Deep listening, horse health basics, pain manangment, laminates, colic, first aid

This is some basic horse knowelge , wisdom and a littel advice.

Transcript

Samson Q2U Microphone & FaceTime HD Camera: 0:00

Hi, this is, is she able with the horse human connection matrix? Recently I've interviewed some people that might seem a little off subject for horses and humans and that connection that started the podcast. In my mind though. The matrix is so about what horses teachers teach us about life and about interacting with each other. Trying to stay somewhat on topic though. Today, I'm going to talk about being an older adult. And having a lot of information that's been accumulated over the years. And what to do with that. And I'm going to talk a little bit about health care of horses for beginners. So those people out there that are listeners and a part of the quiet revolution in the horse world, moving away from absolute dominance. If you have students or newcomers to being with horses this podcast may be really helpful for them. Just to outline some basics and to introduce other areas that they may, and we'll need to know more about. I also want to tell my listeners that. There is a button to donate if you feel moved to do so. And that more than that, I'm not, I'm not doing this for the money. I'm doing this because I have a purpose. And that is the quiet revolution in the horse world. If you know anybody that might benefit from listening to the podcast, please share it. It's easy to. Cut and paste it in apple podcasts or in Spotify. And to just text it to a friend or a coworker. I've also been contemplating starting a new podcast with a partner podcaster. And we're not quite clear on a name for that yet, but it might be something like. The human. Matrix in nature. Something to that effect. Anyways, watch for that. I'll talk more about it and probably put a link in the show notes. As we get closer to releasing those podcasts, they should be some really great conversations about. What people can do to help shift the culture. So. In a way, the quiet revolution is a. Metaphor. For how we can shift our culture as well, away from dominance away from false belief narratives away from what's happened in world governments and economics. Way to become more aware, which starts with slowing down. So the new podcasts are more about that. More about the human matrix in nature and how we interact with nature. And how we have gotten so far away with our thinking, which of course creates our reality. And busting up some myths because there's a lot of myths that need to be busted. I'm going to jump in about being an older adult. Oh, I turned 62 in January. And. I have. I have some skills as, as a deep listener. And I know that there's a lot of healing that takes place as a deep listener. One of the other reasons I started this podcast is I have a lot to say, but I also. Don't want to push people away or inundate them with all the information that I've accumulated in six decades. And. I want to be respectful of that, but I also want to be a resource. I can remember being young in my twenties and before, and even in my forties and being around older adults who just seem to need to talk and talk and talk and had very little awareness of what other people were going through or how to relate to them. I don't want to be that person. And if you're over. Random number 58. You don't want to be that person either. Cultivating skills for being a deep listener. Finding a place to channel all of your knowledge where people can accept it or not. Seems important. So a podcast is a great resource for doing that. I can talk into this microphone. For half hour at a time hour at a time now I don't usually go on that long, but it, it gives me a place to channel things that might be helpful for people without offending them or. Cutting into time where I could be deeply connected with my heart, to them through listening and. In reality. My brain knows. And my heart knows that what younger people really need is a listener, not more information. Somewhere deep inside me. I know that even my kid and my grandchild will figure it out without my help. In the terms of information. So there you have it. It's always a fine line, a tight rope to walk with unsolicited information that people you think they need, but they might not be asking for. If you do feel moved to start a podcast, Buzzsprout has a series of, I believe, five podcasts on how to do a podcast that make it super easy, super cheap. And It can be a really, a really great way to leave a bit of a legacy. Okay, I'm going to start talking about. Horses again. So when I was new to horses, I was very lucky to have some experts in the field, mentor me and teach me. And yeah, I gave him some money. And I learned a lot about not just how to ride, but how to care for a horse. And I learned at every time you are on a horse or even walking a horse. Or feeding them, you are also training them. You're interacting with them. Those are really important concepts that everything we do. Has an effect. Just like people, right. One of the hot topics as I'm gazing out on my barn with about an inch of snow and ice on it is blankets. Do horses need horse blankets? When do they need horse blankets? So there's a general rule that says don't put a horse blanket on, unless it's under 36 degrees. Definitely take a horse blanket off. If it's over. 40 degrees. And the horses. That are going to have a blanket, probably need one. When we approach freezing or 28, 28 seems to be where my horses here in middle Southern Oregon, where it's a very damp. So our cold feels very cold. Want to have a blanket? Ah, there's so many like nuances to blankets though. When. In the time of year in the approach to winter, do you put on a blanket? What if it gets really cold in October? No. Don't put a blanket on horses. Need enough exposure to cold, to shiver a little. In order to stimulate a good winter hair growth. So we don't want to stop that by putting a blanket on them too soon. Allow them to grow a coat before you begin to blink at them. And they're going to be