Our First Horse

We had rain yesterday in east Tennessee. When I went out to check the water bucket I noticed two shiny flat spots near the barn. I got a little closer to investigate and then went for my camera. I know what caused it. What’s your guess? I’ll edit the post later with some “evidence” and the answer.

Well thanks for playing guys! Laura was the first to nail it…it took me a minute but I recalled a photo I took in about this same spot:

And this is what our horses looked like:

Rediculous…I mean look at this:

She’s suddenly a redhead! Horses are so funny. I rarely see Valentine muddy but I think it’s pretty clear from the two distinct flat spots in the top picture that both horses rolled.

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Mikki wrote recently about one year with Valentine, her Tennessee Walking Horse. And a few weeks ago we celebrated one year with Moonshine, my solid paint. It’s hard to believe a year has gone by already. Although I introduced her in October of 2006, we actually picked her up at the end of April. And over the course of the past year she has been mostly predictable, in a good way. She did dump me off one time, an incident I have yet to write about. It’s not entirely her fault me and my ego experienced some pain and I’ve ridden her since, though cautiously. But mostly she’s a sweet, lovable horse who buries her face in my chest when she’s being shoed, loves to boss the much bigger Valentine, loves to chase him around the pasture occasionally (she can run circles around him), enjoys carrots and gracefully puts up with being saddled and ridden, except that one time .

Moonshine is my first horse so this past year has been a huge learning experience for me. I’ve learned about horse behavior, health, maintenance and expense. I’ve experienced joy and frustration. And in the past week I’ve even experienced the healing comfort a horse can bring during times of personal trial. Sometimes you just need to hug a horse. But now that I have some of the basics of horse “ownership” down, this next year I’ll be focusing on the next phase of our relationship in the roles of horse and rider. Mikki and I hope to soon build our round pen, to facilitate training. We’re going to saddle our horses up more often. And we’re going to absorb all we can from more experienced horse owners about riding and then competing. Yes, this will be the year we “get our money’s worth.” Our weekly horse duties are changing to include a training regimen. Realistically we won’t probably feel comfortable showing until next year but that gives us a year to practice and get our horses familiar with going to shows. None of us are getting any younger and we have no idea what the future holds. So we’re going to grab the saddle by the horn and hold on for dear life as we try to get the most from this horse ownership experience.

Hopefully next year about this time we’ll be writing positive notes about our second year of horse ownership.

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About 6 months ago I posted a note discussing the wood-chewing habits of my dear Moonshine (Protecting Wooden Stall Doors - Part 1). We thought she was bored while in her stall overnight figuring that would explain why she like munching on her main stall door. So in November I went about fabricating an aluminum door cover to make it harder for her to destroy the door with her teeth. I was initially concerned she might bite through the aluminum, causing sharp edges that might cut her tongue or mouth. Six months later, that still hasn’t happened. The aluminum trim is pretty attractive still and hasn’t been damaged by my horse at all. Although at first she liked to lick it after eating her oats, she doesn’t seem to do that anymore. In fact, she doesn’t seem to chew on wood anymore. I mentioned this recently in the post titled Wood chewing habit update. It seems that since we changed to a different feed - Purina Strategy - Moonshine stopped chewing wood. From what people have been telling me, it seems like the feed store sweet oats we had been feeding her were lacking something she wanted/needed. Strategy provides it. Prior to Strategy we tried Purina Omolene 100 and that seemed to work, too.

I don’t plan on removing the aluminum shield I made but at this point I don’t think I’ll be making one for the other door. If you have a chewer and changing feed doesn’t work for you, in addition to trying some horse stall toys, a stall door cover/shield might help protect your barn and your horse until you have the problem licked.

Part 1 - Protecting Wooden Stall Doors
Part 2 - Stall door protection concept - 6 months later (this post)

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I’m about to retire the best light-work gloves I have ever owned. I’m not afraid to get my hands dirty but last year I bought a pair of Justin light leather gloves from Tractor Supply. I’ve used these gloves nearly every day for a year and the only reason I’m retiring them is due to some holes they’ve developed. It’s time. I used these gloves exclusively for barn work and riding, etc. No working on cars, no gardening. I like them so much because of the way they feel, tight enough for me to easily grip whatever I’m grabbing but not too tight to be comfortable. I think I paid $20 for them and they’ve been worth every penny. They will be replaced with the same exact Justin glove model, if I can find them. Definitely a “buy” recommendation from me.

Neither Justin nor Tractor Supply paid me anything to say nice things about these gloves.

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One of the great mysteries of our new home was why the previous owners would leave behind several fifty gallon barrels of chemicals behind. It was alarming. We wanted to dispose of them in an environmentally friendly way but weren’t quite sure where to start. The previous owners didn’t have a tractor so why did they have giant barrels of what seemed like thick oil or grease? We mentioned this to several people in the area and it was only last month that someone gave us the clue we needed to solve this mystery. Our barn is wood sided and apparently it’s common in this area to mix some concoction of diesel fuel, used transmission fluid and whatever this oil/grease is in the barrels to treat the wood on the barn. It’s supposed to protect the wood from the weather and insects, such as carpenter bees. I have never heard of such a thing. I guess it kind of makes sense. I know wood needs to be chemically treated to last but it seems odd to me that we should be using something that is…I don’t know…HIGHLY FLAMMABLE!

Have you ever heard of this? What do you guys use for your wooden barns/out-buildings?

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I hate to have to click on a bunch of links to get somewhere, and I’m sure you do too, but rather than steal from other people AND have a post that’s several pages long, I thought I’d just give you links to some funnies I’ve found that you might enjoy. They’re worth every click:

“How Many Horses Does it Take to Change a Light Bulb?” from Bridlepath’s blog

“If Horses Were Software” also from Bridlepath

“What Breed Horse Are You?” from a link on HorseApproved’s site. Not technically funny, but interesting for sure.

“The Famous Squirrel Story” - this one will have you giggling out loud, so if you’re at work, you’ve been warned. From Shady Acres, the website of Susan Evans Garlinghouse, a veterinarian and equine nutrition expert.

“Mr. Hand” - this entertaining take on sheath cleaning was written by Patricia Harris and has been extensively reprinted Web-wide (including here on this site), so I’m not sure where the original posting might be. But thank you, Ms. Harris, wherever you are, for an hysterically funny yet very educational piece of horse lore.

I’m sure many of you have found some too. Bring ‘em on!

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