|
|
Discussion on Rocks!
|
| Author |
Message |
Member:
Cpacer
|
Posted on Thursday, Sep 7, 2006 - 1:35 pm:
I recently had a few acres cleared to a nice smooth surface in preparation for pastures to be ready next year.
Why is it that every time it rains rocks show up? Are they pushed up from the ground, or is dirt getting settled, are they DrOpping from the sky, or what? Think they’ll ever stop popping up? I plan on walking around with a wheelbarrow and picking them up before the seed is planted, AGAIN, but it seems like there’s an endless flow of quartz rocks, which have made nice borders for he garden, but ?
Just curious how/why they surface after rain and if they’ll stop after some grass root is established.
|
Member:
Mrose
|
Posted on Friday, Sep 8, 2006 - 12:06 am:
Didn't you know that rocks are a lot like tribbles (early Star Trek series) They have a very active sex life, and multiply geometrically every night. It's the only way I've been able to explain why no matter how many you remove, there's always more.
|
Member:
Cpacer
|
Posted on Friday, Sep 8, 2006 - 10:36 am:
Ha! Funny Sara, explains why they get smaller and smaller. Guess I'll have to set-up a hidden camera and catch them in the act, maybe squirt them with the hose or something.
So they never stop? Wonder how much I could pay a neighborhood kid to pick them up by the bucket.
|
Member:
Cpacer
|
Posted on Friday, Sep 8, 2006 - 10:43 am:
btw, here's a picture of my lovely new pasture area right in my own backyard, pre-rain/no rocks! They're finishing up the fence this next week (I copied your no climb fence, it's on the other side of the tree buffer to keep a natural looking setting)
|
Member:
Boomer
|
Posted on Friday, Sep 8, 2006 - 12:00 pm:
I just went through the same ordeal this spring. The dirt settles and the rocks surface. It will end eventually but may take a few seasons. Just keep picking that's what we are doing. Nice pasture area by the way 
|
Member:
Dres
|
Posted on Friday, Sep 8, 2006 - 12:02 pm:
BEAUTIFUL... may my horses come play..??
On the first day God created horses, on the second day he painted them with spots..
|
Member:
Mrose
|
Posted on Friday, Sep 8, 2006 - 1:05 pm:
This is going to be a BEAUTIFUL pasture!!
|
Member:
Trouble
|
Posted on Friday, Sep 8, 2006 - 2:07 pm:
in addition to rocks, I have found numerous items including a disc from a farm plow, and lots of metal things I can't identify, different kinds of glass, etc. These things seem to "appear" overnight. My barn was used as a dairy barn and was built in the 1930's, so most of what "comes up" is very rusty and old. The rocks are a pain, but not usually dangerous. However, the rusty old metal stuff and glass make me a bit nervous. I usually only find these things in the pony's small paddock area, which has very little grass. I guess this goes back to our 6th grade science project on erosion!!
When your pasture is established, I don't think you should have this problem. Nice job on the pasture. Looks beautiful.
|
Member:
Cpacer
|
Posted on Friday, Sep 8, 2006 - 2:31 pm:
Thank you, I sure am excited about it, a dream come true!
I keep hoping I'll find a nugget of gold, but like Lisa's saying, am finding old pull-tops and shotgun shells instead. The fence guys found a nest of copperheads yesterday---EEEWWWWW!!! Glad I wasn't on the receiving end of that!
|
Member:
Mrose
|
Posted on Friday, Sep 8, 2006 - 2:53 pm:
I have a big magnet that is tied to the end of some baling twine. I walk the pastures swinging it in front of me. It's a good way to find and pick up metal scraps, old nails, etc. Glass is easiest to see early in the a.m. or late afternoon when the sun light comes in at a slant.
|
Member:
Sunny66
|
Posted on Saturday, Sep 9, 2006 - 12:37 pm:
Wow CP, your horses are going to LOVE IT!! In addition to Sara's suggestion, you can also buy a foot long magnet on wheels, just roll it along  I think Dressage Extensions carries them. dressageextensions.com I think.
|
New Member:
Ladycfp
|
Posted on Tuesday, Sep 12, 2006 - 1:51 pm:
Why would you want to clear all those rocks anyway? Is this a grazing area you are preparing or a harvest field? I let my horses graze among rocks, branches and all other kinds of naturally occurring elements. While I would invest energy to clear my ring or round pen of rocks, I figure they are good conditioning for their feet in the pasture.
|
Member:
Boomer
|
Posted on Tuesday, Sep 12, 2006 - 2:41 pm:
Hi Lisa, same thing again. I find rusty antique tools and farm stuff..they pop up over night too. I think someone a long time ago had a barn there or something..
|
Member:
Cpacer
|
Posted on Tuesday, Sep 12, 2006 - 8:37 pm:
It will be pasture for grazing, but I may ride around in there, and my horse likes to run around on his own too. The little rocks will be fine for toughening, but the fist size ones and up gotta go. I know when I ride on rocks like that it's cracks and chips galore, then too short of trims to try and mend them, ouchy feet, boots, etc., etc. I'm sure I'll set go of this rock obsession after a while though, plenty of other stuff to do!
