horsegirl9

I apologize for all of the thrush questions I have been bombarding Y!A with, but I have just one more.

My horse has thrush and his deep central sulcus is extending up his heels, so it's very likely that the back of his pastern is going to be a bit purple because of the Thrush Buster I will be using to treat it.

However, I have a horse show this weekend, and I am wondering if I may be penalized if my horses lower leg is dyed purple! I will be showing in Showmanship, Hunt Seat Pleasure & Equitation, Western Pleasure and Horsemanship.

Thanks in advance for any input.

A few weeks back I noticed that my horse's whole frog seemed to be falling off both of his front feet. He wears shoes in front, and his sound with them on. His hooves are strong, though he does have a few cracks in his hind feet from dryness, which I am applying dressing to to help moisturize. I have noticed no black discharge or smell. What I have noticed, in addition to the frog falling off, is a deep central sulcus. It looks (as ashamed as I am to admit) this:

http://www.barefoothorse.com/fungus1.jpg

So here's what I don't understand is if this a fungal infection as barefoot supporters claim, or is it actually my horse's frogs "shedding"? If it is a fungal infection, how to I treat it? I can't go out to the barn more than four-five times a week, will treatment need to be more frequent than this?

Thanks in advance for any advice you can offer.

My horse's frog seems to be "shedding" on both of his front feet, according to what I have been finding on the internet. His entire frog is almost completely falling off in one piece, not flaking or chipping. A new frog seems to be growing underneath, and is the same color as the rest of his hoof. He wears shoes on his front feet, which are healthy with no cracks and excellent growth. Other than some mild thrush (fixed by applying coppertox 2-3 times) in the spring, he has had no other issues. With his front shoes, he is not sore, though I have noticed that since his frogs have been "shedding" he has been a bit more hesitant on the gravel drive, but fine in the arena. Is this normal?

I have a paint horse that I will be taking to a local show this weekend to show in Western Pleasure. My goal isn't to be competitive, as this is our first show, but rather to just gain experience. I've never cut a mane before, and I'm so scared I will mess it up! If I wait a week or so, my riding instructor can help me. Does his mane NEED to be cut?

So I am wearing a helmet in western pleasure, no questions asked. I will have chocolate-colored chaps and a chocolate color shirt with a dark blue/cream pattern on the front of the shirt.My question is, should I wear a Troxel Sierra that will match my chaps or more of a velvet hunt helmet? Which one would look better?

My horse has a healthy coat and hooves, however, summer is coming where I am. And, because he is a pasture boarded western/hunt pleasure horse, I am worried he will bleach out too much. I want him to stay outside 24/7 because that's where he is happiest and healthiest.

So instead, I was hoping to find a coat supplement that is inexpensive (less than $1.00/day), yet a high quality supplement that will 1) help maintain my horse's coat color (buckskin) and 2) keep his coat shiny and prevent the sun from "dulling" it.

If anybody has any recommendations, I'd love to hear them!

My horse just moved to his new home, and although he is settling in well, he has lost a bit of weight. Right now, he gets lots of hay, and is on a special type of... supplement. It contains all the vitamins and minerals he needs, plus around 20% protein.

However, this isn't enough, and he does need to gain a bit of weight. However, I don't want him to get hot either. He is worked 2-3 times a week for about 1 hour of walk/trot/canter. I'm not working on conditioning, just giving him a tune up. So really, he doesn't need much energy, just weight.

Any suggestions on what type of feed I could give him?

I mean, if you are lunging him, and you want him to "whoa", do you train him to come to you or stop and have you come to him and WHY? I'm just curious! I've heard of both methods, and want to know the argument behind the two!

Okay, so I just purchased my new horse. He's great, the only problem is, he wears a blanket, which I have never had to put on a horse before (at my old barn all horses were stall boarded and none of my lease horses needed one)!! So, here is what I understand:

To put the blanket on, I hook the front chest straps. Then, I crisscross the two (or three) belly straps, however, I think my horses blanket only has one. The last part is where I get confused. If I understand correctly, this horse blanket has only one flank/leg strap. The old owner had that strap fastened so that it went between the horses legs. Is this correct? If I understand correctly, this strap should go underneath the horse around the flank area. If this is true, how tight should it be? If not, where does it go?

Thanks everyone!

