Horse camping is a great way to have fun with your horse. Just make sure he's prepared for different types of containment, including highlining.

Photo by Becky Pearman Photography

If you're a camping enthusiast as well as a horse lover, overnight horse camping could be the perfect combination of your interests. If you're interest in events such as endurance riding or competitive trail riding, horse camping is often part of the experience.

No matter why you're hitching up and camping out, the key to having a good time is making sure that both you and your horse are prepared.

One of the ways to be prepared is to make lists.

"I have a camp list for horses and a people camp list that I use," says Bonnie Davis, consulting editor for The Trail Rider.

Horses
This is my basic camp list for horses. As I load an item in trailer or towing vehicle I check it off list. Before leaving, items are reviewed to make sure everything has been checked off and loaded! Add your own items too!

• Highline ropes
• Lead ropes
• Highline lead ropes
• Extra ropes
• Hammer
• Insect spray
• Bickmore
• Grain bags
• Rags
• Nails (various sizes)
• Saddles
• Saddle pads
• Gloves
• Water cans
• First-aid kit
• Bridle(s)
• Extra head stalls, reins
• Saddle bags
• Hay nets
• Knot eliminators
• Water tubs
• Pails
• Horse blankets (summer & winter)
• Manure rake
• Feed (weed free when required)
• Extra set of shoes
• Horse shoe nails
• EZ-boot
• Salt blocks (Mineral & plain)
• Broom
• Funnel
• Hooflex
• Spurs
• Halter(s)
• Extra halter Grain
• Horse’s medication
• Grain tubs
• Coffee can (for measuring)
• Baling wire or string
• Burlap bag(s)
• Hay hooks
• Tree savers
• Hoof cleaning tools
• Brushes Folding rake
• Duct tape Flashlight (extra batteries)
• Garbage bags Shovel
• Papers (ownership, vet, etc.)
• Leather sewing kit
• Water

Emergency road equipment-road flares or stands, spare tires for both trailer and towing vehicle checked to make sure they have air in them, jacks, lug wrenches to fit lug nuts on both trailer and towing vehicle tire nuts, chocks, large piece of canvas or folded lug tarp to put on ground when wet or snowy.

Whether or not you used your trailer all winter, it’s time to tune up your trailer for this season’s trail-riding adventures. A well-maintained trailer will be safer for both you and your horse than one in shoddy shape. Here’s a point-by-point rundown.

Note: Unless you’re a truck/trailer-maintenance expert, ask a reputable trailer dealership or an experienced trailer-maintenance person to perform most of these tasks for you. With this information in hand, provide this person guidance, and check the trailer over when you pick it up.

Check all tires. Check all trailer tires and spares; they should have good tread (at least one-quarter inch) and filled with air to the tire manufacturer’s recommendation; low tire pressure is a major cause of blowouts. They should also be free of dry rot and weak spots.

Invest in spares. You should have at least one, preferably two, spare tires for your trailer, according to USRider Equestrian Motor Plan (www.usrider.org, a sister company of The Trail Rider and EquiSearch.com). One blowout can damage other tires. And if your tires are heavy duty, they might be difficult to replace on the road.

Rotate your tires. Tire rotation will even out the tread wear. While the tires are off to be rotated, lubricate the wheel bearings. Also, make sure the axle ends have minimal signs of wear so that you don’t lose a tire and wheel.

Check the brakes. The brake pads/shoes might need to be replaced. Turn (machined on a lathe) the drums/rotors at least every 10,000 miles; more often if they stick, make unusual noises, or aren’t properly braking your trailer.

Tighten the lug nuts. When replacing the tires, tighten the lug nuts to the manufacturer’s suggested level manually so that you can loosen them in an emergency with a lug wrench on the side of the road.  Make sure they aren’t rusted or stripped.

Enhance your tire kit. Add a proper-size lug wrench, a two- foot extension pipe, chocks, a proper drive-on jack, and some spray lubricant to your tire kit.

Remove the mats. Wrestle the mats out of the trailer. For mat-managing help, use an EZ-Grip Mat Mover (available from State Line Tack, www.statelinetack.com). Keep in mind that mats are usually cut to fit and have to go back in the same order as they come out.

Clean the mats. Scrape, sweep, and hose out the dust, sweat, and urine from the trailer mats. You can use any standard cleaning product to get down to a cleaned surface, then use a pH stabilizing product to finish the job. Some horsepeople put dry baking soda under the mats to minimize odors and the acidic effect of urine.

Check the floorboards. While the mats are out, make sure the floorboards are secured with screws, not just sitting on the metal channel. Use a screwdriver to check for weak places or rot in wood; those boards must be replaced. It’s best to replace wooden floors every 10 to 15 years (depending on use, climate, and storage conditions) with treated wood. Or use Rumber (www.rumber.com/boards/horselivestocktrailer.html) for lifetime replacement. Even metal floors and frames can rust or corrode, so check the frame where the boards are attached to ensure there are no pinholes or weak spots that could fail under travel conditions.

Lubricate the metal. With spray lubricant, lubricate every metal part in the trailer, such as latches, hinges, pins, etc. This minimizes rust development and makes it easier for you to remove these in an emergency. Lubrication also minimizes the noise your horse is exposed

to in the trailer. For further noise reduction, tape down anything that hangs, bumps, jiggles, or swings.

Replace the mats. Now you can replace the trailer mats.

Check the lights. Make sure all the trailer lights work (parking, running, flashers, brake, and turn signals).

Check all trailer tires and spares. Low tire pressure is a major cause of blowouts. Photo by Heidi Melocco

Check for loose wires that need to be tied up inside and under the trailer, or any exposed or rubbed wires that might need a coat of electric tape or replacement. Brake and light problems are usually traced to wiring that’s shorting out somewhere under the trailer.

Apply reflective tape. Purchase reflective tape at the hardware store, and place it all over your trailer’s back and side panels. The little red-and-white stripe isn’t enough to signal someone that you’re stopped on the road in a rainstorm! Also apply the tape to the inside of the back doors and ramp. That way, if you have to open the doors, you can still be seen.  Since brakes and lights are notorious for failing, this is your backup plan.

Check the emergency-brake-controller battery. It’s best to have a system that bleeds power to the battery to charge it at all times. If you don’t have this type of system, take the battery to an auto-parts center, and have them check it for power. This battery is crucial! If your towing vehicle and trailer separate, it initiates the brakes to stop your trailer. Also, make sure the plastic switch is in good condition and that the cable is connected to your towing vehicle’s frame.

Check the break controller. Verify that your brake controller is working. To do so, check the manufacturer’s instructions. They’ll usually ask you to drive at a slow speed towing your empty trailer, then engage only the trailer brakes. That way, you can adjust the brakes to a setting that complements the action of your towing vehicle. When you load your horses, you’ll need to adjust the setting to match the load.

