Recently there was a rather long article in the Editorial sections of various newspapers; written by Kathy Guillermo, who writes for PETA. In it she describes, in glowing terms, the law suit PETA has brought against Sea World regarding the orcas they use in their shows. She does a heck of a job, too, bringing in a visual of SeaWorld holding the orcas against their will, and that they should be swimming 100 miles every day instead of being "incarcerated in tiny pens and being ordered by humans in orca-colored wetsuits to leap for dead fish." She also describes them as "intelligent, complex orcas, who have their own language and customs that they would pass on to their young."
The article is well written and I certainly have no arguments against the above descriptions; for I, too, would prefer to see orcas in their natural settings (even though I am also partial to seals who are orcas main source of food and who the orcas just love throwing around and playing catch with!), and I do believe that ALL animals are "intelligent, complex" creatures who have their own language and customs that they pass on to their young (after all, I call this Horse Listening, right?).
But here's the kicker....."For the first time ever, a federal court is considering whether or not a constitutional amendment applies to five orca whales enslaved by SeaWorld." (emphasis mine)
The 13th Amendment (against slavery) is being wielded here. Per the lawyers, "Slavery does not depend on the species of the slave any more than it depends on race, gender or ethnicity. Coercion, degradation and subjugation characterize slavery..."
As I read the article I realized that it would not take much to change a few words around and this SAME argument could be used against horse owners/breeders. Most of us keep our horses in stalls at certain times of the day (I have coyotes and packs of dogs running around my property, plus a few idiots with guns [I have a lot of good neighbors who also have guns and hunt, but they aren't the idiots]); which could be likened to those "tiny pens" the orcas are kept in. And I'm sure an argument can be made that we have "enslaved" these animals and keep them for our own entertainment, often "coercing" them to do what we want them to do. And most of us don't have 100 acres of land that we keep them on anyway. And wouldn't it be so much nicer if we could see them running across the land, free.
I think you can see where this can go.
And this is exactly where PETA wants it to go.
PETA has only one thing on its agenda, and that is to free all animals. Sounds great. But that includes horses, dogs, cats, fish and whatever your favorite pet is.
I haven't been a fan of PETA since a documentary came out about it. This group, presumably lamenting the horrible-ness of animals in human care, FUNDS the VEGAN group....the group that fire-bombs various places. Oh, they say that they do it to keep the animals from suffering (have you ever heard the sounds or smelled the smells of animals burning in a barn or building? I have and it's not pleasant)....but being burned alive I guess is not as much suffering as having blood drawn for nutritional analysis. I mean, come on...., PURINA? We have a lab in our area that is doing nutritional "experiments" so that dogs, cats, goats and several other species that are tended to by pet owners get the best possible nutritional value in the food we feed them. In other words, they are trying to find out the best way to feed and find out which type of feed (dry, wet, pellet) works best. No one really knows where it is, because they are constantly being threatened by PETA. We, as firefighters, do walk-throughs all the time, and while I would prefer a few things to be a bit better, these animals are tended to with care. And there is even a plan in place should the worst happen and there is a fire there.
PETA also uses HSUS as a "cover" for their activities.....and HSUS "buys" their program.
HSUS is NOT your local Humane Society. It HAS NO LOCAL chapters. You send money to them, and it's not getting used as you think. Personally, I go with the ASPCA....it has a track record you can follow. This is not to say that your local APL or Humane Society or ASPCA is not needed; we all know of people who have animals that treat them horribly.
PETA actually euthanizes 2/3 of the animals they "take in". Yep, that's in their fact sheets, but you won't find that on the Internet. 66.66666%. For no other reason than there is "no place" for them. And who makes that decision? Well, no one takes responsibility, and apparently, it is kind of an "eeny-meeny-miney-mo" choice. And that dog that the woman always holds? That's a stock/file picture and that little dog was euthanized soon after....because "no one wanted it".
So, if you support PETA, remember that you are supporting an organization that does not want you to have animals......of ANY kind.
And think about this: what would happen if all the dogs, cats, horses, cows, goats, sheep, snakes, lizards, spiders, etc. all had to be released on their own recognizance? Are you ready to watch our domesticated animals, who have absolutely NO idea how to survive in the world, let alone try to find food for themselves, slowly starve to death, get hit by cars, get torn apart by those coyotes and packs of dogs, or squeezed to death by the large snakes (watch your children, too)? Sure, it will come slow.....first the orcas, then horses, cows, sheep, goats, chickens, etc. Oh, yeah.....where will you get your eggs, meat, McDonald's? Oh, yeah, PETA is completely vegan.....no meat, no dairy, no eggs, either.
Are you ready to change your whole way of life?
Saturday, February 25, 2012
Saturday, January 21, 2012
Rare Sightings
Well, winter has finally arrived in NE Ohio, and with it comes the sightings of the rare silver-back Percherons.
Like the Yeti, these beasts have only been seen when snow is falling thick and heavy; and especially in blizzards.
They meander in and out of sight, seemingly unaware of us, as we do our chores as fast as we can.
Sometimes they stand near the gate, not moving, staring at the door as if that alone will cause the door to open into a grand cave.
At times you will hear one squeal, and plumes of snow shoot out as the herd breaks apart in different directions. Yet, they maintain their silver-backs.
Then the door opens and the silverbacks rush into the barn. And back out again. And back in again. A few may charge into some empty stalls. But those silver backs just charge them full of energy and it takes awhile to sort it all out.
By that time, the silverbacks are less silverbacks and more, well, just plain wet.
Bill, and some of our overachievers in hair growth, hold onto their silverbacks for a bit longer.
Ultimately, everyone needs to be scraped off. When it snows, it's cold, and no one like to be both wet and cold for the night.
Like the Yeti, these beasts have only been seen when snow is falling thick and heavy; and especially in blizzards.
They meander in and out of sight, seemingly unaware of us, as we do our chores as fast as we can.
Sometimes they stand near the gate, not moving, staring at the door as if that alone will cause the door to open into a grand cave.
At times you will hear one squeal, and plumes of snow shoot out as the herd breaks apart in different directions. Yet, they maintain their silver-backs.
Then the door opens and the silverbacks rush into the barn. And back out again. And back in again. A few may charge into some empty stalls. But those silver backs just charge them full of energy and it takes awhile to sort it all out.
By that time, the silverbacks are less silverbacks and more, well, just plain wet.
Bill, and some of our overachievers in hair growth, hold onto their silverbacks for a bit longer.
Ultimately, everyone needs to be scraped off. When it snows, it's cold, and no one like to be both wet and cold for the night.
Saturday, December 3, 2011
The Horse Magazine
Every month I get an e-zine from The Horse.com. Along with the generic e-zine, there are many variations that deal with feeding, specialized health, lameness, etc. I think there's at least 5 variations.
Last week, the December edition of the e-zine showed up in my e-mail, and I carefully scanned the articles to see what I wanted to read. There was an article about how horses handle fear. What I had hoped would be in interesting neurological/physical read, turned into a research essay from Germany about how horses behave when a fear stimulus is created and a human is involved. Specifically, 1) if a human was not there; 2) if a human was there; 3) if the human was leading the horse or on the ground; 4) if the human was on the back of the horse; and (ta-ta-ta-DA!) 5) the expertise of the human. The Result: (trumpets and drum roll please) the expertise of the human made the most difference in how the horse behaved to the fearful stimulus.
REALLY?!
Somebody needed a GRANT and published a Research Paper on this???!!!
I think most of US could figure that out in less than a week.
Anyway, I was so disappointed in this article that I really questioned whether a The Horse was really worth keeping around. I mean, I just felt like this was so elemental that it just was not up to the standards that I had seen glimpses of in other articles.
The biggest problem I have with the e-zine is that there are some articles I start reading on the content page, then when I hit the "read more" tab, I get a log-in box. I find that irritating, since I've started reading, I'm usually in the middle of the sentence (cuz that's always where they put the "read more" tab) and then I find the pop-up box in the middle of my screen.
While I was chewing on this "I can't believe they actually printed that garbage," and debating cancelling the e-zine, I went to my local tack shop to use a gift certificate. I had some spare bucks to play with, and....lo-and-behold! a hard copy of The Horse was in the magazine rack.
What I found out was that the e-zine and the hard copy do NOT mirror each other.
I checked both the November issue and the December issue, and did not find any reference to the above research paper (well, at least directly).
But I bought the December issue, with it's emphasis on Chronic Pain.
The ads in hard copy of The Horse is definitely geared toward veterinarians....there are ads for cutting edge drugs and equipment that your average, everyday horseperson is NOT going to be able to afford. But the articles are actually written with the average, everyday horseperson in mind. They are clear, concise and do not use the humongous terms medical people (both human and animal) tend to chatter to each other.
What I CAN say is: If you can find a copy of the December 2011 The Horse Magazine---GET IT! Very interesting if you really want to get a handle on your horse's pain!
While all the pain articles were very good (I know I gleaned at least ONE new thing from each of them), the best one, by far, was "Detecting Discomfort" by Sue McDonnell, PhD, Cert. AAB (Certified Applied Animal Behaviorist). She actually has a LIST of things to watch for that suggest your horse may have pain. And she explains why it's so difficult for us humans to spot. In other words, it's HORSE LISTENING to a "T", and she explains it well. She also suggests using a video camera to watch how the horse behaves when there is no human interaction. If you go back to my May 2009 blog (explaining why I hadn't been blogging) you can see WHY I can only agree with her. Fire behaved one way with us in the barn, and was completely different (almost a "dummy foal") when we weren't. And she almost died because of it.
So, while I was planning on deriding The Horse.com and it's hard copy The Horse; I found that I ended up with access to some very interesting, and very useful information. And I suggest you check it out, as well.
Last week, the December edition of the e-zine showed up in my e-mail, and I carefully scanned the articles to see what I wanted to read. There was an article about how horses handle fear. What I had hoped would be in interesting neurological/physical read, turned into a research essay from Germany about how horses behave when a fear stimulus is created and a human is involved. Specifically, 1) if a human was not there; 2) if a human was there; 3) if the human was leading the horse or on the ground; 4) if the human was on the back of the horse; and (ta-ta-ta-DA!) 5) the expertise of the human. The Result: (trumpets and drum roll please) the expertise of the human made the most difference in how the horse behaved to the fearful stimulus.
REALLY?!
Somebody needed a GRANT and published a Research Paper on this???!!!
I think most of US could figure that out in less than a week.
Anyway, I was so disappointed in this article that I really questioned whether a The Horse was really worth keeping around. I mean, I just felt like this was so elemental that it just was not up to the standards that I had seen glimpses of in other articles.
The biggest problem I have with the e-zine is that there are some articles I start reading on the content page, then when I hit the "read more" tab, I get a log-in box. I find that irritating, since I've started reading, I'm usually in the middle of the sentence (cuz that's always where they put the "read more" tab) and then I find the pop-up box in the middle of my screen.
While I was chewing on this "I can't believe they actually printed that garbage," and debating cancelling the e-zine, I went to my local tack shop to use a gift certificate. I had some spare bucks to play with, and....lo-and-behold! a hard copy of The Horse was in the magazine rack.
What I found out was that the e-zine and the hard copy do NOT mirror each other.
I checked both the November issue and the December issue, and did not find any reference to the above research paper (well, at least directly).
But I bought the December issue, with it's emphasis on Chronic Pain.
The ads in hard copy of The Horse is definitely geared toward veterinarians....there are ads for cutting edge drugs and equipment that your average, everyday horseperson is NOT going to be able to afford. But the articles are actually written with the average, everyday horseperson in mind. They are clear, concise and do not use the humongous terms medical people (both human and animal) tend to chatter to each other.
What I CAN say is: If you can find a copy of the December 2011 The Horse Magazine---GET IT! Very interesting if you really want to get a handle on your horse's pain!
While all the pain articles were very good (I know I gleaned at least ONE new thing from each of them), the best one, by far, was "Detecting Discomfort" by Sue McDonnell, PhD, Cert. AAB (Certified Applied Animal Behaviorist). She actually has a LIST of things to watch for that suggest your horse may have pain. And she explains why it's so difficult for us humans to spot. In other words, it's HORSE LISTENING to a "T", and she explains it well. She also suggests using a video camera to watch how the horse behaves when there is no human interaction. If you go back to my May 2009 blog (explaining why I hadn't been blogging) you can see WHY I can only agree with her. Fire behaved one way with us in the barn, and was completely different (almost a "dummy foal") when we weren't. And she almost died because of it.
So, while I was planning on deriding The Horse.com and it's hard copy The Horse; I found that I ended up with access to some very interesting, and very useful information. And I suggest you check it out, as well.
Thursday, November 24, 2011
Rose
Rose is our newest addition. Even if she IS 14 years old.
The Irish Rose Jasmine. I wish they had called her Jazzy....Rose is so lame. And the Irish Rose is a Farm name. I did call her Jazzy when I first looked at her at the sale....and she did respond to it. But she's been called "Rose" for at least 10 years, and that is the name she responds to automatically.
The Irish Rose Jasmine could be an incarnation of another horse we had, The Irish Rose Liza Jane, except Liza died in 1999. Liza was 17.1-17.2hh; Rose is 18hh or a little better. No relation whatsoever (except Farm Name) but she has the same face, same expression and many of the same mannerisms. So much, that I've called her Liza a couple of times.
Hubby took her to a drive last week, and she was driven single. The previous owners said she was broke at one time, but that they had used her as a brood mare for the last 7 years.....never even hitched her. Until just before sale time, when they hooked her with another old lady and the 2 of them just walked off as if they had been hooked the day before. And, even in the cart, which is usually more difficult than team when working new horses, she worked just fine. And she's sweet, which is a definite change from the rest of our barn.
