| T O P I C R E V I E W |
| Garden_artist |
Posted - Apr 09 2007 : 2:50:54 PM
Well I just read Lady Crystal's chat regarding: to get a horse or not to get a horse and I thought I would tell you our latest news.
Heather just bought her first horse. I was pretty hesitant at first because she starts college in fall. The first 2 years she'll be driving back and forth (1 hour each way), the second two years she will be 3 1/2 hours away. I almost said no, but then I remembered how much I wanted a horse when I was a kid and thought I am not going to squash her dreams. If she can do it and we can help I am going to help her out.
We have never had a horse before, but Heather joined 4-H back in January and she and I have been learning a lot. I talked my hubby into clearing some land (between 1/2 acre & 1 acre) so we can build a small barn and pasture.
So far Heather is working the cost of the horse and tack off ($500.00). My hubby is clearing the land and putting in the fence $1500). She just bought the first months feed (Alfalfa bale, senior feed, wet cob & a wormer) that was about $45.00. This Sunday the Ferrier is coming out, because Trixie scraped up her hoof yesterday and they need a good filing and shaping $25.00. This summer we are building the barn (good thing my hubby can build) It'll cost about $1000 (small lean-to style to get the horse out of the weather when necessary). Plus Heather takes lessons each week $15.00 and she has a 4-5 hour 4-H lesson each month $5.00. I hope by listing all of the costs it'll help others who are considering a horse. I also hope you can give me ideas on cost savings for care & boarding our new addition to our family.
My hubby is looking for a horse trailer and truck now for Heather and we hope to keep it under $6000. We are going to sell two other trucks (Nissan & 6 cyl Ford) They are both Manual transmission and since she is a new driver we thought it would be better to get her an old dodge diesel with an automatic transmission.
I also just bought about 6 books by Cherry Hill on care, feeding, housing of horses, so we can take a crash course during the next couple of weeks.
Our friend who was the previous owner of the horse is going to teach Heather basic first aid to help keep the vet bills low.
I'll post pictures as soon as Heather gets back and she can tell you more. If you have any words of wisdom please send it our direction. I want our family to be a responsible horse owner and I don't want it to put us in the poor house along the way.
When I feel spring coming I have to plant or I値l go crazy! |
| 25 L A T E S T R E P L I E S (Newest First) |
| Alee |
Posted - Apr 21 2007 : 3:27:59 PM
Tammy-
Depending on how many hands high Trixie is, 100lbs is only medium overweight. It sounds like you all are going to be training a lot this summer and riding so she will probably trim up pretty quickly. I bet Heather had lots of fun working with Trixie and getting to know her new friend. Having a knowledgeable person "on tap" so to speak is invaluable!
Alee
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| Garden_artist |
Posted - Apr 21 2007 : 1:13:53 PM
Just an update - Heather made a new friend here in town that has horses and is studying to train them using Clinton Anderson methods. She & Heather took Trixie to the arena and started working with her and training her. It was a great day. Heather made a new friend, and she got to work with her new horse. We couldn't have been more excited for her.
They also weighed her and found out Trixie is about 100lbs over weight, so they are working on that issue, but everything else looks great. Thank you all for your support!
When I feel spring coming I have to plant or I値l go crazy! |
| Alee |
Posted - Apr 18 2007 : 2:20:23 PM
You can get salt blocks that are Selenium enriched. Selenium is especially important if you are ever planning on breeding her. I know some places around here are deficient in Selenium and the wild deer miscarry more than the average because of that. However horses can over dose on Selenium so again, I would check with your vet before adding a Selenium enriched salt block.
I see my friends from the ranch ever Sunday so I will ask her what the brand name of that natural fly repellant is. Also consider buying and hatching Fly Predators for your muck heaps. They are tiny wasp looking bugs that eat fly larva. They don't sting or anything but they sure are helpful controlling flies and other such pests!
Ciao
Alee |
| Garden_artist |
Posted - Apr 18 2007 : 2:15:21 PM
I'm all for natural bug repellent, so any information is welcome.
Heather has one more day of testing at the college and then she will have more time to post and tell you how things are going. But so far I have her journaling everything important about her horse (feed, care, visual and physical review of her body, vet & medical/grooming care) I know she feels a little overwhelmed because there is so much to know, but I told her once she has the daily stuff down and we move Trixie to our property, it'll feel so much better.
I myself am really enjoying the experience. Thank you all for all your great advice, support and help.
