April
2000
© 2000 Cherry Hill ©
Copyright Information This newsletter
is a personal letter from me to you,
a fellow horse owner and enthusiast.
My goal is to send you interesting stories and helpful seasonal
tips for your
horse care, training, and riding.
Starting
with this issue, my newsletter will go out on the first of each month so you can
still buy the magazines on the newsstand that I list in "Our Recent
Magazine Articles" section. HAPPY BIRTHDAY ZINGER!
April is
a special horse month for me because that is when "Zinger" was born
- in 1975 which makes her 25 years old this year! Except for the gray
on her muzzle, you'd never know it looking at her - her back is straight and strong,
her legs and hooves are sound and her teeth are in great shape. She is raring
to go and is my favorite riding horse.
I bought Zinger off the range in Washington as a 12 month old filly. When
rancher E.M. Hayes Jr. ran a group of his yearlings into the corral for me to
look at, this one sorrel filly turned and looked at me and I knew she was the
one. We sorted her out of the herd and then went in Hayes' house to look up the
paperwork. You can imagine my surprise when I found out he'd given her the registered
name of Ms. Debbie Hill. Stood to reason since her dam was Dee
Bar Debbie (by King Leo Bar) and her sire was Smutty Hill (by Smutty Bill) but
buying a horse with the same name as me was really special.
I gave her the barn name "Zinger" after my favorite
tea (Red Zinger) at the time and she has been my buddy for many years.
I've ridden her for ranch work, western pleasure, trail, hunt seat and dressage.
Besides being a demonstrator and model in many of my books and articles, Zinger
is the horse:
That I'm riding in
the deep snow cover photo on Becoming an Effective Rider That
I'm riding on the cover of Advanced Western Exercises That
is in the trailer on the cover of Trailering Your Horse That
will be on the cover of the paperback edition of Maximum Hoof Power, to be
released in May 2000. **************************************************************
IN THIS NEWSLETTER:
Senior Horse Care
New
Postings on the Roundup Page
Our Recent Magazine Articles
Cherry Hill doesn't do endorsements!
Coming
Attractions
Last Month for Maximum Hoof Power Special> **************************************************************** Senior
Horse Careexcerpt from Keep
Ol Paint in the Pink from the April 2000 issue of Western Horseman
Those Oldies But Goodies
© 2006 Cherry Hill
www.horsekeeping.com> How
to keep the spark glowing in your Golden Oldie! If
you're like me, you've probably had a horse that has made you say something like,
"Zinger is worth her weight in gold", or "Sassy is the perfect
broodmare". Time
flies and soon that good horse is a little gray around the muzzle. Even if your
horse is over 20, you still can continue using and enjoying him or her. You just
need to give some special attention to his care. Value
of a Seasoned Senior Many
folks say old horses make good teachers. Old is not necessarily synonymous with
good. But if a senior horse had thorough training and a wide range of experience,
he can be a valuable mentor. Seasoned seniors are usually calm and stable.
They've been there and done that…and then some. There's nothing like an old
timer to take a kid for her first lope or to give confidence to a novice adult
rider. Seniors
are valuable role models for young horses too. A good pony horse makes the tagalong
yearling obedient and confident. When trailering, a senior can exude "What's
the big deal?" and soon the colt in the next stall relaxes and starts munching.
On the trail, an unflappable veteran shows the way past rock monsters and through
creeks. And for just plain osmosis, there's nothing better than having a good
old horse around to show junior the ropes. It's just too bad our good horses can't
last forever, but at least today, they are lasting longer. Many
of today's horses get high quality care and, like humans, they are living to ripe
old ages. In the past a horse in its late teens was approaching the end of his
life but now the average lifespan is the mid-twenties with many ponies and Arabians
in their thirties. Signs of Aging  A
20-year-old horse is the approximate equivalent of a 60-year-old person but when
and how a horse ages is extremely variable. Some senior horses are raring to go
while others prefer to vegetate. Horses can reproduce later in life than humans
can. Healthy mares kept on a regular breeding program can foal well into their
twenties and semen can be viable in stallions as old as 30.
Seniors
often grow thicker, longer winter coats and might hold onto them past spring.
Just as we gray
around the temples at varying ages and degrees, some horses gray around the
muzzle, lower jaw
and eye sockets. Other cosmetic changes include hollow depressions above the eyes,
a hanging lower lip and loss of skin and muscle tone. Common problems of aging
are arthritis, colic, heaves, laminitis, lameness, general stiffness, poor digestion,
decreased kidney function, and an overall lack of energy. When
an older horse starts slowing down, you can call it lazy, laid-back or just plain
exhausted - but the fact is, time does take its toll. Fortunately you can
increase a senior's energy level and prevent many ailments through proper management
and exercise. Senior
Horse ManagementShelter Provide
the veteran with comfortable accommodations. On our place, the Luxury Senior Suite
is a 12' x 50' south facing pen with a 32-foot long wrap around wind wall.