Level your trailer. Is the trailer level? If your hitch is set too high or too low, you’ll have difficulty controlling your trailer. Plus, your horse will be standing at an angle, which will stress his joints.

Replenish emergency supplies. Does your thermometer work? Can you locate your stethoscope? Is your EpiPen still good? Replenish all your emergency supplies, and add extra tack and tack-repair materials for those unexpected moments when something breaks.

How are horses like small children? With both, you must be on guard constantly against things that might hurt them. To help you keep your horses safe in their home, here’s a handy list of hazards to banish from your barn and the surrounding area.

Skimpy Allowances. Tight spaces invite trouble. Aisles and doorways should be at least eight feet wide to avoid crowding/bumping. Ceilings should be high enough to avoid contact with a rearing horse’s head ideally nine feet or more. stalls should be at least 12 feet x 12 feet to minimize the risk of a horse’s becoming cast.

Unsafe footing. Your barn’s floor must provide satisfactory traction, especially if your horses wear shoes. Texturized concrete is a safe, inexpensive nonslip option for a barn aisle. Replace or repair loose or torn stall mats.

Sharp Edges, Points. Loose or splintered boards, protruding nails or wire, damaged hinges/latches, torn buckets or feed tubs, or anything else that can lacerate or puncture flesh presents a serious danger. Make repairs or replacements in a timely fashion.

Unsafe Partitions. Any wall or divider that separates two horses must be strong and smooth, with no place for flailing hooves to become caught or hung up.

Clutter, Garbage. Barn aisles, doorways, and commonly traveled pathways around the barn should be clear of tripping hazards and obstructions. These include feed cans, trunks, saddle racks, wheelbarrows, chairs, shovels, brooms, and manure forks. Garbage should be neatly stowed in containers with lids. Detritus such as bits of plastic, wire, baling twine, and the like can cause colic or serve as the nidus for an enterolith; keep your stalls, aisles, and paddocks free of it.

Tangle Spots. Hooves can get caught in or trip over misplaced crosties, lead ropes, longe lines, wash hoses, electrical or extension cords, etc. Keep such items neatly contained/stored.

Binge Risks. Grain, concentrates, and treats that aren’t secured behind latched or locked doors invite raids that can lead to colic or laminitis. (Rodent-proof containers should be used to protect feedstuffs from contamination.)

Poisons. Toxic chemicals or other substances should never be stored where horses (or children) might be able to get to them. Plants toxic to horses should never be used as ornamental shrubbery around the barn or anywhere horses might contact them. (Check with your cooperative extension for local varieties to avoid.)

Electrical Shock. Light fixtures should be out of horses’ reach or encased in strong, metal mesh cages or, in the case of long fluorescent fixtures, plastic tubes. Electrical wiring and switches should be encased in metal, weatherproof boxes. Electrical outlets in wash-stall areas should be equipped with a ground fault circuit interrupter, and all water sources should be grounded.

Fire Prevention

Fire safety falls into its own hazard category. To make your barn as fire-safe as it can be:

• Allow no smoking in your barn, ever. Post signs and enforce them.
• Stock your barn with appropriate fire extinguishers, and know how to use them. (If you’re not sure, check with a local fire official.)
• If finances allow, consider installing a commercial sprinkling system or heat/smoke detectors, and treating your barn with a fire-retardant product. Avoid clutter, especially of flammable
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  materials like paper, straw, shavings, and oily rags. Keep your barn neat.

• If possible, avoid storing hay in the same barn where horses are housed. If you must do so, make sure the hay is properly cured and not stacked too tightly; overly moist and/or crowded hay can cause spontaneous combustion. Don’t overuse extension cords; hire a licensed electrician if need be to add more wiring and electrical outlets.
• Keep your barn roof in good repair; water leaks into light fixtures or electrical outlets can cause shorts.
• Don’t store gasoline or diesel fuel in your barn. Store any other combustible liquids (such as oil-based cleaning supplies, alcohol, clipper grease, etc.) in a metal container with a lid.
• Develop and post a fire-escape plan, along with all relevant emergency numbers.

The new Ph.D. column covers a wide variety of topics important to the senior horse

owner, such as weight maintenance and proper body condition, , health concerns, and seasonal considerations for aging horses. In addition, live chats on the forum allow senior horse owners to ask Dr. Young questions and receive real-time answers.

“Today's horses are living longer lives, and proper nutrition plays a critical role. I’m excited to help other senior horse owners like myself in this role,” said Dr. Young.

Dr. Young has more than 40 years of experience in the horse industry as a rider, trainer and riding instructor. She earned a bachelor’s degree from Missouri State University and holds a doctorate in equine nutrition and exercise physiology from Texas A&M University. In her role as Manager of Equine Nutritional Services with Purina Animal Nutrition, Dr. Young develops and maintains horse feed formulas and standards and provides technical support to customers, sales representatives, dealers and veterinarians.

“We are excited to feature Dr. Young’s considerable expertise on the Purina^® Senior Horse Resource Center,” said Equine Network Group Publisher Dave Andrick. “Senior horses are a special part of the equine world, and we’re fortunate to be able to provide wonderful educational resources for the people who care for these horses in their golden years.”

Launched in 2011, the Purina^® Senior Horse Resource Center on EquiSearch.com is the online hub for senior horse owners. Rich with information about all aspects of senior horse care, the Resource Center is home to articles, videos, photo galleries and forums.

Visit the Purina^® Senior Horse Resource Center at ActiveStill.com.

About The Equine Network
The Equine Network provides, creates, and distributes relevant content and services to passionate horse enthusiasts while connecting them to each other and the marketplace. The Equine Network is the publisher of award-winning magazines: Horse&Rider, EQUUS, Dressage Today, The Trail Rider, Spin To Win Rodeo, American Cowboy, Practical Horseman, and Horse Journal. The Equine Network also publishes a proprietary line of books and DVDs for sale through its store, HorseBooksEtc.com. The Equine Network provides emergency roadside assistance to equestrians through its recent acquisition of USRider, and is home to several websites including: EquiSearch.com, Equine.com, MyHorseDaily.com, DiscoverHorses.com, AmericanCowboy.com, and Horse-Journal.com.
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About Purina Animal Nutrition
Purina Animal Nutrition LLC (www.purinamills.com) is a national organization serving producers, animal owners and their families through more than 4,700 local cooperatives, independent dealers and other large retailers throughout the United States. With an uncompromising commitment to animal excellence, Purina Animal Nutrition conducts industry-leading R&D initiatives that create and sustain North America's most valued portfolio of complete feeds, supplements, premixes, ingredients and specialty technologies for the livestock and lifestyle animal markets. Species served by Purina Animal Nutrition include both large animals — cattle, horses and swine —and small pets, including hamsters, gerbils and rabbits. Headquartered in Gray Summit, Mo., Purina Animal Nutrition LLC is a wholly owned subsidiary of Land O’Lakes, Inc.

