cptrayes
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Evil green stuffHow is everyone doing for the evil green stuff  ? I live at 1100 feet and I am still having to keep the boys off it during the day. Goodness only knows what it's like in more fertile paddocks.
I had to laugh just now. I was browsing EE's Barefoot Forum and came across someone saying that they couldn't keep their horses sound this summer and are thinking of shoeing them. After a lot of discussion, where someone finally said that 24/7 turnout was the issue (well done ParisDiamond, how's the baby?  ) Original Poster then posted "I can't understand why I am starting to get these problems now. In the winter, I had no issues."
How many brain cells does it take to make the connection?
C
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brucea
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EE's barefoot forum?
Who was it said that "the problem with common sense is that it just ain't that common"?
Evil green stuff starting to slow down here in thee north - but for the past 4 days we have had frosty mornings and bright sunny days - so keeping my lad off it during the days.
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Chris Thompson
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Ever tried telling a traditional owner about the evil green stuff? most just blank out.
IMHO it is not just horses that suffer from it - ever looked at cattle and sheep.?
Am I the only one who sees foot problems with them too?
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horsesfirst
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I used to work on dairy farms (in my yoof) and there were lots of problems with lameness. But according to one farmer I discussed it with its 'genetic' 'we've bred the feet off them' - sound familiar? 
What though is EE? 
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wo;kantanzer
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I'm in The Peak District. The sheep who live almost wild roaming the heather moorland are sound and spotlessly clean. Those on pasture are often lame and have behinds that are covered in evil green s***.
They have to shorten their tails at birth to stop them getting green and maggotty!!!!
Cows suffer similarly.
These are not intensively farmed animals and have to be sent to GREENER pastures to fatten up before slaughter 
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Nic
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Its the same story everywhere, unfortunately. Grass is still growing here, also at 1100 feet, albeit a lot further south than Caroline.
I came across some fun cow statistics (not fun for the cows, sadly) which I put on the blog yesterday - and cows and sheep don't have to "perform" like our horses do over all surfaces, all they need to do is walk on grass
Its really no wonder shoeing is so popular 
| Quote: | | How many brain cells does it take to make the connection? |
As someone once said, its not that seeing is believing, but believing is seeing
N
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Chris Thompson
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| horsesfirst wrote: | | What though is EE? |
Most Probably EuroEnduro - an endurane bulletin board.
It is always good fun to raise barefoot points on there - there are some very traditional members 
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Nic
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| Quote: | | Probably EuroEnduro |
No, its Enlightened Equitation, Heather Moffett's board. There are a few barefooters on there, but as C said, they are sometimes not quite up to speed
N
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Roobarbs Mum
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I don't think it EuroEnduro as I'm on that site and I've never seen a Barefoot forum section.
I'd love to know what EE is as well
Lucy
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becnreps
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The evil green stuff is still growing a bit around here. However, I have been very busy with university work the past week and have had to keep Repsol out longer on the grass each day than before (7 or 8 hours rather than 3 or 4!) and there has been no adverse affects to that, he's seemed a *tad* sounder on the rocky ground and doesn't dive for the soft verges to walk on in preference to the path.
However, all of this isn't really a valid comment I dont suppose as this has coincided with me taking him completely off alfalfa to try and make him sounder.
My mum made his feed the other night and put some lucie stalks in it. The day after, he was more footy. So, I'm guessing that I'm probably going to be having to put too bags of lucie stalks in the bin and waste my money yet again!  what do you think I say when people say to me: "I think I'm going to go barefoot as it will be cheaper..."
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brucea
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Where we are it is the cows that are on the grass that are actually the lucky ones - the rest are kept in a large byre (knee deep in their own poo and wee - so lots of swolen legs and infections)
Those indoors die of pneumonia quite suddenly - they have a runny nose one day and are dead the next. Very fragile animals. The mortality rate in the outdoor cattle is much lower - although these are sometimes found pushing up the daisies with no apparent cause.
The others are on slats (concrete slats over a slurry pit - so a reasonable number of injuries from slips, slats breaking and them falling on to them and into the slurry pits, pressure sores from no bedding, and often broken feet from twisting in the gaps between the slats, and broken legs from sliding on the slats. Thankfully these are being phased out on most farms now.
Realities of commercial meat production - not pretty. And all these animals are less than 30 months old.
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Jane
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We's better off here with our own kind :laughsmanicallyinevilway: 
Our green stuff is pretty good at the mo. Sheep had the big fields all summer, left it looking long, dry, pathetic. But its obviously thickened the sward loads and they've obviously had all the potent stuff as I moved the boys onto it on Monday... and since then they've hardly touched any haylage and they've still not made a dent on the 1/2 acre strip I gave them!
Mind you, no rain for 6 weeks might do that too!