The barn roof extends over 1/3 of the pen and half of the covered area is rubber-matted for feeding. It’s an ideal combination
of indoor/outdoor living which suits most horses to a T. The pen is adjacent to
an indoor stall for bitter cold weather and it's ten steps away from a 10-acre
turnout pasture.  In
my estimation, life in a stall takes its toll on any horse, but especially a senior.
The small space and lack of regular exercise just spells STIFFNESS! If a senior
horse must live indoors, he needs regular exercise. In addition, dust and
ammonia in the barn must be eliminated. Dusty bedding, moldy feed, dust raised
from aisle sweepers and other airborne debris can contribute to the respiratory
disorder heaves (COPD, Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease). Ammonia fumes,
which are generated from decomposing manure, urine and bedding, are caustic to
the respiratory tract of both horses and humans. Keep stalls clean and be sure
the barn is well ventilated.
Many
horses are happiest living on pasture. For free-minded old timers, choose a pasture
that has enough room to roam but not so much lush grazing that it leads to an
unhealthy weight gain. No matter where a senior lives, provide a soft place for
him to lie down for at least a portion of the day. As
horses get older, they have less tolerance for temperature extremes. For protection
from winter wind and snow, an in-and-out shed is ideal. But oddly, many horses
choose to stand out in a blizzard so you may need to provide a stall or storm
blanket. A waterproof-breathable winter blanket with long sides, tail flap, and
neck protection (See "Choosing a Winter Blanket" September 1999) can
function as a mobile horse house and keep your senior toasty. During
the summer, provide shade, ventilation and fly protection. A roof strategically
located where it takes advantage of natural breezes is ideal. Add a PVC mesh fly
sheet and a pasture horse will have UV and fly protection. Large barn fans can
be used to cool stalled horses and chase flies. Read
the rest of the article in the magazine: Feed:
Hay, Concentrates, Water, Senior Mash
Regular Dental Care, Long in the Tooth
Prevent Sand Colic
Monitor Hydration
Parasite Immunity
Leg and Hoof
Care
Grooming
Senior Exercise Program ************************************************************************* New
Postings on the Roundup Page Trailering:
In Hand Work - with photos Trailering:
Personal Space II - with photos Trailering:
Turn on the Forehand - with photos Bucking Keeping
Your Heels Down Should
I Use Side Reins? Stablekeeping
- Winter Watering Tips - with photos and drawings! ************************************************************************* Our
Recent Articles and Books Here's a roundup of the most
recent magazine articles and books by Cherry Hill and Richard Klimesh, the "Klim-Team":
April 2000 Western Horseman "Choosing a Barn Builder"
p. 54 April 2000 Western Horseman "Keep Ol Paint
in the Pink" (Senior Horse Care) p. 82 April 2000 Western Horseman
"Cinching Without Soring" p. 194 April 2000 Horse & Rider
"Field Wash Your Blankets" p.32 April
2000 Horse & Rider
"Stable Details: Make a Creep-Feeding Area" March 2000 Horse &
Rider "Filling
a Hay Net" Feb 2000 Horse & Rider "How
to Use a Chain Shank" p.32 Feb 2000 Horse & Rider "Winterize
Your Barn" p. 42 Jan 2000 Storey Books
Stablekeeping,
a Visual Guide to Safe and Healthy Horsekeeping Jan 2000 Storey Books Trailering
Your Horse, A Visual Guide to Safe Training and Traveling **********************************************************
Cherry Hill doesn't do endorsements!
I don't accept payment to recommend
or endorse any horse products in my articles, books or this newsletter.
I do, however, mention names of products that I am currently using and find satisfactory.
I do this to give you a starting point or help narrow the field. Sometimes finding
the right product or piece of tack is the beginning of the answer to a training
or horsekeeping problem. ********************************************************** Coming
Attractions More Training,
Riding, and Horse Care Tips ********************************************************** That's
it for this month. Keep your mind in the
middle and a leg on each side. 
Before
you copy or forward anything from this newsletter or Cherry Hill's Horse
Information Roundup, please read this article! Copyright_Information
Be sure to check the Horse
Information Roundup to find information on training, horse care, grooming,
health care, hoof care, facilities and more. Browse
the complete Cherry
Hill Horse Book Library.
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