Well, I knew my 100th blog post was drawing near, but I have decided to be different. I am presenting a 103rd blog post giveaway for your amusement, amazement, and delight. OK. You're right. I forgot to count. Ohh welll. The prize, or shall I say prize(s) are as follows. 1st prize: One of my homeade beaded horseshoes (made by moi) for the first lucky contestent. Details on how to win to be found below! Please let me know color preferences which I will do my best to honor and get right. If you have a shoe from your own horse, or a horse that has touched your life, past or present that you want me to use, I can do that for you too. Also let me know if you want a used or new shoe. Used will be more rugged and well--used! :) Below are a few examples, but every shoe comes out SO differently! My trainer has the blue one, (my all time favorite!) and our fellow blogger over at Wet Reins is in possession of the other two. Other friends have a few, and I even have one hanging out in my laundry room! Luckily everyone seems to like them. I wasn't sure my friends weren't just pretending, but I took a chance and gave my favorite baby blue shoe (mine and Jackson's colors) to my trainer for Christmas. She called me later in the day in delight. I STILL have the message on my phone it was so cute! Instead of ever mentioning the REALLY cool bag from a great artist/photographer I had bought for her, she couldn't stop talking about where to hang her shoe, and where did I get such a neat thing? The next week, when I told her I had made it, she was even more delighted. Vindication for sure! Prize #2: This will be a random drawing, and unlike the shoe not based on the feedback you give me at all! But I still want some mail and comments! I.E. if you have never, ever even read my blog you should still enter, because your tack and leather products are cryin' for you to WIN this..............................................................................
8 oz. container of Leather CPR Cleaner and Conditioner! Love this stuff, and this one even comes with a sponge! Let us not forget! Leather CPR is ENDORSED by The Queen of Clean! :) Strikes me like an as seen on TV type of thing, but I actually OWN a Queen of Clean book, and it has helped me clean things I thought I would never salvage or see clean! So, how do you win? Pretty simple. I am posting two questions with issues I am currently having with my horse that I need some advice on. If you show me a well thought out answer, you will be entered into the Prize #1 and #2 drawings. If these are things you have no idea about, then tell me something about horse care you think I may not know. Chances are: I may not. If you can't answer a horse care question, WAIT! You can be entered for Prize #2! Just read on, it's really easy. OK. Here are my questions. Question #1: I need hoof boots. Specifically, rear hoof boots that won't come off easily. Bruising to my boy's hinds in the wet winter weather= three abcessess! So, it's hoof boots or shoes (nooooo) to prevent bruising on all of our crazy rock. I plan on purchasing two pairs of boots, but hinds are way harder to keep on, so I need to really find some good boots from someone who has experience in this area. And no. My farrier isn't a lot of help. He shoes over 80% of his horses (I'm in Texas!)....help! Although barefoot is not the norm anywhere I guess! ADVISE AWAY if you have any answers. Question #2: I am planning on moving my horse to Gainesville, Florida in the foreseeable future if life goes according to plan. Huh. Right! Anyway, I need as much information as you may know about long hauls. It is a sixteen hour trip, not that bad, but again, the most I know is that I need to buy some shipping boots and hat, have a health certificate, current vaccine and pyroplasmosis test and Coggins papers in order, and find a company that will actually stop every four hours. He's an easy loader, no problems, but he isn't the greatest drinker which I suppose is my greatest worry. He won't drink the entire trip I am sure, and maybe if I slide the driver a hefty tip they would do a sweet slurry? What about GastroGuarding him for nerves? Again, advise if you are long-distance transport savvy! Lastly, in order to be entered for the #2 prize at the very least (and you will be entered just for playing:), tell me which of these absolutely AWESOME hay bags I would NEVER buy. EVER, EVER, EVER!? Which one is my absolute favorite? (I have two....). It's not that hard, really! Look at my blog and my post styles, the answer will hit you..(maybe? :) Get it wrong, or not, just give it a shot. Blog winners will be drawn on 10 July, 2010.
Good luck!
I do not know much about boots, since Olly is recently barefoot and doing great! I do, however, know about shipping. Olly is from Hawaii and I currently reside in Virginia. He has traveled across an entire country! I used a shipping company, they stopped every 8 hours and let the horses out for the night. It did take about a week for him to go from Ca to Va. I made sure he had his flysheet, fly mask and shipping boots on while traveling. Olly lost about 200#.
ReplyDeleteHe didn't get his normal foods or hay and I am sure the stress did affect him. He did drink and had no injuries. If you are interested in using a vanning company, I can give you the company I used, he is one of the top movers. I have had lots of friends use him and they are always satisfied.
If you are moving Jackson yourself...I really don't have much adivce, seeing, I didn't move him myself. I will when we move next time though ;). Good Luck!!