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Nic
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| Quote: | | We's better off here with our own kind |
Yup, the lunatics have taken over the asylum
N
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stormybracken
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The grass is growing like mad, and now with the current sunshine / torrential downpours we're having it won't be slowing for a while! We haven't had any frost yet, unusual as we've had a few nights of frost during September for the last couple of years and that helps to slow the grass growth. Both horse and pony are tucking into their hay and haylage rations, so although the grass is growing rapidly I suspect the quality is finally dropping. Pony is a touch footy on the rocky bits but fine on gravelly bits and tarmac, horse STILL has his shoes on (were meant to come off this week but communication problems fouling it all up) so have not been able to evaluate his foot health properly. 
Patience is a virtue, patience is a virtue, screaming is very therapeutic.
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stormybracken
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| Quote: | | So, I'm guessing that I'm probably going to be having to put too bags of lucie stalks in the bin and waste my money yet again! |
I've been in the same boat, having thrown away all my old feed (have fat chickens now) and then finding lucie nuts were too much for my horse, and becoming suspicious of the lucie stalks for the pony. I've decided to hold on for a bit because they are both VERY healthy just having limited grass, hay and haylage to bulk it out, and Total Eclipse. Both live out, and are unrugged, although horse is usually rugged by now but am trying to leave it as long as possible as he's not working and is very lame with as yet undiagnosed problem. I've posted in the October Performance bit about the pony, and think he's having plenty of food, I think I was guilty of over-feeding with the lucie stalks. Once the grass quality drops I will try again.
It's been a shock to discover to I have been over-feeding the horse all year, it takes a while to drop old habits!
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brucea
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| Quote: | | VERY healthy just having limited grass, hay and haylage to bulk it out, and Total Eclipse. |
Well we are on a variation of that theme and my guys in the frigid north are doing pretty good on it. We have cold weather and a biting wind this morning. Sometimes I think we just feel we have to give them all that extra stuff otherwise we are just being bad, neglectful mums and dads!
However Link, my biggest lad, kind of crashed a little too much weight off towards the end of last year and ended up coming into the spring looking a little poor rather than just slim so he may need a little something more if there is a long cold spell. Cob has a good thick layer of insulation - despite being on small quantity, high quality rations!
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cptrayes
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"I'm in the Peak District"
I'm near the Cat and Fiddle, where are you????
C
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sarahh
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Grass WASN'T a problem for me ... have been playing electric fences in my paddock & killed off the "track" they were grazing  , so were living on hay.
Then the pair of Fat Pigs decided that ACTUALLY, electric fences aren't THAT terrifying and painful once you have a rug on (damn me for clipping them!), and so down went the electric fence *points finger accusingly at Tyler*.
I arrived yesterday evening to find 2 VERY bloated horses doing their worst on the grass that has merrily been growing 
So they're both stabled now while I draft in reinforcements for the fencing.
Boy still RC to be fair but Tyler decidedly footy on the stones.
Silly Fat Pigs just DON'T know what's good for them
x
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rose
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I had been giving my girl gradually more and more space and even letting her out in to the big field for a few hours in her grazng muzzle until the latest rain. I am now a bit concerned that the grass may be growing again with the rain and sun so its back to her tiny paddock.
Diet is hay lots and lots of it as she is looking a bit slim and unmolassed sugarbeet, unmolassed alfalfa, linseed alternated with formula 4 feet.
Apparently Formula 4 Feet should not be fed with any other supplement that has significant levels of copper and zinc and linseed has naturally occuring copper in it.
I have run out of brewers yeast but she would normally have this too.
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hobnob
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Grass wise, we are moving elec fence around track but still only at night. Tried doing it in the morning aswell (no frost yet) but it was a bit much for poor sensitive girl and she started looking where she was walking on the rocky bits. Still mostly on soaked hay. Rain and sun havent caused any problems as the grass they eat down is quickly turned into mud by way of 'wacky races' around the place !!! Nutters !!
There is a pic on my blog of the said wacky races they have, in the snow back in the early part of the year. Have a look it will make you laugh !!
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maggiesmum
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Yep, it did - fantastic picture!!!
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Moobag
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Would a grazing muzzle not be the answer??
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brucea
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Learning that all grass is not equal...it is what is in the ground that determines what is in the grass....and I'm starting to look at more than the green covering. Early days yet.
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cptrayes
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| Moobag wrote: | | Would a grazing muzzle not be the answer?? |
My Shetland got rubbed raw by a neoprene padded grazing muzzle in two days. It was only on at night too. I haven't had a lot of success with muzzles. My laminitic eventer could get too much grass even in a muzzle 
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stormybracken
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I finally took down the electric fences bar one little section I can use as a paddock last week, and both are surviving on all the extra grass. The field is now Z shaped from the flat bottom of the Z they have been on in sections for a few months up a steep hill climb up to about another acre at the top. When I tried them just on that top acre night time only a month ago the horse promptly got very runny poos after two nights, so stopped that quickly, but now he seems fine. Not only is the additional exercise helping to reduce his lameness, his movement is much freer and the angle of his leg is straighter, but my back is enjoying the break from filling and soaking and draining the six haynets I've been feeding them for two months whilst on limited grazing! Mind you, the backs of my legs aren't enjoying it... No frost yet, but can't be far away.
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