[Artemisia] A New Discussion - SCA Skills in a Modern Plague

[Allen Hall]

> I'm not sure if it's been addressed yet, but what about fodder/forage for the 
> horses? I don't have any experience with the care and feeding of horses, but I 
> was under the impression that they had some definite nutritional requirements 
> that were hard to find naturally in Artemisia. Maybe goats and dogs would be 
> better to have, at least as pack animals.

No, this won't be a problem.  There were and are MANY wild horses running around throughout Artemisian wild lands.  They do just fine.  Remember that the Indians ran BIG horse herds all through this country.

Red, it does take some ground for pasture.  On the Uprising site, as soon as Uprising is over, the horses come on the pasture.  There's roughly 20 acres of pasture.  I've had up to 14 horses on that pasture through Oct 1, then 3 on it through the middle of Dec (depending on the snow).  But that means that ground can't be used for food crops, it's strictly horse pasture.

Just a frame of reference on how much ground you need to keep some critters.  Oh, that includes a first cutting of the grass hay, which will just about get the horses through the winter from Dec to April.  I do supplement the grass hay with alfalfa, as grass hay alone is best added to.

You would want to have good fences AND horse guards duing the day, and bring the horses/cattle in at night to keep them close, and easier to guard during the plague/post-plague times.

Alan