abbih1

[abbih1]

No, horses aren't.

I believe this quote comes from Filipe Masetti Leite in his interview on the Let's Freakin Rodeo podcast "dog is man's best friend, but the horse is family"

They don't need to be jealous that they aren't man's best friend when they're family.

Filipe is a far rider that rode all the way from Canada to Brazil.

do you think the Horse ever gets jealous of the Dog's status as "Man's best friend". do you think the Horse is ever like. hey. you domesticated me too. you rode me into battle. i ate food out of your hand and you giggled. are we not besties i thought we were besties

[abbih1]

Tips for owning a gray

1. Don't

2. If you must, just remember, their tail can't be yellow if it's purple

Ignore the top, I didn't want to get dye on her tailbone and didn't think through how to achieve an ombre type effect so the color change wasn't so harsh. And it was supposed to be purple, but came out a little more pink than I would have liked. Oh well, live and learn. It's just hair. And it's demi-permanent so it should fade.

[abbih1]

Well, new light plug installed, but still no trailer breaks (had them sometimes with the old plug). Went digging a little and all the wires to the trailer break on the passenger side are broken 🙃, couldn't get a very good look at the drivers side. But I'm going to my parents' place in 2 weeks to drop off my 2yo for some well deserved pasture time and pick up a sale project and my dad said he would teach me how to redo trailer breaks while I'm there.

I also haven't figured out how I'm getting on the roof to redo it. My last trailer was a lot shorter, so I just hooked it up to my truck and used the tool box to climb onto the nose. But that won't work on this trailer. Might need to buy a ladder.

But on the bright side, my angle grinder and impact wrench came in, so I can get to work on the back doors. And I shouldn't have to stand on the tire iron wishing that I weighed more any time I need to change a tire.

So I did a thing last weekend, I bought a "new" trailer. I realized last summer that my trusty 2 horse diamond D just wasn't going to be enough trailer post college (graduated Dec '23), but I was going to need a bigger truck first. Finally found one earlier this month, so I started trailer shopping. Stumbled across this trailer after wasting my time trying to buy a different one. This wasn't 100% what I wanted, but it was the best I was going to find in my budget.

2003 titan renegade 4h. 6ft short wall in the LQ area, which is a bit bigger than I wanted, but I probably won't out grow it as fast. Permanent back tack (my least favorite feature since I ride a lot of colts). And since it's all steel, the trailer plus 3-4 horses (depends on the horses) is pretty much the max of what my truck can safely tow, so its a little heavy. It does need some work, but the majority is cosmetic (back doors are the main issues and they will take some new steel).

I'm going to try to do a majority of the work to fix it up myself, so I'm going to use Tumblr to document my progress. I've made a priority list of things that need fixed based off of what needs done for me to feel safe hauling with it and what needs done to preserve the trailer. And that list is:

1. Light plug. The current one is looking worse for wear, full of grease and dirt, and keeps disconnecting from my truck when I go down the road.

2. Bearings. Supposedly they were redone recently, however the dust caps are the EZ lube kind and the rubber plugs are all very dry rotten and falling out, so I have a hard time believing they were actually redone.

3. Roof. All of the sealant has dry rotted and fallen away and the seams are starting to rust. So I'm for sure resealing, and more than likely just going to bite the bullet and strip and repaint it. Actually, every seam on the trailer needs to be redone, but I won't do the sides until I find a paint that matches perfectly, or I feel confident enough in my ability to strip and repaint that I'm willing to redo the entire trailer. I guess if I decide to repaint, I could go light gray to match my truck.

4. Strip the rust and paint around the back door and escape door (might do this before the roof to get a better feel for my tools). Also repaint the slants (they need it and easy project to start on)

5. Find someone to fix the doors (probably a winter project

Other things to do as I have time

- add blanket rack to tack room

- insulate and wall LQ

- add pads to slants to protect the paint

- new mats?

-new flooring in the LQ

- redo interior lights

- probably forgetting a ton

I own the trailer free and clear, and I'll have my truck paid off in 3 years, so I figured once the truck is paid off, I would re-evaluate and decide if I wanted to look for a truck that was a big bigger and could handle it better or if I wanted to part with the trailer (for more than what I paid and put into for work) and look for something similar in horse # and size, but lighter.

But here's where I'm starting

[abbih1]

So I did a thing last weekend, I bought a "new" trailer. I realized last summer that my trusty 2 horse diamond D just wasn't going to be enough trailer post college (graduated Dec '23), but I was going to need a bigger truck first. Finally found one earlier this month, so I started trailer shopping. Stumbled across this trailer after wasting my time trying to buy a different one. This wasn't 100% what I wanted, but it was the best I was going to find in my budget.

