Hoof Adventures & Other Equine Experiences

Well, after Saturday's fiasco (see ACTHA Take – Two) I was unsure if we were even going to be able to complete the audition, but when the time came to go feed Sunday morning, the sun was shining and there was no wind (yay!).  That boosted my spirits a bit and although it was still cold enough to see your breath, I felt that the lack of wind and the shining sun was a sign we were going to pull it together. Dee was very relaxed and seemed to be back to herself.  I remember telling Randy she had her "eyes back"  I don't know if I can explain what that means, but basically she seemed to be interested in what I was doing and even made an effort to check for shoelaces (she loves to tug on my shoe laces - weird, but cute!) I was wearing boots-no laces, so she just nuzzled my hand and waited for me to put out her hay.  I spent some time grooming a bit, it had rained (mixed with snow – hello, DESERT) over night and I thought she was going to be a mess, but she had not rol...

We arrived at Triangle T Guest Ranch in Dragoon, AZ earlier than we had originally expected, having left home early to avoid a looming dust storm.  We found Dee’s pen and got her setup with water and a bit of hay then went to set our trailer.   The couple times I checked on her she was upset, pacing the pen and whinnying.  I was hoping someone would bring her a buddy soon.  After we got the trailer set up I went back over and she had gained a couple neighbors, but there was no instant bond as there had been with Lloyd in La Union – she was charging at the gelding next to her whenever he even looked in her direction.  I decided to take her out on an exploration trip around the ranch to see if we could find a round pen.  She did pretty well, coming with me and doing anything I asked – but she wasn’t really with me – more like sucked into everything around her.  This is not unusual for Dee, who seems to be pretty talented at multi-tasking at home –...

  My efforts to further Dee’s education have definitely gone “up a notch”.  Seems like every time we play there is a new element involved.  Our first trail ride as members of the American Competitive Trail Horse Association (ACTHA) is coming up fast…March 19!  We are signed up in the “Buddy” Division for that ride,  which means we are literally, just along for the ride.  We will not be able to complete obstacles or earn points.  The next day will be our second ride and we are signed up in the “Pleasure” Division for that one.  I really can’t wait, it seems like just the thing to keep us motivated!  It is going to be a great weekend and Randy and Shorty will be there to cheer us on.   Over the past few weeks we have come face to face with the neighbor’s cows (hence our blog title!), Found our way to the end of Marengo and beyond, and gone to the vet with no companion horse going along for moral support.   To the non-horse enlighte...

My worst fears have come to life...my special Moli has succumbed to the laminitis that she has so valiantly fought for over two years. My heart is heavy today, broken by the loss, but full of comforting memories at the same time. My renewed hope that we may have found an answer to providing some recovery was changed once again to disappointment on Sunday, September 12.  Moli looked comfortable, and was moving well when I released her from the small pen where she gets the portion of her meal that is not to be shared with the others.  She stepped out quickly, excited (as always) to be moving on to the second course...little piles of hay dispersed around the 2.5 acre turn out, the twice daily event that all three of my horses look forward to - like a group of excited children being released for an Easter Egg Hunt.  A couple hours later I glanced out my kitchen window to see her hobbling over to the water trough and my heart sank.  Her movement was worse than I have ev...

There is a strange thing going on in the “pasture” these days.  The standard brown dry dusty dirt lot has more than the random pile of aromatic horse  poop – there is grass growing!  Yup!  Bonified shoots of green stuff, sprouting in happy little clumps all over the 2+ acres that make up the horses’ turn out.  Mostly on what I think of “Moli’s side” of the area, but there are traces throughout.  I’m not talking about blowing in the wind, knee high, ready to bale grass – but there is a definite green hue to the ground.   We have been blessed with an abundance of rain, and I have been trying out a new method of feeding the grass hay portion of the horses’ diet.  Instead of putting the hay in the feeders I am leaving small piles all over the turn out.  I wonder, can grass grow from the small pieces that are left?  Crazy…I spent the first three years we lived here trying to grow a small patch of grass..bought new seed every year, put i...

The modification on the slow feeder ended up being removal of some of the wire pieces so my holes are a mixture of 2X2, 2X8 and 4X8 in size.  This is pretty much as effective as not having the slow feeder at all, it may take Moli an additional 15 minutes to finish a helping of five pounds of grass.  So, back to the drawing board!  I have another galvanized water tank that is shorter (2ft Wide X 2ft Deep X 4ft long), my plan is to have four of this sized feeder placed in different places around the two or so acres my horses call home.  I’m wondering if that is going to be the right number of feeders to keep them moving around  – but I’m anxious to get it started.  You should have seen the look I got from the guy at the feed store today when I explained my plans, it seems I am always doing something different then everyone else where it comes to horse keeping.  It is a good thing I am passionate about my beliefs that horses are happier and healthier wh...

Well, my first slow feeder has to be modified (surprise!).  While Moli is able to get to the hay, once it is down to all small pieces, she can no longer reach it, so she’s not quite getting enough.  I was able to get in touch with another person online who is using this method and the feeders he built had 4X6 or 4X4 inch squares in the grid.  Mine are 2X8..so, too narrow I guess. I’m going to modify it soon, probably by making some of the holes 4X8 - but have to fill the tanks on our torch so it will have to wait a few days.  Meanwhile I am removing the grid and Moli is happily munching away in the fast lane!

It seems I’m always in an experimental phase when it comes to taking care of my equine and canine partners.  In an attempt to do what is best for them I am always running across ideas and processes online.  Many of the stories and examples get logged away somewhere in the vastness of my memory, but some tug at me – suggesting it may be that I really should look at this method – it could make the difference. In the equine world there are three things that really attracted my attention and that I am always looking for more information on; Natural Horsemanship, Barefoot Trimming and Paddock Paradise.  My studies of barefoot trimming have led to changes in how I feed my horses, specially Moli, the Arab with chronic laminitis.  Somewhere along the way, my research and interest in barefoot trimming scratched up some information on the Paddock Paradise system and slow feeders.  I have been trying to make something that would work as a slow feeding system for my horse...

Sometime in the last couple of weeks I thought…”uh, I haven’t introduced Dee to a tarp yet – that will be our next session!”  I had some idea that it might be an exciting session.  Dee is all confidence when she knows what she’s doing – been there, done that sort of thing.  It doesn’t take much to shake that confidence though – new things can really get to her.  I guess that is to be expected from just about any horse, especially a young one who hasn’t seen much of the world!  So, after thinking about how I was going to approach the task, and waiting for the mud to subside (where is all this RAIN coming from anyway?  I thought this was the desert.) I had some sort of plan to follow, but as always, was prepared to ditch the plan and just go with the flow.  As I continue to work on my horsemanship skills I am getting much better at going with the flow.  I set everything up before getting Dee.  The plan was to do our normal warm up – which i...

Well, I've been so focused on the scratches episode I haven't mentioned much about my journey to build a partnership with Dee.  The day I started thinking about bringing Dee home I asked her then owner if I could come out and play with her on site for a week or so to see if what I thought was a good match really was.  She agreed that I could come out any time and play with Dee.  So started a three week period of me driving the 10 miles each day to see what I could learn about this filly that had caught my eye. It was during the summer of 08. My work schedule during the summers has me off at 3:30pm and I would come home to change, then head over to Dee's place. She was 1 year plus a couple months - she was born in April of 2007 and this was all going down in June 2008. I was excited about the prospect of starting a young horse. I had been the first to ride Moli (the Arab), but she was four when I got her and came with alot of baggage, plus I had never even HEARD of Natur...