Tennessee Walking Horses of Minnesota
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Cowboy Quotes, Sayings, and Wisdom
A cowboy walked into a bar and slumped upon a stool,
he threw a large tequila down and said: "I've been a fool!
Eliza Jane had promised me that I would be the one -
and now I find she's walking out with Jake the banker's son!"
A gambler drinking whisky heard his story and was moved,
he said: "I've loved a lot of girls, and this one thing I've proved:
They promise you a life of joy, of love and laughs and song,
then leave - the very instant someone better comes along!"
The guy at the piano said: "I loved this girl in Maine,
she had a smile and figure that would drive a man insane,
I asked the question, she said yes, but never said 'I do'
she left me for a guy who played guitar and fiddle, too!"
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Sun in Gemini
(May 22 – June 21)
Gemini is the third sign of the zodiac, and is a mutable air sign, which is ruled by the planet Mercury. The Gemini-sun horse is therefore naturally a curious, alert and versatile horse that loves learning. This horse loves to communicate and will bond with you very quickly if you take time to learn its body language and play games together on a regular basis. The Gemini-sun horse is also very fun loving, and needs the versatility of a whole array of different types of activities. In short, the Gemini-sun horse wants to be an all-rounder! A Gemini-sun horse needs to be stimulated mentally and emotionally within the partnership, and be given the opportunity to express its sense of humor in a positive manner. Otherwise it may get bored very quickly, and will then become inattentive and flighty. Like the Gemini symbol of the twins, this horse does not like being alone and naturally has two sides to its personality. This horse loves companionship and will make friends with animals of other species if it cannot have the company of horses. Occasionally couples choose to share a horse, so the Gemini-sun horse and would naturally be at ease with the idea of two human partners! As Gemini rules the chest, it is important that this horse gets as much fresh air as possible.
You are not being diplomatic just because you put please in front of Shut the hell up.
There are rules about riding a horse, but the horse won't necessarily know them.
You generally learn the value of money from the lack of it.
A horse ain't being polite when he comes to a fence and lets you go over first.
Most anybody can be a cowboy, but it takes a damn genius to make money at it.
The bigger the mouth, the better it looks shut.
When your head is in the bear's mouth, it is not the time to be smacking him on the nose.
If there is a hole in your story or your fence, something you rather did not get out, will.
Just because you are traveling a well marked trail, doesn't mean whoever made it knew where they was going.
Whether the glass is half-full or half empty, depends on whether you are drinking or pouring.
Money may buy you a dog, but only love can make him wag his tail.
The quieter you are, the more you can hear.
Never believe anybody that says their horse doesn't kick.
There are lots of reasons to love a horse, sometime it's no more than the sweet little way he stepped on some asshole's foot.
Is my horse too fat?
While "beauty lies in the eyes of the beholder", determining whether a horse is fat does not have to be so vague. The answer lies in the body condition score. A body condition scoring system was developed by researchers at Texas A & M based on the location and amount of fat stores underneath the horse's skin. The scoring system uses a number scale from 1 - 9. A body condition score of 1 is 'poor' and the horse is emaciated, whereas a body condition score of 9 is given to a horse that is extremely fat. A body score of 5 is 'moderate'.
One characteristic of a score of 5 are ribs that cannot be seen, but can be easily felt. Visually examining your horse and then running your hands over the horse's side to feel its ribs can give you a good indication of your horse's body condition score. A score of 4, (moderately thin), allows a faint outline of the ribs to be seen, whereas a score of 6, (moderate to fleshy) is characterized by ribs that cannot be seen and fat over the ribs that feels spongy. Although a score from 4 - 6 is appropriate for most horses, the ideal score for each horse will vary, depending on differences in energy expenditure, frame size, physiological condition, diet history and the owner's personal preference.
Visually and physically examining your horse is the best way to establish its body condition score. Assessing your horse's body condition score on a routine basis allows for dietary adjustments to be made. How much you need to feed your horse will vary over time and is strongly influenced by changes in exercise, environmental conditions and quality of feedstuffs.
