kazzee

Hello, everyone. When I drive my Arab, the surcingle slips back quite a bit, even when I tighten it as much as possible. It slips back so far that the cart-shaft position is compromised. I've devised a way to keep it from slipping back, and I want to make sure there's no harm in it.

I have strapped the surcingle (with a strap passing through the turret and around the surcingle itself) to the ring in the hanger of the breastplate where the two straps split off. To prevent the breastplate from slipping up, I have passed a strap between the front legs, attaching the breastplate to the "girth" of the surcingle.

So, just to make sure, is there any harm in this addition? It seems to work really well to keep the harness and cart in position.

Please only answer if you have experience driving.

Hey everyone, I have a question that i've been thinking about a lot lately. I have three horses: an OTTB, a QH/Paint, and an Arab. The TB has had some tail issues with cut off circulation; as a result, she's got quite the rat tail (long and thin). My Arab's tail is getting much better; it's shorter because his Mini friend gnawed it off at the rescue before we got him a year ago, but it's thick and VERY nice. The QH's tail is gorgeous, but he likes to get it caught in things and rip it out, prompting this question. What do you do with your horses' tails in the winter?

I would like to take some preventative measures to help their tails stay nice this winter. I would only do something with the QH and TB's, as my Arab's is too short to really worry about, but I'm not exactly sure what; I've considered braiding them, but if the tail were to get caught on something, a bigger chunk would come out than if it were loose. I was thinking about something along the lines of a mud knot; I think I recall seeing something like this in one of my monthly horse magazine, but with a strip of gauzy fabric incorporated as well. Any ideas?

I have an OTTB who never grows much of a coat, and as a result, must be blanketed when the temperature falls below freezing. Yesterday her regular, mid- to heavy-weight blanket got wet from being out in the rain, so I had to put her lighter-weight blanket on. Tonight it is supposed to get down to the single digits with the wind chill well below zero so I'm hoping her regular blanket is dry... But anyway, I've been thinking about this for a bit and just want some others' opinions. Would she benefit from a cooler under her turnout blanket when it's cold and windy? I know coolers don't retain body heat, but instead wick it away from the body, but I thought it may offer a bit of protection from strong winds that would otherwise blow up under her blanket. Just a thought. Thanks for your answers.

To start off, a bit of information: I am sixteen, have been in horses since I was seven, and have a surfeit of experience in training. I purchased an OTTB in February of last year; she was always stalled and had horrible manners. I've almost finished her in the training perspective and her manners have greatly improved.

My parents, who are very much so inexperienced, believed that I should have allowed her to disrespect, attempt to bite, and bully me in the stall. When I would try to explain to them that this behavior should not be tolerated, they decided that they knew more about the issue than I and refused to allow me to continue my training with her.

Now, my methods are far from harsh. My horses are out 24/7 on pasture. At feeding time, I would go into my mare’s stall, where I would expect her to step back from her grain; I decided this was safest because she was intensely protective of her grain and it's just better to remove the temptation. If she refused to move away, I would use my body language to force her back. Just two steps back respectfully and she would be free to eat. This was simply unacceptable to my father; he believes to this day that a horse should be allowed to conduct themselves however they wish to in their stall.

The other part of my demand for respect is for her to refrain from trying to run me over when allowed out her stall. When I open the gate for her to go back into the pasture, I would use my body language to keep her in her stall until she stands quietly. Again, this simply was not acceptable by my father.

Wow, that was a long rant. Now, to the actual question: what are your opinions on manners in the stall? Do you allow your horses to have that as their “sanctuary” or “bedroom,” if you will? Or do you continue to demand respect while in the stall?

Hey everyone. I have a seven-year-old OTTB that I bought as my Hunter prospect. She is doing phenomenally, but she has horrible feet; her walls and soles are thin and weak, and she has no heel. She's on a hoof supplement and the hoof walls are becoming stronger. We had her in wedge shoes with pads to build up her heel temporarily until she could start growing it herself and it was really working; the angle of her hoof wall was changing for the better and all was looking promising.

However, she constantly pulls her shoes. And I mean constantly. Our farrier is out here at least once a week. Because of this, we put her back in her flat shoes because she didn't pull those quite as often. My county fair is coming up, though, and her feet are deteriorating, so we are putting her back in the wedge shoes next week. She wears rubber bell boots at all times when in the wedges, and I use my nice, thick Professional's Choice bells boots when riding. But she keeps pulling them. She pulls them in the rubber boots, in the nice canvas boots, and without boots at all. I am simply at a loss. She MUST be in the wedge shoes to get her feet up to par. Vet's orders. I don't want to have to keep calling my farrier out here to put her shoes back on; he once had to come out twice in a single day. I just don't really know of any other options.

Any ideas? Thanks!

