FreeRepublic Saddle Club thread! - Thread 12

[HairOfTheDog]

The FreeRepublic Saddle Club - (very out of date) Who's Who *pics*

This is a horse chat thread where we 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, usually about our horses, sometimes about our dogs, gardens and other stuff we do. :~)

I have a ping list for horse threads that are of interest, and MissTargets will ping everyone most mornings. Let MissTargets and/or me know if you would like to be on the ping list.

So... like the previous threads, 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.

Previous threads:

The FreeRepublic Saddle Club thread - thread ONE
The FreeRepublic Saddle Club thread - Thread TWO!
The FreeRepublic Saddle Club thread - Thread THREE!
The FreeRepublic Saddle Club thread! - Thread FOUR
The FreeRepublic Saddle Club thread! - Thread FIVE
The FreeRepublic Saddle Club thread! - Thread SIX
The FreeRepublic Saddle Club thread! - Thread SEVEN
The FreeRepublic Saddle Club thread! - Thread EIGHT
The FreeRepublic Saddle Club thread! - Thread NINE
The FreeRepublic Saddle Club thread! - Thread TEN
The FreeRepublic Saddle Club thread! - Thread 11

New folk and occasional posters, jump right in and introduce yourselves, tell us about your horses, and post pictures if you've got them!

[HairOfTheDog]

We don’t have bermuda as an option at all. Orchard and timothy and alfalfa... all from Eastern WA... or local, which is often just baled wild grasses... fescues and canary and rye.

[HairOfTheDog]

Bob used to buy pea hay for his cows... baled pea vines. The horses loved it but shouldn’t eat it, it was really prone to mold. He had to separate them. But the following summer, he had peas growing everywhere.. either from the dropped pods where he fed, or from the poop... :~)

[HairOfTheDog]

Back from the vet... He did NOT give us the option of any kind of allergy shot. He gave us a round of prednisone pills instead. I bet that’s what her shot is.

Anyway, he said to really solve Homer’s itching we’d have to go to a dermatologist and do a skin test of allergens, Then they could formulate a series of shots to desensitize... all for about a thousand dollars.

Or there’s another drug we could try that is more expensive but better for them than prednisone ... I think we’ll try to be happy with prednisone.

And they did a fecal on the horses. Just out of laziness, and because the pony colicked last month, we’ve been remiss in worming the horses, and I was really curious to know what their actual worm load is. Only a few Strongyles, he said. Not bad at all. I think I’m going to do that more often before I just worm them.

Oh - and we got our newspaper! What a cool story. Fun keepsake from the trip. We never did get down to that boat.... I was thinking it would be funny if someone DID hide a body in it... and read that, if they’d think “OH $H!T” and panic. LOL - Look out!

[FrogInABlender]

That’s interesting about the fecal. I’ve thought about having one done from time to time, but wormer is so cheap that I just go that route instead, although I really don’t know how much my vet would charge. I need to find out I guess.

[HairOfTheDog]

Fecal was $15. I only brought one... I didn’t figure I needed to test them all.

I have become a little hesitant about worming.. I don’t know why, I’ve just always feared colicking them from the wormer. And rotating them around is guesswork... I think at least once a year, I’m going to test them and see.

[FrogInABlender]

I thought the only time you’d have to worry about a worm-load colic is if you hadn’t wormed them in a while and they got real wormy and then you wormed them. I didn’t think that just the wormer itself would do it. But then I don’t profess to know a whole lot about wormers either.

[HairOfTheDog]

I think you’re right. I just have never liked that I was kindof doing it blind, having never tested them, I was worming for worms I didn’t even know if they had.

I like knowing. Now I know exactly which wormer to buy next.

[FrogInABlender]

Well, I’m outta here. Gotta go do the grocery shopping that I haven’t been able to do since we’ve been basically locked in here during this strike. Gonna meet BladeRider and her son and daughter for a ride tomorrow, along with a lady from Nashville that I bought that saddle on ebay from. Should be a nice day. Seeya!

[FrogInABlender]

Now I know exactly which wormer to buy next.

Good point!

[HairOfTheDog]

Have a good ride... don’t forget the camera!

[Beaker]

Lesser quality hay, they don’t eat it as fast, so it lasts longer, but it does satisfy their gazing instinct which is all hay for me would be given for.

The school of thought that I come from is that hay satisfies they're grazing instinct, provides roughage for digestion, and should be fed before grain to line the stomach and help prevent ulcers and colic.

[HairOfTheDog]

For every rule, there’s an opposing viewpoint... old wives tale or not. I was always told to feed grain before hay, because if they eat a bunch of hay first, it can lead to a big wet clog in the system that can impact the grain when it comes.

[Beaker]

Is the allergy shot for skin issues related to allergies. My vet always gave our animals a shot of steroids. (Cat and dog)

[HairOfTheDog]

Yeah - Homer’s incessant itching. He’s just miserable, and we don’t know the cause. I think our vet is just opting for the couple weeks of pills instead of the shot.

[Beaker]

For every rule, there’s an opposing viewpoint...

Ain't that the truth! In the horse world, it should be: "For every rule there are a 1001 opinions pertaining to that rule." ;-D

[tuffydoodle]

“Well, you’ve got to be careful about 24hr pasture turnout because they can over eat and get too fat and then fall victim to the kinds of foot and metabolic issues that you and I both know way too much about.”

Absolutely. There are exceptions, how well I know, unfortunately. George used to wear a muzzle but it’s not needed anymore. He can’t eat the grass.

[tuffydoodle]

Hoo boy, if I don’t keep munchies out at all times my horses will eat the trees, the fences, whatever they find handy. If I leave a tractor out there they’ll lick the paint off it.

[PayNoAttentionManBehindCurtain]

Well....not sure I would like having to give a pill every day...but if it works let me know. The vet will only give Susie the shot once a month...it works really well for only about 3 weeks.

Which reminds me, it’s time to get her in..

Becky

[HairOfTheDog]

Oh your way is easier... I wish my vet would have done that.

[Duchess47]

Have you tried giving Homer a bath in betedine soap? Just an idea - it helped BamBam’s allergy. Also, that green algea stuff which I can’t remember the name of right now works sprinkled on food sometimes. That worked for Sonny’s allergies to the world.