Mother Nature equipped our horses with highly effective “clothing” to keep them warm and comfortable in even the coldest, snowiest winter weather. The long hairs of their winter coats stand on end to create an insulating layer of warm air around their bodies. When a layer of snow accumulates on their backs, their coats’ natural oils and thick hair prevent the moisture from reaching the skin.

Horses even have a built-in wicking system: When their coats get wet, their body heat pushes the moisture out ­toward the tips of the hairs where it then evaporates into the air. When the air temperature is below freezing, this moisture may even form icicles on the tips of the hairs—still a comfortable distance from the skin.

For those of us who choose to work with this incredible system rather than replace it with body clipping and blanketing, one of the biggest challenges we face is drying off our horses when they get too wet. Whether your horse is sweaty from a hard ride or “soaked to the bone” by rain, his wet coat temporarily loses its ability to create a warming air space around him. Throwing him into his stall—or, even worse, turning him out—on a brisk, cold day (temperatures below 40 F and/or windy conditions) without drying him off first may cause him to become chilled and burn extra energy trying to keep warm. But that doesn’t mean you have to spend hours towel drying him or leaving him under fancy heat lamps. The simple wicking technique I’ll share in this article requires very little time and a minimal budget.

Wicking Coolers
The only essential equipment you’ll need is a wool or polar fleece cooler. Both are excellent wicking materials ­designed to create an air space around your horse. His body heat warms up this air space, which then draws the moisture away from his skin to the ­outer surface of the blanket. When you see moisture droplets beading on the outside of your horse’s cooler, that means it’s working.
Heavyweight wool coolers are handy for extremely cold days but, if you’re on a budget, one lightweight one will do the job for most conditions. In my experience, polar fleece doesn’t wick quite as effectively as wool, but it is more durable and easier to work with because it’s machine washable and moth-resistant. Coolers are also now available in various types of high-tech synthetic wicking materials. These work well, too.

Cotton, on the other hand, is not a good wicking material. It holds moisture against your horse’s skin, making him clammy. (If you know any hikers, you may have heard the saying, “Cotton kills.”) So, although Irish-knit coolers have been used on horses for years, and they’re fine for warm, sunny days, I’d avoid putting one on a damp horse in cooler weather.

Here’s how to use your cooler.

Drying a Warm Horse

You know your cooler is working when you see droplets beading on the outside surface.

© Amy K. Dragoo

After a winter day’s ride, your unclipped horse may be damp with sweat even after he has cooled out—that is, his body temperature has returned to normal. The key to helping him dry is to enhance, rather than interfere with, the coat’s natural wicking process I described above—without making him so warm that he begins to sweat again. It’s very common for riders to pile too many blankets on their horses after a workout, thinking that their mounts are cooling off as quickly as they are themselves. But equine body temperatures don’t drop as quickly as humans’ do. A horse’s just-worked muscles can easily heat up again to the point where he “re-sweats” if you cover him with blankets, particularly if he is unfit or his workout was harder than usual.

To prevent this from happening, end your ride with 5 to 10 minutes of walking, either under saddle or by hand, to bring your horse’s breathing and skin temperature back to normal. Watch his nostrils or sides to monitor his breathing and feel his neck and shoulders with a bare hand to check his temperature. There is usually no need for him to wear a cooler while you walk him under saddle; you can add a rump rug or quarter sheet for the last few minutes of your ride if it’s especially windy or cold. (If you cover your horse before his body temperature returns to normal, he may become too warm and break out in a “second sweat.”)

After you’ve cooled him out, dismounted and untacked, give him a quick brushing to “straighten” any hairs that were matted or mussed by sweat and tack, then dress him in your lightweight cooler. Secure it well enough to keep it from shifting as he moves around in his stall. Some coolers come fitted with chest and belly straps for this purpose. More traditional, square coolers need to be closed in the front with a blanket clip—a large metal utility-type clip—and held in place with an elastic surcingle. (Both are available through tack stores and online catalogs.)

If you plan to turn out your horse after your ride, cover the cooler with a lightweight, water-resistant, breathable turnout sheet. This will protect the cooler from rips and tears and help hold it in place. Things tend to slip around more when horses are turned out, so fitted, secured coolers are best in this case. The turnout sheet also will provide some defense against the elements while your horse’s natural “weatherproofing” system is being restored to normal. But it won’t prevent your horse from drying off thoroughly. (On the other hand, if you put on just a turnout sheet without a cooler underneath, you’ll lose that valuable air space above the skin and slow the wicking substantially. I would only recommend doing this with a horse that is just slightly damp in the flank area, for instance.) Some manufacturers now make breathable, water-resistant turnout sheets with mesh linings that create the air space necessary for wicking moisture. These can be used on damp horses without a cooler underneath.

With this clothing secured in place, you can leave your horse to dry off on his own, so long as you’re sure he’s completely cooled down and not overblanketed. (To check this, slip a hand under his cooler to feel his chest and flank areas. They shouldn’t be any warmer than your own skin. The first few times you use the cooler, you may want to check him again after half an hour or so.) Depending on how wet your horse is, it may take him an hour or more to dry off completely after a ride. I

often go back to work after a midday ride, leaving my horse’s cooler on until I get home in the evening. If you ride late in the day and need to turn out your horse for the night, it’s OK to leave a cooler and turnout sheet on overnight. When you do remove his clothing, “fluff” up any matted or flattened hair with a stiff brush to restore its normal texture. (Like wet hair, matted hair loses its ability to trap warm air around the horse’s body.)

Additional Drying Tips
On most days, the process I described above should dry your horse sufficiently. However, if he’s extremely wet, you may want to do a little manual drying before applying a cooler. I’ve had the best success with a household-cleaning product called ­Micro Fiber™ Miracle Cloth. It is made of super-absorbent fabric that holds many times its weight in moisture. You can rub it over your horse’s dampest ­areas, such as the saddle and girth area, ears and flank, wring it out when it’s ­saturated and rub some more.

In rare cases, an extremely wet horse may saturate a cooler with sweat before he’s completely dry. This will slow down the drying process. You’ll know it has happened when the cooler feels wringing wet. Leaving a saturated wool or polar fleece cooler on your horse is still better than exposing his damp body to wind and cold. However, if you have more than one cooler, replacing the saturated cooler with a dry one will speed things up.

