A question about horses - DPChallenge Forums

Nikon AF Micro-Nikkor 60mm f2.8D

03/19/2010 05:25:12 PM · #53

Originally posted by lynnesite:

I've always wanted to try endurance riding, and have tremendous respect for that discipline. I am all for a sport where regular vet checks are carried out to ensure the horse is capable of continuing. Is that grey Arabian gelding, Elmer Gantry(?), still on the endurance circuit? I believe he was 37 and still going strong last I read of him in a magazine.

Eventers, though we don't face extreme terrain in quite the same fashion that endurance riders do, also tend to be much better at all-around horse knowledge than those that are just H/J or just dressage, imho. If you have to put caulks in your horse's shoes, you better know what you're doing so you don't destroy your horse's tendons!

Message edited by author 2010-03-19 17:26:10.

David Ey

Nikon D80

03/19/2010 06:12:14 PM · #54

Well, I contacted the Erath Co. Sheriff Dept., the authority ,(254-965-3338) and was told the horse is 30+ years old and is being cared for. I'm not a horse authority but I don't buy the answer. More to follow.

lynnesite

Canon EOS-1D X

Canon EF 70-200mm f/2.8L IS USM II

03/19/2010 06:22:24 PM · #55

ristyz is the competitive trail rider, she knew Elmer Bandit personally, I think--he died recently, at 38. They did a necropsy and found only minor arthritic changes, IIRC. I really like the eventers I know. I've shot at the Colorado Horse Park twice as second cam for Cristy, and here at Galway, last fall's CCI**. I guess extreme sports folks have more in common with each other than everyone in traditional horse sport. Great sportmanship in endurance, people who stop on trail to help or loan gear. Ride the one ya brung, no fancy ponies or rigs required. Or outfits for that matter, though we do giggle that "spandex is a privilege, not a right".

GeneralE

Canon PowerShot S3 IS

Canon 12x IS USM (S3 IS built-in Lens) -- 36-432mm (35mm EQ)

03/19/2010 06:27:34 PM · #56

I've seen horses wearing armor, and bells, but never Spandex ...

03/19/2010 06:54:30 PM · #57

Originally posted by GeneralE:

I've seen horses wearing armor, and bells, but never Spandex ...

Wow, Elmer Bandit lived to 38...good for him. What an amazing horse.

I believe she means the riders in this case. I've heard of that rather unfortunate trend. Eventers are known for being *ahem* rather carefree in things like colour choices for horses, and for awhile full-body Spandex body suits were seen in the eventing world. I've seen many pics of endurance riders in leggings and bike shorts, so maybe the occasional full-body Spandex has appeared there, too!

In hunter/jumper and dressage, tradition dictates sticking to sedate colours. But in the eventing world, as any beast capable of turning in a decent dressage test and the ability/stamina to survive the cross-country and stadium phases...well...not unusual to see a horse outfitted in eye-hurting neon shades and/or wild prints these days. I prefer the traditional gear, thankya very much.

And yes, there is Spandex for horses, though it isn't used to ride in. Hoods, neckpieces etc are used to keep the horse's coat from getting sunburnt. I have no personal experience with the stuff. I'm sure Google will turn up some stuff for your perusal!

Canon EF 70-200mm f/2.8L USM

03/19/2010 07:22:23 PM · #58

Originally posted by David Ey:

Great work on your part, Dave, and DON't buy that crappy excuse.

Oh yeah, sure the horse is being cared for. And I'm Mother Theresa. Funny how the Sheriff's Department probably knew already which horse you meant, right? If that is the case then the horse has likely been reported before, and people fluffed off with the same excuse.

Funny way to take care of a pensioner...graze it on a weedy pasture, let it starve down to a 2 on the body condition scale, looking like it daren't try to move? I don't doubt that the horse is over 30 years old, the poor thing looks it.

Would there be any way to get more pictures of that horse, without trespassing or getting in trouble? Like a side-on profile?

BTW, that grey swayback whose picture I posted? Well, he's 32. And though he sure could use a good grooming, not a rib visible on him, and though creaky, he can still move well enough to get out of the way of other horses.

Ristyz

Apple iPhone 12 Pro

03/20/2010 03:05:07 AM · #59

Originally posted by David Ey:

Awesome, Dave!

I totally believe that horse is over thirty. He is probably also lacking some teeth makeing it hard to eat food the old fashioned way (forage). (the remaining teeth others can still be leveled out gently) He still needs more groceries. There is plenty of stuff to feed aging toothless horses.

Snaffles, Elmer Bandit was euthanized this year at 38. He was having trouble getting up and Mary Anna decided to spare him. Already a rare age for a horse. It was a very cold night and he was going to get hypothermic if he couldn't get up. He had VERY, VERY few teeth left (and no ribs poking out). Mary Anna went over to his pasture every morning and night and sat and watched him eat, a task that often took 45 minutes, She fed him a big wet mash of varied foods including beet pulp and some high fat foods. (edit to add, on top of 24.7 grazing in a pasture)

At age 37 he competed in a couple of rides. At age 36 he broke the NATRC high mileage record of 20,600+ competition miles He competed in 5-6 rides and won 1st place at one of them and2nd at another He placed in the others as well. (That number doesn't include training miles). He also did his weekly dressage lesson too.

