horse blog, horses, blankets, when to blanket horses

THE HORSE THAT WON'T EAT

The photo is of a very special horse that's been at our barn for many years. He's well-behaved, has a wonderful personality and other than a choke episode about 10 years ago, he's never had any serious health problems. He is nearly 30 though, and we've encountered the first serious problem with him — he won't eat. He usually eats heartily, but about two weeks ago, he started refusing his senior feed. He contrinues to try and eat the soft, green grass hay he loves, though quids most of it because he is missing most of his teeth, and is very interested in eating the little bit of grass that's around this time of year.

We tried mixing his senior with all the different types of feed we have in the barn, to no avail. We tried small amounts of other feeds without the senior. We tried "safe starch" chopped forage. Nada.

He also stopped pooping, so we tried wet "slurpie" meals, which he wouldn't eat, even laced with molasses. We tried apple sauce with sweet feed. Again, he refused.

His teeth were checked not long ago, but our vets checked again, and other than noting how many were missing, found nothing to cause concern. He was carefully examined two more times by our vets, and again, they found nothing, nor was blood work revealing.

We all started thinking "gastric ulcer" because in other horses with ulcers we've seen over the years, they typically go off grain but continue to eat hay. We started him on Gastrogard; he ate a couple meals, pooped twice, and we thought we were on the right track, but then he stopped eating again. We tried a few doses of Banamine, thinking that if he's not eating because he's in pain, it might help, but it didn't. In fact, he acts like he feels fine, he just won't eat.

Today, at the recommendation of our regular vet, his owner had him trailered to an area horse hospital for a gut ultrasound to rule out an intestinal mass and other potential problems. The mouth and jaw were carefully checked again. Nothing could be found to explain his refusal to eat.

The vets at the hospital surmise that eating has become difficult for the horse because he's missing so many teeth. They've recommended frequent grazing on short, rich grass — certainly difficult this time of year — three doses daily of corn or canola oil squirted into his mouth, and dengie hay while we continue to find some sort of complete feed that he'll eat and hope he gets over his hunger strike.

I'm not convinced that difficulty eating due to missing teeth is the problem; we've had plenty of other older horses over the years that lose most of their teeth, including two of my own, and they never stopped eating until other medical problems developed. We had to give them "slurpies," but they ate.

If this horse doesn't turn around, the doctors at the horse hospital predict this could be his last winter. Besides miserable, cold weather, it's another reason to count the days until spring, when the green grass grows...

HOLIDAY GIFTS FOR BARN FRIENDS

One of the most enjoyable times of the year at a barn comes with the holidays, when horse owners exchange gifts. Personally, I have more fun finding small, inexpensive items for barn friends that I do searching for larger family gifts. If you're having trouble thinking of things for your barn friends, here are a few ideas that are inexpensive and easy to come up with at the last minute at your local tack shop or department stores (see shopping place ideas below too). Pick one or two for each friend, depending on your budget.

Pretty lead rope
Grooming tool such as a brush, curry or hoof pick (Oster makes very nice tools; I especially favor the mane/tail brush, which is easy to handle)
Bottle of a friend's favorite mane/tail conditioner
Horse-themed letter opener (Amazon.com has them and their sellers often deliver fast)
Horse figurine (Home Goods is often a good source of interesting figurines)
Leather bookmark with a place to put a photo of your friend's horse (Amazon has these)
Small bag of horse treats (you can buy one larger bag, then divide treats into smaller plastic bags tied off with a ribbon to distribute among several friends in their gift bags)
Apple
Gloves (TJ Max is a great source for nice, inexpensive gloves)
Socks (Again, TJ Max is a good source)
Hand cream, body butter or fancy soap bar (TJ Max or Homegoods)
Horse book (Big book stores often have colorful, bargain-priced horse breed books)
Hand or feet warmers (Amazon.com has them)
Ear warmers

These websites have very nice items; some are a bit more expensive and they may or may not be able to deliver in time for Christmas, but they may come in handy for other times you need horse-themed gifts.

http://www.backinthesaddle.com/

http://store.horsegiftsandart.com/

WHEN TO BLANKET HORSES

December 5, 2011

We’ve had crazy weather with dramatic temperature changes. Some days it’s near 60 degrees F and at night, in the 30s. Questions arise about when to put on sheets or blankets.

The truth is that most horses don’t need sheets or blankets. Their hair is a great insulator. The exception would be cold, driving rain that penetrates to the skin. Horses are also more comfortable if they’re cool rather than hot. We have a few horses in the barn that aren’t blanketed in winter and they maintain their weight well throughout the cold season.

The only reason horses need to have on a blanket or sheet in cold weather is if they are aged, ill or clipped. One other reason might be a horse moving from a warm to cold climate.

Most of our boarders prefer to blanket, however, which requires some thought on our part before deciding when to start using sheets, then blankets.

We must consider that we’re a full-board barn, so the horses are inside overnight once the temperatures dip into the 30s, and anytime the weather is really foul. If cold, driving rain is predicted, for instance, the horses are kept in. In addition, the main barn is underneath our home, which provides insulation; the barn is about 10 degrees warmer inside than outside once the doors are closed.

Next we start checking the “real feel” temp, which takes into account several factors such as humidity and wind speed.

