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  Discussion on Spring 1999
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Posted on Sunday, Apr 11, 1999 - 9:56 am:

I recommend you move into a community where you have lots of preteen girls close by. In insures lots of free barn help, the horses get pampered, and the guys they bring along, as they get a little older, can do the heavy lifting. (I know I and none of the board moderators are eligible, but felt I needed to get us off on the right foot! Can you beat this?)

Posted on Sunday, Apr 11, 1999 - 11:23 am:

Problems with people hand feeding your horse? Here's a non-confrontationally way to stop the situation: Put up a sign that says- I love treats but PLEASE Don't hand feed me Put them in my Feeder! Then approach the people you know are doing it, ask them to help you keep an eye on your horse and who's hand feeding him/her, he's/she becoming mouthy and you want to be able to talk with anyone who is doing so about the situation. This approach has worked very well for me in the past with many of the boarder's at the public stable in which I work.

Posted on Monday, Apr 12, 1999 - 11:00 am:

Does anyone have any good homemade liniment recipes? Looking for ease in finding ingrediants and preparation of course but willing to try different ideas! Thanks

Posted on Wednesday, Apr 21, 1999 - 2:18 pm:

Love that "new" light and fuzzy look your saddlepad has when you first get it? Keep it looking light and really fuzzy after you wash it by brushing it with a stiff brush. It looks new and very good under your saddle

Posted on Sunday, Apr 25, 1999 - 7:46 pm:

If you board where there are several different people doing the feeding, and your horse needs supplements or oral (dry) medications, here's an idea. Pre-package doses in sandwich bags. You can even label them by day and/or time if necessary. Then just tack them on the stall door. That way you know your horse is getting what he needs when he needs it. BTW, this will even work for Regumate. Just put a double handful of grain in the bag before the Regumate. Then the barn staff doesn't have to handle the stuff.

Posted on Tuesday, Apr 27, 1999 - 4:58 pm:

Having trouble getting your horse to eat his powdered medicine/supplement? Dilute the powder in clean water and then use a turkey baster to squirt it into his mouth, the same way you would for paste worming. Hold his head up for a minute or so afterwards to be sure he has swallowed it all.

No muss, no fuss and you can be assured that your horse has gotten his full dosage!

Posted on Wednesday, Apr 28, 1999 - 6:52 am:

As a addendum to Lola's post:
If you use something sticky and sweet (Karo, thinned mollases) it will help insure the horse retains it. Be careful it is not too thick as it may hang in the baster. Keep the total volumn low.

Posted on Wednesday, Apr 28, 1999 - 12:55 pm:

Make a training diary.

Use a spiral notebook and a "year at a glance" calendar.

The first page should have your riding goals clearly stated, both short term and long term.

You should make an entry for each riding session - anything of interest should be noted - ah-has, what worked, what didn't, how the horse felt, lesson learning points, etc.

You should also note equipment, feed, supplement, shoeing, weight changes.

Record vet visits and farrier visits, too.

The more complete your record is, the more able you will be able to go back and see what worked and what didn't ... you'll be able to see progress over time and note any changes which weren't beneficial.

And, when you have a vet out for a problem, you'll know when it started and what you saw!

I use codes on the "year at a glance" calender - L for lesson, R for practice ride, S for show, F for farrier visit, V for vet visit, etc. (I even had B for buck for a period of time!)

For us that suffer the occasional senior moment, it can also help to refresh our minds between lessons on the learning points.

Cheers.

Posted on Saturday, May 1, 1999 - 10:41 am:

If anyone could give me a recipe for homemade fly spray I would be very grateful. Thanks!

Posted on Monday, May 3, 1999 - 2:52 am:

Tired of making a big ole mess when crushing pills? Try a cheap ($20 or less) coffee grinder. Electric or battery operated. Be sure with BIG boluses to hit them with a hammer first to make make smaller pieces - about the size of a pecan or smaller.

