Exam 1 Flashcards
Stalls
Easy to feed and water in, harder to socialize and exercise
Pasture
Easy to exercise and socialize, less labor and feed costs (every horse needs 2-3 acres)
Dry lot
Spend more money and time on forage needs- good for weight maintenance
Basic needs of horses
Water, forage, shelter, exercise, social interactions (grain)
Where should gates be placed
Facing the barn to pull animals in, between pastures, not in corners (person could get trapped leaving)
water sources
Cheaper, conveniet if shared between fields, if it breaks both fields are out and horses can share germs between waterers, close to barn for checking convenience
Trailers
Need to be able to pull up to and turn around at the barn
Trees
Can be shelter, horses will tear them up, easier to grow them outside the fenceline
Feeding plan
Think of saftey and convience (walking into pen vs pouring over fence)
Double fencing
Biosecurity, safety (breeding stallions), people can look but not touch
Use of electric fencing
Improves durability, reduces maintenance
Fence pressure
How likley it is that the horse is going to want to exit that fence
What increases pressure on a fence
Smaller fields, younger animals, breeding animals
Fence height
Average height is 4 1/2 feet, high pressure fences are increased to 5-5 1/2
How deep should posts be in the ground
3-4 feet
Fencing material
Should always be on the animal side of the post- can’t break as easily with posts on the outisde
Main fencing concerns
Cost, saftey of fencing material, durability, maintenance, and upkeep of fence, visibility
Why are corners as limited as possible
Fencing and footing gets worn down faster, horses can get penned in and hurt
Wooden fence posts
can be circular or square, should be treated wood to withstand elements, harder to install
T- Posts
made of steel, cheaper and easier to install, tops must be capped or a horse could impale itself
Steel fence posts
lasts a long time, anything attached to the post must be welded on
Fiberglass fence posts
Somewhat felxible, limited things can be attached, runs electric fence
Key characteristics of equine behavior
Limited vision, prey animals, social animals, communication
How do horses see things better
Move head up and down, raise head to focus
What are horses perceptive to
Changes in the environment
How do horses communicate
Body language
Whinny meaning
Location call
Stressed signs
Pacing, whites of eyes showing, stress poop
Always house horses together
Prey animals and find safety in numbers
Tree pens
Fence that surrounds just the tree- maintains the root integrity
Gate sizing
Bigger is better
High traffic areas
All weather paddock footing, concrete pads (can get icy)
Run in sheds
Each horse needs 120 square feet and then 60 square feet for each additional horse, 14x36 foot
Automatic waters advantages
less labor, free choice water, heated ones for winter
Water trough advantages
You can tell how much the horse is drinking, more labor, need heated
Pipe fencing
very safe, very strong, visible
Pipe and cable fencing
cheaper than pipe fencing, more maintenance- unsafe unless maintained
Board fence
- 4 board, can meet all of the spacing requirements, can electrify the top board
Vinyl board fencing
16 foot lengths, low maintenance, not strong, can splinter but safe if maintained
Board and wire (no climb)
woven wire are very strong and durable and safe
Electric tape fencing
2 inch tape is ideal, very affordable, easy to break, best for interior fences
Electric high tensile fencing
very affordable, not visible, not very safe, needs a sight board
Field fencing
- Typically has barbed wire on the top, visibility is a concern, horses can get hung up in the grids
Panels
prefer they meet at right corners so that horses do not get hung up in them
Flex fencing
vinyl, can electrify, safe fence, strong, expensive, visible
Barbed wire fencing
limited visibility, can cut horses, strong fence
Purpose of barns- efficient for people
Storage of supplies, health management, store animals, training
What do we need to store
Grain (keep out pests), hay, supplies,tack
Why is a hay bar advantagous
Blocks an animal that gets out from getting to the food
Stall height
Height- at least 10 foot tall, taller is better ventilation
Stall dimensions
12X12 feet at least
Stall Partitions
Can be wood, can be bars, can be a grid, make sure horse cannot get their foot through them, visually see other horses,
Flooring
