Our philosophy is very simple when it comes to horses. We love them and in return we get their respect and partnership. We would love to hear about your philosophy. Drop us a line, come on by and chat awhile, or just come and play.
On Vaccinations
We generally take a minimalistic approach to vaccinations. Our horses do not travel and have a minimal exposure to horses that do, so we can take that approach. Of course we have our regulars, but for the most part, we rely on our veterinarian for what we should be vaccinating for and when. Our veterinarian has a general philosophy to administer as few vaccines as possible, and this will vary from year to year. We do accept our veterinarians’ recommendations for regional concerns, but will never just jump on the bandwagon for whatever the current trend is in equine circles.
On Feet
Proper care of your horses hoof and foot can have profound effects on overall soundness. We believe the horses’ health is directly evident in their hoof and foot and engage a certified farrier for regularly scheduled trimmings. We rely on his expertise to let us know if something is amiss. Our position on shoes is really simple if you need them get them, if you don’t, well don’t! Our horses are barefoot. We ride minimally and usually here on trails we have cut into forested earth. If we do go out on rocky trails, we use boots. Your farrier and vet can advise you and help you to establish a hoof and foot care program that will keep your horse healthy and serviceable.
On De-Worming
Here again, we have converted to a minimalistic approach. Rather than just administering rotational de-wormers, we have a de-worming practice whereby we consider the fecal load on the farm. Fecal egg counts and identification of egg shedding horses can reduce the pasture contamination for our entire herd. We can then treat our horses, as they need to be treated, and reduce the possibility of resistance. This of course excludes botfly treatment, that we do every April. As long as there are botflies there is a need. But even here prevention is the key. We remove the eggs when we see them, and keep the horses doused in Bugg-Z our Natural Repellent. We cannot get them all, but we are trying. If you are interested in a rotational de-worming approach, we have put together a schedule we feel offers a broad-spectrum rotation and have included links to ValleyVet Supply for you.
Rotational De-Worming Schedule
On Training
We have a keep it simple philosophy here too. We believe our horses are our partners not our chattel.
- Do our horses always behave perfectly? Nope, but usually.
- Do our horses always stand still when asked? Nope, but usually.
- Do our horses always offer a great experience? Yep, even though it may not be what we had planned.
- Is there always something to learn? Yep, that is the only guarantee we offer each other.
- Do horses and humans have mutual responsibilities as partners? Yep, here they are according to Pat Parelli’s 8 Principals of Horse Training as explained by Nita Jo Rush.
- Do we care if others don’t think we are firm enough with our horses or that they misbehave occasionally? Nope, we only hope that eventually they will come to appreciate what we have accomplished as partners.
