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  Discussion on Winter 2000
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Posted on Tuesday, Jan 4, 2000 - 3:19 pm:

Here's a little something that has worked well for me in the past. With all the odd weather we've been getting lately, there's lots of mud around. If you're having a problem with thrush, here's a quick and cheap solution...

Use household bleach. After picking out the foot, pour a little bleach over the sole. It will bubble for a moment and then drain off.

It works like a charm, killing the thrush -- and it's a heck of a lot cheaper than Thrushbuster!

Posted on Wednesday, Jan 12, 2000 - 6:39 pm:

I tend to be forgetful and it isn't getting any better with age. Plus, my weather forecasting skills are no better than the weatherman's. And, when I ride in the evenings, the radiant cooling can be rather dramatic.

So, I keep duplicates of things at the farm where I board my horse, in my truck, etc. It is a lot easier than not riding after driving out to the farm. Here's my list of "duplicates."

Riding gloves, saddle pad, girth, ear fly net, leg wraps, helmet insert (Troxel type), sugar cubes.

I also tend to keep some extra clothes in the truck. Since the horse is not close to home and well away from town, I tend to underestimate the cold - it helps to have spare layers to add on.

I also keep a change of shirt, towel and rain gear handy. I'll ride in most weather, but want to get out of those "wet things" before driving home. With our localized showers, it can be beautiful at home and raining at the farm. No trouble, slide on my rain gear and I'm ready to ride.

And, with the sugar cubes tucked in the tack trunk, my horse forgives me for forgetting her carrots.

Cheers.

Posted on Thursday, Jan 27, 2000 - 10:37 am:

I have a large staple on the back of my stable door which is actually part of the very heavy-duty door bolt, but something like could easily be fitted. I tied a loop of twine to it with a dog lead clip on the end. On the clip I keep a hoofpick and the keys to the field gate. That way I always have a hoofpick available, I know where the keys are and other people can reach them without having to open the door, and my horse can pick the whole lot up and crash them against the door to encourage me to fetch her hay in the morning, a great game in her opinion.

Posted on Thursday, Jan 27, 2000 - 1:10 pm:

Dear Cara,
Please thank your partner, Helen, so much for sharing her tip with us. I have encouraged my partner to do the same [she's hopeless, as she always loses keys and hoofpicks]. Now, after I have chewed up my softdrink bottles hung round my stable and banged the wooden ring around on the walls, I can crash the keys and hoofpicks against the door at the same time as taking the top pole off and throwing it out of the stable. You know how boring it gets at 3 a.m. - and she doesn't even provide me with a TV or radio - so I can make even more noise now.
Thank you again,
Bellini

Posted on Friday, Jan 28, 2000 - 10:29 am:

Dear Bellini, I'm only allowed to have my radio on when SHE's around (something about the cost of batteries) so I have to find other things to entertain myself. Picking up my feed bucket by the rim and throwing it around is fun for a bit but I prefer throwing it at HER to see if I can knock some sense into her. I'm glad that she keeps the hoofpick handy as one day I suffered the indignity of having my hooves cleaned out with her car key as she lost the pick yet again. I love smashing my equiball against the walls and door, it doesn't really matter if any food comes out of it or not and my spare lead rope is really chewy. The clip on the end makes it much easier to throw about too. I always heave my tack off the stable door when she isn't looking, but she doesn't seem to take the hint. Humans are so thick aren't they?
Love from Cara

ps. I'm in season right now and am a bit of a goer - do you fancy a bit? (SHE says I'm an old tart and no better than I should be but I think she's just jealous!)

Posted on Wednesday, Feb 2, 2000 - 1:31 pm:

Indestructable Toys!! Try getting a large red plastic gasoline can, unused of course, and remove all caps. Then place some dried apple pieces in them. My filly still has not found an easy way to get them out, but it sure is fun to watch her! Word of caution: don't have your intercome too close to the stall because these jugs really make a racket when the horse scrapes them up and down the stall screens!

Posted on Wednesday, Feb 2, 2000 - 1:35 pm:

In this cold weather we are having in the north east, every one is hauling hot water out to their barns. Try putting a few hand fulls of bran in the hot water and top off the stall water buckets with that. The warm bran settles to the bottom of the buckets and thaws out the frozen stuff and makes Ice removal much easier.

Posted on Wednesday, Feb 2, 2000 - 4:38 pm:

WINTER I Wish,

I have just set up a sprinkler in my mares paddock again so she can play in it, I think most horses would run from a hosing like that but she stands there and cools down from 38 degree plus weather.

