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As I had promised earlier this
week I am giving a report on 3 PMU barns I went to with my vet. This is a
regular barn inspection. One of many.
I really had my eyes opened.
2 of the barns breed bucking
horses, good bucking horses. The ones from the CFR and Las Vegas.
I will make this a short summary.
All mares seemed to be in good
condition, happy and healthy.
Not only did we inspect the mares
in the barns we look at every horse they have on the property.
Paper work is filled out in
triplicate on the condition, feed, water, everything you can think of.
The feed is analyzed and then
chopped and mixed to be of the best mixture possible then they get salt and
minerals.
The minerals are mixed to each hay
analysis to match the nutritional needs.
They keep daily journals of water
intake of each horse, feed intake. They have GOOD hay in front of them 24
hours a day.
The boot they wear looks no more
uncomfortable then a maxi pad.
It is slung behind them on
stretchy cords.
They can move around, lay down,
scratch and groom each other and even scratch their own ears.
Some had swollen legs from kicking
at the stall but my vet said that goes away after a week or so.. They are just
coming into the barns now and it takes some adjustment. Kinda reminded me of
teenagers staking their bedroom side. Any horses that are not getting along
with their neighbor are sorted and moved to a different spot.
We looked for thin horses, marks,
cuts ect. Did not find much at all.
The teeth are checked and we
floated while a few while we were there. All had good looking feet.
The barns do not smell. They are
extremely well ventilated. I did not hear any coughing which surprised me.
The temp is kept at about 5 to 10
C
Griffin Valley Ranch had the most
modern barn and the most horses. The barn was very clean. He has an air
exchanger running. I had less trouble with my allergies in the barn then I do
at home. The staff were very good and know most mares by name. They breed
draft, draft cross and saddle horses.
My gelding wants to move there and
become a PMU mare...lol
All the things he loves. A bedded
stall, mares, great food and grain. Good water (our well tastes funny) and
lots of attention.
Griffin Valley ranch is in the
foothills of the Rockies. They run school camps and the Calgary police bring
young offenders there for some good wholesome horse therapy.
The horses are all turned out for
exercise regularly.
Mares that have edema or swelling
at all barns are turned out to pasture until it improves.
I saw no evidence of cribbing,
weaving or any other stabled behavior that I see at the boarding stables.
The horses seemed happy. I am
returning in Jan for the next inspection. In order to draw an honest
conclusion I need to follow up through an entire cycle.
They also have to keep track of
where they sell the foals and who buys them.
There are no PMU barns in British
Columbia.
Barns that do not meet the strict
rules loose their contracts.
If anyone wants a PMU foal from
next years crop I would be happy to talk to the barn staff and find you a nice
one from a nice mare. With good conformation and temperament.
I am loading pictures up onto a
temp web site if anyone is interested in seeing the barns.
This is not a statement in support
of or against PMU barns. Just the conditions as I observed them.
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