DyemondRabbitry
Well-Known Member
Ok, so my friend is having an issue with her horse being boarded at my parent's house. She used to pay about $100 every 1.5-2 months but now it's about every 3 or 4. Also, her horse is in horrible shape. Actually, it is one the humane society would sieze and put down. She is never going to be completely better and she's been told this but she will not allow the animal to be put down. Please read this letter and tell me what you think. I know it is very long but it takes that much to explain. Thanks to all of you. And o yeah, we've been very good friends for along time... pretty close. PLUS I have to work with her mother every day in an office of only 3 people... sticky situation.
First lets see what the horses at mom and dad's need everyday. They need to be lead to the pasture (there are three so that means 2 trips). Once in the pasture they need to have a bale of hay hauled down for them. That's another trip. Then they need water. You can count on about 3 five gallon buckets per horse. This only has to be hauled from over by the trailer but that's still 8 trips when you have 2 buckets. Then they're fine for most of the day. Come evening you have to go out and mix the grain. Then put the grain into the bins. Also, they need more hay to be put into their hay boxes. Now for water again. In the winter the bins freeze up so you have to take each of the tubs out and break them every night. Then Cody needs 2 buckets of water. Chief and Katie have to have their tub taken out, busted and rinsed because Katie will crap in it every day. Then Chief will upset it because he can't get clean water and the thing gets even more filthy. So count on hauling 4 or five more buckets for them. This brings the total amount of bucket hauling to over 20! Really, the work is broken up so it might not seem so bad for one day, but day after day it is alot. Oh yeah, and when it's possible to bed them down Cody takes about 1/2 a bale of straw and Chief and Katie take 1.5 bales because she sleeps laying down. Again, her feet hurt too much to sleep standing. This gets pretty expensive when straw is 3.50 a bale and 2 bales only last one day. On top of this routine, Katie really needs to have her feet picked, be brushed down, and have her joints stretched everyday to save her from some of the pain. Dad and Mom just don't have the time to do this.
Now lets see what other horses take every day. Our boys are led to and from the pasture also- most of the time they will take themselves. It is too long of a walk for Katie to take herself and she just won't do it. Our boys also have a balanced, daily diet. I know what it costs to feed them each day and I know what each of them gets down to the type of feed, where it comes from, what it costs and what is in the hay. This is very basic information an owner should know about their horse to help assess any problems that come up. Also, horses need to be groomed. Clumps of dirt, manure and hay lead to infections. Plus, grooming helps an owner bond with the horse. Half of the problems that arise with riding a horse are because of the relationship between the horse and rider. Also, horses need exercise. They need to be taken out and let to run (if they don't just get to the pasture and lay down) or they can be hand walked or lunged. Our boys get out to run and they learn respect on the long line as well as in the round pen. Horses also need to be able to roll over because it helps them with their digestion- if they can't roll they get stiff. When we first got Cody and he was still foundered I lounged him 2 or 3 times a day for 10 or 15 minutes at a time. Anymore would have hurt him but just that little bit of exercise loosened him up, made him happy, and helped us to bond. Also, we would hand graze him. At the time it was because he was too fat but hand grazing builds relationships with the horse. This leads to the next point- horses need a leader. Oftentimes they get confused who the leader is and choose to be one themselves. Now, Katie knows her "horsey" leader is Cody but Cody's leader is a human. Now, Katie actually tends to like Dad more than anybody. She does not understand that Meghan is actually her owner. It's got to be confusing for her because the people she sees every day and who take care of her are not supposed to be her only leader???
The last thing horses take in general is money. Here is what it takes for my two:
Grain once a day:
Pellets: $14 for a 50 lb bag that last 2 weeks ($1.00/day)
Hay: 1 bale every day-sometimes more ($2.50/day)
Oats: 80 lb bag every 2 weeks (.83/day)
Corn: $9 bag every 2 weeks (.64/day)
That comes to $4.97 for to horses, $2.49 each. Now, Mom and Dad don't feed Corn but their bedding is $3.50 a bale and we don't have bedding. Also, they make their hay (a lot of time, diesel and hard work) but they also feed a lot more of it than we do. So we should still figure that a good cost for owning a horse is $2.50 per day just to care for them. It's expensive. But still, boarding stables and the "fancy" places have prices that would kill.
Now, I am not being mean. We have to understand this. All the is being felt is that Katie should have a place where she can be looked after by the one who loves her every day and that way she can get what she needs to atleast be more comfortable. It's such a shame what has happened to her because she was starting to look better so quickly after you got her. Then the issue with her ligament just sent everything backwards. Well, that and not having a decent farrier until Lloyd and now it's just too late to completely save her.
I'm writting this because I just want to get everything out and not let it get embellished or taken the wrong way. You know you are my best friend and I'd never want to make you angry with me. Let me know what's going on with you.
Oh, and the issue with the dogs. I don't think that this should be avoided either. Brownie is has always been protective. Wade and I were never able to ride together with any of the dogs (Our Sage, Brownie, Lilly or Suzy) because every female dog with property is going to be somewhat protective- just to different extents. Now that Brownie has Lakota the herd mentality can take over and they work together. Now, Lakota is an Australian Cattle Dog. If you google the breed you see that they are protective. To them, when Duke is there she is trespassing because it is their property, and, as best they know, Katie is their horse; so they are going to protect that from the other female dog. I am not saying this is right because, as a human, we say they are misbehaving. As a dog though, they believe they are protecting their families and their lives. It's not going to be "fixed" so we have to work around it. There are a couple things that can be done here. For one- call to let them know when you're coming over. Dad's cell is 227-5269. If you can't get a hold of anybody before you come check to see if the dogs are loose before you let Duke out of the truck! The dogs are not mean- they are dogs. You have to think like a dog.