Sheets, which have no fill, are on if the temp outside during the day or in the barn at night is going to be in the 30s. We leave the sheets on the next day even if the predicted high temp is going to be in the 40s or low 50s because it’s still very chilly in the morning when the horses go out and late in the day before they come in. It’s only in the 40s or 50s a few hours and the horses don't seem to get uncomfortable. Plus, it's just too impractical to gather 40+ horses from the field midday to take sheets off when they'll need them on again a few hours later.

If the "real feel" temperature is going to get into the high 50s or hit 60 the next day though, we take the sheets off in the morning because the horses would get too hot midday, but I always worry about them being subjected to a big temperature change when they first go outside in the morning and before they are brought in when evening comes. These are the times that the dramatic temperature changes become so worrisome.

Light- to medium-weight blankets go on if the temperature is in the 20s or below. Once it's this cold, winter has set in and we seldom have the dramatic temperature changes that occur in the fall.

It’s important to remember there are exceptions to the guidelines we use for sheets and blankets. We once had a big Thoroughbred that would sweat in a blanket even if the “real feel” temp was in the 20s. He had to be in a sheet until it got into the teens, then we'd put on his blanket. A couple other horses we have are too chilly in a sheet if it’s in the low 30s. Just like every other aspect of horse care, decisions about when to use sheets or blankets must be individualized.

LIFE INTERFERES WITH RIDING...

November 19, 2011

Haven't had much time to blog, or ride lately. First, Barn King had an accident. He was coming down a narrow, two-lane road in our neighborhood in his Dodge Ram when the driver's side mirror — the kind that sticks way out — collided with the mirror on a bigger truck coming the other way. The arm on Barn King's mirror bent in, the mirror came off like a rocket, through the open window, and hit him in the face, causing multiple facial fractures including an orbital "blowout" fracture — fracture of the wafer-thin bone that the eye rests on. We spent 12 hours in two emergency rooms (very very long story).

Several weeks later, my 83-year-old mother, who has had both knees replaced, fell in the parking lot of our local hospital while going to pick up a prescription at the hospital pharmacy. She badly fractured her femur above one of the knee replacements. A kindly guy who turned out to be a musician happened to be in the parking and saw the accident, then called an ambulance to drive her around the corner of the building to the emergency room. She had emergency orthopedic surgery and after a few days in the hospital, was transferred to a rehab facility. She's now home but is completely non-weight-bearing and will be for six to eight weeks. Thank goodness she lives next door with my very devoted 83-year-old father, and an aid coming during weekedays, but they still need help.

Shortly thereafter, Barn King had to undergo surgery for his blowout fracture, which has been causing very bothersome double vision. A synthetic piece of bone, affixed with titanium screws, was implanted to cover the fractured bone under his eye. Technically, it's not considered an especially difficult procedure for a surgeon, but ouch for the patient...

I have craved getting on Cody's back, going for a ride, tooling around the woods and cantering around our indoor ring with favorite riding music. I was finally able to get on him today, and as it turns out, he was "off." Fingers here are crossed for a better day...

Hives

October 20, 2011

We’ve had lots of wet weather the last several weeks and with it we’ve seen a few horses in the barn develop hives. No one knows if the rain has initiated growth in the pasture of something some horses are reacting to or if they’re rolling in it or eating it, if the rain has brought out more biting insects or if the hives are due to something entirely different.

Most often, the horses getting hives have them on their sides, backs and rump and sometimes on their necks. We haven’t had any hives resulting in a severe reaction, like respiratory distress and, in fact, the horses don’t seem especially bothered by the hives, but it does interfere with riding since there is concern a saddle pad, saddle and weight might make horses with hives uncomfortable.

My own horse was one of the ones who developed hives. Cool water took them down, but they returned and persisted. I tried putting him in another pasture, to no avail. Then I tried keeping him in overnight and that helped, which makes me think that maybe the hives have something to do with insects, which might be worse at night. Or maybe he lies down more at night, coming into contact with some irritant.

After consulting with our veterinarian, I tried a few doses (declining in dosage) of dexamethasone, which cleared up the hives, but they came right back.

The rain has stopped now and the weather is cooler, and the hives are gone. I hate the onset of cold weather, but I guess “no hives” is one plus for the winter column.

HORSES AND STORM DAMAGE

August, 2011

We were in the path of Hurricane Irene along with most of the East Coast. The horses were tucked away in their stalls during the event, which turned out to be a tropical storm. We had plenty of hay and feed and a generator was on hand to make sure the well pump worked in case we lost power. We’re not in an area prone to flooding, so the main concern was wind damage.

Unlike two of our boarders who had major damage to their homes from falling trees, we emerged from the storm with only one minor incident. A large tree limb in a neighbor’s yard fell into one of our pastures and took part of the fence with it. The limb presented a bit of a problem because it was a cherry tree, which is toxic to horses.

If the limb was chain-sawed for removal, might horses walking through cherry tree sawdust be at risk for laminitis, like they are if exposed to black walnut sawdust? Or, did the leaves of the cherry tree present a bigger problem?

A quick Google search brought up the Rutgers New Jersey Agricultural Experiment Station, which has an “Ask the Expert” page from its Equine Science Center. It explains that all parts of the cherry tree is toxic to horses — the seeds, leaves and bark. Toxicity is worst when the leaves are freshly wilted, such as “leaves on a fallen tree limb lying in a pasture.” They contain a “precursor to cyanide.” Horses also apparently like the leaves because they are sweet.