2003 titan renegade 4h. 6ft short wall in the LQ area, which is a bit bigger than I wanted, but I probably won't out grow it as fast. Permanent back tack (my least favorite feature since I ride a lot of colts). And since it's all steel, the trailer plus 3-4 horses (depends on the horses) is pretty much the max of what my truck can safely tow, so its a little heavy. It does need some work, but the majority is cosmetic (back doors are the main issues and they will take some new steel).

I'm going to try to do a majority of the work to fix it up myself, so I'm going to use Tumblr to document my progress. I've made a priority list of things that need fixed based off of what needs done for me to feel safe hauling with it and what needs done to preserve the trailer. And that list is:

1. Light plug. The current one is looking worse for wear, full of grease and dirt, and keeps disconnecting from my truck when I go down the road.

2. Bearings. Supposedly they were redone recently, however the dust caps are the EZ lube kind and the rubber plugs are all very dry rotten and falling out, so I have a hard time believing they were actually redone.

3. Roof. All of the sealant has dry rotted and fallen away and the seams are starting to rust. So I'm for sure resealing, and more than likely just going to bite the bullet and strip and repaint it. Actually, every seam on the trailer needs to be redone, but I won't do the sides until I find a paint that matches perfectly, or I feel confident enough in my ability to strip and repaint that I'm willing to redo the entire trailer. I guess if I decide to repaint, I could go light gray to match my truck.

4. Strip the rust and paint around the back door and escape door (might do this before the roof to get a better feel for my tools). Also repaint the slants (they need it and easy project to start on)

5. Find someone to fix the doors (probably a winter project

Other things to do as I have time

- add blanket rack to tack room

- insulate and wall LQ

- add pads to slants to protect the paint

- new mats?

-new flooring in the LQ

- redo interior lights

- probably forgetting a ton

I own the trailer free and clear, and I'll have my truck paid off in 3 years, so I figured once the truck is paid off, I would re-evaluate and decide if I wanted to look for a truck that was a big bigger and could handle it better or if I wanted to part with the trailer (for more than what I paid and put into for work) and look for something similar in horse # and size, but lighter.

But here's where I'm starting

[abbih1]

a redemption poll from that last dog name one i did:

reblog for a larger sample <3

[abbih1]

So I'm trying to get pictures of these halters I made and am selling. Needed some decent pictures to show how they fit. This was the best I could come up with. (I actually like the top 2)

But what's my camera roll filled with?

This

And this

This one could have been ok if he wouldn't have stuck his tongue out

Jack just gave me the whole "I don't get paid enough to be your barrel horse AND model"

[abbih1]

All of mine seem to love anything alfalfa flavored and I can hide stuff in alfalfa pellets pretty easily. Same with molasses. And TBH, alfalfa pellets work just as well as a treat as things marketed as treats. German horse muffins are about the only thing they like better (and that's mostly molasses and oats).

They seem to like salty stuff too (salt licks, electrolyte pastes, etc), but there is a differences between brands. Like general concensus is Redmond is their favorite salt, but electrolyte preferences vary.

Peppermint is hit or miss. They either love it or would prefer something else, haven't had any hate it though.

Apple flavoring is more of a miss. Some apple treats are good, but for the most part they don't care or or don't like it. But maybe 1/5th of my horses even eat actual apples.

Carrots are worse than apple. Never had one like carrot flavored things and most don't want real carrots.

CBD is actually a lot of mine's favorite. I have a few that are indifferent, but I have a few that might take a finger trying to get it. Kind of an acquired taste, though.

I need a favor. Could y’all reblog with: Your horse’s favorite flavors: Your horse’s most disliked flavors: I’m curious about a few trends I’ve seen.

[abbih1]

Jack❤

He's sure come a long ways this year. Can't wait for the 2023 season.

[abbih1]

Pictures, especially in motion, are almost never a good judge of how the horse is feeling. A picture is what happened for a millisecond. What could be a normal habit for one horse could be a stress response for another. And some horses naturally have a more stressed looking eye simply because of the shape.

But she has a bad habit of doing this and did the same thing with Junior Nogueira during the NFR (who she butcher the pronunciation of. Like it takes 5 seconds to figure out how to say it) and a bunch of barrel racers over bonnets. The Junior Nogueira thing was about how he lays down when he dallies on a good run. Could he be softer with his hands when he does it? Yeah. Is it as bad as the pictures make it out to be? No, the pictures make it look like he hangs on the horse for a long time. He goes down and back, the pull on that horses mouth doesn't last long, and he doesn't do it as much as he used to. His hands could be better, but its not this atrocity she makes it out to be.

