# Discovering Life with Horses



## carp614 (May 24, 2016)

Since this was posted elsewhere, I decided to use it to start a journal. No idea where it will go, but it's nice to have a place to write. 

A few months ago my daughters went to a rescue farm with the girl scouts. They both liked horses before the visit, but afterwards they LOVED them, especially my oldest, who is 11. 
I have always enjoyed spending time with animals, so my girls interest in these rescued horses and their begging go back to the farm was all it took for me to sign up. 
So we started going to the farm and I began to learn the basics of what needs doing and a little about how to handle a horse on the ground. Nothing fancy and nothing special, just haltering, leading, feeding, and a little grooming. I discovered that I am really scared of these big animals. They are so big and seemingly unpredictable. Right away, I had to learn to suppress my fear and project confidence. 
After the first couple of visits, I began to spend all of my free time learning everything I could about how to work with horses on the ground. I especially liked Pat Parelli's Natural Horsemanship techniques. His YouTube videos are great. Watching them helped me learn a lot about what different behaviors meant. My wife got tired of hearing about all of the things I was learning about horses. 
“Patio Game”
Patio is a feisty 3 year old off the track thoroughbred stallion who has been on stall rest since I met him due to a leg injury that ended his racing career. No one gets close to him for long. He kicks and bites and his behavior is on the aggressive side, probably because he is bored out of his mind. For some reason, I decided that I wanted to try to help Patio if I could. 
Last Friday I decided to pay Patio a visit. I just went to the barn and sat with him for a while. I sat down just out of his reach and talked to him for a while. I played a few little games with him, getting him to reach for treats and move his feet a little. During this visit, he let me get into his neck and whithers and let me touch him for the first time without trying to bite me. Man I was scared! But I kept my cool and gave him time to relax. 
Saturday I brought the girls back to the farm for morning chores and some grooming. After feeding everyone I went back to talk to Patio. We played our little treat game and this time he let me put both my hands on him and I gave him a good scratch. He started licking his lips and dropped his head. 
As this is happening the lead walked by. She asked me what horse that was and I told her it was Patio. Her jaw dropped. She said she couldn't believe what was happening. I couldn't either. With just an hour or so of work, I had gotten pretty close to Patio. He did bite me once, but it was different, he was nibbling on me…playing. As she walked by the lead said, "that's how you fall in love with a horse!" I don't know about falling in love, but I was deeply affected by what happened that day. I couldn't believe that he was trusting me. 
"Alivie"
Alivie is a 6 year old thoroughbred mare who hurt her knee on the track. She has been at the rescue for years and is a gentle horse. We had to get her and some of the other horses out of the barn for spring cleaning and I ended up leading her for a while. I tried to put my research to good use and give her something to do, so I got the longest leader I could find and worked on just being confident with her. She melted immediately and did whatever I asked her to do. It was wonderful. 

"Diesel"
Diesel is a 10 year old paint gelding with a somewhat timid disposition. He was a little spooked a little by all of the noise in the barn. A young lady was trying to lead him around without much success. He was pushing her around some and getting in her space. She was getting uncomfortable. Since Alivie was being so good for me, I asked her if she wanted to trade and she agreed. Within minutes I had Diesel doing things this young lady could not believe. He had gone from pushy to docile in a few minutes. I spent the next hour or so with Diesel, walking around the arena, grooming him and playing with him. He was like putty in my hands. 

Now I find myself completely obsessed with horses. It's all I can think about. I have watched hundreds of You Tube videos in the evenings. I fall asleep thinking about what I am going to do with the horses at the farm this weekend. My first Google search of the morning is something about horses. I just can't get enough.

Here's the thing; I'm a 42 year old guy with no prior experience with horses. Everyone who comes to the farm to help with the horses is a horse crazy little girl or a dad of a horse crazy little girl. I stick out like a sore thumb. So much so that it is a little embarrassing. Every week I pray my girls will be good so we can go back to the farm. I think I want to go more than they do.


----------



## carp614 (May 24, 2016)

Here is Patio getting a little drink. I have not seen a horse do this before. 






He is getting stronger and more antsy everyday. He is cribbing now and is so ready to get out of that stall you can feel it. 

He has begun the process of being introduced to his own paddock, but he reinjured his leg a little, so it will probably take a while to get him all the way out of the stall.


----------



## carp614 (May 24, 2016)

This past weekend on Sunday, the mini's, 7 ponies and 3 donkeys, busted loose from their paddock in the middle of feeding time. They ended up in the arena, running as a herd. They seemed to really love it. Once we got them in there we just let them run. When they were ready we took them back to the paddock. It was a little stressful, but we had plenty of volunteers around to help keep them safe. 

Since some of them are fatties, we are looking into what it would take to give them a little more routine exercise. It should be fun!

The donkeys are probably the fattest of them all. So that was the next thread of research I did. Turns out they are affectionate and intelligent. Some people say they make great pets. Well, these donkeys don't get a lot of attention. I guess people are afraid of them because they have a reputation for being loud of stubborn. Next time we are back at the farm, I am going to spend some time grooming these little guys to see how they feel about it. Were going to team up and get all of the Ponies some exercise too. 

It'll be a couple of weeks though. We are headed out of town this weekend.


----------



## natisha (Jan 11, 2011)

Good for you! Horses need people like you.
Are they planning to geld Patio? His life would be much happier as a gelding.


