ELeVan ~ Honaker Farm Journal

[elevan]

We've had Jack less than a year. My mom "rescued" him.

John told us that he could tell by his feet that founder had been a problem for him before.

He's not overweight by any means, but we'll do as told and tie him in the barn for most of the day. What a pain. One more reason to dislike these horses I guess. Sorry to the horse lovers out there, but as I said before they are not my thing and I'll be glad when they're gone.

 

[redtailgal]

If your graining him at all be sure to cut back on his grain to prevent weight gain from being restrained.

Things to avoid:

Weight gain will make it worse, overdosing worm meds will contribute, high carb grains, he should avoid clover as much as possible.

He'll need to have his feet checked pretty often, and may need more frequent trims if it progresses.

If you want to research it, look up laminitis.

 

[elevan]

If your graining him at all be sure to cut back on his grain to prevent weight gain from being restrained.

Things to avoid:

Weight gain will make it worse, overdosing worm meds will contribute, high carb grains, he should avoid clover as much as possible.

He'll need to have his feet checked pretty often, and may need more frequent trims if it progresses.

If you want to research it, look up laminitis.

They don't get grained. Occasionally in the winter he gets a handful of alfalfa pellets but it's a rare occasion. Dewormed twice per year per our vet.

Our field is 90% clover so that's a difficult one. Feet dealt with often won't be a problem now that we've got John since he's only 15 minutes from us and very helpful.

I'll look into the laminitis. Thanks.

 

[Roll farms]

I wanted horses desperately ever since I was a kid.....Until I got some.

Like a lot of things in this life, I found out the idea / dream of it was better than the reality of it....The poop, the fence damage, the grooming, the flies....who has time to actually ride??

I do like one breed of horse for personality (Halflinger) and I tell DH every now and then that "When we hit the lotto and I can afford a groom / stable employee, I'm going to get a couple Halfies."

 

[redtailgal]

lol, the irony.

The two of you can say what you want, I, on the other hand, am in Heaven on Earth when working with horses. I love to groom, train, ride. Love the way they look, think, smell.........
My number 1 passion has always been horses.

The first time I walked, I used a horse for a walker. I grabbed the tail to pull up and when the are started walking, I held her tail and followed. (now dont go raggin' on my momma for letting me do that, I know it wasnt smart of her)

Horses are in my blood, and if I go to long without working with one, I feel an honest to goodness ache. It's depressing.....literally depressing to not breath the smell of horse manure and sweat.

Hopefully, one day I'll have my own horse and not have to get my "fix" by helping other people with theirs. But, so long as this land belongs to my FIL, I cannot have a horse.

sigh................Fuss if you want to ladies, but I am envious.

 

[elevan]

It's depressing.....literally depressing to not breath the smell of horse manure and sweat.

Just plain

 

[currycomb]

if you have a dry lot, the horse will do great in that. will need to hay him, but at least you wont have to clean the barn after him. it is not really that hard to control, just no grass. there is too much sugar in it, causing the foot problem. best to not turn him out on the pasture at all. he will recover, but will need his feet trimmed more often to keep them from becoming too deformed.

 

[elevan]

if you have a dry lot, the horse will do great in that. will need to hay him, but at least you wont have to clean the barn after him. it is not really that hard to control, just no grass. there is too much sugar in it, causing the foot problem. best to not turn him out on the pasture at all. he will recover, but will need his feet trimmed more often to keep them from becoming too deformed.

No we don't have a dry lot.

 

[country farm girl]

hey emily, I had a Q. I don't have the big livestock right now but I do have poultry and I was thinking of doing my own journal on BYH. Is that ok or do I need to do the journal on BYC?? I don't see a BYC journals thread, thats why I ask.

 

[elevan]

Hardy (East India duck drake) is super mad at me tonight! He's in a cage in the coop by himself. He keeps trying to kill the duckling and I had to pull him off of the little guy (and I'm fairly certain it's a boy) several times this evening. Hardy just wouldn't let it go, so he's in time out tonight.

I was wrong about the guinea keets being tamer because they're being raised by a chicken. Their wildness is starting to break through. I caught one tonight after mush effort and it was just carrying on. Mama Helga was PO'd at me and try to attack me

The new goat boys are doing well. Getting a little louder. They've had a sissy-ish voice but today they were really letting me know that they wanted my attention. I'm really beginning to suspect that they are a lot younger than my brother was led to believe when he picked them up. I need to figure out how to break them of their habit of eating everything! I almost lost a chunk of my shirt this evening. B almost lost a finger yesterday. K was sitting next to their pen tonight and they reached through and yanked out a chunk of his hair!

Turkeys are growing like little weeds. We've got to get their new coop done this weekend so they can move. The little coop that they are in is tight quarters at night now.