Contrary to information on some other websites, the information from Rutgers says that once cherry tree leaves are dead and fall off trees in autumn, they are no longer palatable to horses and contain much less toxin than newly wilted leaves. I couldn’t find a clear and detailed answer from an expert source about cherry tree sawdust, but knew we didn’t want to take any chances.

Barn King assessed the situation then had our farm hands use two tractors, one to pull the limb with straps and the other tractor to push the limb out of the pasture through the break in the fence. We took care to rake and pick up all the cherry leaves left in the field. The break in the fence was repaired and the pasture left safe for the horses. Hopefully we’re back to normal.

When I called the clinic number, I got an answering service with a very polite operator, but it felt more like I was calling, say, a lawn service. It took an inordinate amount of time. She wanted my name, daytime and evening phone numbers, then wanted to know the nature of the problem; she obviously didn’t know horses nor have a clue what I was talking about though and it was a bit of a struggle describing what was wrong. The call ended with “We’ll have one of our representatives call you back. If you don’t get a call within 30 minutes, please call again.”

RESTRICTED ACCESS

In this instance, the vet called back promptly and I noticed on caller I.D. that it said “private number.” He wanted to come see the horse, which he did. He was helpful and patiently answered all my questions. About half-hour after he left though, I had a follow-up question, but to get an answer, I realized I’d have to go through the same rigmarole required for the first call.

Contrast this to the vet practice used for most other horses in the barn. If I call the clinic off-hours, I get a brief recording with instructions to dial “2” for horse emergencies, which buzzes the vet on call, who calls me with in 10 minutes, and usually sooner than that. There are no impersonal “middlewomen” nor any “private numbers.”

We have the cell numbers for both vets in the practice anyway, have always been welcomed to call directly if need be and feel free to do so if there’s a question that comes up. I am careful never to call unnecessarily.

Perhaps it’s unrealistic to expect this kind of service from all horse veterinarians, but I think this is the way it should be. Horses aren't dogs or cats that can be taken to an emergency clinic; if there's a medical problem, those of us responsible for their care need ready access to our horse veterinarians.

LOSING A HORSE

August 10, 2011

We’ve had a tough summer, plagued by a couple serious horse health problems.

One horse in his mid-twenties that has heaves (chronic obstructive pulmonary disease) took a turn for the worse. His breathing problems escalated and he stopped eating his senior feed, causing him to lose a huge amount of weight; he looked like a starved horse just brought in to a horse rescue. Add to that an abnormal shedding pattern and a skin infection, in part due to one of the medications he’s on, that made him look like a dog with mange. He was on a downhill spiral that we couldn’t seem to stop despite multiple vet visits and the best care we could provide.

Some of the boarders commented that they thought the horse should be euthanized, and we certainly lost sleep a few nights wondering if we should recommend that the owner put him down. He had a couple really uncomfortable days due to difficulty breathing, but we never thought he was in serious pain.

Choke

We no sooner got that horse over the hump when Waffle, a beautiful, 27-year-old Belgian Draft mare that has boarded here for over 20 years, developed a choke so serious that it took our veterinarians 4 hours to clear. Aspiration pneumonia was likely and the horse was severely dehydrated despite IV fluids. We initiated treatment with antibiotics and Banamine and the horse seemed to improve, but went downhill again in a few days. Blood work indicated that her kidneys were in bad shape. This could have been the result of the dehydration that occurred with the choke (when she couldn’t drink), the antibiotic treatment (hard on the kidneys), simply age or some other reason.

Waffle had eye cancer years ago that was treated, but it had recurred and we couldn’t treat it again for several reasons. She’d been living quite comfortably with the disease for about 3 years, but we suspect that the cancer finally spread and that this was the cause of the choke, though we’ll never know for sure.

She was clearly suffering, so last Sunday, one of our veterinarians came and euthanized her. Waffle was an especially loved horse in our barn. By virtue of her size and personality, she delighted everyone who saw her. She is sorely missed by those of us who knew her and had the privilege to care for her.

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HORSES AND STORMY WEATHER

July 12, 2011

After years of taking care of horses, you’d think decisions about when to turn in and out would be easy, but the unpredictability of the weather and the poor track record of weather forecasters still make it a tough decision from time to time.

As in much of the country, we’re experiencing blazing-hot days with the “heat index” in the 100s, air thick with humidity and bad thunderstorms now and then.

The horses were in their stalls all day; it was surely miserable for them despite a fan on each and they were anxious to get outside and graze after their evening meal. The weather forecasters predicted thunderstorms, but nothing severe, so we turned out once the sun shifted and wasn’t quite so oppressive.

Certainly horses are outdoor animals and they’re used to bad weather, but you can’t help worrying. It’s not the rain, it’s ground lightening and hail that are scary. Several years ago, a farm in our area had several cows struck and killed by lightening, and hail can panic some horses enough to send them running through a fence. The other overriding concern is that horse owners are counting on us to keep their horses safe.

This evening, we’d no sooner turned out when the forecast changed to a “severe thunderstorm warning.” Conversely, there have been many times that the forecast is for severe thunderstorms and we’ve kept the horses in only to have the storm pass us by.

Sometimes you just have to live by clichés — make the best possible decision, let Mother Nature take her course and hope for the best.

HORSEBACK RIDING IN HOT WEATHER

JUNE 23, 2011

Today it was 105° F with the heat index. This stinking hot, humid weather is miserable for people and more so for horses. In fact, it makes me cringe when I see riders working their mounts hard in the ring, in the glaring sun, especially horses that aren’t ridden regularly and conditioned to exercising in elevated temperatures and especially old horses.

