October 25, 2024
Last time I talked about some of the Standies that came to the Sanctuary. Our stairwell is covered with name boards. When a new horse came, a name board was painted to place at the front of the stall. In the beginning we just used a marker on a cedar shingle. Then some paint was donated and that is when I discovered the talent Trailblazers carried, there were so many artists among the club. Every nameboard is a little different. Including the barn residents, we now have, my last count was 87 horses and ponies in 45 years or so. So many different breeds, there were 8 Newfoundlanders, except for Sprite and Breezy, most of them came when they were 15 years and older. And then there were the Shetland ponies, I swear that when folks discovered they could live until they were 50, they were sent to me at age 20. Because of them I had to have a 3 strand wire fence. It is always the worst feeling to have the neighbours call and complain that some of the herd was in their yard. I am sure the ponyies joy in life was to crawl fences and make mine miserable. . They knew the minute the power was off. But even when there was fire in the fence, I caught two of them sliding their way on their sides under the bottom wire. Horses have a small brain, but ponies use every molecule to create mischief. I liked them best when they were in harness, they were the best pullers. You could see why they were used so much in the coal mines, in days past.
Salt is so important to the horse. I was taught to feed the red block. It contains iron and micro minerals as well. The Blue Block contains iodine and cobalt – while there is no hard evidence that cobalt is bad or toxic for horses, many owners leave the blue behind for the cattle owners. Horses need cobalt in their diets – about <0.05 ppm. Nature looks after that for the horse, it is incorporated into vitamin B12, by the microorganisms in the cecum and colon. There is also a Selenium block, but I question the good of it. There is no Vitamin E to help it do its job.
Last night we had the first hard frost, there was snow in my yard this morning., and the truck did not start. Winter must be starting. I thought I had a schedule to prepare for the season. Well I am the lass that set the clocks back a week early. Honest I am not trying to bring winter sooner than necessary. Perhaps I should check the calendar, although, the computer is not being very friendly these days, to be able to access the calendar. The one thing that the hard frost does remind me. It is time to deworm the herd. Time to remove the Botfly larvae and any other critters that will try to steal the food and nutrition from the horses during winter feeding. For the fall deworming, I use liquid Ivomec, it is very economical for me. I deworm according to the animal’s weight. The Sanctuary homes 10 horses of various heights and weights, one mil does 100lbs. A 200ml bottle will do 20 horses of 1000lbs. It is not flavoured but it hasn’t made a difference. The liquid is given orally. Do not inject!!! There is no waste because a 600lb pony gets 6ml, a 900lb horse gets 9ml. I question the measurements on the tubes, and I don’t want to go from one mouth to another with the same tube, in my attempt of biosecurity. I question the flavours used in the paste tubes. I never could figure out the manufacturer’s thinking by flavouring it with caramel or strawberry. They must get a deal on those artificial flavours, it is all about the money isn’t it! Those flavours are not the ones my gang are familiar with. They would suck anything down that tastes like mints, apples, carrots or licorice (the black stuff). On Saturday Trailblazers painted bones on the horses and dressed them up. It was a Halloween day. It is wonderful to see such creativity. I hope Zoe will post pictures on the fb Handibear hills page. Sometimes I am too serious with the care of the herd. It is great to have laughs and giggles. Trailblazers are kind to the old one on the hill. Winter is coming, we all will need a little kindness. CAA is here so I guess I will take the truck for a little drive. I love their service. Love and hugs from Yogi and the Herd.