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Backyard Horsekeeping

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

Backyard Horsekeeping

Tag Archives: horse ownership

Dear Robert Redford

12 Monday Aug 2013

Posted by Joan Fry in General, Horse movies

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Tags

Backyard Horsekeeping, Buck Brannaman, horse owner's responsibilities, horse ownership, horse whisperers, Robert Redford

Sorry to go right to a first-name basis, but I feel as though we’re friends.  God knows we’ve spent enough time together—I’ve watched most of your movies more than once.  I admire your acting ability, your intelligence, and your choice of roles.  You are Jay Gatsby.  (Sorry, Leo.)   And despite the difference in our ages, I think you’re adorable!

A key scene in "The Horse Whisperer" that lasted about a third of a second on screen.  Robert Redford (or maybe Buck Brannaman, a real-life whisperer and Redford's stunt double), lays the horse down.  (Photo courtesy of  www.fanpop.com)

A key scene in “The Horse Whisperer” that lasted barely a second on screen. Robert Redford (or maybe Buck Brannaman, a real-life whisperer and Redford’s techical advisor and stunt double), lays the horse down. (Photo courtesy of http://www.fanpop.com)

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Do You Feed Your Horse on the Ground?

03 Saturday Aug 2013

Posted by Joan Fry in General, Horse Health

≈ 2 Comments

Tags

a pipe corral, Backyard Horse, Backyard Horsekeeping, behavior, Feeding, horse ownership, horse safety, shavings as horse bedding

Some horse owners, when they’re building a wooden corral or erecting a pipe corral, don’t include feeders.  Their reasoning is that in the wild, horses eat grass—and they eat it at ground level.  Feeders are usually placed so the horse has to lower his head in order to eat, but not at ground level.  (For good reason.  Feeders usually have three upright metal bars to hold the flake of hay and keep it more or less intact while your horse yanks chunks of it out to eat on the ground.  You don’t want your horse to wedge a hoof between the bars.)  But many of these owners make a costly mistake when they decide not to put down rubber mats, either.  Horse owners who want the best for their horse will include a feeder, and will also place enough mats (four in a 24’ x 24’ pipe corral) so the area underneath the feeder is covered.  Why is not having rubber mats under the horse’s feeder a costly mistake?  Two words:  sand colic.  And sometimes even rubber mats aren’t enough.

Show horses have shavings in the barn aisle as well as their stalls.  (Photo by Joan Fry)

Show horses have shavings in the barn aisle as well as their stalls. (Photo by Joan Fry)

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What Do You Do with the Pee and the Poo?

28 Friday Jun 2013

Posted by Joan Fry in A Day in the Life, General

≈ 9 Comments

Tags

Backyard Horsekeeping, bedding with shavings, horse manure disposal, horse ownership, pipe corral

Many horse people (yes, we’re strange) enjoy the smell of horse manure.  It’s kind of “essence of horse,” and ranks right up there with the smell of saddle soap, a sniff of freshly baled alfalfa, and the scent of the horse himself.  The smell of horse urine, though, falls into another category entirely.  It’s called the “yuk” category.

Prim with this year's new manure disposal site behind her.  (Photo by Charles Hood)

Prim with this year’s new manure disposal site behind her. (Photo by Charles Hood)

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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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How to Buy a Horse

01 Saturday Jun 2013

Posted by Joan Fry in Buying a Horse, Conformation, General, Horse Health

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Tags

Backyard Horsekeeping, buying a horse, horse conformation, horse ownership, horse's age, rider's experience, trail horse, trail riding

With the economy in such bad shape, you might think this would also be a bad time to look for a horse.  Actually it’s a good time.  According to horse rescues and other humane groups, horses are being abandoned by their owners in record numbers.  Other, more conscientious owners, are willing to give away their horses—particularly those older than ten or fifteen—to “good homes only,” or sell them for very little money.  If you’re a first-time owner, especially if you have a steady income and were a horse-crazy teen, it might be the perfect time to buy a horse.

The foot closest to viewer is a club foot.  Compare the heel to the heel of the hoof   on the left.  The angle of the club foot is completely different.  (Photo by www.horseadvice.com)

The foot closest to viewer is a club foot. Compare the heel to the heel of the hoof on the left. The angle of the club foot is completely different. (Photo by http://www.horseadvice.com)

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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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