Our First Horse

Our first horse trailer!

June 10, 2008 Bill Comments 5 comments

Our New Horse Trailer We’ve been mooching off of our horse friends for too long! This weekend we made one of our regular trips to the big city (Atlanta in this case) for provisions and while we were down in Georgia we thought we’d check out some horse trailers. We’ve looked at horse trailers before but we were looking in the $1,000 – $1,500 range and to be honest, most trailers we saw in that range were rusty and worn out. We made some calls and ended up driving almost to Alabama to look at a trailer owned by Kim at the Prancing Pony Equestrian Center. The price was right so we ended up towing home a beautiful gold-colored 2004 CM two horse trailer. It’s extra-tall and extra wide for Valentine, who stands at 16.2 HH. While we would like to have a three horse trailer, our F150 isn’t cut out for that much hauling and we weren’t prepared to buy a 3/4 or one ton tow rig. Thanks to Kim and her husband (whose name escapes me) for making this such an easy transaction. Kim also showed us around her farm and introduced us to her horses, her mini-horses, goats, chickens and puppies. We wished we lived closer so we could ride with her. The Prancing Pony near Carrollton, Georgia also does birthday parties and camps for kids interested in farm animals, especially horses.

Now we can load up and head out to our local trails without asking our friends for a ride. We’re thankful for generous friends but are happy we can haul our own horses.

We just need to peel off the stickers and come up with our own logo vinyl.

The hunt is on – candidate 2

June 9, 2008 Bill Comments 8 comments

Yesterday we went to look at candidate 2 in our hunt for a new horse. This time we looked at “Misty”, a 7 year old (her birthday is today!) spotted Tennessee Walking Horse. She’s quite beautiful. Unfortunately although I took a ton of photos while we were there, the one below is best. She’s on the right. The filly on her left is hers. Her owner feels he’s too old for his horses now and he has a disease that impairs his balance. In fact he told us a story of how he fell down a hill on his farm and couldn’t walk on one of his legs. Misty came to investigate and put her head down so he could grab on while she slowly pulled him up. She then walked slowly back to the barn while he leaned on her.

So here are the pros and cons:

Pros:

1) She seems to be gentle
2) She’s beautiful – spotted like a paint with a multi-colored tail, mane and hooves. Her mane is almost twice as long as Valentine’s.
3) Her owner is a pretty well known TWH trainer, though he hasn’t been doing much these last few years due to his age and health.

Cons:

1) She’s not registered, though the owner has her notes so maybe it can still be done. I don’t know enough about the process.
2) She’s FAT. Apparently she’s not pregnant but she clearly is a chunky monkey. The owners wife says he feeds her twice a day and their pasture is beautiful so maybe she’s just eating too much. I just want to make sure her weight isn’t indicative of a health problem.
3) She’s been ridden but not in a few years. Our friend Shari is going to ride her this week for us. I don’t really need another project horse.

We plan on riding Misty and Snowball this week, once the hay has been put up. It’s going to be near 100 today in east Tennessee and it’s quite humid. Hopefully it’ll cool down some before we ride.

So what do you think of Misty?

We also bought a horse trailer this weekend! We’ve been busy! I think Mikki is writing up something about that so expect to hear about it in a day or two.

The hunt is on – candidate 1
The hunt is on – candidate 2 (this post)
The hunt is on – candidate 3
The hunt is on – candidate 4

The hunt is on – candidate 1

June 6, 2008 Bill Comments 0 Comment

Since Sinbad left, we’re in need of a new backup horse. I have to admit, I’m still nervous about riding Moonshine so I need another horse to ride until we figure out what to do with her. This is a great time to be a horse buyer because the combination of the closure of the slaughterhouses and the high price of hay from last year has led to a lot of owners selling. Of course, that’s not good for horse owners who are strapped for cash or have too many horses. If you’ve been reading our blog, you realize we’re the kind of horse owners who have trouble getting rid of horses. So this next horse has got to be a keeper and for that we’re willing to spend some time looking. So far we’ve found some sellers in our area with beautiful horses that we could practically get for free, but we’re not jumping in too fast this time.