Hello everyone, along with many others out there, I'm sure, I have a *cough cough* pleasantly plump horse. He is a rescued Arabian with some pony blood in there somewhere, and he really isn't all that overweight, but he is so small that it really looks it. He is out 24/7 with my other horses and does not get a lot of riding time, as my schedule is packed (a 4.0 GPA won't keep itself up) and my greenies are my priority. I need to get him slimmed down before the season starts because he is 14.2 and I am 5'10" (but only 130 lbs, so he can carry me very easily), so I need him to be of a little better weight.

I have decided to get a grazing muzzle for him, but I am unsure on the size. He wears a cob-sized halter, but it is on the last holes. The cob halters are almost too small and the horse halters are too big. He has the face of an Arabian but lacks the refined, delicate muzzle. I am anxious to get the horse size, because they seem to run big, but I don't want to end up with a muzzle that it too small. I am purchasing this muzzle, as I have heard great things about it, and I do not want to invest in an expensive muzzle because he won't be wearing it too much.

http://www.horse.com/Grazing-Muzzle-with-Halter-BR...

I am probably going to order the "Arabian/Yearling" size, but I was wondering: has anyone had any experience with an inbetween-sized horse in need of a grazing muzzle? Thank you, and sorry for the length! :]

Hello everyone, I have a sort of random out-there question. I am sixteen and on my 4-H Horse Bowl team (we're the state champions in the senior division), and I know from our mad domination skills that soybean meal is the most economical protein supplement, as it has the lowest price per unit of energy. My TB is a very hard keeper, so we have her on a half cup of corn oil twice daily, and this does an adequate job in keeping her weight up; I was wondering, however, if soybean oil could be used as well. Does anyone have any experience with this? I am currently doing some research on the topic but I am so swamped with my insanely busy schedule (all A's in honors courses and a 4.0 GPA won't keep themselves up) that I just wanted to get this going while I did so. Any information would be greatly appreciated. Thank you so much!

My little boy (lol my Arabian) somehow lacerated his coronet band. It's not really serious, just some skin torn from the hoof. I am totally clueless as to how he did this; all I know is that it is a pain in the butt to keep clean in the mud. When i first saw it, the temperature was so cold that it would only cause the wound to freeze if I soaked it, causing more harm than good. Two days after he cut it the temperature got warmer so i soaked it in warm water to loosen the scabs and mud, soaked it in povidone-iodide solution to kill bacteria, and wrapped it all up in vetwrap. It stayed on... for all of maybe three hours. The mud saturated the wrap, causing it to stretch, tear, and ride up onto his fetlock. Because of the location, I no longer can wrap just the coronet and I also cannot do a poultice of sorts because he just walks right through it because of the mud. I cannot keep soaking his foot every time he gets dirty but I really don't have a choice as of now to help it heal well. So does anyone have any tips to help me keep him clean and help the injury heal? I am currently retrying the wrapping but nothing I have tried has worked. Thank you!

It's not even spring yet and already pastures are mud-swamped! I'm sure horse owners dread the coming of spring because of that nasty stuff... :] Anyways, I have a mud problem. Our gate opening to our pasture is swamped. My three horses have to walk through fairly deep mud (not a huge deal for my boys but for my mare it is... I'll explain in a minute) to get into the paddock, and therefore their water. The reason it is a big deal for my mare is that she has a problem about pulling her shoes. We have bell boots on her and those have helped but she still manages to pull them off. Her hoof walls do not hold shoes very well and the mud likes to suck them off. So I was thinking about how to help resolve (or at least help a bit) the mud problem. I was thinking about pulling a few bales of straw down but then I got to thinking... Bricks can be made out of wheat and/or straw, animal dung and mud, so wouldn't the ground turn to one huge brick? Does anyone have any experience with using straw for mud control? And if not, what do you use, if anything? Thanks!

Hello everyone, I have a six-year-old Arabian gelding that I adopted from the horse rescue. We have quite the success story, but long story short: he came to me skinny and untrained and now he's pleasantly plump and very well trained. I originally thought that he would be fine without a winter blanket because his coat was like an otter's: dense but not necessarily real "poofy". But I discovered that his coat is not very repellent of water, so snow melts on his back and freezes, making him shiver. I blanket both of my boys when it gets below fifteen degrees because the Arab is fine with cold; it's just the snow that gets him. I have been putting the only blanket I have that isn't being worn: a size 78" waterproof 300 gram polyfill blanket. It fits him alright... he's a size 72" so it is too long for him and it is too loose around the shoulders, but it doesn't cause him any problems. However, being that he is staying with us for life now (we just legally adopted him), I would like to get him his own blanket. I am looking for a waterproof heavy weight (200-300 gram polyfill) blanket under $100 made for narrow horses with a considerable drop length (to cover his plumpness).

So, my question is... Does anyone know of a reasonably priced blanket that would be suitable for a Arab?

Sorry for the length... I like to be thorough...

