Our First Horse

Valentine has a very strange habit. Back when we first got him, we noticed that he had a tendency to dump all his food on the ground. He dropped any treats you tried to feed him, he dropped his hay on the ground and he swished his oats out of the feeder onto the dirt. Now that we’ve had him a while, we understand some of these tendencies. He hardly ever drops treats on the ground now; we think it was because he was still getting to know us so he was a bit hesitant taking food from us. Not so now - watch the fingers, or they’ll get sucked in too! The hay ends up on the ground mostly because the flakes stick together. He tries to pull some out, he gets more than he expected and shakes it, so the excess falls onto the floor. (Sometimes it ends up on the wrong side of the stall door, because the hay feeder is right next to the door. We’ll come out in the morning to find a veritable haystack outside his door - poor thing!)

But the funniest thing is the oats. When he first came to us, every time we fed him, he would violently swish the oats sideways out of the feeder. The first time we fed him we put on-feed dewormer on the oats, so that was alarming - half the oats with the medication went swishing onto the floor (ahh, the good old days!). There were never any oats on the ground when we came up to the barn the next morning, though, so either he’s half anteater and sucked every last grain up, or the mice took care of it. I always hoped it was mice, because horses can colic if they ingest sand (or dirt, in our case) with their food.

As it turns out though, Valentine doesn’t really like to eat his oats off the ground. After a while, we finally figured out that he only swishes his food out if we are bothering him while he eats. Don’t pet him; don’t groom him; don’t stand near him; don’t even talk to him from outside the stall. So now we know - just leave him alone, and he’ll eat like a normal horse.

7 Comments »

What did your horse do today? Mine ate a pine tree. Filling the pasture water bucket today I noticed something missing. There was a small pine tree growing near the water bucket and I’ve been watering it for months. It was a cute little feller with aspirations for being an equine belly scratcher some day. Its poor little life was cut short (nipped in the bud, you might say) by an apparently very hungry horse. Neither horse had a pine-fresh scent so I couldn’t figure out which one ate it. I’m not sure what I would have done if I did know. Can you Heimlich a horse? Sounds dangerous.

6 Comments »

A funny thing happened this Christmas. Most of the presents Mikki and I bought each other related to horses. This is our first Christmas with horses and I must say, buying presents this year was pretty easy. I asked for tack and Mikki always loves horse stuff so I knew that was a safe bet. And of course I bought my horse, Moonshine, something, too.

So here’s the list:

Bill:

• Leather reins
• Saddle blanket
• Cinch (or girth)
• Cross ties

Mikki:

• Troxel Dakota Duratec riding helmet
• Horse People: Scenes from the Riding Lifeand two other horse-related books
• Let’s Ride: Dreamer (Jewel Case)
• Leather gloves

Moonshine:

• Jolly Apple Stall Snack

Valentine didn’t get anything and that’s my fault, really. When I was out buying a gift for Mikki, I saw the stall toy for my horse Moonshine. I was only thinking about her. Sorry, Valentine! He doesn’t seem to notice he got slighted.

2 Comments »

We can all sit around and talk about all the research you should do before buying a horse, but you and I know that’s not how it usually happens. Somebody wants a horse desperately and you see an ad in the paper and whammo, you’re shoveling horse poo 24 hours later. Sure, fancy horse people (nothing against them, mind you) buy horses like wine aficionados buy wine, but the rest of us buy on looks. “Oh, look at that pretty horse, honey!” So here’s a top-ten list of reasons to justify going out and buying that pretty horse you’ve been dreaming about…this weekend:

1. If you’re a married woman, your husband owes you big for something. Now’s your turn to cash in! If need be, remind him of how sad it made you when he bought that laser-guided compound miter saw he failed to mention. It’s all about communication, after all.
2. Housing prices are going up and everything is getting more expensive with inflation, so horse prices must be going up too! Buy now before prices go up!
3. As Willie Nelson pointed out, thousands of unwanted horses are being slaughtered every year. You need to rescue one right away.
4. Similar to reason 1, your husband has been itching to build something. It’s probably just an excuse to buy more tools, but give him reason to buy into this whole horse thing. You’ll need a barn and a fence and a run-in shed…
5. It’s a great excuse to buy a one-ton dually 4×4. You’ll need it to pull a horse trailer.
6. It’s good for the kids. Horses help teach kids about responsibility and hard work. You do want what’s good for the kids, don’t you?
7. You’re not getting any younger and the older you get, the more it hurts when you fall off a horse.
8. All the cool kids have horses. Actually that’s not true. All the rich kids and the not-so-rich kids who are now poor kids because they bought a horse, have them. But owning a horse does raise your “cool” score a few points.
9. Your healthcare savings account (HSA) expires December 31st. Use it or lose it!
10. It’s Christmas! A horse would definitely qualify as that “one big present”.

Disclaimer: ourfirsthorse.com takes no responsibility for your impulse horse purchasing decision.

No Comments »

Poor Bill. Little did he know that buying a horse for me would mean so much work for him. In the 9 months we’ve had Valentine, he has had to take over barn duties for more than one day five times. I’ve had to do it on my own only three times, each time for one day when he traveled on business. So if you’re tired of barn duties and want a break, here are some good ways to do it:

Get sick. I had a really bad allergy attack in March that I thought was a cold. Then I really did have a cold at the beginning of this month, right after a week of what was probably bronchitis. That’s three times I was laid up right there.

Travel. Bill only goes for a day or two, but I was gone for 9 days. I really do feel badly about that. But he’ll be gone for over a week in January, so he’ll get some of that back.

Injure yourself. On Monday afternoon, I had an unfortunate accident with a kitchen knife. No stitches, thank goodness, but it will take a while to heal all the way and it was, of course, my right hand. I was able to muck out the stall last night (only two nights off), but I was really slow.

Actually, I don’t really advocate any of these methods. Except for the travel, they’re not that fun. And I missed my horses while I was gone, so going away isn’t all that great, either.

Bribery, on the other hand, isn’t too bad.

No Comments »

A few posts ago (Should you buy a horse?), I recommended leasing a horse as a great way to figure out whether or not you should buy one. I still think horse leasing is a great idea but today I read about a downside that needs to be considered. Mona over at Horse Approved passed on the story of a 14 year old girl named Sarah in North Carolina who is trying to find an old friend. Her parents leased a mare named Colorful Clue for her as a Christmas present a few years ago, intending to purchase the horse if Sarah proved she would be responsible for it. Unfortunately, the actual owner of the horse fell ill with cancer and wanted the sell it for more than Sarah’s parents were able to pay. Eventually Colorful Clue went to auction and Sarah’s parents lost the opportunity to purchase her by only $50. Now, two years later, Sarah is trying to track down Colorful Clue. She says her budget is higher now but even if she couldn’t purchase the horse, she’d at least like to know how she’s doing.

I must admit, although I’ve only owned Moonshine for 8 months, I’m completely attached. It makes sense to me that one of the biggest dangers of leasing a horse is becoming attached to one you would not be able to keep long-term. Keep that in mind as you consider whether or not horse leasing is an option for you.

If you can help Sarah find Colorful Clue, please visit her page.

3 Comments »