Looking at 2 free horses

[dragonmorgan]

A guy my husband works with is having to move and is wanting to give us his horses. According to him they are Tennessee Walkers and they are around 2 years old. One is a mare and one is a gelding (I'm not sure which is which). I'm not totally sure what I am looking at with horses so I was hoping yall might take a look and see what you think. We are sposed to pick them up next weekend so I'm just wanting to get an idea of whether or not there is anything extra I need to pick up for them. I'm pretty excited about it all. Me and DH have been talking about wanting horses for a while and then this opportunity pops up.

 

[secuono]

Well, vet should come out, you might want to worm them and they need food! Are you planing on putting them on pasture? If they don't have a lot of grass now and your place does, you should only let them out to graze for an hour a day and slowly increase it.
Hind feet of the horse with white looks like they need better trimming.

 

[BrownSheep]

I second the beefing them up advise...as for an easy sexing tip, boys will urinate from under their belly.

 

[DonnaBelle]

Since you're not paying for them it's really a matter of "rescuing" them, isn't it??

I'd still have a vet come out and give them a look. They may just need regular vaccinations and some good feeding.

We have a neighbor that stopped by the sale barn in Oklmulgee and there was a young little mare tied up to the fence. She was skinny as a bone, someone had just brought her by and tied her up and left. She was much skinnier than these guys, with sores on her and she needed a lot of TLC.

Well neighbor brought her home, after paying the sale barn $50.00 to rescue her. You should see her now. She is a beauty. He's training her to be a "kids horse" and is tickled pink with her.

Good luck with them if you get them. Horses are just in dire straits now, all over this country.

DonnaBelle

 

[dragonmorgan]

We have a really good farm vet that we use for our cows and I am def gonna have her come out and take a look at them once they get here. I am also going to have to her put me in touch with a farrier to have their hooves looked at. The guy said they are up to date on their vaccinations but I will ask for his vet so that I can ask about the records on them to see when they are due to have them again.

You are right it would be considered a rescue but watching so much Animal Cops on TV makes me associate "rescue" with horribly neglected or injured horses lol. Right now are pastures are grazed down pretty good and we are starting preparations for winter. Right now we supplement our cows with hay in the winter so throwing in a few extra round bales for the horses shouldn't be a problem. I noticed that they looked a little skinny but I wasn't sure if that was my inexperienced eye or not. We will pick up some grain for them too when we go to the feed store. What is the best grain to get for horses you are trying to put weight on? How much grain and hay should I be feeding a day? Should it just fill up a bucket and leave it out for them all the time?

 

[goodhors]

Looking as they do now, I wouldn't consider riding them until they have gained weight and matured more.
They are just babies, and with poor nutrition so far, they are way behind in body development. Bones will
still be very soft, not ready for riding work at all yet.

I would be careful with feeding any amount of grain at this point. As with grazing on good pasture, you want
to ease them into better feed so they can manage it without body over-reacting with colic or other problems.
We don't feed our horses much grain at any time, especially the young ones. We want slow and steady growth, not
the growth spurts of immense height, lots of fat over the body, which is hard on those soft joints when a young
horses play and gallop in the fields. Ours have more meat on them than the ones pictured, but a flash of
ribs is not bad because horses are ATHLETES, not beef cattle. Easier to move if young horses are not carrying
great amounts of extra flesh, so they play more, building strong bodies and muscle wthout being forced to.

DO NOT feed horses free choice grain, they will probably get sick on it. I think the commercial mixes of feed
are over-priced for what you get. They recommend feeding much larger quantities of grain than I would ever
think to give ANY horse! We feed plain oats and cracked corn, half and half mixed at the elevator, to our horses.
The cracked or rolled corn is for calories, oats are for roughage. Horses can't chew whole corn kernels well, so
they waste a lot, so you wasted money buying it. Probably you should use a measuring cup, scale would be better
if you have one, start with a couple cups or 1/3 pound of this mix, once a day for a grain. This can be their treat,
for coming when called and tied to eat or be stalled. Separate them by tying or stalling, so each gets their full amount.
In a week, you can probably increase to 1/2 pound once a day. I wouldn't want to be giving them more than
a pound a day when you work up the increases each week. Fill them up with hay. Put out what hay they will
clean up in a couple hours. More hay than that is probably wasted by being walked on, etc. You can feed 3-4 times
a day with the hay, but only give what they clean up.

You will want to be brushing them, running your hands over their ribs, to FEEL if they are gaining or not each week. Winter
hair makes it LOOK like they are fat, but fingers tell you the truth of the matter!! Hay also will keep them warmer
by fermenting in the stomach, taking a longer time to go thru the digestive system. Grain is helpful, but should
not be the main part of their diet. You may want to add Selenium and Vit E to the diet, since many locations lack
this in the soil. You have to give both, or the Selenium is not absorbed into the body. Ask Vet if you have
other local mineral issues in your area to be aware of or that need to be added to a horse diet.

Do have the Vet out promptly, get horses vaccinated if needed, teeth checked in case they need attention. 2yr olds often
have problems with starting to get mature horse teeth, baby teeth caps not coming off well. Also have the Vet
CHECK to make sure the gelding really is gelded completely. Worming is seconded by me, using different
chemicals each time, doing a couple wormings close together to get worms missed in the first session.

