What’s In The Feed Scoop, Winter 2019

Milton

Plus apple or carrot & soaked down.

Rodney

Ditto.

Discussion
As promised, we switched from the Triple Crown Naturals. Yes, we as a society need to monitor our food streams. Does The Jungle by Sinclair ring any bells? OTOH, the current non-GMO craze is fueled by hysteria &/or marketing hype. Glad to be off it. Low Starch by the same manufacturer was deemed to be the closest analogue.

Milton is doing well on the new version of pellets (coughfatcough). Rodney, not so much. He’s fine, just leaner than a horse at leisure ought to be. At first, I thought it was from a difference in hay. Milton can be a bully at mealtimes. Was he pushing Rodney away from the hay? No. We feed enough that both have access to all they want.

Was it because Milton gets put in the stall while Rodney works, so he gets a hay snack? Rodney does not lose his marbles, does not get put up, does not score a hay snack. No. The weight difference is too much to be accounted for by a flake or two of hay.

So, we are switching Rodney to TC Complete, a beet-pulp, grain feed. I’ve always liked beet-pulp for horses who need weight. I have this nebulous feeling that Rodney does better on grain while Milton does better on pellets. I’d dismiss it, but my co-feeder has the same notion.

Each horse will get a small serving of the other horse’s feed at each meal, i.e. Low Starch for Rodney, Complete for Milton. We like everyone in the field to be familiar with the available feeds, if possible. That way their systems have seen the ingredients if meals get mixed up, one horse gets away, whatever. Rodney doesn’t get exposed to cimetidine or Sand-Aid. No plan is perfect.

Two bags are a pain. Oh well, the single feed life was nice while it lasted. With two horses, we’ve had two feeds more often than not. Previous Horse and Mathilda were always on different feeds.

Rodney has recently developed the habit of waving his paws around while he eats. He invariably knocks over his bucket. He cleans up some, but not all. Milton comes along and vacuums up the rest.
Hence the Sand-Aid for Milton. Another reason for the weight difference? Perhaps.

We are investigating different feeding methods for Mr. Clumsy Paws. Nothing successful yet. Maybe if he likes his meal, he won’t knock it over or will finish it up if he does? We’ll see.

Electrolytes are seasonal.

Flax and yeast tapered and stopped. I’m a believer in supplements as needed, but then not when they are not.

Summary of Changes
Previous, What’s In The Feed Scoop, Summer 2018
Removed
– Triple Crown Naturals
– Electrolytes
– Flax
– Yeast
Added
+ Triple Crown Low Starch
+ Triple Crown Complete
Same
Cimetidine
Sand-Aid
treat
water

Product images from manufacturer/merchant websites.

Thank you for reading,
Katherine Walcott

Meet Rodney The Standardbred

Still a quart low. Dipping into the reserves.

“Rodney, a strapping bay … was a champion racehorse as well as a champion sire … earning Harness Horse of the Year honors that 1948 season. He began stallion duties at Walnut Hall Stud in 1950, eventually siring 506 foals who earned over $12 million at the races … Rodney’s influence on the Standardbred trotter will be everlasting.” KHP, Park Memorials: Horses Buried at Walnut Hall Stud Cemetery

That makes three in the Rodney herd. Rodney UK [Meet Rodney]

Photos taken during the Saddle Seat World Cup, July 2018.

Thank you for reading,
Katherine Walcott

I don’t have a blog post & that’s a good thing.

It is now Friday evening.
Had a post.
Didn’t like it.
Energy still limited.
Expended resources on ponies rather than on pondering a new post.
Saddle seat lesson with Sam.
First lesson since before the show [Report].
Rode Rodney two laps around the pasture.
Walked Milton two laps around the pasture (in hand).
Stick a fork in me, I’m done.
Yay for progress.

For your amusement, another of Deb’s photos from the show.

Photo by Deb Kesecker

My pit crew sporting my driving ribbon while we unhitch [Cuteness On The Hoof]. More photos by Deb [Wordless Story, Wordless Short].

Thank you for reading,
Katherine Walcott

What Happened To All The Jumps?

Jumping Diary

 

 
What happened to all the jumps?
They’re still there. I just haven’t gone over them.

Pa-dum, ching.

But seriously folks. I knew jumping progress would be slow. Jumping lessons are all about cantering and I want to practice between lessons. However, I only ride Milton on the weekends or if I have a lesson, and we only canter when we go someplace with a ring. This is not a formula for rapid achievement.

After a flurry of activity over the holidays [Jumping], we practiced once [Cantering], then took the rest of the month off for lameness/sickness [Dunno]. To paraphrase the vulture, Patience my ass, I want to jump something.

All is not lost. As the light increases, my ground crew will be able to supervise before/after work. Every time I sit on Milton, even if we only walk, we inch closer to being able to work at home. Eventually, we will be cantering and jumping at home. Eventually.

