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Sunday, January 31, 2010

Paddock Paradise

    I think this is a great concept, and I have been experimenting with it in one of my 
    groups of horses. (I have 2 separate pastures / groups - one with 3 horses, and one
    with 4 horses).  "Paddock Paradise" is a book by Jaime Jackson that describes a
    new "natural horsekeeping" method. To paraphrase from the back cover of the book
    (my notes are in red):

     "...Paddock Paradise is a revolutionary model for safe, natural horsekeeping, hoof
     care, and the healing and rehabilitation of lame horses. The premise of Paddock
     Paradise is to stimulate horses to behave and move naturally according to their
     instincts... This unique and unprecedented model is adaptable to virtually all size
     horse properties, regardless of climate, and fits all equine breeds regardless of how
     they are used.
    
                                      Consider some of the following benefits for creating a Paddock Paradise for your 
                                      horses:

- Encourages constant movement, as nature intended

- Greater movement means natural hoof wear with fewer bills (If you provide gravel or other proper footing)
- Protects horses from dangerous founder-prone pastures (I've never had this problem, but I suppse it makes sense)
- Minimizes the need for warm-up exercise time before riding (keeping my horses at field 24/7 seems to do the same thing)
- Helps address neurotic behavior by providing natural outlets (again, see above... full time out at pasture means no neurotic behavior.)
- Provides an effective means for diet and weight management

Saturday, January 02, 2010

How an Electric Fence Works (or, as I prefer to call it, "Fun with Fools")

Brainiac - Electric fence
This is a great video explaining exactly how an electric fence works.  Many people don't really understand.... hence, why they may leave the electric gate laying on the ground, or allow objects to touch the fence (such as haning halters, rakes, etc).

Baseball Hay Nets - Paddock Paradise Wiki

Baseball Hay Nets - Paddock Paradise Wiki

This is an interesting idea to set up hay nets for horses that they can't destroy. It makes for less wasted hay (they can't pull out huge gobs which then get strewn around), and you can set up a few around the paddock to keep the horses busy and entertained.

Christmas with the kitties

This will be our first Christmas with Kali (aka "Demon Baby"), whom we rescued from the cold last January when she was around 6 we...