DRAFT HORSES: My Top 5 Feeding Practices
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 10 พ.ค. 2020
- Jim shares his top 5 feeding practices for draft horses while unharnessing and brushing his Belgian Draft Horses after a morning of working in the woods.
Watch our videos to learn about draft horses- horse logging, horses farming, and horse training! Jim uses Belgian, Percheron, and Suffolk horses to do work on the farm and in the woods. He teaches about harnesses, horse-drawn logging and farming equipment, horse feeding and maintenance, and voice commands for horses. New videos uploaded every week. Keep watching to see how Jim trains his new Suffolk Punch colts as he has trained his full-grown teams!
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Love horses when their owners takes such good care of them Jim these horses are beautiful.
Thanks
Wonderful information for using horses practically.
I think a bigger point people can take from this video is that Jim is a Farmer and a “ stockman “ he has developed a routine that’s efficient, simple, and most importantly He reads his horses needs and responds accordingly because his hands are On them each day USING THEM. This is a thinking mans work and it takes a thinking man to be successful at it.
So if your interested in horse farming soak up this channel and subscribe!
Thanks
Wow Jim, this video was really informative. At 74, and being a city dweller, I will never handle a horse, but I do find itdarned interesting. I realize all 4 are a big part of your livelihood, but it's nice to see them given so much consideration.Keep well and safe.
Thank you for sharing your feeding practices. It certainly works for Bill and Lady .🐴🐴
NO docked tails ! I just love it ❤️
You take such good care of your horses, and it shows, they are beautiful.❤
Thanks for discussing feed!
Everything is true. You need to feed to the horse. Each horse is different and to be cared for that horse. Just one eats this doent mean that one gets it. Its just shows how much you care for your horses... Thank you.
Bonjour monsieur, je ne parle pas anglais mais j'aime beaucoup vos vidéos elles sont très bien faites
Merci
Kathy Ark Such a good job on the feeding I always fed my riding horses the same exact way and just like you said the oats gave them the energy they needed.
Your experience with these horses is wonderful Jim great video's someone like me can learn a lot from you, thank you.
Your feeding tips are what people need to know. To know how to feed horses is something the majority have left to manufacturers of bagged horse mixes, nothing wrong there but when I was at college horses were feed straights and we were taught when and how to feed them. I still use that method and have for thirty. Its just much more simple and then you know how your horse reacts to each straight. Same with how to water horses too. Top notch advice Sir.
jim u dont mention salt that i think is important. i like to hqve salt available all the time. i really enjoy your videos keep up the good work
You’re right, I think that’s very important too. Thanks for mentioning!
hi there folks- I saw other clips showing the plowing of others and the others were no where near as straight of rows as yours-good work jim your a fine man -thanks, Dave
Good stuff,thanks.been doing it now for 80 yrs. Still driving but still training but lots slower,thanks,God bless you all.in Jesus name Amen
That's a good understanding, makes go cents. I believe that will work.
Thank you for sharing your videos very educational
Great channel and I love these horses they are beautiful horses.
Love your no nonsense approach
thank you jim i learn a lot about feeding horses, you take great care and love for your horses jim dartmouth nova scotia canada.
Thank you - you just answered my questions!
Awesome Jim, thanks! Just about to get my first draft so very helpful to hear your experience and advice.
Congratulations, good luck with your horse.
I couldn't agree with you more Jim! Consistency is the biggest factor I think in keeping my horses happy and healthy! Cinco turned 27 yesterday born 4/21/94 and Chief will be 19 on June 30, 2021! I have horses buried on my place that were in their late 20's Cherokee for one and another one Roma Do, who was 30 when he passed and then Snake Ace who was 34. I always feed everyday.. at the same times. I've purchased all my horses when they were youngsters, just weaned off their mothers. Good feed, good hay, and plenty of of good pure and clean water... Always! This is probably a good reason why I've been divorced 25 years now! Men are not too keen on this type of dedicated schedule.. 7 days a week, every day, twice a day and sometimes 3 times a day, rain sleet or snow... OR 100 degree temps here in East Texas! God bless you sir!! I really like your style and work ethic. I'm happy I found your channel just a short couple of weeks ago. It's been good for my soul! Soul food for a human being if you will..A human being who loves horses!
Happy Birthday Cinco! Hope your horses stay healthy!
And welcome aboard!
@@WorkingHorsesWithJim thank you so much! Your channel has become one of my favorites!
I agree...
Good vid jim thanks. God bless
It makes my chuckle when Lady parks her back end/hind leg down onto the barn floor. I've seen her doing this in a few videos now. Settling in, lol.
She has her ways !!