Her baby is not impressed with the water idea yet.

I was at the vets surgery yesterday and they have a chestnut mare doing the same thing :-)

Posted on Thursday, Feb 3, 2000 - 1:43 pm:

G'day Darren, Let me say as an expatriate from Sydney...you don't want to experience the weather in the North East. Knee deep in snow here and it has been Artic in temps, minus 13oC in the mornings is not fun. C'mon, Sydney's been having a lot of rain!!!
Carol.

Posted on Thursday, Feb 3, 2000 - 5:01 pm:

eeekk

snap frozen indeed.

yeah we have had a lot of rain, but the ground is still dusty, it is very weird we can have an inch of rain over night but by the afternoon the ground is dusty again. Though it does make the grass grow, yah to lower feed bills

Posted on Tuesday, Feb 15, 2000 - 9:57 am:

Putting Rubber Biscuits (I call them) on to a bit

This is something we've all tried. Soaking them in hot water, endless stretching with no luck. This is a guaranteed solution and it takes seconds.
Take some baler twine and cut it into 2 pieces. Tie each piece through the hole making 2 loops on the rubber biscuit. Place your foot in 1 loop on the floor then pull the other loop (use a glove) upwards stretching the hole in the middle. Then slip the bit ring through the hole.
This works on even the worse bits like the 3 ring snaffle.
I hope this helps.

Posted on Friday, Feb 18, 2000 - 12:41 am:

So you keep losing hoof picks?
After reading some of the above comments, I have another tip on this for you. One of the stables I kept my horse in, in England, used to have those shallow rubber feed bowls, then attached to the handle, a piece of baler twine and a hoof pick. You could then pick your horses feet out into the bowl, saving on messy hoofpickings on the floor. This is especially good for the kids who tend not to sweep up their mess just after you've swept the barn floor! By the way don't forget not to give your horse his dinner in it!

Posted on Friday, Feb 18, 2000 - 11:20 am:

the rubber biscuit tip works well on peacock stirrup iron sides too, hook on the bottom then stand on the iron and pull the rubber over - use a hoof pick, it saves on your fingers.
to dry wet nz rugs get two 'over the bath' style clothes horses (from argos)then put the rug over like it was going on a horse. If you put an electric radiator under them and leave it on low the rug is dry by morning - and warm to put on the horse!

Posted on Thursday, Feb 24, 2000 - 11:56 am:

Muddy Gateways:

We have found that if you spread recycled asphault (the kind they grind off roads during construction) about 4 inches thick, it will in a week or two, reseal it's self and make a lasting surface that will not allow the mud to come up through and has a lot of traction when it is frozen.

Recycled asphault can be obtained really cheaply and soemtimes free if you pay for the hauling, because it is considered a "waste product" of construction.

Posted on Thursday, Feb 24, 2000 - 12:07 pm:

Cheap Poultice:

I was shocked when I saw the price of premixed and powdered poultice for horses (sometimes called Clays). If you read the ingredients you'll see that the main "clay" is a mineral called Bentonite.

Bentontite can be purchased from Well and Drilling Supply companies in 50lb dry sacks for about $5-9 u.s. dollars compared to the up to $30 for 1lb of "horsey clay" which is the same stuff that has been mixed with water and fragrance.

I use old suppliment containers and mix it in diffrent forms; One with only water, another with water and liniment, another water and DMSO. I have a bucket of Clay for all occasions and it dosen't cost me a small fortune!

Posted on Thursday, Feb 24, 2000 - 12:16 pm:

Brush Cleaner:

With shedding season upon us here is an easy brush clean that works great and anyone can make.

Get an old Oven Rack from a appliance repair shop (usually a couple bucks or a sweet smile and they'll give them to you). Mount it on your outside barn wall with bottom angled out (use a 2x2 between the wall and the rack at top and a 2x4 on the bottom).

Take your brushes and rub them back and forth, the hair and dirt fall right out of the brush. The angle of the rack allows you to reach behind the rack and clear the dirt away.

