A Little Equid Philosophy

 Today's post is a long-winded answer to a question posed in yesterday's comments.  And, by the way, thank you for giving me the opportunity to share my philosophy on keeping horses and/or donkeys.

Perhaps the most surprising thing about horses, in particular, is this: for as big and sturdy as they seem - they are incredibly fragile creatures.

First off... I am by no way an expert.  What I have, however, is a lot of personal experience and observation of others.  It has also been the utmost help to me having my sister-in-law, an equine veterinarian/board-certified surgeon, as my mentor.

I'll share with you how we care for our horses and donkeys and hopefully give you some take-home ideas if you are considering adding equines to your life.

First off... our horses and donkeys live together peacefully.  However, I don't believe they see themselves as one integrated herd.  That's not to say that a donkey and a horse cannot view themselves as a family.  They most certainly can.  I have seen different species of all types form tight bonds if they don't have another of their own species to bond with.  In our case, although the horses and donkeys share their living quarters, I can still tell that there is a distinct boundary between the two species.  The horses are very much a herd with a hierarchy that doesn't include the donkeys... unless perhaps it happens to be on the bottom rung.  The same goes with the donkeys.  It's obvious to me that the donkeys look down their noses at the horses as well.  They all tolerate each other; at the same time muttering "filthy animal" under their breath towards the other.

Even before contemplating what type of equine you might like to add to your life, I would highly recommend you think in terms of equines vs. equine (plural is important!)  No animal should have to live a solitary life.   I am an advocate for quality of life for all creatures - and a solitary life of boredom and loneliness doesn't sit well with me.  And though we might think that a couple of daily visits with a horse might be enough, I assure you... they are happier with more stimulation than one person can provide.

One of the most important aspects to equine care is providing for the nutritional/health needs of the specific animal.  It is important to understand that different types of equines, even different types of horses, have differing nutritional needs.  To me, mixing equines with differing needs can make life very complicated.  For example:  Although our donkeys, horse, ponies and mini horses all live together... they have different grazing schedules.  All of our equines are what are considered "easy keepers" by breed, meaning that they very easily can become overweight, and as a result develop life-threatening health conditions.  You will never see my equines out grazing for an entire day.  They are all on a very strict grazing schedule.  The rich, green grass of Pennsylvania is a high energy source that can cause metabolic problems for easy keepers... and especially during these months when the grass is growing so vigorously.

That's not to say that all horses are easy keepers.  They are not.  Many horses have much higher nutritional needs than ours... it's dependent upon their breed.  Ponies, and miniature horses generally have lower nutritional needs.  And Moonie ( Haflinger Horse breed) has the same type of metabolism.  If I were to add a thoroughbred to our herd, I would be adding a horse with an entirely different metabolism and different nutritional needs - which would make my life entirely too complicated... or would take its toll on the health of part of the herd.

Some of you may have noticed that right now the donkeys do not go out to pasture.  This is because donkeys have an even greater propensity for gaining weight... especially on rich, green grass.  Donkeys are indigenous to arid, scrubby areas of the world.  And though they are grazers, they are healthiest when they have to forage for food to eat... as they do in their natural habitats.  That is why, at this time of year, I keep my donkeys in the dry lot area, during the hours that the horses are in the upper pastures and feed them hay, instead.

 Towards the end of summer, when the front pasture starts to brown, the donkeys will have grazing time there - through the fall and winter.  But, even then, their grazing time will be very limited.

Our feeding schedule on any typical day goes something like this:  The horses have an early morning grazing time (never more than 3 hours), while the donkeys enjoy a breakfast of hay - one flake of hay that they split.  All of the equines get a scoop (measured out according to their size) of a low-calorie vitamin/mineral pelleted feed when they finish their breakfast.

 They all spend the rest of the day milling about in the dry lot.  In the middle of the afternoon, I tear apart two or three flakes of hay and scatter that all about the dry lot.  Then all seven of them spend a little time snacking and searching for hay.  I do this not so much to feed them but to offer some afternoon activity. 

 

Everyone gets a flake of hay at bedtime - and the donkeys split a flake of hay in their own dry lot, so that no one steals their meal.  Despite what seems to be a less-than-generous amount of hay, our donkeys are still overweight. 

Another consideration when having an equine is living quarters.  Originally, we fenced-in an area of our front pasture to make a dry lot.  This dry lot gives our herd lots of room to move about, play, etc. and keeps them from eating themselves into an early grave.  We chose to do this so that our equines would have access to being outdoors at all times, and never have to be cooped up in a stall.  We have two barn stalls that open into the dry lot.   These provide shelter from weather conditions (should they choose shelter) , as well as a cooler place to hide from insects in the summertime.  We have fans installed in each stall and also a large farm fan that blows the area in front of the barn where there is an overhang.  There is also a run-in shed at the far end of the dry lot, that they have 24/7 access to as well.  There is another run-in shed in the half of the dry lot that we consider to be the donkeys' yard.  However, during the daylight hours, the gate is always open between the donkeys and the horses - allowing them all free access to the entire dry lot.  We close the gate at night, just to assure that the donkeys have their own space to get out of the weather.  While horses might stand out in all manner of nasty weather, by choice, donkeys do not love wind, or rain, or snow.  

If we didn't have as many equines as we do, this would not even be a consideration... because there would be adequate room.  However, if we leave this up to the horses, they might hog all of the free space and the donkeys, being on the bottom of the totem pole, would be left out in the cold (or worse.). That being said, it is not unusual, for me to walk into the barn and find all 5 of our horses crammed into one stall together, happily napping.  That is their choice - they have a lot of options!  It is also almost an every day occurrence to find at least four of the horses crammed into the donkey shed together!

Another consideration when keeping equines is prevention of parasites (worms, tapeworms, bots, etc).  There are differing ideas about this.  I will tell you what has worked for us.  An older school of thought is to give worming paste to equines every month to prevent parasites.  The downside to this is the fact that these parasites can become resistant to the worming medicine over time.  I do not follow this routine.  Years ago, I had our horses' checked for worms by examination of their manure under microscope... if worms were found, we would treat.   What we do have, though, are bot flies who lay eggs every late summer on the horses legs.  Then by rubbing their faces on their legs, the bot eggs get ingested and grow in he horses' gut.  There is no way to prevent this, however, so we automatically de-worm the horses every winter, after we've had a good freeze with a medication that kills the bot larvae.  Fortunately, we have not had a problem with worms... perhaps, in part, due to the fact that we are vigilant about cleaning our pastures.  

We are also vigilant about vaccinating our herd, keeping their feet trimmed and their teeth floated (filed down to prevent mis-alignments and other dental problems).

The last consideration when bringing an equine into your life is longevity... both yours and theirs.  There is a good chance that my donkeys may out-live me.  Luckily, we have loved ones who have sworn to me that they will take care of my precious girls when I am gone.  Still... it is an important consideration for all of our beloved pets.

Obviously, this is not a comprehensive list of all of the components of equine care... just a few of the highlights.  The rest could make book!

It is my belief that we were meant to be stewards of this earth and its creatures - not meant to bend either to our will, but to live and work cooperatively in a relationship that benefits both sides.  I am grateful to have had the privilege of enjoying a deep connection to both the land and my animals.  

PS:  great news... the barn swallows have returned and are busy building this year's nests!

Also...after yesterday's farrier visit, I was able to slice my soap and put it away to dry for the next 6 weeks.  It smells heavenly!

Have a lovely weekend!  We'll be back to chat on Monday.