----------



## carp614 (May 24, 2016)

natisha said:


> Good for you! Horses need people like you.
> Are they planning to geld Patio? His life would be much happier as a gelding.


I don't know what the rescue plans to do with him. The current focus is on getting him healthy on his feet. Once that is done, it seems like he will need a lot of work to get him where he is ok being handled. I'm sure gelding him would help. I will ask about that. I might even be able to contribute if things go right. 

Patio is one of two recent arrivals at the farm that are off the track thoroughbred stallions. The other stallion is called Dude Man. He is incredibly gentle for a stallion, as long as there are no mares around. Dude Man got into a fight with one of the geldings "Bayou" when they were turned out into adjoining paddocks. Bayou's girlfriend "Alivie" was there and that was all it took. Fortunately, neither horse was hurt, but we had to get them separated within a few minutes. Another lesson learned!

Dude man is absolutely gorgeous. I don't know anything about conformation, but he looks so incredibly strong and lean. Every muscle ripples and you can see a lot of his vasculature under his thin summer coat. I have a couple of pictures but they don't do him justice.


----------



## carp614 (May 24, 2016)

The Mini's:
Spent a little time at the farm this weekend. On Saturday we focused on the mini paddock. They have 6 or 7 Ponies and three mini donkeys that form a nice little herd. The 3 donkeys are Peanut, Carlos and Santana. These 3 are really nice. Not at all the stereotypical donkey. It seems to me that this entire herd is a bit overweight, and with one exception is completely healthy. They all have good hooves and like to run, so we hatched a plan on Saturday to give them a chance to get a little exercise!

A group of us got together after feeding time and moved the entire herd into the large arena. We walked them around to warm them up and then let them off the lead ropes. With very little encouragement they all took off for a gallop!. They ran together and we all laughed and played with them. They had their tails up and seemed to be happy about the chance to stretch their legs. They whinnied and the donkeys cackled over and over as they ran as fast as they wanted. It was wonderful. 

It was tough though in a different way. Most of the participants were kids (young teenagers) with their moms watching. I didn't feel comfortable giving the kids a lot of direction. Instead of letting the horses run the kids kind of started pushing them. In their eagerness, some of the kids ended up cornering the horses and stressing them a little. I managed to get them to back off and give the ponies some space, but I was really nervous about giving them any direction, especially in front of their parents. 

We had to move to let a rider use the arena, so we moved to the covered arena to give the ponies a chance to cool down at a walk. This was where we all got some teachable moments. I started asking the kids what they saw. What are they doing? How are they acting? Do you think they are relaxed or stressed? Who do you think is the alpha and who is next after her? If you move here in relation to the other kids and the horses, how do they respond? The kids were so focused on making the ponies run that they hadn't seen the stress they were causing. I was really relieved when I learned that they were willing to listen to me. With a little encouragement, they saw what I saw. That is something that has been pretty sorely lacking in my life lately; someone willing to listen and take a little guidance. 

We put the ponies back into their paddock considerably more tired than when we got them out. But they seemed to enjoy it. I think we will try something like this again next weekend if they seem like they are up to it. 

The Geldings:
My Father's Day gift to myself was to go to the farm alone. Life has pretty much sucked lately, and this week was one of the worst in recent memory. I spent a couple of hours walking around, checking fences and watching the horses do what horses do. I ended up in the gelding pasture with a group of about 8 horses that I have become pretty familiar with. I really didn't have a plan other than to walk around the pasture, maybe check on the fences and watch the horses. It was a beautiful, unseasonably cool day with a healthy breeze. I gradually made my way to within about 75 yards of the horses, who were at the fence line interacting with some folks who came out to visit with them. 

I sat down and just watched. Of course, the horses knew I was there, but they weren't particularly interested in me at first. Then, one by one, they all came my way to investigate. Key Lime was first. He probably knows me the best out of all of them, so it didn't surprise me. One of the other horses cut him off from getting close. I don't know his name, but he came right up to me. He sniffed at me and stood beside me so I could swat flies off of his legs. He ended up getting close enough that I felt like I ought to move, so I did just as he decided he had better things to do. 

Just then I felt a breeze almost blow my hat off. Turns out it wasn't a breeze. It was the biggest horse at the farm, a Shire named Bravo, sniffing at my shoulder. Bravo has never shown any particular interest in me, so I was surprised to find him right behind me. I just sat there under Bravo talking to him, scratching his chin and his jaw and marveling at his size. He let me groom him for a while. it was quiet and peaceful and wonderful. It was like he knew what I needed. Eventually he decided to find something to eat and moved off. I just watched him go, amazed at his gentleness and grateful to him for spending a little time with me. 

I went home feeling a whole lot better and looking forward to going back.


----------



## carp614 (May 24, 2016)

We are looking for a new home!

Over the last several years I have grown more unhappy with living in quarter acre suburbia. Especially the covenants and restrictions I have to adhere to. Being a libertarian leaning fellow, I have a problem with the neighborhood association telling me what I can and cannot do with my own home. 

At the same time, my wife has really developed a stronger desire for a more rural more quiet lifestyle, which only made me too happy. She wants chickens and maybe a few goats. Sounds like paradise to me. 

Then I started volunteering at the rescue and fell a little bit in love with the idea of having pasture and a barn so that one day, when I'm ready, we could maybe have some horses of our own. That's a long way off, but I love the idea of actually having the option. 

