5 Basic tips for raising Polo Ponies

Here are 5 basic things to keep in mind if you intend to start raising polo ponies:

1) Proper Nutrition

A chief trait of polo breeding is to properly plan a balanced amount of fodder based on the number of horses. It would be problematic if there is no proper forage to horse ratio. I will tell you why: If the mother mares are not in a healthy enough state to complete an estrous cycle, there will be low fertility and pregnancy rates. As for raising the foals, they will have a better upbringing if more, rather than less, food is available to them.

2) Seasonal Births

The ideal would be to have all the births in the same season, so that when you check on the foals in your parcel of land, all of them are going to have the same standard size. This would be very practical since you could then send the foals to be broken at the same time. It would be a pity to have to wait until the following year for the breaking of one of the foals, due to it being too small. By impregnating your mares in the same season, other organizational issues are going to simplify. For example, all of them are going to start eating pasture at the same time.

3) Delousing

I recommend you delouse your mares twice a year, but three times a year for the foals. If you delouse the mates as soon as they give birth, the foal is going to be protected through nursing by the mother mare’s milk. It is also better to delouse the weaning foals every three months, changing the dose each time to prevent resistance from parasites.

4) Imprinting

If you imprint your foal as soon as it is born, the animal will trust human beings for a lifetime. Try to remember that horses are born assuming humans are a threat; imprinting will teach them the contrary. Is it necessary to imprint the foals every day? The answer is no. Once a month is enough. (In another opportunity I am going to discuss in depth if the foal soften their neck when being tethered).

5) Horse Hoof Trimming

All horses need hoof trimming to walk at ease and feel good. To understand trimming, it helps to ask oneself: Would I prefer to walk in the streets with Nike Air sneakers or barefoot? The horses experience that same feeling. They are going to be much more comfortable when they are trimmed or shoed. 

How many times a year should you trim the horses? You should trim the mother mare when delousing them, twice a year. (An advice: If you have a herd of horses in which most of the mares are Light Bay horses with black hooves, they are going to be healthier than Chestnut horses. Why? Because the Light Bay horse is more rustic.

The foals are trimmed when they are weaned. Their hooves are shaped, giving them the corrections needed to avoid problems related to improper trimming (for example, twisted hands or twirling hands when galloping). You have to trim the foals three times a year, before breaking them. Normally, when you catch the foals, you do these three things before releasing them again: imprinting, delousing, and trimming. 

These have been some easy but effective tips for the proper formulation of your breeding.

Sweet Cherry Varieties

Cherries are part of the 'Rosaceae' family, and has cousins including apricots, almonds, peaches and plums. Sweet cherry varieties include Rainiers, Van cherry, Chelan, Lapin, Sweetheart, Skeena, Staccato, Christalina and Bing cherries.

Rainier Cherries 

They are excellent for eating fresh. Rainier's are also known as the white cherry because of the flesh color and the skin is yellowish red blush when they are ripe.

Rainier cherry trees usually blossom around the end of April, but like all other fruit, it depends on the weather.

Van Cherries

Van cherries are a medium size fruit, slightly smaller than a bing, but are very firm black color, and they are oh, such a sweet cherry. Van's are usually available in the Okanagan at the end of June or early July, and like most sweet cherries, Van's are generally best eaten fresh.

These cherries are also excellent for canning, and in your favorite yummy cherry recipes like cherry cobbler!

Bing Cherries

These sweet cherries are extra large in size, slightly heart-shaped cherries with a deep maroon color, and a delicious, sweet wonderful flavor. Bings are one of the common types of cherries that you will find in grocery stores and supermarkets.

It's a good idea to store fully ripe Bing cherries in the fridge, because once they ripen, they will only last a few days. Bing cherries are preferred fresh by many people, but they are also excellent for cherry recipes such as jams, jellies and preserves, in cherry pie recipes, and desserts like a delicious cherry cobbler recipe. They are one of the most versatile types of cherries around!

Santina Cherries

Santina Cherry variety is a very sweet, average sized, black cherry.

Santina cherry is an early cherry, usually harvested in mid to late June. Santina cherries are delicious when eaten fresh. They are also very delicious in sweet cherry dessert recipes, cherry cheesecake and in a homemade cherry pie recipe!

Skeena Cherries

Skeena Cherry variety is usually ripened and are harvested around the same time as the Lapin cherry, around mid July to mid August.

When mature, Skeena cherries, are large, black, and very firm, with a dark red to black skin.

The flavor is strong and of high quality, and Skeena's tend to be the cherry of choice for this ripening time. Skeena cherries are also very good eaten fresh, and delicious in dessert recipes because they are so wonderfully sweet!

