Every horse is an individual and fits in a particular place within the herd hierarchy. I thought you'd like to here a short little story that pertains to your horses!
Last night at feeding time the sky was dark purple, there was a humid breeze blowing through the barn, and the rumble of thunder was making a bee-line for our farm. I saw lightening off in the distance as well, but there was no rain just yet.
I turned Dancer and Shellie out immediately, hoping that they could stretch their legs before the down pour. If it got too scary I would likely have brought them back into the barn (not because I am a softy!) because these sensitive girls prefer the safety of the stall. I went to take JW out of the stall but noticed he had some discharge from his nose, a little more than usual, and I figured getting completely drenched in a storm wouldn't be good for his special sinuses, so I threw him more hay and left him in.
I waited and waited and still no rain! All the symptoms of the storm were evident, but it had not, and was not going to, manifest itself. So at 10:30pm I went out, flashlight in hand, to turn the old boy out.
Here is where the story actually gets interesting.
It seemed more dark than usual but the moon was full and bright! My guess is that the sky was cloudy and light wasn't getting to us.. or something. But man, it was dark! JW nickered at the Thoroughbred gals as we walked by and they came to visit. We finally made it to his pasture gate and I brought him in, undid the halter, and stepped back. He just stood there. So I turned off the flash light so his eyes could adjust. He stood still, listening, then let out a loud call to his buddies who were no where to be seen. The sound of hooves pounding got my heart bumping. All four pasture mates came galloping up, little Casanova returned JW's call with a girly one of his own. Magic lead the group through the darkness and stopped them about 10 feet from JW. JW had not moved an inch yet - I still don't think he could see. Then Magic walked away from the herd, greeted JW with a very long sniff, and allowed him into the herd. Then all 5 hung together, sniffing and talking, before quietly walking back off into the darkness.
Isn't it so cool how welcomed JW must have felt in his herd? And how Magic lead his followers to find a lost "sheep"? And Cas, the adorable talker, couldn't help but say "We're coming!!" as they cantered up to the gate. And even Dusty, Mr. Independent, stopped what he was doing to follow his leader and greet his pasture mate.
I could watch horses interact with one another all day long, how about you?
Every day, a little something about your horses
Saturday, June 26, 2010
Wednesday, June 16, 2010
Diamond Back Rattlesssss
Are there words to describe how humid it has been? Dante's Inferno comes to mind...
Don't get me wrong, I love the heat. But this humidity is deadly! Saunas are for occasional use to relax and detoxify, not carry out your daily routine in! Those of us brave enough (or without a choice) to sweat through the heat are probably burning a million calories a minute and losing gallons of salts. There are bottles of soda (how nice, a diuretic drink in the hot summer!) in the feed room fridge. But I recommend drinking water or something with electrolytes while your melting in the sun.
As for the horses' electrolyte intake, everyone has a mineral block available to them in addition to their complete feed. Horses that sweat more than others should be on an electrolyte supplement just for kicks. If you have a sweater and want me to give something extra, just leave the supplement in the feed room or tell me to get some for you and I'll pick it up on my next trip to the feed store.
With the heat comes critters of all shapes and sizes seeking out water and breezes. Before nearly stepping on this 2 foot diamondback rattle snake, I thought I heard a bee buzzing near. Well, that buzzing was her rattle and she was directly in my walking path! Thank God for overcautious mothers - she pushed me out of the way! We immediately contained the beautiful snake (I called it a "she", my mom just kept telling me to "kill it!") under a wooden drawer and secured it with concrete blocks. I called Animal Services, Snake Busters, and Wildlife Rehab, and no one deals with Venomous snakes. After some research and seeking advice, we decided we would try to contain her more safely and relocate her. Thankfully Molly had access to a snake pole! Without that pole and Chris's bravery, I think we would have had a very difficult time! Due to the adrenaline rush while we were attempting to get her from under her wooden drawer, catch her, and put her in a trash can, we did not take pictures. But once the adrenaline wore off we remembered the camera and snapped some cell phone shots of her release:
So stay safe, be cautious of picking up logs and pieces of wood, feed bags, etc. Lots of wildlife living among us!
I bought 4 new high-velocity fans! I found a fantastic deal at Sam's Club so we were able to afford 4 fans. I'll be putting them up today. Hopefully we'll notice a difference! I think the change in air flow will be significant as you can't feel any breeze from a few of these older box fans.
Stay cool, hydrated, and steer clear of snakes!
Saturday, June 12, 2010
June trims
Lana was out on Monday and Tuesday of this week to trim horses. Both days were hot, but Lana comes equipped with her own fan! We had two fans blasting her and the spoiled horses on the cross-ties. I think it was because of the fans that all the horses were falling asleep and were therefore very uncooperative! Fortunately, Lana is amazingly patient (more so than I am!) and even at her most frustrated with simply step back and say, "Quit being a snot nose."
Gone are the days where the farrier whacks a horse on the belly with their rasp or angrily yanks the horse around. Not Lana. She'll put a horse back in the stall and come back to them later.
