Late spring is usually a time when horses look their best. Winter coats have been shed and horses gleam with health;grown fat and sleek from lush, plentiful grass. Unfortunately this year the drought has meant that grass in paddocks hasn’t grown much and is already dying off. There is not much hay around and feed prices have begun to climb.
If you’re a horse owner, make sure you stock up with hay and other feed where possible so that your horse or horses are assured a feed supply over summer. Everyone is hoping the drought will break in autumn, but in the case of a drought it’s often best to assume the worst and stock up with more than you need. Remember horse’s need 80 percent of roughage in their diets to stay healthy and avoid stomach upsets like colic. Various kinds of hay and chaff, along with good quality grass, are what roughage is.
Horse’s need a constant supply of fresh water. On a warm to hot day they drink litres and litres of the stuff and will quickly dehydrate if they run out. Make sure you check and fill your water troughs every day, twice on a really hot day.
Spider is now lungeing well and trotting beside me. The show is just a few weeks away. Before we go I will shampoo him all over, once about a week before and then again the day before the show. He’ll have his feathers and his whiskers trimmed, get a really good grooming and his hooves will be painted black. Hopefully, he will behave himself at the show. although because he is so young he will probably become quite excited when he sees all the other horses.
Both Jess and Bickham are pregnant again. I just hope they both carry their foals through to a healthy, complication free birth.
Doc is having an easy workload because my daughter has a badly sprained ankle and is unable to ride him. We (my son and I) are preparing Cruise for his first show in two weeks time. He’s such a good horse I’m sure he will take it all in his stride, as he has done everything else. I have been riding Redman when I can and am very happy with the way he is working for me. Perhaps next year I will find time to attend a few competitions myself.