And the whole bonnet thing was about how barrel racers are so abusive because they use this and it puts so much pressure on the head and the horses are in such pain. For one, iirc it originated in pleasure horses, moved to cutters, then to barrel horses, and some of the pleasure people will use ones that are actually abusive. Yeah, it put pressure on the top of their head because we want them to drop their head and it restricts less movement than a tie-down. And as for the "pain face", that's just the horses face. Half the reference pictures showed slack in the bonnet and the horse would make the same face running in a halter.

Whew. Why do influencers pick fights with real professionals? Very embarrassing tbh.

[abbih1]

Just to add to the horror. I tried to calculate Michigans Hart Breaker's Fx (coefficient of inbreeding, its the probability that both genes in a pair are from the same ancestral allele and is used as a measure of inbreeding).

Only looking at the first 5 generations, I calculated out that he was 34.7% inbred (his parents shared ancestors also being inbred is part of why its so high). Had I gone back farther, the number would probably be greater

Now, to put this in perspective, if you were to breed a pair of half siblings together and their shared parent was their only shared ancestor and that parent wasn't inbred at all, you'd only have an Fx of 12.5%.

Even a sire to daughter breeding (or dam to son, no other shared ancestor and parent is not inbred) only results in an Fx of 25% (full sibling matings also result in 25% assuming parents weren't inbred as well)

This is almost the equivalent of breeding a stud and mare (totally unrelated, neither is inbred), getting a filly, breeding that filly back to her sire, getting another filly, and breeding her to her sire/grandsire. This hypothetical foal would be 37.5% inbred.

who doesn't love a family twig

[abbih1]

Mares usually get along just fine in mixed herds as long as the person making the herd knows how to match personalities. I can almost guarantee that if a mare's having a problem, its a gelding causing her to be that way because some geldings cannot live with mares. Saying that mares are bad in herds is just a big ol red flag that that person has no idea how to create drama free herds.

Tbh, I'm not really surprised by the inspection thing. I dont know jackshit about warmbloods, but look at some of the studs popular on social media. Even not knowing warmbloods i can tell that many aren't as good/special as everyone seems to think. But oh, warmblood registries are better because the horse has to be inspected to be a stud 🙄. Like at least aqha is honest about how as long as a horse has 2 qh parents and isn't HYPP/HYPP, it can be registered

Yeah, no, I’m not taking equine welfare advice (or any advice) from a person who only keeps a mare around long enough to breed her regardless of her aptitude or health or wellbeing

[abbih1]

I think people just assume that because you have horses, you'd be willing to take on others. My parents used to get asked that all the time, especially since we had an indoor and outdoor arena and at one point took in outside horses for training.

And we wanted absolutely nothing to do with boarding. We had stalls but rarely used them. We didn't want to have to go out 2x a day to hay and grain and clean stalls at night. Our horses usually lived on round bales and maybe got grain 1x a day. And we didn't blanket unless it was a sale horse. And we didn't want the liability, especially with as many dogs as we had.

Haven't had that issue since we've moved and no longer have an arena, but now we get a lot of questions about taking on outside horses for training, and we haven't done that in years.

It think there's a want for it from people that don't ride a lot and want cheap boarding.

So I’m hoping to have everything set up to have ponies at home in the next few years, and every time I mention this to friends to ask about things I might be forgetting or need to consider, they ask me if I plan to board, or assume that I will (saying, “then you can take on 1-2 boarders.”). I have zero intentions of taking on boarders, but I’m curious if this is super normal? Does everyone with a backyard set up have boarders as well? Is there such a huge demand that people want to board in a super basic backyard barn?

[abbih1]

Someone might wanna tell baby that no one appreciates grooming with teeth. But she's cute, so I guess she gets a pass for now.

[abbih1]

I've been seeing it everywhere and it's ridiculous. Why is everyone upset about someone attempting to control a bad situation (and doing it pretty well)? The bigger question should be why that horse was behaving like that in the first place. Race horses get such a pass on poor behavior because "they're young" "they're a stud" "they're hopped up on adrenaline." And then people want to turn around and say race horses have great manners. And from what I've seen in comments, the outrider had been warned of that horse, so it sounds like its a known issue.

The issue shouldn't be that the outrider corrected the horse to try to keep himself and his horse safe, the issue should be that Rich Strike was acting that way in the first place.

Yeah, he raced and is excited, that's understandable. The biting isn't.

Okay show of hands out of all the ppl complaining abt the outrider handling Rich Strike’s attitude who has actually 1. ponied a horse taller than the one you’re on, 2. Ponied an extremely excitable extremely powerful horse going thru an adrenaline high 3. Had said horse grab at your reins and bite you and the pony horse. I’m betting it’s not even numbers lmao.

