Liz Howell

Archive for the ‘The Horses’ Category

Well it has been a week yesterday since I started feeding Mariachi and all the other things that needed to be done to him.  He has not foundered, died or had a colic episode so I think we are on the road to recovery.  He is getting only slightly more feed than Sudden who is supposed to be on a diet as per the vet. (Sudden gets fat on air) I give him 1/2 scoop feed, 2 flakes of alfalfa and 1 flake of coastal two times per day. Extra coastal is given as needed plus I turn them out for a couple of hours a day to pick at what ever grass is left in the pasture.

I never did start Mariachi on antibiotics as I just felt that would have been too much on his system. His runny nose has left but his eye is still swollen. A lady named Rhonda that runs a local Horse rescue came over yesterday and said to just keep a fly mask on him and that it would probably clear up on its own. I have flushed it a couple of times this week with clear eyes.  I still have him on the daily wormer and the probiotics.

Today I moved my round pen panels up front and will let them graze a couple of hours up there. We don't have the front fenced so I will just move the panels around as needed. Here are a few pics, I do think mariachi has put on just a little bit of weight (might be my imagination though). Sudden really loves him and they get along perfectly which is really nice.  Check the pics and see what you think. If you click on the pictures it makes them larger.

Well Revy left and now I already have my next horse project.  He is a little Paso Fino about 10 years old that is skin and bones. He has a long shaggy coat, a runny nose and eye and cribs (which I did not know about until I brought him home). I was so excited to get him and give him a new home just to be shattered that he was a cribber. I contacted the previous owner to see if he would take him back (which I really did not want to do) but of course he denied knowing anything about the horse being a cribber so now I am stuck.

I considered putting him down but instead went ahead and purchased one of the Miracle Collars for him. It seems to control the problem although it kills me to have to put it on him as they have to be extremely tight to actually work.  If I am going to be able to get any weight on him though he is just going to have to wear it.  The problem with some cribbers is they will spend so much time hitting the wood and sucking air that they don't eat well and their food does not digest properly resulting in colic and weight loss.  Also they tend to develop a crusty neck, wear their teeth down and have multiples of other problems.  I don't care what the experts or my friends that own cribbers say, I do believe it is a vice that CAN be learned from other horses just like wood chewing and I certainly don't want Sudden to start doing it.

Here is my plan of attack with him:

1. Control the cribbing - Done with a Miracle Collar
2. Start him on Probios - Started yesterday will continue for the next couple of months. I am also considering Ulcer meds in the event there are any problems.
3. Worm him - Will do that today with Ivermectin to follow up in 2 weeks with another dose of  Zimectrin Gold.
4. Start him on Antibiotics - Will start that tomorrow if no problems are seen from the worming. Two weeks SMZ two times a day should fix the runny nose and eye. If not will have tested for allergies. Cleaned out eye with Clear Eyes.
5. Start Sand Prevention Treatment - Started yesterday will continue for 7 days as per instructions.
6. Turn out as much as possible during the day without the collar, unfortunately he will have to come up at night to the barn as I live in the Forest and am too afraid to leave them out at night.
7. Feed a good quality feed and hay - I am not so concerned about the feed but feel he needs the roughage so I have started him on alfalfa and coastal hay with only about 1 pound of Seminole Perform Safe two times daily.

Here are a few pics, his back bone and hip bones are protruding. He has what I imagine is a wormy stomach as you can see his ribs but his belly is big and his coat is long and shaggy. He has no muscle mass and even the fat that should be over his eyes is absent.  Poor guy has a lot wrong with him, crossing my fingers he pulls out of this ok.

Here it is only Tuesday and I feel like a week has already passed.  Sunday some folks from Venezuela came out to try Revy and see if she was suitable for sending back to their country. Revy in her normal slow self did very well for everyone even though no one had spurs on. I rode her and three men rode her and she did just fine. I kept offering spurs to them but they all refused. Anyway they bought her and she will be in her new foreign country in about 3 weeks or so. She is going to have to learn to speak Spanish though as I don't know if they know English riding terms or not. I was sad to see her go but at least now she will have a job and not be a pasture pet.  Sudden threw an absolute fit about her leaving and I felt so bad for her.

Revy went to the horse show 9-12-09 and this time actually got to show. She took two first and 3 seconds. I showed her in two halter classes and Audra showed her in three riding classes. I am glad Audra was riding her because twice she got so excited and bucked up a little. I have no doubt I would have come off but Audra rides so much that she just worked her right through it and kept on going. Thats the bad thing about babies ya just gotta keep riding and taking them places before they settle down and work properly. Unfortunately age and gravity have made that impossible for me to do anymore.

I don't know how Audra does it. She rode her mare to the high point English win, rode my horse in the show, went home and loaded up one of her other horses to take to the barrel race and Sunday is going on a trail ride with some friends.

Me, I am flat wore out and my feet are killing me today after all the cleaning and banding and walking and cleaning again that I had to do to Revy.  I swear she was laughing at me every time I would get her clean and she would go get dirty again. I had put a brand new maroon slinky on her the night before to help keep her bands down and hopefully keep her clean and much to my dismay the next morning I took it off and I had a pink horse with pink bands. I bathed her again the morning of the show to no avail, she was going in pink. One of the guys at the show asked me if I was trying to start a new fad, I just laughed and said "hadn't planned on it but guess so".

Here are some new pics of her, she really was a pretty good girl.

Well she didn't actually go in the show, but she was ridden among all the other riders and horses during the lunch break. She is doing very well with her training and Audra really likes her. She said she has been very easy to train and quick to learn.  She was excited being around all the other horses but did quite well, even when one horse stopped abruptly in front of her she just swerved and kept going. Here are a couple of pics that I took.

Zippy went to his new home on the 14th of January.  Its funny because the lady had come out to look at Kristy originally but I had sold her to someone else.  Later I emailed her about having Zippy for sale and she brought a man out to look at him.  Of course as things go he was lame, lame, lame when I brought him out of the stall.  I put him on Bute for a couple of days and called the farrier out.  He had abscesses in two feet the poor guy.  Anyways after a few weeks he was back on top and working well so I emailed her to see if her friend had bought a horse yet and if not that Zippy was 100 percent sound again.  She said her friend was in South Carolina and that she didnt know when he would be back but that she might be interested in him for herself.  Needless to say all worked out and he went home with her the next day. I don't know if she will keep him or sell him to her friend when he returns but either way I think Zippy will have a good home.

cya!

CIRCLE Y VINTAGE SHOW BRIDLE,BIT AND ROMMEL REINS,EXC.C    US $325.00

Custom COMAL Panther Canyon Western Show Saddle 15.5"    US $349.00

CIRCLE Y Leather Halter -ALPACA Silver/Brown- BEAUTIFUL    US $49.99

Well Kristy went to her new home Tuesday. It was hard for me to let her go but I feel confident that she will have a great show home. The daughter was a really good rider and will be showing her in 4-H and other shows. Kristy ought to do well for her and I wish them all the luck in the world.

cya!