More Fall Tips
By PHCody
Health tips:
Be sure to keep plenty of good quality hay available at all times. This provides warmth as well as nutrition on those chilly autumn nights.
In places where there are already freezing temperatures at night, be sure the horse has access to clean, unfrozen water.
Certain grasses no longer can grow this time of year, leaving pastures empty of healthy food. A hungry horse is a lot more likely to eat poisonous plants if they don't have something safe to eat.
Check your pregnant mare's vaccination schedules. Rhino is the one you are looking for. If she was last vaccinated with the killed virus, such as Pneumabort, she needs to be re-vaccinated every two months throughout her pregnancy. If she had a "regular" rhino vaccine, she should be good for six months before needing re-vaccination. If you missed vaccinating in the spring, you should at least have your horses vaccinated for rhino, influenza and tetanus.
Have your horse's teeth checked now and floated if needed. Even with good feed winter can be rough, especially for the older horses. They need all the nutrition they can get from what they are eating.
After the first hard frost, worm with Ivermectin or Quest to rid your horse of any bots they ingested during the late summer months. You can also remove any bot eggs with a bot knife. Another way that seems to work - wipe them down with a warm, wet cloth (this causes the larvae to hatch) then spray with a good fly spray.
Barn Tips and Suggestions:
Now is the time to do all those repairs you were too busy to do all summer. Fix that roof before the winter snow and rain makes it too difficult to do.
Weather proof your barn yard. You might want to throw down some crushed gravel where the winter mud seems to get the worst.
 Make sure you have plenty of hay to last the winter - the prices only go up from here. When you buy hay, check to make sure it's not moldy, rotten or just doesn't "look right." Better yet, make sure the hay grower gives a satisfaction guarantee on it.
Fall is a good time for re-seeding pastures, especially when planting a cool weather grass like rye or fescue. Even if you are just overseeding, give the pasture at least two weeks of off-time before letting the horses graze it. This will give your seedlings a chance to get a decent root system down.
And here's the best part. :) Apples are in season - go out to your local apple tree, or "pick you own" farm and get a few extra treats!
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