[abbih1]

The way I try to explain why a horse that "can do everything in a snaffle and has never been ridden in a curb" isn't as broke as a horse that does everything in a curb is its like language. Snaffles and halters (and some other bitless options) are like elementary level comprehension. Sure you can get the point across, but it might not be as clear as it could be and it might take more words to get them to understand. But everyone can partake in the conversation. The spade is like phd level comprehension. Its super concise and clear as long as both parties are at that level. Most people shouldn't use more that like an upper middleschool/early high school level (short shank and purchase, little to no gag, mild mouth).

Could I instruct someone how to do a highschool level task with 1st grader words? Yeah, but its going to be more difficult and more likely to have misunderstandings

i love the anti spade ‘gotcha’ arguments people have ‘well if the horse is so well broke it doesnt actually need a spade then why do you use one’ well i can type on my laptop with my eyes closed but i still use my eyes most of the time. also they fucking LIKE to hold it its easier to hold onto than a regular bit and you can stay out of their way in it more than a hack or a snaffle. literally have to beg some horses to let go of a spade. something people would know if they knew even an iota of what they’re talking about…

[abbih1]

It really depends on what you want to do. Some jobs need a degree, and a degree really won't help you with others. And there's some where having some education is helpful, but actually having the degree is unnecessary.

For example, I'm in a pre-vet program and I absolutely have to have a degree to become a vet. But my brother wants to pro-rodeo and train and sell horses. A degree is pretty much useless to him. And then there's my barn managers from my summer internship, one had no college and the other had an ag business (?) degree, the one with the degree had taken management courses and she was a way better person to work under. So in that case, you dont need a degree, but some courses can make you better at your job.

Honestly, if I'm looking for a trainer, I dont care if the trainer has or doesn't have a degree. And tbh, I'd probably be more likely to go with someone without the degree because I sometime see the "I have a degree so I know what I'm talking about" but they don't actually have any experience outside of school and can be a little close minded. I care way more about experience and accomplishments than I do about a degree, and most people looking for trainer will feel the same.

But there are a lot of classes that can be beneficial without actually having the degree. Finance, business, and management courses can make it easier to run a business and manage people. Equine specific nutrition courses can be very helpful in making educated feed decisions and recognizing and correcting vitamin and mineral issues. Breeding courses can teach the fundamentals of best breeding practices, but real experience is really whats going to teach you. And a genetics course can teach how genes are inherited and how they work together (you can learn all of this online, but sometimes it doesn't click for people until they're in a class), and by this I mean not being surprised when breeding to palominos together produces a sorrel or cremello and understanding which genetic diseases only affect horses if they have 2 copies and which diseases only need 1 copy to affect the horse.

It really just depend on what you're wanting to do

Hi horseblr, I have a question. Do you guys feel like it’s worth it to get an equine science degree? I’m almost 2 years into mine and I’m considering dropping out, I would be making more progress in my career if I just started working.

[abbih1]

I've been in both situations where its pain, and where its training. It is way easier to tell when the horse has more training because you won't mistake it for the horse not understanding what you're asking. And the best rule of thumb I've heard with a broke horse is to start by trying to correct it with training, if it isn't an easy fix and/or takes more than a week (and thats even a stretch) then the horse needs to be vetted. If that's clean, go back to training. If a significant amount of training has been done and still no improvement, start really digging in deep to the vet stuff because it might be something super unusual/unlikely. With young ones its a little tougher, I assume training first, but if a new behavior pops up or we stagnate, I consider pain and give them the benefit of the doubt.

What I'll say with Lola (who was my big pain issue) it was a few things going on, but it created some bad behaviors that we had to train out and the symptoms weren't super noticeable because I was still new to her and a lot of the symptoms were personality changes. But fixing the pain didn't automatically fix the behavior and we still had to retrain that out.

Now with Gunner (purely training) I knew when I bought him that it was his rider and he had been fully vetted multiple times with no improvement. It took almost 2 years to fix him and he acted like he was in pain. But he wasn't, he had learned pain behavior to get away from a heavy handed rider, but it had become such an ingrained habit after having that rider for over a year, that it took even longer to fix. He had still been checked for pain because that's what his behavior indicated, but that was never the cause.

Sometimes "training issues" are pain, but sometimes they're just training issues. Pain should be ruled out early on, but sometimes bad behavior is just bad behavior and needs to be corrected.

I see people that allow their horse to be very ill mannered because "the issue is always pain" but they've fully vetted their horse and it hasn't fixed anything. That's certainly a case where your horse is just a dick.

Would love it if people would stop brushing off clear signs of pain and discomfort as a horse "being a mare" or "just being a jerk", it's doing my fucking head in.