It's that time of year when the days are getting longer and slightly warmer (And here lately at my place, wetter. Yes, lots of rain)
You know what means. You go out, reach a hand out to scritch your pony and come back with a handful of fuzz!
That's right, it's SHEDDING SEASON!
Now, while I haven't started to "blow my coat" as much as my mostly white counterpart, Gypsy, has...I've got my fair share of loose hairs.
It's itchy and we love to roll and scratch on posts and stuff, so take the time to go through your barn and fence and such and make sure there aren't anything like nails or sharp bits of wood your pony can impale themselves on. It's also a good time to just go ahead and de-worm us. Ohio-mom found out that we seem to drop hair quicker if she pops a de-wormer in us at the start of shedding season.
Grooming tools of choice here are rubber curry combs, metal curry combs, and Slick N Easy blocks. We've heard good things about Furminators, but have yet to try one of those out. Baths also work and help with the itch, but it's still a bit too chilly here in Ohio for that, and it's raining cats and dogs. But next month Ohio-mom promised us some good, scrubbing with the rubber curry while soaped up, baths if it's warm enough.
Do any of you have tips and hints on getting through shedding season?
Saturday, March 5, 2011
Monday, February 7, 2011
Names
So, Ohio-mom was talking to us and checking us over today while we ate our piles of hay. And it hit me. She calls me Sadie most of the time. As it's my name. But Gypsy, she doesn't get called Gypsy very often. Usually it's Mare or Pony. Sometimes Gyps. A few times Boo or Bug...but rarely Gypsy.
It makes me wonder though. Does Gypsy mind? I don't think she does. Her and Ohio-mom have a great bond and Gypsy seems to be over-protective of her at times when I want some attention too. But why would she be named Gypsy, and then never be called that?
Ohio-mom once told me how I got my name. She said the night before she went up to see a little blonde haflinger, that *gasp* was NOT me, she had a dream she went to see a short red plump haffy with a blaze named Sadie. She already knew she was going up there to look at a younger, taller, lighter mare named C-Connie.
Once she was up at the farm, she decided to pass on C-Connie and the gentleman pulled me out and said he was looking to find me a home too. There I was. Short. Red. Plump. Blaze...but my name was Precious. However, she knew I was the pony that was in her dream, and the name Sadie suited me. So, she said she'd take me!
Going home, she had to stop by the Dairy Queen she worked at to return a cell phone she'd borrowed for the trip from her friend that she boarded with at the time. Her friend also said she had a dream that she got a little red mare named Sadie.
So, the name stuck. I was meant to be Sadie! Kinda weird, yes. But the name suits me much better than Precious (which, by the way, is just part of my registered name--Precious Silk MJE)
But it makes me wonder--how do people know they have the right name for their horse or pony? Do they just pick one and make it try to stick, which seems to be the case with Gypsy. Or do they wait and let the name that best suits come to the animal and go with that?
It makes me wonder though. Does Gypsy mind? I don't think she does. Her and Ohio-mom have a great bond and Gypsy seems to be over-protective of her at times when I want some attention too. But why would she be named Gypsy, and then never be called that?
Ohio-mom once told me how I got my name. She said the night before she went up to see a little blonde haflinger, that *gasp* was NOT me, she had a dream she went to see a short red plump haffy with a blaze named Sadie. She already knew she was going up there to look at a younger, taller, lighter mare named C-Connie.
Once she was up at the farm, she decided to pass on C-Connie and the gentleman pulled me out and said he was looking to find me a home too. There I was. Short. Red. Plump. Blaze...but my name was Precious. However, she knew I was the pony that was in her dream, and the name Sadie suited me. So, she said she'd take me!
Going home, she had to stop by the Dairy Queen she worked at to return a cell phone she'd borrowed for the trip from her friend that she boarded with at the time. Her friend also said she had a dream that she got a little red mare named Sadie.
So, the name stuck. I was meant to be Sadie! Kinda weird, yes. But the name suits me much better than Precious (which, by the way, is just part of my registered name--Precious Silk MJE)
But it makes me wonder--how do people know they have the right name for their horse or pony? Do they just pick one and make it try to stick, which seems to be the case with Gypsy. Or do they wait and let the name that best suits come to the animal and go with that?
Wednesday, January 19, 2011
Well, well, well...
today is my 15th birthday! But, to tell you the truth, I still feel like a 5 year old ;)
Ohio-mom called me middle aged *snort* But she agrees, I'm in the prime of my life and feeling and looking GREAT!
Nothing much to post about today really. Ohio-mom is going to make me a beet pulp, hay pellet mash with carrots and apples and maybe some candy canes...Mmmm...peppermint! She says it still seems like yesterday when she was handed a leadrope with a scraggly looking 8, almost 9, year old red pony at the end of it with a "good luck". I don't even think I really knew how to lead at that time either. I didn't know much at all then. Ohio-mom helped me turn into a useful pony though, even though I'd rather just lounge about all day and do nothing. Which are my plans EXACTLY for today!