Posted on Monday, May 3, 1999 - 3:01 am:

For easy, cheap daily leather cleaning, use Murphy's Oil Soap. You can get it in a spray form. Just spray on and wipe off....no need to rinse. It has a small bit of oil in it so it keeps the leather supple as well as clean. It does not build up like some saddle soaps can.

Posted on Friday, May 7, 1999 - 12:45 pm:

For the past three years I have utilized
rotational grazing with my horses. This involves
confining the herd to smaller paddocks and moving
them every two or three days to a fresh paddock. I
use electric, temporary fencing to divide my
fields into paddocks. Three weeks will have
elapsed by the time the herd is placed back on the
first paddock. Benefits: prevents overgrazing;
reduces spot grazing; allows me to extend the
vegetative stage of the plant; provides the herd
with pasture at its nutritional best; manure is
DrOpped over the whole of the pasture. The feed
bill for my brood mares has been cut by 1/3
because the pastures have improved so
dramatically.

Posted on Saturday, May 8, 1999 - 4:32 am:

Here is an alternative suggestion.

I use selective grazing, as horses can eat much more than they can use if they are left in good pastures.

I have the property divided up into 8 small yards plus two large ones.

two of the small yards are declared to be wasteland. These are the paddocks that the horse spend most of their time in. They are then released into the other paddocks for 2 3 hour sessions per day. (yes it takes a few minutes of your time to move them).

The horses work out when they are going to get food, and time themselves to make use of it. Most manure is DrOpped in the large paddocks or on the walkway back up. I always keep the previous wasteland paddocks until they reach knee deep as this allows them to survive months of grazing at one go. I also use the paddocks for Vitamins/Minerals when all other grass has died off. (1/2 hour per day eating time)

Once any of the other paddocks have reached a point where it is not worth letting them into the grass to eat. I then mow the paddock flat, looks like a lawn and break up any manure left in the paddock so it is exposed to sunlight (helps reduce parasites).

Similar to rotational Idea but stops the horses from overgrazing when they don't need it. If you need to add suplemental feed, IE: hay, give them they hay just before they go into the food paddock, they just won't be able to scoff the good grass.

The night time paddock is not real interesting to them so they only eat enough to keep their digestive system happy.
The biggest damage to the food paddock is the horses walking on the grass. Once a horse has eaten enough they wander aimlessly, this removes twice as much grass as what they would normally eat.

The end result is 7 Horses on 4 Acres in perfect condition some even too fat. compared to my cousin with 2 horses looking dull and skinny (and him buy more feed than me).

Posted on Tuesday, May 11, 1999 - 6:00 pm:

Yes Becky it is true, the colder the water the less to give them, until they have cooled down.

On the Topic of tips, Here is my newest TIP

"Always try to get a second opinion if you think it is necessary, especially in the case of a horse being put down."

I had my Quarter horse break his hip on Monday afternoon in a fall. The local vet was out in 20 mins to have a look and said he has broken his hip he will have to be put down. Most of the signs were there, sunken hip in the near side, a lot of pain unable to move. But I had my doubts as I had seen him get up from the fall (doesn't mean a great deal as they will get up any way they can).
So I said don't put down just yet, got my other vet to confirm the diagnosis, on his rounds yesterday. The same look came over his face, Bad news, I said to him is there anyway to be more certain, as I had my doubts, because I had kept the horse awake all night and half the next day, the horse at least tried to move. He said even xrays would be hard to do at that point. He knows my judgemnet is usually not far wrong so he did a manual check of the pelvic structure and found it was intact. He then re-examined the injury site and determined the horse had broken the tip of the wing of the pelvis. He would be very sore for months to come but will have no long term problems at all, except his hip will be lower on that side.

So one nice Palamino was saved :-)

Now my request for TIPS, can everyone tell me their tricks for getting horses to eat oral paste. As this guy will be on small doses for the next few months, and the third dose was almost impossible to give to him.

HELP!!!!!

