Leesha Heywood

My little mare is a very slight Thoroughbred/QH cross, standing 15hh, maybe 15.1hh if she stood on her tiptoes. I'm 5'8 (close to 5'9) but done growing. Do I look silly on her? Or fine?

Link to her picture (me on her):

http://i50.tinypic.com/2zox09i.jpg

I would love to go to some shows for both basic English and Western riding. I'm 5'8, 150lbs and built very strong. What size of horse would be suitable? I have a 15hh small built little mare and with her I am right at (with my heavy western saddle) her 20% mark but my feet hang a little below her belly, and as a result everyone thinks I am too big to show her in the English classes and do well. To do well how large of a horse do I need?

I got this kitten a little while ago when it was wild. Now it is tame and ready to be rehomed. But I can't exactly tell if it is male or female?! This is the picture of the kitten, named Ash.

http://i49.tinypic.com/29ykzlv.jpg

This little kitten and his/her mom have been hanging around my house for close to a week. Two days ago the mom got hit and killed on the road out front of the house. So yesterday I put out a trap with some food in it and caught the kitten. He's so alone and between 4-6weeks old. Currently I have him in a large dog cage with his litter, food and water. Whenever I go near him he scoots to the back of the cage and starts hissing like crazy at me and growling. I want to get him tame enough so he can go to the vets, get fixed, and eventually be incorporated into running around my house. But I have no clue what to do with him/her. Should I be picking him up (I'm quite confident that he will bite me) or should I just keep sitting by him and talking to him? Really need advice to help him!

We have a boader who has been here over 2 years now and has caused nothing but problems. He’s always late paying his board- if he pays at all. It has now got up to the point of over 3mnths of unpaid board. At the first week of last month we gave him an official notice saying that if he did not pay he has until June 8th to get out. He is being argumentative and is pretty much refusing to leave. He has no money at all and drives a tractor over to our farm now because he lost his house and can not afford car insurance or fix his broken down truck. He has two horses here- a 14 year old QH mare and her yearling filly. Now we like the filly and would take her in trade for the amount owed. Under the inkeeper’s act we have an automatic lean on both horses. Can we keep the filly and kick him and his older mare out to go wherever for amount owed under the inkeeper’s act. How long does he get after being evicted to pay the amount owed before we retain full ownership of the filly and he can not get her back no matter what? We like the filly, we were there for her birth and the owner let us name her. She’s just a sweetie.

Another stable in this area has also used the inkeeper’s act before to seize a horse. The owner who was evicted tried to come back in the middle of the night to get the horse back and the police were called out. They stood by the inkeeper’s act and said that the owner owed the barn manager the money, and that she could not have her horse back unless she paid it. She did not come back again and the barn owner gained ownership of the horse, kept her for a year to use her for his riding lesson program, and then later sold her.

So what do we have to do to keep this filly from leaving? He doesn’t have enough money for one horse, let alone two and we want this filly for payment and to keep and raise as our own. Thanks.

We’ve had a person here for 1yr ½ now and it has been a constant struggle trying to get money out of him. He’d get his bill up to $1000 and then try to bully his way to get it down with my husband and myself. Then eventually would pay because we were going to take his horses and sell the filly (a purebred QH) at public auction. Now he’s got it back up to $700 again and has no intentions of paying. He’s been kicked out of his house for not paying, lost his car, and now just drives his ancient tractor and lives in an old broken down trailer behind a friends house. He has NO money, yet he insists on keeping his two horses even when their care is going down the drain. He still feeds them, but their stalls don’t have enough straw to soak up the urine and it stinks in there. Also his filly (who is a yearling) had the same halter on since she was 4 months and it was cutting into her face so much that she now has permanent scars (she has a new halter now as WE bought her a new one, as a gift for her birthday, because we felt bad for her). His mare has extremely long hooves and is toed in as it is, so she is almost walking on the sides of her feet. And he refuses to get a job- even though there is one with open positions within 5 minutes walking from him.

We want to get him out NOW, but how much notice do we have to give him. We want him out by two weeks since he has been told by eviction letter, but he says we have to give him at least a month- is this true? I read on the inkeepers act that we can announce a public auction and have a lein on the horses in one week, but it says nothing about evicting him.

