You have to love Morgans!

If anyone has Morgans you'll know what I'm talking about! They are a great breed but they have their quarks, one of them is their stubbornness. My little mare is just four and normally I hold her up as an example as what a horse could be.
However, being a Morgan, she is prone to her moods. I pulled her out of the field for a little ride out back to watch the sun go down. however she had other things in mind to do and none of it had anything with doing what I wanted. She wouldn't go forward, she wouldn't back and little girl refused to even bend her head.
So at this point you have only a couple of options;

A) loose your temper and blow up at the horse. (If you have Morgans you already know this wouldn't get you anywhere with them

B) put her back and wait for another day

C) Try and find something positive to do.

I went with C and with in a couple of minutes ( less the 30 ) I had taught her to bow. Not that I had intention in doing that but she is great at it!

Let the horse pick it's own discipline.

Like almost every other horse owner I've ever known when Foxie came to me I had certain hopes for what I could do with her in the future. ( A good solid trail horse for one.) I like most people find a horse with an idea already set about what I what to do with that horse. But unlike most people I've ran across am more than happy to let that hope go right out the window when I get to know the horse.

recently a guy came to me, who was wanting to buy a horse and wanted to know if I would take a stud on to train. ( warning number 1)
Upon further question this guy told me that he really didn't know much about breeding quarter horses but really liked this one because of his size. (warning number 2)

Further into the conversation this guy told me that this horse had already been used as a stud and shown in halter classes (third and final warning )
Stopping him right there I asked him if he had seen this horses papers and I also told him if this horse was a halter horse there was a good chance there was Impressive in his bloodlines. I was right, there was, and on the top and bottom of his papers, pay dirt! Impressive was a beautiful horse who produced outstanding get, however, he is also known for the genetic disease known as HYPP. http://www.bringinglighttohypp.org/ More to the point this horse was tested for the disease and found to have the reseive gean. What that means is this horse that this guy is wanting to make into a trail horse will not show the symptoms but his foals will stand an almost 99% chance have having it.

If all you want to do is some trail riding why would you think it was a good idea to get a horse like this! This is a horse that is bred to stand there and look pretty and make other horses that will stand there and look pretty. There are a million horses out there that need a good home and would be willing to let you ride all day long anywhere you wanted to.
  This is not the kind of horse anyone needs if all you want to do is ride around a little bit.

As for this guy, I have no idea if he really bought this horse. I'm hoping that me telling him over and over again to keep looking got through but I doubt I will ever know. As for Foxie, and my idea to turn her into a trail horse shes turning into a really nice dressage prospect!

Impressive 1974

What about hay?

Hay can vary greatly from region to region but there are some basic qualities that carry over to all horse quality hay that should be looked at before feeding it to your horse. With winter on us and record low rainfall throughout most of the country there is a shortage and you may have to feed hay that you're not familiar with.
here are some basics that apply to most if not all horse quality hay.

1) coloring, the bale should be a pale green the longer it's been sitting around the more yellow it turns. Expect the outside of the bale to be yellowish but try and fish out at least a little bit from inside. the more yellow the less nutrients it has.

2) Rule of thumb, if the hay is stemmy and coarse looking it's probably for cattle. If you have questions ask, that cannot be stated enough. remember what a cow can eat a horse can not because the way their stomachs are designed.









3) Check for smell of mold or any odd coloring is the first clue. Mold comes in black or a white powerish coloring. No type of mold is safe to feed no matter anyone tells you. (I've been told by a professional horseman before that it is ok to feed black hay.) Again if you have questions please ask your vet or a trusted horse professional. If your gut is telling you something is wrong go with that.

Also check for dust and weeds for this is a sign of low quality hay as well. Hay varies so much according to where you live but these simple tips are wide reaching enough that they cover every type of hay I've encountered traveling across the United States.

knowing when to say when

Well little guy finally made it Home! After a couple days stay this little guy got picked up.