And she "talks". Both Rose and Bill are the barn "talkers". No, not with nickers or snorts or neighs.....but with their eyes. There is absolutely no doubt about what she is trying to convey to the stupid human who is too dense to understand things right away. But, she's patient, and waits until the human "gets it".
She wears her heart on her sleeve, so to speak. One look at her and she tells you how she feels about what is going on around her. For one, she doesn't understand why there is no grass in the pasture they are in (they ate it all, most of it before the frosts, and the frosts killed the rest), and why they can't go on the other side of the fence where there IS some. Me, too, Rose. But, the stupid humans don't have it fenced yet, and we'd prefer you remain on our property rather than be shot by our neighbors who don't know the difference between a horse and a deer (even if the horse is 2000 lbs compared to maybe 400 lbs on the deer). It IS hunting season, after all. And she doesn't understand why she is kind of ostracized. Although Princess will come up and groom her, she will, just as quickly, turn around and kick the $%!# out of her. And, unfortunately, Princess doesn't just kick and quit....no, she continues on until her anger over whatever is finally vented. (Princess and K go on kicking sprees against each other and needs human intervention. Fortunately, they aren't very often). Even as Rose moves away, Princess will follow. And you can look at Rose and see that she is totally confused about why this is happening.
Even Jill (who DOES seem to be mellowing) merely pins her ears and looks ugly at her. And Rose doesn't understand why. Then again, there ARE times when Jill will break up the altercations.
It doesn't help that Rose is so obvious, so "verbal" as it were, that she gets a lot of consoling. Which only makes the others more jealous. So we try to keep it even.
I can only wonder what's going to happen when we start working with Dee and Bo this year. We'll be watching for signs.
The Irish Rose Jasmine. I wish they had called her Jazzy....Rose is so lame. And the Irish Rose is a Farm name. I did call her Jazzy when I first looked at her at the sale....and she did respond to it. But she's been called "Rose" for at least 10 years, and that is the name she responds to automatically.
The Irish Rose Jasmine could be an incarnation of another horse we had, The Irish Rose Liza Jane, except Liza died in 1999. Liza was 17.1-17.2hh; Rose is 18hh or a little better. No relation whatsoever (except Farm Name) but she has the same face, same expression and many of the same mannerisms. So much, that I've called her Liza a couple of times.
Hubby took her to a drive last week, and she was driven single. The previous owners said she was broke at one time, but that they had used her as a brood mare for the last 7 years.....never even hitched her. Until just before sale time, when they hooked her with another old lady and the 2 of them just walked off as if they had been hooked the day before. And, even in the cart, which is usually more difficult than team when working new horses, she worked just fine. And she's sweet, which is a definite change from the rest of our barn.
And she "talks". Both Rose and Bill are the barn "talkers". No, not with nickers or snorts or neighs.....but with their eyes. There is absolutely no doubt about what she is trying to convey to the stupid human who is too dense to understand things right away. But, she's patient, and waits until the human "gets it".
She wears her heart on her sleeve, so to speak. One look at her and she tells you how she feels about what is going on around her. For one, she doesn't understand why there is no grass in the pasture they are in (they ate it all, most of it before the frosts, and the frosts killed the rest), and why they can't go on the other side of the fence where there IS some. Me, too, Rose. But, the stupid humans don't have it fenced yet, and we'd prefer you remain on our property rather than be shot by our neighbors who don't know the difference between a horse and a deer (even if the horse is 2000 lbs compared to maybe 400 lbs on the deer). It IS hunting season, after all. And she doesn't understand why she is kind of ostracized. Although Princess will come up and groom her, she will, just as quickly, turn around and kick the $%!# out of her. And, unfortunately, Princess doesn't just kick and quit....no, she continues on until her anger over whatever is finally vented. (Princess and K go on kicking sprees against each other and needs human intervention. Fortunately, they aren't very often). Even as Rose moves away, Princess will follow. And you can look at Rose and see that she is totally confused about why this is happening.
Even Jill (who DOES seem to be mellowing) merely pins her ears and looks ugly at her. And Rose doesn't understand why. Then again, there ARE times when Jill will break up the altercations.
It doesn't help that Rose is so obvious, so "verbal" as it were, that she gets a lot of consoling. Which only makes the others more jealous. So we try to keep it even.
I can only wonder what's going to happen when we start working with Dee and Bo this year. We'll be watching for signs.
Friday, November 18, 2011
Catching up
Hi y'all.
Well, it's been a wild ride this year. Sold our broodmare to some friends of ours that fell in love with her; bought a mare for the same friends (and one for us!); made up our first 6-horse-hitch this year (at times THAT wasn't pretty!); and just bought an old mare that reminds us of another horse we once had.
Yep, another horse we really don't need.
Oh, well.
Our Jill horse.....the horse that hates everybody....except Bill the gelding...has surprised us. Maybe she's getting mellow as she ages. Poor Bill came up lame at the Fairs this year. As both the Rock of our multiple hitches and the mate for Jill, this was indeed a hard blow to us. Star and Princess (who we bought this Spring) are the lead team, since they are just awesome to watch. So we thought to put K and Queen together. And we found out that K as grown up to be pretty close to 18hh, to Queen's 17.1. On a lark, we put Jill and K together, expecting an explosion of some kind. And they worked. In fact, K pulled her weight, instead of sandbagging and being lazy. Of course, that might be because Jill can have a real hissy-fit when her partner doesn't hold their end up (just ask Bill!). Now Jill and K are the wheel team. That left Queen in the middle by herself, but our friends who bought Sheena wanted her used. Sheena is the same size as Queen, so it worked. Our first 6-up did reasonably well. The second time we showed it.....well, there was just a lot going on.
Star and Princess had been in a wreck the day before. They had been in the "Tandem" class; a class where one horse is in a cart and the other is ahead of it in single file. Apparently (according to witnesses), while they were waiting for the rest of the class to enter, Star (the lead horse) get hit by some rocks thrown by some kids. Now the kids didn't mean to hit the horse; they were throwing them at a mailbox that is placed high up along the fence for another program at fair. But even though they hit her several times and she jumped, they didn't quit, either. When she was hit the last time, she just started backing up, then turned 180 degrees. Now, once that happens, you have one going north and one going south and it is not good no matter what. Star boogied and Princess couldn't back up fast enough and everything eventually went down, with Princess literally falling over the cart. Fortunately (or unfortunately, depending how you look at it)it was so muddy that the ground was soft. Ultimately both horses went down, the cart went on it's side, and the horses ended up tangled in each other's harnesses. It was ugly.
Fortunately we had a lot of horse people hanging around (most of the drivers in the rest of the class were busy with their OWN rigs), even though most of THEM were not particularly draft horse people.
Two people jumped on the horse's heads. For those of you who do not know, this is one of the best ways to calm a trapped horse. Kinda like the squeeze chutes for cattle and sheep. The horses stopped thrashing around, and people came to help get them untangled. It took awhile, but when all was said and done, the harness was off, the cart uprighted, and horses lead from the ring. A few scrapes on horses, one harness piece was cut (but easily replaced) and the holdback lost a snap.
The dramatic wreck, described as one of the worst wrecks the judge had ever seen (oh,yeah, he was on one of the horse's heads)ended up with both horses fine, the cart in one piece and a really, really, REALLY dirty harness. Thank goodness for BioThane. Considering that I have seen a few tandem wrecks in which the horse in the cart was actually impaled by a broken shaft.....I consider us very blessed.
Neither horse seemed worse for wear. I took them into a ladies' team class and they were a bit nervous but performed like troopers.
Queen, however was all out of sorts. She did not get used much, and I think, in some ways, she was not happy about everyone else getting to go out. Queen is a work-horse in the true sense of the word. She actually LIKES to be hitched. But, we found out, not by herself. We had intended to use her in a cart class, but she was so wound up, she started bucking and kicking, so she was pulled. By the 6-up, she STILL wasn't happy, so the great swing (middle) team we had the first time was not so great the second.
Live and learn.
But then, that's what horse ownership is all about!
Well, it's been a wild ride this year. Sold our broodmare to some friends of ours that fell in love with her; bought a mare for the same friends (and one for us!); made up our first 6-horse-hitch this year (at times THAT wasn't pretty!); and just bought an old mare that reminds us of another horse we once had.
Yep, another horse we really don't need.
Oh, well.
Our Jill horse.....the horse that hates everybody....except Bill the gelding...has surprised us. Maybe she's getting mellow as she ages. Poor Bill came up lame at the Fairs this year. As both the Rock of our multiple hitches and the mate for Jill, this was indeed a hard blow to us. Star and Princess (who we bought this Spring) are the lead team, since they are just awesome to watch. So we thought to put K and Queen together. And we found out that K as grown up to be pretty close to 18hh, to Queen's 17.1. On a lark, we put Jill and K together, expecting an explosion of some kind. And they worked. In fact, K pulled her weight, instead of sandbagging and being lazy. Of course, that might be because Jill can have a real hissy-fit when her partner doesn't hold their end up (just ask Bill!). Now Jill and K are the wheel team. That left Queen in the middle by herself, but our friends who bought Sheena wanted her used. Sheena is the same size as Queen, so it worked. Our first 6-up did reasonably well. The second time we showed it.....well, there was just a lot going on.
Star and Princess had been in a wreck the day before. They had been in the "Tandem" class; a class where one horse is in a cart and the other is ahead of it in single file. Apparently (according to witnesses), while they were waiting for the rest of the class to enter, Star (the lead horse) get hit by some rocks thrown by some kids. Now the kids didn't mean to hit the horse; they were throwing them at a mailbox that is placed high up along the fence for another program at fair. But even though they hit her several times and she jumped, they didn't quit, either. When she was hit the last time, she just started backing up, then turned 180 degrees. Now, once that happens, you have one going north and one going south and it is not good no matter what. Star boogied and Princess couldn't back up fast enough and everything eventually went down, with Princess literally falling over the cart. Fortunately (or unfortunately, depending how you look at it)it was so muddy that the ground was soft. Ultimately both horses went down, the cart went on it's side, and the horses ended up tangled in each other's harnesses. It was ugly.
Fortunately we had a lot of horse people hanging around (most of the drivers in the rest of the class were busy with their OWN rigs), even though most of THEM were not particularly draft horse people.
Two people jumped on the horse's heads. For those of you who do not know, this is one of the best ways to calm a trapped horse. Kinda like the squeeze chutes for cattle and sheep. The horses stopped thrashing around, and people came to help get them untangled. It took awhile, but when all was said and done, the harness was off, the cart uprighted, and horses lead from the ring. A few scrapes on horses, one harness piece was cut (but easily replaced) and the holdback lost a snap.
The dramatic wreck, described as one of the worst wrecks the judge had ever seen (oh,yeah, he was on one of the horse's heads)ended up with both horses fine, the cart in one piece and a really, really, REALLY dirty harness. Thank goodness for BioThane. Considering that I have seen a few tandem wrecks in which the horse in the cart was actually impaled by a broken shaft.....I consider us very blessed.
Neither horse seemed worse for wear. I took them into a ladies' team class and they were a bit nervous but performed like troopers.
Queen, however was all out of sorts. She did not get used much, and I think, in some ways, she was not happy about everyone else getting to go out. Queen is a work-horse in the true sense of the word. She actually LIKES to be hitched. But, we found out, not by herself. We had intended to use her in a cart class, but she was so wound up, she started bucking and kicking, so she was pulled. By the 6-up, she STILL wasn't happy, so the great swing (middle) team we had the first time was not so great the second.
Live and learn.
But then, that's what horse ownership is all about!
Saturday, February 26, 2011
Babies and Self-Destruction
Watizzit about young horses and self-destruction? It seems that if they can get into trouble, they will find a way....and an unusual way at that.
"D" decided she wanted into the barn, even though Jill was already in the barn; which generally means that anyone coming in behind her is going to get blasted. Roy had closed the gate to the pasture in order to get Queen Jill in her stall without any bloodshed.
NOT.
"D" decided to jump the gate. "D" is 9 months old, approximately 12hh, and the gate is around 4'6" tall. In other words, the gate is bit higher than her back.
Well, she got her front legs over it. But her back legs got a bit tangled in it. Since we are both firefighters, he likened it to "locking a leg" in a ladder....which is to wrap your leg through and then back under a rung, which allows you to have both hands free to do whatever needs to be done. I was working, so Roy was on his own. Even HE is not really sure how he managed to pry the gate off the hinges and unwind the leg. But it all turned out ok in the end.....except for the gate....and her hocks.
By the time I got home her one hock was huge. The other was scraped as well, and swollen, but not so bad. It was really ugly.
You always worry in youngsters, since you are not really sure just how much damage they have done. It's just so easy to stretch a ligament or tendon and NOT have it return to normal. Or a lesion could start a real nasty scar-tissue process and you end up with not only an ugly site, but also a stiff joint.
Before we got Star, she had been in a tussle with something (probably wire) and cut her leg. Fortunately, she did not do damage to the joint (she still has awesome hock action), but she has a "fat leg"; the scar tissue that was created was massive. She cannot be shown in halter classes.
Only time will tell with "D". Her Canadian sister "K" also banged up her legs as a youngster, and come through with no scars or problems. But that situation was not as scary as "D"'s It is still too early to tell for "D". So far we have got the swelling down with Bute (yeah, Bute), and the scrapes are healing and should not "show"....no white hairs or anything. But the hock is still stiff, and the swelling just below the hock is still there. But, it doesn't seem to stop her.....she still will run out (or in) although she prefers not to use that leg consistently as her lead push-off leg.
I just don't know what it is about babies and self-destruction.
"D" decided she wanted into the barn, even though Jill was already in the barn; which generally means that anyone coming in behind her is going to get blasted. Roy had closed the gate to the pasture in order to get Queen Jill in her stall without any bloodshed.
NOT.
