – today. It’s a good day.”

But the writing is on the wall. Their eyes are less bright, their weight hard to keep. Their gait shuffled, surviving, but no longer thriving.

All symptoms of the fact you have the hardest decision of your life to make, and soon. I wish it on no one and grieve the day I have to make the decision I advocate here for; the decision to let them go on a good day.

We are having a blessedly long and beautiful fall, but time is waning if you are only beginning to contemplate whether your trusted partner can face another barren, brutal, frostbitten winter.

You are the only advocate your horse has. His health is and has always been in your hands. In loving him as hard as you have for all these years, I hope you can love him hard enough to let them go on a good day, while there is still time.

08/25/2022

Lungeing sessions should not last longer than 20 minutes. Here’s why:

• Horses did not evolve to move in circles.
• Lungeing is hard work on the horse’s joints, tendons and muscles.
• Overwork on the lunge (or any situation) can cause pain, injury, discomfort and fatigue.

According to Australian researchers, ‘In an 18-m diameter round-pen, approximately 20 circuits equal 1 km. In just 20 minutes of lunging or round-pen work, a horse may cover around 5 km in distance which, as we postulate, poses musculoskeletal risks due to the constant circular track. Therefore, round-pen/lunging sessions exceeding 20 minutes should be avoided’ (https://tinyurl.com/CuttingTheChase).

For more recommendations about lungeing for horse welfare and rider safety, download Pony Club Australia’s NEW Lungeing Guidelines https://tinyurl.com/lungeing

08/05/2022

Friday focus….sugar beets!

Sugar beets are not just for winter!! They are fabulous to use all year round and at this time of the year can provide some extra hydration for your horse. Beets such as Speedi-beet and Fibre-beet are comparable in digestible energy to conditioning feeds and cereals but they are much lower in starch!

I am a huge fan of sugar beets and often use them or recommend them in place of conditioning feeds and cereals as they are highly digestible, low in starch and sugar (the unmolassed ones) and are easy on the digestive system. They really are a ‘super fibre’!

They are also great for bulking out the rations of good doers whilst adding negligible calories to the total diet and the unmolassed versions are safe to feed to laminitics! For example, a 300g (dry weight) serving each day to a 500kg horse, will only add a tiny amount of calories, but will bulk out their feeds nicely.

The sugar and starch levels are much lower than you would generally find in a conditioning mix or cube and cereals, so they are a perfect replacement for these. They also help to keep horses hydrated!

They are a healthier, higher fibre alternative to cereals and they can be fed in large amounts for energy and condition; they are typically underfed, so most do not get the full benefit of them. To be ‘conditioning’ they need need to be fed in larger amounts. The unmolassed versions are also great as partial hay replacers for those with compromised dental function, so beets are a truly versatile feed!

08/04/2022

Nothing beats a Warm summer night 🌛

08/02/2022

Everyone has to say hi to Teddy Bear 🐻 when they first come into the barn

08/01/2022

Riding with friends 💜💙

08/01/2022

On a hot day there’s nothing better than cool bath and some field time.
-Lanky and Jasper

07/26/2022

It may not be as warm here as in other places, but some good information none the less to have in our pockets for when it does get hotter.

We are in for a hot stretch over the next few days and there are a few things we can do to help our equine partners beat the heat:

Two things first and foremost are shade and fresh water being readily available at all times, along with salt.

According to University of Guelph researchers, they determined that horses succumb to heat stress three to 10 times faster during workouts than their two-legged counterparts. Horses are large and possess higher percentages of active muscle than humans do during exercise—muscle that produces a lot of heat during use. Also, less sweat evaporates from equine athletes’ bodies as compared to human athletes simply because the horse produces much more sweat than can be evaporated.

Ride in the early morning or in the evening and maybe shorten your 45 minute workout to 20 minutes, especially on those humid days.

Avoid riding your horse when the combined air temperature (F) and relative humidity is over 150, especially if the horse is not acclimated to the heat.

After a ride, hose the neck and chest areas first. Cooling off the jugular vein area, you cool the blood coming back to the heart, which helps to cool the body internally. Adding a bit of alcohol to a sponge bath can also increase the rate of evaporation. Adding a fan helps even more.

Enjoy the summer while it lasts!