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Show -Horse Talk ' bv Linda Offrcl Do you think your pasture and paddock is safe for your horse? Are you constantly doing minor doctoring on your animals? Maybe you need to take a walk around and look for trouble spots. Nails that stick out. baling wire and, twine, pieces of tin, old crooked fence posts and loose fencing (like barb wire) all present potential .danger spots for horses. If is important to . remove z sources of , possible : injury from your horses area;. They V seem to be able to get, into . trouble, from the smallest, sharpest object around, v . . Are your ; water . buckets made iof metal or rqbbert 'If they are , metal . be : sut ttie : edges are . hot sharp. Arc ; your, feeders , for hay,, and grain) made of metairThey ; should also be rounded' and have no sharp edges.1 : Do your horses .ehewwbodf If -so, you should do a thorough -, inspection 'Of ' your support beams and other uprights; Some may need - to be replaced. Is your fencing loose? If So, tighten it up. Loose wire goes with a horse when caught, whereas tight wire holds firm and may enable the horse to free himself. ' ' " ' Do you still have your halters on your horses? Why? It is so dangerous. Having to : spend a couple extra minutes to catch a live horse is much more satisfying satisfy-ing than being able to catch a " dead one. If your horses are hard to catch you need to spend more time working with them, not leaving dangerous devices on . them to make it easier. Have you left your horses shoes on, hoping they will r fall off soon and save you from having to spend money and call the iorse-shoer? Loose shoes become caught in many things. boards, r fences... and can cause your' horse to pull a muscle (or worse) when he struggles to ; free himself. . . '-;' Do you see your horse, daily? It isn't necessary-that . you do, but someone you : . trust should. Leaving a horse . unattended by us is danger- 1, pus and not very wise if you . value your investment. , Penodic: checking of fen -ces, availability of water, etc. ,s is important, not to mention the health and welfare of the horse. Horse thefts are on the rise again and these kind of people watch to see - who the "regulars" are at a distant pasture. If here are no regulars, it is a prime area for stealing horses. If your horse loads easily you should ": be even more concerned. Have your horse branded and the brand recorded with your local brand inspector. |