Monthly Archives: October 2018

Are You Ready?

It seems that we had no spring, and now what has happened to fall? Both in the north and south we’ve seemed to bounce from winter to summer, and now, summer to winter. Strange year.

BUT are you ready?

We all enjoy the spring and fall weather for riding. In the fall bugs, heat and humidity are gone, and the snow, ice, and mud have not gotten here yet. Just the opposite for spring riding.

So are you mentally and physically prepared for the change of time on November 4th, and what is to follow? Are your blankets cleaned and repaired. Clips oiled and ready for freezing temps? Water heaters poised and ready for action?

I’ve just stocked up on hay to get me through to spring when we get our pastures back. From everyone I’ve talked to, it’s going to be a hard time to find hay this year. With all the rains this summer, no one has been able to get into the pastures to cut, cure, and bale. This cuts down on the amount of hay that will be available. I know down here we get at least three, sometimes up to five cuttings. They just did their first cutting a month ago and they should be getting another one around now. With the rain, everything grew well, but was let go to seed because of not being able to cut and dry before baling, and the same thing holds true for the northern states. My friend just told me of her neighbor up in N.J. who had two separate farms bring her hay and when she opened the bales they were moldy. So on her recent trip to Va. she purchased hay and her horse wouldn’t eat that either because it had mold. The two local loads she sent back, the one from Va. she spread out in a back field. It’s like spreading money on you fields. Hay is going to be hard to get, and if you get it, probably expensive.

Please be aware of the hay you are getting. Even if it looks good on the outside, watch the hay as you put it out and make sure it’s good on the inside. You might want to stick your hand in the middle of the bale (not an easy task) and check for wetness or heat. If there is just a little dust, shake it out, or spray it with water, but look out for that mold.

Be informed and get everything in order, then go and enjoy the cooler temps, and bug-less time of year.

Happy Halloween y’all.

Step Into The Water

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Or not.

Well a friend messaged me on Facebook the other day that her new filly was dead lame in both front feet, could I come and look at her. She’s over an hour away and my life, right now, is running on high-speed (wish my internet would) I told her it was impossible for me to come at this time.

So she wants a diagnosis on-line. Seriously!!!!!????

We are still in the 90’s here, but we have a “cold front” coming in a couple of days and we should go into the 80″s, and possibly 70’s. (I love Florida). Ninety is above normal this time of year in here, but then the whole summer has been breaking records. We had rain all summer, which was a blessing to our pastures, but not necessarily for the horses.

The whole east coast has had way to much rain this year. But that happens every few years. However, with horses that creates a whole bunch of problems.

So I asked her – are you sure it’s both front feet? She pretty much thought so, but I didn’t entirely buy into that.

I explained that my mare, once again, has soft soles from all the wet grass. If her horse is ouchie on both front feet when she walks onto concrete or a hard surface, treat her for sore feet, use something that will dry them out. If it’s only one foot, than I bet she’s trying to blow an abscess.

First of all she wrote me on Sunday, which I didn’t get until Thursday, so I answered her right there and then. Duh! Then I got another message on Friday that she called the vet who was due that day, and the mare blew an abscess on Thursday. Did you follow that? I’m not even sure I did.

Between the wet, then dry, then wet, you get the picture, horses can’t help but abscess. Expansion, contraction, creates problems when wet is involved. Of course horses can abscess for other reasons, but the most common one here in Florida is wet. Not to mention hoof rot.

I remember Bob’s horse when he would abscess. He’d wave his leg around in the air telling you “it’s broken, I know it’s broken.” He was such a drama queen. Get an infection in your finger from a splinter and you’ll know how they feel with an abscess surrounded by hoof wall. Then there are some that you don’t know they have an abscess until it breaks. Sometimes it can take a month or more for it to travel to a soft area where it can escape. It will always travel the path of least resistance. If a horse has a shoe it can travel to where the nail hole is, but if a horse doesn’t wear shoes, it goes to the next soft place, which is usually the cornet band. That is unless you can get your farrier, with hoof testers, to find the sore spot and carve the sole to find the entry point. How do you know it broke? The smell and black gunk seeping out it is a good clue. Also when you see a horse go from dead lame to “what problem?” you can be pretty sure the abscess broke.

So I told her to soak it in Epsom salts, and pack it with Ichthammaol or Epsom Salt Poultice to make sure it’s completely drained.

I know I’ve spoken about the importance of healthy feet before. It’s a common complaint and a common problem. Why are people so surprised by a lame horse? These are horses. That’s what they do. Leave them in a padded stall and they are still going to hurt themselves. If you absolutely need them for something, they will be lame.

