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

 

[Billc]

Grant, never heard of a vegi dog before...but then I live in GA.

I do know that my wife would do anything in the world for our dog. She has a magnetic sign on the fridge that reads: "Husband and dog lost, $10,000 reward for the dog!" I know my place.

We have a mini ****zu. "****zu" is a Japanese word meaning "small rodent with a lot of hair". /w3tcompact/icons/smile.gif or "Big buggy eyes like a Chiwawa but looks like a dust mop" /w3tcompact/icons/smile.gif /w3tcompact/icons/smile.gif or "Small yepping animal that humps couch pillows" /w3tcompact/icons/smile.gif /w3tcompact/icons/smile.gif /w3tcompact/icons/smile.gif Anyway, when I look deeply into our dog's eyes a see a mini ****zu. BUT when my wife looks deeply in our dog's eyes she sees Puppy Poo, Momma's Baby, Little Man, Pooman, Momma's Love, Sweetest Little, etc. It kills me!

I get revenge during the summer. I give him a good old fashion military hair cut. All that long flowing hair comes off. Plus, so we look more alike, I give him a big ol' bald spot on top of his head. Ticks my wife off every time!

 

[Billc]

Wingnut, don't even think you have the upper hand or have won. Oh, no my friend, this just isn't so. Don't fool yourself. Read and learn.

I have always wanted to build my own airplane. That has been my dream since I was a kid. 7 years ago we lived in a small house in a subdivision well below our means. I managed to save enough money to buy a kit airplane. My wife came to me and said, "You know, it would be smarter to first buy a small ranch in the country. That way we wouldn't have to board our horses out. It would save a bunch of money, but best of all, you could keep your airplane at a local country airfield and it wouldn't cost very much. You would be able to fly more because your plane would be so close to the house.

Made sense to me. We bought a place in the country. So I bought that airplane, right? Not a chance. At the time we had a Chevy 1500 stepside and a 2 horse bumper pull trailer. My wife found a much bigger all steel, 3 horse, bumper pull horse trailer with a tack room on the front. What Mamma wants Mamma gets.

So then I bought my airplane, right? No way! Turns out that the horse trailer we bought was so heavy the Chevy 1500 wouldn't pull it. The red head said we needed a bigger truck. What Mamma wants, Mamma gets. We bought a Dodge 3500 diesel.

Then I bought my airplane, right? Are you kidding? Do you think there was anyway we were going to pull around that old, nasty, steel, 3 horse, bumper pull trailer with our shiney new Dodge? No way, we had to buy a new aluminum 4 horse, slant load, with living quarters, goose neck trailer. After all, what Mamma wants, Mamma gets.

Then I bought my airplane, right? I mean we have our 5 acre little horse ranch that's just right, have our truck and trailer that's just right. I mean airplane time, right? Have you lost your mind? Do you not realize I'm dealing with a being of superior intelligents? She comes to me and says, "Honey, come take a drive with me to look at a house." We are real estate investors, we look at homes all the time. No alarms went off in my head. We drive and drive and drive some more, we're an hour north of our house when she pulls into a diveway and then up to the house. I'm thinking to myself, why did she bring me way out here, we would never invest in a piece of property so far out of our area. God, how dense I am. She said to me, "You know, Bill, I've been thinking, it's not fair for you not to have that kit airplane you've always wanted. So I think it would be smart to look at buying this place. That way you would have room to build a grass airstrip and just fly your airplane from here. It would be perfect for you........and you know what Mamma wants, Mamma gets.

Did I ever buy an airplane? Well sort of. My airplane is orange, has a brush cutter on the back, and a FEL on the front. BUT, late at night, when no one is looking, I can sit in the seat and make airplane sounds.

So Wingnut, don't think you have won the war, every man on this board is out witted before the game even begins. Have the new colorful horse blankets come in the mail yet??????

Bill Cook

 

[ddl]

Loved the post, had the other Professors read it here at work , all enjoyed the statement of fact. We all get to live out our dreams late at night, so are even legal.
Dan L

 

[gerard]

billc,
Does your wife have a long lost and here-to fore unknown sister?? I think she does and I'm married to her!! My tale mirrors yours only I got by with a 2horse new aluminum trailer and so only had to go for a 3/4 ton new dodge!! Flying is also on my life list of things to do but in the meantime my flights also consist of slow speeds on a large orange machine close to the ground!!

 

[dmccarty]

Billc,

Its been a long, tiring week and it ain't over with yet. Thankyou for the story.

Your story had me in stiches. I to understand your point all to well.

My dad told me a long time ago that, "A man chases a women until she catches the man!"

Me thinks this is very true.

I think you should setup a camera and take a self portrait of yourself sitting on your orange airplane with the big tires making airplane noises. Place it on the photo area. Maybe you could wear one of those pilot hats like Snoopy?

LOL!

Thanks for the mental image and laugh. I needed it this afternoon!
Dan McCarty

 

[Wingnut]

Bill,
Win? What's that? I always think it's cool just to occassionally come out even.
The horse have been stalled again the last 2 evening ... because "it's slippery and they'll fall and break a leg and then we'll spend another fortune on vet bills".
I know where you're coming from though! Although I'm somewhat luckier, from the sounds of it. My truck is actually her truck which was her daddies truck before he passed away ... and she is her daddies girl! It's an old '79 Ford F150 with some 85k on it (he didn't drive it much!). I've probably put 1/3 of the miles on it moving her stuff from Texas to Alberta and then down here to Michigan. I've done some minor engine work and had it repainted ... but she wants to keep it ... so I don't have to worry about a new truck. I wouldn't mind a 1-ton with a Cummins ... but can't even justify it to myself (not at $40k). I bought her an older trailer that needs some work ... which'll be fun for me and she gets to decide what gets modified and what color (to match the truck, naturally) ... so that won't cost much.
We've talked about building onto the house (which she chose) but she's the one that's been dragging her feet ... so ... I guess I'm lucky. I'm usually the one spending the money ... her puchases are usually space wasters but seldom money wasters (i.e. cheap).
But, like you ... what momma wants, mamma gets ... pool (indoor, heated) that is for water aerobics or aquasizing (and doesn't get used), hottub (outdoor, big, deluxe, heated) for relaxing thnose tired muscles (did I mention she's retired and I'm not?) ... but hey, the good times are good and the bad times are ... pretty good too ... so who can complain.
We're lucky they give us so many links on these chains anyway (or so she tells me).
Kit plane, huh. I wanted to do that back in Alberta ... thought my pasture would make a perfect strip ... but mamma wasn't impressed with that idea ... so I just rack up frequesnt flier points instead.
No blankets in the mail yet ... at least that I know of ... but she did trim her poodle so I expect to see a doggy sweater in the mail real soon now ...


too bad that common sense ain't