He was an extraordinary horse. I have his left front shoe that he wore the day he broke the record signed and dated by Mary Anna. NATRC (competitive trail riding, it is long distance riding but it is NOT a race like endurance) is an extraordinary discipline and many, many horses compete well into their late 20s. My horse is currently 24 and could still compete any time if I wasn't shooting all the rides! I often shoot on Saturday and safety ride on Sunday.

Last fall we euthanized our old mare who was 32. She had several issues including a lack of teeth, cushings disease, diabetes and a low thyroid. We had her on meds for the thyroid and supplements for the cushings. She got hay day and night, all she could eat and this was supplemented morning and night with soaked beet pulp. (being cushings and diabetic we had to stay away from sugars) She was very hard to keep weight on and her food alone cost over 300.00 a month, not including the endless hay and never mind her med and supplement, easily another 150.00 a month. We floated her teeth annually (as we do ALL of our horses)to insure she could actually eat what we presented to her and it didn't just get wadded up in her cheeks and fall out in clumps. Last fall she started to colic (for the non-horsey people colic signifies a tummy ache but in a horse it is often deadly if not treated) She became painful and didn't respond to a simple treatment so we euthanized her not willing to go all out to save such an aged horse (colic surgery is a mere 6 grand or so if it complicates it can be over 10 grand). We did not do a necropsy to find out what caused it but we suspect it was a blood clot. Aging hearts also can enlarge and cause clotting. She had a blood clot 3 years before that caused part of a muscle to die. She would have probably rated a 4 or 4.5 on the HBS by the end. We were going to likely euthanize her soon anyway since the cushings disease made the coffin bone (bone in the hoof) rotate and she started to get footsore especially if left unshod. She could still open up a pretty big can of whoop-it-up when she felt like it (usually upon escaping her paddock!)

Over the years, we have lost 5 horses, the youngest was 28. All the others were 32+ and none of them EVER were as thin, or even close, as the one at this threads beginning.

Message edited by author 2010-03-20 03:48:52.

Ristyz

Apple iPhone 12 Pro

Canon EF 70-200mm f/2.8L USM

03/20/2010 03:44:32 AM · #60

Originally posted by karmat:

Just for the record, I think at least two of the people commenting in this thread, and maybe more (not sure, didn't go back and count) are "professional" horse people.

Yup, 3 that I count so far if I include myself. I was lucky enough to grow up with horses since day 1. I started really riding about age 5 or 6. Started competing in Competitive Trail Riding (CTR) when I was 10 in 1978 (the minimum age requirement) CTR starts with no less than 40 miles cross country, per competition by 13 I was kicked out of Novice (5 firsts and you're out) and had to go Open (60 miles). I have taken several horses to the 1000 competition miles mark and started several others that made it here after they went to new homes. My current horse is sitting at 2290. Since 1995 or so I have been photographing competitions professionally. From Arabian shows to 100 mile endurance rides to dressage, 3-day eventing and it's shorter partner the Horse Trials. Also have shot cutting, racing, reining, QH, working cow events, team penning, cowboy polo, traditional polo, driving, CTR of course, hunter/jumper, and the list goes on but you get the idea.

One of my favorite current things to shoot now is veterinary procedures. A colic surgery from start to finish lasts about 3.5 to 4 hours if all goes smoothly. Horsie brain surgery (fractured skulls)takes a couple of hours and often 2-4 surgeries. The other kind of horsie brain surgery (gelding) takes about 15 minutes once the horse is tranquilized. Necropsies are always fun. I've shot necropsies for kidney diseases, bladder stones, gastric ulcers, head dissection where they had to harvest the brain to send to the lab. Yeah, eww gross many may think, but I enjoy it and the learning I get from it I like knowing horses inside and out. How they work, how they move, how they grow, how they die (in part so I can avoid it happening to my horse). I work closely with my vet on many cases where pictures help him and also with my farrier. Horse hooves are particularly fascinating and so much ill up higher in the horse can come from them if they aren't balanced to match the horses' conformation. Long toes and under-run heels (I don't expect anyone non-horsey to know what that is) cause an incredible of damage one step at a time. Intermittent suspensory ligament soreness - take a good long hard look at the shape of the horses footif the suspensory doesn't reveal anything obvious. I also document horses for my local horse rescue as they get off the trailer at the vets after the state authority has seized them usually after 3-6 months of trying to get the owners to FEED them. I have fostered them and helped transport them.

Am I showing off? Maybe a little. Am I qualified to be able to tell when a horse is starving? YOU BETCHA! That said, I also know I have much more to learn. Learning about horses is a lifetime endeavor. You never stop learning. No matter how much you know there will always be one out there that can teach you something else. Thank goodness... they are the one thing in life that I have never gotten bored of. They keep me out of trouble. (or maybe they get me into it!)

Message edited by author 2010-03-20 03:54:56.