Check Up Time!

Shots are usually administered in the neck

What most people don't know, is that horses are a lot like dogs. As a matter of fact, the largest dog in the world is actually bigger than an average sized pony! Just like dogs, horses need proper shots, dewormer, and other health and safety care from a vet. But what kind of shots and how often? It's sometimes confusing and is good to keep a notebook to keep track! For genera
l booster shots, you usually vaccinate twice a year. One in spring, and one in fall. This is just done this way to spread it out and give the body enough time for the vaccine to do all it's supposed to do. For deworming, it's usually done every 3 months, more in summer. Over the winter, the chances of a horse getting worms is very slim because there is little to

Horse dewormer is in paste form, and is taken orally

no grass for them to eat (that's how worms are contracted, they come from eating bad grass or particles from in the dirt). Over winter, once is usually enough unless your horse starts to show signs of worms (signs are usually excessive eating and a bloated belly). The vaccines twice a year are booster, westnile, rhino flu, and tetanus. if your horse needs other shots for its medical reasons, the vet will tell you what ones, and how often to get them. Because India is just over a year old, she only NOW started getting her shots. When horses are young, you don't want to give them vaccines (unless necessary) so that their bodies have a chance to build up some immunity towards illness.

With proper care, your horse should stay healthy and happy all year round!


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Leaving the Nest.... or Stall

Just like humans, horses sometimes need to leave the nest and learn things for themselves! India is now a almost a year and a half old and has become very herd bound (this means that she is very dependent on her herd for safety and doesn't like to stray too far away from them) and that is sometimes a negative thing. Being herd bound, for some horses, is good. It gives them a sense of protection, especially if they are young, old, or lame (this means injured or weak, sort of like when a human has a limp). Because India is young, if she becomes too herd bound too early on in her life, she will forever be dependent of others, and independence is a very good thing, especially when growing up. She needs to learn things for herself!

We moved India to a new barn to help her become less herd bound. How do you move a horse across town without riding it you ask? Well, a horse trailer is the answer. Horse trailers are made to carry from 5000-15 000 pounds of livestock on the back of a pickup truck. To get the horse on the trailer though, is another story. Because the space on the trailer is so confined and not very big (so they can't walk around or hurt themselves while driving), getting onto the trailer is sometimes scary, especially for young horses that have only been on once or twice.

After an hour of coaxing her onto the trailer (with food and treats), India finally got on, and she is now happy and making friends in her new herd all by herself. She's growing up!

Neigh Way!

As we all know, being little is sometimes tough. When you're a little kid, rules are the worst thing in the world, no one wants to follow them and it's not until we're older that we realize that sometimes, rules are a good thing. This is the same with horses. For India, breaking rules is what she does best. Being in a field all day eating and doing almost nothing, can sometimes get boring for a young horse, just like it would for a little kid. Trouble making is all in a days work. Any way she can try to make herself entertained, India is sure to do it. "What kind of trouble can a horse get into anyways?!" is usually a question asked by many people, but the possibilities are endless!

A big problem for India, is her love of food. She will do almost anything to get the best hay or grass, even if that means putting herself in dangerous situations. Imagine being called at 6am one morning, barely awake, and someone telling you that your horse is on their back porch looking into their kitchen window?! Well, for me, this has happened.... 4 times.... in 2 weeks. "What about the fences?!" you ask? They're there, she just ignores them. Don't be fooled now, electric fences are VERY electric, usually one shock to a horse will stop them from ever going near it again. But not India. India is probably the smartest horse I have ever come across in all my life. She knows that the shock will only hurt for a second, and then be over. By swatting her tail at the fence, she realizes that the shock will go off, which is very smart of her, because a shock to her tail is barely noticeable to her. She then barrels through the fence and goes where she wants to. Who needs rules?! Not India.

This may seem cute now, but there are a lot of safety issues regarding her rebellious streak! If she ever walked onto the road and got hit by a car, there would be no choice but to put her down if she was injured enough. As well as getting hit by a car, farmers are sometimes not so nice to unwanted visitors no matter how cute they are. It is law that if your horse ends up on property they are not legally allowed to be on, they can be 1) taken by the livestock humane society 2) kept by the landowners, or even 3) some farmers will shoot animals that don't belong there.

From owning a 'little kid', it is finally clear to me just how important rules really are!

Barn Yard Dress Up

As Halloween soon approaches, we can't forget about our four legged friends! Dressing up and painting horses has been a tradition practiced for many years. Natives first started this trend, not for fun, but for tribal reasons. Before battle, horses would be painted and dressed up in beads and cloths to represent a certain tribe's beliefs and values. As time progressed, people discovered that painting horses is actually a talent. Horse painting became popular in circus' and at fairs, where prizes would be awarded for the most creative and outlandish horse painting. Nowadays, horses are painted, mostly for fun! Tempera paint is non-toxic and washable and a great way to show your Halloween-y spirit!