"D" decided to jump the gate. "D" is 9 months old, approximately 12hh, and the gate is around 4'6" tall. In other words, the gate is bit higher than her back.
Well, she got her front legs over it. But her back legs got a bit tangled in it. Since we are both firefighters, he likened it to "locking a leg" in a ladder....which is to wrap your leg through and then back under a rung, which allows you to have both hands free to do whatever needs to be done. I was working, so Roy was on his own. Even HE is not really sure how he managed to pry the gate off the hinges and unwind the leg. But it all turned out ok in the end.....except for the gate....and her hocks.
By the time I got home her one hock was huge. The other was scraped as well, and swollen, but not so bad. It was really ugly.
You always worry in youngsters, since you are not really sure just how much damage they have done. It's just so easy to stretch a ligament or tendon and NOT have it return to normal. Or a lesion could start a real nasty scar-tissue process and you end up with not only an ugly site, but also a stiff joint.
Before we got Star, she had been in a tussle with something (probably wire) and cut her leg. Fortunately, she did not do damage to the joint (she still has awesome hock action), but she has a "fat leg"; the scar tissue that was created was massive. She cannot be shown in halter classes.
Only time will tell with "D". Her Canadian sister "K" also banged up her legs as a youngster, and come through with no scars or problems. But that situation was not as scary as "D"'s It is still too early to tell for "D". So far we have got the swelling down with Bute (yeah, Bute), and the scrapes are healing and should not "show"....no white hairs or anything. But the hock is still stiff, and the swelling just below the hock is still there. But, it doesn't seem to stop her.....she still will run out (or in) although she prefers not to use that leg consistently as her lead push-off leg.
I just don't know what it is about babies and self-destruction.
Saturday, January 15, 2011
A New Year
Well, the first of the year brought RAIN, and 50's and the snow melted (Yea!!!).....for 2 days. Then the snow and cold came back. Once again, the road to the barn was filled up, and wheelbarrowing grain and sawdust was the game. This time, however, hubby snowblowed not only the house drive, but the extended drive and out to the barn. How nice!!!! You could actually walk out there!!
And then it snowed again, and it filled again, and he had to blow it out again.
Winter is just not fun in NorthEast Ohio when you've got animals. I'm beginning to think we need to build a barn to house enough sawdust for winter!!
Although "D" (Melody) likes it. Oh, yeah.....snow outside....get out the door.....and ROLL. Never mind the fact that 4 more much bigger horses are on their way out the door, too.....NOOOOOOOO. That snow is just too inviting, and down she goes. At least Star and Bill wait until the ruckus settles before dropping and rolling.
For the most part, it's quiet time in the barn. D and K are growing (at 6 months and coming 3 yo it's expected). In fact K is now bigger than what WAS to be her partner this year, Queen. If she continues on, she may even get taller than Star, and that could be troublesome. After all, the next partner for a MARE team would be Jill......and that just won't work. Although Bill would be fine. But I'd rather not subject Bill to any more work than is necessary. He's 15, this year, and although he has done very well on the Adequan injections, I'm sure there's some damage in his joints.
But weather (and sunlight) is the issue. I really don't like having to shut up the barn to keep the snow out....since it cuts down on ventilation and light. But with the snow coming in from the EAST instead of the West this year, it tends to get into the feed room.....and that's one problem we don't need. We had that last year, where some feed apparently got wet, and actually molded!! We were not aware that it had gotten wet, and started feeding it, when I actually saw it. Not good. But found in time, and no one got sick.
But it does stay dark until almost 8am. Although it has been lighter until after 5pm, it still is a long spell of "dark" for the horses.
But it hasn't stopped heat cycles. Star's in hers right now, so I expect Queen will show up with a day or so. Even Jill (who tends to be either dormant or a "silent heat-er") has been obvious. Of course it's during the coldest times. Go figure. But even K has been cycling along this winter. Maybe it will be an over-all warmer winter.....but we sure could use a break from the snow!!
Maybe I shouldn't say that.....it's freezing rain right now...and that's worse than snow. At least snow stays on top of the hair and can get brushed off when they come in.....freezing rain seems to penetrate to the skin and stays wet much longer. I really don't like my animals being wet when the temperature threatens to drop!!
What can I say.....my creatures are spoiled (rotten).
And then it snowed again, and it filled again, and he had to blow it out again.
Winter is just not fun in NorthEast Ohio when you've got animals. I'm beginning to think we need to build a barn to house enough sawdust for winter!!
Although "D" (Melody) likes it. Oh, yeah.....snow outside....get out the door.....and ROLL. Never mind the fact that 4 more much bigger horses are on their way out the door, too.....NOOOOOOOO. That snow is just too inviting, and down she goes. At least Star and Bill wait until the ruckus settles before dropping and rolling.
For the most part, it's quiet time in the barn. D and K are growing (at 6 months and coming 3 yo it's expected). In fact K is now bigger than what WAS to be her partner this year, Queen. If she continues on, she may even get taller than Star, and that could be troublesome. After all, the next partner for a MARE team would be Jill......and that just won't work. Although Bill would be fine. But I'd rather not subject Bill to any more work than is necessary. He's 15, this year, and although he has done very well on the Adequan injections, I'm sure there's some damage in his joints.
But weather (and sunlight) is the issue. I really don't like having to shut up the barn to keep the snow out....since it cuts down on ventilation and light. But with the snow coming in from the EAST instead of the West this year, it tends to get into the feed room.....and that's one problem we don't need. We had that last year, where some feed apparently got wet, and actually molded!! We were not aware that it had gotten wet, and started feeding it, when I actually saw it. Not good. But found in time, and no one got sick.
But it does stay dark until almost 8am. Although it has been lighter until after 5pm, it still is a long spell of "dark" for the horses.
But it hasn't stopped heat cycles. Star's in hers right now, so I expect Queen will show up with a day or so. Even Jill (who tends to be either dormant or a "silent heat-er") has been obvious. Of course it's during the coldest times. Go figure. But even K has been cycling along this winter. Maybe it will be an over-all warmer winter.....but we sure could use a break from the snow!!
Maybe I shouldn't say that.....it's freezing rain right now...and that's worse than snow. At least snow stays on top of the hair and can get brushed off when they come in.....freezing rain seems to penetrate to the skin and stays wet much longer. I really don't like my animals being wet when the temperature threatens to drop!!
What can I say.....my creatures are spoiled (rotten).
Saturday, January 1, 2011
Beginning 2011
Spring has joined us for a few days.....in the 50's, and the snow is melting.
Which makes mud.
Which makes everything filthy and slippery.
Including what the horses are walking on.
I'm not sure which is worse.....the cold and snow.....or mud.
Mud clings to everything, especially horse's feet and legs. Mud's more slippery than snow making slips and strains easier. Or it will hang onto one foot while the rest go sliding. It clings to the pasterns and legs, allowing for "scratches" and other nasty skin problems. Guess you could say I'm not a big fan of mud.
2010 was, in many ways, not such a good year. But, in other ways, good things DID happen. Horses we sold went to happy homes....and I always like that.
Lilly did not break (bummer).
Athena twisted a gut (devastating bummer).
And we've been treating Star for a fat leg.
Star was not bought to be a halter horse....she was bought because she can MOVE!
She has an old injury on her left hind leg, which looks like a wire cut but no one is really sure what cut her. It was not treated early enough, and so her hock always looks "fat". On Christmas Eve, our friend Caren was kind enough to feed the horses for us so we could make a trip into Michigan to see Roy's family. SHE is the one who noticed that her leg looked fat. She called us to let us know. Naturally, we checked her when we got home, but, it really didn't look much worse than normal.
Ho, ho, ho.
I worked Christmas and the day after, and hubby told me her leg was not looking good, she was not a happy camper and did not go to demolish her grain.
Rule No. 1 at our place.....if the horse won't eat.....CALL THE VET.
Temperature check was 102. Time for SMZ's and Bute.
Monday, he went to work and I came home. When I checked on Star, I was stunned.
IT WAS A TREE TRUNK! Vet came out that afternoon....well really close to noon. (I have GREAT vets and he snuck me in before going on the rest of the afternoon's calls.)
Temp down.....leg down (I had let her out earlier and she had been bouncing around in the snow).
But I learned something. After he checked her over, and finding nothing specific (we had checked her over for any new wounds, naturally), he said he felt it was due to the old injury. He said that sometimes the lymphatic system can get "clogged" at the old injury site, and things will back up. There does not seem to be a rhyme or reason for it, it just will. He gave her a shot of Banamine to help drop the swelling, and we've been continuing on with the Bute and SMZ's....antibiotic is a "just in case we missed something" thing.
She's pretty much back to her normal self, although the leg is still a bit puffy.
She doesn't like taking the dose of SMZ (Carrots help that) and she really is not a fan of powdered Bute in her grain. That kind of surprises me, because the powdered Bute has a taste of apples in it, while the tablets taste like....well, chewing aspirin.
But it's a New Year....with New Hopes.
Here's to it.
Which makes mud.
Which makes everything filthy and slippery.
Including what the horses are walking on.
I'm not sure which is worse.....the cold and snow.....or mud.
Mud clings to everything, especially horse's feet and legs. Mud's more slippery than snow making slips and strains easier. Or it will hang onto one foot while the rest go sliding. It clings to the pasterns and legs, allowing for "scratches" and other nasty skin problems. Guess you could say I'm not a big fan of mud.
2010 was, in many ways, not such a good year. But, in other ways, good things DID happen. Horses we sold went to happy homes....and I always like that.
Lilly did not break (bummer).
Athena twisted a gut (devastating bummer).
And we've been treating Star for a fat leg.
Star was not bought to be a halter horse....she was bought because she can MOVE!
She has an old injury on her left hind leg, which looks like a wire cut but no one is really sure what cut her. It was not treated early enough, and so her hock always looks "fat". On Christmas Eve, our friend Caren was kind enough to feed the horses for us so we could make a trip into Michigan to see Roy's family. SHE is the one who noticed that her leg looked fat. She called us to let us know. Naturally, we checked her when we got home, but, it really didn't look much worse than normal.
Ho, ho, ho.
I worked Christmas and the day after, and hubby told me her leg was not looking good, she was not a happy camper and did not go to demolish her grain.
Rule No. 1 at our place.....if the horse won't eat.....CALL THE VET.
Temperature check was 102. Time for SMZ's and Bute.
Monday, he went to work and I came home. When I checked on Star, I was stunned.
IT WAS A TREE TRUNK! Vet came out that afternoon....well really close to noon. (I have GREAT vets and he snuck me in before going on the rest of the afternoon's calls.)
Temp down.....leg down (I had let her out earlier and she had been bouncing around in the snow).
But I learned something. After he checked her over, and finding nothing specific (we had checked her over for any new wounds, naturally), he said he felt it was due to the old injury. He said that sometimes the lymphatic system can get "clogged" at the old injury site, and things will back up. There does not seem to be a rhyme or reason for it, it just will. He gave her a shot of Banamine to help drop the swelling, and we've been continuing on with the Bute and SMZ's....antibiotic is a "just in case we missed something" thing.
She's pretty much back to her normal self, although the leg is still a bit puffy.
She doesn't like taking the dose of SMZ (Carrots help that) and she really is not a fan of powdered Bute in her grain. That kind of surprises me, because the powdered Bute has a taste of apples in it, while the tablets taste like....well, chewing aspirin.
But it's a New Year....with New Hopes.
Here's to it.
Saturday, December 11, 2010
Winter's Here!!!!
Winter has arrived in NE Ohio!! And none too gently. We were lucky through this first onslaught....most of the heavy squalls went west and south of us, so we only had to deal with 6-8" vs 2' in Burton!! But this next storm promises to be ugly....and they are talking about FEET instead of inches.
The biggest problem with winter in our area is that the road back to the barn gets blocked. The drifts tend to set up right where the road leaves the main pad, then another at the end of the old barn, another halfway to the hay barn, another in front of the hay barn and then one humongous drift right in front of the horse barn. We can easily get easily get 5 18" drifts out of a little 5" snowstorm. This time the winds are expected to be over 50 mph, so the drifts will be even worse.
Occasionally, we luck out and the wind comes from the direct west, which blows most of it right down the drive and across the street.
This blockage makes life interesting when you have sick-y animals.
Right now our newest arrival, weanling Melody (or "D" as we are calling her), is having trouble shaking the snots. It seems all weanlings get "the baby snots" when the weather turns.....and since our weather has had a hard time deciding whether it wants to be warm or cold-----she's been dealing with sinus problems for some time. Now she has developed a cough....a cough we've been treating for about 10 days now. So even tho her lungs are clear and air is moving easily, she has a dry cough, high in her airway. As a medical professional, you get an ear for where these coughs are starting. We have her on an anti-biotic to prevent bigger problems.
I don't like putting horses on antibiotics unless they need them, for the simple fact that they begin to build up a tolerance to the medicine (as do the little nasties that live in them) and it gets trickier to treat them as they get older. It's no different than we see in humans, where the so-called "super-bugs" run rampant because we all have had way too much antibiotics for no reason (colds/flu are VIRUSES and cannot be treated with antibiotics which is for INFECTIONS). But all things considered, antibiotics prophylactically (oooooow, THERE's a big word!!!) is probably the better part of valor. In other words, trying to PREVENT pnuemonia or bronchitis is better than treating it once it gets a hold of the horse.
The snow also makes it harder to get sawdust and feed back to the barn.....it needs to go back little bit by wheelbarrow or shoulder.
That's probably one of the biggest drawbacks of farm life. Since we don't plow or harvest with tractors, the tractor we have is not quite up to the serious plowing it needs to do. Oh, we've TRIED....but it just isn't heavy enough (and we get some really heavy snows!) Some day I hope to get a bobsled style sleigh to let the horses help in their own care. Hey! What a novel idea!!! Totally new concept!!!
