April 2013

OL Man, its true the rich springtime grass can and will founder a horse, you have to limit how much time they are on it and build up slowly....like in ten minute increments at the most. Maybe you can get your friend to trim your horse every 10-12 weeks at the longest period out...and keep those hooves looking good, there are all kinds of padding stuff, like gels, and wider shoes that can help foundered feet now or soft soles. ARK may be able to give ya some info on that. This is my opinion, don't put the horse out on grass in the morning..it may be old wives tale, but they say the dew on the grass shoots has a chemical reaction and can make founder easier to happen. I have read this in my manuals:don't give grass clippings to your horse either as the chemical breakdown of the drying grass can cause probs with colic and founder. So I guess thekey here is to extend the time he is on the grass very slowly by a few minutes a day, and I probably wouldn't let a horse on grass more than a few hours a day at most even after you have built up to it....they just don't know when to quit eating that good stuff and even being use to it could cause problems. It depends on what they are use to also...so there are several answers to this question as hubby says! Maybe google it and see what others say about it and take a poll on here, lots of good horsey folks here and we all have ideas or have learned about things, pick their brains for answers!

Indyapp
Congrats on the trailering! I am glad Tiberious is a happy traveler! When is his clinic?

Ol'Man
I am glad to see you posting! we drylot all of our horses most of the day and Kazi and the ponies all day. They are all too fat and grass right now would founder them in short order. I can't keep grazing muzzles on those sneaky little short eared ponies and Kazi just follows me around looking mournful at me when I put one on her. It is easier to just keep them put up.

I only let the others out a couple of hours in the mornings when the grass has fewer carbs after lack of sunlight all night. Afternoon grass has more sugar/carbs and needs to be avoided. Easy keepers like Arabs and ponies are especially prone to founder and laminitis. Good luck!


Ellen
Our neighbor who hauls away our manure trailer for us finished the Boston marathon 18 minutes before the bomb went off. We are pretty sure he was away from the finish line area by then....

ARK, I sure hope so too....that was some scary stuff...

It was 77 here at midnight last night...whewwwww! and its toasttttteeeeeee here today too.

Nothing much going on, just trying to wade thru the stuff we brought down with us this last load and decide where to put it...and letting the dogs out to run a bit in this heat, but they seem to enjoy it anyway! Their pens arn't huge, so they get out to run almost daily, and then they pop back to their security and ready for a long nap! About like me today!
Not very energetic here today.

Hope everyone survived tax day!

later taters....

CB
Our neighbor is fine. He was already on the bus being transported back to the start area where his car was parked when he heard about the bomb. Thank goodness. You never met a nicer guy.

I am off to get my eyes measured for cataract surgery today. That happens in early May. Won't it be amazing to look down and be able to count my toes? LOL

Ark, I'm so glad to hear that your neighbor is safe. I was thinking about him.
It's nice to hear that your Sunday ride was a very pleasant one.

We've had some nice April showers, but not so much as to cause any flooding.

ARK, that's good that the neighbor is totally safe...but I'll bet his mind is a mess...I'll bet all the marathon runners could be thinking "that could have been me" SCARY indeed.
I'll be Hummin' for your surgery to go well....I wish I didn't have to wear glasses .....maybe one day...but yes it will be nice you'll be able tolook down and count all your toes...I hope you find you arn't missin' any! when you can do that! LOL

ELLEN, I sure hope there is no flooding in your area...with all this late snow, you know its going to melt fast in those places that got it with the temps getting warmer now...and really cause some probs with flooding..you know those folks are worried already, like in N. Dakota and those areas...I feel for them, but they were allowed to build on Islands in the middle of the river...hubby and I were "no wonder" when we saw that.

Ol Man, looking at an old EQUUS magazine they had an article on grass/founder. I will find it and post the article here for ya. May answer some of your questions. I think SLOW and Cautious on putting them on grass. I do remember the article said the fall grass is just as bad as the spring grass after a period of growth of the grass due to weather, it can be just as bad for founder. I promise i'll find it and post it

Fall Laminitis alert:

Don't be booled by later summers' dried and sparse pastures. They can still precipitate the devastating hoof condition in susceptible horses.
Fructan is the sugar in grass that triggers metabolic laminitis. Although we commonly think of lush, green grass as the riskiest forage, fructan levels in the pasture increase during times of stress and arrested growth, such as during a drought.
In addition a flush of growth with the return of moisture, followed by noticeably lower nighttime temperatures, cand set up conditions in which fructan levels rise. Fructan is found in cool season grasses commonly used in pastures, such as bluegrass and orchard grass. Fructan is found in any grass.
If you have a horse who is at an increased risk of laminities one who is insulin resistant or obese, or has previously had the condition, remain vigilant throughout the late summer and early fall as well. This may mean keeping him muzled a few weeks longer or moving him onto a dry lot.
Exercise is important and can help reduce the risk of laminitis.

