Paradigm Farms Horse Retirement

Love the pony wars! Norm's quite the personal...

2012-05-25T05:08:21.414-05:00

Love the pony wars! Norm's quite the personality!

Love that pic of Apollo!

2012-05-23T18:46:02.122-05:00

Love that pic of Apollo!

Nah, it's just a "horses try to kill them...

2012-05-23T12:43:30.149-05:00

Nah, it's just a "horses try to kill themselves in crazy ways" situation.

Did you see the Youtube that was attached to some of the news articles? Here it is. I will say this: at first I couldn't believe he was an Arab; he looks like a Saddlebred. And... ouch, left behind at the trot much?

My Dad and I also usually try to break the day up ...

2012-05-23T12:13:11.538-05:00

My Dad and I also usually try to break the day up by tackling the hardest (and most patience requiring) chores first.

We refer to it as "eating our vegetables..." ;)

What the trainer and people around the horse exper...

2012-05-23T07:26:36.865-05:00

What the trainer and people around the horse experienced is absolutely STRANGE! Like the trainer said, you would expect William to turn around and head for shore, back to the handlers and horses.
Nah. Horses like to throw in a wild card every now and again ;).
I agree with the other posters completely. And CFS, I think you are right, the people that complained or bashed the connections are not horse people or don't ride often enough to know that horses are living creatures, have minds of their own, and they will surprise you!
"It is what it is."

Since it has been 20 degrees warmer than average a...

2012-05-23T07:14:02.692-05:00

Since it has been 20 degrees warmer than average all month, I am even thankful for a mostly cloudy day to keep things from burning up.

But Summer on a farm is still a glorious place to work. And few people complain if they happen to find you catching a cat nap under a tree.

Waves washing under horses' feet can be very d...

2012-05-21T06:44:16.654-05:00

Waves washing under horses' feet can be very disorienting to them. In fact, it's often disorienting to humans as well.

My one experience with a loose horse in the water - a wave smacked him in the face just as we stepped off of the back of a steep sand bar heading out for our first ocean swim - was that the horse high tailed it back to shore, managing to drop some me (and some manure) before reaching the beach.

Anything can happen with horses. I bet many of the people commenting negatively don't even ride horses, much less ride them on the beach. Just my two cents.

I'm in the "horses can and will do crazy ...

2012-05-21T00:35:50.627-05:00

I'm in the "horses can and will do crazy things and there is next to nothing you can do about it except roll with it" camp.

I would say my experiences have, in general, been ...

2012-05-18T13:23:49.969-05:00

I would say my experiences have, in general, been the opposite. The best practitioners I have worked with used power tools (actually they use both) and the worst were hand tools only. Which is why I say it comes down to the hand holding the tools, not the tools themselves.

Also, I have no issues with someone using power tools to do a job more efficiently as in the end it makes it easier on all involved, especially the horse. I also think people tend to exaggerate how easy it is to overfloat a horse with power tools. Hold your hand on the powerfloat while it it is on, I think it would surprise a lot of people who have never done that.

In regards to senior horses I think a power float is much better for loose teeth. You are much less likely to "rock" a tooth out or make it more loose because of the vigorous motion needed by hand tools, which is an advantage to power tools. The entire motion on the tooth is a lot steadier and more gentle, which in certain circumstances can be really important, and in other circumstances (no loose teeth for example) is irrelevant.

However I also think there are certain areas of the mouth that, if there is a problem, they are better addressed with hand tools.

Glad you all survived dental day! (Norman looks ex...

2012-05-18T05:17:27.365-05:00

Glad you all survived dental day! (Norman looks exceedingly clean in the photo!).

I agree that there are bad floats with both power and hand tools. In my experience, those using power tools are sometimes (not always) in a hurry, and also sometimes don't do a good job on the incisors - most dentists, regardless of whether they use power or hand tools, don't.

The very good equine dentist I use doesn't use power tools at all, because he thinks it's too easy to overfloat - particularly senior horses who need tooth surface to effectively chew. He also sedates and uses a speculum to be sure he can adequately do back molars.

So I'm not religious about it, but since I've got a very good dentist who doesn't use power tools, and since I've had horses badly overfloated using power tools, I'll stick with him. Doesn't mean others can't do a good job using other methods.

Well, at least you got a good story out of it all....