We're looking hard for a place and getting our house ready to sell. There are not many candidates that are just right. some can be made right, and some require a great deal of vision to see how it could be made to work. I haven't had a dream in a long time and it is nice to start building one.


----------



## egrogan (Jun 1, 2011)

Looking forward to reading your adventures. Sounds like you'd be at home in New Hampshire!

Chickens are a lot of fun too- in my opinion, watching a flock of hens is very similar to watching a herd of horses. There are clear leaders, followers, the ones that get picked on, the ones that keep to themselves, the ones that eat first, etc. People who think chickens are stupid haven't spent enough time watching a flock do their thing- the social relationships are very strong. I forget the statistic, but chickens can recognize something like 40 different chicken faces and remember individuals for quite some time. Anyway, clearly I'm here because I love horses, but chickens are pretty fun too!


----------



## carp614 (May 24, 2016)

Adventures in Rain Rot (We think):

Another wonderful Saturday at the farm! It turned out to be a very long, very hot day, but it I learned a great deal and got a chance to spend time with a wonderful horse named Jessie He is available for Adoption!. 

One of the horses that stays in pasture, a beautiful 16 year old thoroughbred bay gelding named Jessie, has come down with a bad case of what we think is rain rot. Several of the horses at the rescue have come down with it, but with the onset of summer heat, most of it has cleared up, except for Jessie's. 

Being new to horses I had not heard of this problem before a few months ago. This weekend was my crash course. Jessie has a calm temperament and was very tolerant of me rubbing all over him as I examined him looking for problems. I learned a little about what we thought the problem was from the volunteers on site and I took it upon myself to see if I could do something to help Jessie.

That started with a thorough sponging down, which he seemed to enjoy, given the 95 temperatures. Just with water and a sponge I was able to knock most of the build up off of the worst affected areas on his back. I didn't take any pictures because it was too dad-blamed HOT! He then got soaked down with some Banixx and ended up having his dinner right there in the wash stall. After spending some time grazing in the year, I turned him back out with his partner Sonny and his new pasture mate TriggerSee Trigger Here, he's all healed up!. 

Sunday I had no plans to go back to the farm, but I couldn't get Jessie off of my mind. I ended up taking the girls back to help with feeding and turning everyone out for the evening and before I left I coated his worst affected areas with MTD. it's only 2 treatments, but I hope it will help get things under control. 

I also got an opportunity to visit a couple of satellite locations where the rescue keeps horses. it is truly amazing to see the scale of what this organization is doing. There are currently more than sixty (that's 60) horses in the care of this organization. I was shocked when I discovered the full scale of the undertaking. It really brought home how much help they need. If you are interested in learning more you can access the web page Save the Horses. I would encourage anyone interested in donating to do so. I don't know much about horses, but I know a cause in need when I see one. 

Aside from Jessie, something wonderful is happening with my girls Emma Rose and Anabelle. They have really come to love going to the farm. That much isn't much of a surprise. What is astonishing is how they have taken to the hard work. I cannot describe the pride I feel when I walk into the barn and see my two girls busting it to clean out stalls, without anyone asking them to. They are doing it because they want to. When I asked if they wanted to go check on Jessie they said sure, but only if they could help feed the horses and clean the barn. I almost fell out of my chair. 

Today, I am one proud Papa!


----------



## Zexious (Aug 2, 2013)

Looking forward to keeping up with your thread c:
@egrogan -- Chickens <3<3
I have such fondness for them.


----------



## tinyliny (Oct 31, 2009)

maybe the rescue can use you in a slightly different capacity, so you don't feel so awkward being lumped in with the teen girls. 

men often have a steadiness and solidity that horses really gravitate toward. sometimes I find it unfair that the most newbie man will have an easier time working with horses just because they will recognize and respond to his physical strength and stature, deeper voice, slower movements , while the woman often has to work a bit harder to get the same recognition. not always, but I've seen it enough to think it's true.


----------



## carp614 (May 24, 2016)

tinyliny said:


> maybe the rescue can use you in a slightly different capacity, so you don't feel so awkward being lumped in with the teen girls.
> 
> men often have a steadiness and solidity that horses really gravitate toward. sometimes I find it unfair that the most newbie man will have an easier time working with horses just because they will recognize and respond to his physical strength and stature, deeper voice, slower movements , while the woman often has to work a bit harder to get the same recognition. not always, but I've seen it enough to think it's true.


I think I have seen a little of what you are talking about. Some of the horses will boss the young 'uns around a bit. All I have to do is be close by and the horses attitude changes. 

But let me tell you, the hard cases like Patio only respond to a couple of experienced Horse-ladies! 

After some initial success with Patio, the only thing he seems to want from me is a chance to bite a big chunk out of my face. He is much more tolerant of the kids and the ladies than he is of me.


----------



## carp614 (May 24, 2016)

The Project: Erosion control and pasture fertility. 
The farm has a significant erosion problem. 

I have done a bunch of research, trying to find the most economical and effective way to deal with the problem. Here is what I have learned:

The horses overgraze the paddocks, killing off the less hardy grass species. Weeds take hold and steal moisture from the good grasses. The organic material washes out, creating bare patches of Georgia red clay . This stuff does not absorb moisture well and is a poor substrate for seed growth. It's also slick as grease as soon as it gets wet, making it dangerous for horses and people to move around in wet conditions. 