I’ve told Miss Molly that jumping lessons will be sporadic. I keep wanting to email her to tell her that I haven’t forgotten, that I haven’t given up. There is no point. My intentions don’t matter. Either I return to Falcon Hill Farm or I don’t.

Mostly, I am heartily disenchanted with being sick. My cough is no longer as alarming as it was. I’m starting to care about life again. I can’t DO anything about it, but I’m starting to care. Way more tired than I have patience for. I take Milton on a hand walk around the field for two laps and then go sit for an hour. Frustrating.

Thank you for reading,
Katherine Walcott

Because what I need in my life right now is another barn and another discipline.

Overcoming Obstacles in Our Way

 

Alabama Obstacle Challenge Series
AOCS website, Facebook


 

This would be for Rodney. No jumping. No sand box. Done at a walk. Yes, Rodney had a melt-down over a leather halter [Life in the Slow Lane]. Oddly enough, with the weird-looking shit, he’s brave. Not police-horse, bombproof brave, but for a high-strung TB, surprisingly curious about new things, see below. Could be a good idea. Could be a non-starter. We shall see.

I have been over to the local barn for a chat. Pretty standard lesson/schooling arrangement. $X for help; $Y to go over and mess about ourselves. In our discussion, year-end awards were mentioned. Well, that doesn’t concern me (Ha). I’m just here for a fun activity with my horse (Ha!). There is zero likelihood that I will go to one show, get bitten by the bug, and find myself shipping all over the state to qualify (HA!). As with Miss Molly [Small Jump, Enough Retrospection], I will out this person once we’ve had a lesson & a chance to discuss the blog.

Milton would definitely benefit, but a) he would be deeply suspicious of the horse-eating obstacles & b) he has enough on his dance card at the moment.

First step. Keep shipping Rodney over to Stepping Stone Farm. Get us comfortable riding off the property. Then, over to the AOCS barn, either for a lesson or for a look-see on our own.

Previous Obstacle Posts
Huh. We did more of this than I remember. We sputtered to a stop because we were a victim of our own success, or of Rodney’s success. If memory serves, we’d work 45 minutes to construct something that Rodney would dismiss in moments. We were getting to the point of needing to build big, complicated things. Easier to play with obstacles built by someone else. Plus, in 2014, I wasn’t riding Rodney & Milton had arrived.
[Whole New World] Went to see a competition. 2012
[Noodling with Rodney] Shiny, weird, plastic, scary things? Meh. 2013
[Weekend Report] Trotting in hand. Walking through a ring. Which one do you think he handled? 2013
[Rodney Is Awesome: Attack of the Swimming Noodle] Equine ring toss. Who knew. 2014
[Rodney’s Week: Pool, Pen, & TENS] Wading Pool. 2014
[Rodney’s Week: Dry Pool] This horse is the weirdest combination of fear and confidence. 2014
[Rodney’s Exercises as of January 2015] Wading thru a kiddie pool, cross a “bridge”, standing on a platform. 2015
Note. All of these exercises were done in hand. Things change with a rider on board.


[Photo from Just To Put This Out There 2014]

Hooves crossed.

Thank you for reading,
Katherine

Dressage Is For Every Horse, Two New Horse Blogs For You To Love

Adventures in Saddle Seat

 

Recently, two ladies in my area have started horse blogs. Both are working at the intersection of saddle seat and dressage. Sound familiar?

My Horse Journey

“I have decided to do Hunter Jumper and Dressage riding with my horse … I am going to use this blog to chronicle my journey … My horse is a double registered Palomino American Quarter Horse. His registered name is Lil’ Bo Streak. I call him Bo.” About This Blog

In her post about the Awards Banquet, she points out that returning to the same banquet space year after year can remind one of the changes in life, for good or for ill. It was the one I blogged about [Banquet With A Bonus]. We’ve been showing against each other for years in Adult Academy. At this banquet, she won the year-end awards for our divisions.

If I may offer one small correction. In the Winter Tournaments post, first place in the equitation class went to an Academy rider (ahem) and second to the Performance rider. (Post amended. o= (My attempt at a blue ribbon emoticon. You saw it here first.)) The rest is accurate. She did a great job with the pattern.

Show Horse • Sport Horse: Nautica the American Saddlebred Dressage Horse

“Twelve seemed like the perfect age for Nautica to take up a new challenge and I found the idea of him learning basic dressage to be the ideal next step.” About Us

I’ve seen this rider around over the years, but she shows in suit which happens when Academy doesn’t.

In her first post We Bought a Saddle!, she talks about leather snobbery when riding in a Wintec saddle. I reach. She bought a leather version. I assuaged my snobbery by considering mine temporary [New Equipment: Saddle].

So, these are my two new blogging buddies. Milton and I may see them at dressage shows this year. Each of us is starting a dressage journey, each with a different breed of horse, none of them typical dressage breeds: TB, QH, ASB.

At A, Enter …

Thank you for reading,
Katherine Walcott