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  Queen Boobie 2
Posts: 7521
  
| http://www.doctorramey.com/separating-owners-horses/
I stumbled across this blog the other day. I felt like this vet made some very good points on horse ownership, and why it "may" be declining. |
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 Fact Checker
Posts: 16575
 
Location: Displaced Iowegian | I LOVE this part......
But telling people that taking care of horses is complicated and difficult is precisely what is happening, and they’re hearing it from just about every direction. - From the specialist “dentist,” who may be telling them that they need to have their horse’s teeth worked on twice a year.
- From the supplement companies, who crow about the need to “support” or “optimize” or “normalize” just about every cell in the horse’s body
- From “chiropractors” (most who do not, in fact, have degrees from chiropractic colleges) who assert that the horse’s body needs to be regularly “adjusted”
- From massage therapists, who may want to “optimize” performance or “improve” circulation
- From feed companies, who assert that the horse’s feed must be “precise” and “balanced”
- From veterinarians, who may want even the simplest problem to be immediately evaluated with a battery of diagnostic tests and procedures
- From farriers, who insist that horses be shod on an exacting schedule, and to some exacting “balance,” without account for the individual needs of the horse (unless, of course, they tell you that shoeing a horse is a terrible thing in its own right)
- From trainers, who tell horse lovers that they can’t/shouldn’t/don’t ride in this or the other way. Otherwise stated, if you ever feel comfortable on top of your horse, you’re probably going to be told you are doing something wrong.
- From horse magazines, filled with articles from various experts, and four color advertisements asserting the importance of doing this, that, or the other, as well as news about the “latest” promising development
ASIDE: I’m sure I’ve missed annoying plenty of other groups. That oversight was purely unintentional, I’m sure. |
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Miracle in the Making
Posts: 4013
| i tend to think people over think over react and basically tried to do to much they are a horse .
less is more common sense |
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 Warmblood with Wings
Posts: 27846
Location: Florida.. | I agree.. I think owners give their horses ulcers.. lol.. by overstressing and doing 129727 differant changes and things in diet ..they need us to be calm and simple.. not overanalyze and overstress and change diet and supplements 40 times a year. |
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Queen Boobie 2
Posts: 7521
| I think there is a bit of 'snobbery' for lack of a better term that a more casual horse owner runs into when they encounter some people who maybe are more in the training or competing side of horse ownership.
I think it also exists between people who compete, but with different goals and mind sets. If I am happy going to a few local barrel races, I can adequately supply my tack, transportation and feeding needs in a far different manner than someone who is setting out to go to 60 rodeos or barrel races a year. |
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 Elite Veteran
Posts: 1162
Location: White Mountains of AZ | So true!!! Love this article! |
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 Owner of a ratting catting machine
Posts: 2258
| I maintain my ranching horses differently than I do my barrel racing horses. The retired horses get maintained differently than both. When I had a halter/showmanship horse to show, different deal all over again.
If I maintain the ranching geldings like the barrel racing ones, I might get bucked off by some Hancock snot.
If I maintain the barrel horses like the ranch horses, the clock slows down.
The retired horses being maintained like a show/performance/ranch horse, it's a waste of money.
The barrel horses get too fat like the halter horse, the clock slows down.
Bottom line: all horses deserve to be maintained at least within the basic needs: routine foot care, yearly teeth floating, vaccines, and nutrition that will maintain them healthily.
The rest just depends on how much performance you expect of them. You don't put mud treads on a race car. You don't put highway tread on an off road Jeep.
Different strokes for different folks. |
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Queen Boobie 2
Posts: 7521
| classicpotatochip - 2015-02-02 1:45 PM
I maintain my ranching horses differently than I do my barrel racing horses. The retired horses get maintained differently than both. When I had a halter/showmanship horse to show, different deal all over again.
If I maintain the ranching geldings like the barrel racing ones, I might get bucked off by some Hancock snot.
If I maintain the barrel horses like the ranch horses, the clock slows down.
The retired horses being maintained like a show/performance/ranch horse, it's a waste of money.
The barrel horses get too fat like the halter horse, the clock slows down.
Bottom line: all horses deserve to be maintained at least within the basic needs: routine foot care, yearly teeth floating, vaccines, and nutrition that will maintain them healthily.
The rest just depends on how much performance you expect of them. You don't put mud treads on a race car. You don't put highway tread on an off road Jeep.
Different strokes for different folks.
