Floating A Horse

I was going to wait to post about this but since I brought it up in the last post, I'll go ahead. It's been bugging me anyway.

Long time ago (better than 'back in the day', eh?) I never had a horse floated, except for one filly, or heard of anyone doing so. Nowadays, there is a whole industry built around a horses' teeth.

There for a while, someone could go to a weekend clinic and then on Monday, hang out a shingle proclaiming themselves a horse dentist. Scary in my book! Then the vets got a bit ticked off that they were losing money to the so-called 'horse dentists' and things got tightened up. Rules were made.

Here's some articles about how to float a horse's teeth: http://www.ehow.com/how_2321918_float-horse-teeth.html?ref=fuel&utm_source=yahoo&utm_medium=ssp&utm_campaign=yssp_art and http://www.frontrangefrenzy.com/horsecare/floatingteeth.html I'll let these articles explain how you float and then I'll get to why this has come about.

Used to be, horses were fed mainly off of a pasture, whether they were feral or kept up domestically. Hay/grass was the staple feed. Then people used them and the horse needed more engergy/fat or whatever to stay strong. So feeds were developed. Grains were used and even extruded feeds, like a dog food looking stuff. Horse's teeth kept growing but weren't worn down by the grass (which in all liklihood had sand grains in it) and became uneven.

With uneven teeth come all sorts of problems. The horse can't break down his feed and utilyze (sp??) it or even training problems. I heard of a story where a champion jumper was up for sale for next to nothing due to training problems. The potential buyer stuck her fingers up alongside the molars and came away with blood. The molars were so sharp they were cutting the horse! She bought him, brought him home, had his teeth floated and now he's a Grand Prix jumper! No training problems at all.

So, now, I'm more of a fan of floating than I've been in the past. Oh, about the filly that I mentioned above, she was dropping feed all over the place and I suggested to the owner about floating. It was done but she still dropped feed. We never did figure out what her problem was but she kept her weight and nothing ever changed about her. So, while floating is probably a good idea overall but sometimes it isn't the cure-all either. It is something to use if all else fails or if in a general checkup.

Ride safe, everyone!!

Getting Those Horses Into Some Sort Of Shape

Isn't the weather fantastic the last few days?? I've been out at the barn fiddling around, just soaking up the horse smells and sights. Something about a clear day makes a stark/clear picture that sticks in my mind when it comes to horses.

So I rode my darling girl and even though, she's been out in the pasture and been moving around, she's not in very good shape for riding. There was a trace of dampness just from walking and a bit of trotting. I'm out of shape too (plus being an almost-there-geezerette too) and didn't attempt a lope. No matter, my girl didn't want to lope anyway...too much work.

Back in the day (that term again...) it didn't matter how good a shape the horse was in, if he were needed to move the moo-cows, he got hauled out of the pasture/lot, saddled and used for the day. If he were sore a bit the next day, well, that's just the way it was. He'd get over it. Not to be mean to the horse, it was only a fact of life. With using, he'd get back to shape anyway.

Nowadays, when I get sore, I know it and have applied it to my horses. I feel for them a LOT more than I did when I was younger. You know how, when you're young, you're indestructable?? Especially the older horses now that I'm getting closer, a lot faster, to my sunset years.

So, I got to thinking about legging up my horse. Even though a pasture horse is constantly moving, when you saddle, he has to use his muscles in a whole new way. Balancing by itself is using muscles that he normally wouldn't do. When you cue him to step out at even a walk, don't you ask him to step smartly and not dawdle (well, you're supposed to...)? Do you see a horse really stepping out in a pasture? I mean when he's by himself and not when he thinks he sees a treat in your hand, from the other side of the pasture.

http://www.ehow.com/how_2214108_riding-horse-back-shape.html?ref=fuel&utm_source=yahoo&utm_medium=ssp&utm_campaign=yssp_art and http://www.myhorse.com/training/performance/get_your_horse_in_shape.aspx#top are two good reads.

