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Nov
19
Posted by Janet Payne
We have all walked into a barn and inhaled the familiar scent of ammonia. Even in carefully cleaned stalls, traces of this odor still exist. The source of this odor stems from the breakdown of equine waste, which produces ammonia. Ammonia is a harmful gas that could contribute to reduced performance and overall decreased health of your horse. The ammonia gas is not only unpleasant, it can be dangerous. The fumes are capable of burning and irritating the eyes and lungs. If you can discover the existence of ammonia gas by its smell, it is already twice the concentration at which it becomes harmful to any creature that breathes it or is constantly exposed to it.
Ammonia evolves by the decomposition of urine and manure. Horses expel excess protein, that is not metabolized during digestion, through urine in the form of urea. Because a horse can eliminate as much as 1-1 1/2 gallons of urine at a time, no amount of bedding can catch that much urine. The urine can leak into dark, hidden places and once that happens naturally occurring anaerobic bacteria feeds on the nutrients of the urea-rich liquid, with this process resulting in making ammonia. Straw bedding soiled with manure and urine tends to produce more ammonia gas than sawdust/shavings.
In a study by the Equine Pulmonary Laboratory at Michigan State University’s School of Veterinary Medicine, they found that young horses, stabled during training, suffered respiratory distress when compared to pastured horses of the same age. While dust and mold in feed and bedding played a part in pulmonary problems, it is believed that exposure to ammonia also negatively impacts their respiratory systems. “Besides just being unpleasant in a barn, ammonia gas burns the delicate tissues of the respiratory tract and the eyes and increases mucus production. We conclude that stabling is associated with inflammation of both the upper and lower airway of young horses.”
The following are some steps that you can take to achieve your goal:
Keep your horse outside as much as possible. Fresh air, constant grazing and regular movement, have multiple benefits. Warm, closed up barns can create an ammonia problem by the heat encouraging bacterial growth along with agitating ammonia molecules and causing the gas to rise. Horses are healthier and happier outside.
Clean your stall on a regular basis. Clean your stalls daily or twice daily by removing visible urine and wet bedding. Choose a bedding with a high absorbency level to help lower the levels of ammonia in a stall. Straw is the least absorbent and not the best choice other than for foaling. Once the foal is born, strip the stall and replace with an absorbent bedding such as shavings.
Consult your equine veterinarian or nutritionist. While protein is important, consult your equine specialist about forming a diet specific to your horse’s needs and eliminate unnecessary protein, which contributes to excess urine production.
Make sure you have good ventilation. When you must stall your horse, make sure that you provide adequate ventilation. Tight barns do not allow the ammonia fumes to escape. Good ventilation provides areas where air can enter and escape the barn, allowing distribution of air evenly. This will help regulate temperature and moisture levels and contribute to the removal of odors and gases. You may have to consider some kind of forced air circulation to deal with the building levels of ammonia gases.
Eliminate the areas where urine collects. Try using interlocking or seamless stall mats and sealing them to prevent urine from escaping through the cracks. Bedding, mixed with a quality neutralizing product, can then be applied on top of the mats. The use of lime on the floor, after the stall is cleaned and before new bedding is put in, can help slow the growth of bacteria and reduce odors.
Ammonia gas can be significantly reduced if the right things are done simultaneously with available methods and management practices that involve ventilation, manure management, building cleanliness, and feed management.
The Grange Supply carries stall mats, pelleted bedding, shavings, PDZ and lime (neutralizing products). You can use the PDZ in your kitty litter box and small animal litter boxes as well!!
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Nov
06
Posted by Janet Payne
Irksome Ice
Like puddles, pasture water tanks, as well as stall water buckets, will ice over in sub-freezing weather. Again, where you live will determine whether you’ll need to invest in a water heater of some sort.
There are four styles of pasture stock tank heaters available on the market–float, submersible, side mount, or a drain plug de-icer. Look for them at your local feed and tack or hardware stores. All work equally well, but due to their differences, you might opt for one over others depending on the situation.
For safety’s sake, the float style heater doesn’t quite measure up to the other three when used in plastic stock tanks. Should the elements of a float heater accidentally touch the wall of a plastic tank above the water level, the element is hot to melt the plastic. Nevertheless, special guards can be purchased for use on float-style heaters, making them much safer to use.
No matter which type of stock tank heater you choose to use, keep a watchful eye on your horse’s water consumption. If your horse doesn’t appear to be drinking, it might be due to a short in the heater causing an electric shock each time your horse goes to take a drink.
To avoid this problem, a tank heater can be plugged into a ground fault circuit interrupter (GFCI). However, unlike a circuit breaker or fuse, a GFCI is activated by very small measures of electricity. For this reason, you’ll still have to check your water tank daily to be sure that the GFCI hasn’t tripped, allowing the tank to freeze.
There are also several freeze-proof water buckets available for the stalled horse. Heating elements are actually built directly into the walls of the buckets and are thermostat-controlled to keep the water between 40 and 60�F.
Another option is to use a drop-in bucket heater. While these must not be used as a standard water heater to keep a horse’s water from freezing (your horse could burn itself on the heater or remove it from the bucket and start a fire), they’re great if you simply need to warm up a bucket of water for a brief period of time.
