horse question

[helmstead]

Yes! It mixed with yeast infection cream works very well as a treatment.

 

[miss_thenorth]

Well, we had a downpouring of rain last night and it is BAAAADDD. I'm thinking what you're thinking, Pat... i got up this morning, and pretty near cried..so after I sucked up all the water out of the basement with the shop vac--(that's another story), I went outside(my dd already fed the horses and collected the eggs), my 2 gf's came over and we got the shovels out. It has made a significant difference, but more digging will need to be done tomorrow. I was already thinking about asking my neighbour if I could rent out part of her barn, but she has mares and I have geldings, she might not go for it, she might not even have room for my guys--I will ask nevertheless... I am a sahm, so I might be able to work out a deal with her, as she is in school full time.

We picked out the hooves today, and they look fine--I hope they stay that way.

We bought this place 4 months ago, and the previous owners had horses. Although I am shocked at how much water there is already--I am absolutely horrified that the previous owners had horses for several years with the land like this. My neighbour said she felt like calling the humane society on them several times, so I gathered it was bad, but you really don't know how bad it is until you actually see it--and like you said---it isn't even spring yet.

I know that we need to work on the horses manners. They are young and the one is leaving. We have an almost 2yo paint percheron, and he is the biggest suck but he doesn't lift well--he is getting better, but it kills my back. The other one--a morgan TBis rather standoffish, and the lady we bought him from said if we weren't happy with him--that she wants him back--so, as soon as we find another playmate for the paint,the other one will be leaving. he is trained wonderfully, (and lifts well) but he just isn't the horse for us.

We will tile the land this winter, and then in the spring put up fences. After we assess how the drainage is after spring, I'll know better what to put in the paddock area--but the wood chips look like a good idea. (the barn is going to be rearranged too).

i was talking to a guy tonight who said to coat the hooves with oil...ever heard of that?

You guys are all great here on this forum...thanks so much for all your help and advice--It is greatly appreciated.

MissC

 

[helmstead]

Oil won't solve anything. It wears off pretty fast. Anyway - with the hooves already soggy, the oil won't stick. It would just glop off.

Was there not disclosure when you purchased the land that it was floodplain? Oy! Sounds like you're going to spend a fortune in drainage solutions.

<<I can no longer complain about my muddy spots>>

I have a full Perchie mare. She's perfect about her feet - but I have taught her to rest them on an upside-down bucket when I'm doing anything besides a quick pick out on them. Dern things weigh a ton each! I taught her to cock her hind hooves on the toe when I'm working on those because the bucket isn't comfy back there. She came with frog rot (basically thrush of the frog) and so she learned fast to do the above for treatment.

Best of luck!

 

[miss_thenorth]

"" have taught her to rest them on an upside-down bucket

"
Can I send you virtual hugs?????? A bucket would be a great idea---like you said--they weigh a tonne!!!! When we first got him--he would be lazy and try and lay down while you had his foot. I finally just stopped fighting him and figured if he wanted to lay down, just let him. He doesn't try that anymore. The morgan TB snaps his feet up real quick--I would love to teach thunder (paint perch) how to do that

As far as the land is concerned..... the previous owners lied to us about so many things....we talked to our lawyer about suing them--and he said we could, and we would spend alot of money in doing so--but the people we bought from didn't have enough money after the close of the sale to even pay their lawyer--so he advised us against it--even though we had a case--b/c you can't squeeze water from a rock. Nice analogy isn't it? you sure can squeeze alot of water off of our property.

We have had ppl come and look into draining our land--we only have three acres--we figure the bill will be around $3 grand. I know a guy who can run a back hoe -- we might be able to do it ourselves for cheaper after the experts tell us how to do it.

Drain the land--put up fences and hopefully that will be it. Even with all this water--we are thankful for this house--It is everything we wanted--and at least there was a barn and a huge workshop (heated insulated etc) already here--that would have cost alot more money to build than drainage and fencing--we have to be very thankful for what we do have--it could be worse.

I will see how the water is flowing tomorrow--after i dig more trenches--then i will decide whether they need to be relocated temporarily--If not the neighbour--I have a SIL and hour away who might be able to put my horses up for a while.

Well, I should call it a night--I have lotsa work to do tomorrow.

 

[patandchickens]

Quote:
You do know, yes, that what he needs to learn is not to pick up his foot per se, but to shift his weight off it, and keep the weight shifted off? If you approach it that way, you will have a lot more luck. Arthritis, sore feet, or any other soreness (including back issues) will make a horse much more reluctant to hold his feet up, so that is something to consider. Also, when you say 'he would be lazy and try and lay down while you had his foot" I would point out that this sounds to me rather more like a horse that is either sore or has just never actually been taught TO balance on 3 legs, and is not being lazy so much as just being UNABLE. Worth considering. But definitely something you need to fix. Now, being mud season and not being able to do much else with the horses, would be a Real Good Time

Drain the land--put up fences and hopefully that will be it.