Oh that just sounds scary! Who was it so I can be leary? Of course, I know that HI to VA is MUCH different than TX to FL! But why would they not feed your horse his normal food or hay? Most companies I have looked at say you can send their own stuff AND a large tack trunk. Something sounds hinky. What do I know though? It's just business to most of them. MOST IMPORTANT. Olly is FINE! :) I found a few companies that claim to stop every four hours. I am a such a dang freak I may follow the truck! "Hello, Yes, this is Jackson's mom? It's been four hours. What rest stop is up ahead? Do YOU see me? Yeah, I'm right behind you FLASHING MY LIGHTS!" BWAHAHAHA! My vet said there is no way they will stop q 4 hrs even if they say they will! I'm looking at a family run outfit, who have been doing it for 29 years. No semi, just a VERY large trailer and a dually I imagine. My lowest quote has been $545.... :) UGH!
ReplyDeleteOh, and the UGH isn't about the $$$. That's not bad. It's the thought of sending my boy off into the unknown where I have NO control! Double UGH!
ReplyDeleteWow, I have NO answers to your hoof problems. I had one horse years ago, my second one, Copper what would get a pebble in her hoof on occasion and it would pop out the hairline. Didn't even know it was there until I saw the small hole at the top of her hoof. Gilly has never had that happen as far as I know, have never seen it anyway. He is barefoot and has been all his life (7 years) has very sound feet and I have an EXCELLENT hoof care provider. He studied with Jamie Jackson and Pete Ramey.
ReplyDeleteSorry I am NO help to you at all! :-(
I do love the second horse shoe with the browns on it, love fall type colors!!! You do those? Wow!!! I love them you are so talented!!! :-)
Never tried Leather CPR, have heard of it but not tried it. And yes, I could really use it, the leather cleaner I use, can't even remember what it is....Oh, NO, that means I probably haven't used it enough! Yikes!
The hay bag, I would say the psychedelic one? and maybe the zebra one? I would like the plain black one best for Gil.
I'll keep my fingers crossed that I may win something! :-) I hope, I hope!
hugs....
Jane
Oh, forgot to say I know nothing about shipping a horse cross country either!
ReplyDeleteNot much help, am I? :-(
I also said, or any helpful horse keeping tips? If something odd pops into your head, add it, then you could maybe win a horseshoe! The brown was hard to part with too... made more than one of those,and never keep one!
ReplyDeleteI don't know anything about shipping a horse, but there are lots of horse people who follow your blog and I'm sure they will have great advice. I love the earthtones horseshoe, with maybe a touch of turquoise. And I think you don't like the plain black hay bag, go for the pizazz!!
ReplyDeleteKarenTX
OMG on those beautiful horse shoes!! I LOVE the blue/turquoise too! Yummmy!
ReplyDeleteOk, not sure about shipping your horse from TX to FL BUT I can offer this, I can find out more b/c recently the BO's husband took a job where he drives the truck that takes show horses all over. Recently he's taken horses to Alabama from Michigan, Mi to Kentucky, Mi to Florida, etc..so I can find out.
Boots-I like my East Boot Epics although I think Laz's feet are too big for them now that he's been spreading out barefoot. They stayed on GREAT! I had them on him 24/7 (expect when I would walk him and let his feet breath for a couple hrs a day) and they never came off, never rubbed, etc. They were a little tough to wrestle on but as he wore them more, they stretched and were easier, and he became a better standing pupil too.
Hay feeders that u would never use?? I would guess the animal prints? Don't know why but I am.
HOPE I WIN!!!!!!!!!!! xo
I loff my horseshoe! It's hanging on the wall right by my computer so it's in my constant vision. Em, never used horse boots. I was dead set on going barefoot, then put shoes on because it was either try that or have the vet come out, and the shoes were a miracle cure. So, shoes it is. I'll take them off in winters.
ReplyDeleteWhen we drove Jessica's horses from Olympia to LA we did it in one day- 12 hours on the road. When we would stop to get gas we would offer water and replenish hay if needed. That was about it. The horses seemed to do fine. I never use shipping boots. (Everyone gasps in horror). It may protect their legs getting in and out of the trailer, may not, but it sure seems like it would make them hot all the time they're standing in there. In fact, I've seen few horses shipped with shipping companies that have boots on. I don't know if it's because they didn't come with any, or the shippers take them off and don't bother to put them back on. Jessica shipped a lot of very expensive sale horses off, they never had shipping boots, and many of the shippers wouldn't accept hay or grain from her. One honestly said that she could give him that stuff, but he wouldn't feed it. Another said he didn't have room. I think they kind of have a routine going that doesn't necessarily include special feed instructions.
Where's the red, white, and blue bag?
Thanks Kristen! I hope you can find out more! I am looking at Easy Boots and Cavallo's. I just want easy and reliable, easy to fit would be nice too. I did the entire fitting for Renegade's for his fronts (with my farrier's help) only to become thoroughly confused as he is no size they have listed. It was hard! I do know to measure right after a trim though!
ReplyDeleteMegan--Yeah, I don't even own shipping boots, that is good to know. We trailer all the time and I just throw Jackson in. GASP. We don't tie them either. I guess there are tons of schools of thought on this but, well, we don't. On trips over an hour we actually even remember to get the hay bags out! :) It is probably like when I work in the newborn nursery. The parents have all these instructions, you nod and smile, and then go do your thing. The babies are always fine. :)