3 of the Best Foods To Feed Your Pregnant Mares

3 of the Best Foods To Feed Your Pregnant Mares

Horses always require specific care, but that’s especially true when the horse is pregnant. Providing that specific care is exciting since it involves the promise of a new foal, but it’s also stressful to have the responsibility of two horses on your hands at once. Feeding your pregnant mare a balanced diet can help you become confident in your horse’s health—learn about three of the best foods you should include in the mare’s diet.

High-Quality Protein

Protein is always an important part of your horse’s diet. However, you must pay extra attention to protein when a horse is experiencing added physical demands. Working and pregnant horses need extra, high-quality protein since they’re expelling so much energy. The added protein is especially beneficial during the last three or four months of the mare’s pregnancy, during which the fetus grows the most.

Overfeeding your mare or providing too much protein before this point in the pregnancy can lead to obesity, which isn’t safe for the horse or her foal. Alfalfa and soybeans are two high-quality protein options that you can add to your horse’s diet during this time.

Minerals and Vitamins

Your pregnancy mare needs more minerals and vitamins as their pregnancy comes to term. The gestating mare needs these components to balance her metabolism as her body seeks to preserve its own nutrients. The foal fetus needs these minerals and vitamins in order to develop correctly. You can fulfill these dietary needs via your pasture, depending on the feed that makes up your pasture and its quality.

If you’re concerned that the pasture isn’t providing enough minerals and vitamins, you can add pelleted feed or chopped forage to their daily feedings. Feed stores understand the importance of proper nutrition for a pregnant mare as well, so they will typically provide this feed alongside standard feed.

High-Fiber Pasture

A high-quality pasture will provide your pregnant mare and other horses with the protein and fiber they need on a daily basis. Pregnant mares will simply eat more in order to take in the additional protein and fiber they need. Providing your pregnant mare with a high-fiber pasture during her pregnancy will help keep her gastrointestinal tract healthy, which contributes to a healthy pregnancy. If you’re unsure of the protein or fiber quality of your pasture, you can test it and make any necessary changes to improve it for your horses.

Some of the best foods to feed your pregnant mares will come from your pasture, which should provide excellent protein and fiber. You may need to invest in specialty feeds for your pregnant mares to make sure they’re getting the supplements they need for a healthy pregnancy. Before you know it, you should have a healthy mama and foal happily grazing in your pasture.

What To Know Before Starting Your First Greenhouse

What To Know Before Starting Your First Greenhouse

The natural world is nothing short of beautiful and nourishing for the soul, so it’s no wonder that many people are so enthusiastic about cultivating their own plants. Building or investing in a greenhouse is a huge and exciting step for anyone with a green thumb, but you should first arm yourself with a solid foundation of knowledge. Explore a few key things to know before starting your first greenhouse so that you can focus on the more delicate aspects of garden maintenance later.

Choosing a Greenhouse

There are more greenhouse designs and styles than you might think. For example, you’ll need to decide if you want to attach a greenhouse to your home or opt for a freestanding version on your property. Freestanding greenhouses have the advantage of being bigger and more flexible in their shape and style. Attached greenhouses are smaller, but they’re often more convenient for hobbyists and make a wonderful addition to your home.

Take your time when considering your options, as there are all sorts of styles, materials, and designs for you to consider.

Start With Easy-To-Grow Seeds

If you’re new to growing plants, consider starting with easy-to-grow seeds rather than buying seedlings or cuttings. Starting fresh with new seeds prevents many problems from the get-go. Unfortunately, moving existing plants between containers or gardens can lead to issues in their development or bring diseases and pests to your greenhouse. Choosing to start with easy-to-grow plants will also help you learn the ropes of managing a greenhouse while allowing for errors—look for plant species that are more forgiving.

Dealing With Pests and Diseases

Pests and diseases can be a huge problem for greenhouses if you fail to prepare for them. As mentioned, using seedlings or cuttings from separate locations can introduce pests and diseases into a greenhouse. These pests will quickly infest the rest of your greenhouse. Before starting your first greenhouse, you should learn how to prevent insects and diseases from getting in and how to protect your plants should pests and diseases that do occur.

The Best Baseball Players Who Served in the Military

The Best Baseball Players Who Served in the Military

Baseball players miss games because of injuries all the time. However, no player today misses games because the United States drafted them to go to war. Let’s pay homage to the best baseball players who served in the military, as they lost years from their Hall of Fame careers.