Ok- I think that's it.
First lets see what the horses at mom and dad's need everyday. They need to be lead to the pasture (there are three so that means 2 trips). Once in the pasture they need to have a bale of hay hauled down for them. That's another trip. Then they need water. You can count on about 3 five gallon buckets per horse. This only has to be hauled from over by the trailer but that's still 8 trips when you have 2 buckets. Then they're fine for most of the day. Come evening you have to go out and mix the grain. Then put the grain into the bins. Also, they need more hay to be put into their hay boxes. Now for water again. In the winter the bins freeze up so you have to take each of the tubs out and break them every night. Then Cody needs 2 buckets of water. Chief and Katie have to have their tub taken out, busted and rinsed because Katie will crap in it every day. Then Chief will upset it because he can't get clean water and the thing gets even more filthy. So count on hauling 4 or five more buckets for them. This brings the total amount of bucket hauling to over 20! Really, the work is broken up so it might not seem so bad for one day, but day after day it is alot. Oh yeah, and when it's possible to bed them down Cody takes about 1/2 a bale of straw and Chief and Katie take 1.5 bales because she sleeps laying down. Again, her feet hurt too much to sleep standing. This gets pretty expensive when straw is 3.50 a bale and 2 bales only last one day. On top of this routine, Katie really needs to have her feet picked, be brushed down, and have her joints stretched everyday to save her from some of the pain. Dad and Mom just don't have the time to do this.
Now lets see what other horses take every day. Our boys are led to and from the pasture also- most of the time they will take themselves. It is too long of a walk for Katie to take herself and she just won't do it. Our boys also have a balanced, daily diet. I know what it costs to feed them each day and I know what each of them gets down to the type of feed, where it comes from, what it costs and what is in the hay. This is very basic information an owner should know about their horse to help assess any problems that come up. Also, horses need to be groomed. Clumps of dirt, manure and hay lead to infections. Plus, grooming helps an owner bond with the horse. Half of the problems that arise with riding a horse are because of the relationship between the horse and rider. Also, horses need exercise. They need to be taken out and let to run (if they don't just get to the pasture and lay down) or they can be hand walked or lunged. Our boys get out to run and they learn respect on the long line as well as in the round pen. Horses also need to be able to roll over because it helps them with their digestion- if they can't roll they get stiff. When we first got Cody and he was still foundered I lounged him 2 or 3 times a day for 10 or 15 minutes at a time. Anymore would have hurt him but just that little bit of exercise loosened him up, made him happy, and helped us to bond. Also, we would hand graze him. At the time it was because he was too fat but hand grazing builds relationships with the horse. This leads to the next point- horses need a leader. Oftentimes they get confused who the leader is and choose to be one themselves. Now, Katie knows her "horsey" leader is Cody but Cody's leader is a human. Now, Katie actually tends to like Dad more than anybody. She does not understand that Meghan is actually her owner. It's got to be confusing for her because the people she sees every day and who take care of her are not supposed to be her only leader???
The last thing horses take in general is money. Here is what it takes for my two:
Grain once a day:
Pellets: $14 for a 50 lb bag that last 2 weeks ($1.00/day)
Hay: 1 bale every day-sometimes more ($2.50/day)
Oats: 80 lb bag every 2 weeks (.83/day)
Corn: $9 bag every 2 weeks (.64/day)
That comes to $4.97 for to horses, $2.49 each. Now, Mom and Dad don't feed Corn but their bedding is $3.50 a bale and we don't have bedding. Also, they make their hay (a lot of time, diesel and hard work) but they also feed a lot more of it than we do. So we should still figure that a good cost for owning a horse is $2.50 per day just to care for them. It's expensive. But still, boarding stables and the "fancy" places have prices that would kill.
Now, I am not being mean. We have to understand this. All the is being felt is that Katie should have a place where she can be looked after by the one who loves her every day and that way she can get what she needs to atleast be more comfortable. It's such a shame what has happened to her because she was starting to look better so quickly after you got her. Then the issue with her ligament just sent everything backwards. Well, that and not having a decent farrier until Lloyd and now it's just too late to completely save her.
I'm writting this because I just want to get everything out and not let it get embellished or taken the wrong way. You know you are my best friend and I'd never want to make you angry with me. Let me know what's going on with you.
Oh, and the issue with the dogs. I don't think that this should be avoided either. Brownie is has always been protective. Wade and I were never able to ride together with any of the dogs (Our Sage, Brownie, Lilly or Suzy) because every female dog with property is going to be somewhat protective- just to different extents. Now that Brownie has Lakota the herd mentality can take over and they work together. Now, Lakota is an Australian Cattle Dog. If you google the breed you see that they are protective. To them, when Duke is there she is trespassing because it is their property, and, as best they know, Katie is their horse; so they are going to protect that from the other female dog. I am not saying this is right because, as a human, we say they are misbehaving. As a dog though, they believe they are protecting their families and their lives. It's not going to be "fixed" so we have to work around it. There are a couple things that can be done here. For one- call to let them know when you're coming over. Dad's cell is 227-5269. If you can't get a hold of anybody before you come check to see if the dogs are loose before you let Duke out of the truck! The dogs are not mean- they are dogs. You have to think like a dog.
Ok- I think that's it.