Placing handfuls of hay or straw underneath your horse’s cooler or between two coolers can enhance the wicking even further. Not only does the hay or straw absorb some of the moisture, it adds an extra layer of air space around your horse, helping to draw the water droplets to the outer layer of clothing where it can then evaporate. Be sure to put hay in front of your horse as well, so he’s not tempted to reach around and eat what’s under his cooler. It’s usually not a good idea to try this on horses turned out together, as it encourages them to nibble at each other’s coolers.

Drying a Cold Horse
All of the above techniques also work for drying a horse brought in soaking wet from rain. However, if the weather has chilled your horse, too, he won’t have the added benefit of body heat to drive the moisture away from his skin. So to keep him from getting too cold and to speed up the drying process, you may need to use a heavier cooler or an additional blanket layered over the cooler. A little extra ­rubbing with the Magic Cloth will help, too. As your horse dries, be sure to monitor his temperature carefully, feeling his chest and flanks for overheating and watching for shivering that would indicate he’s too cold. In the latter case, you may need to replace the first cooler with a dry one or add more layers to warm him up again.

Dr. Heather Hoyns is an equine veterinarian with her own practice, Evergreen Equine, in West Windsor, Vermont. She also has competed in trail and endurance riding since the late 1970s. Down-to-earth stable management techniques help her make time for conditioning two horses for 50- and 100-mile rides, in addition to working a full-time job. She explains, “I’m a fan of the KISS principle—Keep It Simple!” Among other recent successes, she and her 14-year-old partner, Just Bill, won the second day of the 2006 Mustang Memorial 50/50-mile ride in the Pine Barrens of New Jersey.

Something was clearly wrong with Feelin’ My Oats. The 5-year-old Connemara/Welsh pony, called “Oats,” usually expressed a cheerful interest in everything, especially eating. But on the morning of September 21, 2010, the 13-hand buckskin gelding failed to come in for his grain.

“He was just standing there, real lethargic,” says his owner, Candi Hylton. Her husband, Bernard, put a halter on the pony and walked him in to the barn. Oats’ depressed demeanor suggested that he might be colicking, but he didn’t appear to be in significant pain. A quick check of his temperature revealed it was slightly elevated at 102 degrees. At first Hylton was only a little concerned about the pony, but she became alarmed when Oats stretched out to urinate---and produced a stream of dark, almost coffee-colored, urine.

Thinking quickly, she grabbed a bucket to take a sample. Then she phoned Appalachian Veterinary Services in Christiansburg, Virginia, where she also happened to have worked in the front office years earlier. The on-call veterinarian headed out right away.

Hylton and her husband had been scheduled to deliver Oats and a few other horses from their boarding and training farm to a show at the county fairgrounds that morning. Leaving the sick pony under the watchful eye of the morning barn help, she and Bernard left to deliver the other horses. She would wait anxiously for a call to her cell phone with an update.

The veterinarian who arrived, a recent graduate, immediately knew Oats was in serious trouble. Dark brown or black urine is a sign that the body is excreting debris from damaged cells. Something inside Oats’ body was breaking down and had been for some time. The veterinarian called the office and consulted with the practice owner, Kent Adams, DVM.

“I could tell it was serious from the sound of that first call,” Adams says. The veterinary team still wasn’t sure exactly what they were dealing with: In addition to the dark urine and fever, Oats was lethargic, his heart and respiratory rates were elevated, and his gums were a slightly “muddy” color, indicating that his cells might not be getting enough oxygen.

The veterinarian gave Oats a dose of Banamine to help control any pain he might be experiencing and “tubed” him because of his decreased gut sounds, scant feces on rectal palpation and loss of appetite. The hope was to address any gastrointestinal problems while he considered the diagnostic possibilities for the unusual set of clinical signs. To gather more clues, he pulled a blood sample and headed back to the office to analyze it.

The results of the blood test shocked everyone: Oats had a hematocrit (HCT) of only 14 percent. HCT is a measure of the percentage of red blood cells in the blood; the normal value is 31 to 53. A level of 14 percent is very serious and potentially life-threatening. The pony had so few red blood cells circulating in his bloodstream that his vital organs, and indeed all of his tissues, were slowly being starved of oxygen. The dark urine indicated that red blood cells, and possibly other tissues, were being destroyed inside his body. These signs, combined with Oats’ muddy gums and depressed behavior, plus a careful survey of his turnout paddock, all pointed toward one very serious diagnosis: red maple toxicosis.

Deadly leaves
Red maple toxicosis (poisoning) occurs when horses eat wilted leaves from Acer rubrum trees. Red maples, also called swamp maples or soft maples, are medium-sized trees with distinctly shaped three- to five-lobed green leaves with jagged edges, V-shaped notches between the lobes, bright red stems and silver-white undersides. The trees are native to the eastern United States, but they are planted all over the country. The leaves contain several toxins, most notably gallic acid, that can lead to the destruction of red blood cells (hemolysis). A horse who nibbles on a few fresh green leaves, which are mostly water, isn’t likely to get a toxic dose. But one to three pounds can be a fatal dose for an average adult horse, and half a pound can kill a small pony. As the moisture content of the leaves decreases, the levels of the toxic principle increases: It is generally thought that lush spring growth is less toxic than later summer or early fall leaves.

“It’s a common misconception that [red maple poisoning] happens most frequently in the mid- to late autumn, when leaves turn colors and fall from the trees,” says Adams. “But in reality, in late summer when pastures are short, downed branches are much more of a threat because of both the quantity and appeal of the green leaves. In fact, the majority of cases I see are in late summer following a thunderstorm, when a branch falls and the pastures are sparse. Horses go looking for something to chew on and find those leaves.”

The exact source of the toxicity in red maple leaves has not yet been pinned down, but the effects within the body are well documented: “The toxin attaches to hemoglobin in the red blood cells, rendering them incapable of transporting oxygen,” explains Adams. “Some of the cells rupture, releasing hemoglobin into the bloodstream. That stresses the kidneys by clogging up the blood-filtration system. Meanwhile, the liver and spleen are identifying nonfunctioning cells with damaged hemoglobin and removing them from circulation faster than they can be replaced by the bone marrow. The end result is a horse who is essentially suffocating, with extensive damage to vessel-rich organs that depend on oxygen, like the heart, lungs, brain and kidneys.”

Starved of oxygen, the organs begin to shut down, usually about 72 hours after the horse eats as little as a handful of leaves. Severe colic and laminitis from circulatory dysfunction are common complications. “The spleen can release its stores of red blood cells, but that’s only about 10 percent of the total volume, and those cells will quickly die or be destroyed just like the others,” says Adams.

There is no specific antidote or effective treatment for red maple poisoning, but supportive care, including intravenous fluids and possibly blood transfusions, may help a horse survive. Infusions of vitamin C may also help, if the problem is caught in its earliest stages. “So it comes down to, ‘Can the horse live long enough---can his kidneys and other organs remain functioning long enough---for the toxin to be used up and new blood to not be affected,’” says Adams. “Most of the time, the answer is ‘No, he can’t.’” About 70 percent of horses with red maple toxicity do not survive.