Here is the ad: http://minneapolis.craigslist.org/wsh/grd/26373820...

The photo in the bottom left corner is when she was a yearling, so that should give you an idea of how big she would have been when she was broke.

So, based on what has been said, do you think being ridden at 2 years old could harm her health? Or do you think that she should be all right? If I go and see her, I intend to get a pre-purchase vet exam done, I just would prefer not to waste the $175 to do that, if a majority of you think she will be unsound. I understand that it is very difficult to know, and there are a lot of determining factors, but what do you think?

Finally after six years of leasing, lessons, and participating in 4H, my family is looking into buying a horse! I went to try one out, and he meets all the criteria. Calm, 10 years old, trained in pleasure, good confo, great price, etc. The vet has told me not to get my heart set on this horse, because there is a chance that he won't pass the vet check and I am trying very, very hard because I understand that I need an unbiased mind-set... but whenever I think of the upcoming vet check I start getting very nervous!

So, I'm wondering, how often do horses fail their vet check? By failing I mean having a significant issue (arthritis, lameness, eye/skin/muscle disease, etc) that will harm their usefulness. Obviously I can't get an exact answer, but just a general idea would be great!

Thanks everyone.

Just curious, do detectives ever have non-detective partners, or is that just Hollywood? For example, in Bones there's an FBI agent and a forensic anthropologist. Or in Castle, there's an NYPD Detective and a writer (although he really doesn't count as a partner).

Criminal psycology facinates me, and the idea of why people decide to do what they do (ie. Why does Jonny murder suzie? Mental issue? To justify? Emotions?) and why society says its inncorrect. I also like the idea of using reccords and research to track. For example, my friend wanted to track down her horse's origional owners. Lots of dead ends she was explaining, and I immediatly had a list of different ideas, and the drive to try them out. I can handle guts and gore fairly well, I don't break down sobbing when I hear some terrible murder on the news, I bear through it and tough it out. However, there isnt a doubt in my mind that I am not meant to be a police officer. I am not strong willed nor brave, but rather cautious, quiet, and have a strong flight instinct. When I get scared, I flee. I enjoy CAstle particualrily, because like I said, criminal phycology facinates me, and Castle has the oddest cases... plus its just a funny, relaxing show! Of course, I understand that the job isnt nearly as glamourous, nor is the show near realistic.

What's it like being a detective? How does it differ from Hollywood? Can I be a detective and never be a cop?

http://www.longridersgear.com/catalog/images/Leade...

Is it the clip on the left or right?

I am taking a horse that I have been leasing for the past 2 weeks to our first show tomorrow. My instructor and the horse's owner are both out of town (Horse show out of state), but they both feel that I am able to handle the horse and keep him safe. I have the horse's regular vet clinic's phone number (and his normal vet's name), plus there is a vet at the show. I also have the owner, my instructor, and the owner's close and trusted trainer/boarding facility manager/friend's phone number (she will also be at the first half of the show) in the trailer along with my cell phone and the horse's coggins, breed registration, and show registration (you had to register in advance) papers in the trailer. I am trying to get the farriers phone number as well. Are there any other numbers/papers I should have with me?

Also, if you were leasing your horse out, and you were out of state while the leasee was at a show and some emergency presented itself, would you want the leasee to contact you or the vet/farrier first if the existing agreement was that the leasee would pay all vet bills? I already have an answer from my instructor and the horses owner, I was just curious what you thought...

Well, I've been leasing this horse for... five days? now, and he's a dream to work with! He's sweet, well trained, athletic, consistent and has a personality. My instructor is out of town, so it's really just me and him trying to get acquainted with each other.

Yesterday, he wouldn't trot for me. However, he wasn't being defiant or snotty. There were no pinned ears, tail swishing, nothing. In the past days, he has does what I ask, and he ALWAYS has an ear on me. He is always anticipating what I might ask next, and really likes having his job. There was no head bobbing, swelling, or heat in his feet, but I also noticed he wouldn't pick up his hind feet for me. With his front feet, he's a dream! With the hind, I can't pick them up! Again, there's no ear pinning, swishing tail, or threatening. He appears very pleasant and relaxed.

The farrier is coming out Friday. The owner did say that his feet were a bit tender, so she wants to get some front shoes on him. However, he moves fine. I lunge him five minutes in each direction at a walk to warm up, then tack him up and walk for another 5 minutes around the arena, with no signs of discomfort.

