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Backyard Horsekeeping

~ One woman´s experience with keeping her horses in her own backyard

Backyard Horsekeeping

Category Archives: Behavior

Goodbye to All That

06 Wednesday Nov 2013

Posted by Joan Fry in A Day in the Life, Behavior, General, Horse Health

≈ 8 Comments

Tags

Backyard Horse, behavior, horse euthenasia, trail riding

(A continuation of my previous post—finally!)

After my terrifying three-legged ride on Prim in the mountains, I could find only one book in my entire library of horse books that described her condition.  Since it didn’t use the term dropped fetlocks, the index was useless.  I had to look at all the topics listed under “legs.”   The book is the revised and updated paperback edition of The Illustrated Veterinary Encyclopedia for Horsemen (the original hardcover came out in 1975 from Equine Research Publications), published by the Lyons Press in 2005 and now called Horseman’s Veterinary Encyclopedia.  I highly recommend it.

Prim.  (Photo by Joan Fry)

Prim. (Photo by Joan Fry)

I found what I was looking for by reading about fetlocks, where I eventually encountered “Suspensory Ligament Injuries.”  The authors discussed the condition in the context of race horses, and according to severity.  The type Prim seemed to have was a “strained” ligament, and under the heading “What is the prognosis?” it had this chilling pronouncement: “strains that result in a sinking of the fetlock have a poor prognosis.”  That’s exactly what was happening—one of Prim’s rear fetlocks was sinking.  About six months later, both hind fetlocks had sunk to such an extent that both legs were straight, and both pasterns were more horizontal than vertical.

The next time the vet came, she told me to continue the bute and mild exercise.  I told her my usual practice was to put Gunsmoke into the arena and walk Prim out of her corral and let go of her.  (By now she was wearing a breakaway halter and a catch rope.)  She would canter uphill, exchange sniffs with Gunner, and then roll.  I noticed she was always very careful to roll uphill.  She seemed to have no trouble getting to her feet again, and the vet said what she was doing qualified as “mild exercise.” Then she added, “You’ll know when it’s time.”  I pretended I didn’t understand what she was telling me.  Another vet—a friend, and he was simply volunteering his opinion—told me not to ride her again at all, that I was lucky she hadn’t fallen with me.

I continued to feed her grass hay and let her out to walk around and graze every other day.  I rode her only once after that.  At first she seemed excited and happy.  Then, when we passed out of Gunsmoke’s sight, she was excited and unhappy.  Instead of flat walking—which any horse, even an American Saddlebred, can be taught to do—she pranced.  I debated getting off and hand-walking her back.  At a true “flat” walk, the horse has three legs on the ground, and if she can’t bear her own weight on one leg, she can still remain upright.  What Prim was doing was a slow, animated trot, which meant she had only two legs on the ground (except for the brief moment of suspension), and the risk of falling was much greater.  I compromised by taking both feet out of the stirrups in case I had to bail and tried to sweet-talk her into walking.  But she pranced all the way home until she saw Gunsmoke.  It was the last time I rode her.

I put her down mid-summer, when it became obvious that the condition had begun to affect her front legs—she was putting more weight on them to alleviate the pain in her hind legs.  The bute helped—she was now on two grams a day—and she still looked excited and happy to see me, anticipating a chance to walk around while I cleaned and did barn chores.  By the time I was considering three butes a day, I had to admit that there was no point in waiting any longer.  She would only get worse—in fact one of her front fetlocks was sinking. It was time.

My vet arranged everything, including the removal of Prim’s body.  As promised, they were unobtrusive and respectful, and their truck was clean—no bloodstains—and empty.  Prim wouldn’t have to share space with other dead animals.  I told my vet I wanted to stay with Prim until I knew she was gone, but after that, I wanted to leave.  Nodding, she told me what she planned to do, and what would happen after that.  She also told me that once she gave Prim the final shot, I would have to stand clear because she would simply collapse—all nine hundred pounds of her.

First she sedated Prim.  Tranquilizers put her in a happy twilight phase where the position of her ears always made her look drunk.  In addition to giving her a few minutes of pain-free comfort, tranquilizers also help the procedure go more quickly and smoothly.  Then the vet gave her a final shot of pentobarbital.

Prim was dead before she hit the ground.  I could tell from her eyes—they suddenly went blank and glassy.  The vet tech, holding on to her leadrope, made sure to lower her head last, and then I knelt next to her, both of us stroking Prim’s head and neck, even though I was pretty sure she had left this earth.  About a minute later my vet said softly, “I can’t hear a heartbeat.  She’s gone.”

