Blog Posts
Chopped! Why A Fiber-First Diet of Chopped Hay Helps Horses
For owners, providing an environment that values a horse’s natural tendency to graze is the standard. Mimicking a grazing environment, with plenty of busy chewing conducted over time, provides the horse with physical and psychological health benefits. Chopped hay that...
Soil pH Part 2: Soil Sampling Advice from UMaine Scientist Bruce Hoskins
Testing your soil this season after reading What’s Your Soil pH? Lucerne Farms asked Bruce Hoskins, a scientist at the University of Maine Soil Testing Lab, about the best approach to testing soil and what to keep in mind when making corrections. Thanks, Bruce,...
What’s Your Soil pH?
Fall Is the Perfect Time For Soil Testing So much goes in to having a successful garden that when flowers and vegetables are less than stellar it can be crushing. Growth takes sun, water and soil, so a tough growing year means its time to scrutinize each leg of...
Research on Equine Pain
Ongoing Studies Help Vets & Owners Listen to Their Horses “He is a very sweet horse,” said Erin Smith about her horse Guthrie in a Lucerne Farms Blog post about spinal manipulation. “but I can always tell when he is hurting.” Smith said Guthrie would drool when...
Keep A Cool Coop This Summer
Top High Temp Tips for Your Chickens Here in the Northeast, chicken owners devote more of their time keeping the coop warm in extreme temps than keeping it cool. But July and August heat waves can mean putting cool coop management skills to work. Heat affects...
Top Tips for Helping Your Horse Beat the Heat
For horses, summer brings a welcome change of pace. Perhaps it means extra time outside the stall, more physical activity, or for some, travel. It also means high heat and extended time in the sun. It’s important our horses remain comfortable and healthy when the...
Mid-Summer Mulching
Get Gardening Maintenance on the Calendar The fireworks have felled their giant canopies and silenced, and no matter your planting zone, we are all deep into the sweet pulpy center of summer. We see you – gardening gloves off, kicking back with an everything-burger,...
Vitamin E and The Equine Diet – Feed, Testing and Supplementation
One of the questions fielded by equine nutritionist Dr. Clair Thunes in her April Q & A with The Horse concerned testing for mineral or vitamin levels. The question was a simple one that spoke to a general interest on the part of horse owners: Should you test?...
Garden Gold: Chicken Bedding A Natural for Mulch
Cleaning the coop means getting up close and personal with coop waste. But when your bedding does double duty as nutrient-rich garden mulch, it makes the process a little more tolerable. Making your waste work for you means participating in an earth-friendly cycle...
Max-Out Your Mulch
Get the Most Out of Your Ground Cover With These Bonus Applications Gardeners have a love affair with mulch. Of all the growing supplies we consider necessities, mulch tops the list. We love it for its weed protection, erosion prevention, and moisture...
Summer in the Stall?
For Some Horses, Seasonal Allergens and Respiratory Illness Make Out-of-Doors Intolerable Horse owners who live in the North know that winter is long and brings more time in the stable. But for horses that suffer from allergies to insects, midges, or...
Smelly Chicken Coop?
The Straight Poop on Odor Control If the noxious fragrance of your morning egg collection provides a jolt that negates the need for morning coffee, you’re contending with a less-than-fresh coop. Coop smell is an issue most chicken owners tackle at one time or...