How are you caring for your horse differently?

Joyscarer

Joyscarer

Active Member
Dec 30, 2006
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Hampshire
We are coming into our third winter with Joy. :D

I have changed so many things this year and wondered who else was managing their horses differently and why you made the changes?

1. She's clipped as I ride more at the new yard
2. She on a balancer rather than powdered vit & min suppliment as she actually eats this!
3. She has her own friend as I have loaned a companion as I was fed up of field mates moving and leaving Joy devasted as she had become attached.
4. She's in an unjointed bit as was too fussy through her mouth in a french link
5. She's no longer in natural balance shoes and am considering having her backs off as she has good feet and so many on here are successful.
6. She's no longer on magnesium as she doesn't need it anymore - or maybe I don't!


How about you?
 
Well this time last year we were on DIY and 24/7 stabling. Daffy had just started Simple Systems feeds, he was due to go to the vets in a week and he had had his shoes pulled in preparation for xrays. He was off work, slightly tubby, and unclipped, therefore unrugged.

By the end of January we'd moved to assisted DIY on a yard where he could have daily turnout after he was so stiff he could barely walk, he was still barefoot with no feet left after returning from the vets. I'd done a dreadful job clipping him, he was supposed to be coming back into work and he was still tubby, I had to feed him SS in order to give him his 5 or so supplements.

Now we're on full livery on yet another yard, with daily turnout. Daffy has been on Simple System Metaslim (with chaff) for 2 1/2 months, no supplements to speak of, and he looks fab. He is in work, and we went showing yesterday. He has been shod since August, and this year I opted for a professional clip job. ;)

I feel as though I've changed a lot over the last year - certainly two yard moves, a major dietary change, shoes-barefoot and back to shoes, and I had a period of being pretty down which made him a right grumpy sod, but we're over that now. :)
 
1.Moved yards, happier horse and owner!
2. Forest moved on to a more forage based diet and has piled on the weight
3. Forest has been moved off straw and hay and onto sawdust and haylage so no coughing this year
4.Forest is being worked all through winter (although not at moment because of leg problems!:rolleyes:)
5. Hes been fully clipped and coping really well with it.
6.Hes in with 1 other horse and not on his own and they get on great but aren't attached so happy to leave each other.
7.Hes moved from jointed to straight bar bits and is in a stronger bit at last (finally took the plunge!) and working better because of it.

So apart from the colic and box rest its been an ok year sort of! (Bearing in mind that in 11 months hes been on box rest for 4/5 of these due to all sorts of health problems!):p
 
Well I've only had Belle since April, so the winter is an unknown quantity especially as she has never lived out before. So far she seems happy and is maintaining a very good weight. She's barefoot for the first time too and so far that is going well too.

Rosie is now 20 and retired, she has lived out for the past 12 or more years and very happy to do so and sadly very fat too.

Woody is still on restricted grazing and being fed hi - fi lite, his weight is good and this winter I'm determined not to let the dreaded lami get one over me as it has for the past two winters.

Tally I've only had a month, he seems fine and looks like a good doer, we'll see..
 
main change for us is clipping!

For the first time ever in my life, I am having a clipped pony


This pony after 2 hours was still wet on Saturday (sweat and rain - lovely combination)

Three times a week the boy is drenched and twice a week, he is pretty sweaty :rolleyes:

So, tomorrow - he's being clipped!
 
Captain has adlib hay and less hard feed.
He has more turnout.
Is checked as late as 11pm at night.
Rugged less as I realise he doesnt need it. :eek:
Has company that he feels comfortable enough in not to panic at gateways.
Moved from a Gag to a Myler Comfort Snaffle.
His grazing is managed so he doesnt get so large in the Summer.
He is barefoot.
 
Since I bought my mare in February, we've gone from the kimblewick and curb she came with to Dr Cooks. I swapped her normal headcollar to a rope halter. I clipped her myself without sedation. We do lots of groundwork and play, she follows me around and over little jumps.
 
This is my third winter with Jackson.

Not a lot of change: we moved fields, but the whole herd moved so he is still with his friends.

New field is about the same size as old field but more featureless, so less shelter and less to eat (no gorse, not many trees), so we will probably feed hay/haylage as the winter goes on, and they are all rugged more as the shelter is poorer.

I am riding more than first winter when he was 4, about the same as last winter - but we can do more and are happy now at w/t/c and small jumps both in the school (having access to a school is still new to us) and riding out.
 
I've had Arnie since he was a foal but this is his first ridden winter (he's 5). We have finally become a team and I'm so loved up with my boy. We had no sucess with bits and since all his mouth traumas which meant no riding all last winter (6 months off) we have gone bitless and are loving it. We have also gone treeless and I am so much more secure.

