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