Everyone here wants to thank you for the hard work and great service you give in the subreddit!
And to give you a break this cakeday, I've submitted our wishes as a text post! You don't need to mirror it!
But if you can, 'Salut'.
Hey guys so my friend acquired a horse: a Standardbred who was formerly a trotter, then abused by his previous owner. We don't know a hell of a lot about his past but he has only been ridden 7 times now and needs to be chased up to be caught. He was abandoned for about a year and then sat in a small paddock, completely untouched, for a few months. My friend guesses he is between 8 and 12 years old.
My question is this, since I'm new to green horses:
He is beginning to develop a habit of bucking, almost as a protest when I ask him to pick up trot. He kicks out, I ask again, and he bucks. No big deal, I'm not afraid. But I don't know how to deal with it. He doesn't fully understand that leg=go, so I've been tapping my boot with my whip as I squeeze. What are some things I can do to nip this in the bud before it becomes a habit?
He has been checked over fully, he is sound and healthy. On the ground he is fantastic and kind, not a problem at all.
FLORIDA HORSE OWNERS
If you have horses or you know anyone with horses please get them out NOW!! The Ag Dept. Has relaxed restrictions on health certificates to get out of the state. You will need a Coggins test to get back in. Just stop by the state police booth as you leave and check out so you can come back in. They will give you a voucher. The UF large animal hospital can help with finding shelter if you you can't find somewhere. If you have no where to take them please PM me and we'll find somewhere. If you lack the resources to leave with the horses please PM and I'll help. If you can't leave with them please paint your phone number on them huge and braid your waterproofed info into their mane. Leave them turned out with breakaway halter on in a safe area that won't flood and has as few trees or other projectiles as possible. Source: I am a large animal nurse and human RN from FL and helped in Katrina.
Rescoures:
UF Large Animal Hospital 352-392-2229
UF Large Animal Rescue http://ift.tt/2iYWNmY
Excellent Emergency Tips and places to go http://ift.tt/2eD2jqx
Emergency Database of Places to Go http://ift.tt/2j01xc2
I'm able to offer temporary housing for horse evacuees from Irma. There's a 400 acre pasture we'll likely be able to open up to horses in need of evacuation. Because the pasture is so large and potentially hazardous (thick woods, steep creek banks, downed barbed wire fence from 100 years ago-- tbc perimeter is safely fenced) my plan would be to set up temporary fencing with t-posts and electric fence in safe areas. This would allow paddocks to be made according to the needs of the horses, and allow horses to be isolated (for health reasons) by group and easily managed. Lots of room for trailer parking. I'm hoping to get a couple 1000lbs bales of high-quality alfalfa and timothy/orchard hay so it's on hand for the horses. We'll need to charge a small amount to cover the fencing and hay because we just don't have the budget to do it out of pocket, but we're going to keep it as minimal as possible.
We're located between Columbia SC and Greenville SC, so we're a good 5/6 hrs from any coast and pretty sure to be safe. It's about an 8 hr drive to Tampa to give an idea of the drive. We're open to any horses in need, but preference will go to horses in areas most likely to be hard-hit. Please PM for specific details, or general questions can be posted here in case other people have the same question.
If anyone in the area has t-posts, fencing, solar hot-boxes, water troughs, etc to donate (or could lend a hand putting up fencing!) that'd help us keep costs down.