Why is it so easy to forget an abscess from one year to the next? Of course I’m pushing the senile envelope here so I write everything down.

I’m glad her new mare will be okay. This girl has waited a long time to own her own horse, I wish her well. She loves working with and around horses, and her knowledge base will increase as she goes, but hopefully she’ll remember the next time she thinks her horse has a broken leg that it might be an abscess.

Don’t Get Caught

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We’ve all been on planes and heard the Flight Attendant go through the safety talk at the beginning of the flight. Where the exits are, how to use your cushion as a life-preserver, don’t forget to put your mask on first, etc. Most of us tune it out, but the people on the flight that landed in the Hudson and survived will tell you how important it is to listen and check where the exits are. They have a new perspective on flying and life. Actually, checking on where the exits are anywhere you go is important. Stores, restaurant’s, etc, in case of fire you have a head start. My self-defense teacher always taught us to be aware of our surroundings. Most woman know where the bathrooms are in stores, but do they know where the exits are? Everyone is going to run to the main door, but are there other exits that lead to the outside, and safety?

Well last week I heard people complain about how our Governor had implemented a State of Emergency for the Panhandle prior to Michael hitting land. They said “what a waste of money.” Really?? Are they still of that opinion? The towns where it landed were leveled. Brings to mind Hurricane Sandy several years ago in the New York, New Jersey area.

It started out a simple Tropical Storm, then a category 1 or 2. No big deal. Don’t worry about it. Surprise! It was 10 mph short of a cat 5 when it hit

Now it was headed up to the Panhandle, and people in our area were not worried about it at all. Well I don’t trust any storm until it hits land somewhere else. I watched Charlie coming straight for Tampa Bay several years ago. We thought we were going to get nailed. I kissed the horses on the nose and said “I’ll probably never see you all again.” Many people ran their horses inland to Orlando, and some went up to Georgia and the Carolina’s. So what did Charlie do? Made a sharp turn and destroyed Punta Gorda and head right up the middle of the state to Orlando, then on to Georgia and the Carolina’s. Surprise!!!!

We are located inland, half way between the west coast and Orlando and usually don’t get the full force of a storm. Erma last year hit us direct and we did just fine, but are you mindful and prepared? Do you even think about it? Or is it “oh it won’t happen to me.”

Yes Hurricanes are something in the forefront right now, but what about the people in California and Montana that have been dealing with fires? What about the states that deal with Tornadoes? Earthquakes? We are all vulnerable to some kind of natural disaster, and some not so natural.

No electric, no water, or if you have water, it’s contaminated. Feed stores gone, hay gone. Vets can’t get out to help an injured horse. Are you really ready for this kind of situation? Oh, I have a generator, but do I have enough gas to run it for any length of time. You’re not going to be able to get gas even if the stations have it, because there is no electricity to work the pumps.

I’ve filled troughs and bath tubs during some hurricanes, but the amount of debris in the trough really made them undrinkable, great for flushing the toilets though. What I did find out was that my bathtub does not hold water overnight.

Then after the storm you have to deal with all the standing water, which is usually contaminated. They are having a tough time in the Carolina’s with pythiosis. Cuts from debris leave an opening for this dreadful infection which eats away the horse’s skin, so hard to treat, if not impossible.

As horse, and pet owners we have a lot of responsibility placed on us. Always be mindful of possibilities. Be active in your thoughts and plans. If it doesn’t happen, well then it was a good safety drill, but if it does at least you had a plan in place. Put First Aid supplies in water proof containers. Gauze, cotton wrap, or even quilts and leg wraps aren’t any good if they are soaked with disgusting water. Not to mention grain that must be kept dry.

Also you need an after plan. What if your place is totally destroyed? Where are you and your animals going to live? Give some thought to where you can relocate your horses. There are people on the internet, right now, trying to find houses, barns, and property here in Florida. It made me think, how can they just leave their jobs and relocate to another state. Well chances are their jobs no longer exist either. Do you have friends who will take in your horses? Maybe at least for a short time until you get your act together. It’s hard to focus when your home, barn, furnishings, clothes, and memories are in a heap being carted away by dump trucks. There’s way too much to think about after it happens.

When a bottle of water becomes a precious item, don’t get caught in a bad situation, there may not be any help available for a long time.

Tag, your it, be prepared.

There Will Be Good Days

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There will be good days, and some not so good days when it comes to training your horse.

