Management & Maintenance

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Running a successful horse farm or boarding stable takes more than excellent horsemanship—it also requires strong leadership. Whether you manage a large equine operation or a small private barn, finding dependable employees to handle horse care, lessons, training, and daily barn chores can be one of the biggest challenges. Many horse professionals admit they are more comfortable managing horses than managing people, but the skills needed to lead a team are easier to develop than you might expect. These practical strategies can help you build a stronger, more effective workplace.

Horse grazing in a managed pasture during drought conditions on a Canadian horse farm

Some weather experts consider drought to be any time in which precipitation falls by 25 percent below average. On a horse farm with seasonal hay and pasture production, this requires attention to the amount of snowfall prior to the growing season and to the rain that falls prior to and during the growing season.

Horse property designed using permaculture principles to improve biodiversity, soil health, and sustainable land management

Regenerative Land Management Practices - My partner, Patrick, and I — along with our herd of four horses — have spent the past year settling into our five-acre property in the Cowichan Valley on Vancouver Island. It’s been a whirlwind of learning and experimentation, from creating a healthier, more natural habitat for our horses to exploring food production, biodiversity, and regenerative land design.

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The Inside Story - For as long as horses have been grazing the hillsides and meadows, the pest of parasite infestation has plagued them. Perennial as the grass, intestinal parasites find every possible opportunity to enter their horse host, and live out their life cycle.

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Mowing refers to the act of cutting grass to a consistent height, whether in a pasture or lawn setting. For horse owners managing grazing areas, it’s common to wonder:

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Win the Battle of the Burrs - Discovering your horse with a mane and tail full of burrs can be frustrating — but it’s more than a cosmetic concern. Burrs can cause real discomfort, inflame the skin, and even damage the hair roots. If your horse resists grooming, chances are those pesky burrs clusters are already causing pain by tightening up and pulling the hair every which way. Here’s how to handle the problem with care — and how to stop it from happening in the future.

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There is a lot more to haymaking than “making hay while the sun shines,” though doing so is a necessary start. Sadly, each year horse barns and farmers’ storage barns burn down, and horses become sick from respiratory disease and colic, as well as myriad other diseases such as Pituitary Pars Intermedia Dysfunction (PPID or Cushings disease). Many of these situations are avoidable so here are, in my opinion, the seven deadly sins of horse hay-making, in no particular order.

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It often feels like horses are magnets for mishaps. Their injury-prone tendencies can be chalked up to natural instincts—such as their strong flight response, social dynamics within the herd, or simply their innate curiosity that leads them into trouble.

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Running a family farm or ranch can be both demanding and rewarding. For these three Canadian families, the challenges of farm life are balanced by the many benefits of working together as a family.

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Rotational grazing can help you take better care of your pastures and provide more feed for your horses.

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