Our CHH perspective and recommendations come from the fact that we deal with the never-ending stream of people who have problems with their horses - all too often, major and all of them directly attributable to forage and feed.
Calm Healthy Horses addresses the various issues affecting domestic horses as MANAGEMENT issues not HORSE issues.
Horses evolved on, and therefore are only adapted to, vast semi-arid environments where rainfall and therefore fresh, green forage, were comparatively scarce. Very different from the small acreages of permanent green grass in regions which are more wet than dry where we keep them these days.
When you construct a green grass free area in the form of a Dry Lot or a Track, you are in effect, creating a ‘mini version’ of a semi-arid area: a Mini-Desert Environment.
This ENABLES you to manage the grass on the remaining areas of the property. It gives you somewhere to keep your horses at times when the grass isn’t suitable.
If you have sufficient land, are not over-stocked, and you can keep grass at a more mature stage of growth ahead of your horses, then you may not need to create the 'desert' area.
We sincerely hope that those who rent out their paddocks for grazing become educated. Agistment owners should have grass free options (not just yards or ‘yaddocks’) available so their clients can appropriately attend to their horse’s individual needs. In these environments there is no ‘one-size fits all’ grazing strategy that works for a whole group of horses.
In our view it is not acceptable to have ‘Field Rules’ that put both horse’s welfare and rider’s safety at risk.
A proper mini desert environment will become your biggest asset because it enables you to MANAGE access to the grass you have so that it doesn’t cause your horse to develop issues.
NOT understanding or having control over your horse’s grass intake can be expensive in more ways than one:
1. You can spend a LOT of money on investigations and treatments which are ‘barking up the wrong tree’. Money better spent on a permanent solution suited to the requirements of the types of horses on the property.
2. Loss of priceless confidence - which can be a major challenge to recover from.
3. WASTED YEARS because you can’t get the horse ‘right’ and therefore you can’t enjoy your horses or make real progress.
It is Summer down under – the best time to get your mini desert underway and completed in time for when the autumn rains arrive and the grass greens up!
Whether your mini desert takes the shape of a Dry Lot or a Track is often dictated by the drainage of the terrain on your property and the resources available.
Obviously it is easier and less costly on dry, well-draining land.
Do what you can with resources available with the view of extending it later.
Once you have experienced the difference in your horses after being kept on a mini-desert vs before when they were on green grass, there is no going back!
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