I thanked her, got off my knees and walked away without looking back, hoping I could make it into the house before I started to cry.  Prim was 25 and had been with me almost 22 years—longer than most marriages last.  When, about a week later, a condolence card, signed by everybody in the clinic, arrived in the mail, I cried again, right there in the post office, when I read what my veterinarian had written:  “Prim always had ‘personality plus.’  She was special to all of us here even thought she was not our biggest fan.”

A fitting tribute.  I miss her.

 

How to Buy a Horse for Your Child

09 Sunday Jun 2013

Posted by Joan Fry in Behavior, Buying a Horse, General, Horses and Kids

≈ 4 Comments

Tags

a bomb-proof horse, a kid-proof horse, Backyard Horsekeeping, behavior, finding a large animal veterinarian, horse ownership, how to buy a horse, pre-purchase exam for a horse

Since I own horses, people are always asking me how old their child ought to be before she starts to take riding lessons.  But since I’m not a parent, I don’t really know how to answer that question.  I’d probably say, old enough to be coordinated and to follow directions without asking, “But why?”  I know of one child who began riding at the age of three.  Horse trainers’ children tend to start earlier than other children simply because their parents 1) know what they’re doing, and 2) they have a suitable horse.

This trusting, trustworthy old gelding probably taught many beginning riders in addition to this lucky little girl.  (Photo by Joan Fry)

This trusting, trustworthy old gelding probably taught many beginning riders in addition to this lucky little girl. (Photo by Joan Fry)

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A Day in the Life of a Backyard Horse Owner: Day #2

19 Sunday May 2013

Posted by Joan Fry in A Day in the Life, Behavior, General, Horse Health

≈ 2 Comments

Tags

Backyard Horse, Backyard Horsekeeping, behavior, horse with a swollen face, insect bites, snake bites

It’s one of those days that you know will happen, you just don’t think it will happen to you and one of your horses.  But one day you find yourself clutching the phone, thinking pick up, pick up! as it rings and rings.  (Actually it only rings twice, but to you it feels like twenty.)  When you do get a human’s voice, you struggle to control your own.  “This is an emergency horse call,” you say.  “His eyes are swollen—the left one is nearly shut—and his nostrils and lips are swollen too.  He has no temperature.”  As you hear yourself talk, you try not to think about, let alone mention, the obvious: it’s snake season.  Was Gunsmoke bitten by a rattler?

Even a first-time owner would know something awful has happened to her horse.  (Photo by Joan Fry)

Even a first-time owner would know something awful has happened to her horse. (Photo by Joan Fry)

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Breakaway Halters

11 Saturday May 2013

Posted by Joan Fry in Behavior, General, Safety, Tack and Equipment

≈ 2 Comments

Tags

a biting horse, Backyard Horsekeeping, breakaway halters, horse behavior, horse safety

Breakaway halters are useful if you have a horse that has to wear a halter all the time.   The most common reason is because the horse bites.  If he’s already haltered, you can snap a leadrope directly to the halter while standing at his shoulder, where you can deflect a nip.   I also use a breakaway halter on Prim, my old mare with the dropped fetlocks, when I turn her out to self-exercise.  (She never lets Gunsmoke out of her sight, which is the reason I turn him out in the arena first.)  When I let go of her leadrope (a very short one, called a “catch rope”) and cluck, she gallops towards him and they circle the arena a couple of times, Gunner on the inside, Prim on the outside.  It’s short, so she can’t step on it and trip, or get it snagged on something.   Even if she did manage to do that, her breakaway halter would do its job and break.  Unlike Gunner, she doesn’t wear it all the time—just when I turn her out.

The throatlatch of this breakaway halter is fastened to the top ring of the cheekpiece by a snap facing in (and into the horse's face) instead of out.  This breakaway halter is defective. (Photo by Joan Fry)

The throatlatch of this breakaway halter is fastened to the top ring of the cheekpiece by a snap facing in (and into the horse’s face) instead of out. This breakaway halter is defective. (Photo by Joan Fry)

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A Forgiving Horse

03 Friday May 2013

Posted by Joan Fry in Behavior, Feeding, Safety

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Tags

Backyard Horse, Backyard Horsekeeping, behavior, food as a reward, hand feeding, horse that bites, training

A forgiving horse is one that, for example, sees a raven fly out of a bush right in front of him, gets frightened, and shies.  But instead of staying scared and running back home, out of control, your horse forgets about the raven and remembers that you taught him to obey you instead of his natural instincts.  He’s willing to put his trust in you again.  But there’s another kind of forgiving horse.  This horse has often been unfairly reprimanded or mistreated, usually because of ignorance on his owner’s part—and he forgives her for it.

Hand-feeding a horse that bites, or threatens to bite:  Not smart.  (Photo by Andrea.)