Here are pictures of some problem areas to help you get an idea of how bad the problem is. These are by no means the worst areas:









Above you can see some of the previous work that was done to control erosion. But the channel has already filled with silt and the water is starting to run alongside the area that was rocked in. 









Above you can see how the erosion control does not capture all of the runoff from this pasture. A large portion of this field drains into the paddock entryway, forming a deep washout. 

There is more, but you get the idea. 

We have to get control of the erosion and improve the footing in pastures in a way that improves the fertility of the pastures without spending a bunch of money to do it. The best (cheapest) way I have found to do that is with mulch. 

I found the video below on You Tube. This gentleman has gotten good results from spreading mulch over his pastures.





 . 

I got in touch with a friend who owns a tree service and asked him if he would be willing to drop mulch on the farm for free. Since it saves him money, he agreed. 

Then I talked to the owner of the rescue. I had discussed the idea with a couple of people at the farm and had gotten a kind of tepid response. I think they probably just thought I was suggesting more work for them to do, so they didn't necessarily want to encourage me to pursue it. But the more I looked into it, the more it looked like the right solution, so I laid out my reasoning and shared it with the owner. 

I was surprised and excited when she agreed that it was a good idea and gave me the go ahead. 

My good friend, John Collazo, owner of Chipper Tree Service in Canton, Ga will start delivering loads of mulch as early as next week. Here is the plan:

Brush hog the high weeds in the areas that will get mulch. 

Spread the mulch out with the tractor to a depth of between 2 and 8 inches, depending on the location. 

Allow time to let the mulch settle.

Hunt up some mushrooms and spread them around the mulch to inoculate it with fungus. 

Lay down some manure in the fall and plant some winter rye. 

Lay down some more manure in the spring and plant a pasture mix. 

Get some help figuring out how to rest some of the worst areas to allow them time to recover.

Honestly I am really excited about doing this project. it will hardly take any effort and could provide some great benefits for the horses and the rescue in the long term.


----------



## carp614 (May 24, 2016)

This weekend was a short but interesting one at the farm.

Patio Game, the OTTB that was hurt in his last race, was in the arena galloping around trying hard to reinjure himself. He is so young and he has been cooped up for so long, it was wonderful to see him finally in a space where he could run hard. He was ready to take on the world, so it took a lot of doing to get him to settle down and put him back in his stall. It was interesting though, because he was very tolerant of me when he had more space and he was more tolerant of me later on, when I checked up on him in his stall. He is still a biter and he still wants to play dominance games. I have figured out that he seems to like getting scratched on his forehead. I just say hi and give him a scratch before he gets a chance to try to bite me. 

Jessie's rain rot is improving, but persistent on his rump. I am starting to wonder if he is immune suppressed or something. He is one of the horses that actually cribs. You can hear him sucking in air when he pulls on the fence. I haven't seen many horses do this in the pasture, so it seems strange. He will just stand there all day, pulling on the fence. He doesn't seem to care about doing anything. He doesn't move around his paddock much. Even though it is about 1.5 acres, he and the other 2 horses tend to stay on the most denuded part of the paddock. This is one of the paddocks that actually has some decent forage, so I don't understand why they aren't moving around more. 

40 or 50 people came to the farm Saturday morning for orientation day. I'm always curious to find out how many of them will come out again. It seems like a small number come out a couple more times and then disappear. A fraction of those that come back become regulars, at least that is what I have seen so far. 

House hunting went well this weekend. We saw a great house. Almost 8 acres already fenced and cleared with two barns, a pond, and a riding arena and a swimming pool. Such a cool farm house in a great location. But, my goodness, they want a lot of money for the place. The house needs a good bit of cosmetic work and it's a bit smaller than our current home, but we might be able to make it work. We were thinking about ranch names over the weekend. My favorite so far is "Appalachia". 

At this house there were 2 beautiful horses. One was an Appaloosa with spots on the front and gray on his back, the other was a bay mare. I couldn't believe how friendly they were. They were so calm and easy to approach compared to the horses at the rescue. Since I have been exposed to a lot of troubled horses, I guess I expected them to be fearful or indifferent, but they were instantly friendly and wanted to be close to us. It was such a pleasant surprise. Even my wife, who is not really a horse person (yet) ended up petting on them…and she didn't have an allergic reaction!

I'll make a horsewoman out of her yet...


----------



## tinyliny (Oct 31, 2009)

might matter what kind of tree chips you use. some tree wood material inhibits the growth of anything but THAT tree type. isn't oak that way? not sure. 

around here, we get a lot of fir and cedar chips from tree grinders , and alder. all are ok to use for mulch.


----------



## carp614 (May 24, 2016)

tinyliny said:


> might matter what kind of tree chips you use. some tree wood material inhibits the growth of anything but THAT tree type. isn't oak that way? not sure.
> 
> around here, we get a lot of fir and cedar chips from tree grinders , and alder. all are ok to use for mulch.


I think it depends on the perspective. The way it is now, nothing, not even weeds, will grow in these spots. There is literally no organic material present. From that point of view, anything is probably better than nothing. 

We will also be adding composted bedding/manure in the early spring. This will add more available organic material and give us a good seed bed. The real trick will be getting the seed mix right. We will need to sow something like inoculated white clover and common Bermuda to add nitrogen in case the wood fibers suck up too much early on. There are better seed mix options, but we have to prioritize grazing and heat tolerance rather than productivity.

