Rocky Ridge Farm

11/19/2023

11/28/2022

Why soak feeds? 💧

The natural diet of horses is grazing. Fresh forage is 70 – 80% water, so horses actually eat a lot of water. Even on very wet grazing, they still need to drink as well, as the food needs to be mixed with plenty of fluid to get through the small intestine’s 20 metres or so and numerous curves. In this part of the gut, the food (now called ingestate) is around 90% fluid. When a horse eats hay for instance, which is only 10 – 13% water, the horse has to chew a lot and this releases saliva which helps to add fluid to the mix. Water for the saliva comes from the blood, which in turn will draw on reserves in the large intestine, which needs to be replaced by drinking. Many horses dunk their hay in the water container, which is actually very sensible of them, albeit annoying for us as it will need cleaning out every day.

Dried, pelleted feeds are 10% water. Different feeds absorb different amounts of water – forages will take up 2.5 times their volume of water and beet pulp, 5 times. Straw is not very absorbent, taking up a lot less water and is one reason why it is not a favoured feed and has a reputation for causing impaction colic.

We always suggest pelleted feeds are offered soaked. This restores their natural hydration, increases bulk and slows eating rate. It aids digestion and can help reduce the chance of choke. Horses choke because they did not chew the food sufficiently. If a horse chokes, we need to look at what went wrong for the horse. Hungry and greedy horses may bolt their food and fail to chew it sufficiently. Young horses who are teething may fail to chew properly and horses with dental issues just cannot chew well. Even with good dental care, the teeth will start to let the horse down at some point from the late teens on and by the time they are 30 it is inevitable that the molars are worn out and will start to fall out if this hasn’t already happened.

We are accustomed to soaking beet pulp and rightly so. It is not difficult to soak feeds and enables very valuable and nutritious forage feeds to be offered safely to all horses, good chewers or not.

Soaked feeds are very palatable but need to be fresh. Feed within 12 hours of adding the water. Use an amount of water that suits your horse. Some love a soup, others prefer more of a crumble texture. You can use warm water to speed the process along and offering a warm feed is appreciated by many horses in the winter. Don’t let the requirement for soaking put you off feeding the very best forages to your horses.

03/01/2022

https://youtu.be/VxlhmO1j4HI

When people think of Kentucky, they often think of pastures of elegant Thoroughbreds or a day at the races. But Kentucky’s horse story takes us deep into the...

02/11/2022

If you’re going be sure to visit the Mt Horse booths!

Plan NOW to attend the 2022 Horse World Expo March 3-6, 2022 at the Farm Show Complex, Harrisburg, PA Now Accepting Applications for vendors for the 2022 Horse World Expo Exhibitor Package Apply Online A Retail Show and Sale Horse…

12/04/2021

🤣🤣🤣

08/25/2020

Fascinating

08/12/2020

Our program donations are taking a toll with our entire world struggling to battle Covid-19. We won’t let the individuals on our waiting list down though and continue to raise and train nearly 30 puppies for our 4 year wait list!

Right now our main priority is funding for our veterinary costs. Each puppy has 3 rounds of vaccinations, and each appointment is $235. They also need heartworm pills which are around $15 a pill and when they’re spayed or neutered they have their hips and elbows radiographed and sent to the OFA to ensure they’re fit to work. This first year of care costs PAD $1,600!

This week we are featuring PAD Rooney, the World’s Greatest Border Collie. Rooney loves to learn, cuddle and show off his skills.

Please consider donating to help PAD Rooney and our program stay afloat during these uncertain times!

PayPal: www.paypal.me/padcentral

All donations are fully tax deductible 27-1914137

Photo Description: a white, grey and black Border Collie with one blue eye and one grown eye wearing a burgundy service dog vest sits in green grass. The vest has a round patch that says “please don’t pet me” on the back and a rectangle patch on the side with PAD’s logo. His ears are perked up and he is looking at the camera with his mouth slightly open.