Beautiful Horses‼️👍👍. Vinny 🇺🇸
Good to see this again,we like saving them
Very good. #1 For an Athlete, which these horses are. WATER! Sounds about right , we fed 3 milking cows per bale and 1 large scoop of grain to 3 cows and they watered themselves, some we had to manually water because they would not drink enough on their own. Sounded a little high on feed but you think about the calories they burn when they are working hard and it sounds about right. The only thing I would consider in addition is have them licking mineral blocks with salt and a higher salt in summer. That will help with their cardiovascular and pH balance. Electrolytes. But on the other hand, I look at your horses and say don't change a thing. They look great.
Volume of water is #1, quality of water is right there. Don't let them drink where there are beaver in the water. Bad bacteria. Thanks Jim, your extra efforts to water are dedication. Great Job.
It was my job to keep the water trough full, hand pump.. keep the prime can full or walk all the way to the house, opps... 1st thing you do is refill the prime can. Apples and carrots for eye sight. Ah ha
Yep, water is a necessity
Great tips thanks keep them coming👍👍👍
Thanks!
Very informative and peaceful. Your 40 years of working horses gives you a Ph D in Draft horses.
hello yes water is one of the most important things to work with full power. Try to hang your water tank high and build a self-waterer for each horse
Good advice on feeding. Glad to hear you nor your horses work on Sundays !!
Fantastic
The older the horse the more you want to watch their weight. It's hard to put weight in an older horse.Just throwing that out there 😁 Love your Belgians 😍
Yes, that’s true.
I agree with you on feeding the horses your's look very healthy when we had our horses they got fed once aday and it was almost a 5 gallon bucket of oats and we kept a round bale of hay in front of them
Keep the good stuff coming thanks
Good job buddy, corn 🌽 keeps them in power in winter time, I do the same thing
Thanks. Yes, corn does them good
Timothy when I farmed in Michigan, Pure Broam I fed in Kansas. Grandpa always fed oats, I fed oats. Clean water, consistently the same tasting water. My horses and Highland cattle always drank our shallow 18' deep well water but the well went dry one January. I had a Milk Truck bring in 2-3000 gallons of water to fill the well, "chlorinated city water", after a couple weeks of "city water", the well replenished and I filled the stock tank. It was the start of Spring, there was water in the ditches but the stock tank was never touched! I hauled 200 gallons of "city water" 2 or 3 times a week for 18 months before we were able to tap into "city water" through our township.
They know good water and are particular about it!
Strong man to throw tack like that gosh muscles 💪
Like your videos Jim I’ve watched quite a few of them and will continue to see more. You have have a great thing going there for you and your family! God bless Kenny Forbes
Thanks, are you the Kenny Forbes I know from VT?
@@WorkingHorsesWithJim I am. Went to school with you and your brothers and sister.
Well It’s great to hear from you, I hope you and your family are well. I am glad you’re enjoying the videos.
@@WorkingHorsesWithJim we do enjoy them. I’ve always liked working with horses myself and would like to get another pair one day! We live in CO Springs in an equestrian area where most have horses. Thanks for sharing your life with us.
Love these videos. I wish I was there to smell the farm... love that smell.
Your horses look great
Great info. I love watching all you do with the horses. I’m going to try to go to Horse Pulls in the New Hampshire area if there are any. Thanks for all the info again. My Dad raised Appaloosas in Arizona. Brenda, great videoing (sp?). Sure must be a great help to Jim.
BIG FAN of these videos Jim. Brings back lots of memories
Thanks!
A large portion of whole Oats pass through the horse without being used except for bulk. You and your wife do a great job.
I agree, I wish I had rolled oats, they would do a little better
They are a great pre biotic.
The hulls pass but if you look close, the "meat " is gone
Jim, you can come and work for me as a chef, my customers would be impressed with
that diet, the only thing I would have to insist on is changing the water, into beer, as with
horses they love beer. thanks, Jim. UK.
I think water temperature makes a difference per horse. Some like warm water some want it cool. If they aren't watering try a different temp see if it makes them want to drink.
Some even keep two different troughs one cool one warmer.
Definitely promotes hydration, just like us there's nothing like a hot cup of coffee in the winter and a tall glass of ice water in the summer.
@@materialwitness1388 true. ive seen it before. And if it has a sore tooth it will avoid the cold water. Just like we do.
You should write a book or manual on how to feed draft horses. I think a lot of new draft horse owners might find it beneficial. You could make a little money on it too. You have a ton of knowledge. You should pass it on in written form. Love the videos.