He has been sitting in the pasture all winter, but I'm not working him hard at all. The past five days I've ridden him at a walk and a little bit of trot for maybe 40 minutes. However, when I am done riding him, he doesn't sweat that much, so it's not like he's exhausted.

So, based on the novel I just wrote, do you think his feet could be sore? Could that be causing these problems?? I leave for the barn in 10-15 minutes, should I just lunge him today? Or maybe give him the day off, and just hand graze him and lead him around for a bit?

Any advise is appreciated!

So, I'm not a GREAT rider, but I'm decent. I sit up straight with my heels down, I have a good seat, I know walk, trot, canter, posting, backing, side-passing, pivoting, handling a spooking horse, handling a lazy horse, all that stuff.

But when I go to try out a horse to lease, you could NEVER tell. It's not that I don't know how, it's that I'm scared the horse is going to explode on me. That causes me to be worried about being too rough with the horse, which I know the owner wont like. So, instead, I don't get after the horse enough for being naughty, and I look like a bad rider who doesn't know what they're doing! I do make progress, and I try hard and take all the advice the owner gives me.

Would this annoy you if I went to try out your horse? Or would you understand that I am trying hard, and be willing to give me a chance? I know a lot depends on the situation, but would the fact that I displayed some riding ability and the willingness to learn be enough for you? Also, any tips on how to handle my nerves?

Thanks!

Do you need to use a saddle pad when riding English?

For showing, which design is better, rectangular or shaped to the saddle? What about working at home?

http://www.rocklynpaints.com/Bailey%20&%20Satin%20...

OR

http://www.pixelsaway.com/art-pix/saddle-2.jpg

Also, I recently won a saddle pad that is white on one side and has a horse design on the other. Which side should I use? It is rectangular in shape, but if I used the white side, could I use it in open and 4H shows?

Thanks!

I've searched and searched but can't find an answer! I know it varies from case to case, but how serious is a hoof abscess?

Can it affect a horse throughout his life, soundness wise?

Thanks!

I might lease a horse or board a horse that I might lease at this stable:

http://www.ridesportstables.com/home

1) Now because I'm feeling creative, what do you think? I actually went to see it today, and really liked it. It was a good size- not huge nor tiny- and had huge pastures for the horses, safe fencing (wood only or electric tape/synthetic material and wood), large indoor and outdoor arenas, and targeted my disciplines (hunt and western pleasure).

2) It feeds round bales. Some people say this is bad, and others are fine with it. I know they can get moldy/dusty, and that's not great. Is a bit of mold/dust terrible for a horses health? Are most round bales like that? Or are there nice quality round bales out there? I kind of know how to evaluate hay... but what are signs of bad hay? Heavy, black, smelly, dusty, white spots, and wet, right?

3) The grain they feed is a mix of oats, a bit of corn, and pellets. The person giving me the tour (boarder whose horse doesn't need the grain) didn't know what it was, but knew it wasn't sweet feed. Was this a pelleted mix? Or... um... any ideas?

Thanks everyone!

I am considering boarding at this barn. It is in good condition, reasonably priced, and near my home. However, I am unsure of the price of the lessons. Western pleasure and hunt seat is very popular in my area, so it's not like this is the ONLY barn where I could get lessons. Anyways, I know it depends a lot on the ability of the instructor, but would you agree to pay for these lessons? Thanks in advance!

Lessons are 45 minutes long.

Prices:

Private: $55.00

Semi-Private (2 people): $45.00 per person

Group (3-4 people): $35.00 per person

$5 off per lesson for use of your own horse. Monthly horse leases are also sometimes available; please call Sara for more information.

NOTE: A favor of cancellation notification is requested as early as possible. We have a 24 hour cancellation policy: If notified less than 24 hours, a $25 rescheduling fee will be applied to the cost of the next lesson.

COLD WEATHER: If temperature is forecasted to be 10 degrees or less within 24 hours of your schedule lesson, please call ahead to confirm if lessons will take place or if they will move to a different time. During very cold weather spells, do not assume lessons will be canceled or that they will occur; we’ll need to assess each situation (indoor arena temperature, horse health, etc.) on a case by case basis. Failure to show as a result of not confirming will result in assessment of the cancellation fee.