If you have not owned horses before, you will want to get some books on handling young horses, be firm in
your requests from them, do NOT allow horses to make any choices in what the two of you will be doing. They
are your friend, but they DO NOT GET TO CHOOSE what they can do. They need to do as you ask them.
If they haven't been handled much, then you need to teach them the basics or invest in a trainer to teach
these things for you.

Walking horses are usually quite level headed, easy to live with, but they do need to learn to be cooperative like
any horse does. As they get older, you will want the trainer to get them going under saddle, help YOU FOLKS
understand the horse reactions, "buttons" for go and stop, turns, letting you the four of you make good partners
as time goes along.

Good luck with finding a Farrier who does Gaited horses. Could be common in your area or impossible to locate.
Walkers usually have a good size foot under them, so Farrier should NOT be cutting it really short or taking out all
the sole on the bottom. You need to protect your horses from folks that want to give them "short toes", because
that would make them lame. Don't allow any "corrective trimming" on these guys, unless they interfere with hinds
hitting the front legs. They are way past the time of "being fixable", so just have Farrier trim them level. They are
also rather narrow bodied now, but should widen up as they mature, which will straighten the front legs more.
Just part of being a young horse. Both sides of EACH hoof should be the same length, so coronet band is even all
the way around the leg. Uneven coronet band is a sign of uneven hoof walls. Should not need shoes for until next
year, and then only if you get worn down hooves from hard ground or rocks.

Get SOME kind of a document as a Bill of Sale, with owner signing horses with descriptions, over to you for a $5.
Money makes it legal, signed and dated, so he can't come back and take them, "because we missed them so much".
This after you have put a fair amount of money into them with feed, Vet, maybe training.

Know right now, that FREE or $5 payment, is the CHEAPEST part of owning the horse. Everything else about them
will cost you!! You also will want to check out local hay supplies, get some hay found for winter and buy now. Local
hay is up in cost here, not sure about your area. Do NOT feed them pure alfalfa hay, much too rich and it skews the
nutrients they need in the body. A grassy hay is better, but grass and alfalfa mix would probably work alright. Should
smell good and fresh, be softer not sticklike stems, no mold or dust in the bale. Dark spots on sides, ends, center
when the bale is opened, are probably mold spots. Don't feed that to the horse. Most sellers will take back a moldy
bale. Often you can feel a moldy bale in loading, they are MUCH heavier to move. Set it aside for closer inspection
after loading the truck.

Ask more questions if you want advice, we are not sure exactly what you don't know for helping.

 

[aggieterpkatie]

If you have been talking about getting horses to ride, then I'd say it probably would be best to decline these horses. Like Goodhors said, you really shouldn't even start doing any training until the horses are at least a minimum of 3 years. Then it'll take a long while of training to get them safe and going under saddle. Beginner riders (not sure if you are or not) and green horses is a recipe for disaster. It may be a better option for you to get horses that are older and already trained.

If you're just wanting pasture ornaments, or if you have the time and money to wait and invest in a professional trainer, then go for it.

 

[dragonmorgan]

We werent plannin on riding them until they are at least 3 years old anyway. We are wanting to wait and let them get used to usaand the routine around here plus have plenty of time to get the saddles, tack, and other things we will need ao waitin is not a problem. I have also found some trainers around here that will break horses to ride, teach them to work cows, and give lessons to the owners once the horses have been taught. I def plan on seeing a profeasional trainer for lessons myself to get educated more on horse. I have some riding experience but I am by no means a master horseback rider. My plan is to get in touch with a trainer and take this year totrain myself up on horse handleing.

What is the best thing to feed them to make sure they safely return to a healthy weight? Hay around here isnt the cheapest that is for sure but there is some to be found plus we bale some of our own for winter. Its mostly a mix of grasses but the cows like it. When im looking for horse hay what should i be looking for? Iike what all kinds of grass am I wanting in the bale?

So when i look for a farrier i should be sure to ask if they trim gaited horses? I do not believe the horses will need shoes because we dont live in a really rocky environment and will not be walking them anywhere hard. Ill ask the farrier more about this to be sure though.

 

[dragonmorgan]

I just talked to the trainer I was looking into for the horses and he also gives lessons. He invited me out to his farm to watch him work horses sometime and he is also a farrier. When I asked if he had ever done the hooves of gaited horses he said that earlier this week he did a couple of tennessee walkers. Talking to him made me feel better because at least now I know a trainer and a farrier. Hopefully I can make it out to his ranch to watch him work and see how he is with the horses. I'm wondering if he might let me help him out one day a week or something. Scooping poop or brushing horses or just something. We will see. This is the trainer that also trains horses to work cows so hopefully it will all work out.

 

[aggieterpkatie]

I was thinking more about this and wanted to comment again. Not trying to be negative, but so many people get sucked in by the word "free" (and my parents were as well, when I was a kid). I'm not sure what area you're in, but another thing to keep in mind is that horses are very cheap right now. You're going to spend money feeding, vetting, and shoeing, and training these horses for probably a good 2 years before you can even ride them. You may want to consider using that money to purchase 2 already trained and ready to ride horses.