It's Time For The Summer Barn Chores List!

May 10 was Buy A Horse Book Day and I want to thank those of you who purchased Common Sense Horse Keeping on that day!

The winner was also drawn from the Win the Ultimate Horse Library! Sue, from Oakton, Virginia, was the lucky winner of over 300 entries AND, she chose Philadelphia Urban Riding Academy as the recipient of the same collection of books, which came to over 50 books donated by their authors! It was so much fun to participate, and organizer Abriana Johnson, author of the Cowboy Camryn series, is excited to repeat the contest next year! For more information about Abriana and her books, check out her website at: Home - Cowgirl Camryn

Summer is fast approaching. Here in Florida, it has already arrived. We had a very dry spring, one of the worst droughts I can recall in a while, and my pastures look pitiful. I was recently in Newburyport, Ma., visiting family, and I was so jealous of the pastures I saw along the North Shore, already green and lush, despite snow being on the ground just weeks earlier! I am sure that the hay suppliers are happy though! Does anyone else get anxious when they are down to the last 3 or 4 bales? Nothing makes me happier than topping off my hay with a few more bales until I get a delivery….but my husband is sure cringing when he sees the hay bill! My riding club recently met at a local barn where they breed Icelandic ponies, and for a moment, I was envious of those short horses eating coastal hay! I have a feeling that my 2 Moose, I mean Thoroughbreds, plus the donkeys, eat a whole lot more than those 8 or 9 ponies do!

With summer about here, it is time to re-run my summer chores list blog, which you can find here: Summer Chore List

Summer is a time when many are wanting to add plants to the landscape. We have all seen the lovely photos of barns that have hanging baskets of beautiful flowers as well as shrubs and plants around the barn yard. We must be diligent; many of those photos are photo-shopped or misinformed. How many of us have seen beautiful photos of horses in a field of buttercups or Texas bluebonnets, both of which are toxic to horses. If you are considering planting around your barn, be sure to use Google before adding that flower. And here is a list of just a few barn yard friendly plants, trees and shrubs:

• Flowers include Alyssum, Aster, Black Eyed Susan, Blazing Star, Coneflower, Impatien, Marigold, Nasturtium, Pansy, Petunia, Rose, Sage, Snapdragon, Sunflower and Zinnia

• Trees and shrubs include Crepe Myrtle, Eastern White Pine, Flowering Dogwood, Podocarpus, Poplar & Black Gum Trees

• Herbs such as Catnip, Chamomile, Echinacea, Oregano, Peppermint & Thyme

If none of these appeal to you, your local county agent will have a very extensive list of plants for your area that are safe to plant around the barn. In my next blog, I will go into more detail of toxic plants and pasture management for the summer.

And while we are at it, since things are heating up, here is my annual water blog! (posting repeat blogs certainly makes blog writing so much easier!) My Annual Water Blog PSA

When I ran the post last year, it generated a lot of discussion on social media, with most people in agreement with my blog. I prefer to use muck buckets for my water tubs, so I can dump them daily. There is absolutely no excuse for dirty water troughs or buckets, and water temperatures need to be checked throughout the day in the summer. I dump and refill my buckets as many as 6 times throughout the heat of the day. Thankfully, this is usually just in July and August, when the temperatures are soring and heating up the inside of my barn. I have learned to fill buckets only halfway and I don’t dump the buckets first thing in the morning as I normally would do, since they will need to be dumped by noon. After my blog ran, I did hear from some people out west, where water restrictions dictate how often they can dump troughs, but many had found solutions to dealing with the hot water and for ways to keep the water clean.

It’s fly season! With the heat, more people are using fly masks and fly boots. Be sure to remove these items daily, shake out the sand or dirt in them and check your horse for any rubs or sores. I like to keep a few extra on hand, so I can wash them often. If washing is not an option, rinse out daily with a hose, or soak overnight in a tub. I am fortunate to have a Shoo-Fly system in the barn, but a few months ago I hung a fly trap in one of my paddocks where the flies were getting out of control. Yesterday I was dragging my fields and every time I passed by in this particular paddock, I swore I smelled something dead. I eventually convinced myself that there had to be something dead under neath my horse trailer which was parked close by to where the smell was originating from. And then I saw the fly trap hanging from the fence post and with a sigh of relief, I realized that was the source of the odor! Those things are nasty, but do serve a purpose.

For those of you who have been anxiously awaiting summer’s return, Happy Riding! Here in the south, I am dreading the next few months and already counting the days until fall arrives again!

Don’t Forget To Hug Your Horse!

Lori