If it doesn't work, we'll just try something else!


----------



## carp614 (May 24, 2016)

Saturday I got the chance to start on my project for the farm. The mulch started coming last week. 4 loads of mulch was probably about 60 cubic yards worth. After getting a quick lesson in tractor driving I got to work dropping mulch. Since they dropped the mulch right up hill from where we were planning to put it, it was pretty quick progress. This mulch was mostly southern pine and a lot of it was from live healthy trees. Ironically, the mulch came from a horse pasture that was being cleaned out. One pile had been sitting for about 4 days. So much steam came off the pile when I dug into it I thought the tractor was overheating. Folks, if it is 95 degrees and you see a ton of steam coming off a pile of mulch, you can be sure that decomposition and fungal growth are underway!










It took about 4 hours to drop loads where they would do the most good. Mostly I was filling in low spots and small washouts in this particular pasture, which is really an alley used to get to the outdoor arena. This one has a decent cover of Common Bermuda, so I am confident that it will grow through the layer of mulch I put down. 
I also dropped 5 or 6 bucket loads in the adjacent pasture which has a washout near the fence that is about 2 feet deep at its worst. 

The tractor did great, but as soon as I parked it boiled over. Something is hinky in the cooling system. I don't have a lot of experience with diesels so I don't know what the problem could be, but it did the job pretty well. 

Once the mulch was in place, I decided to go back over everything with a rake. That was a mistake because it just about killed me. I'm telling you it was HOT! No breeze and no cloud cover for most of the morning. About 3/4ths of the way through the raking and I started to get sick. I had to dunk my head in a water trough to cool off and pretty soon after that I had to call it quits…I was exhausted, but satisfied that the work had started. If we can get some good rain hopefully everything will settle so I can see where I will need to put more down. But for now, one down and 10 more to go.

After drinking about a gallon and a half of water I got a chance to meet a young foal for the first time. The rescue brought in a mother and foal. The foal, "Scooter", is about 2 months old. They were both severely malnourished and sadly the mother went down. She gave her life to give scooter a chance. He is significantly underweight and has a horrendous case of rain rot, maybe one of the worst I have seen. But he has already turned the corner. He is starting to put on weight and has enough energy to spend a little time running around in the arena. 










I have never been around a foal before. I've seen them sure, but never actually had a chance to be in the presence of one. It was an amazing experience. Difficult to describe. You can see his vitality even though he is still frail. The way those big eyes look. I can see how people fall in love with foals.


----------



## Reiningcatsanddogs (Oct 9, 2014)

Have you looked into crabgrass as a pasture forage? 

I have similar problems here in Texas, but most of it came about when we had five years of a severe drought and just now is starting to recover. I read up on crabgrass and bought a bag of it to give it a try this fall. 

http://www.uaex.edu/publications/pdf/FSA-3138.pdf


----------



## Prairie (May 13, 2016)

Kudos for what you and your kids are doing for the horses. One word of caution on the mulch---please sure to tell the man who is providing it that you don't want any black walnut which is toxic to horses and can cause laminitis


The best treatment for rain rot is Betadine since it kills both fungus and bacteria. I use the surgical scrub and let it set for 10 minutes before rinsing.


----------



## carp614 (May 24, 2016)

Reiningcatsanddogs said:


> Have you looked into crabgrass as a pasture forage?
> 
> I have similar problems here in Texas, but most of it came about when we had five years of a severe drought and just now is starting to recover. I read up on crabgrass and bought a bag of it to give it a try this fall.
> 
> http://www.uaex.edu/publications/pdf/FSA-3138.pdf


You mean someone has actually found a use for this garbage? That is wonderful. I have noticed the horses seem to like it and it is certainly hard to kill. thanks for the info.


----------



## carp614 (May 24, 2016)

Prairie said:


> Kudos for what you and your kids are doing for the horses. One word of caution on the mulch---please sure to tell the man who is providing it that you don't want any black walnut which is toxic to horses and can cause laminitis
> 
> 
> The best treatment for rain rot is Betadine since it kills both fungus and bacteria. I use the surgical scrub and let it set for 10 minutes before rinsing.


I have ensured that the supplier knows we can't take any mulch with Walnut in it. He's a friend of mine. When I told him he thought it was funny. He said, "if I get any walnut I will be turning it into boards and money!" 

For the grown up horses we have been using MTG to control rain rot, but I heard someone say that couldn't be used on a foal. I'm sure betadine would be ok. I'll ask. thanks!


----------



## Prairie (May 13, 2016)

We fed baled crab grass last winter to our 4 horses. It can be a good grass hay for horses and cattle if swathed and baled at the right point of maturity. You do have watch their weight since it can be high in sugars.


----------



## Reiningcatsanddogs (Oct 9, 2014)

Prairie said:


> We fed baled crab grass last winter to our 4 horses. It can be a good grass hay for horses and cattle if swathed and baled at the right point of maturity. You do have watch their weight since it can be high in sugars.


Does the sugar content go down in comparison to fresh when it is dried? I wish I could find something other than Bermuda here. Tifton is even hard to find.


----------



## Prairie (May 13, 2016)

Normally sugar level does not go down when grass is swathed and baled. If you are looking for lower sugar hay, check with your county extension agent since he may know of farmers who are putting up Tifton


----------



## Reiningcatsanddogs (Oct 9, 2014)

I don't need lower sugared hay (our Bermuda runs at about 10%) I was just wondered if the crab grass acted differently.