Recently TheHorse.com re-released an article it published last year appropriately entitled “Summer Riding: When the Rider is Hot, the Horse is Hotter.” The article quotes Dr. Michael Lindinger, an animal and exercise physiologist, University of Guelph, who says it takes only 17 minutes of moderate intensity exercise in hot, humid weather to raise a horse’s temperature to dangerous levels; that’s 3 to 10 times faster than in humans.

“Horses feel the heat much worse than we do,” he explains, because of their size and because they have a higher percentage of active muscle than people; when horses use their muscles, they produce a lot of heat.

Medical consequences

Riding horses when it’s hot can lead to a rapid rise in body temperature that can cause even higher temps in working muscles — as high as 109° F — and start cooking the muscles. The end result can include medical conditions as serious as colic or renal failure.

For serious riders training for competition, Lindinger wisely points out that horses should be gradually acclimated to the heat instead of working when it’s cool, then going to a competition to compete when it’s very hot.

Also of interest is work by Dr. Kenneth McKeever, a professor at Rutgers University, and colleagues. Back in 2002, they wrote an interesting paper. (Exercise physiology of the older horse, Vet Clin Equine 18 (2002) 469–490). They describe an experiment in which they exercised young and old horses at the same work intensity until the core body temperature reached 104° F.

Old horses reached this temp in almost half the time as younger ones. Older horses were unable to dissipate the heat generated from exercise as quickly as younger horses, leading to a faster increase in core temperature after the onset of exercise. One of the theories they raise is the possibility that older horses may have a decrease in maximal cardiac output with age, leading to a compromised ability to regulate body temperature during exercise.

If horses aren’t acclimated to hot weather or a horse is old, it would seem prudent to confine riding to times of day or to days when it’s not so hot or to opt for an easy walk in the shaded woods instead a vigorous workout in the sun.

Horses that become hot from work need to be hosed and scraped repeatedly to lower their body temperature. Lindinger points out that scraping off water while hosing is important to prevent water that becomes trapped in the horse’s hair from heating up, which will keep the horse hot instead of cooling it down.

JUNE 8, 2011

We continue to get emails that I'd bet the farm are scams. Sometimes the authors pretend they're interested in buying a horse. Lately, we've gotten more like the following (unedited):

Hello,
I am Michael Duke from United Kingdom,Am contacting you regardding my daughter Serah who's interested in Horse training in your institute,Well my daughter Serah is coming to stay for some couple of weeks in your country and she loves to ride Horse So am using this oppurtunity to let her come for a private lesson on horse Riding, while she's there, I want you to help me in teaching her all the steps , Note: my Daughter Serah is just a beginner. so please kindly teach her well. So kindly let me know your charges cost per week's ,in other for me to arrange for her payment before he travells down to your side. As i already have an associate who will handle the payment to you on my behave via Cashier Check Or Poster Money Order so kindly get back to me with the cost include with your full details below and for my daughter to have your address when she's coming .

May 18, 2011

We had a 20-something boarder here for a while who decided she wanted to breed her horse, a lovely middle-aged Thoroughbred (TB). When she told me about it, I couldn't help but give her a less than enthusiastic response and hopefully, some food for thought.

Last I checked, there were over 100,000 American horses annually shipping to Canada and Mexico for an often brutal slaughter. I've researched and written about horse slaughter and it's a pretty ugly picture. It's beyond me how anyone can justify horses being butchered alive (Canada) or stabbed to death (Mexico). Transport to the slaughterhouses is equally horrific.

I implored the boarder to consider the bigger picture. Why bring another horse into the world when there are so many beautiful, talented horses already in need of homes?

Her answer? She wanted her horse's baby. And her horse was SOOOOO beautiful and talented that she entirely expected to have a beautiful, talented foal.

Granted her horse is attractive and talented, but hadn't won any significant competitions that I know of; nor is there any guarantee that a pretty, talented mare will have a pretty, talented foal.

At a barn where I once boarded, there was a fancy, expensive horse that delivered a foal with major leg problems, while an emaciated, homely "pound pony" from a local, two-bit auction delivered a beautiful, healthy foal. What you get breeding is a crap shoot. Not to mention the risk to the mare.

Breeding also didn't make any financial sense for this young woman, best I could tell. She often cried poor mouth. She was moving her TB to a less expensive farm where the mare would be stalled in winter and on field board in warm (often stinking hot around here) weather. It was the only way she could also afford an expensive stud fee plus horse care for a mare and the planned foal. Now, what's wrong with this picture?

What if the foal isn't perfect and needs expensive medical care? What if the foal turns out to be a downright ugly horse? What if the foal turns out to have four left feet? Is she prepared to financially support a less-than-perfect horse that's a flunky performer or will it be another one that ends up sold here and there and ultimately ends up in a really bad place or on the slaughter train?

This sentimental approach to breeding is sickeningly short-sighted hogwash. It's also selfish. Anyone thinking about breeding a horse needs to think beyond their nose.

Horses should only be bred if there is a compelling reason to do so -- something beyond sentimentality -- and if breeders are willing AND ABLE to pay the consequences if they don't get what they want. A more responsible approach to breeding would go a long way toward reducing horse overpopulation, horse misery and horse slaughter.