I'd love to be able to say something about fences being fixed or worried owners but I can't the guy sent two friends to pick him up in a cattle trailer filed with calves.

I will say one thing this mini turned out to be a lesson in the fact you can not save them all. He had enough to eat with just what he could find in the field to keep him healthy and outside of the lack of anything like good fence for his safety he really wasn't in any danger or being abused. This little pony brings up one point that is the hardest for horse people to remember, you can not save them all. True, he would take up almost nothing in space and feed but when taking on another horse the question of cost for vets and to have their feet trimmed on time as well as that late night vet call on a weekend that always comes up when money is tight.

With reports piling up about horses being seized from rescue groups and from good hearted people that just wanted to help ask your self first do I really have the time and money for this one too? if the answer comes back sounding like, 'well I'll make it work' or 'I'll find the money' please walk away or find someone that has the money and time because you alone can not save them all.

This one day I came home and there was this mini...

In this day and age when people throw away horses because their; too old, too young, too slow, too fast, too whatever you fill in the blank. Finding a mini stud running up and down a road really isn't as  uncommon as it should be.

With evening feeding getting ready to start we really didn't have time to try and catch our new little friend right off the bat, besides someone would be wondering were their little hay burner had wounder off to, god knows we would be out looking.

Unable to even get near him we ended up just penning him in against the fence line with panels believing that someone would be driving up and down the road looking. You would think as old as I am I would have, by now, quit hoping for the best in people when it comes to their animals.

Dusk came and went, cars came by and went still no one stopping looking for their missing little horse. By this point we had called the police department and animal control. In a small town on a Friday night, this is absolutely pointless, after all those deer wont shoot themselves.

9 pm came around with us trying to settle in for the night when lights showed up at the house where we suspected this little pony came from. sprinting up the hill thinking they must be frantic only to find a guy smelling a little of liquor truly surprised that one of the mini's had made off down the road. His first suggestion was to turn the mini back out on the road and herd him back up the road to his place. Putting an end to that idea, instead opting to have this man come and get the mini in the morning around 9 when we could see. Well the morning rolled in then it rolled out and still the mini is here. to make this better there is no one up at the house. instead of picking up the stud as promised he snuck off .

this little guy knows nothing about people, is not halter broke, so forget about leading him, thou I must say he leads better now then when he first made it down the hill.

So tune in next week....

 

Belle is without a doubt my favorite success story. She came to us in September of 2010 little more to her her than skin over bone and didn't know basics or even about feeding.

Belle is a Morgan and at the time little over a year old. If you know anything about the Morgan breed you will know one of their main characteristics is the fact they are easy keepers.

I'm please to be able to say she has come such a long way!

Last year 2011













First time with a saddle on her back yesterday!

feeding

It can feel like there are almost as many different types of feed as there are breeds of horses. With the wide range in price, protein percentage, and textured it can be over whelming to walk into a feed store if your unsure what your looking at to start with.

Again I point at Foxie for an example. She came to me on 14% performance feed, shown to the left here.

Lets brake down why this caused so many of her problems;

1) Saddlebreds are a hotter horse to start with like an Arabian or a Thoroughbred. higher the protein percentage more fuel your feeding into the fire, so to speak. What this means is, if you have a horse that is already up and you are feeding them anything above a 10 or 12% feed you are going to make that horse harder to handle.

                                                                2) Higher the protein the more work needed to burn off the extra                             energy. Foxie was a backyard horse that her former owner wanted to be safe around her and her children. Foxie was not given anywhere near the work load needed to burn off the feed she was getting.

If you are unsure what to feed your horse, please for your horses sake go to the feed store and be honest with the clerk about what kind of horse you have, what that horse is like ( does that horse spend most of there time just standing there or are they working horses.) is that horse easily startled or does it take all of your strength to kick them into a walk. How much do you work this horse and how hard, be honest about this. These questions are not based on what you would like to do but what you are currently doing and have been doing.