Thanks
Not only is water important but the quality of it. Worked at a hog barn with excellent quality water and we could finish pigs about 2 weeks faster than sister barn that had alkaline water.
as i grew up my dad fed his horses praire hay he fed the cattle first and second cutting hay and the calves and feed lot cattle 3rd and 4th cutting. but the horses always was fed praire hay. and that was in Northwestern Kansas.
Thanks for sharing
30 000 subscribers!
As I was watching the video I was wondering if water would be #1. great video, I just found your channel. we have two pleasure horses and my brother has a white/gray Percheron.
Thanks for watching, welcome aboard!
Hi I just found your channel and i love it! I absolutely love drafts and their gentle nature. I have been going to local horse auctions looking to buy a retired draft to keep my old thoroughbred horse company. Most of them I find are fairly aged. However I have heard they are very hardy and can work well in to their later years and that they can live quite a few years beyond retirement with good care. Do you find this to be true and would you share your teams ages and how you know its time to retire them? Thanks for your time and keep the videos coming!!!
Buck is 20, and the other 3 are 13 or 14. When they have been worked regularly they can sometimes work well into their 20's. As long as they are healthy and have energy, you can keep right on working them. Glad you found our channel, thanks for watching!
thanks folks
thanks for watching
I was wondering Jim....when I was kid, Grandfather would start grooming and so would I, I would climb up on a step ladder, because, I was small back then. And we would sing Psalms to each other. The horses liked it, so , we did it quite a lot, it was excellent practice for me, as, we sometimes Cantored together in Service. Sometimes the horses would fall asleep as a result. Do you sing to your horses as you groom them, or maybe when you are alone with them? Perhaps your horses would find it beneficial as ours did back then? God Bless you Jim and your animals.
Only when no one else is around
I really like your videos where you tell your horse routines, very interesting and informative. I can see your horses are very well kept, they look great! It would be interesting to see a video of how you usually groom and tack them. I see zero bald patches on their coats, so you must have good grooming and fitting gear, and that's awesome :)
Thanks for watching and for your interest.This video covers harnessing if you are interested: th-cam.com/video/Wmkna-0hU8Q/w-d-xo.html
@@WorkingHorsesWithJim Thank you for your reply and of the link! I will watch this right away. Wishing pleasant autumn days to New York :)
Makes alot of sense with watter they get great feed and not enough watter makes sense.
How much hay do you feed ? And what are you using for bedding? Thank you!
Wonderful info,,and so glad you did get your ceiling done later,, how about the stalls,,is that gonna be a video for fall...?
Hopefully...
What’s your opinion about having water available in their stalls ? Like the old water cups in a dairy barn. That way the horses can drink when they want but can’t drink it fast as in a water tub.
I think it’s a good idea. Mine freeze in the barn in the winter
Hi, thanks for all the video's. I have a question, can Jim explain why he likes to use blinders for the horses? The Pro's & Con's. thxs in advance
TheMystyblues yes I can In my next video today actually. It’s called Amish sawmill needs more tamarack logs part 1
Greetings !!! it’s bad that I don’t understand you. I am writing to you using a language translation program. I really like the way you work with horses. I have three horses, you probably saw two on my daughter’s canal, the third one is 1.5 years old. I also like working with horses. But many are convincing to switch to a tractor. Jim, write what you think on this subject? Thanks in advance. I wish you health and success in your work !!!
What country Anna.
@@gwc3721 UKRAINE
Hello, I too, wish our languages were the same. I have seen your horses and they look great. In my area, there is no need to convince people to switch to tractors because they already have. Except for the Amish, there is only a tiny portion of people that use horses. Stay safe and enjoy your horses.
@@WorkingHorsesWithJim Hey. Thanks for the answer. I look forward to a new video.
Timothy hay and cleaned oats, is what we fed the horses.
I follow a British channel where they add water to their breakfast feed, right in the bucket. Any thoughts on that?
Just curious about why you said alfalfa is scary
Add some apple cider vinegar to the water. The kind with mother in it. They will drink more of it that way.
Apple cider sure is good for a lot of things! Thanks for the suggestion
God bless
I'm getting ready to retire and am planning a long(months) packing trip and am considering on feeding a noon feed but don't want horses to colic. Can you explain how you feed 3 times a day when working. I'm interested how long noon feed takes and how you deal with body temperature and how you adjust your morning and evening feeding?
bill84345 noon break for horses is between half hour-to an hour. I try to do all changes gradually.
how many pounds specifically do you feed? I have two belgian mares about 18 hands, they get 8lbs of fortified grain each , round bales around the clock and pasture forage. somehow, I still struggle to keep weight on and we don't work! We ride but no pulling/driving.
My wife's laughing at me listening to your video saying he sounds like you counting swallows & graining based off body score.
