salkhi

what's good for cattle is not good for horses. in general, i really really hope u know how to deal with horses since therapy horses cost a fortune. i know, we have some in israel near my petting zoo and have checked out the idea several times. given that i have ideal conditions and experience but gave up on the idea, with the questions u are asking, u are a real beginner and if u are not, then my apologies but horses are not hardy and need much more care, even if they are from the hardier breeds.

your best bet wont be grazing but hay feeding with grain additions and pasture as an extra. u also need good land for menage work since u are working with handicapped children. fencing, protection against horse thieves (is there a problem with that in thailand? ), drainage, mosquito control, the list is really endless for one thread. parasites were a huge problem for the goat growers that emailed me from thailand, and we never really came up with a solution except for ivomac. (horses get in orally) and i suspect horses will also fall in that catagory. (colic due to food problems and worms; hoof rot/laminitis; regualr vet work was a big problem for some of the cattle/milk cow/goat farmers on forum, not sure how thai vets are with horses but when a horse is ill or injured, u need an expert, not a basic vet). not to dampen your ideas i love the idea \and if my husband and i had money we would do something like that in far distant future. however...

i will give url for some eco sites since i checked them out for veggie ideas ...

http://www.newfarm.org/columns/Jason/2003/...thai_asok.shtml

http://www.whisperingseed.org/english/pclink.html

http://tribes.tribe.net/baanthai

http://www.punpunthailand.org/

as for building mud houses, the woman down the road from us specializes in that stuff and did seminars in india....we have some farms like that in israel in the negev. i have to tell u, it isnt easy. they used camel dung mixed with straw and mud but israel is dry and the houses worked out ok. dont know if they have a website or not; will also try tal bashan as she is an expert in this. our kids did a week with her building houses in this method. not sure with tropical rains how this works out though.

u might want to join some eco farm forums for basic info: thru the asoke page ( really into organic farming permaculture stuff). also, check out american sites for homesteading. u can get really good info there, and then start one by one to find the info for thailand.

i really suggest u do a lot of homework first; btw, land quality affects your hay which affects your horses, etc.

hope u managed to plow thru all my thread....pick out the good ideas from the bad

bina

israel

Cheers for all your info...great links, fortunately I teach riding for the disabled here in the uk, so have lots of experience, unfortunately I know very little about rice farms and available

grasses in thailand! However, I'm just at the beggining stages of info gathering so all your advice is greatly appreciated. As I mentioned, turning the land into suitable grazing (and to produce hay)is one of my main concerns....

I hope to stay in contact and continue receiving info,

thanks again and good luck with your petting zoo

salkhi

hello, am hoping that I can get some much needed advice..

ok,a brief intro......

I've got a 30 rai rice farm in Uthai Thani (rented to locals at the moment) and I'm in the UK to register as a charity as I plan to create an eco friendly farm for disabled/disadvantaged children.

The project will be centered around equine therapy (basic horse riding and care).

My first enquiry is about turning the rice fields into grazing land for horses, what are the first steps, is it simply a case of ploughing the entire area, topsoiling, rolling and seeding?

What is the best grass to use?

What are the costs involved?

We also have decided to build using straw bales and mud plaster, has this ever been tried in Thailand? Is the straw baled in 16"tall, 18"wide and 36"long bales?

Is there anyone there with straw bale/eco building experience?

oohh, one more....about planning permission..is it enough to just approach the phuu Yai of the village, or would this kind of project need to be submitted to a higher body?

Am sorry about the barrage of questions, but am here in the uk and need all this info for the charity application...

Thank you for your time,

salkhi