General Upkeep

Life has been fairly quiet this week at the Sanctuary (knock on wood). No major illnesses, no hoof  injuries, no broken water lines. It's a good thing.


I keep checking the automatic waterer to make sure no one has destroyed it. I'm back down to three pens instead of five to care for horses. The big herd of now 11 horses, the mares with junior, and the ponies. It's pretty easy these days what with using round bales.


We had to put a round bale in last night for the mares. I probably should have put it in the day before but figured I'd make them eat up the last of the hay first. Rabbit and Junior powered through their grain. Normally Junior takes forever. I short changed him on a scoop of sweet feed because I needed to get in for the night and didn't want to have to go back out at 11pm. But he somehow powered through his grain and weight supplements quicker than I thought. Junior is looking AMAZING. He has always been a hard keeper and showed it. But I took his blanket off the other day to check things out and because it was nice out. Junior actually had a round butt! It's the first time ever I've seen a round butt on him. I was flabbergasted...and tickled pink! So my grain ratio and supplements are paying off.


Bo has also gained weight. He was on the thinner side going into winter but with his daily grain and weight booster, along with his blanket to keep him warm from the South Dakota winds, wind chills, and freezing rain/drizzle and snow, he's surprisingly put on weight. So I'm pleased with their progress.


Everyone is looking good these days. It makes me happy.


I've been checking Chaos's foot to see how its' going. I can't imagine him stepping on a nail and not having any ramifications. But there aren't any. I keep checking for heat or him getting an abscess but nothing. Dont' get me wrong, I'm not complaining but usually a situation  like that, where a horse steps on a nail, is either months of stall rest or possibly death. And he cheated both. After two weeks of stall rest and pen rest, Chaos couldn't handle any more. He's back with his main herd because he kept breaking down gates and fences. I figured after 11-12 days with gauze, vet wrap, and a boot, that he could go back and the hole should be mostly healed, not completely but enough to not cause major trauma or require me fighting him to put vet wrap and/or a boot on him. But I check every night for heat, swelling, or the possibility of an abscess. So far, nothing. Lets hope it stays that way.


We need to pick up a couple loads of hay. We brought home two loads (22 bales) back in October/November but it's time to pick up another couple of loads. I haven't paid for them yet, still waiting for a price but it wont' be a price gouge like last time. But still, it's a struggle to come up with the cash when there's no funds coming in, except for my meager paycheck that has to cover horses, daycare, utilities, gas for the car so I can go to work, and any other oddities that come about.


I need to start preparing for our upcoming fundraiser but I'm struggling on a location. We'll see if I get very far for the rest of the week. I'm guessing not. The venue might end up being the Sanctuary but I had hoped to get more publicity. We'll see. I'm no good at marking or PR work. I'm good at the grunt work and the daydreaming ideas. Anyone interested in helping? In any aspect of the Sanctuary? Don't even have to be local to help. Mainly, I need someone online to help push our events and advertise. Any takers?

Wishlist Wednesday

Wishlist Wednesday: Our Wishlist Wednesday item are winter blankets. Those in the below pictures...well the greeze one on Zeke had the tail flap ripped off and a huge rip on the size. The blue blanket on Rabbit was destroyed and could possibly be put back together with someone who knows how to sew better than me. 

Either way, we are losing blankets faster than the snow melts around these parts. 

We did receive three amazing blankets from two followers but we could use more to ensure when the horses wage war on their blankets, that we have backups. Jim enjoys destroying his blankets. He's the oldest horse at the Sanctuary and should have a blanket but he keeps ripping each one to pieces. 

Any size, any weight, any color works perfect. New, used, it doesn't matter. 

Zeke

Rabbit

Senior Horse Tip Tuesday

I found this in my reading and thought I would share. It comes from thehorse.com and I can't take any credit other than to pass along the information.

http://www.thehorse.com/articles/38567/when-is-an-older-horse-ready-for-senior-feed

When is an Older Horse Ready for Senior Feed?

If your older horse is struggling to maintain condition despite eating plenty of good quality forage, and your veterinarian has determined that there are no underlying issues that need to be addressed, you might need to consider senior feed.

Q. My horse will be 18 years old in the new year. At what age should a horse start on senior feed?

A. There’s no correct age to start using a senior feed. Some horses never need a senior feed even into their late 20s, while others benefit from a senior feed in their early teen years.

It’s interesting to look at what defines a senior horse. You can look at age in a couple of different ways. There’s the actual age of the horse based on birthdate, and there’s also physiologic age, which relates to physiologic function. Several researchers have used 20 years as a cut-off for determining that a horse is a senior. Most of us can think of a horse or a human who seems older than their years and vice versa.

Geriatric is another term more commonly thought of when think older people. Horses can be geriatric, however the term specifically relates to diseases of the aged.

I think when it comes to deciding whether you need to feed a senior feed physiological age is more important than actual age.

If your older horse is struggling to maintain condition despite eating plenty of good quality forage, you might need to consider adding a senior feed to his diet. I strongly recommend that your senior horse be seen by your veterinarian in this situation. I’ve had clients whose older horse dropped weight quite suddenly and it turned out to be because the horse was suffering from hock pain. He was not lame but after a lot of testing he did show slight lameness on flexion tests. After being placed on appropriate medication he regained the lost weight. Similarly, there could be a dental issue that needs attention. No dietary changes will be as effective as they otherwise might be if these underlying problems are not also addressed.