The biggest problem with winter in our area is that the road back to the barn gets blocked. The drifts tend to set up right where the road leaves the main pad, then another at the end of the old barn, another halfway to the hay barn, another in front of the hay barn and then one humongous drift right in front of the horse barn. We can easily get easily get 5 18" drifts out of a little 5" snowstorm. This time the winds are expected to be over 50 mph, so the drifts will be even worse.
Occasionally, we luck out and the wind comes from the direct west, which blows most of it right down the drive and across the street.
This blockage makes life interesting when you have sick-y animals.
Right now our newest arrival, weanling Melody (or "D" as we are calling her), is having trouble shaking the snots. It seems all weanlings get "the baby snots" when the weather turns.....and since our weather has had a hard time deciding whether it wants to be warm or cold-----she's been dealing with sinus problems for some time. Now she has developed a cough....a cough we've been treating for about 10 days now. So even tho her lungs are clear and air is moving easily, she has a dry cough, high in her airway. As a medical professional, you get an ear for where these coughs are starting. We have her on an anti-biotic to prevent bigger problems.
I don't like putting horses on antibiotics unless they need them, for the simple fact that they begin to build up a tolerance to the medicine (as do the little nasties that live in them) and it gets trickier to treat them as they get older. It's no different than we see in humans, where the so-called "super-bugs" run rampant because we all have had way too much antibiotics for no reason (colds/flu are VIRUSES and cannot be treated with antibiotics which is for INFECTIONS). But all things considered, antibiotics prophylactically (oooooow, THERE's a big word!!!) is probably the better part of valor. In other words, trying to PREVENT pnuemonia or bronchitis is better than treating it once it gets a hold of the horse.
The snow also makes it harder to get sawdust and feed back to the barn.....it needs to go back little bit by wheelbarrow or shoulder.
That's probably one of the biggest drawbacks of farm life. Since we don't plow or harvest with tractors, the tractor we have is not quite up to the serious plowing it needs to do. Oh, we've TRIED....but it just isn't heavy enough (and we get some really heavy snows!) Some day I hope to get a bobsled style sleigh to let the horses help in their own care. Hey! What a novel idea!!! Totally new concept!!!
Friday, November 26, 2010
2010 Shows, K's Futurity
The sting of losing Athena is still with me, but I want to get this down before I forget.
This year, fairs were not especially kind to us....from the judging standpoint.
We did not place in some classes as we should have. Some were legitimate reasons, others were, well, things that made you go "Whaaaaa?"
We had sent our 2 2yo's to the trainer. Unfortunately, Lilly, the best looking one turned out to be not so good. Oh, she was a beautiful mover, but hitching her made her literally crazy.....bucking, kicking, urine everywhere. We've had these kind before, and I think SOME of it is due to the fact that they get so nervous, they just can't focus long enough to get it together. In fact, several of our horses WERE exactly that, and once they were paired with a teammate they knew, or were worked with, they got the idea. However, at this stage of the game, we just don't have the wherewithal to work with it. Thus, disappointingly, she was relegated to halter only. Her partner, K, however, got it together in record time, and was added to the string.
This is about K's ordeal......and what LISTENING can do for a horse.
K is lazy. That's the blunt way of putting it. She just doesn't want to expend any more energy than she has to. She didn't do anything wrong, but it wasn't the nicest drive, either. She did not do all that well at the first fair, but that was not surprising....most 2 yo's are more like pinballs than bowling balls.....they bounce from side to side. But, then, she didn't do anything stupid, either. Her had was way low....almost painful to watch.
The more experienced drivers around us convinced us that she needed to be in an over-check bit, to get her head up. If you read Black Beauty, this is what they used for the city draught teams to make them look prettier. So we tried it. It didn't work so good, but the "experts" insisted that when she "got used to it" things would change. She didn't "get used to it" and the fairs were over.
However, K still had her futurity show in mid-September. The week before the show, we took her to the local fairgrounds to basically just keep her going.
To say it was ugly......well, that 's just being polite. She fussed, she fumed, and finally she got plain old p.o'd and stopped. Just stopped and grew roots. She wouldn't go forward, backward or to the side. And the look in her eye.....oh, man, if looks could kill......this was a Mythbusters' Asian Arrow Machine Gun. She was having NONE of this. We tried to back her, and she just absolutely refused. She didn't go up (rear), she just planted her feet and stayed there. Jim, our friend and wonderful helper in this, actually PULLED the cart back, pulling her off her feet so she HAD to back up. We probably did this several times. Frustrated, we stopped, but after pulling off the cart, decided to ground drive her a bit.....and she went just like she was supposed to......even backing up!!!!
I thought long and hard for the next few days about this wreck waiting to happen. Then I figured we just needed to drive her a bit without the over-check. So we did.
And we had forward back, although backing still wasn't so good. And the head actually came up!!! Hmmmmmmmm. So, on a whim, the next night I put her in the "D" of the bit. And I had a whole different, far more willing horse.
A note to those who do not drive.....most draft horses are driven with a straight bit with a long curb on it. On this curb are holes for lines (reins) so you have more control over a 2000# animal. We usually have it "1 down", or in the middle, on young or very strong horses. I've only used it all the way down once, when Jill got so strong she nearly pulled my arms out of their sockets. Only had to do it once, though.....she got the message.
So, we figured that she would just go ahead and go into the Futurity show, and whatever she did, she did.
And, boy, did she!! I can't even begin to tell you how anxious I was when we got ready for the cart class. Because I simply didn't know what she would do. We got through her halter class, no problem, and I thought she did real well. Cart, well, here goes.......
SHE WAS AWESOME!!!!!!!
Well, I thought so, anyway. The judges, not so much, but some of these horses were really, really, really nice.
Anyway, K went into the cart class like she LOVED it. Her head was up, and she really moved out. She was actually FUN to drive. I had a feel in her like I used to with Bud.
Then the obstacle course. She did the back-up fine, crossed the bridge, no problem and went to the 90-degree turn. She started it, then turned her neck and looked at me......and I knew.....it was over. That look said, "Not today, lady" (once again I am taking the polite term) and she just absolutely would not do it. When we were asked to continue on, THEN she did it and finished the rest of the course....not so nicely, but it got done with no more balking.
So, we blew the futurity.
But I learned something.....something we will continue to use......
We fought the horse, using things others said would work. And they do work. Just not for her. And we pushed it.....doing exactly the opposite of horse LISTENING.
But, when we LISTENED, and did things differently....did things that most people would have said would be the WORST thing we could do, namely take off the over-check and make the bit LIGHTER rather than heavier, she became everything we wanted her to be.
Now, we'll have to do the same work with Queen.....she likes to tuck her head and drop it....but she has go, whoa and turn, down to a science.
This year, fairs were not especially kind to us....from the judging standpoint.
We did not place in some classes as we should have. Some were legitimate reasons, others were, well, things that made you go "Whaaaaa?"
We had sent our 2 2yo's to the trainer. Unfortunately, Lilly, the best looking one turned out to be not so good. Oh, she was a beautiful mover, but hitching her made her literally crazy.....bucking, kicking, urine everywhere. We've had these kind before, and I think SOME of it is due to the fact that they get so nervous, they just can't focus long enough to get it together. In fact, several of our horses WERE exactly that, and once they were paired with a teammate they knew, or were worked with, they got the idea. However, at this stage of the game, we just don't have the wherewithal to work with it. Thus, disappointingly, she was relegated to halter only. Her partner, K, however, got it together in record time, and was added to the string.
This is about K's ordeal......and what LISTENING can do for a horse.
K is lazy. That's the blunt way of putting it. She just doesn't want to expend any more energy than she has to. She didn't do anything wrong, but it wasn't the nicest drive, either. She did not do all that well at the first fair, but that was not surprising....most 2 yo's are more like pinballs than bowling balls.....they bounce from side to side. But, then, she didn't do anything stupid, either. Her had was way low....almost painful to watch.
The more experienced drivers around us convinced us that she needed to be in an over-check bit, to get her head up. If you read Black Beauty, this is what they used for the city draught teams to make them look prettier. So we tried it. It didn't work so good, but the "experts" insisted that when she "got used to it" things would change. She didn't "get used to it" and the fairs were over.
However, K still had her futurity show in mid-September. The week before the show, we took her to the local fairgrounds to basically just keep her going.
To say it was ugly......well, that 's just being polite. She fussed, she fumed, and finally she got plain old p.o'd and stopped. Just stopped and grew roots. She wouldn't go forward, backward or to the side. And the look in her eye.....oh, man, if looks could kill......this was a Mythbusters' Asian Arrow Machine Gun. She was having NONE of this. We tried to back her, and she just absolutely refused. She didn't go up (rear), she just planted her feet and stayed there. Jim, our friend and wonderful helper in this, actually PULLED the cart back, pulling her off her feet so she HAD to back up. We probably did this several times. Frustrated, we stopped, but after pulling off the cart, decided to ground drive her a bit.....and she went just like she was supposed to......even backing up!!!!
I thought long and hard for the next few days about this wreck waiting to happen. Then I figured we just needed to drive her a bit without the over-check. So we did.
And we had forward back, although backing still wasn't so good. And the head actually came up!!! Hmmmmmmmm. So, on a whim, the next night I put her in the "D" of the bit. And I had a whole different, far more willing horse.
A note to those who do not drive.....most draft horses are driven with a straight bit with a long curb on it. On this curb are holes for lines (reins) so you have more control over a 2000# animal. We usually have it "1 down", or in the middle, on young or very strong horses. I've only used it all the way down once, when Jill got so strong she nearly pulled my arms out of their sockets. Only had to do it once, though.....she got the message.
So, we figured that she would just go ahead and go into the Futurity show, and whatever she did, she did.
And, boy, did she!! I can't even begin to tell you how anxious I was when we got ready for the cart class. Because I simply didn't know what she would do. We got through her halter class, no problem, and I thought she did real well. Cart, well, here goes.......
SHE WAS AWESOME!!!!!!!
Well, I thought so, anyway. The judges, not so much, but some of these horses were really, really, really nice.
Anyway, K went into the cart class like she LOVED it. Her head was up, and she really moved out. She was actually FUN to drive. I had a feel in her like I used to with Bud.
Then the obstacle course. She did the back-up fine, crossed the bridge, no problem and went to the 90-degree turn. She started it, then turned her neck and looked at me......and I knew.....it was over. That look said, "Not today, lady" (once again I am taking the polite term) and she just absolutely would not do it. When we were asked to continue on, THEN she did it and finished the rest of the course....not so nicely, but it got done with no more balking.
So, we blew the futurity.
But I learned something.....something we will continue to use......
We fought the horse, using things others said would work. And they do work. Just not for her. And we pushed it.....doing exactly the opposite of horse LISTENING.
But, when we LISTENED, and did things differently....did things that most people would have said would be the WORST thing we could do, namely take off the over-check and make the bit LIGHTER rather than heavier, she became everything we wanted her to be.
Now, we'll have to do the same work with Queen.....she likes to tuck her head and drop it....but she has go, whoa and turn, down to a science.
Friday, November 19, 2010
What Happened?????
Tuesday was a baaaaaad day.
Athena died.
My beautiful, 4 year old, awesome-moving, blue roan twisted a gut.
And I don't know what I could have done differently.
It was a normal morning, although for the first time in months she had eaten her breakfast awfully fast. We kept a big rock in her feed tub to stop her from bolting her food. She has eaten so fast that she has become "icky", but she hadn't had a problem in over a year (since we added the rock).
She tore out of her stall and into the pasture as normal.
When she came in, she was slow; but everyone was slow that day.....it happens sometimes (not often, but sometimes). When I was finishing up the barn chores, I brought in the stallion and noticed her laying down. That was odd, but then, I had put them out a bit early and some of the horses are definitely not morning creatures. She got up right away, and I checked her out.....her ears were warm, her gums were pink and she seemed otherwise normal.....but I did notice that she did NOT drink any water when she came in, and she had pushed her hay snack around but hadn't eaten it. Red flags right there. I did see some pooh....false sense of security, there
I walked her a bit and she seemed to brighten, so I put her back in the stall for a bit. More pooh. I checked on her again about 30 min later and she looked uncomfortable. So, I gave her some Banamine and walked her for 30 minutes. She seemed to respond well and when I put her back in her stall, she seemed normal. More pooh.
I went in to eat lunch. I went back out....she was up but just standing there. She just didn't look right. Nothing specific.....her ears were still warm, her gums still pink.....but just not right. There was another pooh pile. Then she flummened....stuck out her upper lip and it was quivering. I knew something was wrong, then....her mother did the same thing when she was in bad shape. She looked a bit bloated, although her flanks were still sunken in. I started walking her again. Then she started kicking at her belly.
I called the vet.
While waiting for the vet (I have a great vet service and they come as fast as they can when I call) she just kept getting worse and worse. More and more uncomfortable. She looked more bloated.
The vet came out....sedated her and tried his best to do what he knew he needed to do, but she would not cooperate. Her rectal exam was abnormal.....he could not feel her colon or her cecum. Not good. He could not get her stomach to release its fluid retention. The heavy sedation just took the edge off, and it was not long before she was hurting again. He sedated her with even heavier stuff. She finally let him get a rectal, but it was still abnormal. As we watched, I noticed she looked even more bloated. Even under sedation I could see her muscles quiver with pain. The swelling went into her chest and came up between her legs; her flanks were now round.
Options: Surgery at the Equine Hospital (if she would make it there). Surgery on draft horses is a last resort, since they do not do well. Most don't make it off the table and of the ones that do, most of THEM end up not waking up or not surviving long enough to come home.
Option 2: Take her on a really really bumpy trailer ride and hope the twist would untwist.
