October 3, 2023
The weather has been wonderful for horse keeping, and potato harvesting. Of course I know it will not last. I am preparing for the next routine of fall. Last week the herd had their teeth checked and floated. It is nice to have that done as they transition to dryer feed through the winter. They are rubbing their tails, at this time of the year that tells me it is time to deworm. I am waiting for a hard frost to eliminate the fly population. The fall deworming takes care of the Bot larvae. There didn’t seem to be that many eggs on their legs this summer. But you can be assured there will be larvae in their stomachs. Some years the larvae have been so prevalent you can find them in their horse buns (manure). Deworming is an important fall treatment, I sure do not want to feed parasites. I am never sure how the winter will go. One source tells me there will be a lot of snow. That will be far better than rain and freezing rain when the temps hover between 2 below and 1 above Zero. We can be assured the winter will be cold, the herd is getting a good thick undercoat. My next chore is to get the electric fence in order at the barn paddock. I need to rebuild a couple of paddocks, Fiona did a job on them. It is good to have extra paddocks if you have to separate a couple of horses from the herd. Now, I like the herd to have a bit of extra flesh on them as we go into winter feeding, although I have two horses, that are easy keepers, much too easy. They are showing a crested neck (which is not good) and their feet are just a little too warm for my liking. (this tells me that the laminae is inflamed] Laminitis is not good and quite painful. I have removed Prince and Cameo from the short grass field and put them on a diet of dry hay. Small chubby horses need a lot of watching. These two need to be on a dry lot paddock, hence the fence building. Our Tack sale was very successful. It brought much needed funds for winter expenses. It brought a lot of friends to the Sanctuary. The leftover saddles and bridles will be offered for sale on Kjjiji and Facebook sites. I am selling the Artic Cat Alterra. What was I thinking, I cannot get my leg over a horse let alone the ATV. It is a 2017 and has a brand new battery. The Jaunting sleigh is also for sale. I am sure there will be lots of snow for that. Just think of the perfect picture, dashing through the snow in a one horse open sleigh!! Trailblazers is the youth club. The kids start when they are 10. I am proud, that they have learned to be great horse keepers. On Saturday the barn was full of tack sellers. After washing all the feed and water buckets, they brought the horses up from the field and did a lot of bareback ring work. Ashley made muffins and cookies for the sale, Kayla made horse treats. I applaud their marketing skills. The muffins were beautifully packaged, the horse treats were in labeled bags, each label printed by hand. I think they took home a bit of money for all their work.
There is always a new perspective on horse training and equipment. We are much more aware of pressure points and nerve endings. The newest thing is how the bridle and bits affect the nerves in the head and the poll. Of course the best thing is to train and ride without the bridle and bit. That takes a lot of training time. It is not practical for the racing crowd. There are kind bits and kinder bridles to be used. I think the most important thing, is to keep the bridle back from the ears as much as possible. Ground training and long reining to let the horse walk into the bit to a halt, makes a big difference, before you actually ride or drive the horse. Learning soft training methods helps a lot, something to think about before you rush out to buy that $500 bridle. Again equipment can be harsh or kind depending upon the trainer. My sympathy is for the horse. I have a personal challenge with mobility, but hopefully if all goes well with the pre surgery tests, by the time of the next issue I will have my collapsible right knee replaced with a new titanium knee. I don’t think they have used replacements??!! I dream of walking evenly, without pain in the New Year. Be gone the limp!. Until next time, be kind to one another and share the harvest.
Love and hugs from Yogi and the herd.