When I feel spring coming I have to plant or I値l go crazy! |
| goneriding |
Posted - Apr 17 2007 : 10:55:41 PM
Zonk-It is my favorite and since I noticed you are living in OR (my mailing addy is in K Falls but I live outside of Grants Pass for the time being till we find land where we want to live) you have to be careful of those little midges that will pester a horse to death (not literally, figuratively) and 'eat' the edges of their ears. If you are on the coast, the wind blows all the time (at least every time "I'm" over there!) but the flies still find a way. You can also use Corona on the edges of the ears too. It sticks really well as you will find out when you try to wash it off your fingers...
Be careful with the drops too, I've heard some bad things about them. Not many stories but if something goes wrong with them, it's really wrong.
Ask your vet about selenium deficiency in the hay over there. The K Falls hay is deficient in it and you need to supplement it. It's not in the soil.
Whoops, Gary if asking me to do something but I'll check back!!
Winona :-)
Don't sweat the small stuff...
http://goneridingagain.bravehost.com |
| Alee |
Posted - Apr 17 2007 : 5:20:02 PM
The horse ranch I worked at last summer had a great natural fly repellant. It actually is a coat conditioner to (it doesn't make their coat greasy or sticky). I forget what the brand name is. I will ask them and get back to you if you would like.
Alee |
| Horseyrider |
Posted - Apr 17 2007 : 5:00:02 PM
Tammy, sometimes horses will run like that to escape bugs. It's sad; the more they run, the hotter they get, and the hotter they get, the more they're bug bait.
I've not had good luck with those drops. And it's a bit creepy to think of how they work.
Espree makes an all natural coat conditioner that repels flies better than anything else I've found. And it's great for mosquitoes and gnats, too. The only downside is it has to be reapplied frequently. |
| Garden_artist |
Posted - Apr 17 2007 : 12:51:44 PM
Great idea, thank you. I will give him a call right now, just to double check that I am doing everything right & set-up Trixies shot appointment. Thanks Alee
When I feel spring coming I have to plant or I値l go crazy! |
| Alee |
Posted - Apr 17 2007 : 12:31:15 PM
Tammy-
It sounds like you both are trying to learn as much as possible and are getting some quick lessons in horse care! One thing to mention is that if you are ever having questions about how much or how often to feed your horse, call you vet. Most vets are more than happy to talk to you on the phone and won't charge you anything- at least none of the vets I know would charge for that.
Good Luck!
Alee |
| Garden_artist |
Posted - Apr 17 2007 : 09:50:33 AM
I dreamt about horses and Trixie all night. I have been reading about horses for the last two weeks, but since our books came in I have been reading about 2-5 hours a night trying to fill my brain with info. Did you ever see that movie #5 is alive, need more input? That痴 how I feel.
Yesterday when we went out to feed her about 6pm, she was hot and running around like crazy. TOO MUCH ALFALFA. So we gave her the senior feed, filled her water and talked to her abit, but gave her, her space.
This morning, she was much calmer and we were much more educated about the feeding schedule and gave her 1/3 a flake of alfalfa with her senior feed. We haven't been able to get grass hay yet, but we finally found some today. So she will also be getting grass hay, starting today.
I really wish the new place wasn't so wet. It's been raining here for the last few days and the place is sloppy wet. (I'll be so glad when we can move her to our place, we'll have the land cleared this weekend, but it'll take us a couple more weeks to get the fence and shelter in place).
Thank you for all the information Winona & Mary Ann, we certainly need it. Health-so far we wormed her and had the farrier out. Next we will be setting up her shots, because we want to make sure she is all up to date before she heads off to the trainers facility. (Are we missing anything?)
Heather went out yesterday and brushed the water off Trixie's back. Hopefully today, she'll be easier to work with and Heather can check hooves, and give her a good brushing. We have drops to put on her to keep the flies, ticks and such away. But Heather hasn't had the tack to do it until this last Sunday (brush her first then drops). So today "Trixie is going to be getting a lot of attention.
Boy owning a horse is more responsibility than children. Their systems are so much more delicate. I don't mind the time and commitment, but I get worried when we do something wrong (like full flakes of alfalfa!!!, a beginners mistake)
When I feel spring coming I have to plant or I値l go crazy! |
| goneriding |
Posted - Apr 16 2007 : 10:57:14 PM
Horseyrider said a lot of good things. A good worming is about one of the first things I do when I get a new horse on the place. The trainer will have a lot of help to give you too. From personal experience, I'm not a fan of molasses, but that's just me. If Trixie starts to get thin, up her feed. To fat, less feed. I grew up in the West and for plain ol' riding horses, alfalfa (either mixed with grass or orchard grass or stand alone) was just fine for a horse. When you started to really stress them, then you added in grains and/or supplements.
