Saint Pine Stables

12/14/2024

As the weather cools down, allowing yourself an ample amount of time to cool out your horse after a cold ride is essential to ensure that you don’t jeopardize your horses' health by allowing them to catch a chill.

Our friends at Equus Magazine have some useful tips to share for cooling out your horses this winter. You can read the full article on their website at https://equusmagazine.com/riding/coolingout-10486/

11/24/2024

10/27/2024

10/26/2024

So simple yet so complicated 🫠

10/19/2024

This is why we prefer the heated auto waterers😃

MYTH: Coastal Bermuda Hay Causes Colic.

FACT: Bermudagrass hay that has been harvested correctly is a perfectly safe forage for horses. Bermuda hay should be harvested every 21 days during peak growing season to ensure the grass has not become too mature. The more mature the grass is, the higher the NDF content will be in the hay. NDF (neutral detergent fiber) is a measure of indigestible fiber. Correlations have been made between high NDF content in hay and increased chance of impaction colic due to the hay being less digestible. Bottom line, it is not the type of hay, but rather the time of harvest that should be used to evaluate the quality and safety of feeding bermuda hay.

Especially during cold water, the risk of impaction colic due to reduced water consumption/dehydration and indigestible forage increases greatly. You can test your forage for digestibility at Equi-analytical.com and add an additional 1-2tbs of table salt or electrolytes daily to help encourage water consumption.

10/14/2024

I can’t believe the gorgeous fall fog and sun today at the farm!

10/04/2024

09/26/2024

Cooler weather brings its own challenges, like fall laminitis 😩

08/19/2024

https://www.facebook.com/100045384742980/posts/1055579392631542/?app=fbl

Have you ever been told to not allow a hot, sweaty horse to drink cold water because it could lead to colic, founder or tie up?

This notion is actually a myth, and a dangerous one too, because it could lead to dehydration and very serious (and real) consequences. A sweaty, hardworking horse needs to be rehydrated without delay (i.e. don’t wait for the horse to cool down first).

The key, however, is to know how much water to allow at one time — because of the equine stomach’s relatively small capacity, offer small amounts of water every 20 minutes until the horse drinks his fill rather than letting the animal drink it all at once.

Remember that water is the most vital nutrient for a horse. A horse’s daily water requirements are influenced by many factors, but the average idle 1,100-pound horse in a cool environment will drink 6 to 10 gallons of water per day. That amount may easily double or triple in a hot environment! Therefore, it goes without saying that providing cool, clean water to your horses at all times is of paramount importance.

Source: Equus Magazine and AAEP member Dr. Anthony Blikslager. More information about offering a horse water can be found at https://equusmagazine.com/.../offering-a-horse-water...

08/02/2024

Pretty bad---

I was recently talking with someone who leases out lots of horses to various riding programs, summer camps, boarding school and college stables, trail strings, whatever.

She told me that they have stopped sending horses to places that teach jumping because, so often, those horses come back sour, sore and generally used up from being over-jumped.

Think about jumping, and how much physical effort it takes, and how “slamming” the landings are, and have some sympathy, empathy and some of that rare commodity, common sense and decent horsemanship, before jumping the holy living snot out of some poor horse.

Sure, it’s “fun” to jump, but before you say something truly stupid like “my horsie LOVES to jump,” consider which one is having more "fun", the one sitting there, or the one doing the work.

Jumping is OK for horses when done carefully, but lots of humans don’t know the difference between careful and too much. Or, worse, they do know, and do too much anyway.

Some riders would jump 7 days a week if you let them, and they never give a thought to what it does to the horse,

07/13/2024

We still have a few remaining spots in our August camp! Come join us for a week of fun and learning with horses!

Registration forms here:

https://forms.gle/DXihj9vssjTDEeJA6

05/09/2024

05/04/2024

Can’t beat this saddle fitting! Fit or buy and fit all in one stop! Over 100 saddles brought to us on site!! Lesley McGill