Do You Ride Horses? V.4

[LuciferMorningstar]

I started buying Caramelized Alfalfa hay...
the horses LOVE IT! but it's not that cheap...
i think i'll keep getting it, but for like those "once in a while" treats...

i dunno >_<

That's a good idea! I'll look for that!

[Hime]

@RunningRace: Well, considering I can barely survive with super thick winter gloves during winter... XD I don't think fingerless gloves would really help, since at least with my fingers it's the tips that freeze. Also not sure if the edge of the finger parts could also start bothering... Honestly if you can spend little more on gloves I've heard nothing but good about Roeckles. They also have these awesome summer gloves, with mesh at the top of the hand which makes them actually super cool to ride with, but you still have nice grip. If it's really warm where you live those might be a nice option. ^^ Just about any regular glove would probably do though... Personally I'm not super huge fan of the cotton like ones with little numbs, since they don't seem to last that long...
I have long nails as well, but they are not really an issue as long as the gloves are right size(=I need to fit them before buying). Only gloves that are a problem with long nails, are those magic gloves that stretch a lot to fit most hands. I've hand couple pairs(because they are great under thicker pair during winter here and decent work gloves too) and they've turned into fingerless gloves after some time. >_<

@Christmas wishes: I thought I wouldn't need new winter shoes, but now that I'm looking at my boots it seems the seems are giving out here and there... I blame the mud. : P My mom is actually willing to buy me a pair(as a birthday present actually), but I haven't found a pair that I'd like...

@captain swan: For holiday themed tack, Horze at least has had some. Or if you are good with your hands it's not that hard to do some yourself either.

@that.equestrian.alex: ...You bought what now? O_o Quick googling and I would personally not feed that to horses...
Also to your message some time back. Why breed this time of the year?

[Miavinn]

Curious to see how others would describe this horse. Only looking at the horse (not using hints of tack & the rider's positioning , what breed would you assume it is? 16.3 hh & 9 yrs old

[Luzien]

@ filly:
thats not so easy to say....
it could be a lighter draft mix with a bit of higher in blood standing horse mixed in, but it could be also a warmblood, a quarter...but it also could be a bit heavy thoroughbreed or arab...but i not really sure about the last two...do you have a Video Clip?...., so in the Moment i think really more in the working horse lines a farm horse maybe... sorry when im way off


@ [color=#FF0080]that.equestrian.alex:[/color]
i, like Hime had to Google this hay....
would not feed it to horses too....its for Beef or dairy cow...
the vet will be happy when he can take care of more sick horses ...
....> its for dairy cattle or other livestock, but its not safe or healthy or nutritious, it also is easy to mold, it must be checked often , it tends to get the browning reaction, can lead to spontaneous combustion and devasting bale fire, its poor feed, abortion in pregnant cow(horse maybe too), diarrhea, bad Performance, even death.....but it also can be nothing and fed without probems,....
it may have less available Protein Vitamin and so on, or no Food value at all, its poorly cured hay, heat demaged....so i would not feed it to horses... cow may stand it without Trouble as its more palatable to livestock and they like the taste....but a horse is more sensitive and more worth...but its your Thing when you like to feed it to your horses, and when they are ok with it and have no health Problems...why not, then go for it.


@ Hime:
There are also some People sick here, my mother got also sick but luckily not the same as i...
i think its the stupid weather...
thats so mean that you where out of it for most of your Holiday...hope there will be soon a next for you
did you get a new tire or are you still without car?

Yes snow keeps away....strange....maybe we really have snow till may-july of next year...
Nice Picture! so much snow^^

Heta must be happy to get so much holliday

its nice that she has so much energy, and is so happy, maybe try not to tolt her for some time and then only when she has more muscle, and after a full Training after cantering....piggy Pacer and horses that cant Keep tolt for Long time need a bigger warm up and full dressage Training bevor any try at tolt, to get clean tolt and Keep it going....
troting over poles can help too, aswell as Slalom- turns- bending- ride lots of voltes, trot work with no tolt,
and a bit more heavy shoes on the front than on the back hooves...those are great for the horse and helps them.

maybe wish the horse massage to Christmas?

