Outdoor Housing

Outdoor … can be a very practical means of maintaining horses. Horses maintain their … temperature (38C) by thermoregulation.

Precipitation, especially rain, increases evaporation heat loss directly by reducing the thermal insulation of a horses’s hair coat and by increasing convection losses. Cold, wet weather reduces a horse’s ability to thermoregulate and is reported to cause weight loss.

The aim of outdoor … is to reduce wind speed and prevent precipitation, especially rain, from causing heat losses from convection. Simple housing designs can provide the necessary … from the elements and can be a very effective means of maintaining horses.

2. Answer the questions:

1. Why is the old two-storey barn not popular nowadays?

2. When is free-stall, open-sided housing used?

3. What is the influence of precipitation on the state of horses?

4. What is the aim of outdoor housing?

3. Give advace to an unexperienced horses breeder.

IV. Sheep Selecting Sheep

The breeds can be classified into three main classes:

• long-wool breeds,

• medium-wool breeds,

• fine-wool breeds.

The first two classes are raised for meat purposes, there are referred to a mutton type. The fine-wool breeds were formally raised for wool production, but meat is now of first importance in raising them.

There are many breeds of mutton type of medium-wool class. Nearly all of them originated in England and their names were taken either from the names of English counties or hills. Long-wool breeds are not widely raised in the USA.

The common breeds of the fine-wool type are the Merino and the Rambouillet. They are good grazers and are adaptable to range conditions. The Merino is well covered with wool, and the skin of certain strains carries a number of wrinkles or folds on the body. The hair is white on portions not covered with wool: the ears, nose, and lower parts of the legs. The typical Rambouillet is a fairly large sheep of the fine-wool type. The rams usually have large, heavy, curled horns. The hair on the portions not covered with wool is white. Many breeders are selecting individuals free from wrinkles or folds on their bodies. The sheep that are free from body wrinkles are more easily sheared than wrinkled sheep and produce more clean wool.

There are some other breeds found in different areas of the USA. The Columbia and the Targhee are especially popular. The former was developed from crosses between Lincoln rams, a long-wool breed, and Rambouillet ewes. As a result of careful selection, sheep of this breed are large and vigorous. The lambs grow rapidly and reach market weight at an early age under range conditions. The Columbia can be classed as a medium-wool, mutton breed.

Selecting a Ewe. The main aim is to select an individual that produces good-quality meat, a good quantity and quality of wool and transmits tendencies for rapid growth and desirable market characteristics to its offspring. Select those that have little or no wool around the eyes and on the face. Open-faced lambs are preferred as they gain more rapidly, and open-faced ewes are desired because they are able to raise better lambs owing to heavier milk production. In the fine-wool breed select sheep with few or no wrinkles on the skin around the shoulders and neck. Such sheep are easier to shear and they produce as much or more wool of more uniform quality than sheep with heavy wrinkles of skin. If the ewe has produced lambs, it is good to see them and to know their weight at a given age.

Selecting a Ram. Select a purebred ram that has strong feet and legs. Pay attentiom to his weight at a given age. A ram kept under good conditions can be used up to five years of age. In the case of a tried ram secure information on his prepotency.