MAY 1, 2011
UPDATED May 16, 2011

A while back we got a magazine that had the results of a quiz asking barn managers if they preferred an unruly horse or an unruly boarder. The majority clearly preferred an unruly horse.

It got me thinking about some of the problem boarders we've had go through the barn.

One woman who was quick to tell everyone she was a manic-depressive; she talked incessantly about her problems at home and liked to send two-page emails too. One night we found her in the wash stall washing her hair at 10:30 at night, only to find her still here at 1:00 AM, cleaning her locker.

Another boarder thought nothing of taking someone else's horse blanket if she couldn't readily find her own, or using someone else's feed tub for soaking her horse's foot.

Then there was a boarder who went into our house and went through the fridge for no apparent reason; this same woman had the audacity to handle the teats on someone else's mare that was close to foaling.

Yet another woman complained that a small drip in the corner of her horse's stall from an air conditioner in our house above (that didn't drip on the horse) was making the horse jig under saddle. She called the vet daily -- once 12 times within 24 hours -- with concerns about her horse. I think she had some equine form of "Munchausen by Proxy" syndrome.

We once had a boarder who would come in the middle of the night to sit on a bale of hay outside her stall and stare at her horse.

The mother of a younger boarder called us one afternoon to say that her daughter complained that one of her horse's two water buckets was empty, necessitating us to explain that's why we have two buckets per stall and when and how buckets are checked and refilled.

We found one boarder giving his horse a bath in the barn aisle instead of the wash stall. This was the same guy who drove a horse trailer over 1,000 miles but couldn't back up; when he arrived at our farm, he came knocking at the door about 6 am one morning to ask if Barn King could park his rig for him.

The one who topped them all was a barn-hopping, know-it-all, wannabe dressage queen who lunged her gelding mercilessly in side reins. We believe she ultimately contributed to her horse's death by galloping him for miles after not having had him on the trail for weeks. We think he tied up badly. She also happened to have a husband who resembled Charles Manson and wrote poison-pen letters.

In some cases, we try to educate boarders about proper horse care if a problem situation occurs. But it's sometimes not possible; some people think they know better and it's their horse, not ours. In other cases, as most of the examples above indicate, the problem has little to do with the horse and everything to do with the owner. Sometimes, the only solution for us is to ask problem boarders to leave.

So about the results of that "horse" quiz: It really is easier to manage problem horses with clever and careful handling and if one gets really unruly, we can resort to "chemical restraint." Unfortunately, some boarders "just don't get it" and we can't give an unruly boarder a shot of ACE...

APRIL 2011

I'm quick to brag about my horse's good manners, but recently we've had a spate of problems that are revealing his foibles.

First Cody sprained a right front tendon horsing around in a muddy field. He was on the mend and we were well into our rehab program, walking under saddle, when he suddenly showed up lame again. This time, he's working on an abscess on his back right.

Long story short, the treatment for these various problems has included bute and oral antibiotics and therein lies the problem. Cody won't eat medicine in food. Nor will he let me syringe medicine into his mouth, as we do with virtually all other horses in the barn that won't eat their medicine and despite my attempts to condition him to a syringe with tasty treats like molasses and apple sauce.

The vet and I discussed injectable antibiotics, which would be easier to get into him, but for one reason or another, we decided they weren't suitable.

Our resident trainer has similar problems with one of her horses and suggested mixing the meds with cooking oil, then with some senior feed. So far it's working, but Cody is getting pickier each time and it looks like I'll need a new solution soon. If anyone has another idea about how to get oral medication into a horse, let me know via email at:

March 2011

Several months ago, we had an 8-year-old gelding fresh off the track that was moved to our farm. I'll call him Sam. He was underweight and a cribber, but we could readily see that he had a very sweet temperament.

As is our usual procedure, we put him in our introductory paddock, separated from the big, mixed herd (mares and geldings) to let him settle in and meet the other horses over the fence. Sam seemed quite content.

After a time, when we believed the novelty of a new horse on farm had worn off among the herd, we moved Sam into the big field on an afternoon when the footing was good and the big herd was quietly grazing spread out in their 15-acre field.

Things were quiet the first day or two and Sam's integration into the herd appeared to be a non-event. Sam seemed to be getting along fine, grazing near some of the other horses, but mostly keeping to himself. He'd spent the large majority of his former life in a racetrack stall and didn't have much experience socializing.

On the third day, the situation quickly deteriorated. There were a couple incidents where Sam was getting the tar beat out of him by other geldings and he made no effort to protect himself. It were as though he had a sign on his hind end that said "Kick me" ("and I'll stand here and take it"). He had several wounds, but thankfully none were serious. He went and stood in a corner of the field, far away from the horses, and trembled. It was really heartbreaking.

We removed Sam from the big field before he sustained any further damage and put him into a semi-private pasture with a well-behaved Arab. They've been getting along. It took a while, but Sam has been romping and playing with the Arab and looking more like a "regular guy." Now, however, the Arab is on stall rest for a suspensory problem, and Sam has been alone in his field.

Recently we had a seemingly well-behaved pony come to the farm and after her time in the intro paddock, we tried turning her out with Sam. Guess what? Within a very short time, she was kicking him and we had to remove her. Go figure.

FEBRUARY 22, 2011

I haven't had cats in years and when I did, they were kept indoors because it's well known that cats have fewer diseases and accidents and live longer if they aren't allowed to roam outdoors.

