A young foal stands to show the figure eight rump rope.

Putting a halter on a foal: Part 1

Horse Handling: Be gentle but firm in getting them use to halter and lead rope. Part 1 of a 4 part series on training foals

Horses are still a vital tool for many ranches. When they are not being used for work, they are a good source of recreation and exercise. Every good horse started out as a foal. A good foundation is so important for a horse’s later usefulness. As we start this four-part series on foal handling, let’s […] Read more

The Eppich Quarter Horses had a good Christmas morning as well as the hay was rolled out.

Definitely a cold, snowy start to winter

Eppich News: Blowing snow made it a challenge to feed the cows

December was cold and windy. It was too cold for little Ian to be out at all, and Joseph and James were not allowed to be outside for very long. Usually they got bundled up and then played a little bit on their walk over to Grandma’s house. They had fun but were quite sad […] Read more


File photo of wild horses running on grasslands in Nova Scotia’s remote Sable Island National Park Reserve. (Photo by Sarah Medill/Parks Canada/Handout via Reuters)

Wild horses face unruly storms as Fiona nears East Coast

Damages feared to buildings, utilities, crops

Ottawa | Reuters — Shaggy, long-maned wild horses grazing freely on the sandy grasslands of the crescent-shaped Sable Island in the North Atlantic are expected to come under the swipe of a powerful storm forecast to hit Eastern Canada this weekend. Hurricane Fiona, tracking northward after carving a destructive path through the Dominican Republic and […] Read more

Three generations of the Eppich family take to the ice on a farm pond before the spring thaw arrives.

Foaling begins as calving season ends

There’s always some ups and downs, but fortunately more ‘ups’

March was a busy month for us with calving. It was still quite cold at night so we were doing night checks at two-hour intervals. Our first heifer calved March 6 and we had to pull the calf. That same afternoon the newest member of Eppich family, Ian, was baptized. It was a beautiful ceremony […] Read more


How to produce quality hay horse owners want to buy

How to produce quality hay horse owners want to buy

Taking crops off your hay land is much the same as cropping it to wheat or canola

What is hay? Recent hamburger commercials keep referring to grass-fed beef. If you feed your cattle hay, are they still grass fed? All the year round, grass feeding occurs in very few areas of the world. In most of North America, hay is fed up to six or seven months of the year. Bison or […] Read more

One of our Eppich Quarter Horse weanlings standing patiently for a refresher course on being tied up.

Saying goodbye to an old gelding

Eppich News: Calves sold, and cows and heifers are home for the winter

We had a bit of snow on Thanksgiving Day but that quickly went away. October 12 I brought the mares and foals home from the home native pasture so that we could start the weaning process. We put the mares and foals in separate pens with a slab fence between them and with a few […] Read more


File photo of a roundworm larva. (Dotana/iStock/Getty Images)

Health Canada warns people not to take livestock dewormers

No evidence that drug is effective against COVID-19

“Concerning reports” of people in Canada seeking out veterinary-grade dewormers for personal use have led Health Canada to formally advise against doing so. News reports in Western Canada in the past week have described increased demand from non-farming consumers for veterinary-grade ivermectin, whether at livestock supply retailers or online. While ivermectin is an antiparasitic drug […] Read more

One of the last foals born in 2021, 
affectionately named “Tarzan” by Joseph.

A busy spring with crazy weather

Eppich News: Last of the 2020 foals sold, and a few of the 2021 crop spoken for

The beginning of May found us seeding and foaling. By the morning of May 14, all seven of our foals had been born and were doing well. We ended up with four fillies and three colts. That afternoon we branded our calves and vaccinated our cows. We worked at it slowly and we got it […] Read more


Halter training begins when foals are just a few days old.

Horse-breeding program an unplanned opportunity

Quiet bloodlines produce animals that are easy to handle Editor’s Note: Cattleman’s Corner columnist Heather Eppich and her husband Gregory, who run a mixed farming operation near Handel, Sask., explain how they also got into the horse breeding business. In August 2017, Gregory and I had an opportunity that we just couldn’t pass up. Like […] Read more

A horse on a property at Goulais River, north of Sault Ste. Marie, Ont. (Davidfillion/iStock/Getty Images)

Ontario backs ‘horse experience’ businesses for horse upkeep

Trail ride operations, riding schools, others eligible

Ontario horses whose jobs with riding schools, camps and trail rides were lost or cut back during the COVID-19 pandemic may be eligible for funding toward their upkeep. The province on Thursday announced a $3 million equine hardship program would launch starting Monday (Jan. 18) help “horse experience” businesses cover animal maintenance costs. The program […] Read more