Free or Abandoned Horses

In the comment section of my last post, I was asked about what to do with free or abandoned horses that you see on CL and probably elsewhere. As always, I have my opinion and I had a nice big article to post. After letting it sit overnight, I think there are some changes that need to be made before I post it. My post just doesn't have the right 'feel', if you know what I mean. I usually type things the night before, let it sit, make any changes and then post. It helps me to clarify things or straighten them out or to make clearer to my readers...or myself for that matter. If I can't understand what I wrote 12 hours ago, how do I expect the reader to understand?

Usually, I have my ideas way beforehand, like in my first posting, and kind of know what I'm going to say before I type it. So, this was one that is important but was going to write about it later and just didn't have it jelled in my mind.

So hang in there with me. I'll have a good'un coming up on this subject!

Annoying Pictures and Wording

I wasn't going to post today as I have plenty to do but after taking a lookie-loo at CL, I just had to.

How you present your horse says a whole lot about you. If you are selling a multi-thousand dollar horse, then please take some time to spiff the varmint up and make someone want/need him. The buyer will see it as less work for them to do to get the horse going...and may even take credit for your work!

A halter should fit properly. http://www.wikihow.com/Adjust-a-Horse-Halter It should be a good halter, not something that is dirt caked and torn up. A nylon is fine as long as it fits.

To my mind, the horse should be groomed, clean and as shiny as can be expected in the winter. I realize there are horses on pasture and shiny is about the last thing you're going to get but you can knock the mud off, comb out the mane and tail and maybe buff off the hoofies so the buyer can see them. I've seen ads where I'm not sure there is a sock or stocking or it's a dark leg under there.

As I said, I have to get gone but must add this...what is with this comment I see A LOT that the buyer says "The pictures don't do this horse justice.".... Say what?? Then what in the hell are you doing posting them?? Especially if you have an obviously multi-thousand dollar horse horse on CL?? Oh, yes, there are some absolutely scrumtious horses on there that are worth the moolah but the pics kind of diminsh them. Check around online to find how to take pics of your baby to best optimize his looks. http://www.cowboyway.com/HowTo/TakeHorsePictures.htm There are multiple sites that will help you. Also, I have a book that I bought that is a course on taking proper horse pics. Can't think of the name but it's by a female horse photographer and it's great!

Okay, have to go for today but have plenty of ideas and some posts in the hopper. Take care, all.

Will Be Back With New Posts...

I have some important things to do but will be back asap. I'm also trying to figger out how to do some things on this blog and we all know THAT will take some time!

Blog-literate, I'm not.

Anywho, I have plenty of ideas for new posts. I promise I'll do my best to keep you entertained! :-)

PS: My grandkids would have this figgered out in a NY minute...*sigh*....

Stud Colts and Little Kids...

Oh, Hell no!!

That's an appropriate response for this debate. I don't care how 'safe' you think your colt/stud/stallion is, that horse is not appropriate for your kid or grandkid.

A colt (from here on that's what I'm calling a male intact horse) is full of hormones that are just hoping to home in on a receptive filly or mare. Most studs/colts have nothing that tops the mare scene in their mind and only because a human has them royally bluffed will they keep their dinky in check.

There are a few studs who I've seen (like maybe '5' in the last fifty some odd years) who are so quiet that they even fool people into thinking maybe they are geldings. I've even owned one! I mean so quiet as when they are in the pasture or a stall, they don't talk to other horses and act studdish in any way. Only by checking the exterior plumbing can you tell he's in the altogether.

But to think that a stud is a great prospect for a kid is almost child abuse in my book. I've seen ads like this. Matter of fact, the one snarky email I've had was from a clown who said that his Paint colt was safe for his grandkids...like hell! I wished I had saved it and I'd reprint it but that was before I thought of this blog and I deleted it. If you're reading this, please resend your email so I can post it and we can all have a good laugh!!

To my mind, only professional horsemen should handle a stud. I've stood studs and it was the biggest pain in the neck I think I've ever dealt with. Just have to be on your toes all the time and that's just too much work for me! You can never forget you're dealing with horse hormones. That's one of the reasons that owning a stud is extra liability and you have to have great fences all the time, to prevent problems.