some exceptions to this. There are people that may have a very different idea. If you're dealing with a 30, 40, 50, a hundred thousand dollar horse, it's in a barn all the time. I'm not even gonna talk about that cause. My mind can't go there or wrap around what those horses go through or the people that own them. But in a middle situation. When a horse needs a blanket or would appreciate a blanket is after they have a winter coat. On a day that it's going to get below freezing. And. It's also important to look at. How long is it going to be freezing we have these wonderful devices that break our weather down in little increments of. What it is every hour. And I don't really trust my iPhone up here in my region. It is always wrong, but there's a lot of places. To at least get an idea that you know, where I am. The coldest part of the night is between four and 6:00 AM. So there are many nights that my phone says, oh, it's only going to be 33 degrees until 4:00 AM. At which point it might drop down maybe even as low as 28, but only for an hour or two. So the exposure of how long your horse is exposed to super cold weather is a factor too. Just like it is taking it off in the afternoon. I drive all over Douglas county and see horses blanketed at 50 degrees. I think they're miserably sweating. But if it's only 50 degrees for an hour, At 4:00 PM. Maybe it's not quite that bad. Or if the horse has a lot of shady pockets in its pasture, maybe it's not so bad. If the wind's blowing hard. Maybe it's okay. So the things we need to look at are not just what the temperature is. What is the moisture in the air? How long is it going to be that temperature? Are you going to be able to get out there? And take the blanket off if it turns 60 degrees that day, and it was 28 that night, what's the better deal having the horse to hot or having the horse too cold. Taking in the windshield factor, taking in the ability to get inside a barn, to get in the shade, to get to shelter, to get out of the wind. All of these things come into play. When we're talking about when to put a horse blanket on not to mention how thick is the horse blanket, some are just like, are. Raincoat a windbreaker, which is definitely going to trap heat and help keep the horse warmer. But it's not the same as like a quilted blanket. Or a blanket with some polyfill. So that's my take on horse blankets. There's no absolute correct. Answer, but there's lots of things to consider. Think about your horse when you're putting on the horse blanket. When that next topic for beginners is laminitis also called founder. When your horse is standing with its front feet and back feet closer together. Then having a straight line from the shoulder to the Hough. Meaning they're angled in. Not front to front, but front to back. That's a time to be concerned. When your horse. Has a crusty part. Just above. It's Withers on its neck and by crusty, I mean, It doesn't flex easily. It feels like there's a fat muscle. Conglomeration there that's that stiff. It's not super flexible. That can be an indicator of how the fat is stored. And if your horse may become laminate at certain breeds, a lot of draft horses. Morgan's. Some of the larger horses are going to be more susceptible to laminitis or founder. Than other breeds, like quarter horses and Mustangs. Laminitis is to horses. What diabetes is to people. It's too much sugar. It's too much food and too much sugar. And in end stages, laminitis has a very, very horrible. Outcome in that the hook can be come detached from the horse and the horse will need to be put down, or it will become loose and rotate at the coronary band. My terminology may not be exactly Lead correct on those things, but you get the general idea. So let's talk about sugar in grasses. Many different kinds of grasses. Some are much higher in sugar and protein. And fiber content. And carbohydrates. And if you buy. Grass seed pellets at your feed store. And you look at the back of either the card they have hanging or read the package carefully. You'll be able to compare. Those nutrients in the types of grass pellets. So there's Taft, there's orchard grass, there's meadow, grass, there's alfalfa. And there's Timothy. All of these grasses are going to be a little bit different. In my research test is the best for my laminated course because it's the lowest in sugar. Buying hay. In my county, I can rent a plunge tester that pulls a core sample from my local extension office. To test the hay. So I know how much sugar is in it. I know how much protein is in it before I buy it. It's a lot of trouble, but if you have a horse that maybe facing laminitis, it's probably worth doing. There's also places on Facebook and I will look for links to put in the show notes. I can't remember off the top of my head where people have done research on. Minerals. And. Sugar absorption. And the best I remember of this is that are up there. Uptake receptors for iron zinc and copper are the same receptor. If a horse gets and they have a certain ratio of each of these, I think. I don't want to quote it wrong, but the iron is definitely more than the zinc and the copper. And there are percentages. And one year I put some iron. In my pasture to kill the loss. And my horses minerals got all screwed up. My horse never been so laminate. And what I found out is that. The uptake receptors for those three minerals are the same receptor. So if they have too much iron, they will become deficient in copper and zinc. And somehow the balance of those three minerals affects how they metabolize the sugar in the grass or the pasture. So these things are really important. If your horse is sick, it can be a nutritional issue. And yeah, there's probably some metabolic medications that can help, but I always try to approach diet before medicine. In the pasture, the length of the grass, the type of the grass, the time of day, and the temperature all affect the sugar in the grass. So here's the basics. It's better to graze at night. Between 10 and two in the warmer months, the sugar content is higher in your grass. Keep your horse off the pastor