[MistyBlue]

Awww, they all look so comfy! That works out great, a LOT more surface room than my little one. I can't get more than 2 horses on mine at once. Maybe 3 if they weren't too big and got along.

[walkers60]

I tried it but my horses just pee on it. Its a good way to get them to pee in one spot (they're in winter dry lot) but they won't roll or sleep in it. They do the same with shavings if i fill the run=in with shavings then they just pee there.
I think its because they don't have the urine slash on them like they do if they pee in the hard compacted dirt of the run in. My guys will step off a trail to use the woods

[mvp]

Being a slacker myself, I like the idea of just dumping a mound and letting the horses do the rest of the work. I think mine would.

Oh, and Misty Blue, you have a veritable horse playground there. Or it's a self-serve spa?

I had forgotten the DOT brushes as my BO wasn't into defacing her place (and maybe the work of pouring concrete). But dayum, recent pictures of Horseling in his paddock gives me an Auschwitz vibe--- mud pit inside an electrified fence and grass on the outside.

Something *must* be done.

[Ambitious Kate]

I've seen those brushes in cow pastures around here (Misty's area). One summer the cows and their babies were all gathered around the brush, as the flies were bad. Beautiful pasture with a stream running through it and one of those brushes sticking up.

[MistyBlue]

Being a slacker myself, I like the idea of just dumping a mound and letting the horses do the rest of the work. I think mine would.

Oh, and Misty Blue, you have a veritable horse playground there. Or it's a self-serve spa?

LOL, I'm a slacker when it comes to grooming. I groom, but prefer to make it as easy as possible. Hence the rolling pit and brush. Self grooming horses!

And yup, horses usually knock down and spread out the sand on their own. And when it's still kinda in a pile horses seem to have fun playing in it like little kids.

The places with cows around here also have the big brushes. They also put theirs in sideways between two posts more often than upright though. Cows LOVE them more than horses seem to, cute to watch the cows using one.

My horse Sonny has a signature spin move with the brush. He leans a shoulder on it, puts his nose almost on the ground and swings his arse out...then walks in a circle around the brush leaning *way* in, scrubbing everything from ears to shoulder. It's hilarious to watch!

[Bluey]

With cows, in those scratching places, you have to add some insecticide, as lice tend to be spread by common rubbing spots, like from the clumps of hair on barb wire fences in spots they like to scrape along.
The ones we make have a little oil reservoir on top that leaks the oily insecticide down the brush or whatever you use.

We make some cattle oilers out of a cross bottom, an upright in the middle and from the top to two sides a thick cable full of metal washers, like you use in nuts.
The oil comes down those cables and washers and so keeps insects away from the cattle.
Some use those for horses in the winter also, as they too may get lice and ticks in you keep several together turned out.

[mvp]

So..... what's the CT-area verdict on ticks (and maybe lice) setting up shop in the DOT brushes?

My BO might (prematurely) put the kibosh on the DOT brush for the bug issue.

That would be too bad, as I'd like to see my horse develop his own signature moves, "with a swirl at the end" as in Seinfeld.

[HungarianHippo]

I absolutely LOVE this idea--glad I happened upon this thread. My 25yr old tank of a horse doesn't bend his hocks like he used to, so lying down for a roll involves kneeling down with butt high in the air, and then Tim-berrrrr! I am sooooo building a sand pit this spring.
Where did you guys get those brushes?

[Bluey]

I absolutely LOVE this idea--glad I happened upon this thread. My 25yr old tank of a horse doesn't bend his hocks like he used to, so lying down for a roll involves kneeling down with butt high in the air, and then Tim-berrrrr! I am sooooo building a sand pit this spring.
Where did you guys get those brushes?

That is one reason I left the pile with some high spots, because my old one with the bad stifle, that had trouble getting down and up, would find a slope and lay on that, then it was easier for him to get up from it than from flat ground, less high to do your timber! trick (I like that) or the hop on three legs to get up.

[mvp]

Where did you guys get those brushes?

People sell 'em on Craigslist, but rumor has it that you can go to your local DOT equipment yard and ask for one. We are taking used up street-sweeper brushes off their hands, so they might just be free. But they are heavy.

[HungarianHippo]

I just found a site that has them, and I've asked for a quote: http://www.repurposedmaterialsinc.com/
Love the idea of checking with the roads dept = no shipping costs.

[MistyBlue]

So..... what's the CT-area verdict on ticks (and maybe lice) setting up shop in the DOT brushes?

My BO might (prematurely) put the kibosh on the DOT brush for the bug issue.

Never had a tick on mine. And considering my Lyme track record, I'm uber-psychotic about ticks, LOL!

A tick may get brushed off of your horse onto the brush if the horse already had a tick, but ticks climb up and not out. The bristles go out. So I wouldn't think it would attract ticks on it's own. If you're really worried you could spray it once a week with deepwoods Off. But I've had mine for years now and never had a tick on the brush or either horse.

HungarianHippo

I absolutely LOVE this idea--glad I happened upon this thread. My 25yr old tank of a horse doesn't bend his hocks like he used to, so lying down for a roll involves kneeling down with butt high in the air, and then Tim-berrrrr! I am sooooo building a sand pit this spring.
Where did you guys get those brushes?

I got mine from a local DOT. I didn't go get it, a friend of mine was there picking one up for their horses and they had a lot of extras they were tossing so he rolled a second one for me on his trailer and dropped it off.

They are heavy...but they also roll. So if you're picking one up, bring a trailer if you have one because it's a lot easier to roll one onto that than try to get it in a pickup bed. Or call and ask at the DOT if they have any, if they do ask if they can help get it into your truck bed. They have a tractor and/or skidder on premises, so sometimes they'll use that to lift one into a truck. Then just kick it off at home and roll it into position.


I agree with Bluey...for your creaky old guy it might be easier for him to walk onto or up and onto a sand pile than down into a sand pit. The slope of a pile might make it easier for him to get up and down. And if he flattens the pile out, you can rake it or use a tractor to re-pile it once in a while.

You'll *love* having a sand pile or pit though. Say goodbye to dirty, dusty horses.

[kookicat]

How come I never thought of this? I'm so going to add one! Have a feeling that Rue will love it. What sort of sand are you using?

[Bluey]

Here, we use regular river sand, angular sand, not the very fine kind.

[Fred]

I've been thinking about doing this for years, and definitely will do it this year. Thanks for the impetus.
Misty Blue, love the idea of the scratch post too, thank you!

[MistyBlue]

Washed sand/river sand. You can ask the quarry/sand place what types they have and what they'd recommend for a rolling area for horses. There's a few different types, some have small stones, some have dust, neither has too much. Prices aren't high around here. Location willl make a difference in price and in what types of sand are called. Distance of delivery makes a difference in price too, closer the quarry the less the price. I know here sand, in general, isn't overly expensive. It only gets expensive as footing for a ring/arena because you need a *lot* of it and multiple deliveries.

[msj]

Yes to a washed sand. My original rolling area was excess sand we pulled out of my indoor. It was mason sand. Up until last yr I always refilled with mason sand. Went to a different quarry, a bit closer to home for some stone dust and looked at the ONLY sand pile they had. It was cheap so I decided I'd try it. BIG MISTAKE!!!! It was full of fines or dirt and made more of a mess than anything when it got wet. It was almost like a mud. So this spring it will get removed if I can or else spread as thin as possible and more mason sand will be addded.