My one boarder, who got a new young horse is finding this out, but she’s okay with it. A lot of people are not.

The mare is basically a good mare. Good brain, nice disposition and hangs on the brave side of the scale. Yet still she has her days when the boogie men are about. She doesn’t bolt, just kind of stops and watches. That’s the kind I like.

We wake up in different moods. Some mornings we get up on the wrong side of the bed, and sometimes not. Bob will tell me to go back to bed and try again.

I’m not sure why this happens, maybe not a good nights sleep. Sometime people say it’s something we ate, or stuff on our minds. Horses eat the same thing every day, and don’t worry about what’s on their schedule, so that’s not it.

Her retired horse, that I have here, will sometimes be happy and easy to get along with, and then there are times when you walk into his pasture and the ears are back and you get the evil eyes. I simply tell him he’s not getting his food until his attitude improves. I’ll stand there until his ears go forward and he sulks his way to his bucket. My mares are always grumbling at feeding time. Ears back, talking to themselves about the lack of promptness for the delivery of their food. Now let me just say that timing has nothing to do with it. I tried feeding earlier and earlier and it still wasn’t pleasing to them. It would eventually get to the point of breakfast followed quickly by dinner. I’m sure that would be okay with them, but not their stomach overload. I tried the waiting it out until they put their ears forward, and I got tired of waiting. I just choose to ignore them.

So what makes it a good training day or a bad one? Who knows. What I do know is that they will come and go. The thing we have to remember is that it will go. As Scarlet O’Hara always said “Tomorrow is another day.” Don’t dwell on the bad, it will just bring you down. Maybe you need to check your own energy and attitude to see if your horse is picking it up from you. We are always ready to blame the horse, but a lot of the times it comes from us and we’re not even aware of it. Sometimes it’s the change of wind direction and the horse is hearing sounds or smells that we are not aware of. Perhaps it’s something in the distance that they see that hasn’t caught our attention. Perhaps we are just impatient and not giving them a chance.

What I found years ago was that if I had a bad practice the day before a horse show, I usually had a great go at the show. But if I had a good day of practice the day before, the show would be a bust. I have no idea why, just was. Maybe it was my bi-polar Thoroughbred.

When we are trying to teach them something new, it doesn’t always click that day, but come back tomorrow and the light bulb goes off and they get it. Once again; check the tenseness in your body.

We influence our horses more than we are aware, check yourself before you complain about your horse.

After all – Tomorrow is another day.

Do Unto Others

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How come we pat our horses hard, and loud. Dogs we will pat with a good strong pat also. Cats however will not tolerate a hard pat. They will probably strike back with a claw. Truthfully, if you pat a cat-like you would a horse or a dog you would send them flying across the room. Have you ever seen a cat that is really mad? No, you don’t want to.

Why do we feel the need to give a strong pat to a horse? Did you ever think about that? When a horse gives a strong whack to another horse they usually get double-barreled in return.

Cats we pet. We stroke them long and gently. Smaller dogs we will do the same. Larger dogs will get a strong pat like we do a horse. Where did that come from. Watching to many cowboy movies?

We see it all the time at horse shows. A horse will do well for its rider and the hand comes out and boom boom boom, we thank them for a job well done. We are excited, and grateful, but we can’t jump off at that point and give them hugs and kisses. You’re in the middle of a show ring with all these people watching. However, horses are very forgiving and just think that we humans have a strange way of expressing out emotions. Actually, they’ve learned to ignore our strange ways.

But let’s think about this. When one horse is friends with another, how do they treat their friend? With rubs on a favorite itch spot. Just because they are around 1000 lbs. doesn’t mean they don’t feel a gentle pat or rub. Let’s face it – if they can feel a fly or mosquito we don’t have to slam them to let them know they did good. A gentle stroke and kind words will do just as well if not better.

I patted one of the horses this morning after I turned him out and thought now why did I do that? I mean he’s used to it. He’s 26 and has been patted his whole life. But if you asked him what he would prefer I’m sure he’s say a good scratch, you know, on the itchy spot on my belly.

When you’ve done a good job, and someone comes up and gives you a good hard pat on your back, I know you are glad for their approval and celebration of your job well done, but wouldn’t you prefer a different sort of job well done? Gifts, and money work. A night out to dinner, etc. Just kidding, although I like the night out to dinner a lot.

Old habits die-hard, and I will probably find myself patting my horse with a strong hand again, but I certainly will think about it the next time I do it, and perhaps I will be more like their horses friend and just give them a good scratch.

Sometimes I just think too much.