Bingo |
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 I Prefer to Live in Fantasy Land
Posts: 64864
Location: In the Hills of Texas | I only wish I had all of these options to choose from when I was competiting seriously. I know way too many horses in their early teens that had to be retired because there was no where to go to get the help they needed. Heck..in my time they didn't inject hocks and I can remember when they first started to do it and how so many people thought it was a way for vets to make more money..LOL
You need to educate yourself and do research on all the different modalities. A great vet will help you decide what is best for your horse.
It's a great decade for horse and horse owners. The problem isn't with the options offered..The problem is with the uneducated horse owner.
Edited by Nevertooold 2015-02-02 2:49 PM
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 Champ
Posts: 19623
Location: Peg-Leg Julia Grimm | classicpotatochip - 2015-02-02 11:45 AM I maintain my ranching horses differently than I do my barrel racing horses. The retired horses get maintained differently than both. When I had a halter/showmanship horse to show, different deal all over again. If I maintain the ranching geldings like the barrel racing ones, I might get bucked off by some Hancock snot. If I maintain the barrel horses like the ranch horses, the clock slows down. The retired horses being maintained like a show/performance/ranch horse, it's a waste of money. The barrel horses get too fat like the halter horse, the clock slows down. Bottom line: all horses deserve to be maintained at least within the basic needs: routine foot care, yearly teeth floating, vaccines, and nutrition that will maintain them healthily. The rest just depends on how much performance you expect of them. You don't put mud treads on a race car. You don't put highway tread on an off road Jeep. Different strokes for different folks.
Horse ownership is not "easy" anyone saying it is just wants to look at the pretty pony. If you want to keep them sound and healthy it's not even as easy as owning a car. If you want them to last, you MUST take care of them. What one person may see as essential to maintaining their horse, someone else might see as overkill or insufficient. It depends on where you want to go. In my day we NEVER swam or sent our horses away for a spa month, have a pony plate to vibrate them into soundness or whatever they do now. We rode the suckers in the mud, rain, cold, snow, dark, 110 degrees or whatever we could manage. The current age of competitor must think that is necessary for their best performance that they are willing to pay for it. I bet the olympic level horses get all that and more. |
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I Prefer to Live in Fantasy Land
Posts: 64864
Location: In the Hills of Texas | OregonBR - 2015-02-02 2:50 PM classicpotatochip - 2015-02-02 11:45 AM I maintain my ranching horses differently than I do my barrel racing horses. The retired horses get maintained differently than both. When I had a halter/showmanship horse to show, different deal all over again. If I maintain the ranching geldings like the barrel racing ones, I might get bucked off by some Hancock snot. If I maintain the barrel horses like the ranch horses, the clock slows down. The retired horses being maintained like a show/performance/ranch horse, it's a waste of money. The barrel horses get too fat like the halter horse, the clock slows down. Bottom line: all horses deserve to be maintained at least within the basic needs: routine foot care, yearly teeth floating, vaccines, and nutrition that will maintain them healthily. The rest just depends on how much performance you expect of them. You don't put mud treads on a race car. You don't put highway tread on an off road Jeep. Different strokes for different folks.
Horse ownership is not "easy" anyone saying it is just wants to look at the pretty pony. If you want to keep them sound and healthy it's not even as easy as owning a car. If you want them to last, you MUST take care of them. What one person may see as essential to maintaining their horse, someone else might see as overkill or insufficient. It depends on where you want to go. In my day we NEVER swam or sent our horses away for a spa month, have a pony plate to vibrate them into soundness or whatever they do now. We rode the suckers in the mud, rain, cold, snow, dark, 110 degrees or whatever we could manage. The current age of competitor must think that is necessary for their best performance that they are willing to pay for it. I bet the olympic level horses get all that and more.
I agree with both of the above statements.  |
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Warmblood with Wings
Posts: 27846
Location: Florida.. | Nevertooold - 2015-02-02 3:46 PM I only wish I had all of these options to choose from when I was competiting seriously. I know way too many horses in their early teens that had to be retired because there was no where to go to get the help they needed. Heck..in my time they didn't inject hocks and I can remember when they first started to do it and how so many people thought it was a way for vets to make more money..LOL
You need to educate yourself and do research on all the different modalities. A great vet will help you decide what is best for your horse.
It's a great decade for horse and horse owners. The problem isn't with the options offered..The problem is with the uneducated horse owner.
agree... there are some maintenance that we didnt have years ago.. and important things for competing horses..that are necessary.. |
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Queen Boobie 2
Posts: 7521
| I guess what I agree with in the blog is, it's ok if you only want to have a 'pretty pony' and casually ride. You can maintain that horse at an economical level.
