Mounted search and rescue

[Karen Nesbitt <spanishequines@yahoo.com>]

I used to show and was also breeding horses.  I found the best and healthiest 
foals were the ones that hit the ground in the spring when the grass was 
green.  Since we pastured, the mares had green grass at the optimum time to 
produce the optimum nutrition in their milk.  I would sooner sacrifice the 
ribbons and the January first birth date for a foal to be raised on good 
grass with it's dam than struggle breaking ice and the possibility of foals 
and mares getting pneumonia.  Most of ours were born in the early morning.  
Most of them also will foal during the full moon cycle.  Since we pasture run 
the stallions with the mares and foals, we find nature knows best, not the 
showring or race schedule!  But then, that is just our horses and our humble 
opinion and what works the best for us on an Illinois farm.
   
  Fall foals are not bad, at least they still have a chance at some green 
grass at the early months of life and for milk production and besides that 
the milk normally declines in value at around three months of age anyway.
   
  We also do not like to start our animals too young when it comes to 
training.   Stress on young knees cripple horses and personally we don't find 
a problem with saddlebreaking a 4 or 5 year old considering the benifits of 
having horses in their late 20's and still sound to ride and fit to breed!!  
So I say, throw away the show and race schedule and do what is best for the 
horse.
   
  Karen Nesbitt
   
  PS - heres a little ditty about a 911 savy Kitty!
   
  Cat Calls 911 to Help Owner, Police Say - Yahoo! News

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20060102/ap_on_re_us/911_cat_call

  (Far be it from me when some things surpass all understanding!)
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Yahoo! for Good - Make a difference this year. 
>From Jorene@CEOates.com  Mon Jan  2 16:41:42 2006
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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