Dutch Hollow Acres

My weekend was a busy one.  With winter coming so do my winter horse boarders.  This year I ended up filling up my 20×35 run-in shed with hay which means I needed a place for the horses to get out of the wind, rain, and snow. The problem?  Yeah I’m broke.  So after researching shelters that are frequently used for alpacas, sheep, goats, and other small livestock I got to thinking; Why can’t it be modified for horses?   The general idea was to use cattle panels for a shelter as I saw at .......

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I just got my genetics kit in the mail for Cornell University's horse size study. If you'd like to participate email equinegenetics@cornell.edu

You'll be asked to take hair samples of your horse and to make 35 different measurements on your horse.  They provide a return envelope, detailed directions and even the tape measure to use!  They need 1000 horses for this study.  They'd live everything from minatures to shires as they try to figure out what genes are responsible for size of a horse.

June in Western New York means hay season! This is year 3 of me running our own farm and each year we’re getting “better” at predicting our hay needs and storage space.  This year I think we’ll finally have gotten our act together.

Storage:
In years past my storage space was limited to one 11×11 foot stall.  Amazingly I could squeeze 100 bales into that little space.  OH yeah, you’re looking at the queen of stacking hay.  This year we have plenty of space.  The center of our barn is 18’x35’ and I have been using it as a run-in for the horses.  Before then It was filled with junk and clutter accumulated from previous owners. 

The horses have now been evicted, the floor raked and pallets are laid out.  I’m ready for hay!  I’m hoping to fit 3-400 bales in here with room for a walking path and air flow.

Here’s a photo of the new space and Goliath looking in wondering why he can’t play in there any more.

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With the ground thawed and the air warm and sunny we got back to work on our fence.  Last year we had time and funds to do 2 lengths of the big pasture making an “L”.  This spring our goal is to finish the other 2 sides. 

We decided to extend the pasture to within 20-25 feet of our property line leaving a nice lane all the way around for easy mowing, hiking, and ability to drive the carriage around.  The expansion also adds 1+ acres to the pasture which I’m sure the animals will enjoy.  This also gives me the ability to easily do rotational grazing inside the sturdy perimeter fence.

Photo of the corner brace posts ready to be set. 

Warm days in March!  They never happen and I'm taking full advantage of them.

Yesterday I took 2 of my alpaca boys out for a walk.  They have been doing very well in their training.  Yesterday they finally stood still when cars went past them on the road.  It's a big step because a car flying by at 45mph is scary.

CW got to entertain some kids waiting for their bus.  He even took treats out of their hands which really surprised me!  He's usually very shy and hardly takes grain out of my hand let alone a strangers.  Must be kids, they are small and less threatening.

Cotton got a workout today.  I've been teaching her how to canter on the lounge line.  She's really good with all her trots but is still young enough that she' unbalanced cantering in a circle.  She did really well and was fresh this morning.  The first time I asked for a canter she bucked the whole way around.  Goofball.

Reality check!  Are you brining up flies in the dead of winter?  Yes I am because early planning leads to less flies come spring.

I have been doing a fly experiment since we bought our farm in 2008.

•  Year 1 – Zero fly control – Other than sticking up a disposable fly trap we did nothing to manage the annoying fly population.  I did this as a control to see how bad it really was.  It was bad
• Year2 – manure management .  We picked up piles 2x a day in all dirt paddocks and anywhere around the barn.  The fields were raked out with a York rake once a week to break up the poop piles so they would dry out in the sun fast.   Fly population – Just as bad as year1 if not worse!
• Year3 invested in Spaulding fly predators:  Oh my gosh what a difference!  I kept up on my manure management as per their suggestion and distributed the fly predators according to the directions once a month.  The difference was night and day.  The fly problem was cut down to almost nothing.

So what are fly predators?  They are a micro wasp that feasts on fly larva. (don't worry you can't even see them and they couldn't sting you if they tried)  The predators are shipped to you depending on the freeze thaw cycle in your area.  For me May – August and arrive once a month.  The company has great customer support and wonderful incentives to buy from them like doubling your orders for free on the heavy fly months if you do an auto pay.    The price for the predators is cheaper than any other method I’ve researched and better yet it’s an organic method of fly control with no chemicals or feed through pesticides to your livestock.  If you have every had to swat a fly away at your barn give these a try, you won’t be sorry.

--Lindsay
www.DutchHollowAcres.com