I got a horse, now what? update 1-22-11

[twentynine]

Better pics? Always tomorrow! Should be off tomorrow morning, going into a set of night shifts.

Paint? Appaloosa? Mutt?

I know very little about distinguishing horse breeds. Truly, paint is what I was told, but it really doesn't matter to me.

The one thing I can say about this guy is he has a very even calm temperment. He is not high strung at all. Noise, motion, movement, cats, dogs, chickens, kids nothing seems to bother him. The only time I see him get excited is when some one shows up with the feed bucket. He will play around like bouncing up fore and aft, make some noise and then break out trotting for the stall. However I have been in his stall when he gets there, he will not push past me, he will wait until I move.

So I guess we have taught him his first trick! He can tell what time breakfast, lunch and supper is.
SMART HORSE!!!!!!!

 

[texasgal]

Quote:
That's the first trick EVERY horse learns! LOLOL .. chow hounds!

 

[~*Sweet Cheeks*~]

I bet he's just so happy he doesn't have to share with all those other horses he was with. It's always fun to watch them run around and kick up their heels.

 

[ducks4you]

Quote:
So...are you in the Navy, or something? Will your horse's second trick be sailing?

 

[barngem]

Quote:
No matter what you do good grass hay and fresh water will never hurt your horse. You can feed that until you come up with something from the vet
Horses need regular deworming and farrier care. Get his teeth checked by your vet too.
As you are finding all horse poeple have ideas about how things should be done. Look for quality info from trusted sites
Many State Universities have publications on health and feed also
MSU Michigan State University has tons of info (one of the largest vet colleges in the US) So do many other Universities.
Google and yahoo is your friend to find those sites.

Hoof care info form a world recognized farrier at this site, sift through the relivent info
http://www.hoofrehab.com/
Forums with good info
www.horsetopia.com has a forum board
A blog from the gal that writes for Horse and Rider Magazine Maybe she is the editor either way has reliable affiliation
http://special.equisearch.com/blog/horsetalk/2009_10_01_archive.html

You will find links on those sites that are reputable and reliable sources of information.
Horses are a blast and wonderful beings so enjoy him and keep us posted on things

 

[verity]

This is a happy thread and Cody is a really pretty guy -- love his 'soft' looking eyes -- the rescued ones are always the best -- he's lucky to have you and your wife in training to be his life-time servants --

and, yes, they do learn that 'what time is it?' trick right away!

give him a 'scritch' up under his mane for me ---

 

[hen-thusiast]

Quote:
Yep, that is the first lesson they learn.... and they never forget.

Congrats on Cody! He's a cutie!

 

[twentynine]

Okay got some new pictures. Got a vid to but I have no earthly idea how to get it from real player to here.

Any how here he is waiting on his grub. His entrance into his stall is on the back side of the barn. The barn was not ajacent to his enclosure YET, so what I did was build him a run way from his enclosure to the barn. 8 foot wide. The ribbons hanging on the fence are just there to help him learn where the fence is, probably not needed. Because of time constraints I built his enclosure fence with barbed wire, his larger permanent enclosure will be high tension wire.

Second pic. This is him after being fed, wanting attention. I had him posed perfectly, but he moved. Best I could do. Shucks I can't take pictures of stuff that don't move how in the world do you take a picture of something that moves.

Fore feet. Overgrown for sure, some cracks, some chunks knocked out. Placed another call to farrier this evening. waiting on a return.

This is the raised rear leg. He holds it like this allot. Never notice him holding the other up. Raising the leg up I noticed the outside edge of the hoof was grown out about 1/4 to 1/2 inch.

By the way horses are a lot like kids ain't they. For instance how did this joker know I wanted to take pictures of him? While he could not be considered the last thing in clean before, when I got home this evening he was rolling in some mud, having a big time.

 

[cafarmgirl]

He does have a nice pleasant expression doesn't he? Yeah he sure needs some hoof work done. Does that crack in the right front hoof run all the way up to the coronet? (Forgive me if that's not the right name, been a long time!)

 

[greathorse]

Relaxed horses will drop one hip or the other so me may have no issues especially if he demonstrate no lameness.. Your farrier should be able to tell you if he has some soreness in his feet. Most farriers also have a pretty darn good eye for whether or not he is sound when he goes.

He will look a lot better with a few pounds, summer coat and a professional trimming. He is far from starving but could use a few pounds that is for sure. You are on the right path with respect to good hay and modest amounts of grain.

Horses can get into trouble pretty quick if you push them on the nutrition. Common sense and an eye as to whether or not he is losing or gaining will give you a good insight as to whether or not he needs more feed. I am betting he is doing just fine.

He will for sure look like a different horse this summer. As he gains some weight he is likely to begin to have more energy than he does also.