There ya go Ol Man....you'll have to watch your horses spring, summer and fall...on pasture. If you have a favorite vet, go get some good advice from him/her. With them living in your area they will have some better info and better ideas than I who dry lots year round.
Google Laminitis on your puter too...it should bring up info.

that should read "don't be FOOled...

We went for a drive today to get out of heat, the car has ac...and found this town 30 miles from us called Robert Lee. There is a beautiful lake on the edge of town, but the town is almost a ghost town. The main street buildings are all empty and look like they are a fake front and will fall over! They are old buildings for sure. There doesn't look to be any jobs in town except at the school, grade school and high school is one big building. We stopped at a grocery store and it was so dingy in there I debated even getting a soda! They had Faultless powder starch that you put in your rinse water! the boxes looked as old as the hills...My Mom use to use that!! They serve barbque in there out of crock pots! I am surprised the health dept lets them do that! Omgosh...it certainly would make me think about eating there, but I bet the barbque is good!
Also we saw this baby gazelle thru a game preserve fence along with two adults...man was it just the cutest lil thing! Made the trip worthwhile!
On one of the back roads we saw a goat stuck in the fence, so we stopped and hubby went to the rescue. He had to climb over the fence to get to it...got the lil guy loose, he took off across the field to join his buddies, and then Hubby had to climb back over the fence which was harder cuz the rails were on the outside, just when I thought he was gonna plant face first he dropped back down on the fencetop and yelped in pain as he racked you know what! The air turned blue above his head! sorry guys, but I did find it a bit funny! Finally got him off the fence and we came home where he sat for awhile with an ice pack.... LOL...ok, I"m being mean! but I did find it just a bit hilarious! He is fine now, out feeding the crew, so I better get my butt in gear and lend a hand! Just had to tell y'all about my day! Nice ride!

WOW, another horrific accident in West, TX. Prayers for the town and all involved.

Yes Prayers for all of those folks too ..... lots of damage to the town too.

We don't think we will be having a grass founder issue this year ....... we are just going to have never ending winter!!!!!!

Hi all,
Been following and lurking a bit to keep up with all the news.

Still a long, long winter here too, last week it was 2 degrees C with frost each night, yesterday it was 15 C! I was melting.
And NO grass growth yet, farmers are running out of fodder now. And horses are low on the priority list....
Luckily, where I keep Zaristo they have a regular supplier, so it is Ok so far.

Recently, his stable bedding was changed to something called 'elephant grass', chopped up pretty coarse.
I wasn't asked, but not sure I like it, and worry that he is trying to eat it because it is the same color as haylage.

Last weekend, we went to a wonderful orienteering competition in the Slieve Bloom mountains, about 2 hours drive south of here.
Such luck, it was the first decent day we have had for weeks, clear blue skies, warm sun, no bitter wind and almost entirely off-road.
My TREC partner and I were on forestry tracks (tricky enough to follow on the map) but climbed higher and higher and came out the top. WOW, the views were terrific, miles and miles over the central plain of Ireland.
It was a real feel-good day - everyone came back with a smile.

I think we all need more of those sunny feel-good days though, they're in short supply so far this year!

Silver Dancer,I've never heard of "elephant grass"....just what is it? I may be a bit concerned about my horse eating it also...find out all you can about it.

And we do need those days that the sun is shining, and its a peaceful day to ride, and enjoy...lots more of those days!

It's a quiet day here today after our terrible storm that came thru last night...wow...talking about lighting up the sky...and hail...there is water standing everywhere in town today. We are lazing about..going to get the gelding out and play with him...just a laid back kind of day...as we didn't sleep a whole lot last night! We got up during several of the lulls in the storm and did quick checks on all the critters, who were fine...but it didn't make for us getting a good nights sleep at all!

It is terribel about that fertilizer plant blowing...but who let them put it so close to homes and schools, and a nursing home....wow...unbelievable...HUMMING for the families..

Sun is out, but only in the 60's today, which is nice after the mid 90's we had....welcome to TX!

well hubby got the Paints' feet done today...he was not a good boy at all, and knocked the hubby down once....he got lunged within an inch of his life, and trussed up like a turkey, tail tied to halter and leg tied around the neck/shoulders and finally got him done! WHEW! He has hard black feet and may not even need shoes....but I sure hope he isn't that bad to ride or he may be looking for a new home.

We also played with Buttercup, the filly tonight....she was all haughty, and like "I'm gonna tell my Mama you touched me there" or "oh get this fat lady away from me, she actually BLEW in my lil bitty nose, how rude" or "I can't believe she touched me on my hiney OMG call the horsey police!" But she will lead now and let us scratch and sritch, and pick up her feet, play with her ears...she is coming right along...and she is such a lil cutie patootie!

Well, that's my intersting day! other than the wind is blowing 25 mph and my hair is deciding to fly away to the moon!

Sweet Dreams Y'all.

