One Response to “Faithful Friends”

1. Julie Johnson says:

   June 9, 2009 at 9:12 am

   I’ve collected horse feeding tip. Here are some of them:

   If your horse eats his grain too fast, try putting some large, smooth rocks in his grain dish. He will have to push them around to get the grain, & that will slow him down.

   An easy way to feed horses off the ground — take a 55 gal plastic barrel, and cut it in half. The bottom half can be for water, and the top half for feed. If your horse is messy, he might push the barrel half over & spill the grain. In that case, put a plastic barrel on its side, so it looks like (____) and cut a section out of the middle (_[_]_) — then drill holes in each end so you can tie it to a fence. It is harder for the horse to spill the hay out when it is inside the barrel.

   When feeding horses carrots, cut them lengthwise to prevent choking.

   If your horse is picky about his hay, drizzle honey or molasses over it, then feed it on the ground.

   If you have dusty hay, and it bothers your horse, soak a some of it in a tub of water for 10-15 minutes.

   If your horse wont take pills, or a liquid medicine, mix them in something irresistable. I usually crush up horse treats, grain, and peppermints, then mix in a bit of vegetable oil, water, and honey, then add in the crushed up pill, or squirt in the liquid. Check with the pill bottle or your vet to make sure you can crush the pill, or mix the liquid with other things. And make sure your horse eats the entire medicine mix or he wont get his dosage.

   If your horse spits grain out or dribbles his food a lot, you should check his teeth to see if they need to be floated. Dropping grain, chewin very slowly, or slobbering a lot are all signs that a horse’s mouth is in pain. Older horses may need their teeth floated every year.

   Add a cup of mineral oil to your horses feed once a week to increase the shine in the coat.