Hay Day

[RanchRoper]

He might be ready but I'm not...

[dave77]

They can definitely change as they get older. Ruby was on grass pasture and feed grass hay as needed along with a small portion of COB (corn, oats, and barley), the cob was more of a daily treat than a significant part of her diet. In her last couple of years (she lived to about 28) she decided to no longer eat grass hay so went to alfalfa hay. Her last year she wouldn't eat any hay so she had to go on a diet of pellets and cob along with a daily dose of horse pain med for her knees.

This will be the first year in quite a while I haven't had to get hay, last year we got hay before we thinned the goat herd so have enough left to feed Luke and Leia for quite a while.

[RanchRoper]

Do they still make Geritol? Maybe I'll get us both some....

[BigAl52]

We don’t use Geritol here RR dont need it. Hemp has now taken the place of it. Maybe Badger needs some hemp grass he would fly up those hills with that.

[RanchRoper]

Badger is doing better. Looks pretty normal walking and trotting around. Definitely feeling better. I may be wrong but I don't think it was a flare up of laminitis. I think he was sore from the trim, as he has been in the past at times. He is back out on pasture, and the grass has changed from lush green summer to not much growth late summer grass. So I will keep a close eye on things and see how he goes. If things look good by month end may take a light ride on him.

He tore up both front legs and feet in barbed wire a few years back. Did them both, one year apart to the day. Very nasty wounds. Wore a cast both times for several weeks, and lots of rest. Anyhow, as a result he grows more hoof than he did before (messed up blood flow to the foot likely) so we have to trim it back quite a bit each time. No fault of my farrier, he's good, but Badger's feet are a challenge. I sent the farrier the x-rays so he can see what's going on and that will help him when trimming and resetting shoes.

[markiver54]

Badger is doing better. Looks pretty normal walking and trotting around. Definitely feeling better. I may be wrong but I don't think it was a flare up of laminitis. I think he was sore from the trim, as he has been in the past at times. He is back out on pasture, and the grass has changed from lush green summer to not much growth late summer grass. So I will keep a close eye on things and see how he goes. If things look good by month end may take a light ride on him.

Good luck and best wishes RR!

[RanchRoper]

Thanks, gotta get him better, he's my buddy...

[JEBar]

Thanks, gotta get him better, he's my buddy...

in thinking about your horses I can't help but wonder ---- when you select a horse what qualities/characteristics/features do you look for ? ---- how long does it take you to train one ? ---- how many years of service do they usually provide for you ?

[dave77]

No fault of my farrier, he's good, but Badger's feet are a challenge. I sent the farrier the x-rays so he can see what's going on and that will help him when trimming and resetting shoes.

Having a good farrier is important. The one I had for most of Ruby's life told me if I wanted him there would be no calling him when I thought she needed a trim, he would put her on a every 2 month schedule (a little less often in the Winter). I had worked with Ruby's feet from the time she was a baby so she was very good about having them handled. Once he got to know Ruby he didn't even tell me when he was coming, I would get home from work and see the hoof trimmings around her post.

[dave77]

Thanks, gotta get him better, he's my buddy...

in thinking about your horses I can't help but wonder ---- when you select a horse what qualities/characteristics/features do you look for ? ---- how long does it take you to train one ? ---- how many years of service do they usually provide for you ?

I'm no expert, Ranch Roper will probably give you a more complete answer. But, I didn't select Ruby, a friend gave her to me as a baby and I knew absolutely nothing about horses. I did lots of reading and spent a lot of time with her, handling her feet, lots of walks on a lead, putting blankets on her back and neck and when she was big enough, putting my weight on her back.

I had thought about training her myself but got smart and when she was about 2 1/2 years old sent her to a well regarded trainer for 30 days (went to her place occasionally and she gave me some training as well). Ruby was just a good trail horse, not a cattle working horse like Ranch Roper's horses, so I'm sure they would require considerably more training.

