It is very important to consider what pasture or paddock gates to use when developing a horse farm. Always remember to keep in mind safety, durability and cost. Following are some key points to consider.
May 1, 2013, marked the beginning of the end of my involvement with Chanteclair Farm between Versailles and Midway, Kentucky. That was almost 18 years to the day from the time when the first group of mares and foals belonging to the late Prince Saud bin Khaled were moved onto the property from where they […]
It’s spring, finally! I’m based in Kentucky, so we’re starting to see better weather (although it snowed on the first day of spring). The grass is getting greener, the trees are budding, and there are flowers brave enough to show their faces. On the farm we’ve got our equipment checked out and ready for the […]
Pasture Tips Although I have already gone over my plans for pasture care, I thought I would pass on some additional tips for pasture care as outlined by The Farm Clinic and Roger Allman, with a few notes of my own to address some questions I have received. It is important to realize that every field […]
Good Pastures Make Good Horses As I mentioned in my previous blog about horse farm pasture maintenance, I have relied heavily on the advice of Roger Allman and Elise Wyer of The Farm Clinic for pasture testing and advice. All horse farm managers should have experts they can call on for specialized services in areas […]
I have a written pasture plan for every field on the farms that I manage. That way there’s no guessing, everyone is on the same page, and maintenance isn’t forgotten. I’m based in Kentucky, so I’ll use this region for my example in this blog. You can check with your local county extension agent or […]
One of the most common problems that horse farms have is mud and erosion around gates, waterers, sheds, and hay feeders. Instead of constantly bemoaning the problem, fix it! You start by digging down about six inches and putting in three to four inches of #2 rock as a foundation (those are rocks about the […]
So You Want a Horse Farm: Part 4 – Personnel In this final part of “So You Want A Horse Farm,” we’ll talk about the critical issue of staffing. Even if you are going to do all the work yourself, there will be some things that you might need to hire professionals to do, such as […]
So You Want a Horse Farm: Part 3 – Facilities In the first two sections of this blog on “So You Want A Horse Farm,” we talked about general planning and the environment needed for a successful horse operation. In this blog we’ll discuss the additions you bring to your horse farm, or the ones in […]
So You Want a Horse Farm: Part 2 – Environmental Planning In Part 1 of this blog we talked about general planning. We’ll continue on that theme while we talk about the environment for your horse farm. You must realize that you cannot make a farm fit the environment; the environment has to fit the […]