To my mind, when you feed a pre-formulated feed such as senior feed, if you add other stuff you may be monkeying around with the percentages a horse should be getting. I would rather feed more grass hay if no pasture is available and keep Trixie happy. A horse is meant to constantly be moving while grazing with muzzle down to the ground. Always make sure the grass/alfalfa is clean and smells good, no black stuff. I'm a fan of round bales too.
Please be careful of quickly adding or subtracting feedstuffs. Do so slowly. For all their size, a horse's innards is pretty fragile, not like a cow with all the stomachs (ruminant).
Anywho, you have Cherry Hill's books and a trainer PLUS us!!
Happy Trails
Winona :-)
Don't sweat the small stuff...
http://goneridingagain.bravehost.com |
| Horseyrider |
Posted - Apr 16 2007 : 3:50:29 PM
Wet cob is actually a warm weather feed. It takes relatively little energy to digest, and gives of little heat. Grass hay (or even alfalfa hay) is superior to it for keeping warm. You can replace it, calorie for calorie, with hay. Most quality hays run around 1000 calories per pound, and cob runs around 1400. So instead of two pounds of cob, you can feed three pounds of hay. Most horses appreciate the chew time, too.
Round tummies can happen for a variety of reasons. Sometimes they're wormy. Sometimes they have a bunch of gutfill (undigested fiber) from poor quality hay in the past. A horse can carry as much as fifty pounds of indigestible gutfill! Sometimes they have round tummys from incorrect riding. Correct riding causes a horse to tighten the abdominals, stretch and raise the back, and engage the hindquarters. If they don't have good posture, their tummys can get rounder and rounder. It's also one of the signs of Cushing's disease (a type of tumor of the anterior pituitary in older horses).
When you need to assess if a horse has extra fat, you don't look at the tummy. You look at the crest of the neck, the sides of the withers, the top of the tailhead, and over the ribcage. You can learn to see it quickly as you grow more experienced. If your horse still has a lot of winter fuzz, then use your fingers to feel these parts, and gain judgment. This is how livestock judges assess fluffy sheep, goats, etc.
Here's to some really great rides and good times! |
| Garden_artist |
Posted - Apr 16 2007 : 2:31:32 PM
Horse update. We moved Trixie to a new location.
Unfortunately it was a rushed move, we didn't really want to make but our new gal was in season and she had some suitors on the other side of a weak fence and so we needed to move her a month earlier than we had planned.
The lady that痴 boarding her at this time had a trailer and kindly came and helped us (actually she did it all!)trailer her. What an art form watching her work with Trixie for about an hour to get her in the trailer.
Trixie recently had a BAD experience with a trailer and didn't want to have anything to do with it, but the "boarder" worked her back and forth without causing stress for an hour and then got her loaded.
Once we arrived at the new (NO STALLION) location Heather got to walk her horse for the first time to its new pasture. It's about 1/2 acre. It's nice getter her closer to home and under our care. The farrier came out yesterday to get her feet back into shape (it had been about 5 months since his last visit), so it's good to see her hooves all cleaned up and in better form. We are now on a bi-monthly plan to keep her hooves in check.
We've made a couple mistakes with the feeding program, but now have that under control. Heather had fed Trixie a flake of alfalfa last night and a flake this morning, but we found out that was way too much. The new schedule is a flake of grass hay in the morning and evening, a scoop of senior feed morning and night and about 1/3 of a flake of alfalfa in the morning and night. Wet cob only when the temp drops at night, because she is outside no cover year round.
Does this sound right to you? Right now she needs to loose a little weight. Her tummy is rounded, so we don't want her to gain any more weight.
Today I found out a few people have been around Trixie prior to us and they say she is saddle shy. So we'll be working on that. Heather has her scheduled to go to a local trainer for about 40 days before she plans on riding her. But in the meantime she will be working on her groundwork and building a relationship with her.
Thank you for all your warm wishes and wisdom their always enjoyed and appreciated.
Tammy
When I feel spring coming I have to plant or I値l go crazy! |
| Horseyrider |
Posted - Apr 14 2007 : 5:00:36 PM
Cob is generally a mixture of corn, oats, and barley. C-O-B. It's a high carbohydrate feed, and considered one of the concentrates. That's what's known as dry cob. Wet cob has molasses added for palatability.