----------



## carp614 (May 24, 2016)

It rained hard this week and washed away some of the mulch I had put down in pasture 1. I found that the mulch higher up was not thick enough to stop the flow of water from uphill. It wasn't too badly washed out in pasture one, but all of the water that did the damage was coming from pasture 2. Though I had started on 2 last week I was not able to finish. 

So I ended up doing some serious remodeling in pasture 2. The lower part of this pasture is basically a sacrifice area. It's completely bare other than remnants of old round bales and provides nothing more than a slick surface on which the water can pick up speed as it moves downhill into pasture 1. The sacrifice area has in it a gully about 2 feet deep that has to be filled to slow down the water until we can get started on pasture 3 (uphill from pastures 1 &2). 

Basically I scraped all of the manure, old hay, and dirt I could into the gully and packed it down as best I could with the tractor. Then I put a layer of mulch about a foot think over the top of the fill and packed that down as best I could. I expect the entire length of the gully to settle at least 6 inches as things continue to break down. I'm hoping that by the time that is finished we will have dropped enough mulch in pasture 3 to reduce the runoff significantly enough to keep everything in place. 

With pasture 2 basically done, I went to work fixing pasture 1. We are already seeing improvements in moisture retention there. Where the mulch had washed out there was bare clay that was completely dry. To fill these wash outs back in I pulled mulch from areas that had not washed out, reasoning that there was already enough mulch to hold everything in place in the areas that had not washed out. 

Before I started the mulch program this entire area in pasture 1 had been completely bone dry. But even under the thinnest layers of mulch, I found dark red moist earth. The Bermuda in this area is also already showing signs of improvement. Even in this denuded nutrient poor pasture, the growth rate of the existing grass has increased. It is already poking up through the mulch in spots throughout the pasture. 

Just as I finished with pasture 1, it started to rain. Fortunately, this one wasn't just a downpour, it started slow and built up to a steady downpour. I went out in the rain and watched as everything began to soak in. It looked like everything would stay put, but I had to leave before the storm had passed. I guess we'll see next weekend. 

One thing there is no shortage of around the farm is good quality composted manure. It is piled up everywhere. So when the time comes to over seed in the spring, we should have plenty of dirt to put down over the top of the bare mulch areas that can be planted. We will probably experiment in the fall with Winter Rye just to see if we can get something going. I can't wait.


----------



## carp614 (May 24, 2016)

I know this is boring stuff, talking about mulch and pasture remediation, and not so much about the horses. It doesn't help that it has been so dadgum hot that I haven't had the energy to stop and take pictures. Sorry, it's too freaking hot. I'll get more pictures later.

Anyway, this actually has everything to do with the horses. This is about providing sustainable forage for the residents at the farm that will hopefully impact feeding costs. The lower those costs are, the more money is available to take care of horses with expensive care needs. And there is no shortage of those...


----------



## carp614 (May 24, 2016)

Patio Games received a clean bill of health from the Vet! He is ready for ground work, but we are going to take it slow. He has lost a lot of muscle. He needs time to just walk around and get some of his strength back. The big talk lately is about where we are going to put him. We don't want to put him in a paddock where he will get himself into trouble trying to boss around horses much bigger than he is. We think he might be ok to go in with Patch and Ruby, but not quite yet. 

I got two of the paddocks seeded with a Rye Fescue mix. Of course, it then proceeded to not rain at all. No chance of anything coming up where there is any traffic, but I checked last weekend and was truly shocked to find some grass poking through the dirt. 

I also decided and then went about bush hogging the entire property. It took more than 18 hours to get the job done with a 4 foot bush hog. just an awful ordeal. I was only able to do it because I got some unexpected time off from work. But everything looks really nice now. 

Then I got an opportunity to address some serious erosion problems on the pathways around the farm. The owner gave me permission to use his larger tractor, which has a box blade attachment. I was able to address the potholes in the long gravel driveway and the paths to the paddocks. Now they are nice and flat. perfect and safe for horse and man alike. 

Unfortunately, I was able to break said tractor after only a couple of days of use. It wasn't really my fault. One of the hydraulic lines for the bucket failed in a rather spectacular fashion, spraying me with 5 or 6 gallons of Hydraulic fluid before I finally got the tractor shut off. The hydraulic lines in question were truly ancient. I just happened to be the one using the tractor when they decided to give up the ghost. after 2 days of running around to get replacement hoses and more fluid I still can't get it running. Tractor dealer says it needs more fluid in order to work the air out of the lines. I already put 6 or 7 gallons in, but it needs more. I hope to have more luck dealing with it this weekend. 

Once it is fixed I will commence operation smooth out the dang fields, filling stump holes and smoothing over high spots so that the next guy that has to mow won't have such a tough time doing it. 

I'm still having fun with the horses. I just can't get enough time with them. I love to work out there with them in the field...love to be doing something to give them a better life. it is sometimes the only joy life provides.


----------



## carp614 (May 24, 2016)

*VIDEO of my buddy Patio Game*






Patio has made amazing progress. He is ready for adoption and folks are coming to look him over. 

Turns out he is not what everyone thought he was. Apparently, horse people are scared of young thoroughbreds. Patio acts like he wants you to be afraid of him, but it's an act. 