So what am I looking for? I want a horse 15 years old or younger that’s easy to ride and not aggressive. I’m embarrassed to say this but looks matter. If I’m going to be stuck with this beast for my ridable life, I want it to look good to help me look good. I need all the help I can get. A solid black to match Valentine or a solid white to contrast him, would be nice. I love colored paints, too. Besides that I’m not sure if I want a gaited horse or not. It would be nice to have another Tennessee Walking Horse so Mikki and I could ride at the same gait and learn together. But I really like the smoother cantor and trot of non-gaited horses.

A search of Craigslist revealed candidate 1. I will call her “Snowball” (I would find a new name if she’s the chosen one). Snowball is a 3 year old cremello Tennessee Walking Horse, about 15 HH. She has a gentle disposition and was easy to ride, obeying all of my commands on a hair-trigger. I didn’t have to force her to do anything, except when I tried to pull her away from the gate at feeding time. She’s cremello in color and not albino. Apparently albinos have gene issues. Cremellos aren’t actually white but the color looks white. I think Snowball would make a nice addition to our herd and she seems easy to ride. Here are my concerns with her:

1) She’s a mare and we already have a strong-headed mare in our pasture. With no paddocks, we have no way to separate them if they decide to kill each other. Also, some mares, like Moonshine, don’t like to be touched or ridden when in season.
2) She’s not a registered TWH. I don’t plan on showing her or breeding her but if things didn’t work out and we wanted to sell her one day, lack of registration could make her less attractive.
3) She’s young, though she doesn’t seem too spirited. It’s hard to tell with one visit, though.

So she’s on the list. We’ll be back to ride her more and if she’s the one, we’ll work something out where she could be returned to the current owner if there are problems within the first week or two. She’s kinda pretty, huh?

The hunt is on – candidate 1 (this post)
The hunt is on – candidate 2
The hunt is on – candidate 3
The hunt is on – candidate 4

Farnam Coupons and Rebates

June 4, 2008 Bill Comments 0 Comment

If you have horses, it’s likely you’ve used Farnam horse products at one point or another. Many of the products you see at feed stores and Tractor Supply come from Farnam such as fly masks, fly sprays, horse soaps, shampoos and conditioners, feed supplements, etc. I received a marketing email from Farnam recently that had a link to coupons and rebates you can print for discounts on Farnam products. Savings range from $1 to $25. If you buy Farnam products, save a few bucks by using one of these:

Farnam Coupons and Rebates

You can also find this list by visiting their website and clicking “Coupons” on the top menu.

Note: Farnam isn’t a sponsor and we’re not affiliated with them in any way.

Something For Horse Lovers of All Ages

May 24, 2008 Mikki Comments 8 comments

I’ve been meaning to write about something for weeks now and just haven’t found the time, or the words. We came across something that is just so cool, but to write about it we’d have to admit that…well…we still like to play with toys. There. I said it. So if you’re only partly grown up yourself, or if you know a horse-crazy little girl, or just someone who loves horses and maybe can’t have a real one – we have found the coolest thing: Paradise Horses.

A disclaimer here: we were given a selection of products to review. I tell you honestly, though, I would buy these myself, if only I had someone in my house (other than me) who would be interested in them. Alas, I only have a boy, and as our loyal readers know, the Kid is not that fond of horses, real or otherwise. Sigh. So, in the interests of our readers, I had to review them myself. The sacrifices I make for you all!

Such a sacrifice, too. I was so excited to get these toys. They are a line of horses (duh!) with all the accoutrements a horse would need. But these are not your usual cheap toys. In fact, they could more accurately be called models, though they are most definitely meant to be played with. The horses are heavy and solid, and horses and riders are fully posable. You can even open the horses’ mouths to put in a bit or a carrot. The accessories are just as detailed, too – the curry comb looks and feels exactly like my real one, and the dandy brush is a perfect replica of the full-sized one too. We just couldn’t get over how realistic all the little pieces are.

