Sustainable Energy from Manure

Posted on June 16, 2022 by blogeditor

One of the jobs horse owners dread is manure and waste management. This type of work increases exponentially depending on how many horses you have. But what if there was a way to make a sustainable energy source from your horse waste? In Finland, this is exactly what is being done. Continue reading for more information on this relatively new form of energy harvesting. Also, if you are looking for a horse property for sale in Colorado, contact Colorado Horse Property today and speak with one of our horse-person realtors.

Manure Makes Sustainable Energy

Current heat recovery technology works well and is gaining momentum in local equine shows and amongst farmers. It is the hope of some organizations that this will be a sustainable energy source that could replace fossil fuels. The idea is simple. Composting horse manure creates fertilizer and generates heat as a by product. This heat energy converts to a more usable power for homes. A rotary drum composting mechanism, equipped with a heat recovery system, generates the energy. The system converts energy until the waste is fully composted within a week. The recovered energy heats nearby rooms and water.

However promising, manure management as an energy source faces some obstacles. At the moment, the technology only works on a small scale. Managing moisture is one of the key challenges. Also, manure is over 80% water. Therefore, it has a very low heating value when moist. One solution is mixing the manure with wood chips to overcome the humidity problem. Today, the Finns are researching more efficient ways to solve this problem and harness the potential energy. It is only a matter of time. Though Finland currently spearheads the movement, the entire world of horse owners are watching.

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Increasing Your Horse Property Income

Posted on June 15, 2022 by blogeditor

Owning a horse property can be very rewarding, but it isn’t for everyone. One of the biggest problems that you may face is low horse property income. Property values have continued to increase and everyday equine management expenses are always on the rise. Here are a few money making and saving ideas for horse property owners. Also, if you are looking for a horse property for sale in Colorado, contact Colorado Horse Property today and speak with one of our horse-person realtors.

Horse Property Income

Did you know that you can share the costs of keeping a horse by part-leasing them to a suitable rider? This is a great opportunity for riders who can’t afford to buy a horse. In these types of relationships, it’s best to keep a written agreement detailing the lease. Also, include what you expect them to take care of and pay for while they’re in possession of the horse. If you don’t like that idea, you can always board someone else’s horse on your property for a fee. Create a boarding agreement in writing to make sure you’re on the same page as your boarder.

Do you have extra space in your barn? Is there an unused outbuilding on your property? Clinicians, instructors, and event organizers need facilities to conduct both riding and non-riding educational activities. Many of them rent spare spaces on horse properties to conduct business. Depending on the instructor, you could rent out your free space and possibly gain some free instruction at the same time. Another way to increase your income is by holding fee-based fun, educational, or competitive events on your property.

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More Things to do at Red Rocks Colorado

Posted on May 12, 2022 by blogeditor

The Red Rocks Colorado Amphitheatre is well-known as an amazing music venue with incredible views. And yet is has so much more to offer. Not only can you watch a movie on the rocks, they even have a music-themed hall of fame. Continue reading for some more unique things you can do at Red Rocks. Also, if you are looking for a horse property for sale in Colorado, contact Colorado Horse Property today and speak with one of our horse-person realtors.

Red Rocks Colorado Activities

Red Rocks Colorado is a great place for working out. The amphitheater boasts 380 stairs and has a lot of room for exercising. As long as the space is available, so can access the stairs and run as much as you want. Red Rocks allows visitors to access the park one hour before sunrise until one hour after sunset on non-event days, and one hour before sunrise until 2pm on event days.

Don’t feel like running up and down stairs? Red Rocks has guided workout sessions too. Each spring and summer, thousands of people gather to practice yoga together on the warm steps of the amphitheater. Yoga on The Rocks is an annual event series that takes place on the sprawling steps of the amphitheater, sometimes drawing thousands of people to participate. Generally sessions last one hour, and cost around twenty dollars per person. Tough it depends on who is running the event.

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Hidden Hiking Trails in Colorado

Posted on May 12, 2022 by blogeditor

Colorado is one of the biggest and best states for hiking. There are thousands of miles of hiking trails in Colorado. There’s trails of all types of terrain for hikers of any skill level. With hiking being so popular, you might find for favorite trail with a lot of traffic. If you’d rather hike with less passersby, Switzerland Trail is an undiscovered gem for many. Continue reading for more information. Also, if you are looking for a horse property for sale in Colorado, contact Colorado Horse Property today and speak with one of our horse-person realtors.

