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

[twentynine]

Farrier showed up minutes after my post this morning.

He did a neat quick job, Cody's feet are done up good.

Maybe not quite all the people skills of my original farrier, but he did take the time to buddy up with Cody. So I guess in the long run that's what he was suppose to do. He was their for the horse, not me.

 

[twentynine]

Thought I'd post an update.

I happened to grab a cell phone picture, caught him standing in profile, thought it showed the difference from January to present.


Now

January

Feeding him 4 pounds of Purina Strategy, 2 cups beet shreds, divided into two meals, plus hay free choice.

The field is drying out somewhat, green grass is coming up everywhere. Cody is getting all the green grass he wants, his hay demand is down to about 1 flake a day. I think he munches that just to have something to do.

 

[Kelly G]

Wow! You are doing a really, really good job! He's looking terrific!

 

[duckluck]

Looking really good!

 

[Sunny the Hippie Chick]

I know some people will completely disagree with me.. But on my aunt and uncles farm. The animals are just in a field.. No extra hay or grains.. Hay only in winter months.. The coldest months they get some grain.. My uncle never uses a farrier.. He trims the hooves himself.. My uncle will never shoe another horse again.. One horse he had was shoed wrong and it ruined the horse. But he has never had a horse ruined by not wearing shoes.. He gives shots and worms them himself. If you learn to do it yourself.. Then it will be cheaper.. I think people try to hard and make the horses weaker that way.. I mean, geez horses live fine in the wild with out all that fuss.. About the only vet stuff that my uncle has done is teeth floating when it is needed. He hasnt learned that one yet. He only learned how to tell when it needed done.. And with all this minimal care compared to what many do, the horse lived to be 30.. And when vet did see her.. She always had a clean bill of health....

 

[~*Sweet Cheeks*~]

Twentynine -

I think Cody is looking great. He looks like he's enjoying the sun in his latest picture.

Keep the updates coming.

 

[~*Sweet Cheeks*~]

Quote:
I think everyone has their own opinion on how to care for livestock. What works for some may not work for everyone.

I think horses could and would do well if on pasture 24/7 depending on the quality of pasture and how big the pasture is. Horses in the wild travel hundreds of miles a day eating a varied diet and keeping their hooves trimmed.

Cody isn't on a large property and came to the OP underweight with overgrown and cracked hooves. He is keeping Cody barefoot with trims by professionals. Not knowing how to trim hooves could do more harm than good to save a few bucks.

 

[bantamamba]

Cody is looking absolutely wonderful.

Agreed...trimming is best left to the pros unless you know 100% how to do it yourself. Pickles' previous owner attempted it on his hooves for two years without knowing how to properly do it, and they've become quite messed up as a result.

 

[twentynine]

Quote:
I do not disagree with you in theory, however experience lies where it is found. Many people were raised in contact with horses their whole life. I however was not, so almost everything has been a learning experience. Sure I could have grabbed a rasp and went aboard Cody's feet, and "learned" how to do the job. But I chose to have a pro do it rather than have the horse pay for my learning. Just because a pro "makes" it look easy, doesn't mean it is easy. I recently read a book by Pete Ramey on the subject of bare foot mustang trimming, once again his explanations, illustrations and demonstrations, all make it look easy. But you walk out there and pick up the hoof of a 1000# horse and all that confidence seems to evaporate. Cody will remain bare foot, I do not believe he needs shoes, even the farriers recommend that a horse remain barefoot, unless they have a specific reason to be shod.

As I have learned recently, we ask horses to do things that they would not be doing in the wild. Carry weight, limit their movements, feed them things that they wouldn't eat in the wild. Because of this, some need to be shod, some need a grain ration, and all kinds of other things. So before any one can make a blanket statement that is interpreted as "good for all horses" much has to be taken into account. What is good for the individual horse in your pasture, may be deadly to the horse in my pasture.

The world is full of "my uncle"--- "my brother"--- " my cousin" --- stories, I guess I simply can't compete with'em.

Cody showed up Jan. 8. At that time I had limited or no pasture under secure fencing. After a crash fence building program Cody now has range over 4 acres of field. His paddocks are cross fenced each with water, so I can graze him rotationaly. Currently he has about 1 1/2 acres around the clock, and in daylight hours he is turned out to another 2 acres. The additional 2 acres is fenced to the east by electric wire only, so he is not allowed to range in that pasture until the fence is checked each morning. The electric fence is backed up by a barbed wire fence of low quality, so I choose not to trust it.

Cody seems to be thriving, he is most deffinitely gaining weight and will shortly have his "grain" ration cut, also when the beet shreds run out I will probably let that go. Only because he will have very good grass with very little grazing pressure on that grass.

On another note: We have the Clinton Anderson DVDs and have started training Cody using the info and suggestions contained there. The sinsitivity stuff, stick and string, rope, the ground work all seem to be going very well. With the exception that he has difficulty staining out of my Hoola-Hoop circle.

Cody is also shedding his winter coat, I got hair flying everywhere.

 

[twentynine]

Figured I'd let you guys know how it's going.

My original farrier is back in business after an extended illness, she paid us a visit Monday morning, gave Cody a trim, checked his walk. Told me that she would not have recognized him as the same horse as the one she saw in January. I had figured he had gained about 100#, and was looking, slick. The farrier said that she believed he had gained closer to 200# and that he was on the "high side" of wieght.

Not feeding him much feed at all, maybe 3/4# in the morning + hoof supplement, 3/4# in the evening + hoof supplement. Haven't given him hay in a long time. He has range over 3 acres, with an additional 1 acre enclosure held in reserve. Just incase I can't let him into the pasture. We have a parish maintained canal crossing the entire depth of the property, so when they show up to cut the canal banks, I will use the extra 1 acre rather than take the risk of them accidently letting him out.

I began a barn/stall improvement project. His stall has always been a make do arrangement. When I finish with this he will have a proper 10X10 or maybe even 12X12. I am also building in a cross tie position. Because we have much more heat than we have cold, it will be a two sided affair with provisions to close off the third in the event of cold.

Vet came out yesterday- Tuesday, Coggins test time. Inserted the required micro chip. No protest from Cody at all.

While the vet was attending, I told him about Cody's tendancy to always hold his right hind up. He does it to the extent that he wears the (oh heck I am gonna catch it for not knowing the horsey name) tip/ toe off of that hoof. Walked him up and down, back and forth. The vet palpitated his hip, leg and back. The final out come: the vet believes Cody hurt his knee (hah! I do know this-- stiffle) at some point in his life. And because he now is on the "highside" of wieght he may be feeling it more. Suggestion was to watch, nothing else. Said that it probably would not affect him.

I have to add that the farrier said to get him some joint supplement. Vet said wouldn't hurt him. So I am going to get the supplement and try a month or two.

Fly spray is still an issue. Using a sponge, if that horse even thinks you touched a fly spray bottle, he acts like an idiot. I think it is a noise thing, cause I noticed he reacts when I open the water to the trough, and it makes that squirting sound.

But all in all it is working out. Using Clinton Anderson DVDs right now.