Horse quality hay and good pasture are still the most important part of a horse's diet but the type of feed can drastically change a horses mentality. As for portion and body condition I've add a chart below that is excepted and used by vets as the standard for a horses body condition.

Body Condition Scoring Chart

A. Along the neck B. Along the withers	C. Crease down back D. Tailhead	E. Ribs F. Behind the shoulder
The Ideal Body Condition Score is between 5 and 6-1/2 1. Poor Animal extremely emaciated; spinous processes, ribs, tailhead, tuber coxae (hip joints), and ischia (lower pelvic bones) projecting prominently; bone structure of withers, shoulders, and neck easily noticeable; no fatty tissue can be felt. 2. Very Thin Animal emaciated; slight fat covering over base of spinous processes, transverse processes of lumbar vertebrae feel rounded; spinous processes, ribs, tailhead, tuber coxae (hip joints) and ischia (lower pelvic bones) prominent; withers, shoulders, and neck structure faintly discernable. 3. Thin Fat buildup about halfway on spinous processes; transverse processes cannot be felt; slight fat cover over ribs; spinous processes and ribs easily discernable; tailhead prominent, but individual vertebrae cannot be identified visually; tuber coxae (hip joints), appear rounded but easily discernable; tuber ischia (lower pelvic bones) not distinguishable; withers, shoulders and neck accentuated. 4. Moderately Thin Slight ridge along back; faint outline of ribs discernible; tailhead prominence depends on conformation, fat can be felt around it; tuber coxae (hip joints) not discernable; withers, shoulders and neck not obviously thin. 5. Moderate Back is flat (no crease or ridge); ribs not visually distinguishable but easily felt; fat around tailhead beginning to feel spongy; withers appear rounded over spinous processes; shoulders and neck blend smoothly into body. 6. Moderately Fleshy May have slight crease down back; fat over ribs spongy; fat around tailhead soft; fat beginning to be deposited along the side of withers, behind shoulders, and along sides of neck. 7. Fleshy May have slight crease down back; individual ribs can be felt, but noticeable filling between ribs with fat; fat around tailhead soft; fat deposited along withers, behind shoulders,and along neck. 8. Fat Crease down back; difficult to feel ribs, fat around tailhead very soft; fat area along withers filled with fat, area behind shoulder filled with fat, noticeable thickening of neck; fat deposited along inner thighs. 9. Extremely Fat Obvious crease down back; patchy fat appearing over ribs, bulging fat around tailhead; along withers, behind shoulders and along neck, fat along inner thighs may rub together; flank filled with fat.

throw away horses

     This is Foxie an 11 year old saddlebred that was a 'gift' horse. the owner gave her to me with papers under the one condition that I never try and return her. I was told that this mare was too high strung and a danger because she kicked, pawed and acted spooky.

     I must say in all my years with dealing with horses and their people I have never seen people take off that fast after dropping off a horse. Unfortunately, I have seen horses like Foxie. She was purchased  out of  Iowa sight unseen and shipped to Texas. Her owner had no experience with Saddlebreds just thought they were pretty and wanted one. What happened after, I never got a clear answer. What I do know is this mare is 11 years old and untrained outside of a little Parelli that her owner didn't understand.

     This country is filled with horses like Foxie, horses that people bought without any really thought about the horse outside of their pretty and they want to own a pretty horse. It's always the horse that loses when people try to live out their fantasies about what a horse should be to them. It has always amazed me when someone comes to me and says that this horse doesn't do this or he dose that. Very few times people are willing to see that the problem might be them.

     I've had Foxie for just over a week now and I can tell you that she is a sweet mare that, even at her age wants to learn, she is very smart and is looking to please people. I'm going to us this blog to track her progress in hope that people with problem horses might be willing to take a second look at their horses and why they have them.

     There are far too many horses out there that through no fault or wrong doing of their own have found them selves on the hard end of life. Remember a horse can be no more or less then what you make them.