I've never seen those giant magnets. Will they suck up gold too?
|
Member:
Paul303
|
Posted on Thursday, Sep 14, 2006 - 2:11 am:
Hmmm...I moved 2 years ago from an area of nothing but beDrOck, boulders, and stones, to an area of flat, soft white sand. On moving day, I kissed the ground. A few months later, I was adjusting a boarder's fly mask that had slipped. The horse was known as a nasty kicker-biter, so I took care. As I strode out of the flat sandy paddock, I heard hooves behind me. I whirled around, only to see the horse following me with his head down, and ears pricked forward - nose out hopefully for a treat. "oh, I'm sorry honey...." I said, showing my empty hand, "I don't have anythi..." JUST that fast, that nasty snot hit me, jumping on me and extracting a piece of my right one....of which their isn't that much to lose....He took off just that fast again, with me on his heels........grasping at the ground in a fury - a futile attempt to scoop up a handful of rocks and FIRE AWAY. I finally stopped, and frantically pawed at the ground in a frenzy. I can't believe that I chased that rotten horse down, and, in a fit of RAGE, hurled a huge handful of........soft white sand at his backside.
Then I went in the house, right one hanging due to a bitten off bra strap, only to be met by my sister, asking "what were you throwing sand at Murphy for?" I sputtered "Because I couldn't find ONE rock!" "Well, now, that's just stupid", she said. My sister doesn't know just how close she came that day............
One other confession: I've actually BOUGHT rocks since I moved. If you say anything, I'll deny it.
|
Member:
Pbauer
|
Posted on Thursday, Sep 14, 2006 - 3:07 am:
Lee,
I know it wasn't funny at the time, but you gave me a hardy laugh...which I needed
Tonya
|
Member:
Djws
|
Posted on Thursday, Sep 14, 2006 - 8:34 pm:
Lee-
Thanks for the humorous account of your "rock" adventure...I needed the laugh, and laugh I did!
I'm still chuckling...too funny!
|
Member:
Vickiann
|
Posted on Thursday, Sep 14, 2006 - 9:00 pm:
My farrier wants me to install a few feet wide (and 6" deep) of smooth 3/4" - 1 1/2 " river rock where the horses will have to go through it a few times daily to toughen up their feet! (My farm is on a Florida sand hill.)
|
Member:
Sully
|
Posted on Friday, Sep 15, 2006 - 2:37 am:
Last year I went to a cutting clinic where we went out into the pasture and brought in the 80 head of cows and calfs we cut on for the weekend. The pasture was huge and could easily have been the whole section. The ground was very hilly and full of rocks of all sizes. I was afraid to do much more than a trot on my horse, with her tripping at that speed, for fear of taking a fall. I watched in amazement at the local cowboys flying across the pasture, with its little ups and downs with rocks everywhere at a dead run heading off cattle. The next day we went to the neighbors and separated off the 20 bulls they had in with the cows and took them up to another pasture where they wintered them. While moving them we had to go through the horse pasture. I was thrilled to see his 100 (+/-) herd of horses racing down a hill and crossing a ways in front, then turning to stop and watch us temporarily before disappearing over a hill. I later mentioned how I didn't think my horse could canter in those pastures much less race full speed after rowdy cows. He said that they are raised from birth in that kind of footing and seldom misplace their feet. Made me realize that my horse and I have always ridden pretty much on flat land with gravel being the only stones or arenas filled with sand! We have just purchased land for pastures that grows rocks of all sizes, and for now I have decided to leave them and see if it makes any differences to the foals born. The same neighbor that had the horse herd, took a few of us to see his buffalo herd of over 30 yrs. We DrOve into this pasture at least 1 1/2 miles before we got to them.(I think this guy owns most of the county!!) He DrOve right in the middle of 40 some buffalo and turned off the engine. Way too cool to listen to them grunting as they came to check out the truck and then go back to grazing. Talk about HUGE!! He said in the winter he uses that truck to feed them from and that is why they accept him driving in amongst them. I missed being able to attend that clinic this year, but am truly hoping next year it works out for me to attend!
|
New Member:
Ladycfp
|
Posted on Friday, Sep 15, 2006 - 6:08 am:
I am planning to put some gravel down around my new waterer when it gets installed- this was suggested as another good conditioning move for the hooves. I believe it is good for them to expose them to surfaces and surroundings that challenge them a bit- within reason of course.
And while I laughed along with everyone else at the telling of throwing sand at the biter, I have some other ideas about that perhaps best shared in another thread. I new here and have already gotten a lot of good information, so thanks!
|
Member:
Mrose
|
Posted on Friday, Sep 15, 2006 - 10:39 am:
What a great experience you had!
When we lived in Truckee, our fields were full of rocks, huge ones, little ones, and in between. In that area, it would be next to impossible to remove them all. We turned everyone out, young and old, and never had a problem with the rocks. Our horses were very sure footed when on difficult trials, but I never connected that to the rocks in the field.
|
Member:
Tangoh
|
Posted on Friday, Sep 15, 2006 - 2:58 pm:
We just returned from a week in Cypress Hills, which is extremely rocky, steep terrain. Our horses were barefoot. We were going to shoe but there was a shoe restriction because of the extreme risk of forest fires. We purposely left our horses hooves a little long and though they did chip a bit, in all the right places, they toughened up extremely quickly. The rocks weren't jagged or sharp, but mostly river rock, but some were very large and every creek crossing was full of these river rocks. There was hardly any areas without rock, even the grassy meadows had rock bases.
When we returned our farrier was very impressed at how tough their hooves had become and how hard their soles were, so hard that she could hardly get the nippers through the hoof wall and didn't even touch the soles.
Rocks are good for horses' feet. I guess that's the point I'm trying to make here. Rocks make their feet tough and helps them wear in a more natural way.
We used to do the same thing that you are contemplating, removing all the rocks from their corrals and pastures, but not any longer. They're staying right where they are.
|
|
|
