It's My Book Anniversary!

August 15 is the one year anniversary of my book Common Sense Horse Keeping! It was such a journey to find a publisher and finish writing my book, which I had been working on, off and on for over a decade. To see the finished product is one of the biggest accomplishments of my life!

My editor had suggested the laminated resource guide, which was a big hit. Then about a month ago, I decided to add a Barn Book journal, a Health Records book journal and a Pasture Management journal. I wasn’t sure how receptive people would be, but the response has been very positive! These are blank journals to write down important information, which is something that I talk about in the book. In the event of an emergency, anyone should be able to walk into your barn, and be able to keep the barn running without any disruption, and this is why a Barn Book is so important! Use these journals to write down important information such as turn-out schedules, health records, farrier appointments, important phone numbers, feed instructions, and any other pertinent information to keep your barn running smoothly! While there are some fancy barn management books out there, they tend to be expensive. Software also exists, but that means that the person left in charge must find that information online. I designed my journals so that they would stand out and be easy to locate, and that the barn manager would be able to write in it as they saw fit. Mine sit on the feed counter in my feed room and I update it according to seasons.

I want to thank my loyal readers of my blog and my social media, by giving away one of each journal, a laminated resource guide, plus a signed copy of Common Sense Horse Keeping. And you don’t have to do anything…well not much, depending on how badly you want to win! If you are already receiving my blog, you will be entered to win the set. If you want extra chances to win the set, follow me on Facebook and Lori Tankel (@commonsensehorsekeeping) • Instagram photos and videos 

If you leave a review on Amazon or GoodReads, you get another chance to win. Just be sure to drop me a PM or reply to this blog, letting me know of the email connected to those entries!

The winner will be drawn on August 16, and I will announce the winner in the next blog, which will come out on August 22.

In other news….

Most of the country is dealing with insane record heat…here at my farm in Florida, we were experiencing heat index numbers of 114! Naturally, the heat was discussed quite a bit on social media. Unfortunately, there were a number of people who said that they were not taking extra measures to keep their horses comfortable, because, they reasoned, horses in the wild do just fine. First of all, wild horses are not necessarily doing ok. Nor are wild animals in general. They either survive or they die. Just because they are wild doesn’t mean that they can adapt to these challenging conditions of extreme weather. And secondly, our horses are domesticated pansies. They are nothing like wild horses. Most cannot handle extreme weather. I have read reports from several vet clinics of horses dying in Ocala due to the heat. Even my 10 year old healthy OTTB, Gabe, has been struggling. Common Sense should dictate that this is not the time to be riding, unless you are walking down a shady dirt road for a very short trail ride. It is ok to give horses time off! They do not need to be ridden 365 days a year! Extreme weather requires extra effort in caring for your animals….even my ducks (despite having a pool to swim in) and my hens are struggling.  

This heat has made me very grumpy, and coupled with the fact that Chance, my other OTTB, suffered a horrific leg wound and had over 50 sutures in his hind leg, has made me a person not fit to be around humans (my poor husband. But he can solve that problem anytime by agreeing to move back north!) I am not only dealing with changing bandages daily (the sutures came out, but the wound is still not 100% healed, and there was proud flesh), but this heat and humidity has caused everyone, even the donkeys, to develop skin crud, something that I have not had to deal with in nearly 10 years. (My favorite go to for skin issues? Hilton Herbs Mud Defender lotion and Bye Bye Itch lotion. Add the supplements for those who suffer year-round.) Yeah, I am grumpy! The heat means extra work. I have added more chores to my routine to keep everyone healthy and cool. My regiment in this heat:

-I am hosing off my horses every hour from 10-1. They go outside at 7am and are dripping with sweat by 10. I will spray my donkeys if they let me, otherwise I take a wet towel and wipe them down

-At 1, they get hosed off again and come into the barn for a wet mash. My stalls have ceiling fans, but last week I added an extra fan to each stall, which hang on their stall doors

-The best thing we did was to add sprinklers to the roof. I turn them on throughout the afternoon and it drops the temperature in the barn quickly

-I was asked if they are any better off by being in the barn. Well, they aren’t covered in sweat and they are either dozing or eating hay in front of their stall door fans. They are pretty comfortable and more than ready to come in for lunch

-Give salt AND electrolytes! Vitamin E is also good to give. I’m a big proponent of E for a variety of reasons

-Check water buckets throughout the day. I only fill the buckets halfway during the day, since they quickly heat up and need to be dumped

-Dump water in the barn aisle to help cool down the barn. I wait until just before I bring everyone in for lunch to dump the buckets from overnight. By then, the barn is heating up and dumping the buckets on the aisleway helps to cool down the barn

It is more important than ever that you are monitoring your animals during this extreme weather conditions! Mentally once I make it to Labor Day, I know that the end is in sight, even though it will still be weeks before the temps begin to drop. Hopefully my grumpiness will wear off and I can resume riding again.

Thank you to the Pegasus App for this interview:

Don’t Forget to Hug Your Horse!

Lori