Thanks in advance! :]

hey everyone, i have a problem. i recently bought a TB mare after doing a full vet and farrier exam; the works. she passed with no problems, and we haven't had a problem with her until about a week ago. i was picking through her tail when i noticed that the tip of her dock was swollen, raw, and the hair was peeling off, along with the skin. i called the former owners and they admitted that there was an incident with a tail bag that was improperly put on and that had cut off circulation for about two weeks. they apologized for not telling us but they weren't aware that the effects were as bad as they are. as of now, all of the hair has come out from the tip of the dock, leaving the skin raw and scabby. she seems sensitive, and rightly so, and i've been applying antibiotic ointment and the like to it. i will be contacting my vet if she does improve in the near future. so my question is: can i expect any hair regrowth in the future, and if so, is there anything that i can do to help the process of regrowth? thanks everyone!

Oh boy, here I am asking yet another question regarding names... Anyway, I have recently bought a bay gelding, who I have named Jake. I was wondering if anyone had any good show names? We don't have his papers to use his registered name, or I would use it. I have been thinking about it alot, but I cannot come up with anything at all. I will be using him next season for Western Riding, a little reining, and the drill team. He is a QH/Paint cross, with no markings except for a small star. Any suggestions? Thanks! :)

I cannot believe I am asking this question; when I signed up for Y!A, I said I would never ask a question regarding names for my horses...but here I am. Anyways, I just recently bought a 7yo 15.2hh bay QH/paint gelding named Jet. I don't like his name in the least (no offence to those who have horses named Jet), so I would like to change it. The problem is, my family and I cant agree on a name! I am running out of ideas. So, consequently, I am turning the brainstorming over to the good people of Y!A. I am asking for barn names, not show names, please! :) Thanks so much!

i have a horse that has some joint problems, and has recently tore the lateral cartilage in his stifle. he's really sore and depressed right now, and i have been giving him bran mashes about once to twice a week to perk him up and make him feel special. he tends to eat anything that i put in there, so i was wondering if there are any additives that i can put in to help with his pain.

i'm currently using:

half of his usual gran ration and that much bran

molasses and honey drizzled over the top

a tiny bit of peppermint extract

table salt to keep him drinking

powdered electrolytes

sliced carrots and apples

a few horse cookies on top =]

he is currently on MSM and glucosamine supplements, and on pain medication.

So me questions are:

-what kind of ingredients do you use in your mashes that may have different flavors for variety?

-are there any NATURAL ingredients that i can add to help with his pain?

I've posted this question before, but i'm posting it again for some new ideas or expansions on previous answers. if you've answered my other one, you dont need to answer again with the same info. thanks in advance! =]

i have a bit of a problem. my QH and TB have front shoes on, but my 5yo Arabian is barefoot, just because of the fact that he is an Arab and i dont work him in anything but sand and grass. all three are always stomping their feet at flies (you know fly sprays, they never work for more than a few minutes), and my Arab is really wearing his front hooves down at the toe to the point where his hooves look almost square. I really dont want to have to put shoes on him, but i will if i have to. I'm probably going to put him on a hoof supplement, but i was wondering if there are any generic product or oils that you can add to thier feed for stronger hooves (like corn or veggie oil for coat and weight). ((MORE BELOW))

hello everyone, i have a bit of a problem. my QH and TB have front shoes on, but my 5yo Arabian is barefoot, just because of the fact that he is an Arab and i dont work him in anything but sand and grass. all three are always stomping their feet at flies (you know fly sprays, they never work for more than a few minutes), and my Arab is really wearing his front hooves down at the toe. I really dont want to have to put shoes on him, but i will if i have to. I'm going to put him on a hoof supplement, but i was wondering if there are any generic product or oils that you can add to thier feed for stronger hooves (like corn or veggie oil for coat and weight). and if you dont know of anything, advice on which supplement works best to make hooves stronger would be appreciated. again, i will put shoes on him if it comes down to it.

Secondly, has anyone made any homemade fly sprays that have worked well? it'd be nice to have a cheap alternative to the commercial sprays. Thanks alot!

as i said, this isnt really a question, but i'd like to hear your ideas. i had an idea the other day at the barn when it was really windy and my baseball cap kept flying up. i took the hair tie out of my hair (the really long rubber band kind used to keep your bangs out of your eyes) and put it around my neck, under my ponytail in the back, and over the bill of the hat. it doesnt go flying anymore, and it doesnt really bother me that its there. another one of my ideas came to me when i lost my lunge whip a while back. i usually dont need one but my new horse needed it. i took a length of baling twine (love the stuff) and tied it to the end of my riding crop that i never use. (i didnt lose that, thank goodness!) it cracks just like a whip, has the same effect, and is easier to fit into a trailer or tack box. so my question is, what are your little ideas? i'm interested in hearing what people come up with to make life with horses easier! =)

I took my gelding out running the other day bareback and bridleless, and it's always exhilirating, even though i go out running quite often. i know many people say "thats not safe" but it trained my gelding myself, start to finish, and we're grand champs in English ever year in my county fair(i'm 15). i know every hair on his body, and i trust him with my life. so my question is, how many of you horse people love riding bareback as much as i do? =)