Gerald Saddle Club

02/16/2025

Meeting will be at 5 PM.
Hopefully we can start Awards & Dinner by 6PM

02/14/2025

This Sunday! Please let us know who will be in attendance and what you will be bringing. Look forward to seeing you there!

We will be having a potluck style dinner for our awards night. Please comment with what you plan to bring! GSC will provide drinks, silverware & napkins. We hope to see you there!

02/07/2025

More to come! Will post as scheduled!

02/02/2025

We will be having a potluck style dinner for our awards night. Please comment with what you plan to bring! GSC will provide drinks, silverware & napkins. We hope to see you there!

01/25/2025

January's Minutes

01/20/2025

Zoom meeting was a great success! Thanks for all those in attendance. Will post minutes later this week!

01/19/2025

Zoom Only!

We would like to try a zoom meeting tonight due to the extreme temperatures & having to have the meeting in the cook shack. Meeting at 5PM. Please use the link below. You will need to download the zoom app. It should be as easy as downloading the app, clicking the link below, entering your name, & allowing sound & video. Click Join Meeting. Please let me know if you have questions or concerns.

Click https://us04web.zoom.us/j/79516141793?pwd=wJbhAiaa0Ts8hv0wNdPxNYoXJcoHtV.1 to start or join a scheduled Zoom meeting.

01/17/2025

Updated to reflect new location. Legions Hall is concerned with ice. See you Sunday at the Cook Shack. Courtney is hoping to have new keys for all 2025 members for the arena.

01/17/2025

January's meeting is Sunday at 5PM at the Cook Shack. Wear a coat! The Awards Banquet has been rescheduled.

01/10/2025

01/09/2025

01/09/2025

We will still have meeting on January 19th @ 5PM; however, due to an issue with the buckles, we had to push off the Award Ceremony. We apologize & hope to see you at the meeting!

01/04/2025

A few helpful tips from our friend, Crystal. Keep those four legged fur babies healthy over the next few days!

Know When Your Horse Is Cold
A thermoneutral zone (TNZ) is the range of temperatures at which a horse is most comfortable and healthy.

This range can differ depending on location or health status. For example, a horse living in Montana has the potential to be more tolerant to low temperatures than a horse living in Florida. Also, a horse suffering with a metabolic disorder or other ailment vs. a healthy horse will have different TNZ’s. The same 32 degrees at freezing could be comfortable for one, and worrisome for the other.

Use your best judgment along with body language cues to determine if your horse is uncomfortable. Signs of a cold horse are:

Shivering
Low head/down ears
Tucked tail
Decreased water intake
A healthy, well-acclimated horse with a quality winter coat, adequate food, and dry shelter should not need a blanket.

Air-pockets created by fluffy long hairs have an insulative effect and can keep a horse very warm. Clipped or slick horses under lights, very old, very young, ill, and underweight horses may require blanketing to maintain their temperature.

Blankets come with their own set of risk factors, so be sure to select carefully and check blanketed horses often.

Use Forage as Fuel
The digestion process a horse goes through operates as an internal heater. During cold snaps, make sure quality forage is readily available, so your horse can keep their natural furnace running 24/7.

Winter forage tips:

Quality Counts
Source nutrient dense, horse-safe hay. Red flags include mold spots, weeds, trash, and insects.
Buy In Bulk
When possible, stock up on forage to maintain a consistent diet through challenging weather. The less change happening at once, the better.
Reduce Waste
The use of slow feeders or hay nets make sure less feed is lost and always accessible.
Alternative Forage
When sources are scarce, lean on a pelleted forage such as Alfa Nibblets to provide energy when your hay needs to be replaced or supplemented.
Forage Extenders
Forage extenders are designed to fill nutritional gaps when forage must be limited or is less nutrient dense. Products such as Equilene Complete can be used as a forage extender or as a complete diet when needed.
Avoid Wintertime Dehydration
Horses will often slow or stop drinking in cold weather. Aside from general health, the increased risk of impaction colic, due to decreased water intake, is a serious concern.

There are several ways to keep your horse hydrated:

Salt and Electrolytes
Always have free-choice salt available, and supplement electrolytes during cold snaps or a metabolic pH balancer such as Hydrate + Recover
Grain Mash
Feed your regular daily grain or pelleted forage with a serving of salt or electrolytes as a mash in warm water. Avoid hot water, and provide a transition period when doing so.
Warm(er) Water
If available, offer a bucket of lukewarm water a couple times a day to encourage drinking. When given the option, horses prefer warm water over icy.
Tank Covers
A tank cover with a drinking hole can be fashioned out of foam or other horse-safe material, to keep the surface of your tank from freezing.
Remove Ice
If electricity is not an option, be sure to remove all ice from tanks after breaking through.
Insulated Buckets
For those that hang buckets in stalls, insulated buckets can keep water from freezing for longer, but there is always a chance the surface will freeze.
Heated Automatic Waterers & Corded Tank Heaters
These seem like a godsend, but don’t assume you can go without checking! If there is an electrical short, a horse can sense the smallest current running through the water and will refuse to drink.

01/04/2025

2025 Membership applications have been emailed out. Please check your inbox. If you did not receive one, please send us a message and we will get one out to you! HAPPY NEW YEAR!

Send a message to learn more

12/21/2024

Bring a Dish! Potluck style dinner during awards night. January 19,2025 Meeting @ 5PM, Dinner & Awards to follow. We welcome all 2024 Members & Sponsors! We would like to THANK EVERYONE for a very successful 2024 season!

12/20/2024

Gerald Saddle Club
Meeting Minutes
12/15/2024

Attendance: Shelby, Courtney, Sierra, Kayla, Christian, Kaitlyn, Sheri, McKayla

Call to Order

Pledge

Treasurer Report:

New Business:
• Recruiting Secretary & possible Show Chairman
• Recruiting FFA members or 4-H members for volunteering at
events
• # of Fun Shows for 2025 TBD based on volunteers. A volunteer
list will be provided online in advance & if we don’t have
enough volunteers, the show will be cancelled. Dates will be
4th Saturday of each month. April-October with October being
kid only fun show allowing a possibility of 6-point shows.
Calendar of Events to follow.
• Possible rain out date would be 1 Sat of Nov 2025
McKayla filed a motion to set dates & Christian 2nd it.
• Purchase walkies
Courtney filed a motion to approve purchasing Walkies
and McKayla 2nd it.
• Discuss the role of VP being a “welcoming” contact for all new
members making sure they are provided a copy of Bylaws,
schedule of events, answering questions, etc.

Old Business
• Re-read updated Bylaws
Kayla filed a motion to approve updated Bylaws &
McKayla 2nd them.
• Discussed virtual meetings again for 2025. Will attempt to see
if we can get more members to attend. This will be on a trial
basis. If members attend & vote on events but do not show to
volunteer, we will discontinue virtual meetings.
• Award Night: January 19th Legions Hall in Gerald at 5:00PM.
Will have the monthly meeting first & then have potluck style
meal with awards. Everyone in attendance to bring a dish.
Courtney filed a motion to approve awards night &
potluck & Sierra 2nd it.

Next Meeting: January 19, 2025 Legions Hall in Gerald @ 5PM

Merry Christmas & Happy Holidays!!!

Send a message to learn more