As she came out of the deep sedation, it became obvious that even THAT wasn't a decent option. She was hurting too much; it was time.
This was the same horse I was hoping to begin riding; the one I wanted to turn into a Hunter/Jumper and/or Dressage horse.
I cancelled my riding lessons for the time.....I need to put some distance between this and riding again. It was too painful to think about it.
Athena died.
My beautiful, 4 year old, awesome-moving, blue roan twisted a gut.
And I don't know what I could have done differently.
It was a normal morning, although for the first time in months she had eaten her breakfast awfully fast. We kept a big rock in her feed tub to stop her from bolting her food. She has eaten so fast that she has become "icky", but she hadn't had a problem in over a year (since we added the rock).
She tore out of her stall and into the pasture as normal.
When she came in, she was slow; but everyone was slow that day.....it happens sometimes (not often, but sometimes). When I was finishing up the barn chores, I brought in the stallion and noticed her laying down. That was odd, but then, I had put them out a bit early and some of the horses are definitely not morning creatures. She got up right away, and I checked her out.....her ears were warm, her gums were pink and she seemed otherwise normal.....but I did notice that she did NOT drink any water when she came in, and she had pushed her hay snack around but hadn't eaten it. Red flags right there. I did see some pooh....false sense of security, there
I walked her a bit and she seemed to brighten, so I put her back in the stall for a bit. More pooh. I checked on her again about 30 min later and she looked uncomfortable. So, I gave her some Banamine and walked her for 30 minutes. She seemed to respond well and when I put her back in her stall, she seemed normal. More pooh.
I went in to eat lunch. I went back out....she was up but just standing there. She just didn't look right. Nothing specific.....her ears were still warm, her gums still pink.....but just not right. There was another pooh pile. Then she flummened....stuck out her upper lip and it was quivering. I knew something was wrong, then....her mother did the same thing when she was in bad shape. She looked a bit bloated, although her flanks were still sunken in. I started walking her again. Then she started kicking at her belly.
I called the vet.
While waiting for the vet (I have a great vet service and they come as fast as they can when I call) she just kept getting worse and worse. More and more uncomfortable. She looked more bloated.
The vet came out....sedated her and tried his best to do what he knew he needed to do, but she would not cooperate. Her rectal exam was abnormal.....he could not feel her colon or her cecum. Not good. He could not get her stomach to release its fluid retention. The heavy sedation just took the edge off, and it was not long before she was hurting again. He sedated her with even heavier stuff. She finally let him get a rectal, but it was still abnormal. As we watched, I noticed she looked even more bloated. Even under sedation I could see her muscles quiver with pain. The swelling went into her chest and came up between her legs; her flanks were now round.
Options: Surgery at the Equine Hospital (if she would make it there). Surgery on draft horses is a last resort, since they do not do well. Most don't make it off the table and of the ones that do, most of THEM end up not waking up or not surviving long enough to come home.
Option 2: Take her on a really really bumpy trailer ride and hope the twist would untwist.
As she came out of the deep sedation, it became obvious that even THAT wasn't a decent option. She was hurting too much; it was time.
This was the same horse I was hoping to begin riding; the one I wanted to turn into a Hunter/Jumper and/or Dressage horse.
I cancelled my riding lessons for the time.....I need to put some distance between this and riding again. It was too painful to think about it.
Monday, November 15, 2010
Time Flies
Holy smokes!!! Time flies when you're having fun, they say.
Well, maybe I wasn't exactly having fun, but we were busy trying to get things together for the Fall Fairs. Having a 2-year-old to work, plus getting all the others ready to do things they had never done together before.....well, it just kinda used up all our time. Between one thing and another, hubby and I have just been busy, busy, busy....and then the computer crashed. I am now on public computers (which is NOT fun!!). But I have lots to say.
Fairs have come and gone, and although some of the judging was a bit questionable, I was more than pleased with how our horses performed. Only the 2 year old, "K", had issues and she had issues right up to her futurity show in mid-September. But we learned a lot in the space of one week (7 days) after her spectacular temper tantrum.
Although I don't have time right now to really go into it, I hope to "catch up" on everything this weekend, when there's more time to put this together.
Oh, and I'm STARTING RIDING LESSONS again. Yep, the old lady is going to get back on a horse after 25 years of driving. Who knows, maybe I'll see you around the dressage or H/J shows!
Well, maybe I wasn't exactly having fun, but we were busy trying to get things together for the Fall Fairs. Having a 2-year-old to work, plus getting all the others ready to do things they had never done together before.....well, it just kinda used up all our time. Between one thing and another, hubby and I have just been busy, busy, busy....and then the computer crashed. I am now on public computers (which is NOT fun!!). But I have lots to say.
Fairs have come and gone, and although some of the judging was a bit questionable, I was more than pleased with how our horses performed. Only the 2 year old, "K", had issues and she had issues right up to her futurity show in mid-September. But we learned a lot in the space of one week (7 days) after her spectacular temper tantrum.
Although I don't have time right now to really go into it, I hope to "catch up" on everything this weekend, when there's more time to put this together.
Oh, and I'm STARTING RIDING LESSONS again. Yep, the old lady is going to get back on a horse after 25 years of driving. Who knows, maybe I'll see you around the dressage or H/J shows!
Monday, May 10, 2010
Sunday's Doin's
It was COLD this weekend!!!!
Usually our horses know that cold equals day off.....but not today. Even though most of the people from last week were not available (it WAS Mother's Day after all), two couples did come out. And four horses got worked.
We hitched Queen and Star again, this time putting Star on the off side (right side), since she has this habit of "freezing" as she comes up to the wagon tongue. Star is the first horse I've ever seen Freeze when she gets overwhelmed. Most of the others just go bonkers or throw tantrums. While "freezing" is less dangerous to your body, it's almost as hard to get past as a bonkers horse; it's hard to get their attention back on you! She didn't freeze coming up to the right side and we thought this would work out great. Unfortunately, she has an injury to her fight hind leg. Although we don't know EXACTLY what happened (we've been told she got caught in a fence), the tongue just touching it sent her off. She'd buck, fling her tail and basically act like Jill. Only Star settles down much quicker when it's over. Queen doesn't care which side she's on, so we'll work with the comfort factor for Star.
We also hitched the two grays, Athena and Missy. Poor Missy is 2 months pregnant and not feeling up to par, but we needed to see what they can do together. But Athena was so wound up from waiting that I had to get the bugs out of her first, so we hooked her to the cart (which took 4 people, where normally just 2 of us can do it). She was so much like my TB Rusty.....she wanted to just run, but I don't want her to get that idea while she's in the cart (she's still young yet), so I kept her at a trot, although I let her go as fast as she wanted. At times she'd fall into the canter, but came back easily into the trot (at least she's broke enough to respond to me!). When she finally did a flat-footed walk (most of our show horses only walk out in the pasture; whenever they're hitched, they do a kind of jig where the foot pattern is a walk, but it sure looks like they're trotting), I knew it was "safe" to put her into a team. I just had to laugh.....Rusty used to need a 1-2 mile "blow", where I'd let her run as fast as she wanted to, before she was able to settle down and begin working over fences or on transitions or whatever; Athena felt exactly the same way. Apparently Athena is connecting with me on that same level.
I really thought that as a team they would not look quite right, but I am glad to say that I was pleasantly surprised. Not only was their height close enough to not be distracting, but they moved somewhat the same. Once Missy gets over her PG ickyness (in a few months) we'll really be able to see what they can do.
I almost always learn something when I work with horses, no matter HOW many times I've worked with them. This time I became even more aware of the effect of "presence". We see it in humans all the time.....there are people who can walk into the room and no one even notices, and those who come in and everyone notices. Well, it was the same with these teams. When you stand next to Star and Athena, they seem larger than life. It is only when you put them next to another horse that you realize that they are NOT the huge horses that they appear to be on their own. Missy and Queen, although strong personalities in their own right, don't have that same presence, and seem smaller than their teammates. Yet when you put them in the teams, you realize how close they really are, at least in size, to each other.
Charlie, our first stallion, was like that. All of 16.1 hh, he looked like he was 18.0 hh+, and he carried himself like a big boy. As did Mac, who was 17.2, but looked so much bigger.
So, other than being exceptionally cold, and having snow or ice pellets hitting us while driving, it was a good day.
I may need to take up riding Athena. The "Rusty" feel was so strong, that I really do believe Athena would make the most awesome 3-day horse. She was doing her "floating trot" while I was drivng her, and the other three got to see the different between her "ordinaty floating trot" and her extended trot. Either trot is very impressive.
Usually our horses know that cold equals day off.....but not today. Even though most of the people from last week were not available (it WAS Mother's Day after all), two couples did come out. And four horses got worked.
We hitched Queen and Star again, this time putting Star on the off side (right side), since she has this habit of "freezing" as she comes up to the wagon tongue. Star is the first horse I've ever seen Freeze when she gets overwhelmed. Most of the others just go bonkers or throw tantrums. While "freezing" is less dangerous to your body, it's almost as hard to get past as a bonkers horse; it's hard to get their attention back on you! She didn't freeze coming up to the right side and we thought this would work out great. Unfortunately, she has an injury to her fight hind leg. Although we don't know EXACTLY what happened (we've been told she got caught in a fence), the tongue just touching it sent her off. She'd buck, fling her tail and basically act like Jill. Only Star settles down much quicker when it's over. Queen doesn't care which side she's on, so we'll work with the comfort factor for Star.
We also hitched the two grays, Athena and Missy. Poor Missy is 2 months pregnant and not feeling up to par, but we needed to see what they can do together. But Athena was so wound up from waiting that I had to get the bugs out of her first, so we hooked her to the cart (which took 4 people, where normally just 2 of us can do it). She was so much like my TB Rusty.....she wanted to just run, but I don't want her to get that idea while she's in the cart (she's still young yet), so I kept her at a trot, although I let her go as fast as she wanted. At times she'd fall into the canter, but came back easily into the trot (at least she's broke enough to respond to me!). When she finally did a flat-footed walk (most of our show horses only walk out in the pasture; whenever they're hitched, they do a kind of jig where the foot pattern is a walk, but it sure looks like they're trotting), I knew it was "safe" to put her into a team. I just had to laugh.....Rusty used to need a 1-2 mile "blow", where I'd let her run as fast as she wanted to, before she was able to settle down and begin working over fences or on transitions or whatever; Athena felt exactly the same way. Apparently Athena is connecting with me on that same level.
I really thought that as a team they would not look quite right, but I am glad to say that I was pleasantly surprised. Not only was their height close enough to not be distracting, but they moved somewhat the same. Once Missy gets over her PG ickyness (in a few months) we'll really be able to see what they can do.
I almost always learn something when I work with horses, no matter HOW many times I've worked with them. This time I became even more aware of the effect of "presence". We see it in humans all the time.....there are people who can walk into the room and no one even notices, and those who come in and everyone notices. Well, it was the same with these teams. When you stand next to Star and Athena, they seem larger than life. It is only when you put them next to another horse that you realize that they are NOT the huge horses that they appear to be on their own. Missy and Queen, although strong personalities in their own right, don't have that same presence, and seem smaller than their teammates. Yet when you put them in the teams, you realize how close they really are, at least in size, to each other.
Charlie, our first stallion, was like that. All of 16.1 hh, he looked like he was 18.0 hh+, and he carried himself like a big boy. As did Mac, who was 17.2, but looked so much bigger.
So, other than being exceptionally cold, and having snow or ice pellets hitting us while driving, it was a good day.
I may need to take up riding Athena. The "Rusty" feel was so strong, that I really do believe Athena would make the most awesome 3-day horse. She was doing her "floating trot" while I was drivng her, and the other three got to see the different between her "ordinaty floating trot" and her extended trot. Either trot is very impressive.
Tuesday, May 4, 2010
Catchin' Up--barn, sales, etc.
They say time flies when you're having fun.
Well, it's not been particularly fun.....but the time flew by anyway.
Stall floors are just about done. It takes a long time to get everything coordinated to finish them.....the stone/gravel needs to be added and leveled, the mats cut. We had to re-finish one of them.....there had been a big hole, and when the weight of a 2000-pound horse got put on it, the stone continued to settle until there was a hole again. Guess we just rushed it. The last one also had a huge hole in it, and it took a lot of chipping out of high spots to get to a point where I could start adding stone and leveling it. This time I took my time....layering the stone a bit more. I think that's what went wrong before.....I had chipped the high spots out and put it into the hole, but the new gravel did not mesh well with it, and allowed it to settle further. This time, the old gravel was well-mixed with the new, so hopefully we won't see the same problem.
We sold Odonata Miss Firecracker at the Dover Sale. Typically, she did not bring much. The good thing is she went to some people who were VERY interested in her and apparently wanted her. So we let her go, since we had seen several that might make a match for our awesome Star. She was early enough in the sale that we could do it.
There were 5 originally. The one I liked the best needed 5 people to hook her to the cart. Not a good start. And there was something.......she was an awesome mover, she was a beautiful mare, and she was young. But there was something.....odd. I watched her a lot, trying to figure it out. She kept trying to fall into a canter; and I wasn't sure if it was because she was being driven right to the "breaking point" or something else. Then I saw the slight hitch in her stifle. A tad of hesitation as the stifle joint moved to bring the leg forward, and the sudden "release" of the joint to allow it. Not a smooth move, but a catch. My favorite one had stringhalt....a stifle problem. DARN!
My next choice was way too big for Star, and would have been great for Jill: if Jill wasn't such a cranky-butt who hates everybody.....everybody but Bill.
My third choice looked good, but my gut was not totally convinced. There was a picture of her hitched.....and if you looked closely, you could see that it had been Photo-shopped. The leg had been moved to look snappier than it actually was. Why they did that, I don't know, cuz she moved very very nicely anyway.
