AUGUST 2004 RECREATIONAL / TRAIL RIDING ISSUE
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AUGUST 2004 RECREATIONAL / TRAIL RIDING ISSUE |
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CONTENTS Trail Riding with Backcountry Horsemen
UPCOMING
ISSUES |
The Gallop
Pole Any old agriculture text book will elementize the various steps to get a unit of riding enjoyment out of your horse from a unit of feed. Consider the price of the ground and the taxes on it; equipment and maintenance; grass seed; planting and cultivation; enclosure; weed eradication; fertilization; swathing; raking; drying; in front of and behind the baler; bale configuration; coarse bucking and labor; transport; stacking; storing; delivery; and point of feeding before the horseback ride is enjoyed. The more you break it down the more work for the farmer and greater appreciation per bale. My neighbor, the expert grassland farmer, who harvests my hay fields, confirms why there aren’t more like him, “It’s too hard.” He is right and under appreciated. But there is one thing we could all be thankful for this spring and that was the rain. Weather is the unpredictable element, when all the other economic elements increase predictably. Who could tell if the May rains canceled the lack of April showers? This year my hay yield was 29% over last year and approached 2001 levels, thanks to the weather and my neighbor’s expertise. And, praise to his hard work, the price held same as last year.
Fasten the gate, Bob Howdy, PhD
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FEATURES |
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