we had auto waterers in south florida with no problem, Shade will change that whole dynamic.
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I moved to Florida a few summers ago, the only thing not already addressed that I would have on hand is some dex for allergies. The first week we lived here - before I had established a vet - my gelding rolled on a fire ant hill entire body was quickly covered with bites. Overall I have used more allergy meds on horses in the last few years then the prior 20+.
Btw even with that Florida became home so much faster then any place else and I don’t ever want to leave
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Thanks. I’m very conflicted about dex as 2 of mine have EMS and have been through laminitis in the past. I’m hoping that I’ll be able to talk to a couple vets when I’m house hunting, and I’ll definitely ask about this. My plan is to have already talked to at least 1, hopefully 2, vets before I move
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Definitely avoid Dex if your horses are EMS. Look into topicals or Zyrtec for allergies. Been there done that !
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Definitely find out from your vet what their preferred acute allergy meds are for them then, I only use dex for acute issues.
The water table in South Florida is very high. You will sometimes hit water several feet down. Ans when the summer temperatures stay between 85-100 degress for months on end, the earth is warmed down VERY deeply
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As a Maine transplant to the south (central NC), I don’t blame you for wanting to flee those miserable winters!
Hard NO on coastal. Many horses get nothing but coastal Bermuda for years and they are fine on it.
Until they aren’t.
When we moved to NC, I didn’t know better, and we fed coastal hay. One mare (a pony, since you wondered if there were differences in risk) colicked badly. She survived but did need to spend several days at NC State for care and monitoring. We tried to mitigate the risk by feeding lots of soaked beetpulp but decided we just weren’t comfortable with the level of risk, and now source 100% of our hay from up north or out west. Hay is definitely the most expensive part of horse keeping in the south.
I’ve tried fly sheets, and most of mine would rather be naked under fans than wearing even the coolest fly sheets. I bring mine in during the summer days, but we’ve also put fans in our run-ins and the horses are almost as happy out there. But shade, air movement, and bug relief are critical.
We do feed mineral salt with grain, as well as offering free choice blocks.
Florida is NOTORIOUS for skin crud, so be prepared to clip legs and be scrupulous about spotting/treating any fungus or crud as it pops up.
For water, I also prefer tubs. Easier to monitor water intake, and I do think the horses prefer drinking from them. Maybe do smaller tubs set up on stands to make it easier for you to empty and fill? Keeping the troughs out of the sun will not only keep the horses drinking it better (mind don’t like warm water), but sun also encourages algae growth.
My stock tanks all have valves at the bottom to empty them, so no ‘dumping’ required.
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Yeah, I think I’m going to have to reconsider coastal & say no to it too. Turns out that my senior pony has been having issues with the grass hay I’ve been feeding. She’d lost a lot of muscle since I started feeding it despite my best efforts to both supplement her with alfalfa & give her time with free choice hay so she could eat as much as she wanted for part of the day. The muscle she’d lost is slowly coming back now that she’s on pasture, so I definitely need to be careful with hay for her.
On another note: dental care in northern Florida. I have had a lot of issues finding someone who can properly float teeth on my herd. My preference is manual floating since I’ve had nothing but trouble with power floating. The manual floats I’ve had done have been by either a general veterinarian or an equine dentist. Never any problems with them. It’s the vets who do power float who’ve caused issues. One was a general vet who likes dental & the other is a vet who just does dental work. IME power floats might be ok at the time but need to be done again sooner since they don’t seem as effective. This last float done by the vet dentist caused my senior mare’s jaw muscles to atrophy. With manual floats mine only need to be done once a year, but with power floats they wind up needing more frequent work. So I’m not at all a fan of power floats.
How easy/difficult is it to find a good vet or good equine dentist who does manual floats?
IRT Dentists, I just want to say that I have used Dr. Bess Darrow Tune-Ups Equine Dentistry, since before shew as a vet. When the state started considering new rules she went to vet school. Yes, power tools. But I have not heard one person who has had issues with her work. Most of the manual floaters I have been around just take the points off and little else.
Like @lorilu, I have never heard of anyone around here still using just manual tools for floats. Equine dentists and skilled vets all do power floats. I have never had an issue. You’ll just have to see who is near you when you pinpoint a location.
PM as where in northern Florida. I have a great vet who does manual floats. Maybe it’s close enough to where you’re moving.
@moonlitoaksranch I’d definitely be interested in knowing, since it could guide where I move to. I just cannot figure out how to PM you with this new forum.
Like I said, I’ve had power floats done by vets who are supposedly skilled with this and have had nothing but problems. I don’t understand at all why so many are so enamored by the power float. Mine have always been low maintenance and needed only an annual float when done manually. Since switching to the vet who only does dentistry I’m now having quidding issues about 6 months later which has never been an issue before.
My former now retired vet used to do a proper manual float and he was very thorough and also did incisors if needed. Never had an issue. I wouldn’t be so dead set against power floats if I had any good experiences with them, but they’re just no good.
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