Numbers 4 and 5 were pretty close. Both had better toplines than the other three, but just did not have the "presence" the others had. Both moved just as well. A thorough going-over found one of them to have a cloudy left eye. Probably due to an injury, since it was not just a single cloud, but a large one in the lower third and a smaller one about halfway up further back. Once again, my gut suggested that this was not going to get better; in fact it was probably going to get worse as time went on.
Fortunately, there were several who were early in the sale, so it would be one of those, "well, if we don't get this one, there's the next". And there were others who might do just as well (one had a particularly weird shoeing job), although we weren't going to push it just to have one. And coming home without any would have worked, too.
But we bought one. The first 2 we were interested in went rather high (which was nice to see, although it did not affect our baby). Well, at least higher than we wanted to go for the quality. But then Queen came in. She was 6, and not bred this year which was to her detriment (later we found that she had been bred before..twice...but they did not breed her last year or this because of prices....and who could blame them?). We bought her for half the price we would have paid for her. I had a few concerns yet, but we took the chance.
Bringing her home, we found out something about her......she is a go-with-the-flow kind of horse. Friends of ours also bought a very very nice horse, and some people we know who live close by also bought 2 youngsters. So, we had a loaded trailer. Because it is a stock-type trailer, there is no center divider; we usually put horses head to tail in them, since there is plenty of room for them to move with the movement of the trailer. But, I was driving behind, in the car, and it soon became apparent that head-to-tail was not going to work.
The big Belgian had slammed her body cross-wise and was standing sideways, plastered up against the front of the gooseneck. The 2 babies in the back were also having issues, with one pushing the other literally up the wall. I just kept seeing the sale numbers on the one's butt getting higher and higher as it stepped up on the wheel well because it was getting pushed by the other. Poor Queen had her head resting on the Trixy's (the Belgian) butt.
We pulled the 2 babies off and tried to change places with them, but the "problem child" immediately turned sideways and would not go head first. So we ties both of them sideways instead. We tried to get Trixy to move, but she just went right back, so we re-tied Queen so she could ride sideways, too. Problem child still kept smashing the other baby up against the back door, but the movement of the trailer was enough to pull it off at times. When we got to a rest area to check up on them, Trixy was STILL smashed up against the front of the trailer, the 2 babies were smashed up against the back door, and Queen was just standing there in a 3/4 position, taking up the space Trixy left her. She had about 3 feet on either side of her, between Trixy and the middle gate, and she was just as happy as a clam.
Once home, she paired up not with Star (who squealed and pinned her ears at the newcomer and chased her around for awhile) but with our 3-yo Sheena. Of course, Jill just went right after her, although Jill was actually the second horse to "warm" up to her. Jill actually ALLOWED her into her space (which is 5 feet around her body) without trying to kill her, after a few days. Bill....he just doesn't care. Although Star hasn't really warmed up to her, she's no longer chasing her around or away. However, Queen has a habit of squealing when she gets a bit nervous...which suggests a past that needs to be reckoned with. And the squeal is noteworthy.....a panicked, "I'm gonna die" squeal.
Sunday was the first time we were able to get everyone together at the Fairgrounds to see how things were going to go. 14 people, 9 horses, 3 carts, 1 wagon and 1 forecart all came. The objective was massive. Bill went to "help" a problem child. He's the rock, the one who doesn't do anything wrong. The problem child belonged to the Sparks, a family we have known for awhile. Rosie (the problem child) does not like being driven, although she was fine in the team. She just does not like being by herself. Sparks also have Lainie, who was the problem child last year (and really WAS a problem) that Bill "helped" get through her issues. I drove Star for the first time, single. She is definitely a man's horse. My arms are still tired! She's easy to drive, but if you relax for a second, she dives right into the lines and goes faster. She doesn't run away, but whatever you give her, she steps right up to take! Roy would definitely not be able to drive her with his hands.....mine hurt enough and his are way worse. While Star and Queen were hooked as a team, I drove Sheena around. Sheena is still a bratty 2/3yo. She needs a lot of time driving to get her consistent and compliant. She just likes to do what she wants to do. And of course Bud (my old gelding that Chris and Jim have now) was there so we were going around in carts, and teams....just all over the place.
One of the things we wanted to do was put Sheena and Bud together, since Chris has expressed in interest in getting her. And they actually did fairly well together.
Probably better than Star and Queen. Team is not Star's cup of tea, and she "freezes" when she's brought up to the tongue. They didn't start out so good, so John (the teamster that drives for us) ground drove them for a bit before hooking them. Queen knows how to do things (like step over a tongue) so it was a bit easier to get Star in the right place. Neither horse did anything stupid, but they did not work together very well. Again, just miles, while they get used to each other. Once they got going, they moved very nicely together, and match rather well. When looking at them separate, Queen looks so much smaller, yet pics show they are just about the same size. I think it's because Star has so much "presence" and Queen does not. But the pics show the truth, they are within and inch of each other. They move pretty much the same, but they don't move together....almost as if there is a competition as to who can be in front.
It was exciting and fun. Next time I will need to drive Star and Queen.
Well, it's not been particularly fun.....but the time flew by anyway.
Stall floors are just about done. It takes a long time to get everything coordinated to finish them.....the stone/gravel needs to be added and leveled, the mats cut. We had to re-finish one of them.....there had been a big hole, and when the weight of a 2000-pound horse got put on it, the stone continued to settle until there was a hole again. Guess we just rushed it. The last one also had a huge hole in it, and it took a lot of chipping out of high spots to get to a point where I could start adding stone and leveling it. This time I took my time....layering the stone a bit more. I think that's what went wrong before.....I had chipped the high spots out and put it into the hole, but the new gravel did not mesh well with it, and allowed it to settle further. This time, the old gravel was well-mixed with the new, so hopefully we won't see the same problem.
We sold Odonata Miss Firecracker at the Dover Sale. Typically, she did not bring much. The good thing is she went to some people who were VERY interested in her and apparently wanted her. So we let her go, since we had seen several that might make a match for our awesome Star. She was early enough in the sale that we could do it.
There were 5 originally. The one I liked the best needed 5 people to hook her to the cart. Not a good start. And there was something.......she was an awesome mover, she was a beautiful mare, and she was young. But there was something.....odd. I watched her a lot, trying to figure it out. She kept trying to fall into a canter; and I wasn't sure if it was because she was being driven right to the "breaking point" or something else. Then I saw the slight hitch in her stifle. A tad of hesitation as the stifle joint moved to bring the leg forward, and the sudden "release" of the joint to allow it. Not a smooth move, but a catch. My favorite one had stringhalt....a stifle problem. DARN!
My next choice was way too big for Star, and would have been great for Jill: if Jill wasn't such a cranky-butt who hates everybody.....everybody but Bill.
My third choice looked good, but my gut was not totally convinced. There was a picture of her hitched.....and if you looked closely, you could see that it had been Photo-shopped. The leg had been moved to look snappier than it actually was. Why they did that, I don't know, cuz she moved very very nicely anyway.
Numbers 4 and 5 were pretty close. Both had better toplines than the other three, but just did not have the "presence" the others had. Both moved just as well. A thorough going-over found one of them to have a cloudy left eye. Probably due to an injury, since it was not just a single cloud, but a large one in the lower third and a smaller one about halfway up further back. Once again, my gut suggested that this was not going to get better; in fact it was probably going to get worse as time went on.
Fortunately, there were several who were early in the sale, so it would be one of those, "well, if we don't get this one, there's the next". And there were others who might do just as well (one had a particularly weird shoeing job), although we weren't going to push it just to have one. And coming home without any would have worked, too.
But we bought one. The first 2 we were interested in went rather high (which was nice to see, although it did not affect our baby). Well, at least higher than we wanted to go for the quality. But then Queen came in. She was 6, and not bred this year which was to her detriment (later we found that she had been bred before..twice...but they did not breed her last year or this because of prices....and who could blame them?). We bought her for half the price we would have paid for her. I had a few concerns yet, but we took the chance.
Bringing her home, we found out something about her......she is a go-with-the-flow kind of horse. Friends of ours also bought a very very nice horse, and some people we know who live close by also bought 2 youngsters. So, we had a loaded trailer. Because it is a stock-type trailer, there is no center divider; we usually put horses head to tail in them, since there is plenty of room for them to move with the movement of the trailer. But, I was driving behind, in the car, and it soon became apparent that head-to-tail was not going to work.
The big Belgian had slammed her body cross-wise and was standing sideways, plastered up against the front of the gooseneck. The 2 babies in the back were also having issues, with one pushing the other literally up the wall. I just kept seeing the sale numbers on the one's butt getting higher and higher as it stepped up on the wheel well because it was getting pushed by the other. Poor Queen had her head resting on the Trixy's (the Belgian) butt.
We pulled the 2 babies off and tried to change places with them, but the "problem child" immediately turned sideways and would not go head first. So we ties both of them sideways instead. We tried to get Trixy to move, but she just went right back, so we re-tied Queen so she could ride sideways, too. Problem child still kept smashing the other baby up against the back door, but the movement of the trailer was enough to pull it off at times. When we got to a rest area to check up on them, Trixy was STILL smashed up against the front of the trailer, the 2 babies were smashed up against the back door, and Queen was just standing there in a 3/4 position, taking up the space Trixy left her. She had about 3 feet on either side of her, between Trixy and the middle gate, and she was just as happy as a clam.
Once home, she paired up not with Star (who squealed and pinned her ears at the newcomer and chased her around for awhile) but with our 3-yo Sheena. Of course, Jill just went right after her, although Jill was actually the second horse to "warm" up to her. Jill actually ALLOWED her into her space (which is 5 feet around her body) without trying to kill her, after a few days. Bill....he just doesn't care. Although Star hasn't really warmed up to her, she's no longer chasing her around or away. However, Queen has a habit of squealing when she gets a bit nervous...which suggests a past that needs to be reckoned with. And the squeal is noteworthy.....a panicked, "I'm gonna die" squeal.
Sunday was the first time we were able to get everyone together at the Fairgrounds to see how things were going to go. 14 people, 9 horses, 3 carts, 1 wagon and 1 forecart all came. The objective was massive. Bill went to "help" a problem child. He's the rock, the one who doesn't do anything wrong. The problem child belonged to the Sparks, a family we have known for awhile. Rosie (the problem child) does not like being driven, although she was fine in the team. She just does not like being by herself. Sparks also have Lainie, who was the problem child last year (and really WAS a problem) that Bill "helped" get through her issues. I drove Star for the first time, single. She is definitely a man's horse. My arms are still tired! She's easy to drive, but if you relax for a second, she dives right into the lines and goes faster. She doesn't run away, but whatever you give her, she steps right up to take! Roy would definitely not be able to drive her with his hands.....mine hurt enough and his are way worse. While Star and Queen were hooked as a team, I drove Sheena around. Sheena is still a bratty 2/3yo. She needs a lot of time driving to get her consistent and compliant. She just likes to do what she wants to do. And of course Bud (my old gelding that Chris and Jim have now) was there so we were going around in carts, and teams....just all over the place.
One of the things we wanted to do was put Sheena and Bud together, since Chris has expressed in interest in getting her. And they actually did fairly well together.
Probably better than Star and Queen. Team is not Star's cup of tea, and she "freezes" when she's brought up to the tongue. They didn't start out so good, so John (the teamster that drives for us) ground drove them for a bit before hooking them. Queen knows how to do things (like step over a tongue) so it was a bit easier to get Star in the right place. Neither horse did anything stupid, but they did not work together very well. Again, just miles, while they get used to each other. Once they got going, they moved very nicely together, and match rather well. When looking at them separate, Queen looks so much smaller, yet pics show they are just about the same size. I think it's because Star has so much "presence" and Queen does not. But the pics show the truth, they are within and inch of each other. They move pretty much the same, but they don't move together....almost as if there is a competition as to who can be in front.
It was exciting and fun. Next time I will need to drive Star and Queen.
Wednesday, March 24, 2010
Things that make you go Hmmmmmmm
For some time now, our older gelding, Bill, has had a patch on his right hip. It's kind of a strange kind of patch......it looks a bit like a wart, yet not. And at times it seems to heal over, only to show up again. The Vet has looked at it, and none of the several vets can figure out what it is. The best guess was some kind of mite. However, none of the other horses ever got it, even though Bill has gone out with them. Also, it never seemed to get any bigger. Bill has been in the same stall for the last 10 years.
Since we have been fixing stalls, there have been several moves. Bill has been on the other side of the barn, keeping Jill (who hates everybody else) company......which also keeps the barn quieter and in one piece from her kicks. I had noticed that his patch was healing over; this time staying healed.
Well, Sheena is now in his old stall.......and it has not been re-floored. It should have been, since it is the most torn up.....there is a huge depression in the middle of it and the original flooring has heaved in spots. It was not done because there were other stalls that were taking on water, and that stall somehow stayed dry (which is good, since it would have been a mud wallow oherwise). It's next on the list, as soon as we get more gravel.
Well, you probably guessed it, Sheena now has a patch, in exactly the same spot as it was on Bill. Now if it were mites or bugs of any kind, it is highly unlikely that they would choose to reside in exactly the same place on two different horses (never mind the fact that no other horse in the barn has it).
My guess is, that when they lay down, they end up in exactly the same spot, as the "vallow" would allow thier bodies to slide into a particular position, kinda like a bean-bag chair. Although the shoarpese point is on the other side, there is obviously a point that I haven't really seen on the ground that must press on tat same spot on both horses, causing a rub, causing a callus, causing the wierd looking patch no one can figure out.
Who'd a thunk?
We'll see if it's true, once the floor is in.
Since we have been fixing stalls, there have been several moves. Bill has been on the other side of the barn, keeping Jill (who hates everybody else) company......which also keeps the barn quieter and in one piece from her kicks. I had noticed that his patch was healing over; this time staying healed.