Trying to maintain your horse's ideal body weight is a constant challenge. Without frequent assessment a horse can lose or gain a significant amount of weight before it may be obvious to someone who sees the horse frequently. Altering your horse's body condition score takes considerable time and effort. Any increase or decrease must be accomplished gradually over time in order to be done safely.
Alternate feed options
A drought can leave many horse owners looking for quality hay, and considering alternative feedstuffs for their horses. A large portion of a horse's diet should be forage of some sort, and horses eat roughly 2% of their body weight in dry matter each day. Below is a list of common forage alternatives:
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Hay cubes. Pros: little waste, easily handled and transported, good baled hay extender or replacement. Cons: can be expensive and the horse may tend to over eat.
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Older hay, if stored properly. Pros: can meet the horse's energy, protein and fiber requirements. Cons: vitamins in the hay can break down with time so vitamin supplementation would be necessary.
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Beet pulp. Pros: Good source of energy and protein, you can feed 5 to 10 pounds a day. Cons: may need to supplement vitamins and minerals in order to achieve the necessary calcium and phosphorus ratio of 2:1
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Complete feeds. Pros: nutrients are balanced, good hay extender (some are meant to be fed with forage and some can substitute for forage). Cons: may not be enough total fiber, can be eaten quickly leaving the horse with "idle" time, needs to be divided up into small meals.
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Miscellaneous. Occasionally you hear of people feeding straw or corn stalks to horses, these are not recommended for horse feed as they have very little nutritional value and can have adverse affects on horse health. Haylage has been fed to horses, but caution should be exercised to avoid mold and botulism contamination which could be very harmful or deadly.
We've recently been asked if feeding whole roasted soybeans is acceptable. Whole roasted soybean would most likely result in excess protein in the diet and may not be very palatable.
Before feeding an "alternative" feed to your horse, consult your veterinarian and equine nutritionist.
Parasite control options
A comprehensive parasite control program involves more than deworming your horse on a regular basis. The most important feature is the ability to reduce the number of parasites and eggs in the environment. Secondly, the program should be effective with the fewest number of treatments necessary. Finally, the program should be broad spectrum to control many different types of parasites.
Preventative medication is a very important component of parasite control. The bad news is that there is no single program that works for all situations. However, there are many different programs available, these include:
Targeted Dosing: This strategy involves testing the level of parasite burdens in individual animals. Standard fecal egg counts should be performed once monthly. Also tapeworm testing via fecal testing or serology (blood testing) should be done twice yearly. All animals that are positive over a certain cut off level should be treated. A yearly treatment for "bots" should also be included during the winter. This program is only appropriate for adult horses and should be considered on a farm with a dedicated manager where good grazing management is in place.
Strategic Dosing: This strategy involves treating all pastured animals at regular intervals with an appropriate product. The interval between dosing can be determined by the egg reappearance period (ERP)of the medication, which is shorter for young animals. The ERP is the period after medicating an animal with a dewormer until there are significant numbers of parasite eggs present again in the feces. The animals are only treated during the spring/summer season when the risk for increased egg loads is highest.
Interval Dosing: This strategy is the one most commonly used. It is similar to Strategic Dosing; however, animals are treated year round at regular intervals. As the duration of parasite kill varies from product to product and even between farms, the interval between doses should be determined by the ERPor by guidelines set by your veterinarian based upon products used. This program may be appropriate for farms where there are frequent new additions to the group, at more casually managed (hobby) farms and in young animals.
Daily Deworming: This strategy involves the addition of a parasite control medication to the horse's daily ration. This program is appropriate for most adult grazing horses; however, additional periodic deworming with other products is usually necessary. Twice yearly treatment with ivermectin (Eqvalan, Phoenectrin, Zimectrin), ivermectin/praziquantel (Equell) or moxidectin (Quest) has been recommended. This program can select somewhat for resistant organisms since the parasites are continuously exposed to a low level of the drug.
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