Horse Talk

[abigalerose]

She is very beautiful

Even all skinny and scuffed up you can tell that she is. Inside and out! And I got her at a rescue ranch about an hour from me, it's called "Grumpy Horse Ranch & Rescue" they're really great people, it's a family, the mom and dad both work full time so they can do rescue, and the mom and her daughter train all the untrained horses. If you didn't know, I'm in Missouri, and these people drive to Louisiana or Texas almost every weekend to get horses out of the killpens. They quarantine them and then if they're not broke, or if they're a little crazy, they train them or tune them up. I adopted a mustang from them a couple months ago (they mostly rescue BLM mustangs but they have some drafts, OTTBs, QHs, and a couple gaited horses) but he just wasn't working out with my mare, so they let me trade him for (Penelope/Jenny). They're super willing to help and make sure you find the right horse. And they're going to keep Phoenix (the mustang) now, since this is his second time being returned. They have a lot that they keep, usually they keep the blind/lame/old ones and adopt out the rest, and they'll always always take a horse back if for some reason you can't keep it. Theyre great. They've probably got about 20+ mustangs right now plus all the other breeds of horses, and they're picking up more mustangs this weekend. Sorry for the rambling, and I'm about to keep rambling.
Today was pretty eventful with June, I probably worked with her a total of three hours, and I know some people may think this is too much, so if you do, just keep that opinion to yourself or at least be nice about it, anyways, I went out initially just to teach her to side pass (on the ground) so I did about 10 minutes of ground work and started in on the side passing, well, she did okay with it, and I got her to side pass a few steps even, but she kept trying to kick me! And if you've been following this thread you know she's a gentle horse, so that was frustrating me, and I figured since I needed to let off some steam and I needed her to be respecting me that I'd round pen her. So we round penned. And round penned and round penned and round penned, until FINALLY she started licking her lips and chewing, so I called her into me, and rubbed her down (and she was very sweaty! She's out of shape.) and then did some more simple ground work with her, saddled her up, lunged her a couple laps (to get the air out of her belly and make sure she wasn't gonna be cinchy, but she never is) and then I got on. And then we had to work though some issues with me on her. She just wanted to back up every time I applied pressure, and I couldn't get her to quit, so I kept trying different things and I finally found something that worked; If I asked her to go and she started going backwards I would kick three times then tap with the riding whip, so kick, kick, kick, tap, repeat, until she went, and she got tired of that pretty quick and started going forward off of one light kick! So her progress with leg pressure was pretty awesome, but thennn, she thought she might try leaning on the fence and squishing my leg in attempt to get me off of her, but she learned pretty quick that that resulted in a smack with the riding whip, and then after that she was perfect, we did lots of walk/trot in the round pen and worked on turning and backing up. She's pretty darn good at a backing. We stayed in the round pen for a while and then my dad and his Amish friend showed up to work on my grandmas house, and the Amish guy was looking at her and I told him if he wanted to ride her that he could, and if he felt like taking her in the pasture he could BUT I hadn't done it yet so I couldn't make any promises on how she'd act, so he took her out anyways, and she was very good! (Although he had a hard time with going and turning, but he kept the reins pulled WAY tight, and when he turned he brought the rein way up by his hip causing her to flex. He said she was confused, but really he just needed to have her on a looser rein.) and then I got on her and did a few laps in just the corner of the pasture, becuase I was nervous having her out there under saddle for the first time, and then I rode her back up the arena and untacked and she was an angel the whole time! I'm very proud of her, and super excited to start doing more pasture riding.
Aaand, June and Penny/Jenny are friends already! They stay together in the pasture, P/J followed me and June while I rode her, June shares her food with her as long as she doesn't stand too horribly close (June is surprisingly the dominant one), and June lets her rub her nose on her back and hindquarters, which was really just so sweet looking but I didn't get a picture.

 

[ChickenLover200]

They look great togther!

 

[abigalerose]

I think so too! Besides the fact that June is fat and P/J is underweight, but they'll balance out soon and then they'll look awesome!

 

[Bunnylady]

I think so too! Besides the fact that June is fat and P/J is underweight, but they'll balance out soon and then they'll look awesome!

