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| Do you stable your horse? Tired of using that old shovel to try and pick up the manure?
Then you need to try a stable fork, also called an *apple picker*. Based on the idea behind a pitchfork, a stable fork has many tines with which you can sift through your horse's bedding.
Most forks are made of durable plastic (although some are made of metal tines, I found those bent out of shape easier), which last quite a long time if not abused (like moving manure frozen to the ground).
The easiest way I've found to use these forks is to sift the bedding in a front to back manner (or side to side, you'll quickly learn what feels most comfortable to you).
You can also bounce the forkful, allowing the clean bedding to drop through the tines, leaving only the manure on the fork.
To clean wet spots, use it like a shovel and don't try to sift - just remove the whole forkful to your wheelbarrow.
Stable forks can be found at most tack and feed stores, and usually retail around $30-35. Replacement heads can also be purchased if you break too many tines for the fork to be useful.
Whoever thought up this tool should be given an award - after years of cleaning stalls with pitchforks and shovels, this was a great addition to my barn equipment!
Next week? |
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Past articles are all available in the
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| We've been talking about winter blankets for our equine companions, but most horses here in northern BC can go quite happily without.
Ensuring that your horse has adequate shelter can usually eliminate the need to interfere with his life by blanketing.
A horse should have access to a three-sided shelter all year round. This will provide your horse with a sun and wind break, a roof to get out of the rain or snow, and also a place to drowse in the sun.
For that reason, most three-sided shelters are built south facing, to take advantage of the sun's southward arc through the day.
You will find that many horses refuse to use their shelters when you think they'd be most likely to, but having them when they feel the need for them is important, especially to get out of the wind.
A healthy, well fed horse can withstand pretty cool temperatures (in fact, their main comfort range is from +5 C to -5 C), as long as they are not wet or in the wind. Both of those factors can quickly chill a horse by lowering his natural insulation ability - being wet prevents the hair from fluffing up and the wind blows right through the hair, stripping the heat from the surface of the skin.
So, if you have a three-sided shelter in your paddock or field, your horse will likely need no other help to keep warm in the winter apart from good clean feed and plenty of fresh water.
If you have tips or questions you'd like to share with other local equestrians, please mail them to kristi@hiway16.com |
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| You can ask your horse to stop by saying a verbal command (usually "whoa") and stopping your forward motion. If he doesn't stop right away, tug firmly on the lead in short tugs until he does.
You don't want to hang on the lead until he stops, as he can become numb to the constant pressure, but you don' t want to jerk hard either - with horses, the less pressure it takes to get the right response, the better!
As soon as he stops, praise him by telling him, in a happy tone of voice, how good he is and by rubbing his neck. Horses learn faster from positive reinforcement than anything else!
Practice stopping from the walk at various points in the work area. See if you can get your horse responsive enough to stop with just your voice cue, or just your body language. Remember to praise him when he does it right, though you can use less praise as leading and stopping becomes part of his daily routine.
One way of teaching your horse some respect for your space is to teach him to back up on cue. From a stand still, turn and face backwards - looking along the side of your horse towards his hind end. Lean forward, as if you are about to start walking forward (towards the hind end), and push the rope towards your horse's chest until he shifts his weight back and takes a step.
Just like in the stop, you can give a verbal command, such as "back" or "back up". Make sure you praise him when he backs - release the pressure immediately as he starts to step back.
As he figures out that stepping backwards is the right answer, you can start to add more steps.
In next week's column, we'll talk about more maneuvers you can do from the ground to make your horse safer and more fun to work with on the ground. |
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Western, English, Penning or Trail riding, all equine sports have a voice on Northern B.C. Horse.
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