Uncover Secret Hiking Trails in Colorado

Switzerland Trail winds majestically through the wilds outside of Boulder. This trail boasts over nine miles through the picturesque Roosevelt National Forest. The best time to use this trail is from May to October. Switzerland Trail is of course great for hikers, but bikers and off-roaders as well. The paths there are wide but also full of lush trees, shrubs, and rocky cliffs. There’s even a lovely meadow along the way. Switzerland trail has a lot of history as a former railroad line for the Salt Lake & Pacific Railway.

Just like Switzerland trail, most people haven’t heard of the Salt Lake & Pacific Railway. This is due to the fact that the line died out after a devastating flood in 1894. An attempt was made to rebuild the line to help miners travel to the boulder area. However the bid to rebuild never came to fruition. Though it was a blow to the area at the time, it paved the way for this amazing hiking trail. Many hikers pack a lunch and take a quick rest in the meadow. It is truly a magical place.

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Hydrotherapy for Horses

Posted on May 12, 2022 by blogeditor

Photo by Fermin Rodriguez Penelas on Unsplash

Have you ever heard of hydrotherapy. It includes swimming, underwater treadmill work, and other rehabilitation techniques. Hydrotherapy for horses works in the same way that it works for humans and other animals. Continue reading for how this type of treatment works for equines. Also, if you are looking for a horse property for sale in Colorado, contact Colorado Horse Property today and speak with one of our horse-person realtors.

How Hydrotherapy for Horses Works

Exercising in water reduces physical loads and concussive forces on the body. This is important when it comes to rehabilitating from an injury. Muscle injuries occur with repetition on forces on the body. The buoyancy from water limits these forces. The science is simple. Water is more dense than air. Horses work harder at slower speeds during aquatic exercise. This leads to improved cardiorespiratory fitness and muscle development. There are a plethora of benefits to hydrotherapy for horses.

Weight reduction promotes greater range of motion and strengthens flexibility. This is the best benefit of all because it reduces the risk of future injury. With every treatment method, there are some shortcomings. Hydrotherapy requires horses to acclimate to aquatic conditions. This takes more time than other rehabilitation methods. However, hydrotherapy has been proven to help. In this case, the benefits often outshine the drawbacks. For more information on hydrotherapy for horses, talk to your equine veterinarian today. There may be this type of therapy center fit for horses near you.

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Equine Skin Care

Posted on May 12, 2022 by blogeditor

Did you know that horses can get dry skin resulting in a poor quality coat? This can certainly happen in Colorado due to our low humidity and dryer climate. The best thing horse owners can do for equine skin care is to make sure the horse is eating the proper nutrients. Continue reading for more information about what nutrients your horse needs for defending against dry skin. Also, if you are looking for a horse property for sale in Colorado, contact Colorado Horse Property today and speak with one of our horse-person realtors.

Equine Skin Care Treatment

Before we get into the nutritional aspect of this topic, here’s a good tip. If your horse has dry skin, take a look at the shampoo you’re using. Also, shampooing your horse too frequently removes naturally occurring oils. Use a simple shampoo with fewer detergents and alcohols. Biotin helps horses’ skin and coat. Biotin is tricky because there are no guidelines for how much to use. However, research suggests twenty to thirty milligrams aid in hoof quality, so we can assume similar levels help with the skin and coat.

Zinc also helps with skin quality. Epithelial cells that make up skin require zinc for reproduction, maintenance, and repair. Zinc is found in forages, but it still might not be enough. In this case, use a supplement to make sure they’re getting everything they need. Copper is also very important for equine skin care. Copper maintains the structural integrity of the cross-linkages that provide strength to collagen in the skin. In conclusion, check with your vet to see if biotin, zinc, and copper supplements are right for your horse.

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Wild West Walking Tour

Posted on April 11, 2022 by blogeditor

Golden’s Wild West Walking tour ended this past week. For $15-$25 per person, participants enjoyed an education walk for 1-2 hours around town. The 1-1.5 mile trek began outside the Golden Visitor’s Center at 10th and Washington. Continue reading for more on what this tour offered. Also, if you are looking for a horse property for sale in Colorado, contact Colorado Horse Property today and speak with one of our horse-person realtors.

Wild West Walking Tour in Golden

Golden Colorado is a beautiful place to live and visit, but do you know anything about it’s history? Golden was a prime location of the Colorado Gold Rush. It was established early in the state’s history and boasts some of Colorado’s oldest continually running businesses. Golden once had cobblestone armories, territorial capital buildings, and unique bowling saloons. Golden was even a hotspot for wild west shootouts just like in the movies! Mark your calendars for next year’s tour to find out where these things actually took place.