Ohio-mom called me middle aged *snort* But she agrees, I'm in the prime of my life and feeling and looking GREAT!
Nothing much to post about today really. Ohio-mom is going to make me a beet pulp, hay pellet mash with carrots and apples and maybe some candy canes...Mmmm...peppermint! She says it still seems like yesterday when she was handed a leadrope with a scraggly looking 8, almost 9, year old red pony at the end of it with a "good luck". I don't even think I really knew how to lead at that time either. I didn't know much at all then. Ohio-mom helped me turn into a useful pony though, even though I'd rather just lounge about all day and do nothing. Which are my plans EXACTLY for today!
Monday, January 17, 2011
Acceptable Winter Wear
and no, Ohio-mom. Shorts are NOT acceptable for January in Ohio. It's 17F out and you don't have a luxurious haircoat like I do!
So what is acceptable winter wear..for your equine pals that is?
For my buddy Gypsy and I, it consists of lightweight sheets that are waterproof. We both get a generous pony hair coat in the winter and don't even really need the sheets, but Ohio-mom likes to ride in the winter and we like to stand outside when it rains. And a soaked hair coat in the winter isn't effective in keeping us warm at all. Come January, Gypsy also gets a medium weight blanket added on top of her lightweight if she starts dropping weight. It is also waterproof and only goes on her when the night time temp is dropping below 15F. In addition to our hair keeping us warm, the sheets keeping us dry, we also get a TON of hay to help keep us warm. We have a barn, we just don't use it. Well, we use it as a bathroom and that's about it. If we were stalled at night, we would likely not have blankets put on us at all. We are more than capable of braving the winters here without one. Most healthy horses that grow a decent winter coat are able to in fact! Over blanketing can do more harm than good to us, so make sure that by wanting to "help" us, you aren't actually hurting us by taking away the natural means we have of keeping warm.
I know some of my buddies out there need blankets due to various factors--they don't get enough winter hair growth, they get winter hair shaved down in the winter, they are old, they are very young, they are sick or underweight, and so on. For them, a blanket or two probably is needed.
Just remember, feeding us yummy, delicious hay will help...Mmmmm..hay...and keeping us groomed and dry. Wet hair or dry mud caked hair does not do a good job at all in insulating us.
And if you are like Gypsy, you might want to toss on a hat too!
So what is acceptable winter wear..for your equine pals that is?
For my buddy Gypsy and I, it consists of lightweight sheets that are waterproof. We both get a generous pony hair coat in the winter and don't even really need the sheets, but Ohio-mom likes to ride in the winter and we like to stand outside when it rains. And a soaked hair coat in the winter isn't effective in keeping us warm at all. Come January, Gypsy also gets a medium weight blanket added on top of her lightweight if she starts dropping weight. It is also waterproof and only goes on her when the night time temp is dropping below 15F. In addition to our hair keeping us warm, the sheets keeping us dry, we also get a TON of hay to help keep us warm. We have a barn, we just don't use it. Well, we use it as a bathroom and that's about it. If we were stalled at night, we would likely not have blankets put on us at all. We are more than capable of braving the winters here without one. Most healthy horses that grow a decent winter coat are able to in fact! Over blanketing can do more harm than good to us, so make sure that by wanting to "help" us, you aren't actually hurting us by taking away the natural means we have of keeping warm.
I know some of my buddies out there need blankets due to various factors--they don't get enough winter hair growth, they get winter hair shaved down in the winter, they are old, they are very young, they are sick or underweight, and so on. For them, a blanket or two probably is needed.
Just remember, feeding us yummy, delicious hay will help...Mmmmm..hay...and keeping us groomed and dry. Wet hair or dry mud caked hair does not do a good job at all in insulating us.
And if you are like Gypsy, you might want to toss on a hat too!
Wednesday, January 12, 2011
Hay...omnomnomnomnom!
*hangs head in shame* I've really slacked off. Not my fault, I just didn't have as much access to the internet there for awhile. But I'm back now!
We just got a nice snowfall yesterday and it's still coming down. Ohio mom came out and fed us earlier than usual. I really liked that. She even snuck in some goodies--carrot bits, apple chunks, a few peppermint horse cookies...oh my! My mineral pellets never tasted so good! We also got big heaping piles of hay. Which brings me to my subject today.
If you are a chunky little pony, such as myself, and food is your main goal in life--you probably go through your hay like it's the last bits of it you'll ever see and some random hay eating monster or other pony may come and steal it from you.
Seriously, it could happen. I keep trying to tell Gypsy this, but she won't listen to me. She'll learn...one of these days, she'll learn.