There are PLENTY of mares and geldings out there for your kid. A good kids horse is going to cost you plenty (or should) but still cheaper than dealing with the extra expense of a stud. Don't be fooled by the 'gentle for even kids' ads. Jeez!!

Even if you buy a stud for your kids with the thought of having him gelded anyway, have you ever dealt with the after-effects of gelding?? I sure have and it's a pain also but I much prefer to do that than deal with a stud. Much cheaper to just buy a gelding who is healed up and you don't have to worry about it. There are too many other good horses out there to even deal with this.

Horses are an accident waiting a happen anyway and when you add in the studkins, welp, you're adding in potential trouble. I will say there are a very few people out there who have a way with studs and that's fine but I don't think, from what I've read on CL, that these low class colts need to stay a stud, no matter how 'gentle'...

Hit the wrong button on the Stud Colt post...

Sorry about the last posting...I accidentally hit the 'enter' button with my little finger and it published my post.

Anyway, the post was about Stud colts and how you can judge if your colt is good enough to stay a stud and reproduce.

Please keep reading my blog because you'll probably see plenty of boo-boos as time goes on and I promise, it might be pretty entertaining!

About

Really, what I have to say about that is pretty short and sweet… Your stud colt probably isn’t good enough to stay a stud and reproduce. ‘Ouch, that hurts!’ you say?? You’re right, truth really hurts.
I’ve bought prospects and when they turned a yearling, off to the vet they went and got their attitudes adjusted. That’s my favorite time to geld a colt but I’ve known of people who geld when the colt is really young (still a suckling or weanling) or wait till he’s filled out a bit, like maybe 2 or 3 or even 4 years old. Yearling is my preference, that’s all.

If your colt cost in the upper four figures, minimum, MAYBE he’s good enough to enjoy the fruits of life, so to speak. If his dam AND sire actually won something of great importance that when you mention the prize, other horsemen gasp in awe, then yep, you can probably leave him altogether. If his grandsire/dam did something of great importance also, the awe factor included, then yep, he MIGHT be good enough. I’d say that’s a case by case basis. If his great grandsire/dam did something uber fantastic, then I’m getting into iffy territory. There are 8 horses on the great-grandsire/dam line and that’s a lot of blood going on and it starts to get mixed pretty good. As I said somewhere else, I know a lot of knowledgeable horsemen/women who really pay attention to blood from decades ago and use that to help judge. Fine by me! It’s good to know but you have to deal with the here and now. Part of being a good horseman is knowing the bloodlines, no two ways about it.

Actually, there are studs out there whose claim to fame is producing really nice geldings/mares and the stud owner/manager isn’t aiming for a breeding animal to hit the ground. That’s where you have to research and know your blood and what it’s good for. Another reason is to keep the market sort of cornered on certain blood and not too many horses out there to cheapen the stud fee. The AI phenom going on about ruined some breeds…

Look at the National or World shows for your particular breed. Be honest, does your halter prospect really hold up against the top 5 colts in what-would-have-been his class if he’d been there?? Does your colt hold up against a reining champ in blood and confo?? Use any class you like and BE HONEST.

The Difference Between a Stud and a Stallion

This is pretty cut and dried! A stallion is an intact male horse who can reproduce. That means any colt that is born is a stallion.

A stud is a male intact horse who is used in a “stud” for breeding mares.

A ‘stud farm’ uses a ‘stud horse’ for breeding the mares, hence the name, a ‘stud horse’. I’m pretty sure it was condensed down to plain ol’ ‘stud’ for conversation purposes.

So, the upshot is a stud is a stallion but a stallion isn’t necessarily a stud. Follow that??

Thin Horses...I don't get this...

Yesterday I had some horse stuff to do and really had a chance to get out among the horse world. At first I was really thrilled to even see a horse. I’m of the opinion that even looking at a horse is bliss. If it’s a horse, I’m so there.

After a bit, it dawned on me that a LOT of the horses were on the thin side. Why is this?? There seems to be plenty of hay for sale on CL plus you can always go to the feed store and buy Cool Calories or Weight Builder or buy more oats.

