Fall Chores

Hi Guys,
It's that time - Fall/pre Winter chores! Colorado just had a major snow storm !

1) Check winter blankets for repairs and fit BEFORE your horse is standing in front of you shivering in 13 degree weather. If you need a new blanket, measure your horse...it is really stressful for the clerk at the tack shop to figure out which blanket to sell you for a horse that may or may not 15 hh. Measure from the center of the chest, along his/her body to the center of the tail....that is the blanket size. Most blankets are sold in even inches (ie: 72, 74, etc.) if the size is a toss up, buy the inch bigger size.

2) Take down the fans and blow the dirt off of them. An air compressor is the ideal tool for this task as it will get most of the dust out of the motors as well. The cleaner that you can get them, the longer life they will have, as dirt collects in the oil in the motor and eventually turns into fatal sludge.

3) Scrub the stock tanks in the pasture. Again, if you are, or has a husband who is a great fan of power tools, a pressure washer is the ideal tool here. Get as much of the algae off as possible. If it is a tank that you do not use in the winter, turn it over or take it inside. If the tank needs a heater for the winter, check to make sure the cord is okay and that it works. The day after the first ice over, there is a huge run on tank heaters at the local farm suppliers. If you need one buy it now.

4) Check the condition of your heated buckets if you have them. Cords are solid? Handles are good? They actually hold water?

5) Clean the tack room and feed room. Sweep up all those cob-webby corners and feed-room dust balls that harbor bugs and mice in cold weather. This is a good time for a tack cleaning and oiling. If your tack room is heated, the dry heat will cause some drying. Cold weather will kill the life of leather as well. Shep's Harness Oil has something in it that discourages mice from chewing on leather. Bring in liquids, aerosol cans and wormers - they shouldn't be out in the cold either.

6) Wrap your water pipes. The heated plug in strips under the pipe wraps work super....just make sure that the wires are out of reach of your animals. There is a new Heated Hose on the market - it is expensive (25' is about $100), but may be worth it to some.

7) Open and close doors. Are they working smoothly? Make sure windows all still close. (Had a friend with an overhead type door on her barn. She left it open all summer. When she needed to close it for the first really freezy night, she tugged on it and the whole thing came down. Guess someone had hit the track with a vehicle during the summer and broke some of the bolts.)

If your horses tend to chew when they are confined, NOW is the time to paint wood surfaces with the deterrent of your choice. It is still warm enough for the stuff to spread and dry effectively.

9) Do any other physical repairs to fences, buildings, etc. while it is warm enough to still grip the hammer....



Any more ideas?????

I cleaned my heavy western pads and blankets last weekend. What works really great for this task are the spray on shampoos, like EQ Solutions, EZ-All, Silverado Herbal Horsewash, etc. Just toss the blanket over the fence, hook the sprayer to the hose and use it just like you were washing your horse. I did have to use a brush on the really soiled areas, but when I was done, I turned the lever to rinse and rinsed until the water was clear coming off of the bottom. Those shampoos are formulated to break up the oils holding the dirt. Some of them are also a leave-in conditioner, so that if you can't get it all rinsed out of the pad, the residue is certainly not going to irritate your horse's skin. This method works super on winter stable blankets as well !

Wow! Great tips for us first time horse owners. Thanks for posting the tips.