However, mice were taking over the barn. In the past, I put out poison in pet-safe traps, but there's the risk that if one of our dogs eats a dead mouse that's been poisoned, the dog could be poisoned. The idea of barn cats became something we had to consider.

There are several organizations around that trap feral cats in areas where they're not wanted and they are always looking for barns to place them after they have the cats neutered or spayed and vaccinated. After talking to one of these groups, I was convinced that it would be helping out the cats by giving them a home and help us out by controlling the barn's burgeoning mouse population.

Two males and one female cat were delivered. We were instructed to keep them in two large, connecting cages that were provided and to feed them twice daily so they associated the barn with food. We had a perfect place for them in the corner of our loft, where they can see down into the barn.

We released the cats after two weeks as advised; one of the males disappeared for a couple days, causing the other male to wander around meowing pathetically until his buddy returned. We provided straw for bedding as instructed by the kindly "feral cat ladies" as we like to call them, but the cats prefer a large box with bedding, where they spend their time napping when they aren't out and about.

The female is especially feral and will seldom let us come within 10 feet of her; the males have become friendlier and will let us pet them if they're in their loft space, but not if they're outside of their space.

They are hunting. Soon after they were released, we started finding dead mice and mouse parts outside our back door that connects to the left. One night they left something large and fuzzy in their dry food bowl that got me screaming for Barn King, who identified it as a rabbit leg and hip.

I will tell you that it's been an expensive proposition. There's always an ample supply of dry cat food, wet cat food is provided twice daily and we got them a heated water bucket since their water was freezing. The two males are treated monthly with a product called Revolution to prevent flea infestation, ear mites and heartworm; we can't get near the female to treat her.

We were instructed to continue providing a litter box until the cats stopped using it, but they haven't stopped, so there's the cost of cat litter, and three cats use a lot. We tried removing the box to try and force them to go outside, but they started using the floor of the loft where we have tack lockers. We might try again to wean them off the litter box once the weather warms up.

The cats are sweet in their own way and they're amusing, however, and they're doing their job and earning their keep -- the mouse population has declined dramatically.

FEBRUARY 8, 2011

We're having a bit of a trauma in the household.

Since Joker, our Boston, was an older puppy, he's slept with us in bed. He crawls under the covers and curls up in the curve of my stomach. The Aussie sleeps on the living room sofa or on the floor, and Morgan, our little mutt, sleeps in a bed on the floor next to our bed.

Lately though, Joker's taken to getting up in the middle of the night and walking on top of us, or he puts his back against me and pokes Barn King with his feet, moves that inevitably awaken us multiple times throughout the night. We tried getting him to sleep in a bed at the foot of our bed, to no avail.

Last night, we decided to close the bedroom door and keep Joker confined to the living room. He clawed at the door and whined a bit, but eventually stopped -- and last night was the best sleep we've had in months.

This morning, we could tell that Joker's nose was definitely out of joint. It was painful to see and he doesn't understand why he's been banned from the bedroom.

I keep recalling a book by the Monks of New Skete in which they discuss the benefits of having a dog sleep in the same room. I quoted them in my own book, The Guilt-Free Dog Owner's Guide.

As I write this, Joker is here, pawing and pleading with his darling little face, telling me he wants to go to bed. Sleep or sleeplessness? Guilt or guts?

JANUARY 29, 2011

Paths have been plowed to the fields and the horses were able to go out yesterday and today. A few frolicked, but most wandered to the hay in the field.

Barn King and our wonderful barn hands went to get another load of hay -- it doesn't last long around here -- because we may have more snow, and possibly some ice, early next week and we don't want to get caught short.

Here's to an early spring...

JANUARY 26, 2011

Here we go again. Another snowy winter. Today started out cold and rainy, then the snow started. It's coming down fast.

We've got somewhere between 7 to 8 inches; it's wet, heavy and weighing down the power lines; neighbors up the street report that the transformer has been sparking. No power means no lights, no water, no flushing toilets. The lights have been flashing on and off, but thankfully haven't stayed off so far.

The horses have been in all day due to the weather, and tonight are cozy in their stalls, munching on hay. I'm cozy in my office over the barn.

I hear Barn King going by, plowing the driveway. He's already pulled out several cars that got stuck on a nearby main road. He has a new, giant snow blower that works on the front of the tractor. He loves new equipment, so he's having fun.

Tomorrow morning he'll plow paths to the fields, then clear areas within the fields where we'll put hay, then the horses can go out as long as it's not icy.

There's just enough snow to excite the horses and make for lots of play, but not so deep that it's dangerous. So as snow goes, I guess it's a good one.

JANUARY 12, 2011

The other night, I was running in and out of the house taking out dogs, feeding barn cats and tending to late night check on horses. The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills happened to be on television. The women were at a pool party all dressed in beautiful, elegant white dresses. I stopped a minute to admire their garb, then caught a glimpse of myself in the mirror. It was quite a contrast, prompting me to chuckle, then grab my camera and photograph myself for posterity.

With below freezing temps the last several weeks, fashion is the last thing on the minds of anyone living and working in a barn. My own tolerance for the cold has declined and I don't care what I look like as long as I'm warm. I've spent years perfecting my winter get-up to keep from freezing, taking into account the fact that I can't wear wool (makes me itch) and don't particularly like silk long underwear or its price.

