Weighty Matters

First, the good news: Indy and Ami have both lost a significant amount of weight. There is still a ways to go for both of them, but it's a visible start. Both of them even seem to feel more energetic, especially Ami. Not only is she sound, she's cutting up almost as much as Indy. And that's saying a bit since he's been pretty hot to trot himself - even more than usual I mean. It's wonderful to see them tagging each other up and down the paddock!

Now, the bad news: This is so damned hard. They are hungry. And we had to start keeping them in the paddock early as well. Having been an "easy keeper" all my life myself, I can really empathize with them. I know they would be able to eat more if they got more regular exercise, but that's easier said than done.

They know so much more about maintaining easy keepers these days. There has been an explosion of knowledge in just the last few years, but the bottom line is KEEP THE FAT OFF. If allowed to become or remain obese, these horses can develop a metabolic syndrome similar to Type 2 diabetes in humans.

Of course, not all fat horses fall into the high risk category, but those with, among other signs, a cresty neck like Indy and Ami, are among those that do. They are at high risk for developing insulin resistance because this was an advantage to their ancestors, allowing them to survive on very poor forage. That advantage has become a liability for today's horses because of the high sugar grasses in modern pastures. These grasses were developed to fatten cattle, not graze horses. Even cattle can easily founder on it though, so imagine what it does for horses.

Anyway, Matt and Tyler were here yesterday and they both noticed Indy and Ami had lost weight. In fact, Tyler was staring at Indy in disbelief, "Wow! He's lost weight!"

I guess a bright spot in all this is that Indy's saddle should fit really nicely - if I ever get a chance to try it that is. I still haven't gotten to ride even once so far this spring. If it's not cold, it's raining and/or windy enough to blow me off Indy's back. It's beginning to be extremely frustrating.

Another problem that's bugging me is the pain I'm having in my left leg. It's hurting worse than the right one ever did. I guess - I hope! - it's coming from my back and that my left hip isn't going on me. That would probably push me over the edge into total insanity.

I don't plan to have hip replacement surgery again - at least not the same kind I had before. If they can improve on the post-op pain and rehab time I might, but the same thing over again? No way. My right hip is great, but going into that one I didn't know what lay ahead - now I do. Nope. Not unless it gets so bad I can't ride at all will I even consider such.

If it's my back, they still can't do anything about it, but it probably won't hamper my riding any more than it ever has. I've had lumbar stenosis all my life after all. Sure, it's getting worse over time, but it's never been a real factor in riding. In fact, a reasonable amount of riding seems to actually help. I think it's because much of the pain comes from spasms in the muscles in the area, and when I'm riding is the only time I must relax those particular muscles, and they seem to benefit from that, as well as the general rocking motion of following Indy's back. Good for his back and mine. Now, I ask you - who could ask for more?

The Stray

A stray wandered onto our property in the wee hours of Saturday morning. But who hasn't had a stray dog or cat wander onto their yard once in a while? This stray however was a horse - a very small horse.

When we examined him in the daylight, I was sure he was young, but not knowing whether he was a horse or pony made it harder to estimate his age, and I don't claim to be an expert in baby teeth. He was bigger than a mini, but not by a lot. He was a very pretty bay with four white stockings, and he was very friendly. I was worried we might have trouble catching him, but he came right up to us, obviously glad to see us.

At first, we just put him into the field, since Indy and Ami were in the paddocks. They all seemed quite chummy, but I still didn't want to turn a totally strange horse into the paddocks with them - for all kinds of reasons. He ran around a bit at first, but very soon came back close to his new found buds, and they all grazed along together with only a few pesky strands of ElectroBraid separating them.

Later however, I got worried about the amount of grass he was getting. He was already quite chubby, and I know all too well what too much grass can do to certain horses. By now, I had decided he must be some kind of pony, and they are notorious for foundering on grass.

We put Indy and Ami in the large paddock, and brought the little guy into the small one and gave him some hay.





My hubbie, Mike, was trying to put hay in the feeder, but the little guy just couldn't wait. As you can see the little fellow - he's a gelding - was so cute!

We had called the sheriff's department and all our horsy friends, hoping they would know something. No one had reported a missing horse, and none of our friends knew anything off hand, but they all said they would try to find out something. That's one of the many things I love about being a member of the "horse community." Everyone sticks together like glue, and we will do just about anything to help one another and our horses.