Loll i live in the UK i went day out to a visit centre had a room to look around was working horse room Itried to pick a head collor up they had on the wall ha ha ha o my they so heavy
I am glad that you mentioned the importance of water. If possible , horses should have access to fresh water all the time. This way they won't be drinking too much at one time when they come in from work. One of my Percherons even likes to dunk his hay into water. I didn't know this when I got him and he promptly had a colic. Now he always has a bucket of water hanging right by where I feed them.
Yes, they are all different! Thanks for sharing
I had a Clydesdale that did that. Smart.
Do you have video of when you bought the Suffolk Punch colts?
Here is one if you are interested:th-cam.com/video/7LliwHvfrsE/w-d-xo.html We have a whole playlist on them if you want to see more vids. Thanks for your interest
Where do u get ear corn?
Son los mejores
Why don’t you like alfalfa? I adopted a Belgian who I wanted to give a healthy variety of food...also he’s younger than I thought about 11 or 12, and the rescue had him on alfalfa so I started him straight then we stated blending in grass hay but also had him on cracked corn and oats just a scoop a day well he coliced but I was able to walk him out of it. I took away the corn and oats I thought maybe he never had them and they gave him like diverticulitis. Even though he coliced I could hear work in his digestive track all the way around. Anyway, do you think alfalfa contributes to colic? I appreciate this video you guys made and I love to see your horses and their excellent care. My horse is really looking good from the exhausted animal I adopted last month. Thanks for your time ✌️
How many hands tall are yalls horses and what ages?
Jim, what are the ingredients in the grain?
I had a friend that had a horse and I looked at the grain he had and I looked like it had oats and molasses in it, it also had kind of a sweet odor to it, I even took a small handful and tasted it, it didnt taste too bad
Just straight oats
do you leave them in these small stalls? or are they just for feeding and tacking, untacking?
They do stay in the stalls but they are well used to it and very comfortable there. They go out to pasture. Box stalls might be better but it’s not an option there
Funny thing...I have two horse barns.. One with 12x12 stalls and another with 10x20's! Say you keep them up for any particular reason.. Cold, and icy weather or stormy weather or whatever the case may be... And you walk in the barn and each horse is just standing there in the same spot...poop in one corner, pee spot in the middle, clean ground under the feed bucket, and some do like to look out the window and some don't!! But they're all happy! Go figure! You'd think they wouldn't be happy being kept up... But they are. Now after a night and the morning feeding, soon enough they're all rearing to go out and play!
Do you ever top dress your oats with any minerals an what about deworming? Those are 2 very important things of an the alfalfa hay you only need to feed a few slices instead of half a bale..
Marion Miller no, I don’t feed minerals. I forgot to talk about salt and deworming, very important.
Great video but just wondering where are the other two horses
They were out enjoying the pasture, thanks for asking
Depending on weight of those horses lets say 2,000lbs your under feeding your hay. A horse needs 2% of its bodyweight in forage/hay per day or 40lbs usually a bale weighs 50-60lbs
Great info, thanks. Can I ask when you took off the croup strap? Also curious why you feel the timing is important?
When I’m done with the horses and I’m tying up my lines, I unhitch the crouper, so that day I did it in the woods. Good question!
what are your thoughts on salt?
It's important to always have available for the horses- we use salt blocks
Interesting 🤔
Does a Belgian who no longer works still require @ a full bale per day? (We will be getting two retired from farm work, from auction, for light trail riding).
yes, that is the general rule
I know that some horses are hot they won't drink till they cool down.
a cup or two of melassis on the grain van's a day is
I like how you feed but have heard that corn sometimes has a mold that is poisonous to horses. Have you heard of this? Also, have you ever had a horse choke on the cobs? What about minerals and salt? Thanks for sharing.
Yes, I check very carefully for mold, never heard of them choking on cobs. Minerals and salt are very important, I just forgot to mention it in the video. Thanks for your comments and for watching
A draft horse with a full tail. 😊👍
Jim why do you hang the collars upside down?
They hold their shape better that way
I have always been so certain that the horses were going to kick three years off my life, if I were to walk up into the stalls like that. Does it depend on the horse?
Yes, it definitely depends on the horse!
is yur horses called _big Johson_ ??
how many of the cobs do you feed at a time?
It varies a lot on the horse’s condition abs what I feel they need
👍
Thes horses are smart
Such a big barn and such small stables..! The horses cannot even walk around let alone lay down and stretch. Is there a specific reason for this? For recovering after a day of hard work it is even much better for them to be able to walk around. This makes the blood flow. In Holland where I am from such stands as they are called are even prohibited! Simply too little space to move!