Adams relayed the grim diagnosis to Hylton, who immediately headed home from the fairgrounds, hoping Oats would still be alive when she got there. He was.

Although Oats displayed all of the classic signs of advanced red maple poisoning---and his HCT indicated that he’d eaten at least a couple of pounds of the leaves a day or more before his problem was discovered---his case was distinctly unusual in one way: “In the early stages, even before we see red urine from the hemolysis, the gut slows down, experiences marked irritation and colic sets in. It’s usually a fairly painful process,” says Adams. “So, by the time we identify what’s going on through blood work, the horse is usually in significant pain or refusing to stand.”

Oats was by no means perky, but he was still standing, drinking some and even eating small amounts of hay. Also, his gums were only slightly off in

color, not the deep brownish hue that can be more typical of the condition. Taken together, these signs suggested that he was in the early stages of toxicity or he had gotten only a relatively small dose of the toxin, contrary to his blood work.

“What was remarkable is that he wasn’t panicking and severely stressed,” says Adams. “He was clearly in some discomfort and in distress, but he was staying on his feet. He would start breathing heavily if he moved much, but if you let him stand there, he seemed to be coping very well.” This stoic nature was serving Oats well---when a horse with red maple toxicosis gets agitated and thrashes, he uses up his limited oxygen supplies that much faster and can make the situation worse.

Tough decisions
The Hyltons’ first course of action that day was to find the source of the red maple leaves Oats had eaten to protect the rest of their horses. Although the pony had been in a large pasture that morning, he’d spent the previous day in a sparse “diet” turnout area. “The maple tree was over the diet pen,” says Hylton. “And we’d had a rainstorm. Bernard found a small limb that had fallen off, and you could see where leaves were gone off of it. When Oats is in the diet pen he will literally eat anything that has a leaf.” Bernard removed the limb and searched the property for any others that may have come down.

Meanwhile, Hylton had a long discussion with Adams about treatment options. “The first thing you think of is transporting the horse to a clinic where you can do a blood transfusion,” says Adams. “But given how low his oxygen levels were, the stress of such a trip could very well have killed him.”

Adams also had doubts about the benefits a transfusion might ultimately have for the pony: “Blood transfusions in horses have limited utility because they have so many blood types---you can’t get an exact match. Plus, in cases of red maple poisoning, any blood you do put in is going to be destroyed by the same processes as long as the toxin is circulating. So you get maybe 24 hours of benefit.”

All in all, it seemed better to leave Oats where he was and keep stress to an absolute minimum. His blood results had shown that his kidneys, liver and other vital organs were still functioning, and if he didn’t move around much his respiratory rate was nearly normal. “He was a very sick horse---no doubt about it---but his body seemed to be handling the situation remarkably well at that point,” says Adams. “He seemed to be holding his own.”

The veterinarian was also reluctant to try giving Oats intravenous fluids for fear it could upset the pony’s fragile physiological balance. “You can expand their blood volume with intravenous fluid, which will lower the total [HCT] levels even further,” says Adams. “There’s always the urge to do something, but sometimes you need to step back and make sure what you do doesn’t create a bigger problem.”

After discussing all of these factors, Adams and Hylton arrived at what may seem like a startling treatment plan: They would try to control Oat’s pain and discomfort and not much else---at least for the moment. “This wasn’t a case of ‘Oh, it’s just a pony, let’s wait and see what happens,’” says Adams. “And it wasn’t a case of an owner deciding things weren’t bad enough yet to call a veterinarian. Far from it. There was intense discussion to understand all the nuances and risks before making some very difficult decisions.” Confident that Oats was comfortable and as stable as possible, Hylton remained close by to monitor the pony’s condition.

Hanging on, day by day
Oats’ condition was unchanged the next day. He remained lethargic and slightly feverish with brown urine, all indications that his blood was still under assault from the toxin. And yet he remained on his feet, eating and drinking normally. Hylton watched him nearly continuously for signs of colic or laminitis, but the pony seemed to be holding his own.

A veterinarian from the practice returned to check on Oats that morning, and on the third day, Adams himself came back out to the farm to draw another blood sample to check the gelding’s HCT level. An increase in the number would be a sign that he had turned a corner and that his blood was no longer being destroyed by the toxin or removed by the liver and spleen.

Using a portable unit to run the blood test on site, Adams had results in minutes---and they were shocking. Oats’ HCT had dropped even further, to an astonishing 9 percent. According to the textbooks, a horse with an HCT that low should be in severe distress---or dead. Yet, there stood Oats, very much alive.

Hylton and Adams had another long conversation. The risks associated with transport, transfusions or intravenous fluids were still present, perhaps even greater. And although Oats was undoubtedly getting sicker, he still didn’t seem to “need” the supportive treatments. He showed no outward signs that his condition had worsened. In fact, his urine appeared lighter in color that day, a sign that the destruction of his blood cells was diminishing.

“We decided to let things be,” Hylton says. Oats remained in his stall, kept as quiet as possible while his owner monitored his care: “I was taking his temperature and listening to his gut and heart and giving [the veterinarians] a call several times a day to let them know how he was.”

Receiving these regular reports helped support Adams’ decision to not intervene medically: “Candi is an incredibly knowledgeable and diligent horsewoman. I knew she’d notice any changes and report it immediately.”

But the day after his astonishingly low HCT, Oats began to perk up. He moved around in his stall, and his temperature and heart rate started to come down. After another day, Hylton took him for a short hand-walk outside his stall. He pulled her toward the grass and ate voraciously.

Seven days after the initial veterinary visit, Oats was rechecked and a third blood test performed. This time, the pony’s HCT was 31 percent, edging into the normal range. His liver and kidney functions were normal, and he showed no clinical signs of colic or laminitis. Oats’ body, it seemed, had powered through the worst of red maple toxicity and was well on the road to recovery.

“It’s really a remarkable case,” says Adams. “I wouldn’t have believed the recovery in light of the dramatic lab findings if I hadn’t seen it myself.”

A few weeks later Oats was turned out with the herd again, and several months later Hylton began riding him cautiously. Finally, one year after the day he was found in the field so lethargic and weak, the pony made the trip to the county fair. He has never shown any adverse effects from his ordeal.

Adams uses Oats’ story as a teaching tool in continuing-education seminars for veterinarians. “This case really highlights the complex issues you face when treating red maple poisoning and how understanding the pathology is crucial so you don’t inadvertently make the situation worse; in some cases intravenous fluids or whole blood transfusion might make things worse,” he says. “Plus, it’s nice to be able to present a case with such a good outcome. He really is a remarkable pony.”

