Benny Boy <3
Sat Dec 17, 2005 4:07 pm
Ok. Heres the deal. I work, well... voulenteer at a bording stable for horses. I help groom them, feed them, and clean out their stalls. Well, the owner of the place, Janine, offered me a project horse. Since I am the only one in the 4H club without a horse, she desided to give me one, for free. =D Anywhoo, he is a Quarter horse, around 16h., liver chestnut with blonde mane and tail, and a grey stripe down his forehead. Ben is 20-some years old, lame, and he cribs, but he is just to adorible!
Since I am a first timer with this sort of thing, does anyone have tips for me to be a better owner?
Since I am a first timer with this sort of thing, does anyone have tips for me to be a better owner?
Sat Dec 17, 2005 4:16 pm
Aw, congrats.
Anyways, even though you probably know this, don't feed him too many treats. You wouldn't believe how many people I've seen cholic their first horse by just feeding it and feeding it and feeding it.
Don't really know what you're looking for :p
One thing.. Don't cling to him! As nice as it is to be around horses, they need their own time too.
Any idea where the lameness is or what it was caused by?
Anyways, even though you probably know this, don't feed him too many treats. You wouldn't believe how many people I've seen cholic their first horse by just feeding it and feeding it and feeding it.
Don't really know what you're looking for :p
One thing.. Don't cling to him! As nice as it is to be around horses, they need their own time too.
Any idea where the lameness is or what it was caused by?
Sat Dec 17, 2005 4:39 pm
I fed him one mint yesterday.. but thats it.
Im not sure why he is lame, but I think it has to do with him being old. His hooves looked a bit odd too, but I dont know if that could be the problem.
Im not sure why he is lame, but I think it has to do with him being old. His hooves looked a bit odd too, but I dont know if that could be the problem.
Sat Dec 17, 2005 4:52 pm
Wow, congratulations! I've wanted a horse since I was, like, 5.
Like Jen said, don't give him too many treats. But that's pretty much the only tip I can give you because I haven't been around horses in ages.
On a vaguely related topic, where do you live? -curious-
Like Jen said, don't give him too many treats. But that's pretty much the only tip I can give you because I haven't been around horses in ages.
On a vaguely related topic, where do you live? -curious-
Sat Dec 17, 2005 5:21 pm
I would start him on some supplement such as Corta-Flx or something like that. I saw a huge improvement on my older mare when I started her on that.
Find a good farrier! A horse's feet and legs are way too important to worry about money. I would get him vetted too, to see why exactly he's lame. If it's something serious, you want to get him on the right path soon. If it's not, then you won't be worried. You'll want to make sure he's on a rotating deworming program as well. You can deworm him yourself with paste every 60 days.
Thses are the three I rotate:
Ivermectin "Farnam Ivercare"
strongid "Strongid Pyrantel Paste Wormer"
praziquantel "Zimecterin Gold"
If you haven't changed stables, I'm sure his food is fine how it is, but now it will be your responsibility to make sure he doesn't get to fat or skinny.
Back to the lameness, I'm going to assume you're not riding him since he's lame. But he does need exercise even though he's lame. If he doesn't go out, hand walking would be good. Depending on how lame would tell how long to walk him.
Treats depend on what it is, too. I keep animal crackers or Cheerio's for my horse. She could eat half a box and be fine, but they're special, so therefore it's a treat. She gets one "real" treat with her supplements each morning.
Oh, and the cribbing - I'd get him a cribbing collar. It's not really good for him to be doing that, and it can be distructive to the stall too.
Have fun! Being a horse owner is awesome.
Find a good farrier! A horse's feet and legs are way too important to worry about money. I would get him vetted too, to see why exactly he's lame. If it's something serious, you want to get him on the right path soon. If it's not, then you won't be worried.
You'll want to make sure he's on a rotating deworming program as well. You can deworm him yourself with paste every 60 days.
Thses are the three I rotate:
Ivermectin "Farnam Ivercare"
strongid "Strongid Pyrantel Paste Wormer"
praziquantel "Zimecterin Gold"
If you haven't changed stables, I'm sure his food is fine how it is, but now it will be your responsibility to make sure he doesn't get to fat or skinny.
Back to the lameness, I'm going to assume you're not riding him since he's lame. But he does need exercise even though he's lame. If he doesn't go out, hand walking would be good. Depending on how lame would tell how long to walk him.
Treats depend on what it is, too. I keep animal crackers or Cheerio's for my horse. She could eat half a box and be fine, but they're special, so therefore it's a treat. She gets one "real" treat with her supplements each morning.
Oh, and the cribbing - I'd get him a cribbing collar. It's not really good for him to be doing that, and it can be distructive to the stall too.
