Sallygarden Smallholding - The Forum For Sustainable Living

Does anybody have any knowledge or experience of working horses on the farm? Just what kind of work can they do? Are they an economical option?

We are looking into getting one and so far would like to use them to help drag thinned oak from the woods, perhaps plough vegetable beds and looking into growing our own grain and fodder for the horse itself, chickens and pigs.

Anybody with experience of any of this, please get in touch.

I have a lot of experience with horses but none with regards working them on a farm. They do work out expensive to feed & shoe, but if they help you grow there own feed, why not!
Like must animals, they all have such diff personalities, so beware! Make sure you insist on getting the animal on trial for a few days and be cautious of an animal priced too cheap. And never deal with dealers. As a starter horses i would purchase a 14-15hh heavy cob type. They are generally quiet and easy going, stronge enough to carry a heavy man and gentle enough for a child. They are not prone to lameness or other problems. If you are thinking of breeding. its pays in the long run to buy a good(expensive mare) as she will pay back ten fold. for this i would recommand a connemara pony. You can get a heavy type within the breed, her foals ( filly) will be worth 2k-2.5k min as yearlings if she was put to a approved stallion and is fully reg. Stallion fees are generally €150 ish. Connemaras are good natured, hardy and excel in carriage driving.

Hope this helps

We rescued a horse over a year ago and one of the most startling things that I realised as we began our efforts to actually learn how to look after her(we had NO horse expereience before this) was that horses are in general looked after very poorly. I have always been interested in natural things but for some reason had assumed that there was one way to look after horses and that they were all looked after really well.
The great thing is that since we have adopted natural principles we have spent very little on our horse. Like anyone else they will look after themselves if given the right conditions.

Here are some of the main things that we learnt.
1)Never stable your horse unless he is injured or sick and needs to be confined to "bed". Can you imagine leaving your dog in a tiny dog house for 22 hours a day and expecting him to be normal. It would be considered cluelty by the ISPCA. Horses in stables can develop all sorts of extremely serious mental disorders and physical ones too, but it all just seems to be part of looking after a stabled horse to many horse owners. They don't see these things as abnormal.
2)Shoes are not good for a horse. There is a huge body of evidence that they are completely unnessecary and are detrimental to the health of the hoof and entire horse. Unfortunately this is a controversial area and one where it is hard to get accurate information. There are also no barefoot trimmers in the Republic which makes it hard to go "barefoot" as they do still need regular hoof maintenance.
3)Do not feed concentrates if at all possible. A horse needs to eat for 16 hours a day in order to have a healthy digestive system. That means eating grass, hay or haylage with some oats possibly for a working horse. Seaweed meal is a good vitamim boost. Concentrates are the equivalent of fast food for a horse....it may be called food, but that's a matter or opinion
4)Undertake natural worm control measures if possible. Just like for humans, if we keep pumping our horses full of worming doses every 6 weeks then their immune system is seriously impaired and worms and other parasites are developing resistance anyway. The insecticides also pullute the soil and you wouldn't be able to use your manure for your veg.
5)when training your horse do not go down the "standard" route, seek out trainers/books/dvds who have a much more humane approach

Fascinating stuff Maria.

About shoeing, wouldn't they need shoes if they were to go on the road? I was told no shoes fine for work in the fields or trecking on soft tracks, but on the road the hoofs would ware down too fast. Also Tom Nixon said shoes are needed for a working horse in woodland situations because if they were to stand on a cut stump of a felled tree they are in danger of splitting the hoof which would be the end of the horse.

Poo fuel, now there's a pioneering idea!

I've had quite a few folk tell me now that horse concentrate feed isn't required.

Whats the difference between silage and haylage?

Shoeing a horse when been used on the road or other rough surfaces is a have too, and to do otherwise is cruel, even in native breeds. If your horse is doing above moderate work they will need feeding.I always feed a high protein mix stud cube in smaller qualties, instead of a lower value feed. the differance the protein makes is unreal to all horses. there simply is not enough nutrients in our soil or grass any more. Most horses are very lacking in minerals especially copper.
I have worked training horses in usa, germany and ireland for many years, and there is a big differance from a horse with a grass belly and one who is nutrienally balance and healthy. Regards worming; the wormers you purchase from co-op are completely useless. I have found the following to be the best method of control. and i have come to this conclusion and having the stool anaylised for worm egg counts. Ask your vet once a year to tube down the horses stomach for worms. it will flush out there intestines of all worms and then an iv injection that will clean out the major organs and blood vessels. This costs about the same amount as one wormer paste and is only needed once a year. But it can't be done to a very wormy neglected horse as it can bring on coilc due to the worm damage present.
Marie

I went to a natural horsemanship demonstration yesterday and it was absolutely brilliant. The gentle and and trusting relationship between the horse and owner was amazing, as was the horses response to the slightest of suggestions to do something ... sometimes the suggestions were hardly noticeable to the onlookers. Others told of how after a few years of work with their horses they need only now 'think' of their instructions and the horses do it!

I've just aquired a horse (got delivered yesterday, woohoo! He's a darling!) and I'm really interested in the natural horsemanship methods. I watched a Monty Roberts DVD years ago when I worked as a groom and found that his methods worked well on almost all the horses in my care, even loose schooling in a rectangular school instead of a round pen.
I'm going to research the barefoot riding and bitless bridles cos my fella has had bad experiences somewhere along the line and anything that builds trust is a good thing!
-Kirstie

There are two places left on the Pony/Horse Power and Round Pen positive horsemanship courses at the ispca. Click on Courses & Events on this forum to find out more. I'll be going along to one of them.

Not going to make that. Will have to dream from afar (and do my fair share of googling ).
-Kirstie

Interesting article: http://www.independent.ie/farming/a-co- ... 03788.html
-Kirstie

Exciting news. Our first working horse arrives at the weekend, a 5 year old mare, heavy cob 14.2h and her 6 month old cold foal. She is broken to ride but not ridden for 2 years. Exciting times. Will keep you posted.

That is exciting! I can't wait to see pics! What colour is she, and her colt?
-Kirstie

They are both mostly white with some black piebald patches. I know a lot of folk aren't so keen on blue eyed horses, but both have blue eyes, I think it's lovely!

I agree. My first 'own' pony was piebald - nearly all white on one side with pink skin and a blue eye, and nearly all black on the other (went brown in summer ) and a brown eye. I loved that pony - he was so cheeky!
-Kirstie

Just seen your pics now! They're gorgeous!
I'm having a few confidence issues myself right now with my fella. He came to me as a napper who couldn't be caught. He catches fine now and he's a dream to handle on the ground, but when I go to get on him his adrenalin levels go sky high. I've introduced a bitless bridle as a bitted one seemed to really freak him out. He's not a young boy so probably had a rough time of it before. I'm determined we will work past these issues - I'm pretty sure most of it is due to a lack of confidence (from both of us!). I'ld love to free school him but we are limited to schooling areas right now!
-Kirstie