Anyway. I was going through what my buddy Gypsy eats in a 4-5 hour period in less than 30 minutes. It's also caused me to choke once. Choke is no fun for a horse, let me tell you. So, Ohio mom and Michigan mom started thinking of making some slow hay feeders. That has yet to happen, but what HAS happened is they bought me a muzzle. You see, I decided that once the hay was finished, chewing the fence down was an appropriate behavior. I wasn't cribbing or eating the wood, just ripping it down and dropping it. Sure, they tried giving me more hay, but that just got me fatter, and I can eat an entire square bale in about an hour...so, not really an option unless they wanted to roll me around the yard for fun (there has been talk of painting the Goodyear logo on my blue blanket and calling me The Goodyear Blimp though...). Even putting up more of that biting, stinging wire inside the wood fence didn't help much, I just worked around it. The vet checked me out and said I was healthy as a, well, horse... So, they got a lovely breakaway halter for me in green to go with said muzzle as neither of them are a fan of leaving halters on. Not only did the muzzle keep me from ripping up the fence, but it has slowed down my eating drastically. It's not a grazing muzzle, it's just a normal ol' wire muzzle. But now I can stuff as much hay in my mouth as possible and it takes me 5 times as long to finish my hay! Oh, I don't wear it all the time, but I do wear it at feeding times and most nights.
This spring they are going to try to put together some slow down hay feeders of some type together for Gypsy and me...I'll be interested to see what they come up with.
We just got a nice snowfall yesterday and it's still coming down. Ohio mom came out and fed us earlier than usual. I really liked that. She even snuck in some goodies--carrot bits, apple chunks, a few peppermint horse cookies...oh my! My mineral pellets never tasted so good! We also got big heaping piles of hay. Which brings me to my subject today.
If you are a chunky little pony, such as myself, and food is your main goal in life--you probably go through your hay like it's the last bits of it you'll ever see and some random hay eating monster or other pony may come and steal it from you.
Seriously, it could happen. I keep trying to tell Gypsy this, but she won't listen to me. She'll learn...one of these days, she'll learn.
Anyway. I was going through what my buddy Gypsy eats in a 4-5 hour period in less than 30 minutes. It's also caused me to choke once. Choke is no fun for a horse, let me tell you. So, Ohio mom and Michigan mom started thinking of making some slow hay feeders. That has yet to happen, but what HAS happened is they bought me a muzzle. You see, I decided that once the hay was finished, chewing the fence down was an appropriate behavior. I wasn't cribbing or eating the wood, just ripping it down and dropping it. Sure, they tried giving me more hay, but that just got me fatter, and I can eat an entire square bale in about an hour...so, not really an option unless they wanted to roll me around the yard for fun (there has been talk of painting the Goodyear logo on my blue blanket and calling me The Goodyear Blimp though...). Even putting up more of that biting, stinging wire inside the wood fence didn't help much, I just worked around it. The vet checked me out and said I was healthy as a, well, horse... So, they got a lovely breakaway halter for me in green to go with said muzzle as neither of them are a fan of leaving halters on. Not only did the muzzle keep me from ripping up the fence, but it has slowed down my eating drastically. It's not a grazing muzzle, it's just a normal ol' wire muzzle. But now I can stuff as much hay in my mouth as possible and it takes me 5 times as long to finish my hay! Oh, I don't wear it all the time, but I do wear it at feeding times and most nights.
This spring they are going to try to put together some slow down hay feeders of some type together for Gypsy and me...I'll be interested to see what they come up with.
Saturday, July 17, 2010
Oh dear...
I haven't posted much...but I've been one busy little cookie!
I'll try to keep this thing updated a bit more.
Ohio mom is teaching me how to jump (without her on me...she doesn't "do jumps" she says). I'm not sure if I like it or not, but it is something new.
The horseflies are horrible right now...thank goodness for flyspray!
And the grass is green and yummy! *nomnomnom*
I think I'll share a gorgeous picture of me that Ohio mom took the other day!
I'll try to keep this thing updated a bit more.
Ohio mom is teaching me how to jump (without her on me...she doesn't "do jumps" she says). I'm not sure if I like it or not, but it is something new.
The horseflies are horrible right now...thank goodness for flyspray!
And the grass is green and yummy! *nomnomnom*
I think I'll share a gorgeous picture of me that Ohio mom took the other day!
Sunday, December 27, 2009
Happy Holidays
Been super busy around here, getting in a lot of ride time. But just wanted to pop in and say Happy Holidays, whatever you may, or may not, celebrate! Me, I don't care, just keep those candy canes coming! Mmmmmmmmm!!!
I'll try to make a post with some more meaning next time...but it's late and I'm one sleepy pony!
I'll try to make a post with some more meaning next time...but it's late and I'm one sleepy pony!
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