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msar-riders - Re: [MSAR] Feeding Horses on a Mission

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  • From: Kate Beardsley <katebeardsley@hotmail.com>
  • To: <msar-riders@lists.ibiblio.org>
  • Subject: Re: [MSAR] Feeding Horses on a Mission
  • Date: Tue, 28 Oct 2008 19:55:48 +0000

Hey  Folks,
Feeding horses in the Field is something I am very confident about! So I'll chime in.

I spend a minimum of 100 days in the field each year. This year was a tough exception as I broke my collar bone in July and had to be a good girl and heal well so I could play later. I run a pack string of haflingers and mustangs for work with trail crews and forest fire spike camps. And I rarely show up on a SAR mission with fewer than two horses.

All of my horses camp with me anywhere anytime with no issues. It's simply too important to have trouble with.
Riding, loading, unloading, and hauling in the dark must be completely accepted. Flashlights in the eyes must also be commonplace. I regularly feed at home with a headlamp so my newer horses grow accustomed.

Despite feeding large amounts of orchard grass hay at home, I always keep my horses on a small amount of pellets. Since I am a responsible public lands visitor, I do everything I can to reduce the likelihood of my horses and I spreading non-native weed seed where we go. And since it will be a law on January 1, 2009, to only bring certified weed seed free feed with you on any Forest Service managed lands in the Northwest, I'm glad I've got a jump on it.

A large percentage of the hay I purchase is indeed certified weed seed free each year. And while pellets are by virtue of their formulation process generally considered weed seed free, I tend to seek out certified pellets as well. At home, instead of using grain to put my horses' supplements in, I use grass hay pellets. It is very similar to what my horses eat in their hay, and it keeps the pellets in their diet so I don't have any big surprises when I'm in the field. In today's market, we can get pellets made from any kind of hay.

I always bring at least a bale of certified hay with me on a mission and keep it in my trailer in case I can base from there. If not, then I rely on the Rubbermaid tub I have in my trailer that's regularly filled with one-gallon zip-lock bags each holding about 5 pounds of grass hay pellets. One bag per meal. 10 pounds per day. These are easy for me to put on my pack horses and I can carry enough for my team members' horses as well. If I don't have a pack horse, then I can at least squeeze in a couple bags in my saddle bags.

All my horses eat out of feed bags at home and they all spend copious amounts of time on the high line. I prefer a lightweight mesh feed bag and avoid the older traditional canvas ones. The canvas ones were great when that was all we had, but a burlap bag or these newer mesh bags are a huge improvement.

For my horses, I prefer to tie to my trailer over turning my horses loose with other unknown horses. Horses belonging to my team members are different - I know who gets along with whom already because we train together yearlong. In my area, the horse team is rarely called out anywhere close to development, so being comfortable in the wilderness is a necessity. Thankfully, I know that this is where I am MOST comfortable, so all is well.

Our SAR unit has developed a set of standards both for being on the horse team and for being able to respond to wilderness missions. Until these standards are met, a newer members will not be able to spend the night in the field anyway.  We offer an overnight training/test each year. We seem to always choose the night that it goes from 80 degrees in the evening to snowing by morning and it really cut the wheat from the chafe.

So, I suggest planing ahead and preparing by acclimating your horses to processed/pelleted feed well ahead of the need to spend the night in the field, thus reducing the need for a sudden change in feed.

Hope this helps.
Safe Trails,
Kate

"We are what we repeatedly do."

Kate Beardsley
...building relationships
...developing athletes
..."driven" to excellence
Central Oregon


> ------------------------------
>
> Message: 10
> Date: Tue, 28 Oct 2008 11:20:05 -0600
> From: Una Smith <una.smith@att.net>
> Subject: Re: [MSAR] Feeding horse during a mission (Was: Still here)
> To: Mounted search and rescue <msar-riders@lists.ibiblio.org>
> Message-ID: <20081028172005.GB10662@att.net>
> Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii
>
> Lila Corey wrote:
> >I was thinking out all night?
>
> Well, my first thought is that a novice SAR responder probably
> is not qualified to search at night. Also, in some jurisdictions
> searches are suspended at night. In both of those cases, at most
> your team would be asked to "camp" with your horses at your own
> trailers in the staging area. That is similar to going to a
> multi-day competitive trail ride or endurance ride. NATRC has a
> really good manual for riders that discusses how to trailer camp,
> among much other useful information. I think you can buy a copy
> without joining NATRC.
>
> In many jurisdictions, MSAR teams are put up for the night at a
> near-by rodeo ground, horse campground, or farm. In those cases,
> your horses could be put in stalls, or turned out in pens or a
> pasture. One thing you can do to enhance your team's utility is
> accustom your horses to being turned out together. Some teams
> do this by holding trainings somewhere that has a large paddock
> or arena, and turning the horses out while the riders do classroom
> work or eat lunch or just hang out. Doing this successfully,
> without harm to the horses, may require some advance planning and
> supervision, to ensure the horses are introduced to one another
> without conflict.
>
> Hope this helps,
>
> Una Smith
> New Mexico



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