Naturally, it was a weekend, and we were afraid the Kid's owner might be out of town or something. We thought surely he hadn't wandered far from home, but it's very rural out here, and he could have wandered accross the fields without being seen from the roads.

I figured he was probably an "only" horse, because horses with pasture buddies almost never wander away from them. He seemed to have formed a bond with Indy and Ami, and he appeared to be perfectly happy just staying here. Unfortunately.

Don't get me wrong - I would have loved to keep the little cutie. But he belonged so someone else, someone who might be as frantic as I would be if it were Indy or Ami that were missing. Besides that, we don't have good shelter for more than two horses, and, global warming or no global warming, it gets cold and nasty here in the winter. Not to mention hot and buggy in the summer. And, last but far from least, I would not able to care for three horses the way I feel they should be cared for - the grooming, the personal attention, and for this baby, the training. Heck, I'm still training Indy under saddle, and that's about all I can manage these days.

Speaking of Indy and Ami... I was so proud of the way they handled this situation! They both befriended the Kid and neither one ever showed a trace of aggression or jealousy. They were a bit excited of course, but not nuts, and even that settled down quickly after the Kid moved into the small paddock.



Indy is only 15.0 hands, but next to this kid he looks like a giant.



Ami is only 13.2 hands, but even she looks big beside the baby.

On Sunday afternoon, Mike decided to take a drive around the "block" - out here that's about an eight mile trip - to see if there were any "lost horse" signs up. I'll bet he hadn't been gone five minutes when the phone rang. It was a guy who asked me if I were "Suzy." When I said I was, he mentioned the name of a mutual friend of ours who thought we might have his pony. He said, "Does he have four white stockings?" and I said, "He sure does!"

He and his brother were there in minutes with a trailer - in fact, they beat Mike back by a few minutes. They had been out of town, and had returned to find the pony missing. They were certainly glad to see him alive and well!

So, that's the saga of our little weekend guest. Since he doesn't live far away, I will probably have the opportunity to see him again. I hope so anyway. As for Indy and Ami, things quickly returned to normal - as you can see.



Oh yeah, Baby is three years old.

Safer Grass

This is Indy's pasture mate, Ami. She is a Quarter Horse/pony mix mare that I have had since 1992 when she was a yearling - see picture below. What a cutie!



Originally, she was DJ's pasture mate after we moved him from Dallas to here in Indiana. They were great buddies, and she grieved for him almost as much as I did when we lost him in 2002 at the age of 25.

Fortunately, she and Indy hit it off from the very beginning - 2002 - and she's doing great at the age of 14.



She's had more than her share of problems though. In the summer of '95 she developed laminitis, appearantly from grass. And that's the point of this post. We almost lost Ami, and even though she recovered, she suffered horrifying pain, and has had intermittent problems with bruised soles and abscesses ever since. We must be extremely careful in the spring, summer and fall to be sure Ami doesn't get much grass. One bite too much, and she will come up sore - again. Laminitis is nothing to fool with. It is still the number two killer of horses - after colic - and the number one crippler.



Ami is hardly the only horse that cannot tolerate unlimited grass. In fact, it seems to be the norm rather than the exception these days. It is especially common among ponies and the easy keeping breeds such as Morgans - which means I have to keep a close eye on Indy too.

But, but... aren't horses supposed to eat grass? Isn't that the food they evolved on and have been eating for millennia? Yes and no.

The natural food of the horse is grass - just not "modern" grass. The grass species that we have available these days were developed specifically to fatten beef cattle and to allow dairy cattle to produce more milk. They are very high in sugar and starch. While cattle can tolerate this forage much better than horses, there is still much doubt about how healthful it would be for them long term. Since most cattle, even dairy, have a productive lifespan of about five or six years, they can't be compared with horses which are expected to perform for thirty years or more.

The specific culprits in the grasses seem to be a class of sugars called "fructans," and the manner in which they ferment in the horse's gut. The research on all this is very new, and there is a great deal yet to be learned about why today's horses can't safely eat their natural food. Even forage specialists and equine nutritionists don't fully understand the problem. Some in fact don't even realize there is a problem.

If you own a chubby, easy keeper like Ami, or any pony, Morgan or other "easy keeper" breed, I urge you to click on the link in this title and visit Katy Watts' site safergrass.org. She is an agronomist who owns horses that founder on grass. Her research is ground breaking and offers critical information for those of us who want to best for our pudgy equine pals.

That link will also be permanently displayed in my Other Links of Interest area. Please check it out. The horse you save might be your own.