This article first appeared in EQUUS issue #425.

Most foals are weaned at about 4 to 6 months, just when their nutritional needs begin to outpace their mothers’ milk supply. Designed to provide all of a foal’s nutritional needs at birth, a mare’s milk yield naturally starts to decline after the first month or two. By the time the foal is 4 months old, he must supplement his nursing with other food sources, such as forage (hay and pasture) and grain. Accustoming him to these nonmilk sources well before weaning time not only will help him maintain consistent growth throughout the transition, it will also help to avoid the “kid-in-the-candy-store” syndrome. In this situation, weanlings with no previous exposure to grain overeat, either ­because of the novelty of it or to compensate for previously inadequate nutrition.

Your foal will taste-test grass and hay as early as a few days old. But because the microorganism populations in newborns’ hindguts need several months to develop fully, he will have trouble digesting this forage initially. As he ­matures, his forage intake will increase and play a larger part in his diet. It’s important to continue encouraging his appetite for forage as he approaches weaning time. (A 4-month-old weanling should eat enough daily forage to equal between 0.5 and 1 percent of his body weight.) Think of him as a fussy toddler who won’t eat his vegetables unless they’re really tasty. Turn him out on a productive pasture or entice him with good-quality, palatable hay (fresh and clean, early-cut).

A growing foal requires high levels of protein, calcium and other minerals. After weaning, most horse owners provide some of this nutrition in the form of a concentrate balanced specifically for young horses. If you plan to feed your weanling grain, introduce him to it when he’s about 1 or 2 months old, starting with just a handful at a time and increasing the amount incrementally.

Introduce Grain

A corner creep feeder is tied into an existing fence line. The 4-foot height allows foals to duck underneath, without allowing the mares access.

One good way to introduce nursing foals to grain is with a creep feeder: a four-sided, single-railed enclosure built either in the corner of the fence line or standing alone in the center of the pasture (the latter is preferable for group feeding, as it allows escape on all four sides). While mature horses are too big to duck under the rails, foals can come and go as they please. Young foals usually will take a few bites at a time and then return to their dams. This feeding method thus reduces the risks of digestive problems, such as colic and ulcers, brought on by large meals.

If you have only one foal, make the creep feeder sides about 8 feet long, set at your mare’s chest height. For each additional foal, add another 2 feet in length to each side. Space individual, shallow plastic, rubber or wood pans or troughs far apart and ­observe the group dynamics carefully to be sure that no foal is hogging the trough. Remember to ­remove excess feed daily to prevent spoilage.

If you don’t use a creep feeder, offer your foal small meals when his dam is being fed. He can eat out of her feeder—in which case, be sure the feed meets his nutritional needs, which are higher than the mare’s in some respects. (Many commercial dealers offer “mare-and-foal” concentrates, which work well in these circumstances.) If the mare doesn’t share well, feed your foal separately, either in an adjoining stall or just outside her stall (if it opens into a safe enclosure). Or mount a foal feeder, which has openings too narrow for an adult horse’s muzzle to access, for him on the wall of her stall.

A stand-alone creep feeder is better for larger groups of horses because it allows four sides for escape.

After weaning, it’s easiest to regulate your foal’s grain ration by feeding him individually. However, if it’s more convenient to continue feeding him in a group, monitor his grain intake carefully. Without the option of his mother’s milk, he may be tempted to eat more grain than he needs. On the flip side, he may eat too little grain if other foals bully him away from it.

Your horse doesn’t seem as sharp as he did a few months ago, and his coat is losing its glow. Does he need a supplement? Should you change his feed?

Before you can answer those questions, you need to answer two others: First, does he have a health problem? Second, is his diet balanced? The first one is easy—just call your veterinarian and schedule a visit for a complete checkup. But determining if your horse’s current rations provide the right amounts of the nutrients he needs may seem daunting. You’ll find reams of nutritional information in books and online, much of it highly detailed. The numerical data and technical jargon can deep-fry your mind.

The process doesn’t need to be complicated, says Sarah Ralston, VMD, associate director of the Rutgers Equine Science Center and a specialist in equine nutrition. You won’t even need higher math skills. In this article, you’ll find out how to balance your horse’s diet using some simple tools. Want instant gratification? See “Cut to the Chase” below for shortcuts.

What Does He Need?
All horses need the same essential nutrients—energy to fuel body functions, protein to build and repair body tissues and produce enzymes and hormones, and certain vitamins and minerals—but the amounts required by individual horses vary. To figure out if your horse is getting what he should from his diet, start with basic information about him:

Weight: Feed recommendations are generally based on amounts per pound or per kilogram of mature body weight, so this is essential information. A livestock scale will tell you your horse’s precise current weight, but a careful estimate with a weight tape (easily obtained from feed stores) will be fine.

If your horse is underweight or overweight, base his feeding program on optimum weight rather than current weight, Dr. Ralston says. A body-condition scoring system (such as the Henneke scale, online at www.equisearch.com and other websites) can help you decide if you should go with his current weight. Check the table of typical weight and height ranges for various breeds at www.equi-analytical.com (the website of Equi-Analytical Laboratories, which does hay and feed analyses) for an idea of normal weight for horses of his breed and body type.

Age: Horses have different needs at different stages in life. Young horses need extra energy, protein and the right amounts of minerals, such as calcium and phosphorus for bone and tissue development. Broodmares’ nutritional requirements jump during late pregnancy and lactation. Senior horses may develop metabolic problems that call for changes in diet.

Work level: Work increases energy needs. The increase isn’t very great for horses in light to moderate work (five hours a week or less), but a horse in very heavy work (upper-level eventing, racing, endurance) may need twice as many calories as a horse who just loafs in the pasture. Sweat losses associated with hard work dramatically increase the need for water and salt, too.

My horse Aurum was a real handful when I first brought him home. He was a 2-year-old who had grown up in a field without much human contact, and I knew I was going to have to start with lessons in basic ground manners. I soon found, though, that he was a real problem child.

I enlisted professional help, and we discovered that many of his issues stemmed from back pain---but that’s a story we already told, in “Good as Gold” (True Tale, EQUUS 352). Yet even after we finally got his back cleared by a veterinarian and a chiropractor, and he was started under saddle, I knew I was going to have to work extra hard to gain his confidence and respect.

Teaching him tricks proved to be the perfect way of achieving that goal. I already had some experience with trick training. After a friend showed me the basics of a method called clicker training, I taught our white pony Timbit to do all kinds of things, from fetching a tissue when I sneezed to retrieving packages from a mailbox. Timbit took to all my requests almost gleefully, and we did many demonstrations at festivals, seniors’ homes and for the Humane Society. But Timbit was growing old, and I had bought Aurum to aid him.