I don't feed these grains. There are other, better sources for additional calories. While grains are a traditional feed, they upset the natural pH of the horses's gut, causing acidosis. Horses on grain diets are far more likely to develop ulcers, which are much more common in horses than you'd think. Instead of calories from grain, which as a carbohydrate source can make a horse as fizzy as a kid the day after a binge on Halloween candy, most horsemen now feed products containing fats. Some good sources are stabilized rice bran such as Moorman's Natural Glo, and Purina's Ultium, and Nutrena's XTN. Fats yield a better, more sustainable energy, and are popular among equine endurance athletes. It won't make a horse silly, either; and gram for gram, fats contain 2.25 times more calories than carbohydrates. Senior often contains 6% or more of fats, which is pretty darned good. I like the diet you've got your new horse on, Heather! I've fed hay and Senior myself. |
| Alee |
Posted - Apr 14 2007 : 4:58:15 PM
Cob stands for Corn, Oats, and Barley. It a grain mix that horses get that is sweetened with molasses. Most horses _love_ it.
Alee |
| Garden_artist |
Posted - Apr 14 2007 : 4:40:13 PM
So Mary Ann what is the wet cobb used for?
When I feel spring coming I have to plant or I値l go crazy! |
| Horseyrider |
Posted - Apr 14 2007 : 2:01:33 PM
Actually, alfalfa is better as a warm weather feed. Grass hay is best for when it's cold; the process of digestion causes it to generate 33% more internal heat. It's all that fiber doing it's thing....  |
| Garden_artist |
Posted - Apr 14 2007 : 10:18:37 AM
Winona,
At this time Trixie is uncovered on about 100 acres. From what I understand the previous owner gives her the senior feed and alfalfa and wet cob at night when it cold. Do you recommend just alfalfa at night when its cold. This is all such a learning process for us. We just got about books in from Cherry Hill about maintaining, housing and caring for a horse. What a lot of info to take in!!!
When I feel spring coming I have to plant or I値l go crazy! |
| Tracey |
Posted - Apr 13 2007 : 7:28:59 PM
Congratulations, Heather! She looks like a keeper!
Visit Quiet Storm, our adopted Mustang! http://wildaboutquietstorm.com
http://carpentercreek.blogspot.com http://mustangdiaries.blogspot.com http://marbletownangels.blogspot.com
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| Muttley |
Posted - Apr 13 2007 : 5:26:26 PM
Winona:
I am not currently feeding her wet cob. She has senior feed and alfalfa at night...thanks for the tip about the halter!
Heather
"And on the 8th day, GOD made COWGIRLS!!! :D" |
| Muttley |
Posted - Apr 13 2007 : 5:24:52 PM
OH MY GOODNESS!
Ambush look JUST like TIXIE! That is so funny!!! Hahahah! Wow....thankyou all for you warm words. I am so excited about my pretty girl. I rode her for the first time a few days ago, and she is wonderful!
I'll keep you all posted!
Heather
"And on the 8th day, GOD made COWGIRLS!!! :D" |
| goneriding |
Posted - Apr 13 2007 : 1:42:52 PM
Congrats on the new horse!!
Ok, here's a couple of suggestions. Please don't leave a halter on her when you aren't there unless it has at least a leather crownpiece (the part that goes over the top of her head). This is in case she gets it caught on something, that halter won't break. If it has a leather crownpiece, most likely it will break but the best way is to not leave one on her at all. Safety issue. She doesn't look to me like you'll have probs catching her anyway!! Also, it seems a little snug on her head. Might check the fit or even go one size larger.
If you are feeding senior feed, do you really need the wet cob?? A second cutting of alfalfa is pretty good for a riding horse.
The pics are great and I'm very, very happy for you!! Give her a huggie for me!!
Winona :-)
Don't sweat the small stuff...
http://goneridingagain.bravehost.com |
| Naomi Michelle |
Posted - Apr 12 2007 : 08:37:13 AM
I know I already told ya Heather, but that is just one beautiful horse...I'm very happy for you that you got to get her!
I hope all is well with you,
Grinz,
~Naomi~
Most folks are about as happy as they make up their minds to be-Abraham Lincoln |
| Garden_artist |
Posted - Apr 11 2007 : 4:52:41 PM
Wow they really do look alike thats amazing!!!
When I feel spring coming I have to plant or I値l go crazy! |
| Marybeth |
Posted - Apr 11 2007 : 4:13:37 PM
Heather, here is a picture of Ambush. Her registered name is Gallant Ambush. She is one dirty girl too. I just ran out and took this. She has a wide white blaze like Trixie does too. 
www.strawberryhillsfarm.blogspot.com
www.day4plus.blogspot.com www.holyhouses-day4plus.blogspot.com
"Life may not be the party we hoped for...but while we are here we might as well dance!" |
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