Water Woes
Water, in either liquid or frozen form, is a big concern in many parts of the country. No matter the source, be it from too much rain or melting snow, the end result is the same: Wading pools and mud bogs everywhere (particularly at the pasture gate, along well-used paths between the house and barn, around pasture water tanks, and possibly even inside your horse’s run-in shed).
If you have an extensive problem with large areas of pooling water, speak to a contractor. He’ll assist you with a plan to not only build up the low problem spots, but to divert the run-off in a controlled direction.
If you have the skills, equipment, and knowledge, you might take on the challenge yourself. However, be aware that just dumping a load of fill dirt in front of the gate will not likely solve your dilemma, at least not for any great length of time.
No matter how well you’ve planned ahead, there will assuredly be a few puddles to deal with. If your nighttime lows regularly dip below freezing, those puddles will soon be converted into skating rinks. Identify puddles that will be skating rinks come winter, and either get a contractor to help you divert the water, or keep a supply of clay-based cat litter, course salt, or ashes from your fireplace to scatter over the ice. If you have stalled horses, the soiled bedding from your horses’ stalls will also work quite nicely. Keep in mind that the salt–and to a lesser degree the ash–can damage the soil. If you choose to use either of these two methods, use them sparingly.
Also, you may want to assess your farm’s response to a loss of electricity. Many rural farms use wells that are driven by electrical pumps, so when there is no power there is no water, which can definitely create problems. Having a gasoline-powered electrical generator on hand could help solve water problems if the power goes off for several days.
Come to the Grange Supply in Issaquah for all your deicer needs.
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Sep
09
Posted by Liam Shaw
How electric fencing works
An electric fence is a psychological barrier that keeps farm animals in and wild animals out – even over long distances.
A pulsed electric current is sent along the fence wire, about one pulse per second, from an energizer which is grounded. When the animal touches the fence it completes the circuit between the fence and the ground and receives a short, sharp but safe shock. The shock is sufficiently memorable that the animal never forgets.
Because the electric fence is a psychological barrier, it does not require great strength to be effective. However, it must be well designed and constructed to absorb some pressure from animals, snow and wind. The energizer must have enough power for the length of the fence and for the animals being controlled.
Uses and benefits
Animal control is perhaps the most widely recognized reason for power fencing. Not only does power fencing keep domestic animals and livestock contained, it has various other important uses, including:
• Keeping wild animals out
• Separating different groups of animals
• Allowing rationing of crops and pasture
• Fencing animals off from eroding areas, trees, rivers and roads
Power fencing has revolutionized pasture management techniques and better pasture management means better profitability for farmers. Permanent or portable power fences are used to subdivide pasture to ensure even distribution of manure over grazing areas. In this way, pastures are kept fresh, short and palatable which ultimately leads to increased milk and meat production. If you are interested in finding out more about pasture management techniques.
Other key benefits of power fencing:
• Affordable
• Easily constructed and maintained
• Durable, because of low physical contact
• Light weight and easily transported
• Easily modified
• Less animal hide and pelt damage
• Deterrent to trespassers and predators
For convenient, economical animal control, improved pasture management and more profitable farming, a Gallagher Power Fence System is the trusted solution.
supplied by http://www.gallagherusa.com/
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Apr
22
Posted by Simone Mauhl
The Grange in Issaquah now carries the Triple Crown horse feed. We do have the Triple Crown Senior, Triple Crown Lite, Triple Crown Low Starch and Triple Crown Complete in stock, but we can special order any of the Triple Crown feeds.
Click here to go to the official Triple Crown website
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Feb
06
Posted by Janet Payne
♦ RidersRasp™ is the first tool of its kind designed for horse owners to sustain hoof balance and soundness
♦ RidersRasp™ lengthens trimming intervals, SAVE MONEY
♦ RidersRasp™ eases breakover, removes flares and stops crackin
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Feb
06
Posted by Janet Payne
Horses develop sand colic by ingesting sand that accumulates in the intestines and causes impactions, frequently in several locations. Feeding horses away from sandy areas and with sand-free hay helps reduce this risk, as does providing constant access to a salt block so that the horses are not tempted to seek minerals directly in the sand, Steinman said. In high-risk cases, he added, bulk-forming fiber laxatives can be given every 30 to 60 days as a prophylactic.
The study showed a statistically significant correlation between a high respiratory rate and a poor prognosis for survival. “Respiratory rate is a measure of pain,” Steinman said. “It reflects the degree to which the horse is affected, so the earlier the operation, the better the outcome.” However, he noted, this is not unique to sand colic.
Radiograph showing sand collected in pony’s intestine.
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Feb
04
Posted by Janet Payne
Internal parasites rob the horse of feed nutrients and are a leading cause of colic. Following a deworming program that consists of testing for parasites and deworming with the appropriate amount and type of product is important. Making use of fecal tests can indicate which parasites are actually present, making for a much stronger deworming program. This test can range in price from $11 to $15. Not every horse in a paddock needs to be fecal tested, but a random few that live together will provide good information about the group. If a group of horses has a low parasite load, the treating veterinarian might suggest you postpone deworming, leading to substantial savings if multiple horses are owned.
We sell Ivermectin, strongid, and other dewormers.
For another article on the topic click here
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