Corral, Pasture & Herd Management
Corral and Pasture Management:
Corrals in the winter are cleaned out at minimum twice a month to ensure that those frozen manure balls are not harming the horses feet or causing safety hazards for horses and people. Corrals and pastures in the summer are box bladed at least one time per month, depending on temperatures and rainfall, to smooth pits and holes, and breakdown manure.
Grazed pastures are rotated to ensure that adequate rest between grazing allows grasses and their root systems to recover. Healthy grasses means that weeds will have a harder time invading. Pastures at Sagehill Stables are currently mixed legume and grasses. In the summer, horses on outdoor board are on pasture 24-7, with hay provided in covered feeders if they choose to change up their diet. Excessive moisture may result in horses being moved back into a corral however until the pasture dries up. Indoor board horses are allowed out onto grassed paddocks during the day in the spring, summer and fall months, weather permitting. During the late spring and fall months, care is taken to ensure horses do not graze grasses early in the morning when temperatures are low overnight, which can cause grasses to become excessive in nitrates and/or sugars. Horses that insulin resistant or sensitive to sugars are not recommended to be on outdoor board with us over the summer as they do have access to grass 24-7.
Grouping of Horses:
At Sagehill Stables we are currently running mixed gender corrals, with the number of horses per pen based primarily on size of the pen, and for outdoor board horses, shelter space. Most of our corrals and shelters are based on 8 to 10 horses per group. We believe that it is healthy to have mixed gender (geldings and mares) and age (1 year and up) turnout so that horses are constantly making real connections and engaging in behaviour typical of what is seen in the wild. There have been no studies done to date to demonstrate increased aggressiveness in corrals with mixed gender horses compared those with single sex corrals. However, boarders coming to Sagehill must fill out an application form which includes questions regarding history of your horse. Geldings that have been castrated later in life will be housed in pens with males only to ensure that no mounting of mares occurs and that there is no excessive aggressiveness in the groups. Horses that we find to be particularly aggressive or unsafe towards humans or horses will also be removed from the group.
Integration of New Horses:
Quarantine (10 days to 2 weeks) is required for horses coming from out of province, high risk areas, or when their background is relatively unknown. We provide quarantine horses with a buddy so that they do not have to be completely alone during this time.
Horses that are from the area and up-to-date on vaccines and worming are integrated directly into their group, unless fencing is available to provide an initial over the fence introduction. We recommend all new boarders to come with the horse's resting vitals so that ourselves or a vet can use them to assess the overall health of the horse during the integration process and keep track of how the horse adjusts to its new home. Moving can be very stressful on horses, and extra vigilance is always used for new horses to ensure that they are eating and drinking adequately, and that no injuries or health problems go unnoticed.
Once a horse arrives at Sagehill, we do our best to determine what corral it is going to be in for the long-term and try not to move or re-organize horses once they are already integrated in a group. However, sometimes due to fencing problems, horses not getting along and other unforeseen circumstances, horses do have to be moved.
Fencing:
Over the next 2 to 3 years we will continue to improve upon the currently fencing and build new fencing. Right now, outdoor board horses are in high-tensile electric fencing and indoor board horses are in a combination of 6' tall steel fencing for corrals and high-tensile electric for grassed turnout. The steel fencing we have chosen is portable so it allows us to make mistakes in the first few years when it comes to figuring out the best layout for corrals. The steel fencing bars are also completely removable and replaceable, with chain linkages between panels, making it very safe in case a foot or head ever goes through the bars or between panels. Individual turnout for short-term boarders or competitive horses will also be in steel fencing.
Water:
With the exception of individual turnout, all corrals at Sagehill Stables are equipped with winterized heated waterers, of the Richie brand. We find these waterers the most reliable and easiest to maintain and fix when needed.
Corrals in the winter are cleaned out at minimum twice a month to ensure that those frozen manure balls are not harming the horses feet or causing safety hazards for horses and people. Corrals and pastures in the summer are box bladed at least one time per month, depending on temperatures and rainfall, to smooth pits and holes, and breakdown manure.
Grazed pastures are rotated to ensure that adequate rest between grazing allows grasses and their root systems to recover. Healthy grasses means that weeds will have a harder time invading. Pastures at Sagehill Stables are currently mixed legume and grasses. In the summer, horses on outdoor board are on pasture 24-7, with hay provided in covered feeders if they choose to change up their diet. Excessive moisture may result in horses being moved back into a corral however until the pasture dries up. Indoor board horses are allowed out onto grassed paddocks during the day in the spring, summer and fall months, weather permitting. During the late spring and fall months, care is taken to ensure horses do not graze grasses early in the morning when temperatures are low overnight, which can cause grasses to become excessive in nitrates and/or sugars. Horses that insulin resistant or sensitive to sugars are not recommended to be on outdoor board with us over the summer as they do have access to grass 24-7.
Grouping of Horses:
At Sagehill Stables we are currently running mixed gender corrals, with the number of horses per pen based primarily on size of the pen, and for outdoor board horses, shelter space. Most of our corrals and shelters are based on 8 to 10 horses per group. We believe that it is healthy to have mixed gender (geldings and mares) and age (1 year and up) turnout so that horses are constantly making real connections and engaging in behaviour typical of what is seen in the wild. There have been no studies done to date to demonstrate increased aggressiveness in corrals with mixed gender horses compared those with single sex corrals. However, boarders coming to Sagehill must fill out an application form which includes questions regarding history of your horse. Geldings that have been castrated later in life will be housed in pens with males only to ensure that no mounting of mares occurs and that there is no excessive aggressiveness in the groups. Horses that we find to be particularly aggressive or unsafe towards humans or horses will also be removed from the group.
Integration of New Horses:
Quarantine (10 days to 2 weeks) is required for horses coming from out of province, high risk areas, or when their background is relatively unknown. We provide quarantine horses with a buddy so that they do not have to be completely alone during this time.
Horses that are from the area and up-to-date on vaccines and worming are integrated directly into their group, unless fencing is available to provide an initial over the fence introduction. We recommend all new boarders to come with the horse's resting vitals so that ourselves or a vet can use them to assess the overall health of the horse during the integration process and keep track of how the horse adjusts to its new home. Moving can be very stressful on horses, and extra vigilance is always used for new horses to ensure that they are eating and drinking adequately, and that no injuries or health problems go unnoticed.
Once a horse arrives at Sagehill, we do our best to determine what corral it is going to be in for the long-term and try not to move or re-organize horses once they are already integrated in a group. However, sometimes due to fencing problems, horses not getting along and other unforeseen circumstances, horses do have to be moved.
Fencing:
Over the next 2 to 3 years we will continue to improve upon the currently fencing and build new fencing. Right now, outdoor board horses are in high-tensile electric fencing and indoor board horses are in a combination of 6' tall steel fencing for corrals and high-tensile electric for grassed turnout. The steel fencing we have chosen is portable so it allows us to make mistakes in the first few years when it comes to figuring out the best layout for corrals. The steel fencing bars are also completely removable and replaceable, with chain linkages between panels, making it very safe in case a foot or head ever goes through the bars or between panels. Individual turnout for short-term boarders or competitive horses will also be in steel fencing.
Water:
With the exception of individual turnout, all corrals at Sagehill Stables are equipped with winterized heated waterers, of the Richie brand. We find these waterers the most reliable and easiest to maintain and fix when needed.