Posted on Wednesday, May 12, 1999 - 3:53 pm:

To keep fly's away from my horses I not only put fly spray on them but I also soak their tailbags in fly spray which puts more on every time they swish their tails. I also put a small amount of honey at the corners of the fences which attracts the flies.

Posted on Saturday, May 15, 1999 - 5:44 pm:

If you have a horse with a very lion mane that lays all over the place try braiding it to the right side with a little gel or quic braid. Leave it in for a couple of days and then take it out and you will have a neat mane that lays on the right side.

Posted on Saturday, May 15, 1999 - 5:46 pm:

Does your horse have a dull coat? Try adding a few tablespoons of corn oil to their feed and in a few weeks your horse's coat with glisten with shine. It also helps put a little cushion of fat on their body. It has worked great for my mare's coat she now shines from the inside out.

Posted on Saturday, May 15, 1999 - 5:48 pm:

Don't like store bought fly spray? I use Vetrolin liniment diluted in water after I ride and not only does it keep the flies away but it makes for a shiny coat with out all the slickness and it prevents sore or stiff muscles. It works great and smells really nice too.

Posted on Saturday, May 15, 1999 - 6:00 pm:

If you are like me and keep more than one horse in teh field at a time then you usually end up with a couple of nicks and scratches. Try putting vaseline on the cut to keep it moist and it will grow hair within a week. It keeps my horse at her peak look.

Posted on Sunday, May 16, 1999 - 12:45 am:

If your horse shows signs of spooking while you are riding (or leading him/her), get off and lead him, and lead on the side that whatever is spooking him is, so he/she will not run you over in trying to 'escape' it.

Posted on Thursday, May 20, 1999 - 7:55 am:

Hello Everyone,
There seems to be confusion over what this forum is about. It is not to post questions but to provide "tips and tricks". you know easy reading for ideas. Your questions should be referred to the proper forum. The idea is to keep information categorized so that we can build on it. Another point is that your questions are frequently already dealt with many times in the proper forum so you may find instantaneous help there!

I have deleted the questions out of here, it has become to time consuming and confusing to move them, and if you would like to repost them in the proper forum that will be great.
Thanks,
Lisa Allen administrator

Posted on Saturday, May 29, 1999 - 3:38 pm:

Have trouble finding something to cut bales of hay open with? Just grab a piece of twine and slide it under the one you are trying to cut, and slide it back and forth; it works really well !!!

Posted on Thursday, Jun 3, 1999 - 4:00 pm:

ohhh, that Chris M was Me!

Sorry for the brain cramp.

Posted on Friday, Jun 4, 1999 - 2:56 pm:

I just found a more convenient way to worm my extra large sized horse. The pre-packaged wormers typically provide enough product for a 1,250 pound horse. Our horse tips the scales at 1,500 pounds which required that I buy an extra tube. This adds cost plus the fact I have to trick him into taking the tube twice!

I ordered the liquid wormer from my vet, and he pre-measured each applicator for the actual weight of my individual horses. The cost was much less than having to buy 2 tubes of wormer for one worming session, plus liquid is much easier to administer.

Posted on Monday, Jun 7, 1999 - 8:02 am:

A great idea for sheath cleaning. Use an old sock (not to holey) as a glove whilst doing this job. The sock acts as a gentle abrasive, to help remove the grime. The horse certainly had no objections.

A recycled sports drink container, works well as a bottle for storing and dispensing Molasses.

Posted on Tuesday, Jun 8, 1999 - 10:15 am:

I thought I'd re-post some trail safety tips here:

-The trail leader should always check if 1) everyone is ready to go at a faster gait and 2) let them know when it is being chosen.

-The trail leader should raise an arm when slowing down.

-Dangerous things on the trail (holes, glass, snakes,whatever) should be pointed out by each rider to the one behind him.

-Crossing creeks and streams, tough obstacles should always be slow, careful and allow all horses over before beginning a run.

-The leader should know his rider's abilities and not choose speeds, obstacles or terrain that is unsafe.

-Very large groups should be broken up into smaller groups.

