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msar-riders - [MSAR] Feeding SAR horses

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  • From: "Patty Montoya" <riverrider@bak.rr.com>
  • To: "Mounted search and rescue" <msar-riders@lists.ibiblio.org>
  • Subject: [MSAR] Feeding SAR horses
  • Date: Mon, 2 Jan 2006 17:26:18 -0800

Jorene mentioned the advantage of pasturing SAR horses, which I agree with. I'm curious about opinions regarding feeding SAR, or other horses when traveling.
Our callouts have required anywhere from a 30 min. to a 2 1/2 hour drive. (I;m in Kern County, California) I always toss in plenty of hay for my horse to eat while traveling. Some horses will eat a lot, some just nibble. Then whenever my horse is standing around waiting for us to be sent out, I hang up a hay bag and allow my horse to continue eating at will. Some of my colleagues do not provide feed in the trailer and/or while standing around. I'm curious about any other opinions.
Patty
----- Original Message ----- From: "Jorene Downs" <Jorene@CEOates.com>
To: "Mounted search and rescue" <msar-riders@lists.ibiblio.org>
Sent: Monday, January 02, 2006 1:41 PM
Subject: Re: [MSAR] FOAL WATCH!


From: "Karen Nesbitt" <spanishequines@yahoo.com>
I found the best and healthiest foals were the ones that hit the ground in
the spring when the grass was green. [...] struggle breaking ice and the
possibility of foals and mares getting pneumonia. <

That sounds like a good plan in your environment. A lot of folks in colder
weather prefer to wait until spring for foaling, to avoid the ice and snow.
Those of us in more temperate climates often have green pastures all year,
particularly on pastures like mine where I irrigate as needed and the
pastures are also seeded to provide forage year round. We have a couple of
foal blankets but I only recall 1 year when it was cold enough for a few
days that we blanketed the newborns at night as a precaution.

Our barn is set up with run-in stalls so we have the option of closing in
the mare for monitoring, or leaving the gate open to the large turnout with
winter grass. When foals are about a week old and obviously doing well,
unless the weather is particularly cold and wet the dams and foals go out to
pasture. We also supplement the pasture feed to ensure the dam has good
nutrition with a foal at her side.

We find running horses on pasture is also advantageous for MSAR ... we can
pull them out of pasture at a moment's notice and not be concerned regarding
when they last ate, because they graze. And the horses most likely to be
ridden in the backcountry are normally in the pastures where there is
terrain. They routinely climb up/down the steep creek banks, which helps
keep them fit. We also run the youngsters in those pastures so they learn
something other than moving on the flat. We also make sure they get some
time in pastures with mules and cattle across the fence to help desensitize
them to other livestock.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~
Jorene Downs
Tulare Co SAR - Hasty Team ICP Team
www.ceoates.com/sar
Tulare-Kings CERT
www.tk-cert.org

CEOates Ranch
www.CEOates.com


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