facility management Flashcards
pasture housing
Pasture with shelter is the best possible housing for horses
– Fresh air – Free choice food consumption – Reduced risk of colic
• Be careful of periods of lush forage
– Exercise
– Opportunity for herd interaction
• Fewer abnormal behaviors
fencing uses
Contains horses • Keeps other animals out • Allows for group management • Allows for rotation of pasture • Aesthetics (can add or detract from property) • Keeping horses safe and secure
fencing considerations
Number of horses to be fenced – What classes of horses are being contained
• Stallions, foals, etc.
– Amount of your property to be fenced – Cost – Best fence type for your needs
• Classes of horses, stocking density, personal preference
fencing construction considerations
Gate location and width • Fence height: 54” – 60” (4 ½ to 5 feet) • Lower rail or wire: 8” – 12”• Corners
– Can be a problem with high stocking density – Dominant horses “corner” lower herd members
• Smooth on the horse side
fencing types
Wood • Wire mesh • Woven wire • High tensile (smooth) wire • Electric (metal or plastic wire, tape) • Pipe • PVC (polyvinyl chloride plastic)
other fence variables
Costs
– Installation – Maintenance – Replacement
• Visibility to horses (safety factor) • Durability • Aesthetics
Potential toxicity
– Copper-arsenic pressure-treated lumber
• Chewing and ground water • New lumber is lower in arsenic than previous types
• Supplemental hot wire
– Used to line wood, woven wire fences – Divide pastures for rotational grazing
run-in sheds
Provide shelter from rain, wind, sun – 3-sided with solid walls facing prevailing wind – 100-150 sq feet per horse – Need adequate ventilation – Open enough to allow easy escape – Good place to put salt blocks or salt feeders
• They will last longer
feeders
Feed bunks for concentrates
• Allow about 3 linear feet per horse • Can be covered
– Hay feeders
• Greatly reduce waste • Reduce exposure to some parasites • Can be a source of injuries
– Both should be located in open areas
providing water
Tanks
• Can be fitted with a heater • Heats a large volume of water
– Automatic waterers
• Small reservoir, refills as water is consumed • Small volume of water to heat
– Surface water must be protected from horses
• Source of pollution and erosion
pasture layout
Having more than one pasture allows for
– Rotational grazing – Utilization of cool and warm season grasses – Parasite control
• Plan for shelters and feeding/watering
– In each pasture – Can be in central location with gates to pastures
• Sacrifice area for resting fields in winter
barn considerations
Temperature – Hot, cold, mild (neutral) • Humidity – Effects how animals handle temperature • Precipitation – Rain, snow • Wind – Increases heat loss
Lower critical temperature for horses
Ambient temperatures below ~ 30oF:
– Basal metabolic rate not sufficient to maintain core body temperature
• Horse will need to increase heat production or reduce heat loss in order to maintain core body temperature
– Behavior modifications – Burning energy to increase metabolic rate
upper critical temperature for horses
Ambient temperatures above ~75oF: – Horse needs to increase heat loss • This requires energy expenditure • Increased blood flow to extremities • Sweating – evaporative cooling • Basal metabolic rate increases as a result – Reduce heat production • Behavior change – less active – Seek shade and wind
factors influencing thermal neutral zone
Wind, rain, body condition, hair coat, age
– For each 10 degrees F below LCT, 15-20% more energy is needed in diet
humidity lowers upper critical temperature
use for barns
Provide protection from temperature extremes
• Should not make matters worse in times of heat and humidity (provide shade)
• Facilities also allow us to contain horses, provide feed and water, manage resources, work and enjoy horses, store equipment, etc.
problems with barns
Horse needs versus human comfort and convenience
– Limited space/acreage – Risk of injury
• Closed barns have poorer air quality
– Dust, mold ammonia – High moisture is harmful to horses’ health – Aerosol transmission of disease
barn ventilation
Ventilation
– Clean air, 6-8 air changes per hour – Dust, mold, can come from hay and bedding – Bacteria – Ammonia, product of N compounds in urine,
feces
Poor air quality can limit a horse’s athletic ability and affect its overall health
• Chronic irritation leads to mucus production
– Good environment for infectious agents
• Dust, mold can provoke heaves in some individuals
– Respiratory disease similar to asthma – Difficult to manage, can be fatal
blanketing
Blanketing provides an alternative
- Protection from cold, moisture - Allows clipped horses turnout - Often not necessary
• Blanketing inhibits hair coat function
other barn considerations
Other considerations for barns
• Temperature
– Best to focus on horses’ needs – Sometimes human and horse interests conflict
• Comfort
– Stall size, flooring – Bedding
• Functionality – suited for its purpose
barn site selection
Zoning and setback requirements • Orientation to prevailing winds • Water drainage
– Buildings, arenas – 2-6% slope away from buildings – Manure storage, removal
• Plan for water lines, driveways, paddocks, etc
barn flooring concerns
Horse comfort • How hard? – Drainage • Groundwater pollution may be a concern in the future – Safety – Maintenance • Requires refilling or leveling? – Cost
flooring types
Dirt or clay – good drainage, high maint.
– Can be filler for plastic grid floors
• Sand – good drainage, sand colic risk? • Wood – slippery • Brick – expensive (also rubber bricks) • Porous asphalt – soft, allows drainage • Concrete – cold, hard, does not drain • Rubber mats – cushion for hard surface
bedding considerations
Absorbent – Urine and odors • Comfort • Availability • Handling qualities • Clean, or dusty or moldy? • Palatable coCost – To purchase – To remove • Bulk when stored or disposed of • Composting qualities – Will additional nitrogen be needed? • Fertilizer value – Wood chips/shavings not desirable
common beddings
Straw – can be dusty, horses may eat it, reasonably absorptive, bulky, composts
• Shavings – low dust, high absorption, poor compost/fertilizer
• Sawdust – dusty
• Black walnut shavings or sawdust cause laminitis
– Contains a toxin (juglone)
Paper – low dust, absorbent, messy • Peat – low dust, absorbent, not palatable
– Non-renewable
• Hay – dusty, palatable, absorbent (like straw)
• Pellets
– Dehydrated compressed softwood products – Have to be wetted to activate – Lower volume, higher cost than sawdust/shavings
storage/disposal of bedding
Minimum 10 acres, apply manure to land
– Need nutrient management plan – Kentucky Agricultural Water Quality Act
Pile it on property
– Target for complaints, fines, doesn’t utilize nutrients
• Spread on land
– Can go directly on land if horses not pastured
• Need plan to manage nutrient levels in soil • Wood shavings and sawdust stunt crops
• Hire a disposal service/dumpster $$$
• Compost then spread or give away/sell
– Requires an active process
manure management
Manure storage and runoff prevention
– Store under a roof – Short-term (
manure storage site/transport
> 150 feet from: • Waterways, streams, sink holes – > 300 feet from water wells not owned by the producer • Transporting manure – Cover and prevent spilling on road
spreading manure/nutrients
Apply based on soil test results
• Observe setback requirements
– 50 feet from property line – 300 feet from dwellings
• Spread manure
– > 200 feet from water wells – > 75 feet from streams, sinkholes, etc.
site selection
Is the area suitable?
– Rural, suburban, in transition?
– Most equine operations located near population centers
• Agri-urban fringe areas • Need to be near work or potential customers
– Proximity to neighbors – Neighbors life styles similar or more suburban?