Posted on Friday, Feb 25, 2000 - 1:54 pm:

I invested $65 in a shop-vac, it really cleans brushes well but my horses all get vacuumed with it. For another $15 I bought a rubber curry attachment for it & that works better than the attachments that came with it. Not only does it get your horse clean, it stops all the hair from sticking all over you & it's a great thing to get your babies & youngsters used to. Actually none of mine paid much attention when I first started using it. Much less expensive than the vacuums built for horses!
Ann

Posted on Friday, Feb 25, 2000 - 4:54 pm:

To make a portable homemade recycled tire mat, you'll pick up about a dozen tires from a tire dump somewhere. You'll need a chop saw with a good blade, and some bolts. You cut the side walls off the tires leaving the tread, then cut the tread and lay it out in a strip. The size of the tire will determine the size of the mat. You then weave them together, like a kids potholder, drill two holes through the end of each tread strip and bolt them together. You can attach a piece of chain on the underside of the mat to make a handle to drag it around with. We sell these mats to cattle feeders and vets who use portable headgates and have muddy chutes and runways, and also make them for trailers. You can cut them to fit, they're durable, and have enough give to prevent toe abcesses and bruising in cattle. If you need any more specifics on how to do it, you can email me at dtoler@midlands.net. This might be a solution for some of those muddy gates. The best part is the cost. Not high at all!

Posted on Friday, Feb 25, 2000 - 4:56 pm:

OOPS! On the tire mats, I forgot to say that in order to take advantage of the anti skid properties of the tire tread, make sure you have the tread side UP! LOL

Posted on Saturday, Feb 26, 2000 - 7:47 am:

??what is a shop-vac?? is this just an ordinary cylinder type vacuum cleaner like you'd hoover the carpet with?? please excuse me for being a bit thick!!
Claire

Posted on Wednesday, Mar 1, 2000 - 12:06 pm:

Hi Claire,
A shop vac is something you would use in your garage or workshop. It has a metal canister about the size of a bucket on wheels & the motor part is on top of that. Usually you can use it suck up water as well as dry stuff. Mine has attachments the same as a usual vacuum but I ordered the rubber curry attachment froma tack catalog. I should think most hardware stores would have them.
Ann

Posted on Thursday, Mar 2, 2000 - 7:37 am:

Recently my horse got both his hind pasterns rope burned. As a treatment I decided to keep the wounds moist, and clean. 2 or 3 times a day I would take him down to our creek and stand him there for 1/2 an hour or so. (a hose down would be OK as an alternative). I would then dry the areas gently with a towel, and apply oil to keep the wounds moist. As a cover to keep this clean and also the flies away, I was using some of my old socks, clean of coarse. Just cut out the toe piece and pull on the sock, which acts as a bandage, this does a great job, is not expensive, and can handle all the movement of this area. I found these sock bandages great for keeping this area clean and also for holding the moisture around the wounds.

Posted on Thursday, Mar 2, 2000 - 11:42 am:

Socks! What a great idea for knee wounds as well. I've just gone through that and had an awful time keeping a bandage on. I'm not adept at spider bandages so I went through rolls of gauze, vet rap and elasticon just trying to keep it clean! I did discover that duct tape has better 'stick' than elasticon in cold weather! Anyway, a sock, taped top & bottom would have enough give for the bending of the knee & more comfortable for the horse, I should think.
Thanks Leonie!
Ann

Posted on Thursday, Mar 2, 2000 - 2:14 pm:

I ditto Ann's thoughts. I had a horse with a knee problem and found when I tried the spider bandage I had more thumbs then I thought I had. The sock method is going to be very useful around our barn with 8 horses to care for.

Thanks for a great idea!

PonyLuv

Posted on Friday, Mar 3, 2000 - 7:47 am:

I use Tubigrip bandages for knees and hocks (medical support bandages for wrists, knees etc in people) and they stay up far longer than ordinary bandages.

Posted on Friday, Mar 3, 2000 - 9:09 am:

I used tubigrip on my foal's leg to cover his bandage - but he ate it !! (it came through a week later)

Posted on Saturday, Mar 4, 2000 - 1:58 pm:

A tip for you.
In my grooming box I keep a pop-up container of wet-wipes.(you know, the baby wipes) I find them extremely handy for cleaning out "eye-snots" and gooky nostrils, you can get the anti-bacterial kind also.
Added plusses, inexpensive, single use, my mare loves her "face cleaning", and you can use them to clean your hands after a messy procedure, if you do not have access to running water and soap.

Posted on Saturday, Mar 4, 2000 - 11:13 pm:

Hi Ann,

What tack catalog did you see the curry attachment for your shop vac? As you know, this is the time of year we are all getting our hairy coats while our horses are losing theirs and I'm willing to try anything, almost.

Posted on Monday, Mar 6, 2000 - 12:43 pm:

Hi Lisa,
I got mine at Stateline, but I'm sure I've also seen them in Libertyville & Dover. If you need information on any of these places let me know.
Ann

Posted on Tuesday, Mar 7, 2000 - 3:12 am:

Tip,
I have an easy keeper and he was always over weight due to me feeding him too much. I went to the store section where you buy things for your canning and perchased a scale to weigh the flakes of hay, the scale has a wide enough tray to sit a flake of hay on. Now I always know how much he is getting to eat. No more FATTY JAZZY!!

