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Horse Care
#1

I’m planning a move to Florida with my ponies and would appreciate any suggestions for things I need to have in terms of barn setup and infrastructure. One is a hard keeper, one is moderate and the other is easy. I’m already planning on installing some Nelson waterers that I have and would also like to have at least 1 misting fan. Any other ideas for helping them be more comfortable with the heat?

Will the longer sunlight hours actually affect their coat growth or should I plan on clipping?

Right now they get native grass hay, which is quite fine. I’m not sure how similar this is to the Coastal Bermuda that I’ve heard bad things about. Anyone know if native Maine grass hay is similar to Coastal Bermuda?

Feed wise I only feed alfalfa cubes, TC’s golden flax and a custom mineral mix. Are Semican alfalfa cubes, or something similar available? Are Triple Crown products available? Should I plan to keep feed in the house in air conditioning? I go through 100lbs of alfalfa cubes every 2 weeks, but it takes 2 months to go through a bag of flax.

Right now I buy a year’s worth of hay & put it up in my hay loft, which I know I can’t do in Florida. How should hay be stored & for how long?

Is it too hot for black ponies to be comfortable with fly sheets?

Is there anything Florida-specific that I should have in terms of First Aid supplies?

Should I plan on having a more impervious perimeter fence, like woven no-climb, if I wind up near any water to protect from gators? Or is electric tape sufficient? My smallest pony is about 260lbs and my largest is about 625lbs.

Vaccination wise, is there anything else to be concerned about other than EEE, WEE, WNV, tetanus & rabies? I have no intention of doing any showing at all.

Should I plan on having an electrolyte on hand to give them while they adjust? Suggestions for one that doesn’t contain sugar?

If they’re used to the pasture up here should I plan to do a very slow transition to Florida pasture or a faster one?

Anything else I should know that I haven’t asked?

#2

See replies above.

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#3

When are you planning on making this move? What time of year?

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#4

Thanks for your replies. I’m going to be moving within the next 6 months or so. Not ideal I know, but I can’t survive another winter up here. I’ve been in Florida during the summer before and know how horrible the heat is. Just not used to having animals down there.

My ponies are used to living out and my pony self destructs when stalled. They are pretty sensible so if I have misting fans going in a run in, they’d probably use that.

Are there any other plain grass hays available? Or are the options Bermuda, Orchard, Timothy, or Peanut. I have VPEs (very petite equines) and go through 20lbs of hay a day for them.

I’m aware of the gas and impaction colic issues with Coastal Bermuda. I’m just not sure if that’s more of an issue that the big horses have or if its an issue for ponies too. Most of the hay that I have now is really fine and they do well on it. I just have no idea what the grasses are up here.

I do soak but I’m lazy & use hot water, so the cubes soak in 30 minutes or so.

One of my minis is of the “Ooh is that fire hot! I want to TOUCH it” types. As in we used to have geese and one of them was telling her to F off, but she was all “I want to say hi, I’m friendly”…until the goose nipped her and wounded her little ego. My question re:gators is more related to knowing that if she sees a gator she’s probably gonna want to make friends. Foolish little adorable moron that she is. :smile:

Re: pasture While I’ve had ponies for a while, I’m pretty new to managing ponies on pasture. By fast I meant over several weeks. Slow to me means over a month or two.

Or maybe I just need to invent some air conditioned bubble wrap!

#5

Ponies are not exempt. There are some local coastal hays, but not a huge crop down here. Even still, coastals are often shipped in from other southern states. And again, those coastal hays have risks. You’ll have to speak to a vet down here, I suppose. They may be sustained on grass alone if you find a place that has sufficient grass. And you’ll need sufficient shade also since you wont use stalls. And if you have shade from trees, very little grass will grow in those areas due to the sand, so it’s all a crapshoot. lol

#6

I don’t have misting fans but each stall has a fan. The barn is set up so the breeze blows through when the doors are open. It rains a lot & usually heavy when it does. You’ll want a dry lot with access from the stalls or one with a shelter so they can get out of the rain & sun.

I haven’t noticed a difference in coat length. Winter in the panhandle can get cold at night & I still blanketed my old man. He got a winter coat but not much of one. Fly sheets I will use early spring but most times it’s going to be too hot for one.

I would not feed coastal hay. My horse came from Chicago & would not eat enough tifton. I end up buying Timothy since he’s a hard keeper.

You shouldn’t have a problem getting that feed out here. I keep my grain in a freezer & cubes, coolstance, supplements in metal cans.

That should be fine for hay. I have hay from December that looks pale on the outside but is perfectly fine once you open the bale.

Anything mosquito borne I vaccinate twice a year for it. I still do strangles & flu/rhino yearly even though he doesn’t leave the property.

I add electrolytes daily on the low dose but I also don’t feed salt & the salt block doesn’t get used much.

I’m transitioning to pasture slowly. Not worth the risk of a problem for me.