If your goals are to get increasingly more competitive, thank goodness there are all these 'tools' nowadays to help maintain the hard working athletes :) |
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 Hugs to You
Posts: 7551
Location: In The Land of Cotton | Heck I remember when we used to "tube" to deworm.
The options available now are so much more advanced. It is up to us a horse owners to decide which one's are best for our animals and which ones are "true" medicine and which ones are plain ole quackery. |
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 Extreme Veteran
Posts: 356
| Nevertooold - 2015-02-02 2:46 PM It's a great decade for horse and horse owners. The problem isn't with the options offered..The problem is with the uneducated horse owner.
Bingo. I would add that there are two different types of uneducated horse owners...the ignorant ones who don't know and don't care to know, and the inexperienced ones who simply don't know what they don't know.
The ignorant ones are going to do as they darn well please, but I think the inexperienced ones get overwhelmed and intimidated by the sheer amount of information out there - especially in the barrel racing world. We're constantly being told that we must do this, this, and this if we want to be successful...but everyone's definition of success is different. |
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 Accident Prone
Posts: 22277
Location: 100 miles from Nowhere, AR | I just wish the neighbors across the road would hay their dang horse in the winter. |
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I Prefer to Live in Fantasy Land
Posts: 64864
Location: In the Hills of Texas | bennie1 - 2015-02-02 3:21 PM I guess what I agree with in the blog is, it's ok if you only want to have a 'pretty pony' and casually ride. You can maintain that horse at an economical level. If your goals are to get increasingly more competitive, thank goodness there are all these 'tools' nowadays to help maintain the hard working athletes :)
The article makes it almost sound like it's a bad thing that we have all these choices. The bad thing is when anyone shoves stuff down your throat and tries to make you feel guilty is what I think the blog was trying to get across and that I agree with.
We have a vet in town that is great at using the guilt trip on people. We know people that have taken their dogs in for a rabies shot and end up coming out with a $500.00 bill that they can't afford. |
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I Prefer to Live in Fantasy Land
Posts: 64864
Location: In the Hills of Texas | k.maddocks24 - 2015-02-02 3:38 PM Nevertooold - 2015-02-02 2:46 PM It's a great decade for horse and horse owners. The problem isn't with the options offered..The problem is with the uneducated horse owner. Bingo. I would add that there are two different types of uneducated horse owners...the ignorant ones who don't know and don't care to know, and the inexperienced ones who simply don't know what they don't know.
The ignorant ones are going to do as they darn well please, but I think the inexperienced ones get overwhelmed and intimidated by the sheer amount of information out there - especially in the barrel racing world. We're constantly being told that we must do this, this, and this if we want to be successful...but everyone's definition of success is different.
I agree as I have seen this at the barrel racers where vets come and do things they have no business doing at a barrel race. It belongs back at the vets office and needed to be done before coming to the barrel race...not when you are there.
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The Advice Guru
Posts: 6419
| Nevertooold - 2015-02-02 4:01 PM
bennie1 - 2015-02-02 3:21 PM I guess what I agree with in the blog is, it's ok if you only want to have a 'pretty pony' and casually ride. You can maintain that horse at an economical level. If your goals are to get increasingly more competitive, thank goodness there are all these 'tools' nowadays to help maintain the hard working athletes :)
The article makes it almost sound like it's a bad thing that we have all these choices. The bad thing is when anyone shoves stuff down your throat and tries to make you feel guilty is what I think the blog was trying to get across and that I agree with.
We have a vet in town that is great at using the guilt trip on people. We know people that have taken their dogs in for a rabies shot and end up coming out with a $500.00 bill that they can't afford.
By any chance you are my neighbour, lol
The local vet clinic built a brand new clinic, now the clients have to pay for it. |
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Fact Checker
Posts: 16575
Location: Displaced Iowegian | Nevertooold - 2015-02-02 4:01 PM bennie1 - 2015-02-02 3:21 PM I guess what I agree with in the blog is, it's ok if you only want to have a 'pretty pony' and casually ride. You can maintain that horse at an economical level. If your goals are to get increasingly more competitive, thank goodness there are all these 'tools' nowadays to help maintain the hard working athletes :) The article makes it almost sound like it's a bad thing that we have all these choices. The bad thing is when anyone shoves stuff down your throat and tries to make you feel guilty is what I think the blog was trying to get across and that I agree with.
We have a vet in town that is great at using the guilt trip on people. We know people that have taken their dogs in for a rabies shot and end up coming out with a $500.00 bill that they can't afford.
This is what I got from the article too......kind of like making you feel like a bad horse owner if you don't do this and this and this.......... |
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