We are in Ontario, Canada.

I've had 5 horses now, and 3 times have experienced colic with my own horses. I have also experienced it with other people who board their horses at our farm. One colicked for an unknown reason, about a month after we brought him home. We walked him for 20 minutes, and gave him a shot of bute to relax him. He was fine within the hour and starting acting like his normal self again. My old horse that I have had for 7yrs colicked for the first time, and I was around him so I noticed the symptoms (light sweating, nipping at his stomach, and threatening to lie down) right away. I got him walking and gave him mineral oil right away. He got better quick. The other time was the first time I had ever experienced colic, with my then 24yr old QH/Arab named Dancer. My grandfather (worked with horses for 50+ yrs at the time) and my Dad said that my little guy would be fine, and we proceeded walking him. After about 30mins. it was apparent he was not getting better, if anything he was getting worse. He was beginning to pull on the lunge line, and tried to lie down even with my dad flicking the lunge whip to get him up. He had been turned out on dewy grass before leaving for school, which we were assured would be fine, since all the racehorses on the farm had never had a problem being out early on dewy grass, so we figured he'd be all good. When the vet finally came out (2hrs after colic was noticed), Dancer was lethargic. The vet took one look at him and said in his normal grumpy character to put him down right then in there. We refused, and he went on with the checkup. We wanted to see if there was a way to save my pony first. The vet went through the motions, listening to gut sounds, and sticking his arm in him to feel for impactions. There was none of either, and the vet attending determined he must have a twisted gut, with the only way to help him being surgery that would cost $10 000. When he asked how old he was (because we wanted to proceed, no matter the cost) and we told him that he was 24, he gave him a 40% chance of survival if he went through with the surgery. My mom took me to the house, and went back to the barn to discuss what they were going to do with my dad. In the end, they decided to put him down, and they didn't want me to be there. I couldn't see him afterward, either, as they buried him the next day without allowing me out of the house. :(

Another mare (not owned by me, but a boarder) colicked a total of three times in less than a month and a half. This (we figured) was due to her owner not turning her outside enough (he had not turned her out for weeks before the first colic, and up until the last colic. Guy is a complete quack). I walked her all three times while one of my parents ran off to call the owner, or (if they could not get a hold of him due to no minutes on his phone!) go to his house to get him. One time the mare had such shooting pain that she kept shooting foreward and rearing. She almost landed on top of me.

Have you ever experienced a stressful colic with a horse you own/ know? Has any of them ever died from colic?

I know I miss my little boy Dancer everyday. He died in October 2008. RIP boy.

I've been offered this free green broke pony that is 10yrs old and between 12.3-13hh (I never measured her, but she is only a tiny bit bigger than the other pony on the farm, which is 12.1hh). This pony is stocky, but so is the 12.1hh pony, and when I sat on him my feet were less than one foot from the ground! My current horses are 15.1hh and 16hh. I am 5'8 (closer to 5'9) and 150 pounds. My saddle weighs around 30 pounds (it is a big western saddle). Am I too big to ride this pony height wise and weight wise? Also, she has foundered in the past so can sometimes have tender hooves, so I don't want to cause her undue stress and possibly pain, which is why I have no pictures of me on her- I want to know if you guys think it is safe for me to ride her.

This is the pony, Ruby.

http://i47.tinypic.com/6itniw.jpg

For reference, this is me on my 15.1hh horse, Kalypso.

http://i50.tinypic.com/2zox09i.jpg

A boarder at my farm has offered to give me his little welsh X Appaloosa Pony for free. She is an easy keeper, stays fat on grass, and stands only 13hh. She is 'green broke' but has had a rider on her, she was actually rode down the street from the farm she was at to my farm by her current owner. But the thing is I am 5'8 and 150lbs, where as her current rider is around 5'4 maybe 110lbs. I am done growing and keep in shape. But am I too big for this pony? Is she good enough in conformation wise (in your opinion) that I should go for her? She is 10yrs old also. She is currently out with my other mare most of the day, and they get along really well. Both of my other horses stand at 15.1hh, and 16hh. I ride western and would love to do a little bit of games on this pony as well as potentially ride her english over small jumps.

