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Our Program
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TCO Performance Horses, LLC is focused on producing sound equine athletes with sensibility, confidence, and longevity through selection, breeding, training, health, nutrition, and common sense practices. SELECTION / BREEDING Our breeding program is significantly bloodline based. Although we understand that there can be exceptions, we feel a mare or stallion's foundation bloodlines offers more insight to an offspring's potential confirmation, athleticism, sensibility, and longevity than any other single factor. Other important breeding factors we consider in determining the success of offspring are the sensibility, disposition, confirmation and/or the history of the breeding mares and stallions themselves.
TRAINING Our training program is based on the idea of reducing fear, establishing respect, building confidence, and teaching tasks a little at a time. Shortly after birth in the wild, a foal is instinctively taught to 'fight or flee' by the dam. Although this behavior is necessary for horses living in the wild, it's counter-productive to the training of domestic horses. Our training program starts at birth as mares foal in the barn. An adequate amount of imprinting is performed and foals typically have a halter on their heads before they have even made it to their feet to nurse. Foals stay in the stall with the mares for 10 days to learn the concept of boundaries. During that 10 days, foals are handled a couple of times every day and acclimated to humans. After 10 days, foals are turned out with their dams, but we continue to handle them in the pasture on a daily basis. At 4-6 months, foals are weaned in stalls with pasture mates in adjacent stalls. Weanlings are typically accustomed to halters and humans by this time, so lead training and foot trimming in the stall are conducted at this stage with little fuss. After weanlings are lead trained and trim trained, they are turned out in the foal pasture but still continue to be handled every day. Weanlings are led back to the barn at 6 week intervals for trimming. At 9 months, the yearlings are led back to the barn and trained to load a trailer and stand tied. All the training to this point has laid a solid foundation for trailer loading and standing tied. It's typical at this point for yearlings to yield to pressure and walk into the lead automatically. Taking a step into a trailer at this point is only slightly different then taking a step into a stall. Standing tied to a wall is only slightly different then standing tied to the handler. After a few days of trailer training and standing tied, yearlings are turned out until the age of 2 only being brought up at 6 week intervals for feet trimming. HEALTH / NUTRITION 100% of our feed program is now based in forage. Broodmares and growing horses are on pasture. Nursing mares and colts remain on pasture and are supplemented coastal Bermuda hay. All pastured horses drink directly from ponds. Unless absolutely necessary to maintain healthy pastures, we do not fertilize or spray grazing pastures or ponds with any chemicals or granulized fertilizer of any kind. All adult horses are wormed 6 times per year using a rotation of Oxibendazole/Fenbendazole - Ivermectin /Praziquantel/Moxidectin - Pyrantel Pamoate. Foals are wormed each month until the age of 1 year. Pregnant mares get Tetanus within 60 days of foaling; foals get Tetanus at birth. and EWT, Flu, West Nile, and Rhino at 6 Mo/1 Year. From that point on, uless they leave my property, they don't get anymore vaccinations. Although this does not agree with current veterinary recommendations, it has been our experience that foals are born stronger and healthier with fewer limb deformities as compared to those in foal crops where mares were given multiple vaccinations during gestation. |
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