Aurum, too, took to performing like a duck to water, but in the end my beautiful palomino taught me that trick training can be about much more than pleasing crowds---it’s also about teaching a horse confidence and trust, reducing his fears, helping him to relax and building a bond. Today Aurum is a confident ham who loves performing for crowds who come to our place, especially children, and I firmly believe it was the trick training that helped him become the horse he is.

Whether you’d like to train your horse to put on shows, or you’d just like to explore a new way to have a little fun with him on your own, teaching tricks can help you strengthen your relationship. And it’s easier than you think to get started. Here’s what you need to know.

Steps to positive learning
Volumes have been written about how to train animals, but I found success primarily through techniques based on positive reinforcement. The concept is fairly simple: The horse gets something he likes---often a food treat---as a consequence of performing the desired activity, and he is therefore more likely to repeat the behavior when asked again. And the faster the positive reinforcement follows the action, the sooner the animal will understand the connection.

To effectively practice positive reinforcement methods, you’ll need to develop cue control. Once you’ve begun rewarding a certain behavior, you will find that your horse will often do it without your cue, hoping to receive a treat anyway. But to maintain control of the situation, avoid rewarding a behavior unless you’ve asked for it. In other words, reward him only for correct responses to your specific cues. Establishing cue control is also an excellent means of teaching your horse emotional control, and this will be of great benefit when you are out riding him.

The other part of cue control is how you respond to incorrect behavior---you simply ignore it, or at most, you might deliver a gentle but firm “No” or “Uh-uh.” You must be careful to never accidentally reward bad behavior. Once the horse learns that the only way to earn his reward is to wait for your cue and then perform the behavior you want, you are well on your way to good training.

How to use a clicker
Clicker training is one method of delivering positive reinforcement quickly and efficiently. A clicker is a hand-held device with a button or a metal tongue that makes a distinct “click” when you press it. You can buy them at most pet stores or order one online.

A clicker is helpful because it is not always possible to reward a horse instantly when he offers a desired behavior. But just as Pavlov conditioned dogs to salivate at the sound of a bell with classical conditioning, a trainer can make an animal associate a particular sound with an upcoming reward. In other words, the click becomes a “promise” that the reward will come later.

You do not need to use an actual physical clicker to train a horse; you can also use a verbal cluck or a word of praise. But, to me, the clicker is like magic when it comes to trick training. It is both attention-getting and precise, and the sound can be delivered instantly, to let your horse know that the behavior he has just performed is exactly right. This helps him to make the connection and understand what you want faster.

To get started with the clicker, simply get a handful of your horse’s favorite treats (if you’re worried about feeding him too much at once, break larger pieces down into smaller bits). Click the clicker and then offer a treat. Repeat this several more times: click, treat; click, treat. It won’t be long until your horse associates the click with the treat. Trainers call this either charging up the clicker or creating a conditioned reinforcer. (Do not click and treat if the horse gets pushy or aggressive---that would be rewarding bad behavior. Instead, wait until he backs off and stands quietly again.)

Many clicker trainers wear a treat pouch on their waists while they work. There are still some people who worry that feeding a horse by hand will cause him to bite, but in reality a horse who is properly clicker trained is less likely to mug you for treats because you will never, ever reward pushy behavior.

Trick basics
Once your horse understands what the clicker means, and you’ve learned how to deliver rewards appropriately, you can start with a few basic “building blocks” of trick behavior. These simple actions are easy to teach, and they can become the first steps into more complex tricks. Here’s how to get started:

• Targeting teaches a horse to touch his nose to an object. The target can be anything you choose, such as a small orange cone, a plastic lid or the rounded end of a hunter bat (my choice).

Hold the object in front of your horse. Natural curiosity will make him sniff it. If he touches it, immediately click and treat. If he doesn’t touch it, help him succeed by positioning it so that his natural head movement will cause his nose to bump into it. The instant this happens, click and treat. As you repeat this process over and over, you will notice the exact moment when your horse figures out the connection between the touch and the reward.

Clicker training is a flexible method, so there is plenty of room for you to develop your own style. You can have the horse respond to your gestures alone, or you can build a verbal command into your training by saying, for example, “touch” as your horse reaches for the target. Eventually, you ought to be able to say “touch” to let him know what you want him to do. (Most clicker trainers shape a behavior and then put a word to it, but I always start with the word and then find a way to explain that word to my horse. Using this method I have taught Aurum such complex behaviors as the canine scent discrimination exercise, in which an animal is sent out to find and retrieve a scented dumbbell from a group of identical dumbbells.)

Once your horse consistently touches the target on command, you can start getting him to follow it around. I use my hand as the target when guiding Aurum over ramps, through hoops and around weave cones. Build slowly, and if the behavior deteriorates at any time, go back to a previous step in the shaping process.

Targeting is not just a trick but also a valuable tool that can be used in situations such as trailer loading, obstacle training and lateral work.

• Head positions, such as tucking the chin, raising the poll or turning the nose away from you, can come in handy in many situations. Head lowering, for example, is one of the most important moves you will teach your horse, because a low-headed horse is a calm horse. If you want to use it as part of his tricks for public performance, you can always use a command like “shame on you.” (I use the “look away” if Aurum gets at all pushy.)

Head lowering can be taught in two ways, and because it is such an important behavior, I train it both ways.

Using this method, with a lead rope, will help with riding work. First take the slack out of your lead without pulling down. Then apply just enough pressure on the rope so that your horse can feel the halter pressing against his poll. If you feel even the slightest dropping of your horse’s head, release the rope. When you feel a definite drop, click him and reward. Continue this exercise until your horse is dropping his nose all the way to the ground. Gradually extend the length of time he has to hold it there to get his reward. If your horse lifts his head, just go with him and wait for him to eventually come back down.

The other way to get your horse to lower his head is to put the weight of your hand on his poll. Let it rest there quietly, and eventually he will shift away from the steady pressure of your hand. As soon as he moves down even slightly, click, take your hand away and treat. If he goes up, go with him but keep steady pressure on his poll and wait him out. When he lowers his head even slightly, take your hand away. Start over, and when he eventually drops his head again, click and give him a treat.

Nowhere is patient persistence more important than in teaching your horse to lower his head.

• Kick the ball can become the basis for a variety of similar tricks, including kick the can, kick the bucket and knock on wood. To start teaching your horse to play soccer, put a large beach ball or similar toy in front of him and click him when he touches it. If he moves to paw at the ball, you’re in luck! While he might initially scare himself, your click will encourage him to keep playing.

If he doesn’t paw the ball, you can help him by rolling it off his hoof and clicking. Just be ready at the beginning to keep out of the way if he spooks. Eventually he should be so sure of himself he will be able to bounce the ball off his own stomach without bat-ting an eye.