Dirt is most economical, crushed rock, limewaste is a common base for stalls, heavy duty stall mats are better
Bedding types
Shavings, sawdust, or straw- absorbs less moisture, doesn’t stick to animals, pellets (compressed sawdust)
Feeding hay
Hay racks, hay nets
Feeding grain
Corner feeders, hanging feeders
Ventilation
Doors and windows can help with ventilation, requires 4-8 air exchanges every hour
Height/location of outlets
Higher is better and one with every stall- horse shouldn’t reach them and water should not reach them
Barn wiring
Should go through a conduit so no wires are cut (no sparks/fire risk)
Light bulbs in a barn
less safe to have exposed lightbulbs, can explode if touched with water, horses can hit them, cover lights
Lighting in foot candles
10= general, 30= work areas, 70= vet stocks
Dutch doors
top opens separately from the bottom, lots of extra maintenace
Door hardware
pins, latches, want ones that don’t have them poking out into the aisle or doorway
Flashing
piece of thin metal that goes over wood so they don’t chew the wood
Non slip floor
especially if using concrete, texture the concrete so that horses don’t slip
Lined walls
thick wood that the horse cant kick through on the inside of the walls (5 feet above the ground)
What should aisle length be
12’-14’ feet
Unique aspects of horse digestion
Quick rate of passage, hindgut fermenter, no gallbladder, teeth continue to erupt
Why can’t horses vomit
No muscluar vasculature, strong stomach sphincter
Limit of fat that should be fed in a horse’s diet
The amounts of fat and oils in diet needs to be less than 12% of total diet
Aspects of the mouth
chewing food into smaller particles, narrow bottom mouth and wider top mouth provides greater surface area, inside of the lower jaw can get sharp so teeth get floated
Diastema
gap in the teeth
Stomach
2-4 gallons in size, can empty more frequently, allows them to run and not get sick
Small intestine
70 ft in length, absorption, can only absorb what has already been broken down in the stomach
Cecum
fiber fermentation, main microbial population lives , produce VFA’s
Large colon
Absorb VFA’s as an energy source from the cecum, water absorption
Small colon
fecal balls are formed
What is the horse’s large intestine
The cecum and the colon
How fast should the rate of passage be for a horse
Stomach- 15 minutes, SI- 30-45 minutes, LI- 2.5-3 days
Missing/poor teeth concern
impacts grinding surface and they cannot utilize all the food going to GI tract
Choke concerns- do not give food or water
happens when food is too large to fit down esophagus, scars can form in esophagus, most often caused by bad teeth or horses that bolt feed (eat too fast), saliva comes out of their nose, yawning, neck stretching
Ruptured stomach
Can have blockage in the GI tract, take tube into stomach to make sure stomach is not under pressure
gastric ulcer
erosion on the lining of the stomach, get them on the squamous area (doesn’t have mucus) caused by stress and not enough fiber in the diet,
Colic
Number one cause of death for horses, abdomominal pain, most common cause is impaction (food gets stuck along GI tract)
Laminitis (founder)
2 cause of death for horses, lamina problems in the hoof, caused by what the animal has eaten- overload of sugars triggers an insulin respons- horse rocks back if painful
How much water should a horse drink a day
10-12 gallons, should be free choice
What could cause an increase in consumption
Heat, more hay, lactation, exercise (2-3x more)
What could cause a decrease in consmuption
Weird tasting water and hot water
What vitamin is good for vision
A, found in good forage, fat soluble
What vitamin is synthesised from the sun and dry forage
D, fat soluble
What vitamin is good for muscle function
E, fat soluble, present in legumes
What vitamin helps with clotting
K, fat soluble, produced by cecum microbial population
What vitamin is good for metabolism
B complex, water soluble, produced by cecum microbial population
What vitamin is good for immune funciton
C, water soluble, produced in the liver
Biotin
Supplement important for hoof growth
Mineral bioavaliability
Organic minerals are easily digestable
Homeostatic minerals
Na, Cl, K- blood pressure and electrolytes
Structural minerals
Ca, P, Mg- bone health and growth
Ratio of Ca to P for mature animals
1.1 Ca to 1 P and 5 Ca to 1 P
Ratio of Ca to P for growing animals
1.1:1 to 3.0.1 Ideal is 2:1
