Walking the Line: Use of the Horse
Interesting article on the use of horses. Written by Dr.Midge Leitch, DVM and chair of the AAEP welfare committee.
How do owners, equine veterinarians, and all others tasked with caring for the horse enter the welfare equation? Each must first consider his or her relationship with the horse. Different factors when evaluating the welfare of animals include:
•The basic health and function of the body, known as the functional view.
•How an animal "feels," i.e., its psychological state, including pain, suffering, or contentment; a viewpoint known as the positive affective state.
•An animal's ability to lead a reasonably natural life, including behaviors in which it might normally engage; a view known as natural living.
None of these views is inherently right or wrong, and people might hold more than one view at any time. And, when assessing horse welfare, the animal's athletic, economic, and recreational uses certainly must be added into this mix.
Read the full article here.
Winter: Do you Understand Thermoregulation?
Brrrr - Winter made it's first real visit to us here in Alberta this week. Chilly temperatures with the windchills dropping below -40C. As always the horses and the cattle start 'burning' through their feed at a much higher rate. Do you as a horse owner know about thermoregualtion? Here is a
great link from the Ontario governement that does a great job of explaining whats going on with your critters when it gets this cold outside.
- Average daily free-choice intakes of hay by a 600 kg (1320 lb) horse is 12 – 15 kg (26 – 33 lbs)/day or about a half of a 65-lb square bale per horse per day.
- At –40°C, the horse will need 4.5 – 5 kg (10 - 12 lbs) more than it ate at temperatures above –15°C.
- Total daily consumption can be an amazing total of 55lbs per day!
High N Hollywood Is Sold!
Congratulations to Suzette from Strathmore on her purchase of High N Hollywood or 'Mel'. He is a great gelding with a bright future together with Suzette!
High Performanz Dino
QLH would like to announce our newest equine member. 'High Performanz Dino' or just 'Dino'. We purchased Dino from Thunderstruck Ranch. He looks to be a smokin'cowhorse prospect for the future and I am looking forward to going places with him.
About YOR Appaloosa
A Snappy update –
Adrienne mentioned “Snap” in her 3 R’s posting and we had such a great weekend last weekend that I wanted to update you.
Now when “Snap” came he did not really come with a name and his registered name does not lend itself to an easy barn name. We tried to call him Snap, somewhere somehow I started calling him “Paloose”. So, I think that must be his name.
Here is a quick review of his history with us, when he was rescued, a friend brought him to us to see if he could be salvaged. The horse that came was scary to get on, he would close his eyes and freeze, when he moved he felt like he was very close to an explosion – sometimes he exploded.
When he was tied up, he would paw, rear and generally have a temper tantrum.
Last weekend, Paloose went on his third trail ride in the mountains, we went to the Panther and rode the circle route past the cabin, to Dormer Lake and back to the crossing.
Paloose has become a reliable trail horse, and actually a very good one. He now ties quietly to the trailer, crosses rivers, bogs, bridges and just about everything that is asked of him he does.
It was a relaxing ride for both of us. He went along with his eyes open, ears forward and a pleasant attitude - just doing his job. I have to push him a little as he tends to be lazy on the trail, unconcerned about where the other horse is at and under no pressure to be the lead horse.
The capstone of a great day was when we got back to where we parked the truck, pulled the saddles and went swimming. Yes, all of us swam even the horses. At one point Palloose let me stand up on his back and jump into the deep pool.
Palloose is unlikely to make the third “R”, and find a new home, so don’t look for him on the sales page any time soon. This is not through any fault of his; I think he has found his job, niche and place in life. For now, that is with me as my trail riding mountain horse.
Chris
High N Hollywood is For Sale
It's official!
High N Hollywood is now listed for sale on the sales page. Check him out if you are looking for a solid, sane and safe horse for reining, cattle work, showing and of course trail riding. Excellent pedigree and fully trained in reining. He has a pretty fancy color too!
Four More Little Black Heifers
We are pleased to announce the purchase of 4 more high % commercial Wagyu heifers to add to our growing herd. Should be a busy year next year with foals and calves! For more information on Wagyu cattle check out the American Wagyu Association Webpage.
Safe in Foal
We are pleased to announce that we are expecting a very exciting foal for next year. Our Reminic daughter 'Reminic's Heart' is confirmed in foal to 'Ima Boot Scootin Lena'. This should be a strong cowhorse cross for the future and I would be surprised if it didn’t have spots to boot!
We will also be breeding our 6 commercial Wagyu heifers this year via frozen semen to some of the best Wagyu bloodlines available. I can't wait to see our cattle herd grow. Start small with quality and you can never go wrong!
IBSEEKINSOMEFASTCASH
We are pleased to announce the sale of 'Aries' to Meghan Staley of Bowden, Alberta. We were very impressed with the partnership that was developed from their first ride together. We look forward to hearing about your future adventures together!
The Three R’s – Rescue, Re-Hab and Re-Home.
When you mention the three R’s to a person they may jump to memories of school (Reading, wRiting and aRithmetic) or they might think of being environmentally conscious with Reduce, Reuse and Recycle. The three R’s here at Mann-Herr Farms mean our ethical commitment to the horses we share our lives with. Not every horse is lucky to be financially, emotionally or physically supported by the humans around it. Chris and I feel that we are able to provide a second chance for horses that find themselves in a rough spot. We can’t save them all but we can help in our own small, manageable way.
Over the past 5 years Chris and I have rescued, rehabbed and re-homed on average two horses per year. It seems like a drop in the bucket compared to the need but it’s what we can manage while working full time, riding our own and occasionally sleeping! Our project horses have come to us through a variety of ways (auction, private purchase and friends) and with a variety of ‘problems’ (physical, emotional and behavioral) but one thing they all have in common is that they end up with individuals and families who can appreciate and enjoy them. Some of them spend a couple of months with us and others have been up to a couple of years, healing is a process that has its own timeline.
Our current project horse is ‘Snap’ an Appaloosa gelding that found his way to us through a friend. Snap had seen some rough handling that led him to be more difficult than his owners were willing to tolerate. All of his past history led him one step away from being run through the auction as a loose horse. When he came to us he was hard to catch, shy of people and when under saddle and mounted he would stand stalk still with his eyes closed. In less than a month with some basic patience, training and vet care (removal of wolf teeth and rebalancing his molars) here he is last summer with Chris.
In essence the moral of the story is that you can’t save them all and in some cases you shouldn’t. For us however, we feel the need to give back the animals that have carried our hearts and souls when we weren’t strong enough to do it ourselves. And yes there is only one ‘project’ horse right now so keep your eyes open for another addition to the crew!
Sales Page
Another year rolls forward and we have updated our sales page. Check out the great horses we have for sale. This horses are a great representation of the 'Quality Lives Here' program.
Reminic Daughter
We are excited to announce the purchase of an own daughter of 'Reminic'. Reminic daughters have produced over 4 Million in offspring earnings. This young mare was trained for cowhorse but was never shown. We are looking forward to crossing her on some top working cowhorse sires for future contenders in the cowhorse ring.
Science and Training?
Does your Training System Stand the Test of Science? Click HERE to read an interesting article from equitation science.com on training methods.
Check out Project Cowboy Journey!
CLICK HERE for a link to the page.
