My Soapbox for Equestrian Writings
Freedom has expressed his solidarity with me by coming up three legged lame, favoring his left hind. According to my barn mate, who fed this morning, there’s nothing overtly wrong — no bleeding, no swelling, no heat, no stone in his hoof. Most likely, it’s an abscess. However, to make sure it’s nothing too serious, […]
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To be honest, I can’t remember the last time I rode Freedom. He’s 23 or 24 now and I didn’t put shoes on him this spring. Mostly he’s happy hanging out in his field, watching his mares, and putting on a good show of galloping when the spirit moves him. But Zelda came back from […]
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So far, so good. I’m cautiously optimistic about Zelda surviving hunt season without another flare-up of ulcers. We’ve been taking it easy — trailer training has helped, and I’ve been mixing it up, so that every trailer ride isn’t to a hunt. Last week we went to a hunter pace, which was more low key […]
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It may only be mid-May, but the weather has heated up here and the bugs are starting to come out. I’ve tried putting fly wraps on, but they inevitably come off and then I have to criss-cross the paddock trying to find them (and hope they aren’t shredded). Here’s a nifty and inexpensive solution: Human […]
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As Zelda and I continue to keep her ulcers at bay, I’m always looking for more information to add to my understanding of 1) what causes ulcers and 2) how to prevent them from occurring. This Masterclass from Feed XL is chock full of information. I’ve only just started listening to it, but wanted to […]
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Earlier I wrote about the fear of Zelda’s ulcers re-occurring and how I monitor her behavior based on whether or not it is being caused by ulcers. I’ve never been a big buyer of supplements. Until now. I don’t give my horses joint supplements, which have very little documented success. I don’t give calming supplements. […]
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As Zelda and start preparing for the spring hunt season, the specter of ulcers looms over us. Zelda has been pissy — sometimes kicking out when I asked her to move forward, sometimes flattening her ears at me, sometimes refusing to leg yield, but only to the left. It leaves me wondering if she is […]
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As if COVID-19 wasn’t enough, now the equestrian community is dealing with EHV-1 breakouts in multiple US states and several European countries. So, what is EHV-1 and why is it so serious? Equine Herpesvirus-1 (EHV-1) Equine herpesviruses are DNA viruses that are found all over the world. Almost all horses have been infected with the […]
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