Oh....im sorry with Tý's place.....but atleast the horses can stay,
then i hope that with the spring breeding Show and the Training works out...can he still stay for some more years there as stallion, or do you now need to think about gelding him?
Hope all goes well!
the time will come with good weather or snow where you can get nice pictures^^

Thats nice that Baby is still there and seems to grow
Maybe you can surprise yourself and get a Ultra Sound to Christmas how it Looks then and how big it is^^

I was sick for only about a week, and it was really weird in terms of the symptoms compaired to what I usually get. But I did have some mild symptoms for another week after that, but not so bad I couldn't go to school. Also at least one of my classmates got the same thing, and most likely from me. XD

hmm... who knows maybe a new typ of infection....good that its gone well away.....not sure if i should say that its sad for you that you could not stay at home for more weeks to get more healthy??!! but im hapy for you that you are up and running around ^^
poor Thing that they where ill too...yes but think open...you where not the only one with it and they could share the happiness of being sick with you and all the pain and Feeling unwell too:lol:
--> my dock and sister...who sadly is also a doc....think that i had some sort of scarlet fever(maybe a child in Reha was sick or a parent...)....luckily without the open to see signs.....


Hope you get new Pictures soon cant wait to see how Heta changes, or Ty.
and please tell how her Training goes^^

[akuma <3]

About the caramelized alfalfa hay...
My vet recommended that i buy it as a treat for them. i only buy 5 bales of it, when it's available. I split up the bales and mix it in with their normal hay, and they really like it. I'm going to go with what my vet says (sorry if i sound rude) because i've taken advice from other online popele, and it always messes stuff up.

[crazy cranky critter]

@filly: Not saying that's what it is, because I'm hopeless with breeds, but it looks identical to the Swedish Warmblood x Thoroughbred I'm riding at the moment.

@ShortyTheHobbitess: Lucky! As in the ariat ones? If so, those are my favourite boots :]

As far as Christmas wishes go I'm trying to buy myself a new horse (hopefully an eventer) for Christmas. Because right now I have my beloved old pony (who I'm thinking I might retire from the show scene after one more season because even though he's going fine he's getting really old and doesn't have anything left to prove after a happy & successful career) and an inundation of green horses / broodmares coming back into work / horses that I'm riding whilst the rider overcomes an injury (which encouragingly, both injuries were related to the horses I'm riding). Whilst I enjoy the challenge of riding these horses and seeing them improve, it would just be nice to have something sane and ready to go out and compete. Or at least buy my own project horse so as at the end of the training process I get to keep what I've been working on instead of giving it back to the owner.

[Wolfiegirll]

I'm back with more questions! Okay first of all, I'm not good with horse foods and eating. How much food do they eat a day. And do they need any special foods (something cheaper) or do they just need plain hay that can be mixed with oats? And now the main question, Do they just need a wood barn, or should the stalls be insulated?

[Hime]

@filly: Bit bulkier TB or WB(or cross of the two) comes to my mind at first. I'd maybe want to see a conformation shot of the horse and maybe a video of it moving to be more sure, but just based on those two pics, yeah. TB or WB is my best bet.

@Luzien: Yeah I got the car fixed the following weekend(Sunday evening to be exact), since were about to switch to winter tires anyway. Ironically we were supposed to change the tires already earlier that week, but then figured it wouldn't have been necessary hence not legal just yet, so decided not to. But then the tire busted and we didn't really have a choice. XP

I think they said Tý, and the other boys, can stay as long as needed, so I'm not worried about where I will put him next just yet. I talked to the Icelandic guy last time I visited and he said if I wait now with the gelding to be able to show him in breeding show in spring, then why not wait out till Tý goes to training and then see if he has potential or not for real. I will have to sell him or the to be born foal after all, so I'd like to keep an option open that someone might want to buy him as stallion. Though if he gets too stupid to handle with all the hormones then it's snip snip without a question.