06/21/2020

Our last remaining Mt Horse, Sky Rocket. 5 y/o stallion...winning the Open Country Trail Championship and the Novice Country Trail Championship at the Kentucky Mt Saddle Horse show yesterday. Thank you to his trainer Amy Stefanic, and Keaton Breitenbach for showing him so well!

01/22/2020

This!

Quick PSA for this very cold morning. If you didn't already know, YOUR HORSES SHOULD BE OUTSIDE. Yeah, it's cold. It sucks to turn them out. But, they WANT to be out. Their gut health is better. Their mental health is better. Their joint and muscle health is better. And yet, I'm seeing fewer and fewer barns offering adequate turnout. And I literally cannot fathom why. When your horses are out (with hay, water and with friends) we already know they are healthier animals. But from a barn owner perspective, my stalls stay cleaner, my bedding costs are down, and I have happier stall cleaners. So why aren't horses getting turned out? It's a real question. I'm actually looking for an answer. Why are so many barns (and horse owners!) ignoring a massive factor in maintaining healthy horses? (Picture for attention. This is Lites, my 27 year old retired TB. It's 12 degrees out and he is electing to be outside. His paddock is attached to his stall. Wind, rain, snow...this guy is out. So that should say something.)

12/21/2019

WEST BROOKFIELD — Pamela Rickenbach has been pushed to the edge before and every time, she has fought her way back. This time, she has decided,

12/10/2019

Keeping tradition alive.

It's that time of year again! Despite the struggles the NYC horse carriage industry has put up with throughout the year, every December lines for horse carriage rides form around the holidays! As tradition, most drivers have once again decorated their carriages with festive lights or garland and some horses are even donned with bells or reindeer antlers!

Per NYC regulations, in the winter, the carriage horses wear blankets at 40 degrees while standing on the hackline, a rain blanket below 55 degrees in wet weather, and don't operate below 19 degrees or in harsh blizzards. They have two continuous flow water troughs complete with heated pipes in the park, and some drivers carry additional water in a bucket below the carriage for busy shifts. They receive oats/grain in small amounts between their rides, during photo stops on their tours, and during their breaks. At the end of their shift they return to large box stalls where they can lay flat out comfortably or munch on hay. While limits are also in place of how many hours the horses may work (9 hours maximum per 24 hour period with a minimum of 15 minutes rest per 2 hours of work) carriage drivers do not have the same limitations and will work additional shifts with horses brought home after finishing their city mandated vacations on pastures. The money earned during this season will supplement carriage drivers through the upcoming slow season to cover the high cost of the upkeep of their horses in addition to their own livelihood. We applaud their dedication and hard work this season.

We are all thankful to see the industry thrive despite real estate developer, Steve Nislick of NYCLASS's interest in the carriage stable properties, Mayor DeBlasio's attempts to regulate the industry out of business, pedicab drivers misleading people away from taking carriage rides, and animal rights extremist’s protests. The fact that countless tourists and locals are still queuing up for rides is some of the best proof the carriage industry is still winning their battles.

You can find carriage horses to take a ride with at the 5th Ave, 6th Ave, and 7th Ave park entrances off Central Park South (59th Street) from approximately 10am to midnight, every day, weather permitting. If you were hoping to skip the line during the busy season, most horse carriage companies accepting reservations are unfortunately already booked up for this season, but you can always try your luck with them! Here are a *few:
www.NYCHorseCarriageRides.com
www.NewYorkCityHorseCarriages.com
www.CentralParkCarriageRides.com
www.CentralParkCarriagesOfficial.org
www.CentralPark.com
www.CentralParkHorses.com
www.CentralParkCarriages.com
www.CentralParkCarriageCompany.com
www.NewYorkCityAdventure.com
www.NYCHorseCarriageServices.com
www.NYCFancyRides.com
www.VIPCentralParkTours.com
www.TroyCarriages.com
www.LittleRedCarriage.com

*This page is not affiliated with any of these websites & does not take responsibility for their content.

11/19/2019

Who else out there has this gene? :)

People who don't know much about horses can't understand why horse lovers are obsessed with riding and horses.

08/17/2019