2012-05-16T21:43:32.281-05:00

Well, at least you got a good story out of it all.

RB I use the biggest one I can find so my poor old...

2012-05-16T10:45:03.439-05:00

RB I use the biggest one I can find so my poor old tired eyes can see it!

I loved this story! And I think I love Moe!

2012-05-16T09:01:49.286-05:00

I loved this story! And I think I love Moe!

Somehow there is nothing like the appreciation for...

2012-05-15T23:10:31.582-05:00

Somehow there is nothing like the appreciation for the type of rain you describe. We had some puny rains early on that just don't do much good when things are dry. We were waiting for the type of rain you describe and some were worrying back in March that it wasn't raining properly yet. We had unusually warm temps early on so I kept saying it was ok because it wasn't actually spring yet. It seems there was something to that, as things have been much more normal lately.

Glad the rain came when you needed and wanted it.

Question - what type of rain gauge do you use/like? I've been looking around and there are so many types I'm not sure which are best/most accurate.

My grandmother was a tobacco farmer in Va. I spent...

2012-05-15T10:12:13.510-05:00

My grandmother was a tobacco farmer in Va. I spent many summers working on that farm. I believe tobacco is very moisture sensitive as well. I remember the pall of stress hanging over the farm if it was too wet or too dry at critical points in the growth cycle.

As a landscaper for many years, and now micro-farmer (!), I finally understand what it feels like to be at the mercy of the elements...

Glad you got your million dollar rain - it is hitting our neck of the woods today, and we are thankful. :)

I'm just finishing up my first 8-day cycle of ...

2012-05-13T20:02:42.049-05:00

I'm just finishing up my first 8-day cycle of irrigation--we had enough late season snow in the Cascades (that feeds our irrigation system) that we're going to get our full allotment for the year. But a good steady rain always feels good: besides slacking the ground's thirst, it seems to clear the air and the mind. I always welcome it, except when I know local farmers have hay down, then I cringe for their sakes.

Love the "whatcha doin'" photo! I c...

2012-05-12T07:44:56.870-05:00

Love the "whatcha doin'" photo! I cannot wait to watch what little will be shown of the equestrian events!

Boyd Martin is such a lovely rider. Those intervie...

2012-05-11T19:12:49.753-05:00

Boyd Martin is such a lovely rider. Those interviews were a pleasure to watch. Thanks for posting!

Would LOVE to see a video of Sam licking the air!!...

2012-05-10T22:59:53.284-05:00

Would LOVE to see a video of Sam licking the air!! *hint, hint* =)

A HAH! It was YOU! I knew one of my blog friends...

2012-05-09T10:26:55.834-05:00

A HAH! It was YOU! I knew one of my blog friends had mentioned that she liked to clip damp horses, so I tried it a couple weeks ago. I don't have the mad skillz yet or something, because I thought it was way harder and I got far worse lines. You've definitely got the touch, Melissa!

The correct local terminology for a lost bale is &...

2012-05-07T11:50:33.894-05:00

The correct local terminology for a lost bale is " Done got down in the holler.

Jason

We lived in Switzerland. There they wrap the bales...

2012-05-07T09:54:06.271-05:00

We lived in Switzerland. There they wrap the bales in plastic; making them look like giant marshmallows..

Glad that the weather cooperated! Hope you are fee...

2012-05-07T07:46:18.381-05:00

Glad that the weather cooperated! Hope you are feeling better soon.

Although no one wants to see hay wasted, I did have to chuckle at the "runner"... :-)

we're not close either yet but i see much prom...

2012-05-07T03:50:26.308-05:00

we're not close either yet but i see much promise: )

i love watching the runaway bales - it hardly ever happens even though you know how steep our pasture is. the hay guys are just so good, they know exactly how to let them out so they don't take off.

the funniest thing is the neighbor field behind us lost one last year and it took off thru the woods, thru two fences, and ended up in one of the ponds directly below our house. i think it will be there forever, half submerged, it's such an odd sight, it cracks me up (it's not our pond,hehehe).

sometimes they make enormous rectangular bales, i don't know what they're called, something with a q.

my man went to pick up more stinky haylage today, all that's left to eat around here.

Gotta love a post that includes a "holler&quo...

2012-05-06T22:26:52.787-05:00

Gotta love a post that includes a "holler" and a photo of well behaved hay bales.