In the panhandle farm call vets can be hard to find depending on your area. There are 2 vets by me, one I won’t touch & the other is booked out 2 or 3 weeks. I switched to a clinic further away & more expensive but I can usually get an appointment in a couple of days if needed. If you have a trailer & can haul in to a vet it’s easier to get an earlier appointment. Good farriers are hard to find also.

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#7

Good to know about vets & farriers, though I’m not really looking in the panhandle at all. We basically had 1 good vet where I am and now have no one since he retired. I do my own farrier work, since where I live you basically wind up paying someone to make your horse lame if you hire any of the farriers here.

The whole Coastal Bermuda thing is rather confusing, since I just did a bit of searching and there are people who feed it to their minis without issues. I know that mine much prefer finer hay and refuse to eat anything coarse. What I do now is buy a year’s worth from a local farmer and test it. I’m just not sure if I can do the same and have it work out. Sounds like Bermuda can be too high in NDF and also get too long, which can cause issues. Guess I need to do some more research.

This is what I’m feeding now, which is pretty fine. Is this similar looking to Coastal Bermuda in terms of fineness?

IMG_0269
IMG_02692448×3264 4.1 MB

I have Maine level “down to -30 at night with windchill” blankets that are all coming with me.

#8

It doesnt matter if it is a horse digesting it (or trying to) or a pony or a mini. It’s all the same. Some will be fine. Others wont. My horse cannot digest it…at all…a couple servings and we are right at the emergency hospital. And this horse has been raised in the south. One of the specialists explained it to me this way; “You put a bundle of timothy or orchard or alfalfa into a blender and they’ll blend into a paste. You put a bundle of any coastal hay into a blender, and it’ll dance around and form a clunky ball.” There is more to hay digestibility than just the physical appearances and fine-ness. It’s risky. Many people feed it, but I would not give it to a horse or pony or mini coming from the north where hays are different. Period. Your horses, your call. There’s a wealth of info you can research to make your decision.

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#9

If you end up within driving distance Larsens hay in Ocala has nice hay . I drive about a hr to get there and go when I am able. I just got a tractor last year so I’ve started buying their Timothy big bales - which is about 1000lbs for $212 and a half big bale which is $106. store one and a few smaller bales and put one under the carport . They have a hay called meadow hay that I’m told is lower in sugar but it isn’t tested.

Triple Crown is a available depending on where you are at. You may have to travel a bit to get it.

I keep mine out 24/7 and they have adjusted well. Shade is a must. It’s 10 degrees cooler under oaks on a hot sunny day. Have a trailer for hurricanes just in case. My Black Friesian cross is new this year and so far has handled the heat ok but it hasn’t been really hot yet. I was told on the Friesian cross forum the black coats do better with a fly sheet. Even mid 80’s my girls coat is hot to touch so I believe it.

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#10

Your hay doesn’t look fine compared to coastal I’ve seen. It looks like wisps of grass to me the one time I saw it. Most of the rescues here have a no coastal clause in the adoption agreement.

There are enough people bringing in quality hay like Larsen & Ratzlaff that are more expensive than local hay but not outrageously priced. I was not impressed by local hay except once & the BO refused to give me the name of her hay guy because she started having problems getting enough for herself.

You should be fine anywhere else getting a vet.

#11

I’m in SC, not FL, but our hay issues are the same. The only local hay here is Coastal Bermuda. Northern hays are expensive and are harder to find. I have never met a vet that was a fan of Coastal Bermuda hay. Risk of impaction colic on Coastal is real. It’s not just the fineness of the hay but the fact that it has a lot of non digestible fiber and it tends to wad up in a horse’s digestive tract.

Also, you need to keep current Coggins on all of your horses just in case you have to evacuate for a hurricane. It’s also best to have Coggins done in the Spring rather than Fall, as you don’t want to find yourself needing a Coggins ASAP while a hurricane is approaching.

I also wouldn’t suggest a mister fan. Humidity is already sky high down south and mister fans are not as effective in high humidity. You will have enough trouble with mold and mildew without asking for more. I would suggest sealed motor fans in your stalls. Fans make a big difference in comfort during the summer months.

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#12

Also, gators can climb fences, so putting in a no climb fence will not stop a gator from going right over. Generally they don’t range far from their water source, though.

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#13

Many vets here say NO COASTAL, in fact I used to use a vet who told all her clients, “If you feed coastal, don’t call me when your horse colics.” I’ve been in Florida since '71 and have never fed coastal. Around my area it’s considered junk hay and sub par for horses.
It will depend on the area you end up in, Florida is a huge state and availability of horse services
will vary. Some areas are much better than other areas as far as quality of available imported hay and name brands of feed.
Perimeter fencing in my area of Central Florida is mostly no climb wire with a sight board on top.
I wouldn’t suggest woven or tape to be secure enough. Roaming dogs can also be a problem in some areas and you want to keep them out. Also black bears and coyotes in some areas.
Alligators- again depends on the area. We usually believe if there’s water (pond or lake or creek, or canal, there could be alligators. And poisonous snakes.