http://i47.tinypic.com/6itniw.jpg

This is my mare Kalypso in the picture below, and is probably the best picture I have that shows her true colour (most pictures turn out too dark or light to make a fair judgement). People have told me she's bay, brown, seal bay, liver chestnut, faded black, etc. I really want to know your opinions on what colour she truly is! She is a 14yr old Appendix mare (note the grey on her butt in the picture is just dust). In the winter she is almost a black colour with a hint of red and a brown muzzle and brown rings around both of her eyes. She's really cute- but what colour is she?!

http://i49.tinypic.com/5dv2o0.jpg

I have a 14 year old mare that rears *only* when being led. When she is being rode she is a perfect little angel. Most of the time when I walk her she is good, but it is when I go to bring her in from the paddock that she becomes a horror. She will bolt forward, spin, and then rear at me. But she does not strike out (luckily) but it is a high rear (all the way up). Yesterday she did this and I had to let go of her lead and back up a couple steps to avoid getting hit by her hooves. When she came down she started nibbling on the grass! So I grabbed the lead and gave her a small whack, and then walked her to the barn without another problem. I have dealt with another horse that used to rear, but he only reared when you went to turn him into the paddock, at the gate since he had learned bad manners from his old owner. I broke him of that by join up (since he reared out of fear due to the sound of the lead chain being taken off frightened him and he did not like his face being touched), but my mare is another issue. She is not scared but defiant. I talked to a girl (after I got her) that used to work on the farm where I got her from and she said that she used to rear all the time when taken from the paddock (even though she comes to the gate right away to come in!). She is leaving no buddies behind in the paddock so it is not that. I have joined up with her and she loves me, will chase after me and play tag and I have also tried making her work on a lunge for a while after she rears so she will associate rearing with work but it is not working! Help!!!

Ps. I can not crack an egg over her head when she rears up because she is 15.1hh tall and she rears at her full height!

I have a 14 year old mare that rears *only* when being led. When she is being rode she is a perfect little angel. Most of the time when I walk her she is good, but it is when I go to bring her in from the paddock that she becomes a horror. She will bolt forward, spin, and then rear at me. But she does not strike out (luckily) but it is a high rear (all the way up). Yesterday she did this and I had to let go of her lead and back up a couple steps to avoid getting hit by her hooves. When she came down she started nibbling on the grass! So I grabbed the lead and gave her a small whack, and then walked her to the barn without another problem. I have dealt with another horse that used to rear, but he only reared when you went to turn him into the paddock, at the gate since he had learned bad manners from his old owner. I broke him of that by join up (since he reared out of fear due to the sound of the lead chain being taken off frightened him and he did not like his face being touched), but my mare is another issue. She is not scared but defiant. I talked to a girl (after I got her) that used to work on the farm where I got her from and she said that she used to rear all the time when taken from the paddock (even though she comes to the gate right away to come in!). She is leaving no buddies behind in the paddock so it is not that. I have joined up with her and she loves me, will chase after me and play tag and I have also tried making her work on a lunge for a while after she rears so she will associate rearing with work but it is not working! Help!!!

Ps. I can not crack an egg over her head when she rears up because she is 15.1hh tall and she rears at her full height!

I've been on many horse websites and horses I would dub "brown" are being called black when they clearly have a brown muzzle and brown around the eyes. I know I have two horses, which I would call Black and Liver Chestnut. But most people call my liver chestnut mare, Kalypso, light bay. Here is a picture of both of my horses (under the pictures are their names: Beavis and Kalypso) on this page. www.howrse.com/joueur/fiche/?id=32077974Cached

Can you please explain how to tell the difference in colour and is Kalypso indeed a light bay or is she liver chestnut as I thought or some other mix all together. Kalypso is an Appendix if that helps.

I just got a HUGE black standardbred gelding. He is solid black with no marking and a long head. Looks like a draft cross he is so big. I need some names for him but nothing like: Ebony, Blackie, or Black Beauty.