ensuring the future of agriculture since 19771. husbandry skills – educate yourself about the...

Ensuring the Future of Agriculture since 1977

What do you envision?

• Make sure you have proper infrastructure to support equines

• Find the right fit of a breed for your needs

• turn the “pet” into a productive resource

1. Husbandry skills – educate yourself about the animals before you leap into ownership!

2. Fencing – hotwire vs. mesh 3. Housing/shelter – dependent on location and breed 4. Pasture – animals need space to graze, exercise and

socialize 5. Feed – depending on breed, may need to supplement

with hay and grain 6. Transport – means to move animals should they need to

leave the farm

Veterinarians – sooner or later you need one! • Seek out local horse owners to find out who they

use. Shop around to find the right fit.

• Average annual bill (shots and Coggins testing alone) ~$300-350/yr/animal

Farrier – no equine can make due completely without a good farrier!

• As with veterinarians, shop around for a good

one

• Average annual bill $200 (barefoot) -$400 (shod) per year for basic care

Why do you want to bring equines onto the farm?

• Riding or driving for pleasure? • Work? • Breeding? • Lawn ornament?

Can you afford to have non-productive animals?

Security Guard Hippotherapy &

therapeudic riding

Draft power Dairy Products Grass cutting

Land Maintenance

Improving soil

fertility

Horse hair

products

Donkeys can make excellent livestock & poultry guardians

Some horses are used around the world to manage land effectively through selective grazing

A much more pleasant sight and sound than a lawnmower!

They aren’t just for big jobs!

Horse hair can be used in a wide variety of arts

and crafts

Cleopatra famous for bathing in donkey

milk

Donkey Dairies Gaining Popularity in Europe

Donkeys or Horses?

Domesticated around 6000 years ago and descend from the African Wild Ass

Valued as pack & draft animals and for milk production

• Life expectancy 30-52 years • tend to assess situation before spooking • Has long gestation of 12-14 months • Considered more intelligent than horses but

can translate to stubbornness • Large ears & lack of undercoat makes them

more vulnerable in cold wet conditions • Have smaller harder feet that need to be

shod less frequently than horses • Most (not all) can thrive on marginal forage

American Mammoth Jackstock • Created by George

Washington • Good riding and work animal • Creates excellent mules • Has dairy potential • Good guardian animal

potential

Miniature Donkey • Common in the US but

becoming rare in their native Mediterranean region

• Excellent with children • Good for small jobs around

the farm • Good guardian with smaller

predators such as hawks but not with coyotes or dogs

Poitou • One of the rarest

donkeys • Developed in France • Jacks sire finest draft

mules in the world • Have a unique coat • Very calm disposition • Not as long-lived as

other donkeys • Not a beginner’s donkey

Domesticated around 5500+ years ago and thought to descend from the now extinct Tarpan

Valued for riding, draft, and milk production

• Life expectancy 25+ years • tend to spook a bit easier than

donkeys • Has a gestation of 11 months • Considered more easily trainable

than donkeys • Are largely adaptable to any

climate or habitat • Wide diversity of choice in breeds

Colonial Spanish Horses • Spanish origin going back 400

years • Wide range of strains

throughout the US • Generally easy keepers • People oriented & often

easily trained • Good for riding, driving, and

light draft

Choctaw horses

Florida Cracker ,

FL

Cerbat, AZ Mt. Taylor

& Bacca,

NM

Pryor Mountain, MT

Sulphur, UT

Wilbur-Cruce, AZ

Choctaw, OK Marsh Tacky,

SC

Banker

horses

Santa Cruz, CA

Pine Tacky,

MS

Colonial Spanish Horse Strains

Large Draft Breeds • The heavy machinery of

the horse world • Populations dropping

due to economy • Considered gentle

giants • In the right situation,

more efficient than tractor

• Great for sustainable ag Belgian Draft

Clydesdale Shire

Both genetically similar, Shire typically heavier with more feathering

Suffolk Punch Percheron

Suffolk favored for traditional farming, Percheron one of the most popular draft breeds in the world

American Cream Draft • Only draft breed

developed in America

• Mid-sized draft breed • Has done well in

competitive driving • Great for smaller

farms needing draft power

Light Draft and Harness Breeds • Not as massive as the

heavy drafts • Can be more versatile in

tight areas • Harness horses good for

carriages but not most farm implements

Hackney horse

Canadian Friesian

Canadian an excellent “do-it-all” horse, while Friesians are selected more for pulling carriages

Irish Draft Cleveland Bay

Irish Draft is a good all-around breed, the Cleveland Bay is renown for making excellent sport horse crosses

Pleasure and Sport horses • Can be versatile breeds • Not as large as light

draft and carriage horses

• Not every breed is for the novice rider

• In the right hands some can be outstanding athletes

Akhal-Teke

This ancient breed is among the finest equine athletes in the world and is not a

beginner’s horse.

Lipizzan Rocky Mountain

Lipizzan stallions world famous for athleticism and the Rocky Mountain for its gentle nature and smooth gait

Ponies and Small horses • Smaller horses with big

hearts • Many are long-lived

breeds • Great choice for small

acreage • Many are easy keepers

with good dispositions Caspian

Considered one of the oldest breeds in the world, these gentle horses were thought extinct until rediscovered in the 1960’s in the

mountains of Iran.

Fell Dales

British breeds from the opposite sides of the same mountain. Both used for draft in mining operations.

Dartmoor Exmoor

Both of these hardy breeds are used in conservation grazing programs to protect wildlife habitat

Gotland

Native to Sweden this breed dates back to use by the Goths (circa 1800 BCE) who used them for draft, driving, and transport.

Ask yourself hard questions before delving into equines:

• Why do I want them? • How will I use them?

• Do I have the room and infrastructure for them? • Can I afford them?

Thank you!