I'm not even sure where I left off, to be honest.
Everyone has been doing fabulously. Amanda has been coming out to ride Patrick like it's her job (and I wish it was, because it saves me a ride!). But she goes back to school next week, so that means I either need to find another minion, or SELL HIM! Things have been very quiet lately, however:(
Bailey is improving by leaps and bounds. I started her over 2.80m canter poles yesterday, and you would have thought she was born to do them. I hope this translates into "born to jump, baby!"...but I'm not going to jinx it! She's just so powerful, and such a blast to ride. I know I should put her on the lunge more often, so she learns to balance herself without me interfering, but I just can't help myself...I'm sure Jess can relate on that note! Sometimes, you just can't help but crawl up there and ride.
My trainer is hopefully coming out on Tuesday to set some jumps, give Amanda and I a lesson on our respective 5 & Dime horses, and ride Bailey. That will be interesting. Bailey is very skeptical of strangers, and extremely loyal. I hope he brings his helmet...
On another note, Nathan and I have officially (kind of...) put in our offer on the house. There are a few stipulations that they came back with, but I hope that means they're going to take our offer! It could be the start of something all new for us both!
And here's my questions for the day...has anyone had experience with the Royal Rider stirrup knock-offs? I really love their stirrups, but I don't want to pay $150 for them if the $20 cheapos work just as well! However, I also don't want to waste $20 if the cheapos are just going to fall apart after day two of riding four horses a day...
Also, every late summer through early spring I consistently have problems keep weight and muscle on my older horses. Bringing in round bales to graze helps a bit, but does anyone have a feed-through suggestion for maintaining their condition all year? I've tried sunflower seeds, and that works pretty well, but most of the horses don't like the taste of them. Any ideas (that won't totally break the bank)??
Rice bran can be good for weight gain without hotness, and soaked beet pulp works well for seniors who have trouble chewing - we've used both with good results.
ReplyDeleteI totally relate - I can't stay off my horse!!! Even when every single person says GIVE HIM TIME I end up on his back without even realizing it. WHOOPS!
ReplyDeleteI've also heard rice bran - for Doobie his last few years I did beet pulp every few days. It's not as messy as rice bran and had great results with it....not to mention his little bro got some in his key growing years, which I think did wonders - but maybe it's just coincidence that Jimmy's bigger than all of the other babies he was rescued with ;-)
Soy bean hulls. My old guy (30), is on Alam (essentially super sr feed), soy bean hulls and alfalfa cubes. Whenever we have any horse come in that needs to gain and KEEP weight on, they get SBH. Most of them are TBs too, ranging from 4 to 30. Its in pellet form and all you do is add water and they POOF and break down immediately, hot or cold water. Not expensive either :)It has more fat and fiber than beet pulp too. If you can't find SBH, beetpulp would be my second recommendation as well.
ReplyDeleteAlso, if they are older, you may want to look into a pro/pre biotics, like Probios ($10 for about a month/horse). I personally would try the SBH, beetpulp or rice bran first and see if you get a result within a couple weeks. Then move to a pro/pre biotic. Again, thats just how I did it and mine is ANCIENT, lol.
I hope that helps!
Thanks everyone! You're all wonderful:) I'll head up to my feed store this week and see what they have in hot supply, and go from there. I'll keep you updated on progress! I've never heard of soy bean hulls...I'm kind of interested to read up on them!
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