When she came home I just rode her a lot, she was obedient but being young was pretty skittish when she saw new things on a ride. She was very sure footed, I live next to the Cascade Mountain foothills so we did a lot of riding on the game trails, they're pretty narrow trails criss-crossing on the hillsides created by deer feeding on the grass

I rode her into her 20's but she developed pretty severe arthritis in her knees so didn't ride her much after that.

[RanchRoper]

We bought Badger when he was 7 yrs old. I was looking for a solid ranch horse, one that had some miles on him. He has always been a get on and get to work guy. He is cutting horse bred from the Peppy San Badger line. Hutterite colony had him for awhile before me, and were hauling logs out of the bush with him, roping bulls, etc. He knows his stuff.

Our late mare Magic was bought for my wife as a riding horse for pleasure. Previous owner tried to make a barrel horse out of her, but she did not have the get-up and go for it. She was just 3 when we got her and I put the miles on her for ranch work. No cow work in her pedigree at all, in fact she had thoroughbred blood. But she took to cattle work like nobody's business. First cow ever roped was out in the middle of nowhere on the north end of the a7 when I worked there, and she never missed a beat. God, I miss that mare. She was special.

Dakota was used for some ranch work, and was a rodeo pickup horse. He did not like the rodeo so much, as getting in close to the bucking horses to pick up the rider bothered him (it would bother me too!) He is very solid to rope on, and is 16 hands tall so we have roped some big stock together. My experience with paint horses in general has been that they are very sensitive, meaning they fret easy and worry about stuff. Very easy to wind them up or blow them up if you work at it. So I tend to try to give him a little more time to figure things out before we do them. Then he's ok.

Houston was bought for our son, wonderful horse to ride, and I won money on him at a ranch roping competition. But he went lame in the rear leg after a bit and turned out to be degenerative arthritis in the back leg. No way to predict it or do anything about it. High tech xrays showed the bone riddled with little holes where the disease eats away. So he just hangs out with me when I'm out doing chores and stuff. Him and I have some long conversations about life in general, and we compare aches and pains once in awhile. He is on a pill every day call Previcox that seems to help him quite a bit. So as long as he tells me he wants to stick around, we look after him. Here he is getting his belly scratched...tell me that doesn't feel good!

[JEBar]

interesting .... very interesting indeed .... thanks for taking the time to share the info and pictures .... I show them to my wife, she's become a big fan of your photography and comments

[RanchRoper]

Nice to hear. Thank you. Actually my wife took that pic and lots of other good ones. I get a few here and there with my cell phone.

[CT_Shooter]

Wonderful story, RR. Thanks for sharing your life through essays like this one and some remarkable photographs. I read every post you make... always with pleasure.

[RanchRoper]

Glad you enjoy them. Thanks.

[markiver54]

That story and history certainly will touch a mans' heart. Thank you RR for sharing it with us.
My late Brother in Law spent much of his life on his beloved Quarter horse " Impy ". He traveled the country attending shows and competed as well. What limited knowledge I have of horses, is because of ' Nick ' God rest his soul.
I love the Stetson he left me!....not to mention a couple holsters.

[BigAl52]

Always enjoy seeing RR and Badger in pictures. For me its a connection to the forum. Sure Im here because of the Henry rifles but when there is a post from Badger and Ranchroper from Alberta in Cow country or where ever Im there checkin it out. Its beautiful country up there and maybe someday who knows I might just wander up that way.

[RanchRoper]

Badger was tearing around the pasture this evening with Dakota. Looked fine to me. They were going bonkers cuz I sprayed bug spray on them. Haha.

[RanchRoper]

That story and history certainly will touch a mans' heart. Thank you RR for sharing it with us.
My late Brother in Law spent much of his life on his beloved Quarter horse " Impy ". He traveled the country attending shows and competed as well. What limited knowledge I have of horses, is because of ' Nick ' God rest his soul.
I love the Stetson he left me!....not to mention a couple holsters.

They say the outside of a horse is good for the inside of a man.

[Vaquero]

Today's adventure took me by this.
Sure hate to know I had to pick it up in this heat.

20190818_143159.jpg (163.69 KiB) Viewed 4592 times

RP