And all the things you can get to go with them! Barn, tack, feed sets, jumps – there are hours of horseplay possible with these sets. We got “Rhythmical,” a bay horse, complete with halter, lead rope, comb and carrot; “Grace,” a red-haired little girl dressed for English riding with jodhpurs, boots, jacket, helmet and crop; the grooming set (tote, curry comb, dandy brush, comb, towel, spray bottle, hoof pick, hoof oil can and sweat scraper); and the show set (blue “wool” blanket and “leather” boots). I had so much fun with these (as you can see by the photos)! It made me want to get a set of tack (Grace can stay on her horse bareback, but it would be so much better with a saddle), a barn (Rhythmical needs a place to sleep, after all!) and a set of jumps (we’re not into the English riding, but the horse needs something to do, right?). Maybe even a tack trunk, to put all the cool tack in. Oh, and a feed set – the carrot won’t hold him over for long. . .maybe it’s a good thing we don’t have a horse-crazy little girl in our house!

Oh, and I almost forgot – you can “register” your horse on their website, and print out a certificate of authenticity with your name and your horse’s name. That’s a nice little touch that kids are sure to love.

I highly recommend these toys. They are well made and oodles of fun. I had a great time with them, and can’t wait for my grandson to come visit so I’ll have an excuse to play with them some more!

For more information: www.paradise-horses.com (now Paradise Kids)

Upcoming posts…or not

May 13, 2008 Bill Comments 0 Comment

*Photo by Glenn Carstens-Peters on Unsplash*

Someone once said “the road to hell is paved with good intentions.” I’m chock full of good intentions but apparently not always very good at seeing them through. What you don’t see when you read this blog is all of the posts we’ve started but not finished. Mikki has a couple but I have 38. Thirty-eight! I know this because WordPress, the software we use to maintain this blog, reminds me every time I write a new post. So I thought it might be fun to list my unfinished posts to give you an idea what I’m working on. I plan on finishing every one, even though some of them are outdated already. For instance, “What Valentine is Getting for Christmas”. But maybe, just maybe by listing them here I’ll be just a little more likely to finish them soon. I can only hope.

So here’s my list of posts I’ve started but not finished, in order from newest to oldest:

