Alayne Blickle Park with extra distance between rigs so no one is tempted to visit closely and so you can comfortably maintain a six to ten-foot distance from others. Avoid trailering with others in the same vehicle by driving separate rigs instead. Typically, this monthly column focuses on smart, healthy, and … Read More
Across the Pacific Northwest many horse properties are showing the repercussions of a wet winter followed by spring precipitation. Muddy paddocks with miserable horses standing up to their ankles in filth aren’t fun for horses or their owners. Mud creates an unhealthy environment for a horse. It harbors bacterial and … Read More
Swallows Eat Thousands of Flies and Mosquitoes Daily by Alayne Blickle Horse people love spring, but what gives us great hope of summer being just around the corner is the return of swallows to North America. Depending on where you live, you should begin seeing swallows in March and … Read More
by Alayne Blickle (From March 2020 Horses for Clean Water Newsletter) Over the 40 plus years I’ve owned horses, I have experienced a variety of what were (at the time) frightening outbreaks of equine diseases—Potomac horse fever, Equine Protozoa Myolitis, West Nile virus, and Equine Herpesvirus Neurologic, to name a … Read More
Rubber stall mats are the gold standard in horse stall flooring. Unfortunately, they’re so cumbersome in size and shape, they can be a struggle to place perfectly in a stall. If not perfect, they end up working themselves loose, twisting, turning and creating hassles. Anita Medina and her two horses … Read More
This past fall I was a presenter at the Best Horse Summit in Maine. While there, I had the opportunity to tour a unique equine business, Compassionate Composting, which deals exclusively with composting dead horses. Before you wrinkle up your nose and turn away, ponder the fact that in many … Read More
Increase Chore Efficiency for an Easier Winter by Alayne Blickle, Horses for Clean Water Making chore efficiency updates on your horse property and having backup supplies on-hand is helpful for getting through the most challenging time of the year, and it may help you avoid disasters when winter storms … Read More
Begin with the Essential Basics when Designing a Home for Your Horses By Alayne Blickle Providing shelter for your horse can mean anything from a tree in a pasture to a nice, big barn. In this article I will consider the basic shelter requirements. Future articles will review considerations … Read More
Exploring Options By Alayne Blickle A lack of enrichment opportunities and boredom in horses can contribute to health issues such as weight gain, ulcers, stall vices (chewing, pawing, weaving, cribbing), fighting between horses, crabbiness under saddle, even colic. An increased exercise schedule, more turnout time, utilizing track paddocks, or … Read More
Prevent a Muddy Mess on Your Farm By Alayne Blickle Runoff from driveways, parking areas, hillsides, or even slight slopes can add significantly to the problem of managing mud in equine confinement and high traffic areas. Winter is the time of the year when rain and melting snow can … Read More