Hand-feeding a horse that bites, or threatens to bite: Not smart. (Photo by Andrea.)

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The Horse That Bites

22 Monday Apr 2013

Posted by Joan Fry in Behavior, General, Safety

≈ 2 Comments

Tags

a biting horse, Backyard Horse, Backyard Horsekeeping, behavior, training

The cat who nips at your hand is similar to the horse who nips at (air bites) your hand, and you can use the same methods to stop the behavior.  Keep your hands away from his face; never allow him to play with your hands; and never, ever, physically punish him.

21-Horse that Bites Continue reading →

Text-Free Tuesday

16 Tuesday Apr 2013

Posted by Joan Fry in Behavior, General, Text-Free Tuesday

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Tags

Backyard Horse, Backyard Horsekeeping, Craig Cameron, training

Craig Cameron, horse trainer, behaviorist, and cattle rancher.  (Publicity photo courtesy of Craig Cameron)

Craig Cameron, horse trainer, behaviorist, and cattle rancher. (Publicity photo courtesy of Craig Cameron)

The Horse That Nips

30 Saturday Mar 2013

Posted by Joan Fry in Behavior, General, Safety

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Backyard Horsekeeping, horse biting

I once owned an orange kitten who liked to bite my hand.  He would be lying in my lap, purring as I petted him, and then—for no reason at all—he’d turn his head and bite me. I’ve owned cats off and on most of my life, but Gibson was the only one that bit me.  He was also the only male I’d ever known.  Were they love bites—a blend of affection, enthusiasm, and testosterone?  Maybe, but I’d been to urgent care once from an infected cat bite, so I flicked my finger against his nose.  He stopped and drew back, ears flattened.  This small, supercharged kitten taught me that physically reprimanding an animal can backfire.

I’m introducing Prim to a rubber curry mitt.  She’s excitable and has never bitten anything except her food.  Gunner is curious and mouthy.  I stand much farther away from him when I introduce him to anything new, so he can sniff it but not grab it.

I’m introducing Prim to a rubber curry mitt. She’s excitable and has never bitten anything except her food. Gunner is curious and mouthy. I stand much farther away from him when I introduce him to anything new, so he can sniff it but not grab it.

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Strange Behaviors

15 Friday Feb 2013

Posted by Joan Fry in Behavior

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Tags

Backyard Horsekeeping, flehmen response

As Tuesday’s photo illustrated, horses can do things that look very strange—even frightening—to their two-legged owners.

The horse in the photo was yawning, but some owners will never see it happen.  That’s because most horses very seldom yawn.  The first time you see the behavior, you might mistake it for a seizure of some kind.  The horse’s eyes roll back, his ears flop, and he opens his mouth wide enough to let his tongue hang out.  The first time I saw a horse do that I was poised to run to the house and scream at my husband to “call the veterinarian!”  Luckily the horse closed his mouth, chewed a little, and wandered off.

Gunsmoke exhibiting a flehmen response.

Gunsmoke exhibiting a flehmen response.

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Thank you for reading my blog. Please feel free to contact me with any horse-related questions or comments you might have.

Backyard Horsekeeping: The Only Guide You'll Ever Need (Lyons Press, Revised Edition 2007). Praised by everybody from horse behaviorists to trainers to veterinarians, the book's appeal was summed up by Horsemen's Yankee Pedlar, who gave the book a five blue-ribbon rating: "It is the author's voice and commitment to detail that make this book stand apart."

Joan Fry

"Playboy, my first backyard horse, really belonged to my neighbors. But I fed him and brushed him and kept his water bucket full, and in return, they let me ride him whenever I wanted to."

“Even as a kid I loved to write. When I was about eight I typed my first novel on my parents’ Underwood typewriter. I called it Silver the Wild Horse, and it was all in capital letters because I didn’t know how to work the shift key. It was illustrated in crayon. From that little experiment, I found that I’m a better writer than I am an artist. I also discovered my future: I would write about horses.”


John Fry on Imperator, four-time World's Grand Champion Five-Gaited American Saddlebred.
Photo by Avis

Recent Posts

  • Oh No–Not Again!
  • I’m Eating, Don’t Bother Me
  • The Horse in Winter
  • Blanketing Your Horse
  • Goodbye to All That
  • Dropped Fetlocks
  • Dear Robert Redford
  • Do You Feed Your Horse on the Ground?
  • Feeding the Backyard Horse
  • Slaughtering Horses for Meat
  • What Do You Do with the Pee and the Poo?
  • How to Clean Your Horse’s Stall or Corral
  • How to Buy a Horse for Your Child
  • How to Buy a Horse
  • A Day in the Life of a Backyard Horse Owner: Day #2

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