• Fetch. Once you’ve taught some very basic behaviors, you can start putting them together into more complex actions. What you do is “chunk down” a trick, which means breaking down a complex action into increments, so the horse learns separate behaviors that are combined in the end.

Teaching your horse to retrieve an object, such as an oversized dumbbell, is a perfect example of this process. A proper retrieve consists of several behaviors taught in this order:

1. Touch the object.

2. Take the object.

3. Hold the object for increasing lengths of time.

4. Give the object to the handler.

5. Bring the object to the handler.

6. Go out to the object to retrieve it.

You can use whatever words you like for these behaviors, but I use “touch,” “take it,” “hold,” “give,” “bring it to ME” and “go out.” Once I’ve firmly established all these behaviors, I put the whole retrieving sequence together and call the command “go and fetch.” Don’t expect to get a perfect retrieve in one session, as you will only frustrate both yourself and your horse.

“Take it” shouldn’t be too difficult if your horse will take a bit. Once your horse understands the words “take it” in connection with a bit or an oversized dumbbell, transferring the command to other objects is relatively easy.

Gradually increase the length of time for your “hold” command. When you ask for “give,” make sure you click at the precise time you receive the object from your horse. Once you’re ready to establish some distance, it’s easiest at first to move away from the horse and have him “bring” you the object. I teach the “go out” as a separate command in which the horse goes to a mark or mat, and by the time I’m finally ready to tell the horse to “go and fetch,” he’s more than ready to comply.

Once your horse has “learned to learn,” and you’ve learned to teach, the sky’s the limit! You can teach your horse almost anything as long as you can break the action down into component behaviors. Here are the breakdowns for some of Aurum’s tricks:

Paint a picture: take brush, touch brush to paper, wave brush

Put garbage in can: take garbage, go to can, drop garbage in can

Sweep the barn: take broom, touch broom to floor, wave broom

It’s raining: fetch umbrella (involves all the steps of the retrieve), wait (stand at attention while the opened umbrella is held over his head)

Parcel out of mailbox: go to mailbox, open mailbox, fetch parcel

Turn skipping rope: take end of rope, wave rope.

Horses trained using positive reinforcement learn quickly and become enthusiastic partners in the process. Once you’ve got the basics down, you might find the only thing holding you back is your own imagination. If you approach each session with enthusiasm, a positive outlook and a sensible plan, good things are bound to happen.

Last year, Texas sizzled under hot, cloudless skies; hay fields and pastures shriveled. The most severe one-year drought on record wreaked havoc on anyone or anything that relied on normally bountiful supplies of grass and hay in the Lone Star State.

Texas wasn’t the only state to suffer a shortage. Volatile weather patterns hampered other regions’ hay production. With such patterns seeming to be the new norm, hay crises could crop up more frequently around the country.

To help you ride out a hay shortage, should you ever face one, we talked to three horse people who dealt with the Texas shortage from different perspectives: Barbara Deneve, an amateur rider who keeps two horses at her home in Richmond, Texas; John Howard, an award-winning hay grower in Bellville, Texas; and Don Brehm, owner of a feed store, Brehm’s Feed Company, as well as a boarding facility, in Richmond, Texas. Their insights could help you keep a hay crisis at bay.

Barbara Deneve:
Put Together a Co-Op
One thing all our survivors agreed on was that the earlier in the growing season (late spring) you lineup your hay source, the better the odds of getting hay. In 2011, competition for Texas hay (and beyond) morphed from intense to rabid, and it only got tougher and costlier as the year dragged on.

Barbara (“Barb”) Deneve didn’t get an early start.

“I didn’t bring my horse home from my trainer’s barn until August of that year. So I was already behind when I started looking for hay sources,” she recalls.

“I was used to buying around 10 or so bales at a time from local feed stores, because I lack storage. But they were charging $10 to $15 a bale for coastal Bermuda—if they had it—and there was a five-bale limit due to the shortage. I used to pay $7 to $8 a bale.

“Plus, some of it was of awful quality; my horses wouldn’t eat it. And every shipment a feed store got in was different, which can really upset a horse's digestive system. It soon became clear I'd have to find my own out-of-state source if I wanted good, consistent-quality coastal hay, which is the basis for my feeding program."

So Barb turned to the Internet and began searching for anyone selling hay. But her storage issue loomed. As did an early lesson in her online hay-shopping experience: You have to order by the truckload if you buy from out of state. “There’s a minimum of 500 bales per rig for the seller to truck it in,” Barb says.

That’s when she started calling horse-owning friends.

“I found two who were willing to go in with me on a truckload of hay,” she says. “One of my friends agreed to take 240 bales, and the other agreed to between 250 and 300. I made sure they understood we’d have to pay upfront; growers won’t even load a rig unless they’re paid in advance—and this load would require a five-figure cashier’s check.” (More about costs in a minute.)

“I cleaned out a 12-foot-by-12-foot stall in my barn that had been used for storage, so I could bring in 80 bales, which would last me until the 2012 growing season.”

The fledgling co-op’s biggest fear? Buying hay sight unseen.

“Since you pay first,” explains Barb, “you’re stuck with whatever hay is delivered. It’s truly buyer beware.”

So Barb narrowed her search to states in which she knew horse people who would go check out the hay source for her. And, she avoided hay brokers, choosing to buy directly from the grower, instead.

“Brokers distribute hay for multiple growers, so you don’t know where it’s coming from or what the quality is,” says Barb. “I wanted consistent, high-quality hay from a single source that I could have someone check out.”

She soon learned that most of the coastal hay in the Midwest had been snapped up, and that regions in the Northeast had their own shortage, due, ironically, to too much moisture.

It took weeks to finally find a source.

“There was nothing sophisticated about my search,” Barb recalls. “I just called every friend and trainer I knew, looking for sources, and spent hours online after work, finding and calling growers."

As luck would have it, she found one near Orlando, Florida, who was advertising quality coastal hay online. He was located about two hours from her daughter Lauren, who works and goes to school in Tampa. Lauren, and experienced horsewoman, drove to the grower to evaluate the hay, and bought some sample bales for her horses to try. They gave the hay a “thumbs-up.”

Barb placed her co-op’s order. Fortunately, this grower had a relationship with a trucking company; some don’t, meaning the buyer has to arrange shipping. (Shipping at that time ran from $1.35 to $1.60 a mile, depending on the load and truck size.)

Even with having to import hay from Florida to Texas, Barb and her hay-buying partners ended up spending less per bale than what they’d paid to local feed stores...and got better-quality hay.

“Per bale, trucked here, we paid $9.30,” Barb says. “It would have been $6.50 a bale out of the field in Florida. The rest was trucking costs. It’s good hay, and our horses love it. Now I have a great source if we ever go through another bad hay year here. That gives me peace of mind.”