Category: Livestock, Feed, & Fencing

Letter Re: Equestrian Survival For Bugging Out

Howdy, I enjoyed reading Equestrian Survival For Bugging Out, Recon, Rescue, Projection of Force, or Hunting- Part 1, by R.M. and am looking forward to the remaining part(s). If you’re serious about such you might want to find, download, print, read, study, and learn the info in FM 3-05.213 (FM 31-27) Special Forces Use of Pack Animals My Dad was raised in West Texas in the 1920’s-40’s. This was long before rural electrification and other such luxuries. He cowboyed for his boyhood friend’s Dad for several years as a pre-teen and teenager. Dad and his friend, R.L., did it the …


Equestrian Survival For Bugging Out, Recon, Rescue, Projection of Force, or Hunting- Part 3, by R.M.

It also pays to have practiced riding bare back. If you have to run, you may not have time to saddle up and will be fortunate enough to grab your rig. It’s like riding at a trot without posting. You will sit full on the back where the saddle would be, back straight up, allowing the body to become one with the horse’s up and down motion. Moving to the canter or full gallop is easier. Your body must be fluid with the horse. Running away, then collecting yourself, and returning on foot to take back gear might work and …


Equestrian Survival For Bugging Out, Recon, Rescue, Projection of Force, or Hunting- Part 2, by R.M.

Figure Out How Much Weight Your Horse Can Handle If things head south, and you think you might have to use your horse under stress at some point in the near future, keep his weight right and work his chest. A firm horse is one you can rely upon. Using a soft horse for a strenuous endeavor is not fair to the horse and is a safety hazard to you. Every horse is different. A horse with bad conformation (bone structure) can’t have much expected of him; a swayback isn’t a long distance choice. You have to have a good …


Equestrian Survival For Bugging Out, Recon, Rescue, Projection of Force, or Hunting- Part 1, by R.M.

Assess Your Horse’s Capabilities and Temperament We all love to think of our horses as part of the family. Some might love their horses. Let me begin by saying that before you do an overnight or longer trip away from all the comforts of home, you need to honestly assess your horse’s capabilities and temperament. Temperament is key here. I am careful to choose the horse for the job. I prefer traveling far with my dog as well. He is a great scout, level headed, and loves to ride. He often hunts for himself, but I always bring food for …


Letter Re: Donkeys as Pack Animals

HJL, Good info from B.W. We also have donkeys, miniature donkeys. They make excellent pets and fine companions on the trail. We hike and even camp with ours, as well as string them along with their packs behind our mules on trail rides. When introduced properly, they get along fine with the family/farm dogs. We have found their personalities to be very similar to dogs, and they will even lay their head in your lap for attention. Donkeys also make excellent property alarm systems. Our little pair will begin braying at the approach of a car or truck long before …


Donkeys As Pack Animals For Survival And Recreation- Part 2, by B.W.

1

We are fortunate to have a mother donkey and two of her offspring from subsequent years who are both females (jennys). We have had the younger ones since they were foals and have hiked with them and their mother since they were four or five months old. The mother was always on a lead, but the younger one were both on lead and off lead. By doing this we trained the younger ones to keep up with us off lead when we are in wide open spaces. As a result of this, we can hike in the state forests on …


Donkeys as Pack Animals for Survival and Recreation- Part 1, by B.W.

Moving unobtrusively over land with pack animals whether for recreation or in an emergency situation is both enjoyable and possibly a lifesaving endeavor. This article concerns my experience with donkeys as a veterinarian and as someone who has prepared as much as possible over the years for whatever circumstances may arise in the world we live in. I hope this information will persuade you to look into pack animals, such as donkeys, in your preparedness planning if your circumstances will allow. My wife and I have owned and ridden horses for the majority of our lives but got out of …


Letter Re: Thriving With Airedales

Folks, It appears that the War Dog leashes I purchased may be available again. In looking up the company (T3gear.com) they are now carrying a leash that appears to be similar to, if not the same as, the ones I bought when I knew the people running the company. Link supplied merely to assist. I cannot vouch for this particular product; the leashes I have are amazing, and these look nearly identical. I have no connection to this company – “Food Guy”


