C2-Lancaster Farming, Saturday, March 25, 1995
HORSE SENSE
When it comes to horse know
ledge, I consider myself lucky. I
have more than 100 equine exper
ts at my fingertips while sitting in
my office at the Lancaster Farm
and Home Center.
No, we don’t have 100 county
agents with horse expertise, but I
do have a copy of the “Horse
Industry Handbook,” which is a
most comprehensive guide to
horse care and management. It is a
research-based resource manual
that is written, reviewed, and
approved by equine experts from
all over North America.
The manual is available from
the American Youth Horse Coun
cil (606) 259-2742. Following are
some educational topics for horse
owners gleaned from the “Horse
Industry Handbook.”
Horse Barn Ventilation
A poorly ventilated bam or
drafty bam puts a horse in an envi
ronment that can contribute to
pneumonia and other respiratory
problems. A properly ventilated
bam has a minimum of drafts, but
will have adequate air exchange to
maintain horses in a healthy
environment.
New horse bams should have at
PENNSYLVANIA
least a six inch ridge vent with a
minimum 12 to 14-inch overhang
and a vented soffit running the full
length. A rule-of-thumb guide is
to provide at least one foot of
ridge to ventilation for each horse
or stall in the bam.
There should be at least four to
eight air changes per hour in an
adequately ventilated bam. Other
factors to consider include the pre
vailing winds, the number of
horses, and climatic conditions
such as strong winds and blowing
rain or snow.
A special ventilation problem
occurs when hay is stored above
the stall. Unless provisions are
made to allow air movement about
the stall area, effective ventilation
becomes reduced or non-existent
in the stable part of the bam.
An air passage of at least 12
inches must be left between the
wall and bales of hay stored above
each stall to allow hot, moist air to
escape from the area below. For
fire saftey reason, it is usually
recommended to store large quan
tities of hay in buildings not hous
ing horses.
Hay Intake For Horses
All horses need long-stem for
age for both physiological and
behavioral reasons. If hays are the
only source of forage, rations
should include hay at levels of I.S
to 2 percent of body weight per
day.
Consult the following table to
aid you in providing adequate hay
to your horse according to its pro
duction stage.
Production
State
Maintenance
Average
Poor
Excellent
Average
Excellent
Average
Excellent
Average
Work: Light Average
Medium Average
Intense Average
Teaching A Horse To Trailer
It is obviously an unnatural
event for a horse to be loaded into
a horse trailer and transported.
Therefore, the horse has to be
trained to trailer.
Growth
Pregnancy
Lactation
Training horses to trailer at an
early age, traveling with a quiet
friend, allowing plenty of room
for the horse, and teaching the
horse to ride in various types of
trailers are all factors that influ
ence the trailering process.
Training a difficult horse to
load can be a rewarding experi
ence for the horse and horse own
er. Positive, nontraumatic experi
ences are very important in teach
ing horses to haul safely and
quietly.
There are several keys to suc
cessful trailering. Initial training
for the horse at as young an age as
possible, ideally as a foal. Teach
the horse to load in a stock-type
MARYLAND
trailer. The horse will be much
less apprehensive if it does not
feel so confined.
Horses can be fed in the trailer
while learning to load. Load the
horse in the trailer, allow the horse
to eat, and unload without trans
porting. This procedure will help
Forage Intake Guide
Quality,
of Forage
the horse gain confidence and feel
safe while in the trailer. Gradual
ly, start transporting the horse and
slowly increase the length of the
ride.
Training the horse to trailer
with a quiet friend helps eliminate
stress for the new traveler. Teach
the horse to load and haul on both
sides, or front and rear of a trailer.
Train the horse to load in both the
ramp and step-up trailers. By var
ying the riding position, the horse
will be able to load and ride in any
trailer.
Your Horse’s First Shoes
The horse’s foot continues to
increase in size until it is full
grown, at five or six years of age.
If the horse is shod during the
growing years, shoes should be
reset frequently and progressively
larger shoes applied as needed.
Ideally, growing horses should
VIRGINIA
NEW YORK
Daily Intake
% Body Weight
1.5-
1.0- 1.5
2.0
1.5
1.75-2.0
1.5-
2.0
1.5
1.25-1.5
1.0-
.75-1.0
3 NEED YOUR ■
FARM BUILDINGS
PAINTED?
Let us give you a price!
Write:
Daniel’s Painting
637-A Georgetown Rd.
Bonks, PA 17572
(or leave message)
mm (717) 687-8262 *
Spray on and Brush
gi in Painting 1
be shod only for short periods of
time for showing or sales. It is
customary to only shoe them in
front for these purposes. It would
probably be beneficial for horses
to be shod all-around during these
periods, especially if they are
doing any work that would cause
the feet to wear down faster than
they grow out. Avoid waiting until
the horse is sore to shoe it.
Generally, first shoes should be
as light as will give the desired
protection to the foot. Aluminum
shoes are often used. A rocker-toe
is most desirable on young horses
to ease breakover and prevent
forging. Forging is a fault of gait
when the toe of the hind shoe
strikes the bottom of the front
shoe. Half-round shoes are also
used on the front feet to ease brea
kover and prevent limb interfer
ence. Heavier shoes may be used
to enhance the gait of show
horses.
The IRS and Horse Tax
Management
The IRS, in deciding whether a
horse activity is a business, con
siders whether the operation is run
in a businesslike manner. The IRS
has several criteria. One is
whether the taxpayer changes
operating methods, adopts new
techniques, or abandons unprofit
able methods, based on the facts
shown in the taxpayer’s business
records. In short, the IRS believes
that if you are not interested
enough to document where you
made or lost money, you are prob
ably not interested in money and
therefore you have a hobby!
Convincing the IRS that a horse
activity is not a hobby can be diffi
cult. It can be difficult even if a
horse activity shows a profit two
out of seven consecutive years. In
the determination of whether an
activity is engaged in for profit, no
one factor is controlling. But one
of the most important factors indi
cating a profit motive is whether
the taxpayer operates in ,a
businesslike manner. A y/ell
thought-out and documented plan,
designed to improve profitability,
contributes substantially to a
“businesslike manner.”
Of course there is much more to
tax management than convincing
the IRS that you are in business.
Essentially, good tax management
minimizes the tax obligation with
out reducing profitability. But that
is impossible without good
records. For examply, if this
year’s taxes will be particularly
high relative to other years, buy
ing ahead, paying current bills,
considering alternative methods
of depreciation on new equip
ment, and considering a number of
other moves could all reduce tax
es. They could, that is, if you have
the records to see which moves are
advisable.