Under saddle he is amazing. He responds to the lightest reins, changes leads like a champ, walks, trots, canters, and stops like a champ, and he doesn't seem to be scared of much (at least in the arena). I have ridden him twice and we've had several much more experienced riders at the farm try him out, all with positive things to say about his manners. 

He measured out at exactly 16 hands. 

A note to all of you deeply experienced horse people: I am new to horses, which means I make mistakes you know not to make. I've learned a lot in 8 months, but you some of the video was filmed right at the beginning. Don't like how I interact with Patio? Fantastic! Don't think his equipment or my handling is correct? Good for you!

Wanna call me names and insult my intelligence because I don't know as much about horses as you and everyone you know does? No problem at all. Go ahead and call me names in your head, then move on to the next post. My only request is that you don't waist everyone's time calling me an idiot. 

Same goes for all of you video editing experts. it's YouTube video editor, it's free and it's the first one I have ever done. 

Thanks!


----------



## tinyliny (Oct 31, 2009)

that's a very interesting post there. sounds like you are expecting to receive a lot of flack, and are getting ready . Sometimes, putting it all out there like that, with what sounds like a pretty feisty attitude ends up being a self -fulfilling proposition.

anyway, can I say somethings?

I reread your journal, and I love how passionate you are about horses and how intensely interested you are to learn. it's wonderful, and especially in a 'dad' ( I know that sounds patronizing, but it's just how things are these days)

anyway . . . . I do have some concerns, and I'd like to express them in the nicest way I can.

that Patio is a lot of horse! I would probably not play 'games' with him when he's in his stall trying to get him to 'act' mean. I know you were just watching, so maybe I'm off bse here. to me, seeing him act as he did, suddenly whirling in his stall, is something that I would take note of and be super careful if I ever went INTO his stall. I'd know that if he can do it when I'm just outside the door, he may do it when I'm in, unless I know that I CAN get his full frontal attention, reliably , and that if I discipline him for turning his back on me in an enclosed stall, he won't double barrel me. 
it really ISNT a game.

the drinking from the hose is cute. I've seen this with some horses. Patio strikes me as a very confident horse, which is good. I think he WILL make a good riding horse. watching the young lady riding him , I was a bit hesitant. her position in the saddle was not very secure, really leaning forward with her heels back and possibly digging into his sides. it's a tentative seat that can put her in a postion to be dumped over his head should he stop or whirl suddenly, and her leg so far back was clearly irritating to him. I just think he was behaving ok mostly becuase he wanted to, but, the lack of security of the rider (tentative feel) made me think that when Patio decides to do/go where he wants, she may be in for a big surprise, becuase he seems to be going her way, he really isn't 'with' her . she is a passenger, and only her light build and youth and courage are her biggest allies now to compensate for passive riding position.

please do not underestimate this horse based on the limited exposure you have of him in the arena. his swishing tail and head carriage give me to think he may be less broke than you think .


----------



## carp614 (May 24, 2016)

tinyliny said:


> that's a very interesting post there. sounds like you are expecting to receive a lot of flack, and are getting ready . Sometimes, putting it all out there like that, with what sounds like a pretty feisty attitude ends up being a self -fulfilling proposition.
> 
> anyway, can I say somethings?
> 
> ...



Well, you tried I guess. 
I think this concludes my sharing information of any kind with horse people phase.


----------



## Fimargue (Jun 19, 2015)

I agree with tinyliny. 

I enjoy reading this journal, but I must say I'm a bit put off by your defensive attitude, and you actually come across a tad arrogant sometimes.

I have learnt that you cannot teach people, unless they want to be taught. The only time I usually have to get involved is when someone is hanging on the mouth of a horse that I care about, and have put time and effort re-training to lightness and using their body correctly without constant contact.

What comes to the riding part of the video, the reins are obviously too short to get him working the correct way. His head is high because he is expecting contact and be off. As so many Thoroughbreds, he seems like a willing and forgiving partner. I personally would love to ride him.


----------



## farmpony84 (Apr 21, 2008)

I skimmed your journal and plan to read much more later when I have time. I watched the video where he "whirled in his stall" to look out the window. If he is turning to face you before you enter the stall and is not doing that when you are in the stall with him then I generally let them have their stall. It's their space and their time. AS LONG AS they have respect for the person when they are being handled. face me to enter the stall and face me while I'm in the stall. 

As for the riding, I didn't think she looked that bad. While the horse never once looked to me like he was in danger of taking off or not listening to her, I personally did not feel "safe" wit the halter and then short lead for reins so that's my first critique, use a bridle and bit. You were off balance when she was walking and her legs were falling desperately behind but when she trotted and cantered she really didn't look that bad. She did have the wrong diagonal at one point but personally, I think sge are on the right track and I don't think the horse is crazy.

Please understand that anytime you ask for a critique, you will get folks that are very harsh and blunt. That doesn't necessarily mean they are nasty, they just aren't ... "soft" in their critiques... read through it and use what you can, ignore anything hurtful, but understand that sometimes opinions that should not be ignored can seem hurtful but really have the best of intentions.

Good luck and ride on!


----------



## carp614 (May 24, 2016)

Fimargue said:


> I enjoy reading this journal, but I must say I'm a bit put off by your defensive attitude, and you actually come across a tad arrogant sometimes.