Well, Sheena is now in his old stall.......and it has not been re-floored. It should have been, since it is the most torn up.....there is a huge depression in the middle of it and the original flooring has heaved in spots. It was not done because there were other stalls that were taking on water, and that stall somehow stayed dry (which is good, since it would have been a mud wallow oherwise). It's next on the list, as soon as we get more gravel.
Well, you probably guessed it, Sheena now has a patch, in exactly the same spot as it was on Bill. Now if it were mites or bugs of any kind, it is highly unlikely that they would choose to reside in exactly the same place on two different horses (never mind the fact that no other horse in the barn has it).
My guess is, that when they lay down, they end up in exactly the same spot, as the "vallow" would allow thier bodies to slide into a particular position, kinda like a bean-bag chair. Although the shoarpese point is on the other side, there is obviously a point that I haven't really seen on the ground that must press on tat same spot on both horses, causing a rub, causing a callus, causing the wierd looking patch no one can figure out.
Who'd a thunk?
We'll see if it's true, once the floor is in.
Monday, March 8, 2010
Is it Spring yet?
HoooBoy! It has been one crazy winter!!!
Like most of you, I've been spending most of my time attempting to keep the snow to a manageable level on my drive......but I've not been winning. The long drive to the barn is STILL under 15-18" of snow. The tractor simply gave up trying to push the heavy snow.....and there's no place to put it anymore. So we wait for the melt. And even though we've had several really nice days of sun (which we've had VERY little of here in NE Ohio), the temperature has not been warm enough to really get the melt going. I can't wait until I can get back to the barn via the drive, but I am NOT looking forward to the mud on the other end. Already, my "rollers" have found mud puddles......at least enough to get mud on themselves.
This has been the first year when the horses have not been interested in really running and playing in the snow. Mostly, they've wanted to stay close to the gate......and have not wanted to stay out very long. True, it has been rather raw.....the wind has been cutting through everything ....but they haven't really stretched their legs like normal. Whether the snow has been too heavy along with the drifting......not sure. I have to admit.....trudging out to the barn has been tough enough....I haven't really gone out into the pasture.
My youngsters have been growing. The yearling, Fire, is already close to 16hh and the 2yo's K and Lilly are 17hh already. And their butts are still 4-6" higher than their withers. Athena, the now 4yo I took to the sale and came back home with.....matches my older grey mare, Missy. They should make a very nice team this year. The 3yo Sheena looks small compared to the 2yo's and 4yo.....but she really is over 17hh, when you "stick" her.....she just doesn't carry herself like a hitchy hitch horse. She can move like one.....but she really doesn't wanna. She is kinda our "fifth wheel".....she doesn't really match anyone. Again.....she CAN match our wonder-horse, Star, but she doesn't really wanna. As a horse listener......I have to respect that (even though I would rather see her at her full potential)....because she is not going to be happy, and I don't want her to get balky. She would do well with someone who wants to show her lightly at local shows and have fun with her. She loves the attention, and has done well for us at shows, she's just not quite what we need to finish our 4-up hitch.
Here's hoping you all have a nice Spring.
Like most of you, I've been spending most of my time attempting to keep the snow to a manageable level on my drive......but I've not been winning. The long drive to the barn is STILL under 15-18" of snow. The tractor simply gave up trying to push the heavy snow.....and there's no place to put it anymore. So we wait for the melt. And even though we've had several really nice days of sun (which we've had VERY little of here in NE Ohio), the temperature has not been warm enough to really get the melt going. I can't wait until I can get back to the barn via the drive, but I am NOT looking forward to the mud on the other end. Already, my "rollers" have found mud puddles......at least enough to get mud on themselves.
This has been the first year when the horses have not been interested in really running and playing in the snow. Mostly, they've wanted to stay close to the gate......and have not wanted to stay out very long. True, it has been rather raw.....the wind has been cutting through everything ....but they haven't really stretched their legs like normal. Whether the snow has been too heavy along with the drifting......not sure. I have to admit.....trudging out to the barn has been tough enough....I haven't really gone out into the pasture.
My youngsters have been growing. The yearling, Fire, is already close to 16hh and the 2yo's K and Lilly are 17hh already. And their butts are still 4-6" higher than their withers. Athena, the now 4yo I took to the sale and came back home with.....matches my older grey mare, Missy. They should make a very nice team this year. The 3yo Sheena looks small compared to the 2yo's and 4yo.....but she really is over 17hh, when you "stick" her.....she just doesn't carry herself like a hitchy hitch horse. She can move like one.....but she really doesn't wanna. She is kinda our "fifth wheel".....she doesn't really match anyone. Again.....she CAN match our wonder-horse, Star, but she doesn't really wanna. As a horse listener......I have to respect that (even though I would rather see her at her full potential)....because she is not going to be happy, and I don't want her to get balky. She would do well with someone who wants to show her lightly at local shows and have fun with her. She loves the attention, and has done well for us at shows, she's just not quite what we need to finish our 4-up hitch.
Here's hoping you all have a nice Spring.
Wednesday, November 25, 2009
Barn Reflooring
I haven't been blogging much, as my time has been filled with re-flooring the barn stalls. It is a time-consuming project, since you have to work around the poles and partitions that are already in place.
I never thought I would have to replace the barn floor, since it is on a rather thick base of blue clay......but this is the second time in ten years that it has become necessary. The first time we filled and tamped and it worked.......for awhile. But I have come to the conclusion that drafties are far harder on the ground than I thought. This time some of the holes have actually gone deeper than the clay, allowing ground water to seep up into the stalls. And, of course, the ever-present rodents keep creating holes under the walls which also allows water to sneak in.
I've had light horses for a long time.....and never had as much of a problem with them tearing up the stall floors. Even though many of them were paw-ers, they just didn't do as much damage. Oh, sure, they were able to make lumpies and holes in their stalls, but not like my big ones do.
I guess it has more to do with their weight. 2000-pounders manage to push and shove material around creating higher lumpies, even hills, and bigger holes. Some of the holes actually look like wildebeest wallows...convenient and comfy for them while laying down.....but massive problems when trying to get back up out of them.....kinda like a bean-bag chair. Once they get their "big shoes" on (scotch bottoms/show shoes) the poor dirt floors don't stand a chance; they get chewed up and re-distributed in ways they shouldn't be.
So, after 12 years and several $1000's of dollars last time, we are trying something new.....well, new for us. This time we are covering the gravel/fill with rubber mats. I've used mats before....in my trailers, under the horses at fair time so they don't start digging to China while bored. When my girlfriend boarded her horses with us, one of them was on mats because the stall floor was in sch bad shape. My girlfriend used mats in her barn at home, and loved them. I'm not so sure, myself, if they are the best choice. I seem to lean more toward the natural end of things, and am not really thrilled with horses lying on cold mats in the winter.
But.....something needed to be done. We are still in the process of fixing the floors, but we have more than half of them done.....and we're running out of mats and fill. The fill is a whole 'nother issue......since the partitions have been in place for some time...it is a one-wheelbarrow-at-a-time and then dump the stuff, rake it out and try to level it as much as possible. That's where the REAL labor is. A skid-steer would be wonderful.....but it would have to be small; like 3' wide. We don't have one, and renting one every week is not a good option. Which is another reason why this project is so labor intensive......between us working our "normal" jobs and keeping up with barn chores there just is not the ability to just "get-r-done" in one fell swoop (although that would be wonderful!!!!) Between working with the feed store to get the mats ordered and in, and dealing with the gravel haulers (who have bigger jobs to do) we are somewhat at the mercy of other interests. However, they have ALL been trying to help as much as possible.
The horses who are now on mats are handling it quite well, thank you. Except for Missy, who thought that the black floor was nothing more than a big hole waiting to swallow her....and nearly killed me the first time she even SAW a matted stall (which wasn't hers, by the way) let alone go into hers once it WAS matted. Fire definitely does NOT like the mats.....she likes pawing the ground and sniffing whatever odors manage to waft out of it.....not something she can do on the mats. She's not much of a paw-er, and being a baby, doesn't do much damage, if any. The others are like.....whatever. Some of them secretly like the noise the mats make when they walk on them, I think. However, we have discovered that it is harder to un-cast a cast horse, as they cannot get a grip with their feet on the rubber like they can with the dirt.
But some good has come out of it on our side, too. It IS easier to clean the stalls. Oh, you still take out as much stuff as before, but it's easier to get to and under....plus you're not taking out even more materials from the holes. And, surprisingly, there is more "clean" stuff left. Because the mats are a bit slick, the sawdust moves from the middle to the sides, so raking what's up against the sides back to the middle has given us much more "decent" sawdust left over!! Plus, the mats keep the decent sawdust from picking up moisture from the ground.
We still have several more horses to do.....some may not get theirs done til Spring, depending on weather around here (getting more fill is tough right now since things are so wet that large dump trucks have a habit of sinking in)....but we've got most of them done....so that only one should go through the winter with a lumpy stall.
I will be so glad when it's all done!!!!
I never thought I would have to replace the barn floor, since it is on a rather thick base of blue clay......but this is the second time in ten years that it has become necessary. The first time we filled and tamped and it worked.......for awhile. But I have come to the conclusion that drafties are far harder on the ground than I thought. This time some of the holes have actually gone deeper than the clay, allowing ground water to seep up into the stalls. And, of course, the ever-present rodents keep creating holes under the walls which also allows water to sneak in.
I've had light horses for a long time.....and never had as much of a problem with them tearing up the stall floors. Even though many of them were paw-ers, they just didn't do as much damage. Oh, sure, they were able to make lumpies and holes in their stalls, but not like my big ones do.
I guess it has more to do with their weight. 2000-pounders manage to push and shove material around creating higher lumpies, even hills, and bigger holes. Some of the holes actually look like wildebeest wallows...convenient and comfy for them while laying down.....but massive problems when trying to get back up out of them.....kinda like a bean-bag chair. Once they get their "big shoes" on (scotch bottoms/show shoes) the poor dirt floors don't stand a chance; they get chewed up and re-distributed in ways they shouldn't be.
So, after 12 years and several $1000's of dollars last time, we are trying something new.....well, new for us. This time we are covering the gravel/fill with rubber mats. I've used mats before....in my trailers, under the horses at fair time so they don't start digging to China while bored. When my girlfriend boarded her horses with us, one of them was on mats because the stall floor was in sch bad shape. My girlfriend used mats in her barn at home, and loved them. I'm not so sure, myself, if they are the best choice. I seem to lean more toward the natural end of things, and am not really thrilled with horses lying on cold mats in the winter.
But.....something needed to be done. We are still in the process of fixing the floors, but we have more than half of them done.....and we're running out of mats and fill. The fill is a whole 'nother issue......since the partitions have been in place for some time...it is a one-wheelbarrow-at-a-time and then dump the stuff, rake it out and try to level it as much as possible. That's where the REAL labor is. A skid-steer would be wonderful.....but it would have to be small; like 3' wide. We don't have one, and renting one every week is not a good option. Which is another reason why this project is so labor intensive......between us working our "normal" jobs and keeping up with barn chores there just is not the ability to just "get-r-done" in one fell swoop (although that would be wonderful!!!!) Between working with the feed store to get the mats ordered and in, and dealing with the gravel haulers (who have bigger jobs to do) we are somewhat at the mercy of other interests. However, they have ALL been trying to help as much as possible.
The horses who are now on mats are handling it quite well, thank you. Except for Missy, who thought that the black floor was nothing more than a big hole waiting to swallow her....and nearly killed me the first time she even SAW a matted stall (which wasn't hers, by the way) let alone go into hers once it WAS matted. Fire definitely does NOT like the mats.....she likes pawing the ground and sniffing whatever odors manage to waft out of it.....not something she can do on the mats. She's not much of a paw-er, and being a baby, doesn't do much damage, if any. The others are like.....whatever. Some of them secretly like the noise the mats make when they walk on them, I think. However, we have discovered that it is harder to un-cast a cast horse, as they cannot get a grip with their feet on the rubber like they can with the dirt.
But some good has come out of it on our side, too. It IS easier to clean the stalls. Oh, you still take out as much stuff as before, but it's easier to get to and under....plus you're not taking out even more materials from the holes. And, surprisingly, there is more "clean" stuff left. Because the mats are a bit slick, the sawdust moves from the middle to the sides, so raking what's up against the sides back to the middle has given us much more "decent" sawdust left over!! Plus, the mats keep the decent sawdust from picking up moisture from the ground.
We still have several more horses to do.....some may not get theirs done til Spring, depending on weather around here (getting more fill is tough right now since things are so wet that large dump trucks have a habit of sinking in)....but we've got most of them done....so that only one should go through the winter with a lumpy stall.
I will be so glad when it's all done!!!!
Saturday, October 24, 2009
Sales Report
Well, it's over. The Sale, that is.
And to say it SUCKED, is putting it mildly.
We brought Athena back......I just could not give her away.
Summer, however, did not share the same fate. Although we did not want to give her up, we definitely need the room and need to down-size.
It wasn't just our horses......it was everyone's. Oh, yeah, there were those who everyone really wanted......all the ones WE were interested in went for $3000 and up......but there were a LOT of really decent, nicely to well-bred horses, broke, carrying babies that went for anywhere from $500 to $900. Like the auctioneer said.....these aren't horses that were on their last legs; these are horses in their prime: 5-9 years old!
There were people there that looked at horses, made their notes, asked questions, made comments.....that went home empty-handed. People who should have picked up something and would have obviously given them a good home. Why didn't they? I have a theory.
Most of the people who really took time to ask questions were not your normal draft horse people. Most of them looked like hunter/jumper or sport horse people, or people just getting interested in possibly getting a draft horse. But the prices may have stopped them......after all, a saddle-horse that only commands $500 these days is usually a puke, a problem and/or too old to do anything. However, 90% of these horses were none of the above.