Now I know firsthand there are some horses that are hard keepers but they are NOT that common, as much as I saw yesterday. Some of the horses were on short pastures and it seems to me, if the horse(s) run(s) out of pasture grasses, buy some hay and throw it! Not that hard to figure out, know what I mean??

Okay, so you say the hay is expensive, well, yeah, it’s expensive but what in this world isn’t at this time?? So, you’d rather say that hay is expensive and have your horse look like sh*t for the world to see or would you rather people admire your horsekeeping abilities in tough times?? Hmmmm???

A good worming will do wonders for your horse also. You can buy wormers at the feed store and DIY. You can even order them from, say, Jeffers for the mighty sum of $2.79 or so. That won’t break the bank, don’t tell me that! Even the Zim Gold isn’t that expensive in the long run.
Okay, just had to get that off my chest. I didn’t plan on writing this but since it was on my mind, I had to do it.

Way Off Topic...Funny Bumper Sticker

Last Friday I was driving in Grants Pass and pulled up behind a white van that had stopped at a light. There was a bumper sticker on the back door that said “My Child was Inmate of the Month at the Correctional Facility”.

This has nothing to do with horses but I thought it was pretty funny and also wondered what state of mind a parent had to be in to put that on the vehicle!

A picture of a horse measuring stick...

I couldn't find any better picture, not that I looked that hard, but at least you can get the idea.

http://www.wildhorsetrainer.co.uk/for-the-yard-or-stable/stable-equipment/horse-measuring-stick-walking-stick/prod_608.html

The trick I always had with these sticks is if the horse doesn't appreciate your efforts with the stick, they tend to go sideways to avoid them. Just don't be in the way! However, it is the most accurate way.

A Little of This, A Little of That...

I have soooo much I want to say and just don’t know how I’m going to fit it all in this post, but I’ll sure give it a try! Okie-dokie, here we go…

First off, I would like to encourage anyone to sign up for Jane Savoie’s emails. She is an Olympic caliber rider (also Pan-American Games and an ‘A’ show judge) and is willing to impart her info to the regular guy like you and me. She has a lot of vids up on youtube where she actually shows you what she’s talking about. Such as a Half-Halt is in her words, a Half-Go, which makes more sense to me! She once sent me an email to check that I was understanding what she was saying! Just a regular girl who is on the top rung of GREAT horsemanship! Also, the picture of her Dressage ride in front of an ancient castle somewhere in Europe (I don’t remember where…*blush*) is just beautiful and lovely. http://www.janesavoie.com/

As for sticking (measuring) a horse. You stick a horse from the flat-footed ground to the top most part of the withers. Try to have a good trim or freshly shod so you’re not adding on extra height. In some cases, you don’t want ANY extra height…such as if you’re measuring for Large Pony classes. A 1/4th of an inch can make the difference between a small horse (not so much $$) or a large pony and we’re talking mega bucks here. A Large Pony that is athletic is in great demand for kids in shows. So, I have seen people almost cripple a small horse trying to get the extra height off, which is sort of sick-minded in my book.

But if you’re only trying to get the general height of any horse, just measure from the withers to the ground. When you say you ‘sticked’ a horse, that means you used the wooden expanding stick that is marked for you. There are numerous tapes out there that can also guestimate the weight on the opposite side. That is plain old measuring and not nearly as accurate but you can get pretty damn close. You can stand on the end with your foot and pull the tape up the side to the withers but I never can get the starting spot near my toe exactly right so I add/subtract half an inch or whatever it is to get the height. Plus I end up kind of bending around the horse’s barrel and that adds a bit of height also so I think the stick is best.