If your veterinarian has determined that there are no other underlying issues that need to be addressed, consider that it could be that your senior horse’s digestive tract is no longer as effective at utilizing the nutrients available in the current diet. While relatively little research looks specifically at the nutritional needs of the senior horse, what does exist suggests that, in some cases, senior horses might require slightly higher dietary protein, as well as some trace minerals.

When you look at commercial senior feeds you’ll find most utilize easily digestible sources of forage, such as beet pulp, and have slightly higher protein and trace mineral values than feeds designed for other adult horses at maintenance. Senior feeds are usually complete feeds, meaning they contain all the forage a horse needs and therefore are designed to be fed without hay. Some are not complete, though, so read the feeding directions. Which version your horse needs will depend on your horse’s specific needs and his ability to eat other forage sources. Make sure you feed the amount as directed by the manufacturer or your horse will likely miss.

Article written by:

Clair Thunes, PhD, is an independent equine nutrition consultant who owns Summit Equine Nutrition, based in Sacramento, California. She works with owners/trainers and veterinarians across the United States and globally to take the guesswork out of feeding horses. Born in England, she earned her undergraduate degree at Edinburgh University, in Scotland, and her master’s and doctorate in nutrition at the University of California, Davis. Growing up, she competed in a wide array of disciplines and was an active member of the United Kingdom Pony Club. Today, she serves as the regional supervisor for the Sierra Pacific region of the United States Pony Clubs. As a nutritionist she works with all horses, from WEG competitors to Miniature Donkeys and everything in between.

Feedback Needed Please

I've asked this question before but this time I'm hoping to get some feedback. The comments section should be open for anyone to provide comments. I'd love to hear your ideas.

What would you like to see/read more of with the Sanctuary?

I'm trying a few new ideas and we'll see if I can keep up with it. I'm also starting to schedule posts so that the blog doesn't go silent when I get busy during the week and forget to post a few of the topics I want to talk about.

As a Sanctuary, we face different struggles than a rescue. We dont' have as many followers because we dont' adopt and I see that as a bit of an issue. We arent' involved in any major rescues and rehoming of horses. What we have is a forever home. Life gets boring to blog about some times so I wonder what brings you back and what attracted you in the first place? What do you think would draw more people in to read about the goings-on at a Sanctuary run by a crazy horse lady in South Dakota?

I'd love to hear your comments. If you don't want to leave a comment, you can email me at borderlandshorsesanctuary@yahoo.com

Thanks for your supportive feedback and in making 2017 a great year for the horses at the Sanctuary!

Happy Reading!

Social Animals

Whoever said animals are dumb apparently was never around animals, especially horses.


In fact, when people question if horses are social all I have to do is look at my herd and know they are social. In fact, Chaos provided that point just this week.


Since Christmas Eve, Chaos has been on either stall rest or pen rest. Initially he was stuck in a stall and I didn't put anyone else in with him. I'm not sure why because I normally make sure there's someone to keep another horse company. After the initial vet visit, I moved Chaos to a very small pen that would allow him to interact with his herd over the gate. It was the best I could do. You could tell that Chaos needed the interaction with his herd.


Later I moved Chaos in with the new horse (more on that in a different post). It was a matter of working out the pecking order but even that wasn't enough. Chaos broke the gate and got in with his herd earlier last week. He was still on pen rest and needed to keep that foot as clean as possible. So I fixed the gate and put him back.


But he needed to be with "his herd" and he made it known. When I went out to do chores yesterday morning, there Chaos was standing with his buddies. He'd figured out a way to squeeze through a week spot in the fence and get back with his best friends.


So horses aren't just social animals, they also need their normal pals around to keep them company. I decided that small stall rest was enough for Chaos. We were done with his medicine so now it's just a wait and see if he has an abscess or if anything flares up. We were lucky...damn lucky.

Trivia Answers

Better late than never but here's the answers to the trivia questions we asked last week.

Trivia Question #1: What year was the Sanctuary first started?
We started the Sanctuary in May 2006. AT the time we weren't focused solely on senior horses and took in anything that fit into the herd.

Trivia Question #2: When did the Sanctuary become a 501(c)3 non-profit?
April 2016 we finally became a 501(c)3 non-profit.

Trivia Question #3: Who was the first horse to become a Sanctuary resident?
Chaos. He came to us as an unhandled yearling stud. He's come a long way and become a great go-to horse.

Trivia Question #4: Who is the oldest resident and how old?
Jim and he's 30 years young this year.

Trivia Day #5: Who is the youngest Sanctuary resident and how old?
Mayhem is the youngest at the age of 7.

Trivia Question #6: How many Sanctuary residents were blind and who were they?
3: Babe, Thor, and Blondie (Blondie was only blind in one eye while she stayed at the Sanctuary).

Trivia Question #7: Who was the last auction save?
I was thinking it was Bo in March 2011 but it was actually Savanna, Sahara, and Jett (Sir Prize) in April 2011.

Trivia Question #8: Who was the last resident to join the Sanctuary?
Lace was the last resident to join that hadn't been in with the herd. Lace came in December 2015. However, we did accept Zeke into retirement even though he was my personal horse. Zeke joined retirement in August 2016. So either Lace or Zeke works for an answer.

Trivia Question #9: How many current residents are registered and who are they?
Dude, Lace, Skippy, Rabbit

Trivia Question #10: How many current residents call the Sanctuary home??
14

BONUS Trivia Question #11: How many draft horses lived at the Sanctuary and who were they?
Four - Bob, Dick, Sam, and Thor

We'll play the trivia game later this year and see how well you know the Sanctuary! :-) Hope you had fun guessing.

BONUS Trivia Question

BONUS Trivia Question #11: How many draft horses lived at the Sanctuary and who were they?