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Horse Care and Comfort

Uneven Field

By:

EquiAbi (UK)

Date:

2014-Jul-06 at 04:31PM

Hi all,
I have recently moved house and have discovered that there is an orchard above the house which, though currently grazed by a bunch of cows, could possible be used (according to the estate manager) to have a horse in. There are stables across the road which might be available as well! So today I cleared the way through to the orchard but there are a few problems. First of all, the fencing is sheep wire (the one with the large squares) and a leg could get caught in this (should i build a new fence? just inside the perimeter?).
Secondly, there is a large number of apple trees (about 15-20) populating the orchard and I was wondering about the health issues surrounding this (e.g. what if the horse eats a cooking apple, if one variety of tree is of that kind? And how could I stop the horse eating ALL the apples without fencing the trees off completely?).
Lastly, the ground is dug out in some places for drainage and has shallow depressions reaching for about 20 meters and running through the field, what if the horse rolled and got wedged into one of them? Would a horse do that (roll next to a ditch) or are they clever enough to know not to?
Those are my main concerns :)
Thanks
Abi x

JoHewittVINTA 2014-Jul-06 at 05:43PM

Hi. Firstly, you write in the singular & horses need company, not necessarily another equine. You'll have an unhappy solo horse & you sound sufficiently concerned. Apples have lots of sugar so suggest you collect all windfalls from the ground. The fencing need not be an issue - put an electric fence inside the sheep fence to keep your horse safe. The ditches worry me, not from the rolling into them but of slipping legs in & being injured. I suggest it might be advisable to use the electric fence to divide the orchard and isolate the ditch from the area you want to use. This will also allow grass regeneration & lessen the likelihood of laminitis, availability of apples and excessive weight gain. Not to mention making poo picking a lot easier. You do not mention availability of water - a MUST. Good luck - sounds potentially ideal.

vicci - UK (North Wales) 2014-Jul-06 at 06:55PM

Hi Abi, congratulations :-) Sound advice from Jo; to answer your question...err no, I'm afraid they are not always smart enough not to roll near a ditch!!

EquiAbi (UK) 2014-Jul-19 at 02:29PM

Thanks both of you, these answers have been very helpful :) And JoHewittVINTA, don't worry I am intending to get a companion horse too unless i can find an equine companion owned by a neighbor :) And i will certainly take note of all of the suggestions :) As for a water supply, I would have to take a hose up there and use a trough or bucket (which would have to be cleaned) but I will definitely consider the electric fencing idea :) Thanks again,
Abi

JoHewittVINTA 2014-Jul-20 at 01:21PM

If you get electric fencing get a 'sender' that uses a car battery. They are a bit more expensive, but not as bad as the mains ones. The ones that use tiny batteries, like in a torch are a pain! You do not want to spend your life changing batteries and believe me, horses know when the fence is weak. I guess their whiskers pick up on the lower electric current. Regarding water, if it's close enough to run a hosepipe then consider a plastic pipe. Then you can have an automatic trough and make sure you get the blue pipe as it won't split if it freezes.

EquiAbi (UK) 2014-Jul-21 at 10:51AM

Thanks, :) Will do.