Now, there are many small breeders wondering if it is worth breeding anymore. Many of them have very nice horses; it would be a shame to lose those bloodlines. If it is no longer worth it, it will come to pass.
Just another sign of the times, I guess.
And to say it SUCKED, is putting it mildly.
We brought Athena back......I just could not give her away.
Summer, however, did not share the same fate. Although we did not want to give her up, we definitely need the room and need to down-size.
It wasn't just our horses......it was everyone's. Oh, yeah, there were those who everyone really wanted......all the ones WE were interested in went for $3000 and up......but there were a LOT of really decent, nicely to well-bred horses, broke, carrying babies that went for anywhere from $500 to $900. Like the auctioneer said.....these aren't horses that were on their last legs; these are horses in their prime: 5-9 years old!
There were people there that looked at horses, made their notes, asked questions, made comments.....that went home empty-handed. People who should have picked up something and would have obviously given them a good home. Why didn't they? I have a theory.
Most of the people who really took time to ask questions were not your normal draft horse people. Most of them looked like hunter/jumper or sport horse people, or people just getting interested in possibly getting a draft horse. But the prices may have stopped them......after all, a saddle-horse that only commands $500 these days is usually a puke, a problem and/or too old to do anything. However, 90% of these horses were none of the above.
Just look at the financial logistics:
- to get the horse on the ground (i.e., be born) is a stud fee of approximately $500
- there is 2 years of maintenance; feeding, vet, trimming, caring and, maybe, showing
- the horse is trained (broke), usually for a fee: a cheap fee is about $500; the trainer only keeps the horse for a month or so
- the horse is "finished"....used by the owner
- the horse (if its a mare) is bred and is going to have a baby. Stud fee: $500
Just picking up the "big" fees, there is already $1,500 invested in a broke, bred mare.....and they are selling for $500. But it's not a good thing for the draft horses.
Why? Because the cycle of the 1940's will happen again. When horses were replaced by trucks and cars small breeders simply closed up shop. And when people wanted to get them again, they were few and far between. It took a long time to build up the numbers.Now, there are many small breeders wondering if it is worth breeding anymore. Many of them have very nice horses; it would be a shame to lose those bloodlines. If it is no longer worth it, it will come to pass.
Just another sign of the times, I guess.
Tuesday, October 20, 2009
Selling horses
Anyone who has sold older animals will tell you......they seem to know when you are "getting rid of them". Weanlings of any sort (cat, dog, horse) don't seem to have the same feel, but the older ones definitely do.
Most of the horses I sell are sold for only one reason......they do not fit in with the program.
In draft horses, most of the time it's because they don't have a match/mate; and unless they are phenomenal movers don't have a place locked up on the show thing. I have to admit, we have been very lucky in finding great homes for our "odd-man-out" horses.
But that doesn't change their attitude......or the fact that they seem to "know".
Once a horse is officially "on the market" most of them become like lost puppies.
"Don't you love me anymore?" The sad eyes....the sudden "joined at the hip" with you. They want to be petted and played with.......they "say" with every movement, "You don't really want to sell me, do you?"
I have a hard time selling any horse. I do connect with all of them.....especially ones that I bought from a sale and ones I helped into the world. After buying/selling over 150 horses, it still isn't any easier. But Athena is trying to make it easy.
It seemed that as soon as the paperwork was sent in to the sale, she knew. While Summer has done the "sweet" thing noted above, Athena is more like a child who has to go to camp; but no matter how much he wants to go, is scared of leaving home.....and begins to "act out".
Psychologists call this "making it easier to separate." It's always easier to leave when you're angry.....and it's always easier to "let go" when you're not happy with something.
Athena has never had any vices.....til now. While she has always been independent and superior, she usually went along with things, as long as they were done her way or she could "live with it". The day the papers were sent in.....she started being aggressive. She crowds when you go to feed her; she comes at you with mouth open when you try to fly-spray her; she's taken up nipping; and she doesn't want you to catch her when she comes in from the pasture. None of this was there prior to this day. Since none of this is tolerated in my barn, she has since given up such shenanigans with me....but my guess is she's going to push buttons for someone else.
Until Sunday. On Sunday, we helped some friends with a problem horse (couldn't break her) by bringing up our "rock".....Bill. Bill deals with Jill all the time.....and does a wonderful job....so naturally, he was elected to be the teacher. While his partner lunged and leaped like she was jumping no-stride 2-1/2' cavaletti, poor Bill just tried to keep up......until the mare finally settled down and decided she really could do this thing without being stupid. We had also brought along Summer and Athena, since they really hadn't had a good hitch since May.
While Bill was a star that day, Athena came in a close second. She was perfect hitching.....was actually happy being hitched and played with. While Roy worked Summer, I let Athena lunge for a bit (she's been known to be a bit "hot" if you put her right into a hitch), on her own terms (she knows how to lunge and pretty much does it herself after a few reminders). The more we worked, the more she wanted to work. She really seemed to enjoy herself, while Summer and Sheena really wanted to just go out in the pasture. Not that they were bad, they just weren't as much fun to drive.
As much as her original trainer said she prefers to be ridden, she really liked being driven in the cart. We did not get a chance to drive Athena and Summer as a team.....but then, they don't match anymore, and it would be like driving Mutt and Jeff with their size difference. And that is why they are going to the sale.....they have no matches with our black horses or even our other, very fancy dapple gray.
The sale is this Friday, and I admit I'm stressed. Hope and pray for them to find that good home.
Most of the horses I sell are sold for only one reason......they do not fit in with the program.
In draft horses, most of the time it's because they don't have a match/mate; and unless they are phenomenal movers don't have a place locked up on the show thing. I have to admit, we have been very lucky in finding great homes for our "odd-man-out" horses.
But that doesn't change their attitude......or the fact that they seem to "know".
Once a horse is officially "on the market" most of them become like lost puppies.
"Don't you love me anymore?" The sad eyes....the sudden "joined at the hip" with you. They want to be petted and played with.......they "say" with every movement, "You don't really want to sell me, do you?"
I have a hard time selling any horse. I do connect with all of them.....especially ones that I bought from a sale and ones I helped into the world. After buying/selling over 150 horses, it still isn't any easier. But Athena is trying to make it easy.
It seemed that as soon as the paperwork was sent in to the sale, she knew. While Summer has done the "sweet" thing noted above, Athena is more like a child who has to go to camp; but no matter how much he wants to go, is scared of leaving home.....and begins to "act out".
Psychologists call this "making it easier to separate." It's always easier to leave when you're angry.....and it's always easier to "let go" when you're not happy with something.
Athena has never had any vices.....til now. While she has always been independent and superior, she usually went along with things, as long as they were done her way or she could "live with it". The day the papers were sent in.....she started being aggressive. She crowds when you go to feed her; she comes at you with mouth open when you try to fly-spray her; she's taken up nipping; and she doesn't want you to catch her when she comes in from the pasture. None of this was there prior to this day. Since none of this is tolerated in my barn, she has since given up such shenanigans with me....but my guess is she's going to push buttons for someone else.
Until Sunday. On Sunday, we helped some friends with a problem horse (couldn't break her) by bringing up our "rock".....Bill. Bill deals with Jill all the time.....and does a wonderful job....so naturally, he was elected to be the teacher. While his partner lunged and leaped like she was jumping no-stride 2-1/2' cavaletti, poor Bill just tried to keep up......until the mare finally settled down and decided she really could do this thing without being stupid. We had also brought along Summer and Athena, since they really hadn't had a good hitch since May.
While Bill was a star that day, Athena came in a close second. She was perfect hitching.....was actually happy being hitched and played with. While Roy worked Summer, I let Athena lunge for a bit (she's been known to be a bit "hot" if you put her right into a hitch), on her own terms (she knows how to lunge and pretty much does it herself after a few reminders). The more we worked, the more she wanted to work. She really seemed to enjoy herself, while Summer and Sheena really wanted to just go out in the pasture. Not that they were bad, they just weren't as much fun to drive.
As much as her original trainer said she prefers to be ridden, she really liked being driven in the cart. We did not get a chance to drive Athena and Summer as a team.....but then, they don't match anymore, and it would be like driving Mutt and Jeff with their size difference. And that is why they are going to the sale.....they have no matches with our black horses or even our other, very fancy dapple gray.
The sale is this Friday, and I admit I'm stressed. Hope and pray for them to find that good home.
Thursday, October 15, 2009
October Sale Time
It's October.......and for draft horses, that means sales.
It's a time that's both exciting and sad.
Exciting because there may be something there you just can't live without.
Sad because you need to send some friends along to find new homes.
It's sad this year. We need to sell some, and 2 of my nicer animals are going to be leaving.
Summer, our dapple gray 3yo, did not grow as big as we had anticipated. Her team mate, 3 yo blue roan Athena, is pushing 18hh. Their Mutt-and-Jeff appearance makes them no longer the nice team they were. It is, of course, still possible that Summer will grow more......but she will be a "late bloomer" and will not match Athena for a few years. That's a few years too many. We did not breed them......I don't like breeding 3yos.....and that will likely have a major effect on how much they bring. Both are extremely well-bred.....but sometimes that means nothing.
Summer takes care of hubby. He is not an aggressive driver and at times loses focus......but she knows just what to do and keeps him safe. She's a super horse for someone who is new to the business or wants a safe horse for their kids. She had held her own in competition, beating older more mature horses, so she's a nice mover. She's also broke to ride (although I haven't ridden her since last year). And she's a good baby sitter. My present foal, Fire, will need to be weaned again. No vices, either. Just a real nice mare that I would keep if I could.
But I am really going to miss Athena. This blue-roan moves like a 3-day and/or dressage horse. She is the "modern" kind, which means she looks more like a warm-blood than a full-blooded Percheron. She also was broke to ride last year (again, I'm not riding them) and the trainer said she actually preferred to be ridden than driven. She also has held her own against more mature horses and placed well in her classes. She's actually jumped over me when I got knocked by another horse right into her path. I just remembered thinking "this is gonna hurt" and then seeing her feet over my head. This horse and I have quite a history together, which makes it especially hard to see her go.
As a baby, she almost didn't make it out. She got her shoulder caught on her mom's pelvis and no matter how hard I pulled, I couldn't make it move. Just when I figured was going to have a dead baby, suddenly, it gave, and she came out. When we lost her mother the next year, I really wanted to keep her forever. Then, while out with mares and foals, another mare decided she didn't like her and attacked her. Again, I thought I would have a dead baby......but with a lot of love and care she pulled through. She has her own personality......I gave her the name Athena for a reason......she thinks she's a goddess! And she has the blue roan dorsal stripe down her back and the dark outline of her eye......which actually makes her look more like Cleopatra! It is very Egyptian-like.
I am not looking forward to losing these two.....because that's what it is.....losing them. But circumstances force the issue. 11 horses and 2 people to care for them.....gets to be a bit much at our age.....especially since 1 (me) does most of the day-to-day stuff. I know they are not getting the attention they deserve, since it is focussed on others who need it more right now.
But still.......next week will be a sad week.
It's a time that's both exciting and sad.
Exciting because there may be something there you just can't live without.
Sad because you need to send some friends along to find new homes.
It's sad this year. We need to sell some, and 2 of my nicer animals are going to be leaving.
Summer, our dapple gray 3yo, did not grow as big as we had anticipated. Her team mate, 3 yo blue roan Athena, is pushing 18hh. Their Mutt-and-Jeff appearance makes them no longer the nice team they were. It is, of course, still possible that Summer will grow more......but she will be a "late bloomer" and will not match Athena for a few years. That's a few years too many. We did not breed them......I don't like breeding 3yos.....and that will likely have a major effect on how much they bring. Both are extremely well-bred.....but sometimes that means nothing.
Summer takes care of hubby. He is not an aggressive driver and at times loses focus......but she knows just what to do and keeps him safe. She's a super horse for someone who is new to the business or wants a safe horse for their kids. She had held her own in competition, beating older more mature horses, so she's a nice mover. She's also broke to ride (although I haven't ridden her since last year). And she's a good baby sitter. My present foal, Fire, will need to be weaned again. No vices, either. Just a real nice mare that I would keep if I could.
But I am really going to miss Athena. This blue-roan moves like a 3-day and/or dressage horse. She is the "modern" kind, which means she looks more like a warm-blood than a full-blooded Percheron. She also was broke to ride last year (again, I'm not riding them) and the trainer said she actually preferred to be ridden than driven. She also has held her own against more mature horses and placed well in her classes. She's actually jumped over me when I got knocked by another horse right into her path. I just remembered thinking "this is gonna hurt" and then seeing her feet over my head. This horse and I have quite a history together, which makes it especially hard to see her go.
As a baby, she almost didn't make it out. She got her shoulder caught on her mom's pelvis and no matter how hard I pulled, I couldn't make it move. Just when I figured was going to have a dead baby, suddenly, it gave, and she came out. When we lost her mother the next year, I really wanted to keep her forever. Then, while out with mares and foals, another mare decided she didn't like her and attacked her. Again, I thought I would have a dead baby......but with a lot of love and care she pulled through. She has her own personality......I gave her the name Athena for a reason......she thinks she's a goddess! And she has the blue roan dorsal stripe down her back and the dark outline of her eye......which actually makes her look more like Cleopatra! It is very Egyptian-like.
I am not looking forward to losing these two.....because that's what it is.....losing them. But circumstances force the issue. 11 horses and 2 people to care for them.....gets to be a bit much at our age.....especially since 1 (me) does most of the day-to-day stuff. I know they are not getting the attention they deserve, since it is focussed on others who need it more right now.
But still.......next week will be a sad week.
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