does between 10 and two in the spring and summer, if you think she or he is The height of the grass. If the grass is less than three inches, the sugar content is higher. If the grass is between three and seven inches, it's optimal. If it's over seven inches, it may be going to seed with a higher protein content, which also affects. The nutrition and the laminitis. I know that was a lot of information. I'm going to recap. If your horse has warm hoofs or a warm Huff. If your horse says, neck is especially non flexible. Especially in the area above the Withers. Be suspicious of laminitis or founder. If your horse is standing with its front and rear legs together where there's an. Closer together then straight down. Be suspicious of laminitis. Laminitis is like horse diabetes. It's about sugar. Metabolizing. There are minerals that affect this. The type of grass you feed is important. That time of day you're on the pasture is important. The length of the grass in the pasture is important. Laminitis is horrible, horrible to deal with. All right. So I'm going to talk a little bit about. Colic. Horse colic and can be very, very serious. Indications of a horse collar king are turning around and biting at its side. I don't mean just like an occasional itch, but repetitive. If you see a bunch of lick marks on their side watch them for a while. If a horse is rolling a lot or doesn't look well and is laying down for a long period of time, those can all be signs of colic. Colic is a constriction in the intestines. There are some over the counter remedies that can help relax that and help. I think most vets will write a prescription or give you. A Banamine paste, which is also the cure. For colic. So, if you think your horse has colic. It's a good idea to watch it for a while. Get it up. If it's laying down, put a halter on and get that horse up. If you can't get it up, call the vet. Walking the horse until it poops. Once you see the horse poop, you know, that whatever constriction has been causing that discomfort in their abdomen has released. If you're walking a horse around and it's not pooping. You can try bringing it to the trailer. A lot of horses will poop before they get in the trailer. And so just the anticipation of needing to load up can stimulate the nervous release of a good poop. And you can be more relieved. It is always good to follow up with your vet with a phone call. If you can, you know, the modern automated age has made. Contacting vets, at least for my experience, quite difficult. So many options on that phone and the buttons and getting a real person and that actually getting to the vet or emailing and waiting three days for a response. I know they're doing the best they can, but. Man, I wish nobody had ever invented the answering machine. So first aid for cuts and abrasions. Is it, is it important to treat them. I don't know. I, you know, I think there's a lot of controversy about that. There's certainly a lot of products. On the market. If it's a deep wound, it should definitely be cleaned out and treated. A lot of just the appointments. That are antibacterial and we'll keep flies out of a wound are easy to use. I found one product with sulfur and mineral oil. It's old school. Can't remember the name of it off the top of my head. It works really well. If your horse has an eye infection, don't mess around. Call the vet. There've been a couple of occasions where my horses are now having a seasonal allergy. Inflammation of their eyes. And sometimes I, not that my vet recommends this and I'm not a medical professional. But I have treated it with colloidal, silver and had some success. Antibiotic creams drops ointments that the vet will give you. The thing about AISES. If you have a cream from before that has a steroid and your horse actually has a scratch or an abrasion in their eye. The steroid is counter-indicated. So don't. Don't think you know about. Antibacterial. Prescription appointments with steroids or antibacterial ointments without steroids, it can be confusing. in my mind, an eye injury or inflammation or redness in a horse is serious enough to call the vet every time. So just a little side thing about pain with horses and humans and something that a lot of people don't know. Is walking in a herd. Releases endorphins that take pain away. There's a couple studies in humans with this, I myself have experienced it multiple times. Taking a walk with your horse. Horses. Something magical happens. And. They can make pain go away. So it follows at least in my mind, trying to be logical. That if your horse is in pain. And being out in a pasture with its buddies. Is not going to cause damage in some way. They're better off there than they are install rest again, unless it's going to cause damage in some other way, because the other horses will help with their pain. The endorphins that happen in a herd are going to help. And I don't know. Everything that that has to do with there's so many mysteries. Now that science is finally catching up to one example, the telepathy tapes. If you have not heard about Dr. Hennessey Powell and the telepathy tapes, it will blow your mind. She is documented worldwide in isolated cases, in all parts of the world. That non-verbal autistic children are communicating telepathically with their caregivers. A lot of these tests where we thought these kids were savant actually, is that they're reading the answers of the person, quizzing them. Yeah, telekinesis. Telepathy. All those things are real. The endorphins that happened with the horses in the herd. They're real. The healing that happens between horses and humans. It's real science is catching up. Anyway. That is my podcast for today. It's been a while since I released one. I've had a couple of people needing to reschedule interviews several times. We can look forward in the future too. Two more interviews with horse professionals. Can't wait to get a glimpse into some more training methods with a barrel racer. And a horse therapist who is going to be a guest, hopefully next week. All right. Is she able again? Thanks for listening. Tell a friend.