A horse is measured in ‘hands’. A hand is 4 inches. Make your hand flat and measure across from thumb to little finger and you can guestimate the height again. So you have 14h, 14.1, 14.2, 14.3 and then it goes to 15h. There is no such thing as 14.5. I know people say that the .5 means half a hand but how do you measure then the extra inch that should be 14.3?? Can’t do it. When I hear someone say 14.5, I know right off the bat they are either a newbie to horses and/or just haven’t bothered to learn the correct way and then I wonder about what else they have wrong. There is an online horse measurement thingy that you type in the inches you’ve measured, it will tell you in hands how tall your horse is and it doesn’t use the .5 thing either. Please google and learn the right way and don’t perpetuate the wrong info! “Hands” goes clear back over 3,000 years ago to the ancient Egyptians. Isn’t that cool??
http://www.cowboyway.com/HowTo/HorseHeight.htm and http://www.ultimatehorsesite.com/info/horsehandsconverter.html I can't find the converter where you type in the inches and then it tells you but you get the idea. :-)

I was asked about Natural Horsemanship. I don’t have enough time right now to go into it in great detail like I would but I’ll say, that by and large, I’m not a fan. I’ve tried some of the NH stuff going on out there (wanted to test it and maybe learn something new) and didn’t like how my horse turned out so I went back to basics and time-honored and tested training and did much better. If it works for you, then I say go for it and do it the best you can but it’s not for me.

Maybe I should explain what I see as NH and a little of why I’m not impressed. To me, there are no shortcuts to making a horse. There isn’t any reason to spend, what, $300 for some silly bridle that one of the big name NH ‘trainers’ is selling when all you have to do is learn to RIDE (instead of passenger) and use either a bosal, ring snaffle or gentle curb and you’ll be good to go on ANY horse that comes down the pike. My broke horses are such that they ride with whatever my hand falls on when I go into the tack room because I RIDE my horses and don’t expect miracles from a bridle.

I’ve watched/audited some NH clinics and it was a clusterf--- to me. Horses running over the handlers, people with no control while in the saddle and trying to excuse their horses behavior to anyone who would listen that the horse was ‘irritated’ or ‘upset’ or the wind blew out of the west. I know of one case where someone tried to get a horse’s attention and checked the lead and someone else came rushing up and told them that they didn’t need to jerk the horse around. Well, yeah, the horse needed a good sized check and all was well as opposed to running over someone who thought that checking was bad. Just like kids, you have brats and you have kids who mind and pay attention with a little reminder.

I will say that I believe in Logical Consequences Horsemanship. Horse kicks or strikes at me is going to have a real Come-to-Jesus moment and won't EVER want to do that again no matter how great the temptation. But I'll get into that in a later post. Life just keeps intruding, know what I mean??

At any rate, I’ll go into that later because what I’m going to say next is kind of big and pretty funny too.

I spoke with someone today and told them about getting flagged/deleted every time and this person told me that she knew of someone who actually sits in her Barcalounger and does nothing but stares at the computer all day. This person is one of the serial flagger/deleters! This person supposedly has a puppy mill and a sense of lording it over the rest of us so there’s the problem. The person I was talking to said this persons middle name is ‘Evil’. Well, I’d believe it, might be a little strong but still... Can you imagine sitting around all day just watching and monitoring the net to keep people in line?? Doesn’t that remind you of the Hall Monitor from grade school?? So, from now on, like my last post, these are the ‘grow a pair’ people, just so you know from here on in.

Until next time…

Oops...

Already I have made a few mistakes!! I wrote my post last nite and then created the blog today and did the copy/paste thing. So you have some paragraphs that are squished together but when I next post, I'll know to be extra careful! Hope your eyes don't cross while reading! :-)

Introducing HorseInfoPerson blog!! Taa-daa!!

Horse Info Person Blog…

This is my first foray into the blogosphere, so it ought to be a trip and half! I thought of this blog after posting on Craiglist about incorrect information on horses. I got one snarky email and plenty of supportive emails but that didn’t stop my posts from being deleted/flagged. Apparently, I really, really hit a nerve with someone…someone who has the time to watch all the posts and delete the ones that they don’t like. In my book, I say grow a pair and get over it. Actually, thanks, sort of, because now I have this blog and I’m going to let ‘er rip!!
I don’t know if this blog will be suitable for kids under 13 and I much prefer that only over-18 year olds read it. I don’t cuss that much or that often but periodically, I do let them fly when I’m annoyed or being silly or trying to make a point. I try to write like I speak in real life. A goody-twoshoes, I’m not.