My chosen outfit is Cuddl-Duds long underwear (over regular underwear) because it is reasonably priced, especially when on sale, and jeans slide over easily; warm socks, a cotton turtleneck because it's not too bulky under everything else I'm going to put on, then ski bibs, which cut the wind, really keep you warm and aren't a magnet for hay.

This is followed by a hooded sweatshirt with hood pulled up to keep wind off the back of the neck, Swedish "ear bags," which are contraptions that clip on each ear independently and don't cause hat-head (a little vanity is in order), then my barn coat. Finding warm gloves that keep out water but still enable fingers to move freely remains a challenge.

Boots have to be lined with something furry, or thinsulate. On the most bitter days, I might stick some foot warmers into my boots and gloves. (If you want your feet to really freeze, wear unlined leather paddock boots).

Now, this outfit sure won't make fashion news and "real housewives" would probably gasp in horror at the sight, but the horses and other barn critters don't care -- and it works.

DECEMBER 29, 2010

We managed to get through Christmas without any horse mishaps to interrupt the festivities, but two days later, one of the high-strung, older Thoroughbreds that I’ll call “M” started showing signs of colic. He was pawing, looking at his stomach and trying to roll.

I like to brag that we have a very low incidence of colic in our barn, and generally we do, but this gelding may ruin our record. He had another episode of colic a few months ago that was associated with a choke (we don’t know which came first, the choke or the colic).

After checking with the vet, we took his temp, which was normal, and administered 5 ccs of Banamine IM to make him more comfortable until the vet arrived. He was walked gently and allowed to lie down if he chose, but was not permitted to roll. He was fine after the vet administered additional meds and tubed him. Her diagnosis was gas colic.

The obvious question is: Why is this gelding having episodes of colic? He gets ample turnout, senior feed, beautiful hay and is wormed routinely. He’s been here for several years and never colicked before.

The vet said there are many possibilities, but she suspects he might have gastric ulcers, which are now thought to be far more common in horses than previously thought. Luckily, “M” has a very concerned and responsible owner willing to try a round of Gastrogard (omeprazole), despite the high expense, to see if it prevents another colic episode. It may or may not work. One of the boarders who helped us care for him pointed out that too often, "stuff just happens" with horses despite our best efforts, and she's right.

OCTOBER 16, 2010

Recently there was an article in a barn management publication about dog policies. The large majority of barns forbid dogs. The article hit home.

There are always a few boarders who want to the bring their dogs to the barn. We also occasionally have people visiting the barn who assume it's okay to bring their dogs along. They assume that if you have horses, you'll welcome dogs and so will everyone else at a horse farm.

However, dogs make some horses nervous, dogs make some riders nervous and some dogs bark at horses or chase them, all of which can lead to rider and horse accidents and injuries.

Dogs brought onto our property also usually bark at our dogs, resulting in mayhem since our dogs bark back and pull and tug on me trying to get at the canine strangers invading their territory.

And, of course, more dogs means more poop on property that we work hard to keep nice.

We had one boarder who kept bringing out a dog that bit three people. She would also bring the dog into the ring, leading to complaints from riders. Another boarder let her dog run around the grooming stalls when other boarders were trying to tack up -- more complaints. I could go on...

Our own dogs aren't allowed in horse pastures, riding rings or around boarders working with their horses in the barn.

Some boarders want to take their dogs trail riding with them in the park that adjoins our farm. However, we have a leash law in our county and don't want boarders from our barn disobeying the rules; we want to stay in the good graces of park authorities, especially at a time when places to ride are on the decline.

We tried permitting dogs on the farm if they were on leash, but that didn't work either; dogs were still getting too close for comfort with boarders working with their horses.

So, after years of putting up with one dog incident after another, we finally adopted a no-dog policy, exempting one old dog that's been coming here for years and causes no trouble.

Even with the no-dog policy, we still encounter problems. We recently had a trainer who asked if she could bring her puppy. I firmly said "No" and explained why, but darn if she didn't show up with the dog.

At some barns, bringing dogs along might be perfectly acceptable, but horse owners and farm guests shouldn't assume that it's so. If you're not sure, it's a good idea to ask first and, hopefully, respect the rules about dogs, because they're there for a reason.

OCTOBER 3, 2010

We have a lovely new horse in the herd. It's a double-registered Paint/Quarter Horse mare.

Introducing a new horse to the rest of the horses is always a bit worrisome. It upsets the established order of the herd and if care isn't taken to integrate the new horse carefully, injuries can result. Needless to say, owners don't want their horses to get hurt, nor do we.

In the last few years, we've had two horses I can think of that just couldn't integrate into a big herd. One was a gelding that fought with other horses, causing injuries. We ultimately had to ask the owner to move the horse to another farm because we didn't have a paddock available for private turnout.

The other case was a mare whose very presence seemed to set the whole herd crazy; even one of my geldings, known for being especially friendly to new horses, didn't get along with her, and she and other horses were getting banged up. The mare's owner had a lot of trouble with her too, and ended up finding her a new home, where she's thriving.

In most cases, though, new horses can be integrated into a big herd with a simple though careful acclimation procedure.

We start new horses out in a relatively small introductory paddock, which is next to the big, general turnout field where most horses on the farm are pastured.

The new Paint has had a friendly little Arab for company in the intro paddock, and has been getting to know horses in the big herd over the fence.

