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Posted on 12/30/2004 7:01:16 PM PST by HairOfTheDog
You mean open York in IE? Yahoo is a site, not a browser.
You should theoretically be able to do that. if you select the properties and "copy" in IE and switch to Mozilla you should still have it on the clipboard to paste.
You have horses?:')
Yeah I meant IE which is where my yahoo is
I went on-line. They have the Dec issue with the 2005 calendar. Just 2.50 but they want 4 dollars SH. They have to be crazy. 6.50 not bad but no way am I paying that kind of markup. I was even going to offer a 19.95 year subscription if they would throw this one in but can't even find a contact site. It's all about subscriptions.
We may have had this discussion before, but I can't really remember your opinion on it. I'm still trying to figure it out, if blankets help to keep a horse from growing a winter coat, and help to get them shed quicker.
When I had my mare here, I pretty much blanketed her at night thru the winter. I didn't like the winter coat either. Keeping a blanket on her did seem to keep her slick and shiny. But I was told by numerous people and read it in many articles, that blanketing does not CAUSE them to not grow winter coats, or CAUSE them to shed earlier. It's the length of day that does that.
In theory, I guess you'd call it, cold weather doesn't CAUSE the winter coat to grow, it just causes the winter coat they have grown because of the shorter days, to fluff up and look like they have grown more hair.
After reading/ hearing all that, I kind of watched how she worked. Her coat would start to thicken up as the days shortened, but it wasn't noticeable (unless you were watching:), until the weather turned cold. Then it "seemed" overnight she'd grown a coat.
Blankets, "in theory" keep the winter coat from fluffing up, Keeps it flat and polished so they seem slick and shiny. Her hair on neck, face, and underside, fluffed up because it didn't have a blanket to flaten it.
In the late winter, if you want to get a horse shed out fast, blanketing them WON'T do it, but leaving the lights on in the barn (not the whole night, just so many hours then have them go off), will start the shedding. But if you do that you do need to blanket to help them in the cold. But that leads people to believe the blanket helped in the shedding, but in reality, the blanket just helped rub off the hair they shed because the lights were on.
I was wondering about your horses. Does their coats thicken up, even tho they have a blanket?
Becky
Their coat does thicken some, but much less than the coat on their necks and legs. You're right that it smooths the hair they do have. They still do a coat change, the winter coat is a different hair than the summer coat, and they will still shed.
You are right that lengthening of the day in Spring is what helps them shed out. I also ~believe~ being physically warm opens the hair follicle up and increases their shedding, because if I take the blanket off when they have been out in the warm sun, the hair comes off much more than if they have been out in a chill without the blanket and are all puffed up.
If I really get inspired to ride a lot in the spring, I'll often clip the their face, underside of the neck, chest and girth area in a modified blanket clip just to get rid of it. I know I don't ride much in winter anyway, but when I do, the other benefit I like is that they stay clean. I hate it when they are shedding bad, or muddy and it's too cold to hose them down... I hate to put my tack on them when they are bad! ;~D
Keeping them clean, IS a big plus from blanketing:). In the winter, when I don't blanket, I tend to just knock the dirt off where ever the saddle/straps are, and forget the rest.
Given Harley's coat color, I'll probably start blanketing him towards the end of Feb. at least at night, just to keep from having him look so dirty. It isn't as noticeable with the darker horses.
Becky
You know what I think the difference is in the coat? If they are blanketed, they get the same downy undercoat, but they don't get the long guard hairs for shedding rain that they get without the blanket.
Good morning,
Cold here but the sun is shining :) The man that used to own my stud and owned several of his ancestors (dam and back) is coming down to visit today with pictures and papers.
We don't blanket any of our horses unless we see someone shivering (one mare is very thin haired and sometimes won't go in out of the weather).
They acclimatize to the temperatures and grow thick wooly coats. About February we will start shedding out the horses that are shown and blanket them. When we do that, they get hoods or sleazies too, depending on the weather.
He'll be fine with his winter coat and the barn to get out of the wind.
Good morning - 70 degrees. Gee, how can you stand it :)
Why do you need to get them to shed or reduce the coat? Won't it happen on it's own? I guess I'm missing something because I'm thinking if they have a thick coat then they might not need a blanket.
I would hold him, calm him, rub him down with it, maybe rub him down with other smaller things like towels, get him used to it's sound and feel, put it on him securely and turn him out. It'll be good for him... his first 'sacking out'.
Never let him get away with turning his butt to you to intimidate you. I'd have a line on him and if he tries that he gets smacked. With him under control and you in a safe direction, of course.
Good luck with those bunnies.... I've never had luck saving them. I've rescued them too late when they already had an injury and they've all died. I have lots of bunnies around here in the spring, my dog got a couple she killed before I could save them, it's the cats that just torture and toy with the poor things.
Because he's young and unbroke, and I don't know how much experience you have, I want to be careful to say you shouldn't do this if there is a chance he could get away from you before you get the blanket secured... I would desensitize him to it while closed in his stall if possible and with you holding him really securely. With it just laying on him, rub and pat him and get him used to how the straps will feel, but you can pull it back off him if you think he's gonna go ape, and start over slower. Once you decide to start fastening straps, you're committed and you should work quickly. Do one of the chest straps, belly straps fairly tight around him so he can't get a foot through them (they should be crossed if there are two belly straps) and do the stretchy back leg straps last. Then he's secure and you can turn him out in a secure paddock for him to run, roll, and try to buck it off if he will. He'll get used to it once he knows he can't get rid of it. If he gets away from you before it's completely fastened, it is much worse, and he might ruin it before he stops.
How well he takes to this will be a good indication of how easy he is going to be when it's time for him to be backed...
Okie ever wear a blanket? He took to his well.
Broke horses usually don't have the same issues as young ones wearing something for the first time do... But Bay thought I was going to kill him with it the first time I brought it up to him. Arab horses like to blow at things though... he snorts at new blankets still. And I was alone then, trying to hold him and get straps fastened at the same time.
Easier with two people.
Yeah or maybe 3 if too many people didn't spook them. Sarah Lee tensed a little when we put the strap around her leg but she stood still. She's not as wide as Okie and I have to take it up. It buckles in front and my trainer wants me to have the seams sewed together which will mean it will go over her head and then it may be a different story but I think she will be ok. Okie not as long as Sarah Lee and her's a little loose (74). The trainer said the next size down just fits him but thinks he will still fill out more as he ages so we got the same size. I'm cleaning house and Eddie remodeling. We are going out to ride afterwhile.
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