Judy

Posted on Wednesday, Mar 15, 2000 - 3:16 pm:

During the cold spell here in NC, I learned a new trick from my horse's caretakers.

The water in the buckets was freezing over each night. In the morning, we'd fill up a bucket with hot water and add it to the frozen over water - voila, the ice would melt and the water would be a nice temperature to encourage drinking!

A simple idea that saved labor in that we weren't dumping ice all around the barn.

Posted on Wednesday, Mar 15, 2000 - 3:30 pm:

Recently I've been nursing my horse's head boo-boo. The treatment required was eye medicine twice a day and a warm compress for 20 minutes each day (besides meds in her food which she readily ate). Since I board her at a small barn where the boarders and caretakers all pitch in to help in a crisis, I posted her treatment needs outside her stall. This eliminated any confusion from my helpers.

Then I used "email" to ask for help if there was a day I couldn't do the requisite stuff.

In Silke's tack trunk, I kept the eye medicine, extra wash cloths and a reuseable hand warmer hunters and outdoor people use. The hand warmer is activated by pushing a disk. Once it is activated, a wet wash cloth could be wrapped around it and there is a warm compress. I also would put boiling water in a thermos before going to work. By the time I came to the barn in the evening, the water was a good temperature for the compress.

Getting the eye medicine in was another story - especially as the mare got wise to our tricks. First, I put the medicine on a clean finger to put in the upper corner of her eye. Then I'd try to distract her - a pile of hay, grain in her dish, a carrot in my hand (worked best), scritching her itchy wound with my finger tips ... all were successful a few times. My vet showed my how to place her "butt" in the corner and put her chin over my shoulder - this seemed to give me the most control. So, if she wasn't cooperating with treats, I'd resort to this.

Thankfully, the stitches are now out and the swelling way down. Her ability to blink is slowly improving. She still has a little drainage from the head wound - we are watching it closely in case the rattached bone died and is causing the drainage.

Just thought I pass these experiences on.

Cheers.

Posted on Friday, Mar 17, 2000 - 10:23 am:

Finally, I have one to add! Last night I was trying to curry my VERY hairy 2yo, and was getting completely disgusted with the amount of hair flying around. I had just sprayed some conditioner on his mane (to help keep it on the right side), and I thought "Well, hair can't very well fly around if it's wet!" so I sprayed a little section at a time with a light coating of the conditioner, and WALA! No more hair everywhere! Plus, there's the added bonus of a soft, shiny coat!

Posted on Saturday, Mar 18, 2000 - 8:58 am:

Looking for a safer way to worm with a not quite so "sweetheart" of a mount? I found that putting Equimectrin in some sweet feed works great. They don't spit the wormer out, no hassling with them, and it can be done by one person with those that don't like their mouth to be messed with. Works great for those yearlings that are full of themselves.

Posted on Saturday, Mar 18, 2000 - 9:39 am:

The very best bucket/tub brush is a toilet brush. The type that is shaped somewhat like a "J" with rounded bristles in the curved part. The long handle keeps your hands out of water and the shape of the brush gets into all the crevices and corners. The bristles hold up much better than the brushes sold by farm stores esp. if you use hot water as they are stiffer and denser. As with most things I found out by accident when I bought an extra one for the house and didn't need it so it went to the barn.

Another good brush idea....if you have a horse with an injury in a spot that's hard or dangerous to clean find the softest, bath backbrush (human) you can find. It gives you at least 12" of reach and the brush end does a good and gentle job of cleaning the wound or even applying oinment or medication. I found out this one with a weanling colt with wound on lower hind (of course) leg that was not yet used to legs being held much less cleaned and medicated.

Posted on Thursday, Mar 30, 2000 - 4:01 pm:

I just moved my mare into a foaling stall and turned her stall into the "tack room". I found that her metal hay rack on the wall has come in quite handy. I have polo wraps, which fit perfectly through the bars, on the bottom. And I have blankets and a cooler in the rest of it.
My barn at home is being built andI plan on putting one or two up in my barn's tack room. It would work well behind a door or over a tack trunk.
~b

Posted on Friday, Mar 31, 2000 - 2:55 pm:

We used a hayrack to put our horse's day rug in at night and night rug in the day. We now use a soft material bag which is on a clip attached to the stable wall. Obviously these storage ideas only work for dry rugs!!
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