Just how long new horses stay in the intro paddock depends. If they're the easy-going type and don't seem to attract much attention from the other horses, we turn them out with the big herd in a few days. If the presence of the new horse seems to be somewhat disruptive to the big herd, the new horse will stay in the introductory paddock longer -- perhaps a few weeks -- until the novelty of the new horse wears off in the big herd.

When we move a new horse to the big field, we do it for just a few hours starting late in the day, when the big herd is completely settled down and busy grazing, not right after turnout when there tends to be a lot of running around and horseplay, which can set the stage for trouble. We watch to see how the new horse is getting along.

If the new horse's first time out in the big field is uneventful, the horse will go out the next day with the rest of the herd after breakfast.

By "uneventful," I mean there's been no indication of conflict between the new horse and the established herd. There's almost always some snorting and pawing and sometimes the new horse gets chased around a bit, but usually it doesn't last more than a few minutes.

We also don't turn new horses back into the big field overnight, when we can't see what's going on, until the horse has had several uneventful outings in the big field during daylight hours.

The new Paint went into the big field late this afternoon, and she did just fine. She was a bit timid and kept her distance from most of the other horses, and they didn't pay her much attention. One or two of the friendliest horses joined her to peacefully graze.

An uneventful introduction always brings a sign of relief from the horse owner and us.

SEPTEMBER 4, 2010

Today one of our boarders sent before and after photos of an off-the-track Thoroughbred she'd bought and brought to our farm late last spring. The boarder thrives on retraining ex-racehorses then finding them good new homes.

The mare, only 4 years old, was underweight, had sore feet and had the odd behavior of kicking at her stomach even though she had no other signs of colic or any other medical problems that the veterinarian could find. She didn't like to be touched and generally acted like an unhappy horse. She'd been off the track several months and kept on field board (during one of the worst winters we've had in decades) until she was purchased by our boarder.

Today, her weight is excellent. Her feet aren't sore and they're solid. All she needed was good general care, especially quality nutrition, and careful training by her new owner.

The mare gets a modest amount of Triple Crown Complete twice daily; it has 10% fat and we've found Thoroughbreds do very well on this feed. She also gets good quality grass hay, please a feed called hay stretcher, which has a composition similar to grass hay. Like the rest of our herd, she's on pasture most of the time except for days when the temperatures have soared and she's in her stall with a fan on.

Our boarder, an experienced horsewoman, has provided consistent, thoughtful work on the ground and under saddle. The mare now loves human attention. She is amazingly unflappable for an off-the-track Thoroughbred; she shies at virtually nothing. She has a lofty gait that is lovely to watch.

This is one of the most gratifying aspects of life here at the farm: having a hand in bringing sad and sorry-looking horses to their happy, healthy potential.

AUGUST 18, 2010

The heat this summer has been awful, with the "real feel" as high as 105 degrees. The flies are bad too. The horses are brought inside each morning after the barn is cleaned, where they stand in front of fans all day and sometimes, it's late evening before it's cool enough to turn them back outside.

All but one of the horses have been doing well despite these harsh summer conditions. The one that's having problems is an especially sweet, aged Appendix Quarter Horse with heaves, also called recurrent airway obstruction. In short, the horse can't breath due to inflammation, congestion and spasm of his airways. The root cause is thought to be allergies or sensitivities to who-knows-what.

Most of the year, this horse is fine, but the thick, hot, humid air set off a serious bout of illness, resulting in a secondary pneumonia. He was struggling so hard to breathe that he stopped eating, and lost a huge amount of weight in just a week or two. The last time he had a bad episode, his owner provided the treatment but this time, she was on her way out of town.

We never had a horse with heaves in the barn before, so we had a lot to learn fast before we could provide proper care. The treatment includes oral steroids, bronchodilators, a drug to prevent bronchospasm and an inhaled antibiotic, which are administered with a device called the AeroMask. One of the three-times daily treatments is "wet" therapy and, for this, the AeroMask has to be attached to a compressor.

When our veterinarian first explained this and showed all the apparatus required, my eyes crossed. The first time I administered one of the medications, I had the inhaler incorrectly attached to the mask, so the horse wasn't getting any medication. How stupid I felt. With more education from the vet though, it became easier and after 10 days of going at it, I could now do it in my sleep, as could one of our barn residents who's been helping. Most surprising to me is the horse's tolerance of the treatment; he fusses a little, but not much and I'm thankful it's not one of the high-strung Thoroughbreds in the barn that's got this disease.

Our vet also consulted with an equine internist at our local hospital, who said "positively no hay," even soaked to knock down any dust. The horse has to have bagged, low-dust hay (Dingie and Lucerne are two companies that make this type of bagged hay) or alfalfa cubes or pellets. We'd already changed his feed to one called McCauley's Alam, which is a complete feed formulated for horses just like him -- hard keepers with respiratory disease.

Turnout in fresh air, away from barn dust, is thought to be best for horses with heaves, but in this case, being out in the heat made the gelding's condition much worse. After a few hours in the morning sun, he was laboring hard to breath and seemed better only after being brought into shade and cooled down with repeated sponging.

Our vet also cautioned against putting him into any pasture where other horses might make him move around more than he can tolerate. So he can only go out overnight into our hospital paddock.

The worst of this episode seems to be over. The pneumonia is gone, the horse is breathing much easier, he's eating well again and seems happier. He's due for another vet check early next week and we're hoping we get the okay to transition to a less time-consuming maintenance plan requiring fewer drugs and less equipment. An early fall would help too.