One of the best parts about this particular walking tour is that it is an easy one. Though there are a few grades on incline on the tour, it is not a hike. This opens the event up to more people including kids and older participants. Everyone is welcome! It also takes frequent stops, so there will be plenty of time for photos. Public restrooms and water fountains are accessible along the route, but to keep things moving along.

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History of The Riding Helmet

Posted on April 11, 2022 by blogeditor

Ever wondered how the riding helmet got its start? In the 1950s, racing associations mandated jockeys to wear a cap. However, that changed after a serious head injury at the 1978 equestrian World Championships. It seems like a no-brainer, but this decision has come under fire since its installation. Continue reading for more information. Also, if you are looking for a horse property for sale in Colorado, contact Colorado Horse Property today and speak with one of our horse-person realtors.

Horseback Riding Helmet

Dissenting is the 2022 National Cutting Horse Association rulebook. It states that competitors must wear a cowboy hat. They can only wear a safety helmet with advance approval of show management. However, rodeo and reining groups are more progressive. Saddle and bareback bronc riders, barrel racers, and reiners can all choose between a cowboy hat or protective helmet. Cowboy hats are seen as for performative and part of the experience. And yet helmet acceptance is increasing due to high-profile injuries.

If you are a horse property owner, your decision to wear a helmet may be driven by your insurance company. According to insurance agencies, head injuries occur a lot in horse sport and are avoidable in many situations. Your insurer may talk to you about wearing a helmet. For some horse property owners, premiums can rise when you’re not protecting yourself properly. Are head injuries covered in your policy? Does it specify whether the rider was wearing a helmet? Ask your insurer how your policy stands on these issues.

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Horses and Vitamin E

Posted on April 11, 2022 by blogeditor

Did you know that horses need vitamin E? Vitamin E is a fat soluble vitamin that is an essential nutrient in equine diets. This vitamin acts as a biological antioxidant in horses. This means that it protects tissues from the oxidative effects of free radicals. Free radicals are a natural outcome of cell metabolism. Continue reading for more information on why horses need vitamin E. Also, if you are looking for a horse property for sale in Colorado, contact Colorado Horse Property today and speak with one of our horse-person realtors.

Why Horses Need Vitamin E

So, how much vitamin E does your equine need? The National Research Council has the answer. There are minimum recommendations for vitamin E intake for different body weights and metabolic states in the Equine Nutritional Guidelines. A mature 500 kg horse needs a minimum daily intake about 500 IUs. If the horse is active, then bump it up to 1000. Horses consuming diets higher in unsaturated fat like corn or canola oil may not absorb vitamin E as well.

Fresh spring pasture is one of the most abundant sources of vitamin E. On the other hand, stored forages like hay lose their vitamin E activity quickly. This is the same for whole grains and other stored sources of unsaturated fats. They nay have vitamin E, but they can be eaten quickly enough. The most metabolically available source of vitamin E for equines is one where vitamin E is processed to make it water soluble. This means that you might have to provide your horse with a supplement. Talk to you vet to see if your horse is getting enough of this essential vitamin today.

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Taking Care of Your Pony

Posted on April 11, 2022 by blogeditor

Taking care of your pony may be more difficult than you thought. Healthy adult horses typically eat up to 2.5% of their body weight per day when foraging on a pasture. However, many ponies can eat up to 4% of their body weight or more when foraging. Therefore, you must monitor your ponies eating habits more closely. Continue reading for some tips on taking care of your pony. Also, if you are looking for a horse property for sale in Colorado, contact Colorado Horse Property today and speak with one of our horse-person realtors.

Tips on Taking Care of Your Pony

Ponies are very cute and great for kids, but they have a reputation for misbehaving. Depending on where you got your pony and how much training it received beforehand, this behavior is manageable. If your horse is particularly bad, you’ll want to get them training as quick as possible. Even in small equids, bad manors can lead to real safety hazards. It goes without saying that kids love ponies. A pony that snaps, bites, kicks, etc., isn’t cute but is also a danger to small children. So be careful when they’re around untrained ponies. Just because they’re small doesn’t mean they’re not a threat.

Like many animals, bad behavior could be an acting out due to health problem. Therefore, you should rule out sources of pain that might cause bad behaviors. After a check up from the vet, then you can assume it’s just a learned behavior. There are ways to correct bad behavior that owners at any skill level can do. Using techniques such as well-timed positive and negative reinforcement, you can teach you pony good behaviors just like the professionals can with large horses.

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