Still on his calmer and havent quite cracked solo hacking yet but thats down to me and I am sure we'll get it sorted next spring.

Oh, and I've galloped - twice now:). Both times with Capalldubh and Lucyad - they were probably fast cantering but Arnie is a lot smaller than their two:D

I no longer feed carrots as they were blowing his brain. I have also discovered that things like sugar beet and even feed balancers seem to send him off his rocker so he is now on a diet of hay, healthy hooves and high fibre cubes.

I know thats not quite what you meant by caring for them but its just made such a difference to me:D
 
Well got my 2 shetlands back of loan so now got 4 ponys.
Had shoes taken off 2 bigger ponys so now got 4 barefoot.
Due to the wet summer got loads of grass so less hay required, also for the same reason ponys quite porky so hardly rugging.
Hoping the shetlands are going to help the fact that one of my ponys was getting quite pair bound.
 
I have a major change this winter. I changed barns in August so Sevigny has moved from a very large stall with shavings situation to living in a much larger paddock/shelter with no shavings situation. Result so far has been a much happier horse and owner...well...even if her living conditions were the same, we would both be happier at the the new place I think since its managed so much better then the other.

Because she is outdoors, things are all managed quite differently...I think I have the hang of it now, but this has been a very wet fall and could be a nasty winter.
 
Well different pony for starters!
Moved yards.
Have a rota for who's putting out all three horses + bringing in(me and 2 friends), meaning i only have to go up thurs morn and wed/thurs/fri evening.
Saturday i pay the groom to turn baba out.
We've a loaner for the first time ever, she does tues, weds & sunday. - breaks for meeee.
We no longer pay for straw....big bed now.
& baba's mother is officially skint because she spends too much time looking on robinsons/derby house websites!!!
:rolleyes: x
 
We have moved yards and have gone from individual turnout to group turnout in a small herd.

At the old yard our turnout was more restricted, with them only out until about 3pm, this year he is out for 12 hours a day 7am-7pm.

At our last yard there was a lot of grass so he went through winter just being fed Hi Fi Lite, High Fibre Cubes and hay. This year we have a lot less grass so he is on haylage, Hi Fi Original and Conditioning Cubes.

Last year he was being ridden for an hour a day 6 days a week. This year he is only in light work due to a tendon operation earlier this year.

This year he's rugged more as when he was on box rest he became a right wuss about the cold and weather! :rolleyes:
 
We're pretty set in our ways now, the main difference such as it is is that I let the horses tell me whether they want to be out 24/24, 18/24, or 12/24. Rio is shod and will be till the new year and also getting a few high energy grass nuts in her feed too just to give her a bit more oomph. Both horses are being schooled far more than they have been for a long time, we've lost a few unofficial hacking routes and the ones we do have are catastrophically muddy in some places to the point of being dangerous.
 
My 2nd winter with Di and the following has changed: -

1. I now own her rather than part loan/share :)
2. She has a new better fitting saddle
3. Her diet has changed from corn mix & sugar beet to hi-fi, high fibre cubes and cool mix, with vitamin supplement.

Other than that everything is pretty much the same :)
 
Not much has changed really - now has magnetic boots to help with the arthritis (not sure if they're working but not doing any harm!), still clipped, rugged and worked. Same yard, already better t/o than last year so hopefully no worry about having to move.

Only change to his feed is the addition of a conditioning mix (on the advice of feed helplines) as for the first time this year he dropped some weight comming into the winter - not what you want from an 18yr old TB!!
 
3rd winter with mine.
1) new yard (again)
2) clipped this year as we now have a school, and clipped her myself for the very first time
3) still living out 24/7 and will be until she has to come in, ie when the weather gets very very very wet

Think thats it :)
 
I have kept my arab for 8 years but owned him for 11.

Quite a bit has changed as I have learned more about horses and him specifically.
He has been on the same yard for 9 years. Moved fields once and stables twice.
I have learned to listen to him more re increasing feed, coming in etc.
Changed to more combo turnout rugs than standard.
Feed much more naturally, as much fibre as I can with a balancer in winter and seaweed in summer.
Ride treeless and bitless (started this year)
Manage his weight better (he is a v good doer)
Have worm counts and use less wormers.
Have a wonderful bond enhanced by NH
Loving him more every day.
 
1. New yard, next to old herd and some of the same ponies.
2. Kally is the matriarch and lets everyone know it (bar me, cos she know I won't stand for it)
3. Enough grass to prolong hay feeding until Dec 1st I hope!
4. Fibre Only diets keeping hosses warm, up to weight and calmer
5. We're giving barefoot a go!
6. Early morning rides twice a week mean week time exercise :)
 
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