Yeah, people will put horses in all sorts of dumb places. When our house was built here, 35 years ago, it was by harness racing people who built a 1/2 mile track here too. Then, uh, springtime came. Half the track was underwater. They did not stay long. (Did I mention the barn floods too? The barn floods too.) The place has gone thru a series of other owners, although one stayed 15 years or so, but all have left in large part because, duh, it is a former swamp and in late winter and spring it floods. (edited to add: we knew this before we bought it, though, as we saw it during springtime and plus it is really obvious from local topography that it's a low spot)

However here is a cheery note for you: I have HAND-dug some extra drainage ditches, more-intelligently placed, and we have taken some other smartish measures like removing a culvert that would always flood, ice solid, and then become a dam... and the place now floods SIGNIFICANTLY LESS than it did 5 years ago. We are still stuck with the barn in an inappropriate location, but by fixing eavestroughs, doing drainage ditches, and installing an extra sump, it no longer floods much at all. And we've reorganized the horse pastures a bit, dug a few ditches, and added as much gravel or road base as we can afford to the area near the runin shed each year, and the horses are now not in anywhere NEAR as much mud as they were before - I'd say they're better off than most horses actually. And that's without tiling, which we can't do as there IS no lower point on our property to run a drain TO (our surface water exits via a neighbor's field).

So cheer up, there is often quite a lot that can be done. Although you really may not want your horses at home this spring.

One thing to watch is that with marginal land like yours, you need either to invest in a largish all-weather paddock, or (as a distant second choice) crossfence so that you can use the highest dryest paddock as a sacrifice lot in mud weather, and have as much other grazeable land fenced in as possible but take real good care of it so it doesn't get ripped up in the mud.

The other thing, since you are going to be re-fencing, is to spend the extra little bit of money to use EXTRA THICK fenceposts, have them driven (not put in dug holes) EXTRA DEEP, and if you use fence materials that will catch a lot of wind (like 4-board, or wire mesh -and really these are the best materials to use, probably) then plan extra "bends" in long fencelines. Like
______________
___________| not ___________________

The reason is that fenceposts in wet ground have a strong tendency to rot out quickly and get 'heeled over' by the force of the wind. Even if the fence was well constructed. THose extra 3 measures will really improve the longevity of your fence, honest... and as you know, fence is way too expensive to have to replace any sooner than necessary

Good luck and sympathies from another swamp

(although things have mostly flushed thru here now, and aside from the persistant lake in the front paddock that would take a heckuva lot of fill to ever fix, we're back to pretty good shape, and the ground is even a bit 'stiff' from frost right now yay), and happy ditchdigging,

Pat​

 

[patandchickens]

Oh, by the way... I would advise AGAINST planning to use wood chips as a longterm thing. They are good for emergency mud management, but in time they break down (decompose) into muck and make your mud problem WORSE there.

So this summer when you are redoing your paddocks, you really really might oughta think about building a proper all-weather one, even if it's small. About six inches of hard-compacted 3/4-minus gravel topped wiht a few inches of footing. It will be a tad spendy (tho if you have a friend with a bobcat or even just a tractor, that will help) but REALLY REALLY WORTH it.

Good luck,

Pat

 

[helmstead]

Pat - she said her PH/Perch is a baby (2 y/o). Laying down is a common reaction for babies, not a symptom of anything. Sounds like they've figured it out.

If the Morgan cross were mine, I'd get a western saddle on him and a long cotton rope. Slip the rope around a fore-pastern, loop it around the saddle horn once (so you can release it quickly if need be), pick up the foot, take up the slack and let the horse figure out he CAN'T have his foot back. Sometimes we need mechanical help - they DO super outweigh us! I also rope train with the hinds...just run the rope around the rear pastern and pull forward (well out of kicking range up by the shoulder). You'll want to give and take until they quit kicking and you can hold the hoof up (as if on a hoof stand) as long as you want. Then move behind him, repeat pulling backwards. Works like a charm.

I do this with every new horse I get, regardless of age or training. You wouldn't believe how many show their true colors! Once you have done it though, you can pick their feet out in the pasture with no worries. I think they think I'm wonder woman or something.

Yup - your lawyer hit the comparison on the nose. New twist on blood out of a turnip.

 

[patandchickens]

Quote:
oops, sorry, thank you for the correction - I missed seeing that! Yeah, then he just needs to learn to balance (and behave himself

). But the morgan/TB already is good with feet, yes?

Pat

 

[helmstead]

She said A) he's hard to catch and B) you can pick his feet up but he snatches them back. So he needs more work than anybody. He sounds a lot like my Arab/Paso gelding was when we got him. Brat!

 

[patandchickens]

Quote:
<scratching head> something musta been edited then, because I can't find anywhere that says that. Unless I am just stupid of course which is not impossible, but I *did* look!

Oh well, back to the mud,


Pat