Two things to address today: a derp moment with my BM and yet another trail ride.
So, first, I was chit-chatting with her about the whole episode I'm going through with UPS having misplaced my SmartPak. It made it to Savannah on the 26th and went out for delivery and never graced my doorstep. It wandered into "exception" status and magically was not recovered until I called SmartPak and asked them to investigate. Since the SmartPak chick knew I was almost out, she overnighted another package and requested the original be returned to them. I checked the tracking number and that shit is now somehow en route to Mass.
Anyways, we go from this to her telling me that, oops, he's out of his Cocosoya Oil, and, oh hey, have I ever thought about sand colic?
Well, yeah, doesn't every horse owner think about every type of colic? Perpetually? Ad nauseum? But I never really thought about sand colic as something that I needed to really worry about. Just something you West Coast folks need to stress over, with your deserts and sand and dry lots. But then I started thinking about the content of the marshland, its proximity to my pony, and yeah. She said that she just gives generic, sugar-free, orange-flavored Metamucil one week a month to push out any sand.
So does anyone have any experience with this? Use this shit? I've used it with Savannah before, but not Archie.
And the other topic. The Other (TB) Rider (OR) sent me a text during the vacation to see if I'd be interested in going on a trail ride. Gotta give her props for initiating it. I said sure and we made plans to meet where our routes merged and carpool the rest of the way to the barn. The drive was spent chatting about various things and I learned a lot about her that day.
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| Pony following. |
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| After having turned around. |
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| So much easier to take photos when I can just point his head at another horse's butt. |
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| Her horse had a little spook at the machinery. |
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| Sports complex. |
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| Chatting. |
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| OH. Why must fuckers aim their little baseballs at the horses?! |
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| Towards the bridge where OR had her little incident last time. |
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| Best. Horse. Ever. |
The new thing for the Kid is going in a group. That's what's given us this whole new realm of experiences, because I've never been in a facility that had group rides like this. I enjoy it, a lot, but I also maintain that he needs to be able to walk out by himself. So far, he is capable of both pretty successfully.
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| Before Daylight Savings struck... |
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| I made it a point to walk out after every ride. |
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| Even at... |
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| the crappy barn, |
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| we'd wander where we could. |
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8 comments
#1 I <3 all your maps soooo much and #2 I usually just buy some psyllium, we can get them in seriously Costco sized buckets and just feed that a couple days at the beginning of the month. I worried about it more with Carlos because he seemed to have pica and loved licking shit that was dirty and dusty even though he already got fed electrolytes and salt block regularly lol
ReplyDeleteWe have some sandy areas out here in the MidWest and sand colic can be a concern. When the horse I leased was on a dry, sandy paddock, I fed SandClear. I do not feed it now. There is a simple poop in in water test that can be done to see if your horse is ingesting a lot of sand. http://www.drgarfinkel.com/Equine-Care-and-Anatomy/testing-for-sand
ReplyDeleteNever done a sand test but it's prob not a terrible idea for me to consider.., love your maps! Jealous of the rad trail rides you get to go on!
ReplyDeleteCan I have your bravery about trail riding please? I'm glad you have a trail buddy who doesn't act like a lunatic!
ReplyDeleteTrail riding in a group can sometimes be harder than alone because when one loses it, sometimes your perfectly rational horse will lose it too.
ReplyDeleteAs for the sand colic, now you having me worrying about it!
Ditto Allison's comment - easy poop test is easy.
ReplyDeleteWe eat on mats, do frequent beet pulp/bran mashes and give psyllium one day per week, one week per month and one month per year. It's 100 % sand around here and I am paranoid about it.
Sand colic is a big concern wherever the soil is sand, and definitely in the Southeast. Psyllium supplements are heavily recommended in FL. Lily received Sand Clear for the first week of the month every month while we lived down there. The one horse in my barn that didn't get it was from Michigan. Her owner knowingly refused to give the supplement, despite the horses being fed hay in the turnouts (all sand, no grass at this barn). Lo and behold, the mare colicked within the year of arriving in FL. :/ the vet cleared a ton of sand from her gut. The mare got started on psyllium that week. Never colicked again. So yeah, totally believe in the stuff. If the stalls are matted and there is regular soil (not sand) under the grass, I wouldn't worry as much. Up here in MD we have clay under the grass so have not had to use psyllium. A friend that moved to NC from here started her horse on it bc it's all sand there, too. Good call on the girl at Smartpak! Love that she recommended Metamucil instead of pushing one of their supplements.
ReplyDeleteAnd I'm so glad your rides out with company are getting better and better!! :)
"one spinning and then the other spinning" I just got a silly image of TBs doing their version of synchronized swimming complete with flowered bonnet swim caps...
ReplyDeleteThanks!