Sweetheart Cherries

he Sweetheart Cherry variety is a late cherry, with a unique taste and a firm fruit that is crunchy when picked and eaten.

Sweetheart cherries are usually available beginning in late July to the middle of August. Sweetheart's are very good in a cherry dessert, canned cherries, and sweet cherry jam. The Sweetheart cherry is also a good type of cherry to ship, so if you're looking to take cherries home with you, these keep fairly well.

Lambert Cherries

The fruit is large, round and a beautiful deep ruby red color, and has a semi sweet flavor. Lambert cherries are usually available around the middle of July.

Lamberts are excellent for out-of-hand eating as well as cooking and baking. Thinking about a rich chocolate cherry cake for your next summer dessert? Lamberts are an excellent choice!

Lapin Cherries

Lapin Cherry is a variety of sweet cherries characterized by dark ruby skin, deep red flesh, and are a very large size. These make a delicious sweet cherry jam or jelly!

Lapin cherries are one of the most popular fruits commercially grown around the world, and this variety tends to keep better than other types of cherries. Lapins are generally ready to pick in mid July. You can get these types of cherries at local farm fresh markets all the way to mid August.

How To Grow Mustard Seed Plants

Many people do not realize that a mustard seed plant is the same plant as a mustard greens plant. This versatile plant can be grown as a vegetable and eaten like other greens or, if allowed to flower and go to seed, mustard seeds can be harvested and used as a spice in cooking or ground into a popular condiment. Learning how to grow mustard seeds is easy and rewarding.

How To Grow Mustard Seed Plants

Mustard seed plants are normally grown from seed but can be grown from purchased seedlings as well. When selecting mustard seeds for planting, any mustard plant grown for greens can also be grown for mustard seed.

Plant the mustard seed about three weeks before your last frost date. Since you will be harvesting the mustard seed, there is no need to use succession planting like you do with mustard greens. Plant your mustard seeds about an 1 inch apart. Once they sprout, thin the seedlings so that they are 6 inches apart. Mustard plants grown for seed are planted further apart than plants grown for just leaves as the mustard plant will be getting much larger before it flowers.

How to Grow Mustard Seeds

Once mustard seed plants start growing, they need little care. They enjoy cool weather and will bolt (flower) quickly in warmer weather. While this may seem like a great thing if you are looking to grow mustard seeds, it is not. Mustard plants that bolt due to warm weather will produce poor flowers and seeds. It is best to keep them on their normal flowering cycle to be able to harvest the best mustard seeds.

Mustard seed plants need 2 inches of water a week. Normally, during cool weather, you should get enough rainfall to supply this, but if you do not, you will need to do additional watering.

Mustard seed plants do not need fertilizer if they have been planted in well amended garden soil, but if you are unsure if your soil is nutrient rich, you can add a balanced fertilizer to the roots once the plants are 3 to 4 inches tall.

How to Harvest Mustard Seeds

The mustard plants will eventually flower and go to seed. The flowers of mustard seed plant are generally yellow but some varieties have white flowers. As the mustard flower grows and matures, it will form pods. Watch for these pods to start to turn brown. Another sign that you are nearing harvest time will be that the leaves of the plant will start to yellow. Be careful not to leave the pods on the mustard seed plant for too long as they will burst open when fully ripe and the mustard seed harvest will be lost.

The next step in harvesting mustard seeds is to remove the seeds from the pods. You can do this with your hands, or you can place the flower heads in a paper bag and allow them to finish maturing. The pods will open on their own in 1-2 weeks and a gentle shake of the bag will shake loose most of the mustard seeds.

Mustard seeds can be used fresh, but like other herbs and spices, if you plant on storing them long term, they will need to be dried.

Indian Runner Ducks

Uses: Utility - Eggs and good for organic pest control.
Eggs: Up to 200 eggs per year.
Origin: East Indies.
Weight: Drake: 1.6 - 2.3 Kg, Duck: 1.4 - 2 Kg.
Classification: Runner.
Colours: Apricot Trout (Saxony), Black, Blue, Chocolate, Fawn, Fawn & White, Mallard, Silver, Trout, White.
Useful to Know: Indian Runners do not originate from India but the East Indies - Malaya, Java and Lombok. They are prolific egg layers that are happier spending most of their time foraging for food than being on water. Probably THE most popular duck that can be found in a multitude of colour varieties.

Indian Runner ducks are possibly the most influential of all of the duck breeds. Many of today's breeds of light duck have in part been created from the Indian Runner Duck. The Welsh Harlequin, Abacot Ranger and the famous Khaki Campbell for example would not exist if it were not for the Indian Runner.

The Indian Runner is reported to have first appeared in the UK in 1835 and they were originally called Penguin Ducks. The first fawn and white runners were standardised in 1901 with other colours following.

