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

[Iowa Roo Mom]

Aww...

I want to come bring him an apple.... Just look at those beautiful eyes!

 

[redhen]

Quote:
I know..he looks like such a sweet, gentle old soul..

 

[Kelly G]

Those pictures are helpful...and I like him - it looks like you've got yourself a nice little horse. More pictures confirm he could use a few pounds...just go slow - they don't get skinny overnight, they don't need to put it on overnight!

He definitely looks like a paint - I see his markings there under winter's decorations! Paint horses are a coat pattern with large areas of color (black/white, brown/white, gray/white etc) - and they have their own registry (if he's registered - which is unimportant for a companion/riding horse - this is just to give you some more info). So paint is a coat pattern - the same as many dogs have the black and tan coat pattern of many Dobermans, Rottweilers, Min Pins, etc. and it would be as if they created a registry for all black and tan dogs - regardless of the breed. This is what the Paint horse registry has done...many breeds can be registered as a paint.

American Saddlebred - Paint

Quarter Horse type paint

Thoroughbred paint

The same can be said of Appaloosas....coat pattern that can be registered in both the Appaloosa Registry (meeting lot 'o criteria like the paints) as well as whatever their other breed is.

Not sure of the breed but he is of Thoroughbred type, but here is Pay-n-Go, an

...and here is a quarter horse type appaloosa

Someone with paint or appaloosa experience can tell you more about both breeds as well as what your horse is - especially when he sheds out in spring and has a healthier coat from the better diet you are providing.

I just wanted to give you this info so you could better answer peoples questions about him through the years

 

[buck-wild-chick]

Just some advice from a fellow horse owner. You might want to take that halter off of him while he's in the field.
Its common for horses to get tangled in fencing/tractor equipment, and nobody wants a vet bill !

He is really cute

 

[Kelly G]

Quote:
Excellent observation and important safety tip!!! Definitely take the halter off when the horse is turned out - or is unsupervised. They have break-away halters (which I use when hauling) but they have thier own problems.

 

[hollyclyff]

This is what the Paint horse registry has done...many breeds can be registered as a paint.

Not quite. Unless you meant the Pinto registry. I don't know anything about the Pinto registry, but the American Paint Horse Association only allows outcrosses with Quarter Horses and Thoroughbreds and one parent must be a registered Paint for the offspring to be eligible for registration. So an American Saddlebred or Saddlebred cross can't be registered as a Paint with the APHA.​

 

[buck-wild-chick]

Excellent observation and important safety tip!!! Definitely take the halter off when the horse is turned out - or is unsupervised. They have break-away halters (which I use when hauling) but they have thier own problems.

Hey when you clean stalls at a vet clinic...
You see some pretty nasty stuff. Ill never forgot the horse that had its halter get caught in a plow. She lounged forward and the whole front of her face was peeled off. The doctor ended up sewing placenta (yes "afterbirth") on it and it healed nicely after a few months.​

 

[ducks4you]

There are also halters that don't have holes but have a buckle that you run the end through instead. I bought 5 of them, uber cheap, $1/each, from an online sale. (I was kinda surprised at this when they arrived.) So...you slip the halter on but a panicked horse can pull it off, whereas your seasoned horse will stand tied with one on. Not sure what I'm gonna use them for, but if I can save up for that filly I've looked at, who is going on 2 years old, I may have my candidate.

 

[verthandi]

If I have to leave a halter on for some odd reason, I use a cable tie between the buckle and the hole in the head strap or through the loop in a rope halter and tie the crown piece to that instead.

 

[ducks4you]

You don't have to be that careful. Have you considered just buckling the (Hamilton-type, NOT rope) halter by putting the tongue through a hole, but NOT finish so you don't slip the end of the crownpiece back through the frame of the buckle? (I hope that made sense.

) I've been doing that for years. On the very few occasions where I've had to take a halter off of my horse in an emergency, I only had to pull the end of the crownpiece like a quick-release knot.
Here's a diagram of a typical leather/nylon, traditional halter (NOT the rope tied kind):

Believe it or not, here is a diagram of a buckle:

Tie your horse with only about 2 1/2 ft.-3 ft. long lead and use a quick-release knot. It's like when you're tying your shoe, but you don't finish. Then you can pull on the end of the lead and free the horse.