Have fun! Being a horse owner is awesome.
Sat Dec 17, 2005 5:43 pm
.:Blank Stare:. wrote:Im not sure why he is lame, but I think it has to do with him being old. His hooves looked a bit odd too, but I dont know if that could be the problem.
Club footed maybe? If it is, maybe it could be cured on a really good ferrier problem. Bar shoes sometimes help.. But that's probably not the problem
Or it could be founder.
Could be a billion things though. Get your ferrier to look at it if Janine doesn't know.
Lots of people think their horses lameness is final, but really they have just dry joints or their horse needs shoes or needs to be rubbed.
Oh! And don't use burn-all to stop cribbing, or wrap-last. It works really really good, but no one who likes their horse would ever do that to their horse, no matter how bad of a habbit. It burns.. Really bad. I got some on my tongue and could only have soup for a week.
The crib collar is a good idea
. Don't get suckered into buying the fuzzies for it though. They cost a fortune and just get covered in hay leaves and you have to take them off because they scratch.
Sun Dec 18, 2005 12:26 am
If it's a 20 year old QH you may want to check for navicular (which is the degeneration fo the navicular bone in the foot). It's quite common in Qh's and there are corrective shoes and whatnot available. My Sargent has it, but he's too far gone to be rideable anymore (and he's just 19). Definately get a farrier out if not a vet. Since he's 20 he should have his teeth looked at as well. As horses age their teeth need to be filed down so they don't get pointy and horrid and it makes it uncomfortable for them to eat. If this happens your horse can start losing weight quite quickly, and thats no good. You should get a vet out there to do this (some farriers/farmers like to do it themselves, but it's not normally a good idea). Also you should try to find out if your horse is sensative to any sort of medication, or injections. When my horse Sargent was doped up a little to have his teeth done (so he'd be calm) he nearly died. He's super sensative to any sort of anesthetic. So now we know, and the next time his teeth are done (in about a month Eep.) it's going to be a gong show. The sounds are horrible, and most horses just hate it.
Reguarding feeding horses "all" the time. Horses should be eating all the time. Thats how their bodies are meant to be fed. However because most horses are kept in barns this is not the case, and their digestive systems are quite different then what you'd see in horses that are kept at pasture all year (like mine!). Horses don't sleep that much, and the majority of their natural lives (as in, in the wild) would be spent eating. Feeding them too many treats makes them sick because treats are very rich and very high in different things that horses don't need to survive.
I'd like to point out that Asparagus Queen made an excellent point about excercise. Even if your horse is lame, he needs to be out and active. Although until you know whats going on with him, you probably shouldn't ride him, you should be out there to walk him around and to hopefully get some fresh air.
Reguarding feeding horses "all" the time. Horses should be eating all the time. Thats how their bodies are meant to be fed. However because most horses are kept in barns this is not the case, and their digestive systems are quite different then what you'd see in horses that are kept at pasture all year (like mine!). Horses don't sleep that much, and the majority of their natural lives (as in, in the wild) would be spent eating. Feeding them too many treats makes them sick because treats are very rich and very high in different things that horses don't need to survive.
I'd like to point out that Asparagus Queen made an excellent point about excercise. Even if your horse is lame, he needs to be out and active. Although until you know whats going on with him, you probably shouldn't ride him, you should be out there to walk him around and to hopefully get some fresh air.
Sun Dec 18, 2005 2:59 am
Asparagus Queen wrote:Oh, and the cribbing - I'd get him a cribbing collar. It's not really good for him to be doing that, and it can be distructive to the stall too.
Hmm... I've tried one, but he takes it off some how, I have no clue how he manages to do that... o_o
ahoteinrun wrote:I'd like to point out that Asparagus Queen made an excellent point about excercise. Even if your horse is lame, he needs to be out and active. Although until you know whats going on with him, you probably shouldn't ride him, you should be out there to walk him around and to hopefully get some fresh air.
Well, he is let out into the pasture at 5:00 in the morning and brought into his stall at 5:00 at night. Janine told me that he would be fine to ride around the ring a few times, but not troting. I do walk him around the barn near the trailers where there is alot of grass, and he seems pretty happy with that.
Mon Dec 19, 2005 2:18 am
lol some horses do that. Beats me how. There's many brands/kinds, you could try another one.
I completely forgot about the dentist. Thanks for reminding me, my horse is due soon!
Schala could eat alllll the time.
And she's sure to tell everyone within 5 feet of a hay bale that.
I completely forgot about the dentist. Thanks for reminding me, my horse is due soon!
Schala could eat alllll the time.
And she's sure to tell everyone within 5 feet of a hay bale that.