Horses know when we need them most

I’ve recently found out I need another disc replaced in my neck. Can no longer work and barely can move. I walked down to the pasture, sat on a stump and my filly came up immediately to comfort me. Left her food without hesitation to stand over me and be close to me.

She kept stepping closer, wrapping her head around me she couldn’t get close enough! Finally she gently placed her knee in my lap and left it there for quite some time then held her head against my back. It was the most amazing feeling knowing she knew I was struggling and she wanted me to know I wasn’t alone. What amazing and loving creatures horse’s are. If you show them love and trust there’s no boundary too small they won’t conquer for you.

Baby oil to the rescue!

Wash legs then spray baby oil on legs to keep mud from sticking and absorbing moisture from your horse’s skin causing cracking and swelling along with discomfort. Its a long term moisturizer and only needs to be applied once or twice a week! It’s also great for the hooves too!

My routine

Hi there! I’m trying to post more often again sorry I’ve been away had to focus on work I drive for FedEx and was your friendly neighbourhood Santa for the holidays but now back to business!

Alright, for those of you like me, who work full time and have horse’s this is how I fit my ponies into my schedule.

Starting with the morning of my first day off, I feed then catch up on house chores till they are done. I understand many of you don’t have your horse at home so obviously you skip this part. When they are done eating I go down and set up their grain and feed them grain separate from their hay. I do this so they don’t pee on their hay it’s s method I’ve found works I don’t know if it would work for you too if you’ve got the same issue with ungreatful hooligan toddlers… anywho, moving on. While they are eating I undo the leg straps and sometime the belly straps to roll the blanket up to their wither. By doing this I can see how healthy their coat is under their blanket, how their weight is if they need their feed adjusted or if they have a gut that might indicate parasites so I adjust their care accordingly.

After checking on their body condition, I pick their feet, spray their soles with listerine. Listerine helps keep the foot hard and clean and/or free from thrush causing bacteria caused by constant moisture. After that I brush off their legs or hose off the legs then apply baby oil in a spray form to their legs up to their knee and hock. This helps keep their legs mud free and still white despite pasture life conditions! Most importantly it keeps mud from attaching to the skin and sucking moisture from the skin causing a wound that’s very painful for them. This wound is most commonly referred to as mud fever. If you do end u with a horse who has caked on mud that the horse finds painful if removed just spray baby oil on it daily until it falls off on its own.

These quick steps help your horses stay comfortable while you’re hard at work paying for their groceries.

Thanks for following 🙂

Winter bath time for the pasture potato!

There’s a few things that change when trying to keep your muddy pasture puff clean occasionally in the winter.

To keep the horse comfortable if it’s too cold for a full body bath you can always just wash the mane, tail and legs. Leaving the horses majority of their body dry to keep warm.

If it’s 50-60 degrees out you can full body bath but be sure you don’t bathe later than 1pm so they have time to dry off and don’t wet their belly or wash their belly. That’s the last part to dry off in general and will give them chills if it’s wet when it’s cold out.

Should you use warm water? Yes if you can but sometimes if warm water isn’t available with the hose, I fill up a soapy water bucket with warm water and use it to lather then use the hose to rinse but make it quick.

At the end of the bath cover with a fleece cooler, dry off the horse with a towel and wipe the hair backwards from the normal direction to help aerate the fur for optimal drying.

Keeping the shivering horse warm if they start to feel chilled, make sure they have grass hay to much on. Eating helps them stay warm.

Good luck and be patient, think how you would feel getting an outdoor shower in the winter… a wiggly horse is almost always to be expected.

After selling a horse we all hope to be sent updates on the horse but that’s not always reality.

The biggest issue I come across with selling horses is the new buyers option to keep the seller updated. Usually the first few months after the sale you get updates of the horse settling in well and the “I love my horse thank you!” Then contact tends to fade but as a seller that’s ok it means they are spending their time enjoying their horse.

Then there’s the controversy of the trainer selling a horse on consignment for the seller. The trainer finds an appropriate home and if updates are sent to the trainer they are related to the seller. The issue here is there’s almost always an attachment to the horse from the seller and they tend to get demanding towards the trainer to get updates on the horse. It’s not the trainers fault if the new buyer doesn’t wish to be in contact with the seller of the horse. Some of my buyers prefer it that way so they aren’t bothered to have visitors or people driving by checking on the horse and in some cases stalking the buyers and harassing them.

Moral of the story if you sell a horse you relinquish all rights to that horse. Including staying in touch. It’s nice to get a buyer who updates you but it’s rare to find one. Most buy the horse, inform you they love them and they are a happy team then that’s that. Just remember to keep in mind others privacy and their wishes to not be harassed. Once you sell your horse it’s their horse and their decision on who they update or even if they choose to do so. Just know in your mind you did your best to help them find their match in a horse partner and the silence means they are happy.

Selling horses isn’t for the faint of heart we all fall in love with these animals but we also have to respect their new homes and their privacy.

First trail ride for my 2.5 year old Charlie!

Set them up to succeed! We went on a 2 hour ride at a horse park an hour and a half away! She settled in perfectly! Big brother Leonard my 3.5 year old gelding and her pasture buddy and role model kept a close eye on her and gave her confidence as well as keeping her in line. We all enjoyed our ride it was a success 🙂

Inside look at how the horse sees his world.

First off horse’s aren’t humans. Too many people humanize the horse to make it look as if it understands English so we better relate to them. That couldn’t be more incorrect. Horses are animals and at any point can revert to instinct and cause harm to us we don’t emphasize on that enough. That being said, they are flight animals and if they can’t escape they will fight. “Run now, look later” has kept them alive for hundreds of years but it was our bright idea to change that. They are “designed” to graze all day and move constantly. But again we decided that’s not convenient for us so we feed them twice a day, the same times everyday then wonder why they colic or have ulcers. We work them for 1-2 hours a day most of the time to a sweat, walk them out to cool off then they stand in stalls 22 hours until you arrive again and we wonder why they have arthritis. The horse is a well oiled machine it does best with ample room, constant forage and companions. Humans like routine and convenience. Horses are opposite in more ways than one.

Horses don’t have depth perception, they don’t need it to survive only hunters need depth to survive. This makes the horse spooky and weary of shades that differ on the ground. They want to be part of a herd and you are considered their herd. It’s up to you to establish where your place is in there world. Just because you bought this animal does not mean he doesn’t think he owns you. The farther you get from thinking like a human and closer you get to understanding the horse, the closer your bond will be.

If you’re horse is stalled let him out as much as you can. Not only to be worked but to go for walks, explore, graze, find their itchy spot, let them cruise around and you walk with them to keep them safe but to understand it’s a partnership he can sometimes wonder at the end of the lead and show you places he’s interested in or grass he thinks needs to be tasted. These simple acts will mean so much to him. Just make sure he’s respectful not dragging you around.

Step back, think about what makes him happy not what makes you happy. That’s the first step to partnership. He does his best to try to make you happy. They deserve the same from us in return.

When you do your groundwork the under saddle results are AMAZING!

Here is my 2.5 year old filly as of currently. I started her last spring and she’s ridden once a month for 15-20 minutes. She’s only walk trot at this time I don’t introduce the canter until they are very confident at lower gaits. Low, slow, no hands, this girl already knows her job because she’s confident in her ground work! Don’t skip steps you’ll see it’s all worth it in the end.