Out Around the Barn

Here we are almost a year on our blog.  We have posted over 70 blogs and would appreciate comments from our readers.  We would like to know your opinions and ideas about our blog.  If there is an article that caught your eye, let me know your thoughts on the subject.  We look forward to hearing from you.

If there is a subject that you would like to know about, we can do our best to find an answer to your question.

We are a farm family and enjoy our animals and farm life.  So talking about the farm and all that it requires is a passion of ours.  From equine supplements to chicken coupes, we will discuss just about anything.  Comments welcome.

Merry Christmas everyone.  It is the holiday season and we are all getting ready for the parties, family get togethers and presents.  Now, who doesn’t get excited over receiving a gift?

Well, can you believe that your animals like to receive gifts also?  Now I am not necessarily talking large animals but if they are a pet, they will let you know in their own way that they are happy.  Larger animals, like cattle appreciate a new bale of hay set out for them or an extra bucket of feed, even an extra bale of straw for bedding and to show their appreciation, they jump right in like it is a new toy. 

If they are pets they are more loving and affectionate.  Our horses enjoy an extra and unexpected brushing and even that unexpected walk just because they spend time with their master.  Our calves get an extra bale of straw for bedding and my pet, Buster, gets to be led around and pampered a little, he is my Little Holestine bull calf.  Our dogs, Jessie and Bella may get a new tennis ball and treats for a day or two and my goat herd will get new bedding and a little treat, animal crackers. Even livestock vitamins are a treat for your animal.  My horse enjoys peppermint and if I give him a piece of peppermint candy after a good ride or just because.  I can tell he loves it.

They really do appreciate the extras that we can give them just like we appreciate the gifts we receive.  So do something special for your animals this season and show them your love.

Today, 11/12/09,  we mourn the loss of our Belgian, Duke.  He was one of the most gentlest, big horses I have ever known.  He had a long life of 20  plus years and had competed in many horse pulls.  He was what I would consider a “Big Teddy Bear” of  horses.

My 2 yr. old niece, Kalissa, rode for the first time on Duke, as well as others over the years.  Allen’s daughter used to ride Duke and I have seen him with 5 young riders on him at one time and not even care.  He was that gentle.  Allen would just place his hand on the side of his jaw and he would go wherever, most of the time Duke would just follow him without any halter or lead rope at all and the kids just sat on his back without fear. 

When I first began being around the horses and livestock after an absence of 15 years, I had some fears to face.  I do not mind saying that Duke really intimidated me and it took me a couple of months to realize that he would not ever intentionally hurt me.  That doesn’t mean that I didn’t need to be cautious but, I could, at least, ease some of my fears.  Here we are 8 yrs. later and having conquered some of the major fears, I can now feed every animal on the farm and feel confident.  I do not, by no means, throw caution to the wind but, I do keep focused when choring and working with the animals.  Having Duke helped me conquer that fear, mostly because of his personality and his size.  I learned to work around him and therefore, it helped me with the rest of the livestock.  Now I am out there everyday and loving it, for that reason alone, I’ll remember Duke and his gentle way.

In the past year Duke’s age really began to show.  He acquired arthritis in his joints and there were days that he struggled to get around but, he continued on.  We supplemented his food with joint supplements and vitamins and I believe that one small part of his diet kept him up and going.    We knew the day would come yet, had not expected it to come so quickly.  A few days ago he got down and didn’t come to the barn.  Allen went out and helped him up and brought him to the barn.  His appetite had decreased some but not so much that it concerned me until two days ago.  I don’t have the insight that Allen has with animals and I believe he knew the worst was coming.  Two days ago it came to the point that he did not have enough strength to get up and even with help, he could not accomplish that one task.  It was then that it sank in, it would not be long before he just gave up and he did.  He just closed his eyes and slept, peacefully without pain.

So, now he is in Animal Heaven and we will miss him but, we will keep him in our hearts.

You would think that a horse would not shy away from water simply because they are outside animals and it seems natural that a horse would go through water just fine.  Most of the time that is the case but, there are some horses that have a difficult time.

I had one such horse, she was a Paint mare named Dallas.  She was 8 yrs. old and approximately 15 hands high.  She was beautiful and I was so happy when I got her that I never dreamed we would have so many problems.  She was my dream horse, always wanted a Paint and now I had Dallas.

When I first started working with her we had some issues.  I figured it was me because I had been away from horses for a while and I was tense.  So I did a lot of ground work.  I, then, rode her in the round pen and we got along well.  Oh, we had several instances where she seemed to forget everything we worked on and I would have to start over but, I thought I was making progress.  The day came when we needed to check cattle so I went  into the tack room and got my saddle off the saddle rack and saddled Dallas and Allen saddled Bubby and we went in search of our herd.  She seemed okay with everything until we came to the creek.  She stopped then and there and would not budge.  I finally was able to get her to walk along side the creek but could not get her feet in  the water.  I did this for about 20 minutes and finally we touched water.  That was all it took, she bolted and threw me, then ran for the barn.  I was lucky that day being in a wooded area and trees all around.  Too close for comfort when I landed within inches of a tree.

I had read several articles, been to demonstrations and watched horsemanship shows on television telling us how to remedy this problem.  The advice was:

• keep calm
• walk the horse along the edge of the water
• go back and forth several times
• each time getting closer to the water
• allow the horse to step in a little at a time
• Do Not Rush!!!!!
• if this does not accomplish the task, dismount and walk with the horse
• do the same as mentioned above
• continue this pattern until the horse will venture in and get their feet wet
• you don’t have to be in deep water to accomplish the task at hand
• after getting feet wet, walk out and do it again
• repeat several times before mounting
• once mounted, repeat the steps again before continuing your ride

This should help your horse the next time.  You may need to work on this several different times before your horse is comfortable crossing water.  Even though it may seem natural, horses have fears just like us and they have to be addressed accordingly. 

I did not have the chance to try to get Dallas to cross water again.  She was at the barn when I returned and would not even allow me on her.  My partner tried to ride her and calm her down but, she did her best to try to dismount him, she did not get her way there.  I decided after she had thrown me several more times that she was not the right horse for me, so I decided to find me something with a calm disposition and broke to ride. 

You cannot always tell by looking or even riding if a horse will shy away from something or has a fear of something until you are faced with it together.  Always be cautious when riding a new horse, you both will learn a great deal from each other.

Many horses get their share of daily vitamins from fresh grass and hay. In some cases, however, horse owners are unable to provide their horse with high-quality hay. At this point, it becomes necessary to supplement a horse’s diet with the vitamins they require to remain healthy. Race horses and colts need vitamins in addition to a healthy diet of grains and forage.

Before feeding equine vitamins to your animal, take a moment to consider an important question: What sort of lifestyle does your horse lead? If he or she experiences a lot of stress from carrying heavy loads, keep an ample supply of vitamin C at the ready. If, on the other hand, your horse experiences a cracked hoof, you’ll want to infuse his or her diet with Vitamin H. Most vitamins should be synthesized in a horse’s everyday diet, but some instances call for more.