Hank Greenberg – Army

In a time when Babe Ruth reigned supreme, Hank Greenberg wasn’t far behind, making him one of baseball’s most prolific forgotten sluggers. From 1934-1940, Greenberg was the model of consistency, averaging over 1.000 OPS (on-base percentage + slugging percentage) during that span. However, Greenberg lost three years of his prime to serve in the Army during WWII.

Greenberg planned to return to the Detroit Tigers in 1942 but re-enlisted after the attack on Pearl Harbor. His unprecedented return to war to become an infantry sergeant garnered admiration and respect.

Bob Feller – Navy

Before everyone in baseball threw 100 mph in this current era, Bob Feller was one of the rare exceptions who did it in the 1940s. The eight-time All-Star hurler was coming over three straight seasons of leading the AL in wins before becoming a gun captain on the USS Alabama, losing three years of his career. Feller kept his arm in shape when he wasn’t at his station by playing catch onboard and spending time at a pair of Minor League ballparks.

Joe DiMaggio – Army

The “Yankee Clipper” is as close to an American folk hero as possible. DiMaggio won nine World Series, married Marilyn Monroe, and served three years for the U.S. Army. DiMaggio reached as high as a sergeant before the Army medically discharged him because of chronic stomach ulcers. Joltin’ Joe played for the Yanks for six more seasons when he returned, making the All-Star team in all of them.

Stan Musial – Navy

Stan “The Man” Musial was the model of consistency in his MLB career, considering it took him 16 seasons before he finished a campaign with a batting average below .300. After an MVP season in 1943 and a top-four MVP finish in 1944, Musial got drafted, eventually enlisting in the Navy. Musial was on ship repair duties in Pearl Harbor for 15 months before returning to the Redbirds for another MVP season in 1946.

Willie Mays – Army

The “Say Hey Kid” was beginning to bud as a future superstar, winning Rookie of the Year in 1951 for the Giants. The following year, Mays cut his season short and lost the subsequent season because the military drafted him for the Korean War. Fortunately for Mays, he never saw combat during his two-year stay at Fort Eustis.

Ted Williams – Marines

When Ted Williams wasn’t crushing baseballs off of the best pitchers of the live-ball era, he was busy being a fighter pilot for the Marines. Unlike Mays, Williams got his nose dirty, piloting 39 missions while the enemy shot at him on three separate occasions. After his service, it was as if the “Splendid Splinter” never stepped away from the game, hitting .342 for the Red Sox en route to winning the 1946 AL MVP.

It seems wild that the best baseball players who served in the military lost years of their precious careers because they got called on to fight for this country. Yet, they served their country and still returned to dominate the game they loved.

5 Unique and Cool Ways To Personalize Your Jeep

5 Unique and Cool Ways To Personalize Your Jeep

The vehicle you drive reflects your personality, and some have characteristics that are unique to them, like Jeeps. These road monsters with comfortable interiors and long-lasting features give you different adventure options, from off-roading to cross-country camping.

Jeeps are versatile, and you can easily transform them to achieve specific goals and make them exceptional. These five unique ways to personalize your Jeep will give you a better and more satisfying experience on the road.

Jeep Lift

If you like standing tall above the crowds, then a Jeep lift is the right option for you. A Jeep life will raise your vehicle between one to three inches, and that will make a big difference, especially when driving off-road. These alterations have various benefits, like ground clearance, flexibility, and stability.

Bright Headlights

To make your Jeep more noticeable and useful at night, especially when driving through dark, unpopular paths, adding bright headlights will change your perspective. You can choose from different models to meet your needs and place them in different locations on your Jeep. Bar headlights are bright and sometimes aggressive toward other drivers, especially at night, but they make for a great upgrade.

Paint Color and Texture

Changing the exterior of your Jeep is the best way to make it unique. You can choose from various colors, gradients, covers, and patterns to give your Jeep a complete makeover. However, you must choose between a matte or glossy paint finish to give it more style and attitude.

LED Lights

LED lights are becoming more popular in cars and Jeeps because they give the vehicles a certain look that you can only achieve with bright-colored lights. LED lights come in strings of lights that you can adhere to any and every part of your vehicle to make it stand out. This is one of the best ways to personalize your Jeep because it’s unexpected and cool. Plus, it gives your vehicle extra light if you’re traveling or camping.

Heavy-Duty Bumper

Jeeps are naturally strong and resistant because of their main focus during the war; now, with modern technology and advancements, some features changed to make them better. You can add a heavy-duty bumper to give your Jeep a tougher look, enhance its resistance, and use it for safety when riding in it. Before adding this, though, you must ask your insurance if they will cover it separately or with your regular contract.