Not only are horses painted for Halloween or just for fun, they are also painted for special events. Parades and celebrations use painted horses as a way of decoration and advertisement. For example, in the London Olympics, horses were painted to represent each country participating in the games. Because horses are so big and attention-grabbing, they really make their colour noticeable! Equine first aid training also sometimes use painted horses to demonstrate skeletal, muscular and intestinal movement, right on the horse.



 Horse painting is a real talent, and there are legitimate qualified trained painters!


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Safety 101

Bagbalm

Because she is so young, India, as well as other foals, are very prone to injury. Usually being the smallest horses in the field, foals are more likely to be picked on or singled out by other horses in the herd. So what are some common injuries and how are they treated? Well, to start small, bites are the most common injury among horses. To secure their dominance in a herd, a horse will bite another to show that they are in control. A minor bite can just be left to heal on its own, but depending on the size of the bite mark, sometimes an antiseptic lotion is applied to the wound called Bagbalm, which is essentially just Polysporin for animals.
As the injuries get bigger, other precautions have to be made. For example, if a horse gets its leg caught in a barb wire and tears a large gauge in its leg, more intense treatments have to be arranged. Little do many people know, horse first aid kits can be made using common household items.

Step 1: Rinse the cut with cold water, to help relieve any swelling the injury may have caused.
Step 2: With a syringe, squirt an adequate amount of Iodine wash on the wound to kill any bacteria that may have been transferred to the wound from the fence. Iodine wash can be found almost anywhere, as humans use it too.

Vet wrap

Step 3: After the Iodine wash dries on the wound, take a female sanitary pad (yes, a pad), take off the wrapper and cut it in half. Pads work fantastic on horse injuries because they are: a) large b) are able to hold a lot of blood, an
d c) they don't stick to the wound when the blood dries and you have to remove it. You then put any type of horse wound treatment medication on the pad (there are hundreds of different types and brands, it's really the horse owner's choice) and place it on the wound.
Step 4: Take some vet wrap (a whole roll is only about 80 cents to buy) and wrap the wound. Change the bandages once or twice everyday, depending on the severity of the gauge.
And there you go! Quick and easy!

All in all, injury is hard to avoid, especially on young rambunctious horses, but with the right care are equipment, healing is quick and easy. Obviously, with bigger wounds and issues, a vet needs to be contacted, but with the small stuff, almost anyone can do it!


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The Training Begins...

For baby horses, training is a crucial part of their upbringing. It is easier to train a horse when they're young, rather than older, so they can grow up learning and remembering as they age. When India was first bought, she couldn't be touched anywhere on her body except her face. She was terrified of any contact touching her body, especially her belly, and especially on her left side (we assume from possible trailering accidents when traveling cross country to Ontario).

"It's been a hard 15 minutes of training!

Just like human babies, distraction is a big part of India's life. Because she is so young, even the little things excite her and distract her from what she is being asked to do or learn. I immediately started gradually touching her more and more everyday, and after about a month, I could touch her anywhere without her feeling scared. Now, India can be touched anywhere, and won't buck or kick at all; she had become very tolerant to human interaction, which is key in training.
To get her used to the world, India had to go through some intense tests! The goal is to have your horse be 'bomb proof' which basically means they have little to no fear of anything. This included walking on the road, crossing traffic, walking through forests with deer, birds and loud noises, walking through water, spraying her with hoses, shooting cap guns, popping balloons, covering her with a tarp, walking on rocks, and much more. After lots of persistent work, India is now fearless to almost anything..... except geese, they're pretty scary.
In the long run, all of this little training helps India in the future, when she becomes old enough to be ridden (around 2 years old) she will be less inclined to spooking and being jittery with a person on her back. At only a year and 4 months old, India is showing remarkable promise into being the perfect little horse one day!

The Story Begins

The history of India begins July 2012. Born on a PMU (pregnant mares urine) farm, a little black filly with a white blaze on her nose was born. The filly was in a herd with over a hundred horses and their newborn foals just born in the sunny July heat. Little did they know their fate was dark. PMU horses are called 'broodmares', which means that their only job, is to keep having babies over and over again until they can physically have no more. This filly's broodmare was draft. Big and strong and nurturing towards her little baby, protecting and feeding her like all mothers do. One day, when all the foals were growing up and no longer relied on their mothers as much, the farmers realized that all their herd was now useless. They had taken all the urine from the broodmares that they needed, and had an abundance of little
babies, just playing in a field burning a hole in their pockets. The herd came all the way from Alberta on a livestock truck, taking half the horses to Saskatchewan, and the other half to Ontario. On the way over, truck drivers would stop at rescues and sell some of the horses and their babies to better homes. The ones that were left over, came to the St. Jacobs auction. The little filly was then separated from her mother, who was no longer useful and was old and weak and sick. She was sold to the meat man, leaving the little filly all alone in a big scary auction house. By this time, the filly was 8 months old and growing like a weed! A Mennonite boy saw her and all her potential and bought the little filly and brought her to a farmer he knew of so she could stay safe there until she found a permanent home. The farmer and his wife did not like animals. The little filly was kept in a small indoor pen in a dirty barn, her stall was dark and damp, she was surrounded in her own feces and had limited food and water. A nearby horse rescue heard of the awful conditions these horses were in, and immediately tried to find them new homes. One of the rescue people had seen me ride before and a little while later, the little filly was mine. Her name was now India, and she had a loving and carefree home where she could run outside and be the baby she never got to be. This is where our story begins.