On Tuesday we did the Thoroughbreds (JW, Dancer, Shellie) and Kurly has his front hooves trimmed (we're doing corrective trimming every 2 weeks on Kurly's hoof since he tore a huge chunk of hoof wall off a few months ago). The TB's hooves always look awful just before their 6-week trim. Lana suggests a biotin supplement for horses with crummy hooves - no other product really does the job.
On Wednesday we finished up the horses on the 6-week schedule. Bodhi and Magic had lead in their feet as I dragged them from the pasture to the barn. I do not recommend trying to walk the two most lazy horses on the farm at the same time. While one eats grass, the other plants his feet. I wanted to release a badger behind them to nip at their heels! We finally made it to the barn where they rested in stalls with breezy fans and copious amounts of hay. Molly and Betsy were also trimmed. It was a bad day for Molly's arthritis (and attitude) so we didn't push her and didn't finish her back hooves. I will be giving her a dose of bute a few hours before our next session to help ease her discomfort.
Even without much rain the pastures are holding up. Pasture 4 (the one on the left as you drive up our road) is empty - the grass is beautiful! Two more weeks of growing and hopefully some down pours and that pasture should be busting with grass! Pasture 5 (Magic. Bodhi, Cas, Dusty, JW) is holding its own. I mowed it this week to keep the weeds at bay and the grass, although short, is thick and available for eating. Come July 1st, there will be more pasture rotation to allow other pastures to grow.
Since it is SO hot I will be buying some more high quality fans for the barn. As tempting as it is to purchase the $20 box fans, they just don't create the breeze the horses need in this humidity. Even brand-spankin-new box fans leave you begging for more. Plus, the plastic fans don't stand up well to the barn dust and they are more likely to cause a fire, apparently. It looks like the best deal I can get is $40 per fan (metal 20''), but these are Wal-mart brand and who knows about their quality. The next best option is a huge leap to $80 per fan, but they are guaranteed high quality, high velocity and will do the job. If I bought one for each used stall that would cost $700. It would take months and months to recoup that cost. So I may get a few fans at a time and see how doubling up on box fans will work. Rest assured your stalled horses will not be hot!
If a horse is sweating, I hose them off. I just can't help myself. Sometimes even if they aren't sweating I will hose them off anyway because it feels so good. Just this past week I have hosed off Molly, Betsy, Shellie, Tav, Pokey, and my horses.
I got a load of 15 coastal square bales on Friday. These are super green! I'll be heading to Micanopy to pick up a load of O/A bales this weekend.
That's all the news for now! Stay cool - your horses are!
Gone are the days where the farrier whacks a horse on the belly with their rasp or angrily yanks the horse around. Not Lana. She'll put a horse back in the stall and come back to them later.
On Tuesday we did the Thoroughbreds (JW, Dancer, Shellie) and Kurly has his front hooves trimmed (we're doing corrective trimming every 2 weeks on Kurly's hoof since he tore a huge chunk of hoof wall off a few months ago). The TB's hooves always look awful just before their 6-week trim. Lana suggests a biotin supplement for horses with crummy hooves - no other product really does the job.
On Wednesday we finished up the horses on the 6-week schedule. Bodhi and Magic had lead in their feet as I dragged them from the pasture to the barn. I do not recommend trying to walk the two most lazy horses on the farm at the same time. While one eats grass, the other plants his feet. I wanted to release a badger behind them to nip at their heels! We finally made it to the barn where they rested in stalls with breezy fans and copious amounts of hay. Molly and Betsy were also trimmed. It was a bad day for Molly's arthritis (and attitude) so we didn't push her and didn't finish her back hooves. I will be giving her a dose of bute a few hours before our next session to help ease her discomfort.
Even without much rain the pastures are holding up. Pasture 4 (the one on the left as you drive up our road) is empty - the grass is beautiful! Two more weeks of growing and hopefully some down pours and that pasture should be busting with grass! Pasture 5 (Magic. Bodhi, Cas, Dusty, JW) is holding its own. I mowed it this week to keep the weeds at bay and the grass, although short, is thick and available for eating. Come July 1st, there will be more pasture rotation to allow other pastures to grow.
Since it is SO hot I will be buying some more high quality fans for the barn. As tempting as it is to purchase the $20 box fans, they just don't create the breeze the horses need in this humidity. Even brand-spankin-new box fans leave you begging for more. Plus, the plastic fans don't stand up well to the barn dust and they are more likely to cause a fire, apparently. It looks like the best deal I can get is $40 per fan (metal 20''), but these are Wal-mart brand and who knows about their quality. The next best option is a huge leap to $80 per fan, but they are guaranteed high quality, high velocity and will do the job. If I bought one for each used stall that would cost $700. It would take months and months to recoup that cost. So I may get a few fans at a time and see how doubling up on box fans will work. Rest assured your stalled horses will not be hot!
If a horse is sweating, I hose them off. I just can't help myself. Sometimes even if they aren't sweating I will hose them off anyway because it feels so good. Just this past week I have hosed off Molly, Betsy, Shellie, Tav, Pokey, and my horses.
I got a load of 15 coastal square bales on Friday. These are super green! I'll be heading to Micanopy to pick up a load of O/A bales this weekend.
That's all the news for now! Stay cool - your horses are!
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