Getting out and walking at a good clip is a great start. A good rule of thumb is that if you see foamy sweat, the horse isn't in good shape. When it starts to become watery-looking, then he's in better shape. Be sure you are feeding a good program to keep him at his best. He'll get tired and need nutrients to replenish himself.

Get the shoer out there and slap a good trim on him. If he needs shoes, do that. Something I've never done much of but seems to be important now is to have his teeth checked. I'll post about floating a horse in the next few posts, but it's becoming more and more important...for a reason. If he's too fat, check out some other types of feed to help him slim down but not lose his vitamins/minerals/fiber/fat/energy/etc.

The main thing though is to get out there and DO IT. Make a start for him and for yourself. Now get out there and RIDE! :-)

Whippersnappers Need To Watch Geezer(ette)s

This is something that's been bugging me for the longest, I mean, what isn't bugging me...but I digress already.

Us older folk who've been around horses ALL our lives, living, breathing, studying, learning horses have a lot to offer younger riders. By younger rider, I don't necessarily mean in age but in horse experience.

When you have someone who has studied (and all of the above) horses all their lives, they are a real resource that can't be matched. Most of us real riders of a certain age have tried just about every training method on the planet and kept the good stuff and rejected the fluff.

I'm kind of set in my ways. I prefer mostly old-fashioned ways. I have tried so many of the 'new' training methods and still, as of this posting, prefer mostly the older ways. There are a few new things that I have learned that seemed superior to what I know and I now have that in my 'horse teaching-mending' toolbox.

The problem is, as has been told me, that the older geezers of riding don't say much. By and large that is true. My experiences has been that the less a horseman says, the more he knows. A true horseman/cattleman doesn't say much or impart that wisdom. You're supposed to watch what they DO and then emulate them. They don't sit around the arena/tack room and tell you what you're doing wrong. It's kind of like pulling hen's teeth to get a true horseman to say much about horses. You are supposed to shut your mouth and watch. Learn from watching.

In today's day and age, the younger set thinks that the quiet horseman is a dope or stuck-up or even a know-nothing. They jabber on about the latest clinic or trend and think they have seen it all.

The best way is to get out there with a true horseman and be quiet, immerse yourself in the horse and watch. When you don't understand something, ask quietly and respectfully. Even if you don't agree, be quiet and file it away for a future horse. I guarantee there will that one horse some day that you will use that info on. Don't sit there and argue the point. Take in the whole experience. Oh, believe me, I've gotten 'the LOOK' when I told some old time horseman how wrong he was.

Nowadays, I've had to loosen up to be able to talk to people in real life about horses but even then, I still hold back. If I were giving a lesson (which I don't do anymore, haven't for several years) I used to explain everything in detail because it was a lesson. They wanted to learn, paying good money for the information.

So, the next time you go somewhere to work your horse and you see someone off to the side and their horse is working wonderfully, sit back and watch. See what they are doing while astride and try to follow along on your horse. You'll learn a lot, I promise.

The Pic Thing Isn't Working Out

I don't know what I'm doing wrong but, so far, can't get pictures to come out properly. I'll keep working on it and one of these days you'll be pleasantly surprised to see a photo. Keep checking back for further developments. :-)

Sprucing Up The Blog??

Okay, as you know, if you've been reading this from the start (you know you should have...don't tell me differently!), you'd know that this is my first attempt at blogging. So, it's a little plain jane.

Welp, I've been reading other folks blogs and now think that mine need some sprucing up. Pictures come to mind. So, give me a chance and I'll start with some pictures...well, I think I will. I'll try.

One thing I wonder about though...if I see a pic on the 'net, I can use that pic, right? Unless somehow it's copyrighted? Then how do you tell if it's copyrighted? Maybe if I'm in doubt, I'll post the link instead and people can look from there. Maybe there is more to this than I thought of. I'm sure if I'm wrong, SOMEone will tell me...hehehe...

Ok, going to do this...yep, going to do this... ;-)

Why In The Hell Is He Still A Stud??

This is starting to annoy me intensely. I read the CL posts and there are/were many male horses on there still with their hoo-hoos attached. Why IS this?? Some ads even have the cajones (a play on words) to state that the stud is fine around kids and with just a 'little' training, he'd be a good horse for them...or a great trail horse for anyone.