Where do you live, you were talking about people out west feeding different hay. You must be worried about blister bugs.
We live in New York. We don't have to worry too much about blister bugs.
What's wrong with legumes?
Great info. I was wondering if you could give a ball park estimate of how many acres it takes to grow enough feed for one year for one horse that is the size of your horses?
From my experience, this is difficult to answer. In Southeast Michigan, say 350 small square bales of hay for feed and with a moderate yield 4-8 acres but there is pasture too. Upper Peninsula of Michigan 5-10 acres of hay to bale. Central Kansas 3-7 acres of Brome hay but 3-6 acres of pasture. Prairie grass doesn't hold up well in late Summer. This is all dependent on location, rain, soil quality, types of grass hay. Remember, most farmers have cattle to feed and many have riding horses. If you are going to have one draft horse, it might be cheaper to buy hay and grain but have enough pasture the two of you can play in.
@@kswaynes7569 Thank you so much for replying. I'm thinking of the "good ol' days" that so many people wish for without realising how much land is needed to do this nor the number of hours it requires to suceed or in other words - make enough feed to support 1 draft horse. And all of this land is a lot of work for 1 horse because it has to be ploughed and seeded in the spring then cut, baled and hauled in the fall. So if I undertand correctly you will get 350 small bales of hay for every 3-10 acres depending on weather and soil condition and that should provide enough hay for the year per draft horse. BUT this is not including, acreage needed for the oats, corn or pasture - for just 1 draft horse. That is why farmers needed more than 1 draft horse. The next point is: this is a lot of hours for 1 horse - and 1 man - and some of it is very heavy work. The horses cannot pick up all of those bales of hay for you. They can haul them but they can't pick them up or stack them. Nor can they do that with the corn. I've hauled hay and straw bales with horses but I never stopped to figure out how much land was needed for their feed. I heard that a horse needs about 10 acres of pasture to sustain it for a year (that's besides the acres needed for corn and hay) while a cow only needs 5 but that cow doesn't do any work, either. One year we had a nephew helping over the summer. He decieded that if he made the bales larger there would be less to haul. Those bales ended up weighing 120 lbs each. Those were very, very heavy and difficult to lift up onto the bale wagon and to then to unload them to stack by the barn. The first few rows on the bale wagon and the hay stack were very difficult and it just got worse as we built higher - and we were used to heavy, hard work. I say we because I was one of the three people doing the work. We never did that again, did we! I think that field was about 21 acres and it was a good year for weather. The lad learned the 'hard way' or should I say 'the very heavy way'. Wink, wink. With 150 head of cattle, 5 dairy cows, 1 pig, 50 chickens, 2 draft horses and 9 riding horses it would have been difficult for me to calculate what 1 draft horse needed in feed per year.
Sheila M Good feed back! There is plenty of work on a farm. With one horse, there are options. 1) If you have existing hay ground, that hay ground can last 3-7 years with fertilizer and new seed broadcasted for applying. 2) One horse can cut hay with a 3 or 4’ horse drawn mower. An old dump rake will easily move hay to a windrow and loose hay can be pitched by hand onto a wagon. 3) There are many TH-cam videos showing European Drafts (Draughts in Europe) working single. It is all based on size. Size of the operation, size and strength of horse and teamster and equipment matched to the horse. Jim had a recent video of one horse disking the garden, that was a disk designed for two medium size horses, a little much for one horse when working for several hours but just a little workout for that horse in a big garden. There are plenty of options for one horse equipment, check I&J equipment, Pioneer Equipment and another is Whitehorse Equipment. There are videos of all types of work horses and equipment on TH-cam that will help.
@@kswaynes7569 Good info pointing out there is different sized equipment depending on the size of the horse and the number of horses pulling it. More horses more width of the pass in the field and the more traces, hames, etc. and harnesses needed. And there are differnt sizes of harnesses even though they can be adjusted to the size of the horse they will only adjust so far. Our drafts were 16 hands but the ponies I had the opportunity to drive were a brace of 4 charriot ponies. Talk about tiny harnesses. They had to be moved from one pasture to another. What an experience! They were charriot racing ponies and I was warned. Loved it but was also glad they weren't any bigger.
Our hay fields were a Brome and alfalpha mix that we cut twice a season, late June early July. Reason being if let grow to long the stems get woody and beside having no nutrition when that size they also are a little to rough for digestion. And a second cut was done Aug-Sept for the same reason. I don't recall reseeding but instead turning it over to refresh it and still got one cut from the year it was turned over most of the time. Alfalpha was chosen for the nitrogen it returned to the soil. Nitrogen is one of the nutrients in fertilizers then the decaying tops seem to add the rest.