1) Daily barn clothes – we all have them and some of us have good clothes that ended up becoming barn clothes the hard way
2) What Valentine is Getting for Christmas – I was going to share a secret with you guys about what I was getting Mikki and Valentine for Christmas.
3) Quick tie knot – years ago we saw someone tie this cool knot with a lead rope. It’s quick and easy to do and is easy to untie for the human but not for the horse. I want to explain the know and I think we even have a video showing how to do it.
4) Cinch tying – there is probably some fancy equine term for this but when you tighten the cinch, there’s a special “through the rabbit hole” technique. If you don’t do it a lot, it’s easy to forget. So for your sake and mine, I’m describing it here.
5) Horses – They’re Just Like Us! – this is a horse-owner spin on a feature one of the celebrity magazines does called “Stars – They’re Just Like Us!” I realized one day there are a lot of similarities between horses and humans.
6) Salt Lick Art – one day while watering the horses (why do we call it that, anyway?) I saw an interesting shape in the salt lick. Maybe I should have tried to sell it on eBay but instead I decided to write something about it. Since then I’ve discovered some other salt lick “artists”. You can find anything on the internet.
7) Miniature guide horses – I believe this was inspired by an article I saw about miniature horses being used as guide animals. We normally think of dogs in this role but why not a miniature horse?
8) Horse starved to death – owner arrested – an article about this sad case in Arizona made me wonder what would cause someone to allow their horse to starve to death. As terrible as it sounds, I wonder if the owner just became overwhelmed and didn’t really intend harm on the animal. Not an excuse, just a possible explanation.
9) We have a round pen! – A horse friend had an extra one and is lending it to us for an extended period of time. This opens up some great training opportunities.
10) Dead horses in the streets – A morbid title, I know, but I read an account about how common this sight was 100 years ago and it struck me how things have changed in 100 years. It also reminded me of how people sometimes view animals differently than others.
11) Horse decorations – we bought a neat horse decoration for the barn at the World’s Longest Yard Sale last year and it made me wonder how prevalent horse decorations are in homes and barns.
12) Cross fence – It’s time to restrict grazing in our pasture. This is a discussion of our options for fencing.
13) Junkyard Horse – We often pass by a fenced lot filled with junk parts and apparently repossessed mobile homes. Inside the fence is not a doberman but a horse.
14) Stock Tank Secret – With warmer weather comes green fuzzies in the big water buckets. Does this product help keep the water fresh?
15) Using Shredded Newspaper as Bedding – Inspired by an article I saw on the subject. Could this be a good horse bedding alternative?
16) The wisdom of pranking horse friends – The locally infamous story of how I pranked a good horse friend. It involves bigfoot.
17) We need a slide pole – After building a hay loft in our main barn, it occurred to me a fireman slide pole might be fun.
18) Adding a hay loft – With hay seasons being unpredictable each year, we find it wise to store hay when the price and quality is good. So we added a hay loft.
19) Mane length – We’ve seen short and long manes and wondered why.
20) Uses for hay bale twine – We have so much hay bale twine around from feeding square bales, there must be something we can do with it.
21) Trauma from horse injury – A neighbor fell off of her horse and experienced head trauma that could have been avoided.
22) My first saddle – I went with a cheap saddle to start off with, mostly because I was short on cash at the time. I’ll discuss whether that was a good idea or not.
23) Manure Management System – Part 1 – With two and sometimes three horses, we need a way to manage all the manure daily, weekly, monthly. Includes info on aerated composting.
24) New Shoes? No Thanks – One of our horses isn’t always keen on shoeing time.
25) Barn Music – What we listen to and a request for feedback on what you listen to in the barn.
26) Hobby Farms Magazine – A review of one of the horse/farm magazines we receive.
27) Horse Feed Storage – Protecting Your Supply – How do we keep bugs and varmints away from expensive horse feed?
28) Selecting Oats – Supplemental Feed – What do our horses need besides hay to keep them healthy
29) All the Pretty Horses – The book, the movie and…the song
30) Managing a hobby farm without a tractor – We don’t own a tractor so here’s what we do instead
31) Getting ready for winter mud – Started just before winter, a look-forward to the months of yucky mud and how we planned to deal with it.
32) Annual Vaccinations for Horses – Why it’s important, how much it costs, etc.
33) Who’s the Boss? – Establishing pasture boss…every day.
34) Drought and our dry, brown pasture – Last year was rough. The drought hit our pasture hard.
35) Tack Room Security – How do we keep thousands of dollars in tack secure.
36) New Product Idea: Horse Snorkel – A fun idea I had upon observing Valentine drink.
37) How to Make Horse Toys – Horse toys don’t have to be store-bought or expensive.
38) About Our Barn – Some info on our three-horse barn.

Whew, that’s a long list! So you see, I have plenty to write about, I just need to finish these posts and find appropriate photos to go with them. Thanks for your patience and for continue to checkout ourfirsthorse.com!

Sinbad Leaves

May 11, 2008 Bill Comments 7 comments

Stupid horses. I get too attached to animals and I thought this day might come. Sinbad was a loaner horse and from the beginning I realized he wasn’t mine. In fact, I called him my backup horse since Moonshine is my main horse. Sinbad is old, reliable and super easy to ride. But by the time most of you read this, he’ll be gone. His owner had promised him to a girl who didn’t have a fenced pasture or run-in barn yet. She finally finished those projects and now it’s time for Sinbad to move there.

On the positive side, some girl is probably having trouble sleeping tonight in anticipation of her new horse. Perhaps he’ll be ridden more and will enjoy all the attention. And we’ll never get to see him die. But we’re really going to miss that old horse and we’re all feeling pretty sad today.

I took about a million pictures of him in the past few days. Most of these won’t mean anything to anyone except us but in case you’d like to see my little Sinbad retrospective, below is a small slideshow.

SLIDESHOW TO RETURN IN THE FUTURE

So now what, you might ask. Well, we’re on the lookout for another backup horse. One we would actually own so he/she doesn’t have to leave someday. There are some good candidates in the area. Time to make some phone calls, set up some appointments and test drives. Maybe a gaited horse would be a good idea since Valentine is gaited as well. And maybe a gelding this time, so I can avoid some of the mare-related problems we experience with Moonshine.

Have you ever had to give back a horse you got attached to? Please share your story. BTW, we always read every comment, even though we don’t always reply.

Thanks for sympathizing.