I actually got some skin symptoms and the doc said it could be weird version of hand, foot and mouth disease(which apparently in enlish sounds more like a cow disease to me XD). Since it's usually a little kids disease.... o_o

@that.equestrian.alex: A vet that recommends bad quality forrage as a treat... Wow...

I'm back with more questions! Okay first of all, I'm not good with horse foods and eating.
1. How much food do they eat a day.
2. And do they need any special foods (something cheaper) or do they just need plain hay that can be mixed with oats?
3. And now the main question, Do they just need a wood barn, or should the stalls be insulated?

1. First of all feeding matters depend on the horse, how big it is, how much work it does, is it a 'easy keeper' or not. General thumbrule I know with hay feeding is that the horses should be given at least 1-1,5kg of dry matter per 100kg of it's ideal body weight(1kg per 100kg is bare minimum). So a 600kg horse(about WB size) would need 6-9kg of dry matter from hay or other forrage product(though not purely alfalfa). If given free access to the hay, the horses can and will eat little over 2kg of dry matter per 100kg of body weight, so that's also something to think about. Another thing that can effect the amount you need to feed hay is the nutritionall value of it. Highly nutritious hay you'd obviously need to feed less for the horse to get enough nutrients, but you also need to be sure it's getting enough fiber from it at the same time, which is crucial for it's guts to work properly. And that is the reason why alfalfa alone does not make a good forrage for horses, it's usually too high in protein and such with too little fiber to satisfy the horse's needs. As addition to hay feeding it's pretty good protein source though, and great for horses recovering from colic or older horses with dental issues when given in form of soaked pellets. Cow silages are also a big no no.

2. Only thing all horses will surely need in addition to good hay(or other forrage product, such as pasture grass or haylage) is mineral feed and salt. Anything else will depend on it's condition, work load and such. Roughly put the extra feeds are either protein or energy feeds. Complete feeds(which includes minerals along with grain etc.) I tend to avoid, since the amount you'd need to feed for the horse for it to get enough minerals usually results in it getting too much energy. Of course this might not be the case in every horse, but I really prefer feeding mineral from one bad and extra protein/energy from other. Oats are good feed for horses and cheaper than the complete feeds I believe. I do like linseed crush as well, they are more or less a protein source rather than energy source, but also have good fiber and the gel they make when soaked is good for the guts. Also the oils they contain are very good for the skin and coat.
Honestly it's a jugle of feeds out there, but it's really the best to keep the feeding as simple as possible. Especially when it comes to just simple pleasure horse. Supplements and such I wouldn't really even go into(and your average horse can do perfectly fine without any), since that's even more complicated matter, with so many products out there that promise this and that.

3. Highly depends on the climate you live in and the horses you'd be getting(there also might be some local building regulations for animal shelters). If there's reezing temps and you are not looking into heavy winter coated horse, I'd do insulation to keep the heat in(horses create ton of heat by the way). But you'd also need to think about air quality in such case and would you need something to circulate the air in the stalls, take care of the moisture build etc. I'm not really an expert in building matters, but those are something that I've come across when talking about animal buildings.

[`El.izaboo321]

I have been riding horses since I was five years old. I show jump at this amazing stable, and I love it. I love the feeling of flying through the air. I don't own or lease a horse, instead, I ride a school horse named Fox. He's my baby and I love him so much <3 I am also compete for IEA, and I am in the middle school team. I am in zone 5 and done two shows so far, and will hopefully do more soon.

[Hime]

XP The weather is horrible, we been hit by some sort of storm so it's basically raining cats and dogs now and the wind in pretty bad. It wasn't raining so bad when I got to the stable(when I left school it was barely raining at all), but darn it was dark. Like the clock wasn't even 4pm, but it was pitch black already outside. Because of the weather I just free lunged Heta some. Unfortunately all the mud hasn't been nice to my winter shoes and I noticed their stitching is breaking appart, thus causing them to leak. :\ So I guess I seriously need to start looking for new shoes...