horses get colic?

[cowboydoc]

Grant & Ernie B.,
You guys hit on the whole other aspect of stalling horses I was just going to leave alone, VICES! Cribbing, stall weaving, wood chewing, biting, excessive energy, stall kicking, etc. are just to name a few of the vices horses develop with their excess energy. Another reason I never stall horses for any length of time.
Richard

 

[Billc]

Cowboy, it must have made you nuts to be a barn owner. Think I would go postal. And to have the humane society called...my oh my. I hope I don't get someone from PITA by our ranch.

Gerald, I'm with Cowboy on just walking the horses the last 15 minutes of the ride...we don't do much running anyway. Plus, when I get the saddles off and the horses back in the pasture, the very first thing they do is roll. This helps dry them off.

I keep getting tack fliers, they try to sell everything under the sun to horse owners (women). When I get to the section on blankets they now have pages showing those new stretchy sectional blankets for a horse. One blanket for the head, another for the neck, another for the body, another for the legs. The stretchy blankets come in all types of "wild" colors...it help it stand out and be "cute" I guess. A complete set costs a small fortune. I would look at the pictures and think what idot would do that to a poor horse. I think the same thing when I see a small dog with a weird hair cut, pink toe nail polish, and ribbons in its hair. Then we went to Perry GA for a riding event, those suckers were everywhere. One of the first things my wife said was, "Wouldn't it be great to have blankets like that!!!!" This subject really makes me crazy.

Wingnut, I also try (this is the key word, "try") to tell my wife that horses have been around for millions of years and if they got gravely ill every time it rained or got chilly they would have been extinct long ago. One night this past December the low was going to be 38. Please know that if it gets into the lower 20s or below I will put the blankets on the horses. Anyway my wife wanted me to put the blankets on the horses. We had a go round. I went to the computer and printed her up a gift certificate for $300,000 to the local tact store. When I gave it to her she asked what it was for. I told her it was for blankets. After all, if the horses needed to be covered so did all the cows, deer, turkeys, coyotes, foxes, rabbits, opossums, racoons, etc. We didn't put blankets on the horses.

She understands the logic of what I'm telling her, but then her horse friends come over and jeeze you would think I should be arrested and taken away by the PITA folks. They make her feel guilty as well....an unfit mother. But, their horse are at the vet much for often, and I don't even want to get into the amount of "supliments" they sick down theirs horses throats.

Bill Cook

 

[cowboydoc]

Bill,
Oh heck I needed a good laugh. You and I are in the same boat on this one!!!! The things people do to those poor horses. Oh yes you could sell a woman bottled water for their horses if they thought it would help. No offense to women but it does get a carried away and it's not all in the best interest of the horse.
Thanks again for the laugh Bill.
Richard

 

[GrantMO]

Funny story Bill. Bringing up PETA reminds me of some people I knew in Portland. They were vegetarians (I'm not but no problem) and thought that their dog should not eat meat either so they fed him some kind of vegetarian diet.
I mean I will vigorously defend anothers right to hold opinions opposite my own, 1st amendment right? But come on, dogs are carnivores not omnivores like us and they don't want to eat tofu and bean sprouts regularly! The interesting part was that these folks were not the extreme animal rights people. Those people don't even believe in pet ownership. I had no idea people thought like this until I went out there.

Grant

 

[uppermich]

Well, I'm a woman and a horse owner, but I don't fit into the "pampering" type. I've had the same three horses for 25 years - one is 28 and two are 29. I've never kept them in stalls. They come in and out of the barn as they please. They only vet bills I've had in those 25 years are for routine checkups - worming, shots, teeth. The 28 year old mare does get cold when it's below zero cause she doesn't put on a winter coat like the other two do. I have a blanket that I use if I see her shivering, but she manages to get it off after a few hours. Probably only used the blanket a dozen times in all these years.

Funny thing is, I just bought a blanket for my almost nine year old Great Dane. She has always really hated the cold and will refuse to go out if she doesn't like the weather. Don't know how she manages to go 24 hours between times outside, but she does. She seems to really like the coat. She used to run like H... from the barn to the house after evening chores....now she just strolls along. The pigs harass her with her new coat ......not sure if they are jealous or teasing her.
/w3tcompact/icons/smile.gif

Pat (Techno-Tractor Mom)

 

[Wingnut]

Bill ... these little guys fur up like there's serious money ion fur! They were out with no problems at below zero temperatures ... but the wife does like to have a fluttery mind. It's ok for them to be out in the cold in the daytime ... as long as the snow isn't falling on them (like it's going to melt with all that insulation?)
Anyway ... I've left them out the last 2 nights ... after copying down all the comments and giving it to her for her files ... and she hasn't complained yet. I reminded her that the operator of the mini farm where we got most of ours doesn't stall her horses ...
Thanks for all the help guys ... I've learned a lot (and so has she) and we really appreciate the education.

too bad that common sense ain't

 

[Wingnut]

Now Pat ... if we didn't use this forum to poke fun at gals ... where could we do it? ... at least most of us have proof that our ladies love to mother everything that moves!
My wife is still working on knitting an outfit for her poodle that she brought from Texas ... although the little critter furs up
real good. Now what kind of sense does it make to have a
poodle trimmed and then put a coat on it because it's cold??
Sounds like your pigs are normal ... I've known lots that seem to have a sly sense of humor.


too bad that common sense ain't

 

[uppermich]

No problem with poking fun...heck, I do it all the time........... BUT this group is pretty lop-sided in the ratio of males to females, so don't mind me if I try to stick up for us women folks.....just trying to even it out. Besides, I know better than to try to poke fun back at males in this company...... I wouldn't stand a chance!!!!!/w3tcompact/icons/laugh.gif

Pat (Techno-Tractor Mom)

 

[Bird]

Pat, somehow or other, I get the impression you could hold your own pretty well anywhere./w3tcompact/icons/smile.gif

Bird

 

[Billc]

Pat, I'm with Bird, don't know who you are foolin' but there is no way we can keep up with you. I don't even try to pretend I'm smarter than my wife. Even when I say it we both break up laughing!

Right now we are buying several houses to resell or rent out. My wife can keep 15 different projects rolling around in her head, and bounce back and forth between them, not a problem at all. Me, I'll look at her as she tells me what needs to be done and say, "Honey, stop, can't you see I'm shaving, I can't think of two things at one time!" Women can do that, but men have the mental development of mole spores....but we're damn good with a t.v. clicker!

Oh, and you don't know how your dog can go 24 hours without taking a leak? Well, fact is, he can't....I think you have some corner checking to do. /w3tcompact/icons/smile.gif