Indian Runners are active ducks that enjoy foraging for slugs and insects. One of their original uses in Asia was to clear the paddy fields of pests. They would be driven there in the mornings and rounded up again at night so that they could be kept safe from predators over night. Of course, they are well equipped to cover the distance quickly being able to run at a reasonable pace. In some parts of the World, they are still used in this way. Some organic vineyards in South Africa are starting to use Indian Runner Ducks to clear the vines of pests to avoid the use of chemicals.

How to Choose Meat Goat Breeds

If you are raising goats for meat, you may wonder what breed is best for the small farmer. While you can, of course, raise any breed of goat for meat, specific breeds are focused on putting on weight versus producing milk, as well as other characteristics that make the breed more desirable for meat production.

If you are raising goats for meat, you don't need to buy a show goat - in fact, you shouldn't. Show goats and meat goats are raised in completely different ways. You don't need to buy registered stock. Most meat producers will find a good, full breed buck and breed him with mixed-breed does. Finding the right market for your goat meat will determine what qualities you want in the kids.

Boer

Boer goats were raised in South Africa for meat and were selected for superior body shape, high growth rate and fertility. They have large frames. They are white and reddish-brown, or all red, short-haired, and with black, brown or red markings on the head and neck. They have short horns that are curved close to the head.

Spanish

Before Boer goats became available in the US in the late 1980s, Spanish goats were the standard meat-goat breed, especially in the South. These goats are descendants of goats brought by Spanish explorers. They're medium-sized and lanky, mostly short-haired, and come in all colors. They have long, often twisty horns.

Brush

These are a mixture of breeds that are adaptable and hardy. They're also called hill, briar, wood, or native goats. Both Spanish and Brush goats are more of a type of goat than an actual, defined breed.

Tennessee fainting goat

Tennessee Fainting goats are, in fact, from Tennessee and are also called myotonic goats, Nervous goats, Wooden goats or Stiff Leg goats. When startled, these goats go rigid and "faint" or fall down. Myotonic goats are hardy, fertile, and have a long breeding season.

Kiko

Large-framed, white, hardy and able to thrive under poor conditions, the Kiko was developed in New Zealand and brought to the US in the 1990s. Kikos are strictly meat producing goats.

If you have a lot of range available, Kikos may be a more economical breed than Boers for you to raise.

Pygmy

Pygmy goats are mostly pets, but they do have some potential for meat because they have a compact and meaty body and are fertile out of season.

Dairy Goat Crosses

Often, dairy goat breeds such as Nubian, Alpine, Toggenburg, and Saanen are crossed with Boers for meat production.

Other Crosses

There are also some new crossbreeds available as meat goats are growing in popularity. Some of the more common new meat goat breeds include:

Moneymaker. Moneymakers are a cross of Sannen and Nubian breeds, then bred with Boers.
Texmaster. This is a medium breed in size, a cross between Boers and Tennessee Fainting Goats developed in Texas by Onion Creek Ranch.
Savanna. This breed resists heat and drought. They are muscular and have a short white coat with a cashmere undercoat to help them stay warm in colder winters. Highly adaptable to various weather conditions, they're a good choice for places with weather challenges. They make excellent mothers.

Tips for Cleaning Your Chicken Coop

When it comes to cleaning your chicken coop, it's a chore you just have to do, even if you use the deep litter method, which minimizes how often you clean. But whether you use the deep litter method or not, these tips will help you get the chore done in the minimum amount of time with the minimum amount of fuss.

Use hay, not straw or pine shavings. Hay has less dust than pine shavings and is easier to manage -- and cheaper! -- than straw, and chickens love to eat the seeds. Cover your coop floor with hay and use it in the nest boxes, too.

Use roosting boards, removable poop trays, or tarps.  Most of your chickens' poop is going to be collected underneath the roosts, so if you can figure out a way to capture and easily remove the poop under the roosts, your job will be a lot easier. Some folks make trays that slide out easily and can be emptied on the compost pile. Others use a tarp slung on poles underneath the roosts. Whatever particular method you use, the point is to be able to easily clean under the roosts.

Make your roosts removable. When building your chicken coop, design it so that roosts either flip up easily out of the way or can be removed from the coop entirely. This makes it easier to rake or shovel out the entire coop when you clean it.

Slant the tops of nesting boxes. There's a chicken law: anywhere horizontal, a chicken will perch if she can. So make sure the tops of your nesting boxes have a slant to them to minimize or eliminate chickens, er, eliminating into the nest boxes.

Use a tarp. Some folks use a tarp underneath the entire coop (if it's small enough to allow for this). When cleaning time comes, you just pull out the tarp with all the bedding and poop on it, dump it in the compost, clean it off and reinstall it with fresh bedding on top.