I feed salt daily in whatever soaked feed I’m giving them.
Waterers- I prefer large troughs to keep the water cooler. Those automatic waterers get very hot in the sun and the water coming out may be hot also.
Always transition slowly to any new pasture or hay.
No fly sheets in the heat here- way too hot and humid. My black horse insists on full shade when it’s over mid 80’s. Either a shelter in pasture or big oak trees.
Do you know the area of Fl. where you will be located?

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#14

I’ll join in the chorus of warnings against Coastal. I’m in eastern NC, and our hay situation is the same as Florida. There is a lot of Coastal grown here and it’s the most fed hay around here. I’ve fed it myself or had my horses at barns that fed it. However, my born-and-raised right here gelding, who actually ate Coastal as a weanling/early yearling (when he could get to the round bale or was fed at all, poor guy), will now colic very quickly if he’s fed Coastal. It’s pretty much the only thing that has ever made him colic. As soon as I stopped the Coastal and started him back on timothy, he was fine. When I bought him as a yearling I fed him alfalfa and timothy, decided to try coastal once on a whim many years later and he quickly showed me that was a mistake.

The other delight I get with living in a region that boasts heat/humidity combos that put our heat index in the 100+ range many days (and nights that might not get any cooler than the 80’s) is anhidrosis. My current gelding is the only horse I’ve owned over the past 34 years to have it, but he definitely does. And again…he was raised down here in this god awful heat and humidity. With you moving from a cooler climate, I would suggest that you pay close attention to your ponies’ adjustment to the climate down here. Hopefully they’ll do just fine, and it sounds like you’re going to have them set up so that they can get in and cool down when needed, which is about the best you can do.

Since your ponies are petite, I’d be inclined to err to the safe side with fencing and put up mesh wire. Gators aren’t likely to come into your pasture, but the mesh wire would probably be some extra insurance to make sure they or any other predators don’t bother your wee equines. :slight_smile:

#15

I have fed coastal for years without a single colic. According to my vet, you can feed coastal, but you do want to feed something with it, like 5 lbs of perennial peanut hay, twice a day. But many horses are fed straight coastal and do well.

I have limited pasture. My horses are on drylot. I use slow feeder nets, sometimes double nets on the hay. Any shafty hay waste is removed. I try to buy hay from a consistent source. As for hay storage, I keep my hay on platforms 2 feet off the ground. And stack to the ceiling. 40 bales is the maximum I can store. Not a huge storage space. I also feed round rolls. My hay guy saves some for me so I never run out of hay. This time of year, the bales run low and it’s not uncommon to have a hay shortage.

As for rounds, they go in a homemade crib with a slow feed net attached on top. In a stall so they don’t get wet and moldy. Hay needs to be kept dry or it goes bad, fast.

Definitely use mesh wire to keep dogs out. No gators near me.

You will need fans to keep the gnats from attacking. You will want a shady pasture or dry lot. I have 4 horses on 3 acres, and still end up with more grass then they can eat. They gain weight every summer because we have so much grass, although I also feed hay year round.

And everyone gets clipped every winter, multiple times.

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#16

Rye grass and Bahia hays will likely be available as well. Not all Bermuda hays are an issue. Coastal Bermuda is an issue. Other varieties of Bermuda like Tifton and Russel are perfectly safe.

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#17

Thanks for the info, its very helpful. Am looking at places north of Gainesville.

As far as hay goes, how much can I have on hand at a time? In theory those timothy big bales sound nice, except it’ll take mine almost 2 months to eat one.

Another issue I have with mine is that they really prefer finer hay. Anything that’s too coarse gets wasted.

Up here I test hay and buy a year’s worth. I’m trying to get a rough idea of how many times I’m going to have to test & buy hay. Though I am NOT looking forward to doing core samples in Florida heat.

#18

There is no time limit on hay storage, assuming you keep it in a dry place. It doesn’t go bad. I’m not sure I understand your worries about that. And not all bales are 100 lbs. Many people ship in loads that’ll have 50 lb. bales. Just depends on the supplier you pick and what they have.

Timothy and Orchard are soft. The pieces aren’t all fine, necessarily, but it’s not like coarse straw like it sounds like you are thinking/fearing.

In that area, you’ll be pretty close to me, within a 2 hour drive.

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#19

Have you weighed how much you feed? If it would take you two months to use up a 100 lb. bale, that would mean you feed only 1.6 lbs per day, total. That’s like a small handful off of the corner of one flake, and didn’t you say you have multiple ponies? (An average flake off of a 3 string 100 lb bale weighs 5-7 lbs)

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#20

As much as you have room to store. Keep it dry, off the ground and well ventilated and you won’t have issues. IME, you can’t stack hay quite as tightly her as perhaps is common in other climates. If you buy “imported” Timothy hay you may easily find some that has been tested already. There is a supplier in my general area that advertises this. Based on the ad, the same supplier would service the Gainesville area as well. Particularly if you are buying a year’s supply at one time.

I think the Timothy is usually finer than the Orchard, but I don’t feed tons of either variety so my observations may not be universally true.

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