Giddy Up on Idioms

Have you ever wondered where certain sayings come from? Have you ever been told to "hold your horses!" or "get off your high horse!"? Well it's about time we learn what these horse related idioms really mean!

Example: "Hey! I bought you a new car!" said Sid to her daughter one sunny afternoon, "Does it have air conditioning?" asked Sid's daughter. "Don't look a gift horse in the mouth young lady" replied Sid.
Meaning: this idiom basically means not to be ungrateful for things you are given. In the horse world, when buying a horse from someone, the condition of their teeth is a big reflection on how healthy they are. If your horse has very healthy, clean teeth, it is healthier than a horse with rotting gums. If you are given a horse, it's rude to look at it's teeth before thanking someone for it, which is ungrateful.

Example: "Are you ready yet?" Johnny asked his girlfriend. "Hold your horses! I'm coming!"
Meaning: This idiom comes from the racing part of the horse world. Before racing, race horses become very excited and ready to go so much so that they become overly excited and try to leave their gate early. Trainers were told to hold their horses and be patient, which is what the saying means.

Example: "Look! The marathon runners are neck and neck! Richard may win, but just by a nose!"

The Horses are neck and neck

Meaning: These idioms, just like hold your horses, comes from the race world. The first one, 'neck and neck' means that things are very close to each other. When horses are running and are neck and neck, it means they are side by side, going the same speed, making viewers anxious on what one will win. The second one 'just by a nose', also comes from the same sort of situation as 'neck and neck', and it means that someone won just barely before the other, just like the first horse who's nose to cross the finish line wins.

Horse related idioms and sayings are everywhere, and most of the time we use them without even realizing the relation to equestrianism. You heard this straight from the horse's mouth!

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Huh?!

In the equestrian world, there are many diverse terms. All equipment has it's own 'technical' name, so before you get lost in my blog and don't know what I'm talking about, here are a few definitions that will make you an equestrian pro in no time!

The Equipment:
1. Bit- The bit is the metal bar that goes in the horse's mouth, and is connected to the bridal
2. Bridal- A bridal is the head piece the bit is connected to, and goes over the horse's ears
3. Reins- The reins are the 'steering wheel' of the horse, they are what the rider uses to steer
4. Saddle pad- The saddle pad is essentially a thick blanket that sits under the saddle, to avoid the saddle pinching the horse
5. Saddle- The saddle is the seat the rider sits in when riding
6. Stirrups- Where the rider places their feet when riding; they are connected to both sides of the saddle
7. Girth or Cinch- The belt that goes around the horses 'armpits' to hold the saddle into place
8. Halter- The 'collar' for horses
9. Lead line or Lead rope- The 'leash' for horses

Some Anatomy:
1. Muzzle- The horse's face
2. Crest- The neck of the horse
3. The barrel- the horse's middle body
4. Mane- The horse's (usually long) hair on it's crest
5. Withers- The part of the horse that sits at the end of the mane, it's like a human shoulder blade
6. Dock- The part just above the horse's tail
7. Fetlock- a part of the leg just above the hooves
8. Hooves- The horse's feet

Rough Draft

When most people think of horses, the first thing they usually think of is the classic cowboy-horse they've seen in movies, but did you know that just like cats and dogs, horses have different breeds too? It's true! Horses are categorized into different breeds depending on their appearance and work ethic. When you watch old western movies, the horses are generally tall, proud, and very loyal to their rider, these horses are a breed called a Quarter horse. Quarter horses are the most common breed of horse, and are basically the horse equivalent of a Golden Retriever. Other breeds are used for other reasons, like the Standardbred, most commonly recognized as the race horse. India is a breed of horse called Draft X. Draft horses are usually the horses you see pulling carriages or, in the olden days, pulling farm equipment. The name 'Draft' comes from the old English dragen meaning to haul, which describes exactly the original purpose of this breed. The 'X' means cross. Just like cross breeds in dogs, horses have cross breeds as well. India's mother was a Draft, and her father was a Standardbred (race horse), making her a mix of both. Because Draft is the more dominant gene, India looks like a breed of Draft called a Percheron. Because of her Draft X breed, when she is old enough to start training, she can be trained to pull a wagon, pull farm equipment, or for a person to ride. Drafts have a stocky build, and are usually around 6 feet and can live up to 35 years.