Are you kidding me?? Cut the berries off and leave the twig!! If nothing else that this blog does, please, please do not ever consider a stud colt or horse for a kid. If you are so dumb to think that your horse would never do anything, you need some more horse education, seriously so.

A stud colt is NOT kids or newbie owner material. A gelding or even a mare who's pms-ing is a better candidate by and large. Just to be fair though, there are geldings and mares whose outlook on life is similar to Hannibal Lecters but those are pretty few and far between. At least they aren't thinking with their hormones and that bad attitude is probably more from bad training and handling.

There are a couple of ads up as of last nite, that I'm just amazed. No papers, have never done anything and still a stud horse... Of course, one 'needs a strong hand'. Oh jeepers, I may need some ibuprofen. Actually, if they were both gelded, they look like they'd be decent little saddle horses.

Another to consider, when you even only own a stud horse, your liability goes way up. Especially, nowadays, if your stud gets out and breeds someone's mare or runs over a kid trying to get to the mare, you may lose a lot of what you've worked for. I do know of one case where the neighbor's champ stud went for a midnight stroll and my cousin got an absolutely fabulous filly out of the deal but the owner wouldn't sign the paperwork (see other post for this) and so ended up with a fab-lookin' grade Paint filly. You know, stud comes to 'visit', mare has filly, cousin wants-in lieu of damages-the paperwork to register his 'free' filly and the stud owner won't do it. End of that friendship.

I'm rambling a bit but still, there are way too many other horses out there to consider so you don't have to buy a stud horse for your offspring, or you for that matter. If the owner is too friggin' lazy or cheap to have the vet come out, what else hasn't been taken care of?? Would make me wonder...

A 'Registered' Horse?? Not.

I keep seeing horse ads that say something like 'he can be registered. I have the paperwork but never filled it out. He'll be 6 in May'.

My comment? So freakin' what! He's a grade horse! No extra value is assigned because you have paperwork that COULD be used.

If you will check the requirements of just about any recognized horse registery (not the vanity ones, like a certain gaited Appaloosa one...*ahem*), you'll see that after the first year or so, the registration fees start to really jump. For each year thereafter, the price really jackrabbits till about the age of 4 or so. A disclaimer: I haven't kept up with a bunch of registeries for several years but I do know about several so it's up to you to do your due diligence.

After about 4 or so, the horse can't be registered unless it's some sort of hardship. That's where doing some sleuthing really helps.

Only holding some paperwork in your hands on a 12 year old that some dipstick is too damn lazy to fill out and send in (plus money) doesn't mean a thing. You have a grade horse on your hands, period.

I do know of one registery that if you find a stud horse that wasn't registered but he fits the bill in all respects, he can be gelded and registered as unknown/unknown (meaning as no one officially knows who is sire and dam are...even if known, doesn't mean anything as he's still a gelding). He can't be left a stud and registered. Now seems like not too long ago, I did read that that might have changed or is going to be changed so, again, do your due diligence. The same with a mare. If you can get her spayed, a costly procedure last I heard, she can be registered as unknown/unknown too.

Why would you want to get the papers then? If you want to show your horse in recognized breed shows and potentially up his value, then you need the papers. Bascially, as long as they can't be bred, then you may be able to hardship them.

Another reason you need papers is to help prove ownership. If you can't register him in a recognized breed association, the next best thing is one of the 'performance' horse registries or a color registry, like the Buckskins (good grief, I couldn't find it!) or the primarily Appaloosa one, http://www.ipshr.com/. The performance ones are like the Sporthorse registries, http://www.isroldenburg.org/, http://www.americansporthorse.com/registry.html and a lot of others. They do have requirements but if you can't register any other way (or way too expensive), then these are a fairly good idea. It's something, at least.

But don't fall for the line that he 'could' be registered. If he was really worth anything in the first place, the owner would have practically fallen over themselves getting them registered in the first place!!

Ride safe everyone!!