Thriving With Airedales, by Food Guy and Treat Girl

The article “Surviving An Airedale” was a good start. The writer has begun a journey we started almost seven years ago, and the advice on raising a puppy is pretty good; we’d not argue with it. Crate training is very important, as is all training for these strong-willed and very bright dogs. We bought our Airedales in part due to JWR’s recommendation. The breed being hypo-allergenic was also a major consideration. The dogs are an ideal compromise in size for a couple whose childhood dogs were Great Danes and miniature Poodles, respectively. We considered standard Poodles as well, but the …


Bees: Security Guard or Grocery Store?- Part 3, by J.P.

Finding Bees: Before and After SHTF (continued) You can take a piece of an active hive and wire it into a frame in your hive. (Suit up and use a little smoke, which makes bees think their hive is on fire and they have to eat all the honey to save it). If you pay close enough attention and can access the comb, you will find that some comb cells have what look like tiny grains of rice in them. Using a strong flashlight helps to see them; these are new bee eggs! The best spots to take have flat …


Bees: Security Guard or Grocery Store?- Part 2, by J.P.

Uses for Bees: Security On the topic of prepping functionality, let’s discuss a topic outside of the traditional bee box; le’s talk about a human home’s security. Yes, it is usually a good idea to protect your hive to keep it safe, but what about the bee’s owners? Are they protected? I have noticed very quickly, since raising bees, the level of fear they invoke in humans. (I’d also like to make a suggestion that human-bee relations can be best improved with a 40-60-inch tall solid fence approximately four feet in front and also to the side of hive entrances; …


Bees: Security Guard or Grocery Store?- Part 1, by J.P.

When I first woke up to the reality of what we, as humans, are being subjected to on a daily basis, I was indeed in a state of panic. With people killing innocents left and right, genetic “Franken-food”, the poisoning of food and water due to negligence, life can seem real heavy real fast. That feeling of fear was the turning point for me, telling me that I needed to slow my life down and enjoy the wonderful gifts that the Lord has granted us, humans, here on earth. One marvelous gift that has been granted upon us is the …


Letter Re: Airedales

Mr. Rawles, Regarding the article about Airedales, I literally re-lived my childhood reading it. My family has had many Airedale dogs over the past 30 years. These beautiful dogs are the “class clowns” of the dog world. You couldn’t ask for a more faithful, protective, humorous, and friendly dog. And they will turn incredibly vicious to protect their owner or if they are challenged by other dogs. I recall as a young boy my father walking our Airedale when a German Shepard, that was much bigger and not on a leash, came racing over to attack our Airedale. Our little …


“Surviving” an Airedale– Lessons From a First-Time Owner – Part 3, by S.M.

HeartGard and Flea Control This is a necessity especially in the Gulf Coast summers with the unusually bad mosquito and flea/tick issue resulting from the spring floods. We give our dog Heartgard to protect against heartworms and Nexgard to protect against ticks and fleas. Dental Disease Prevention We also use Vet recommended Virbac C.E.T. Enzyemic Oral Hygiene Chews for home dental care. These are a great addition our vet recommended for keeping teeth clean. We purchase them according to our dog’s size at the time and give one a day. (Tip: We also began giving our small, older dogs chews …


“Surviving” an Airedale– Lessons From a First-Time Owner – Part 2, by S.M.

Crate Training Your Puppy: 8 weeks to 10 months This was the most difficult stage with our Airedale. The crate was located in our family room, so he was integrated with us most of the time, except when sleeping. We purchased a large wire crate for the house and a separate 10’ x 10’ exercise pen for outdoors with a top cover from Tractor Supply purchased during a Labor Day sale. The top was included free. Most breeders begin crate training as pups. This is an effective training method for your dog and creates a secure den-like atmosphere where the …