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Thread III: http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/1311311/posts |
Posted on 09/18/2004 6:56:23 AM PDT by HairOfTheDog
Free Republic has a lot of horse people that have found each other on other threads…. And since we all like to talk horses, how about a thread where it is not off-topic, but is THE topic?
A few of us thought it would be interesting and informative to have a chat thread where we can share ideas, ask for input from other horsemen, and talk about our riding and horse-keeping. We have a lot of different kinds of riders and horses, and a lot to share. In the last thread we had a great time and were a great help to each other working through lessons and training, horse lamenesses and illnesses, questions and challenges and always just our stories we like to tell.
I always have a link to this thread on my profile page, so if you have something to say and can't find the thread in latest posts… look for it there and wake the thread up!
I also have a ping list for horse threads that are of interest, and Becky pings everyone most mornings. Let Becky (Paynoattentionmanbehindthecurtain) and/or me know if you would like to be on the ping list. As FreeRepublic is a political site, our politics and other issues will probably blend in…. There are many issues for horsemen that touch politics… land use, animal rights/abuse cases that make the news…. Legislation that might affect horse owners.
So... like the last thread, this is intended as fun place to come and share stories, pictures, questions and chit-chat, unguided and unmoderated and that we come together here as friends. There are lots of ways of doing things and we all have our quirks, tricks and specialties that are neat to learn about.
Well, out the door to church, Sorry, I messed this up again.
I think you need to put < img src = " first and then " > at the end. I've just spent a good part of the morning trying to figure that one out :) Remove the spaces that I put in except between img src
Yep, just about every day here is sunny. You will notice however, we don't have green grass and trees like you all do. :)
Oooh he's pretty! I have a soft spot for appies, my first experience with horses was at a neighboring appy farm, the family eventually moved to Nevada and were the ones who sent my Mustang up to me.
RE rain, yes, we do pay a price for our trees!
We wanted to get another ride in on Cyn is all... To confirm what we already know, that we want to keep her. We called yesterday and told her she could cash the check and finalize the deal.
It looks like an incomplete URL too.... Those snapfish urls are really long, when you right click it, choose "select all" then "copy" to make sure you've got all of it.
Thanks, he's come a long way since we found him this spring. He was thin but mostly, terribly depressed. He's happy as a clam now, become a real clown and obviously a ham for the camera.
It sure looks like you got a winner in Cyn.
Wow, he really does look like Rocky:)
Becky
Cyn looks like she is settling in really good. How cold is it at your place? When do you start putting the blankets on?
Cyn is settling in very well. They are all settling in nicely, with Cyn taking the second place over the pony at feeding time, but none are aggressive any more. Less ~hormonious~ and more ~harmonious~ now that the mares have gone out of heat.
I start blanketing when it starts dropping into the forties at night and they do the coat change for winter. I take them off again when the temps are over 50. On rainy days in fall and winter and when the daytime temps stay low, I leave them on 24/7. The biggest benefits are that they don't grow two inches of hair in winter, and they are clean and dry when we do want to work with them.
Why would you not want them growing a thick winter coat? I just wondered because last winter the owner used one on her money horse. We may only have a half dozen or so days that we get below 32 but it's usually at night and only for hours. We have only had one time of very cold weather that lasted for a couple of weeks. It was a night mare. No winter clothing anywhere and no heaters. I was doing homehealth at the time and we constantly were having to check on our elderly. Anyway, I just wondered if at a certain temp if it was something I should condider and if you can do this if the horses are pastured. I can bring mine in on bad days but I don't really want to unless it's necessary for their health because it's 10 dollars a day (each).
If they grow a thick winter coat they are harder to get clean, for one. I don't like working with them when they have all that hair and get caked with mud. But more practically, if you work them in a heavy winter coat they sweat instantly and take forever to get dry again. Being sweaty wet is a different kind of wet than rainy wet. If they are wet from rain, their outer hairs usually shed most of the water and stay dray at the skin. If they are sweaty wet, they are wet to the skin and get chilled.
You are in a different place with a different situation and it will be a decision you make. If you decide to blanket, you have to be consistant and keep them blanketed. And you want a real waterproof blanket that keeps them dry. Cheaper blankets that soak through are worse than nothing.
I think it pays dividends to protect them from extremes, I think being in cold wet weather ages a horse, and protecting them from the elements pays back in more years of health. Perhaps where you are it is milder than here... both in temperature, and in the constant wet. There are outward problems with constant wet, both in their feet and in skin diseases, so I both blanket and stable them at night so that even in winter when they have been wet, they get throughly dry every night. But I baby mine much more than many equally good horse people, I get some pleasure out of giving them all the comforts of the soft life. ;~D
Yeah. So much to learn. That's what I meant about bring them in if for their health. It will be interesting to see how heavy a coat Okie grows. I thought he would never get it all shed. Hair everywhere. Now his coat really short. The problem here is that we don't have a really defined winter season. By the end of the month it will start getting cool but we can go from 40's to 80's in a matter of days. A cold front rolls in and we drop. This summer was bad because it was so dry everyone had shoeing problems. Now the mud here. A couple that Eddie and I have made friends with has theirs brought in when it's wet. It's just hard to figure out what is horse adaptable and as you say, what can affect their health. I know last year several were on IM injections for respiratory problems, probably from day to day weather changes. Okie came in the last of Feb and we were already warming up so he just had to adapt to the heat.
Oh, and I like your new tag line:')
Our weather can be variable too, though maybe not so much as your highs..... so I try to moderate it with blanketing. They get blanketed when it is 49 down to 40, and ~double~ blanketed with a liner when it drops into the 30s or below at night. I just constantly monitor what the weather is doing and adjust. Today, it is sunny and 60 degrees so we took all the blankets off. Yesterday, it was wet and they wore them all day.
Shedding in spring is the other part of dealing with winter hair that I just don't like. It makes them a real mess to work with in the spring when the weather is picking up and I want to ride again. Mine still go through shedding cycles, just less pronounced, and much less mess.
Something to think about. I'll probably just have what I need on hand and play it by ear but around here just bringing them in when we drop to the 30's may be enough. Our 40's different than most. It's the wind that gets you. We were several states up awhile back and it was in the 20's and sunny and at first I'm thinking "Nah, this isn't right. It's not that cold" but after out in it a few minutes it's like it settles in your bones. One minute I was comfortable and a few later and I was shivering and my teeth chattering. Here , you know it's cold when you open the door. :')
Yours?
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