-Early in the trail ride, a pause should allow for girth checks/tightening.

-If your location permits, carry a cell phone on your person.

-If you ride out alone, leave your trail route plan and an estimated return time with a responsible person who will look for you.

-Before you ride out, teach your horse to stop and come back for a possible treat if something (YOU) fall off his back. This can be done with some sweet feed and saddle pads in the arena. Allow the pad to fall off while you are leading the horse around and turn him to investigate - SURPRISE a goody. Then practice a couple of emergency dismounts, rewarding the horse for coming back, checking in. This is well worth the time. My horse and I slide down a long muddy hill one time and became separated - when we met up and regrouped at the bottome I gave her a sugar lump, mounted and we were off. It would have been a long walk home, otherwise. She has gotten away several times, and quickly decides to "come" for a possible goody.

-I carry a crop with a flapper on the end to knock down spider webs and swat flies. I also keep some insect repellent and water aboard.

-Wear suntan lotion, sunglasses if you can and if it is very hot, a neck cooler works great.

-I would not ride out with folks who have an "every rider for him/her self attitude." Life is too short to waste time with jerks.

-Allow your horse to stand in the creeks/streams when you have time - the cool water will do him good.

-ALWAYS wear a hard hat, no matter what the people around you do. People who don't wear hard hats (brain buckets) must not have a brain to protect.

There are probably lots of other good ideas out there - these work for me.

Posted on Monday, Jun 14, 1999 - 6:54 am:

Hello jillian,
We post them on the first Monday of every month and send them out with the Members newsletter. I went and saw we had posted them in the Bulletin Board but had not in the Announcements. Thanks for bringing this oversite to my attention. They are posted there now.

Posted on Wednesday, Jun 16, 1999 - 9:14 pm:

Save all your Log Cabin plastic syrup containers- the squatty ones with the big handle. They have many uses:
1. tie a bolt snap to the handle of each container with an old shoelace. Clean and fill the container with water, then freeze. Take them with you when trail riding and snap to a ring on your saddle- Instant canteen! and ice cold water. When they are frozen, they will add to the ice in the cooler. Their shape is such that they are not a nuisance hanging on your saddle. The pop-up cap keeps them sealed until you want a drink.
2. If you field trial bird dogs, use the bottle to water the dog. The GSP trialers can't touch their dog during a brace, but can water if the judge gives permission. Step off your horse and clip the bottle to your belt loop until you need it. When you want to water the dog, open his mouth and squirt in.
3. Clean another and fill with molasses. tie a bolt snap to this one to hang it in your trailer. Hanging it keeps it from spilling. Use a little molasses on any pills to give, or add a few DrOps to a water bucket to make the water a little more palatable.
4. In a pinch you can get mineral oil down the hatch of a colicky horse You can control the oil by squeezing the bottle. Of course, this container probably won't be recycled as a canteen.

Posted on Thursday, Jun 17, 1999 - 12:46 am:

OK This one is for people with oversized horses :-)

I have a lot of trouble finding a rug to fit my horse, they all cut into her throat. Chest expanders allow the rug to slip back :-(.

The Solution cross the buckels top left to bottom right, bottom left to top right.

I know it seems simple, but when you are in the groove of doing up a rug correctly it doesn't click as a possiblity.

The end result is a rug that looks like a V neck, not perfect for my horse but no more dead skin from circulation loss.

Posted on Thursday, Jun 17, 1999 - 7:49 pm:

I hate going to ride and having grunge on my tack. On the other hand I don't have time to thoroughly clean my tack all the time. So I store a small tubberware container with a small sponge saturated in some saddle soap that doesn't have to be wiped off. I use Farnam's Leather New and it adds a nice shine without the oily residue. Every time I ride I simply wipe down my saddle, bridle, and girth so next time I go to hop on it isn't all gross. Dip your bit in water to keep it from clumbing up with "stuff" from your horses mouth. Saves time when you need to deep clean and condition your tack also.
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