What makes you think so? To me, she looks just about perfect - a healthy Quarter Horse with a grass/hay belly. When I look at this picture:

I see a two horses, one with a Body Condition Score of about 5 (June) and one with a BCS of about 3 (P/J).

Horses that are eating a diet that is very high is fiber (mostly composed of grass and/or hay) typically have a lot of gas and fluid in and around their digestive organs, as well as the bulk from the actual stomach contents. That is not fat, and should not be confused with it. You can clearly distinguish the points of June's hip bones and there is a slight hollow in her flank - that is not an overweight Quarter Horse. Even when she is at a good weight, P/J will look a bit lanky by comparison, simply because Foxtrotters are built differently.

(This is a Foxtrotter Stallion)

This is a Quarter Horse

The reason that the Henneke Body Condition Score system was developed, is because different breeds can have very different builds. Horses develop flesh in the same places at about the same rate, regardless of build, so looking specifically at the fat deposits or lack thereof allows you to get a better idea of that horse's actual condition. You need to compare the horse to itself, not its neighbors, because bone and muscling for different breeds can make them look very different.

 

[abigalerose]

Even before I brought home P/J, I looked at a QH body score chart, and I thought June fell under the "fleshy" category, due to how rounded her back is, from above she just looks.. Tubular lol. Instead of defined. She doesn't look too bad in this picture, but you can tell in person she's starting to pack on the pounds, my grandpa even suggested we keep her off grass for a little bit, and if he thinks a horse looks fat, it's probably fat! I'll see if I can get a picture later that shows her pudgy-ness. She's not terrible though, just a little fatter than what I think she should be. Or maybe I'm just not use to it since she was a little skinny filly with no muscle when I got her, and she looks so different now.

 

[Bunnylady]

Frankly, if you think a horse is at all "up there" in weight, you are far better off getting them off the grain than off the grass. P/J needs the extra calories, June doesn't.
Feed is always calorie-dense, grass is mostly water and fiber. IF a horse has a problem with sugar (Cushings or similar problems), you might keep them off grass, but you definitely don't replace it with grain. Grass is normal horse food, grain isn't - feeding grain is associated with all kinds of digestive problems, including ulcers. In fact, if a horse is diagnosed with ulcers, one of the first pieces of advice will be to get the horse off all grain.

People want their horses to look exactly the same all the time, but it is perfectly natural (and actually healthier) for a horse to get a bit softer during the warm months, and leaner during the winter. A horse that goes into winter without any extra weight may not be able to eat enough to maintain condition, and come out looking pretty poor by the Spring.

Looking back at the pictures you took of P/J just a few days ago, I think she might score as low as a 2. Horses that are in such poor condition don't have any extra energy to spare, so they are usually very placid and docile. You may find that P/J's personality changes a bit as she gains strength. Not all do that - I have known a couple of horses that remained just as sweet as they returned to health. But every rescue can tell stories of horses that they nursed back to health that became real handfuls as they got back to healthy weight, so be prepared; the horse you are dealing with now may be a mere ghost of her true self, psychologically as well as physically.

 

[abigalerose]

June isn't on grain right now. Every once in a while I'll give her a little as a treat (which is what was happening in that picture of them eating), I haven't used grain since June and Phoenix got turned out to pasture a while back, until this week, and I've been seperating her and P/J for feeding time, except for that one picture. Anyways, so June being a little heavier right now is totally fine then? And I shouldn't worry unless it starts to get out of control?

Oh and I think I'm gonna go with Penelope for her name, against my sisters wishes lol it just fits.
Aaand, me and June just had an awesome day! We went for a ride all the way around the pond and she was fantastic! And it seems like she's starting to pick up a little bit on neck reining too!

 

[abigalerose]

Oh, and I will prepare for the worst and hope for the best with Penelope, she seems like a real sweet heart deep down though

 

[ChickenLover200]

I've always fed the horses grain. I guess I Sort of thought that they needed it

 

[abigalerose]

I grew up thinking they didn't, because my grandpa almost never gave it, unless they didn't have stuff to forage on.