Changing goals and speed

[AClark]

Congratulations (I guess ) Good thing you have nothing else to do so you have time to fix the trailer

But I have a question based on these ASSUMPTIONS:
You didn't ride the unbroken horse home.
You didn't put it in that 'thing'.
You don't already have a functional trailer or you wouldn't have purchased a 'project'.

So how did you get Lucy home?

I talked someone into picking her up for me. I have a friend whose dad lives here and knows livestock folks, so that has worked out to my benefit.

Of course I have NOTHING better to do than to fix up that old abomination, but I really think it has enough promise (and the frame is fine wihtout any holes, lol) to be something useful and decent. Can't expect much out of a trailer that costs less than $200. I picked it up in the dark, the guy asked if I wanted to look at it better and I said it's probably better I don't! lol I knew I could weld the metal or cut it out if it's bad (the top is, I have a metal saw and already scoped out the replacement framing for the top real cheap), but I fail at the woodworking. Hubby and I laughed at it for about half an hour before we called the guy to buy it - just going off the pictures.

My guess is 6-8 weeks for a foal, could be sooner or later, I honestly don't know and the guy didn't know when she was bred other than he turned the stud out last March. So February or later. Anyone want to bet on color? Dad is a bay tobiano paint.

 

[Goat Whisperer]

What an adventure! I'm enjoying reading

I hope you absolutely swamp us with pictures when your horse (& foal, when it makes its arrival) with pics!

 

[Baymule]

If the stud has any "cat's paw" prints, then he is homozygous for paint and the foal will be a paint. Lucy sounds like a sweetheart and the foal is an added bonus. She really picked you to get her out of that place, she knew a good thing when she saw it. I love the trailer. It sounds like something I would do, much to my husband's horror. I bought an old boat trailer for $75 and put new wheels and tires on it. It is on my list of projects, gonna build a chicken coop on it so I can pull it to different pastures.

We want pictures of Lucy's progress and definitely have to post pics of the trailer as you bring it back to life.

I feed my old senior horses a 14% pellet from Martindale feeds. It is called their all purpose pellet and my horses stay fat and healthy on it. It is actually listed under their cattle feed, but I've had my horses on it for years and used to drive an hour away to get it. Look and see if there is a dealer close to you, I highly recommend this feed to fatten Lucy back up. And the price won't tear your head off, either.

http://www.martindalefeed.com/MFM/beef/MFM/01005906012.html

 

[AClark]

I have a 14% small pelleted cattle feed I've been giving the goat bozos (they are bozos and have to be involved in everything!) I'm starting her out real slow with the pellets and alfalfa mix cubes, as I have concerns on colicking her, and I know feeding her too rich too fast can founder her feet.

I picked up a regular horse size rope halter for her after a long debate at the store. Yeah, I should have gone with my gut on that one because I knew she had a smaller head, and should have picked up the yearling halter for her as this one is huge on that pretty little head. I forgot my rope halters at my mom's in AZ when I picked up my stuff, but I had yearling halters since my profile pic horse had a tiny head too.



A better side pic from home in my pasture - we figure her body condition score is in the 3-4 range. Of course being that far along in foal makes her belly look better.

 

[AClark]

What an adventure! I'm enjoying reading

I hope you absolutely swamp us with pictures when your horse (& foal, when it makes its arrival) with pics!

"Adventure" is exactly what we call it. My mom says it is hereditary, because any time she goes to do something simple like pick up a trailer, it ends up being an adventure. My husband knows this is how it is with me, and nobody gets upset about mishaps, it's actually funny when that's how things go every time. It gives you a good attitude about things going wrong because you're used to it and nothing surprises you!

 

[Latestarter]

When you get a couple hundred pounds added onto her frame she'll be a good (better) looking horse

 

[Baymule]

That looks like a nice pasture you have her in! She sure looks happy to be there!

 

[AClark]

Last night we did a little work. We are going very slowly to figure out what she knows and doesn't, and not to stress her. I got her to lead a little (she is pretty easy to halter in the field, but doesn't lead), picked up her front feet and hoof picked them out. She also got a tube of Safe Guard, which she is the first horse I've ever had that didn't make a nasty face and spit out dewormer. I have to be pretty careful because I'm at 38 weeks myself and can't take being beat up by a spooked horse, so i left her back feet alone since I'm more likely to get tumbled like that. It's a good thing she is super gentle. She just figured out that when I come out in the morning and afternoon, I'm bringing "good food" and she should come up instead of standing there gulping grass. I've literally never seen a horse that ate non-stop like this, she finally took a break yesterday afternoon. I mean, I know horses graze off and all all day, but she was gulping big mouthfuls of grass for 24 hours before she finally got "full". The red mud looking poop is passing through and starting to look normal too, so I'm happy about that.

Found bot fly eggs all over her and going to pick up a knife for them later. I didn't know what it was, as where I had horses before doesn't get bot flies on horses - glad i dewormed her with Safe Guard since it gets bot fly larvae too and I don't even want to know what's in her stomach - it's been cold here since at least November so she's been dragging those eggs around at least 2 1/2 months. I've seen "cattle grubs" before, but never on a horse, or the eggs. Trying to figure out where to do the scraping as I don't want to do it where her and the goats eat, but she doesn't lead all that much...kind of debating using a plastic pan and scraping into that and disposing of them. I only figured out what it was after watching a youtube video on someone who got a rescue horse and she pointed them out. Then of course, you have to watch the vet videos on what they do to their stomachs and I could see DH's skin visibly crawl.

I've yet to see any visible worms in her poop after kicking around in it this morning, but I expect to.

Plans for the weekend - deworming and trimming goats. I don't have hoof nippers here or I'd start on Lucy's feet too, my mom is mailing a pair of GE's for me. Goat trimmers are cheap, but cheap horse nippers are still expensive, and those GE forged ones are over $200 - luckily my mom said she had an extra pair and at most I might need to send them in for sharpening but I could more than likely get a couple of trims out before that. I don't think the goats have worms, but it's preventative after finding the bot fly eggs as I'm not sure if they can be zoonotic, but I'd just rather not.

We also have 3 litters of baby bunnies due the first week of February. The rabbits are enjoying their new set up in the barn outside. I finally got the water nipples you can hook to tubing and to a bucket and that is the best thing since sliced bread, no more filling bottles, just grab the hose and fill the bucket.

My eggs are due to hatch next week too. I'm not adept enough at candling to know what I'm looking at, and some I can't see through, so I'm just going to cross my fingers and hope for the best.

 

[Bruce]

Wow, babies of all nature on the way!!!!! Chicks next week, Bunnies and YOUR baby in 2 weeks? Then the foal at some point in the future.

 

[HomeOnTheRange]

A few years back, I had gotten one of these (http://electrichoofknife.us/) to help out with the large number of goats. (The picture on the homepage is of a horse/cow attachment, the goat attachment is like a sanding disk.) It really saved the back and hands. I know the price is up there, but the pain it has saved me is priceless. Just thought I would toss it out there. I love any tool that will save me time and effort.