As for an email address, I have to still set one up. I’ll do a yahoo one probably because I want to remain anonymous as much as possible. Not that I’m afraid of anyone but I want to be able to read CL posts and comment on them truthfully or when I show up at a horse show/rodeo/trail ride/etc., I want to report back what I really see…not going to be PC. I’m not that way in real life so I don’t see a point in being one now. I’m very independent and think for myself, never have been one to just go with the crowd. Hence, this blog.

If I can, I’ll have a comment section but I WILL censor any absolutely profane or downright dumb posts. There isn’t any point in going hog wild with profanity or rudeness as most sane people will tune you out anyway. Don’t try to blow smoke at me that I can’t do this or write this blog. This blog is my personal opinion and I’m covered by the First Ammendment (well, so far anyway…). If anyone doesn’t like what I’m saying, they are welcome to start their own blog and say what they want. Doesn’t matter to me.

Well, another thing…I don’t post pics very well and have trouble doing so. I don’t ‘get’ embedding so will probably dispense with that also. But when I post about a CL post, I’ll probably just use general info or try to show the link. Not sure I can do it but I’ll sure give it the ol’ college try! The Information Highway left me somewhere along the way, sad to say!
Almost forgot to mention, I do have a life going on around me and needs be I have to take care of things so posting may be sporadic but anyone can always go back and reread any posts, any time, any where.

Okay, on to my first REAL post!! Read on, dear reader…
Today, someone asked me how to find out about the gelding clinics. I read the Fugly horse blog and she mentioned something a while back about the gelding clinics that, I think, NorCal Horse Rescue does or helps fund. So, if you contact Cathy at Fuglyhorseoftheday.blogspot.com, she can probably direct you to the right place or just search her blog for the info.
Okay, with that out of the way, I’ve been thinking of topics and at first I thought I might now have enough to write about, to keep the blog going, but then my mind kicked into gear and the following is what I’ve come up with…(I’m pretty sure that’s a run-on sentence but I can’t make it work any other way. *sigh*)

1. How to measure a horse correctly.

2. Stud material, what is THAT?? Is my stud colt good enough to stay a stud? (probably not…) What’s the difference between a ‘stud’ and a ‘stallion’?? (yes, there is a difference)

3. Pricing a horse in any market.

4. Correct conformation that isn’t confirmed…(that’s an inside joke).

5. Kids/grandkids and 2 year old stud colts. (Egads that I even have to address this peccadillo).

6. Taking good pictures of your hoss.

7. Bloodlines and how important they are to the price of the horse.

8. Grammar and spelling in the ads…that’s one ‘d’, not two. ‘Ad’ is short for ‘advertisement‘. ‘Adds’ is mathematics and not my strong point.

9. Horsemanship and equitation. I’ll explain what they are in great detail as time goes on.

10. Natural horsemanship. Not a fan of it.

11. Classical/traditional horsemanship. The best horses are made this way.

12. Training ideas and tips.

13. My rants about how people haul their horses. You’ll hear plenty about this!! Don’t get me started about hauling with the windows open and horse’s heads hanging out! Well, yeah, I am going to get started at least…

14. The different horse breeds.

15. Snarky people who post silly ads of way-inferior horses and want a king’s ransom for them. That is a never-ending post right there!!

16. Almost forgot the surplus of horses and the kill pens quandary.

Okaaayyyy…so far that’s what I’ve come up with. I’m pretty sure that as time goes on, I’ll think of other things or if you have something you want to read about, let me know. As before, this blog is my opinion and if you ask me a question, you’ll hear what I think is correct. I’m pretty sure that when I post on CL about this blog, the ‘grow a pair’ community will flag it pretty quick so if anyone reading this will let their friends know, I’d appreciate it. I’ll repost on CL as often as I can but as I said, I do have an outside life and must take care of things. I’m not making any money off of this blog, just want to impart good, sound information about horses and my lifetime of practical learning about them. “Practical learning” means hands-on learning, not just book learning.

*I do have an email for this blog now... it's horseinfoperson@yahoo.com. Feel free to drop me a line with ideas for the blog or just to let me know how things are going. Remember, when posting to me, you get more with honey than with vinegar.*

PS...I'm hoping this all works and if it doesn't, I'll have to work on it later and get it back up so bear with me on all this.