I can't believe this mess on April 19 ...... not a leaf on any tree and not a blade of grass anywhere ....... not a single spot of bare ground and PILES and PILES of snow everywhere!!!!! ..... it also means no warm weather any time soon ........

Glad they are going to get the guys who did the bombs!!!!

Carol, so sorry your weather is crappy still. it's not right being the middle of April! Baaad weather! Ours was pretty Hot for a few days, but it has cooled down a bit for this next week, where I can breathe again! I'm happy a bout that. Man this weather is tearing places up, with drought, and floods, and snow and cold, and heat...yegads.

Well, another day....gotta get myself up and at it! I'm really slow this morning! enjoying the sunshine coming in my window...it got down to the low 40's last night.

Weather is still cool & pleasant here. Our heat will start moving in next week and by July will be wicked. Faith is out munching and all is well......very pleasant morning sharing coffee with Faith.

God bless. Prayers for ALL.

Sounds pretty nice Graymare!!!! But, I know it will get HOT HOT HOT and then it won't sound as nice except early mornings. Enjoy it!!!!

Carol, I'm sorry about your never-ending winter. We have some signs of spring, but today's temperature sure isn't one of them.

I just saw something funny. We've had so much rain in the last few days that the docks are barely above the water level. A mallard was swimming along, came to a dock, boosted himself up on it, walked across, and plopped back down in the water to continue his swim. I guess what made it funny to me was that I expected him to stay up on the dock to rest for a little bit, like they often do.

My mother was also very interested in agricultural issues and had a special place in her heart for those that produced food for the table. I know she would have taken on this a cause to be concerned about. Fortunately / unfortunately ... I do NOT have any of these growing on my land.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h9RfuD1Im4U

RICK, that's hysterical. What a great sense of humor and a lot of work.

Furthermore, kids today just thonk that's the way it is.

beautiful day here today! Just right...not too hot, not too cold...felt really good. Wish I could hsare some of my nice weather with those of you still in the cold and yuck stuff.

Tomorrow is the junk auction...maybe we will go, maybe not...we have a lot to do here...so much to do...will we ever get it all done....

Rick, I can't view that site, but wish I could!

Sweet Dreams y'all

CB...I'm surprised you can't see that. Does is 'light up' when you move your mouse to it? If so, just highlight it and left click your mouse.

Other thing would be to copy the address into the address place and go from there. You'll have to erase the address for this horsefiends site to that, of course.

I wish things were simpler, but I'm not all that technical savvy either. For example...I've tried a dozen different times to figure out how t post photos here and I still can't do it!!
Maybe Ellen will chime in with some pointers!!

IF you need, I'll bet Greymare can tell you about the video far better than I can.

Rick

I've just used ImageShack like I always did for posting photos, or the link to them.

EXCELLENT NEWS FROM BOSTON!!! WOOHOO!!!!

CB, it's a short clip of a marshmellow farmer discussing the trials and tribulations of marshmellow production. He is in a field of trees with marshmallows all over the branches.
He is bemoaning a poor yield due to many factors during growing season.

It had to take sev people many hours to get all the marshmellows on the trees. If todays city kids saw it, they would think the marshmallows really grow on trees. And I've wondered how many people have seen it really wondered if that's how marshmallows are produced.

It's brilliant and hysterical IMHO. Try to get Jessi to show it to you on her computer or maybe she can get it up on yours. I'm going to show it to our kids in the horse program and wait. The older ones will prob get it, but the younger ones won't I don't think.

On the news tonight ...... three weeks til opening fishing ..... still 2 feet of ice on the lakes ..... hmmmmmm seems like a potential problem there ...... we will see what happens.

Rick, a black screen just came up and that's it....I am totally not techy at all! (y'all knew that tho, huh)
Graymare thanks for splainin it! That is funny! I wonder how many adults would even think that...hmmmmm....

Carol, how about ice fishing! LOL I know lots of folks are down about the cold weather...am hoping it gets better for all. I've been sneezin' my fool head off here lately....hubbys' allergies are much better here, and now mine are actin' up...gads! I don't need that.

Let all the doggies out for a run tonight...they had a blast!
We named the Great Dane pup "WhiteDog"...she is a livewire! and growing fast! She has literally torn the bottom out of my screen door, nothing stops her, she goes thru it, over it, under it, digs it, chews it...you name it...she sleeps thru the night tho, and I swear she sleeps sounder than I do! and she looks like she grows more overnight!

Ellen, you should get a video of the duck...that would be so funny...sometimes it is just the small things that make us sit back and smile and just happy to be alive. I love watching Buttercup racing around her pen so fast she'll get dizzy and fall down and just splat...she should have a daisy on her nose and it would look like a cartoon character, I swear! These lil bottle baby goats follow Harry all over the place...they go running and jumpin and bouncin to him! It is just so cute! daaaaaadeeeeeee! they baa...