Moonshine Returns Home

April 22, 2008 Bill Comments 8 comments

We once again have fine east Tennessee Moonshine at our farm. This evening we went over to ride her and get Lance’s final evaluation before bringing her home. The report? Well, not so great. We observed Moonshine hunching up her back at canter and this is after she had been longed. After some demonstration and instruction from Lance, I hopped on and rode her around the ring a few times. She was tense and it was obvious to me she simply didn’t want to move. And I was on high alert and nervous as can be, given her odd performance last week. I walked her and she gave me no trouble doing it except I really had to push her just to walk. I wasn’t ready for anything more than that. Lance reiterated his advice that we should get rid of her and find another horse. I’m still not completely convinced of that but at the same time I realize the insanity of keeping a horse you’re too afraid to ride. I might be more open to it if I knew she would have a good home but who wants a horse you can’t easily ride? I’m afraid she’d be treated with a heavy hand and have a miserable and possibly short life. Uggg. I guess if I can’t work with her I’ll have a 20-year pasture ornament. I love this stupid horse, darn it. I almost wish she was mean to me so I could more easily send her to auction.

Lance brought her back tonight and the boys (Sinbad and Valentine) were quite attentive. We put Moonshine in a stall so the horses could sniff and nicker at each other for a while. Then we let her loose into our pasture so she could re-assert her authority. It was less dramatic than we expected but still funny. I shot a short little video of it (below).

But just so you know, we haven’t totally given up on her. We’re going to explore horse chiropractics and look into marbling (someone mentioned it in comments). In the meantime, it’s good to have a backup horse (Sinbad).

Even though she’s trouble, we’re glad to have our sweet Moonshine back.

My five hour trail ride mistake

April 20, 2008 Bill Comments 7 comments

Oh, my aching back, legs, rear, etc.! Saturday we spent a wonderful day riding horses next to a beautiful lake. This was supposed to be the day we got Moonshine back to try her new riding skills but due to the incident from a few days ago (Moonshine gets hit by a car), she’s on the injured list and wasn’t ridable. In her place I rode my backup horse, Sinbad, a well broke, ridable by almost anyone kind of horse, 25 years old and still full of energy. Mikki and I met up with our horse friend Shari, Lance (the guy training Moonshine) and some other horse owners. Shari and Lance were kind enough to pick up Valentine and Moonshine on their horse trailers (we need one of those!) and off we went for a day of riding. Now I knew I’d be a little sore because I use a cheap saddle and haven’t ridden any distance in 6 months or so. But five hours later, my rump we tender and I was ready to call it a day. Today, Sunday, I could barely get out of bed. I just may have overdone it. Perhaps we ought to bump a hot tub up on the priority list for future purchases!

Notes from the trip:

Mikki’s horse Valentine LOVES the water. He was splashing around on it like a little kid. We were all pretty concerned he’d want to roll in it.
When there are 11 horses together on a trail ride, it makes sense that some of them won’t get along. We had to rearrange horses a few times. For example, Sinbad is a tailgater and the horse in front of us was a kicker. Not a good combo!
Horses are very good at walking over downed trees, though some like to jump over them.
Fearing her own weight was giving her horse trouble navigating through some deep water, Shari bailed into the drink and emerged horseless and soaking wet. Her horse was easily caught and she finished the trip still wet.
Cheap saddles make for sore butts on long rides. According to my body, five hours is considered “long”. You get what you pay for in saddles, apparently.

We’ll definitely head back to this area soon. I’m looking for a new saddle and possibly the add-on gel pads to hold me over. And hopefully a future trip will include Moonshine.

Below are some more pictures from the ride. Yeah, warm weather!

SLIDESHOW TO BE RE-ADDED IN THE FUTURE

And On a Much Lighter Note…

April 18, 2008 Mikki Comments 2 comments

Mini Foal Isn’t this just the cutest thing you’ve ever seen? This is a miniature horse foal, born on Wednesday. It was a difficult birth, and her mama didn’t have any milk for her, and the owners had to leave town on urgent business, so the vet brought her back to the office where we’ve been bottle-feeding her. She’s thriving so far, so we have high hopes. She’s about 14″ high at the withers, and her mama’s maybe 6 inches taller than that.

If we weren’t all full up on animals at our house, I’d bring her home. She is adorable.