Northern Ohio Miniature Horse Club
Starting Up After a Long Winter Break PRESIDENT, Karen Taylor VICE PRESIDENT, Elly Magyar TREASURER, Pam Fritz SECRETARY, Sharon Schreiner EMAIL, nomhclub@yahoo.com PHONE, 419/787-9668
by Sharon Substanley Our first meeting of 2019 was held at Elly Magyar’s Prairie View Farm near Bellevue on March 3. After the business meeting, we shared an enjoyable lunch in the comfort of Elly’s cozy farm house and had some interesting conversations, catching up on all kinds of news from the winter months. Georgetta Meyer kept busy accepting membership renewals which are due every March. Still a bargain at just $15 for a single membership and $25 for a family, plus only $10 club
price for a Corral subscription. Georgetta will accept renewals at the next few meetings and new memberships throughout the year. Our new president, Karen Taylor, did a fine job of running her first meeting, and used her ‘antique gavel’ with a flourish when it was time to adjourn. Much of the meeting had to do with details about our biggest yearly endeavor, the horse show in Wellington, which will be held on June 2. Pam Fritz, show chairperson and treasurer, reported on expenditures for the show and informed us that every year expenses have gone up. We need the raffle and our sponsors in order to break even. Our members work hard at the show and also donate high quality raffle items. Many also sponsor classes with cash donations. The showbill is on our club Facebook page: Northern Ohio
Serena with fuzzy Midnight on a chilly day. Miniature Horse Club. If you wish to sponsor a class or donate a raffle item, contact Pam Fritz at 419/271-2176. If you have any questions about our club or the show, contact Sharon Schreiner, our club secretary, at nomhclub@gmail. com. Also look for our ad in this issue of the Corral. Our next meeting will be on April 7 at the home of Julie
Jessica Hawkin’s mini stallion, Tonto, waiting for spring. Thompson, 14220 Darrow Road, Vermilion, Ohio. We will be meeting our new announcer and show manager there, and we’ll continue preparing for our 22nd annual show to make it one of the best yet! Guests are welcome. Just let Sharon Schreiner or any of the officers know that you wish to come.
The Dangers of Improper Horse Fencing Continued
Step-In posts are made for temporary use such as rotational grazing. If using step-in posts, the most effective choice for the rail is electric. Thought provoking facts: The grass always looks greener on the other side and our horses will prove that if spacing is too great between posts. Metal T-posts are great for highway fencing, not horses. Metal T-post caps help to make them safer. Wooden pressure treated posts and solid polymer posts lessen injury with horses. Making your post spacing further apart, most often, will not save money. In the long run a few extra posts are worth not having a horse get loose. Beware of inexpensive posts. Most often, you always get what you pay for.
Older Fencing, Strand Fencing
Is your fencing old or is it time to redo some sections to make them safe? The best preventive to horse injury is to walk your fence lines regularly and mark any area that needs repair. We all know that broken posts, loose rails and protruding nails are an accident waiting to happen. As I have said so many times, one vet bill can be more expensive than one repair. Be sure your electric fence is on at all times. Thin stranded electric fencing used alone without other types of rails will not hold horses adequately—let alone without electric. Keep electric on at all times, horses respect it. One horse owner, that I remember, was boarding a few horses that broke out of a split rail fence. A neighbor, trying to help the situation, reached for the horses halter and was kicked— sometimes it’s not just about a horse injury, but injury also to people. Thought provoking facts: Older fence systems need to be repaired sooner than later to keep costs as low as possible and injury at bay. A ‘fast fix’ for older and damaged fence is electric that is kept on at all April 2019
times. Use 2, 3 or 4 rails (top, middle and bottom), to avoid horses coming in contact with the fence. The dangers of improper fencing can be avoided by using products made specifically for horses. Why take risks when quality horse fencing is available to you today? Debbie Disbrow, owner of RAMM Stalls and Horse Fencing, has over 45 years experience with horses and equine-related businesses. She is a certified fence installer and has helped build fencing and stalls for horse facility owners across the USA as well as into Europe. Debbie is highly involved in horse ownership and riding. Visit www. rammfence.com, or call 800/878-5644 for safer alternatives for your horses.
HORSEMEN’S CORRAL
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