You are correct. I am dismayed and deeply discouraged at the level of condescension and arrogance I'm finding in online horse communities. And sadly, I am not surprised at all that suggesting this is reality results in the suggestion that _I'm a tad arrogant. _I've gotten some encouragement from a few people, but mostly it has been people who make the determination that I don't know what I'm doing, when the truth is _they _don't know what I'm doing. 


All I care about is showing people how great a horse he is. Tinyliny gave me some great feedback on the video I posted that would help show Patio in a better light, but that has been the exception. 


Get this...I love this horse. I'm a 42 year old father of 2, and I fell for a dang 3 year old gelding. I desperately want him to come home with me. But I know that is not what's best for him. He needs a more experienced horseperson. I'm so convinced of it that I made a stupid you tube video to try to get people to come see him. 


And where on the internet do you find experienced horse people who might be a good fit for my friend Patio? Here of course. But when I started talking about how great a horse he is, instead of seeing how wonderful he is, everyone is talking about poor safety procedures, incorrect riding gear, bad confirmation, poor video quality and the intelligence of the handlers to notice that this great horse doesn't have a home. 


I guess that is what I get for trying to do something others wouldn't try to do. It's like a nail head sticking out. You just feel the urge to bang on it.


----------



## farmpony84 (Apr 21, 2008)

carp614 said:


> And w*here on the internet do you find experienced horse people who might be a good fit for my friend Patio?* Here of course. But when I started talking about how great a horse he is, instead of seeing how wonderful he is, everyone is talking about poor safety procedures, incorrect riding gear, bad confirmation, poor video quality and the intelligence of the handlers to notice that this great horse doesn't have a home.


The internet is a scary place. There is no way to know who is actually lurking behind this computer screen. I learned many years ago to ask the questions knowing that answers would include at a minimum the below listed statements:

Call a vet
Get a trainer
Do some research
Search this forum - question has already been asked

And then of course you get the Copy/Paste responses where someone go's out into the web, finds an article and copies and posts the response using it as their own.
Oops - almost forgot the random if you have to ask then you have no business owning a horse response

The bottom line is, the internet and these forums can be really great tools but they can also be a hindrance because the responses are stressful and not at all helpful. I post less than I used to but I read a ton of what is placed on this forum. I have found a lot of useful comments out there. 

People sometimes forget that they were once a beginner too and they were once that guy that did "stupid" things... My gosh, looking back at all the things I did, It's amazing that me and my first horse even lived to tell the tales! I've been a horse owner for 30 years and still do "dumb" things and make bonehead decisions. It's going to happen. How else can we learn?

I think this thread is great and I love it when people put stuff out there. No one is perfect and I like seeing honest real world posts... But I will comment if I see something I don't like... (human nature).


----------



## Reiningcatsanddogs (Oct 9, 2014)

carp614 said:


> Get this...I love this horse. I'm a 42 year old father of 2, and I fell for a dang 3 year old gelding. I desperately want him to come home with me. But I know that is not what's best for him. He needs a more experienced horseperson. I'm so convinced of it that I made a stupid you tube video to try to get people to come see him.


Well why didn't you just say so! 

I like Patio. I like slightly spicy horses. I don’t care much about conformation so much as personality. Everything else I can deal with…right now I have five horses and two real riders for them and hubby says absolutely no more! The fact that he pooped and kept walking leads me to believe he has had some prior training either in a show ring or working cattle.

I’m going to go against some of the advice you would typically get regarding green horses and green riders because sometimes…just sometimes, the willingness of both a horse and rider to make it work can overcome the obstacles. Don’t outright dismiss the possibility of you owning him.

My daughter was a novice when I bought her, her first horse; a two-year-old gelding that had been backed but not trained. My trainer thought I was nuts for about a week. Green horse + green rider = black and blue...and all of that. Something in my gut in this particular instance told me differently.

That is not to say it was all sunshine and unicorn farts.

There have been ups and downs, including a time where she refused to be alone in the pasture with him (he made her nervous by following her around too close and went through a biting stage) and days where she just wanted to throw in the towel (like when she got dumped after his first spook).

Dang though if she didn't think the world of that horse and want to make it work. Almost four years later, he is “her” horse. The two of them fit together like steak and potatoes. She has done an outstanding job with him and him with her. She has learned a lot about horsemanship from him.

That being said, this never could have been done without her willingness to listen to what she was being told; by her trainer, by her mother and even by some well-intentioned know-it-alls. Some things she had already learned better (for which she politely thanked them for before ignoring it), others, she gave the suggestions a try, asked a lot of questions and observed others work with her horse. Then she gave things a try for herself. Either things worked out for her or they didn’t and she tried something else. 

So, my advice to you, is you may want to consider taking on Patio yourself. From the video, he will be a challenging horse at times that will try your patience but, if you have a lot of help around you, are not in a big rush and are willing to try (and sometimes fail) it might be worth the risk. 

You might need to return him to the rescue at some point if it doesn't work out. I'm not saying go for it but, I'm also not saying to just dismiss the thought because you are a beginner.

The one thing I always personally hope to achieve with a horse in my care (I board and rescue horses as well) is that they always leave my presence a little better (read as, more prepared for living in the human world) for having known me. So even if it doesn't work out for you two, at least you gave him your best.

Just my two cents.


----------



## TaMMa89 (Apr 12, 2008)

Thread closed at OP's request.


----------

