Lucky Horse
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How To Care For A Horse (If You Really Want To!)
Everyone remembers the “Simpsons” episode in which beleaguered Homer – not yet the walking punchline he was to become in later seasons – works himself nearly to death, taking second shifts at the Kwik-E-Mart with Apu, in order to afford a pony for young Lisa.
All ends well for the Simpsons, but the care and feeding of horses really isn’t light work.
First of all, there’s the question of lodging. After all, your new Thoroughbred race horse isn’t exactly going to fit in the closet. Horses require shelter from rain and wind, such as a barn, stable or shed; this is especially true if you’re keeping the horse’s hair short (for show), in which case you may also need a horse blanket. In pleasant, sunny weather, your horse needs shade. Your horse also needs, year-round, grazing land – usually between 1-3 acres of pasture per animal fills the bill. And there’s the all-important exercise grounds (keeping a horse cooped up 24-7-365 is just cruel).
Most Americans horse owners, not having access to these things, rent a space for their horses at a boarding stable. These, of course, are not cheap – and some horses, especially stallions, aren’t best kept in such social environments anyway, as they will tend to fight with other animals.
Even if you live in a temperate climate and keep your horse out to pasture most of the time, she or he needs a place to shelter from the rain, as the insulating coat of hair doesn’t work nearly as well when it’s wet.
If you can keep you horse on grounds of Your Own, make sure, when feeding the horse, watch out for laminitis, a debilitating condition that can come from eating the lush, quick-growing early-spring and fall grass (such grass is high in fructans and other non-structural carbohydrates). Similarly, if you’re lucky enough to be able to rely on a natural nearby water source, check every day to make sure the stream hasn’t dried up, gone stagnant or developed blue-green algae (lethal to horses).
Finally, be careful in selecting fencing materials. Wire is a terrible choice for small pens (they’ll run into it); that goes double for barbed wire, which is condemned in almost every horse management book (but widely used in the Western US). If you do use wire, use it in a larger pen (where the horse won’t constantly be coming into contact with fencing), use a smooth and clearly visible wire (perhaps a heavy woven mesh with closely spaced strands), keep openings between strips too small for a hoof to fit through, and maintain your wire fence carefully.
To help with the visibility issue, as well as the durability of the fence, you might consider using a wood top player (no chance of trampling that down). Wood or synthetic-wood fences make a somewhat more expensive, but correspondingly better, more durable choice.
Horses need to eat 1.5-2.5 % of their body weight in food every day. The most common sources for filling this heavy nutritional need are grass, hay, grain, and pellets sold commercially. Again, keeping your horse fed is not cheap.
Horses’ coats should be groomed every day, ideally; in the real world, you should at least groom your horse before every ride to prevent chafing (for the horse, not you). A grooming regime includes the following elements: A round, short-toothed tool called a curry, used to loosen detritus from the horse’s coat and generate cleansing natural oils; a stiff-bristled dandy brush which cleans the larger materials stirred up by the curry; a soft-bristled body brush used for dust; a mane brush (usually wide-toothed; some people simply use a human hairbrush for this part); a hoof pick for cleaning the horse’s feet and preventing injury; fly spray, which needs no explanation; a metal or plastic tool, the sweat scraper, for, well, scraping away sweat; and scissors or clippers to keep certain areas short-maned (these include the “bridle path” behind the ears so that the bridle lays flat, and fetlocks).
You’re probably wondering how to bathe a horse? (Or perhaps you’re wondering why anyone goes to all this trouble, even for an animal as beautiful as the horse?) This task can be done with a simple garden hose and human shampoo (though horse shampoo is available for the punctilious); however, many horses, under conditions of normal wear and tear, never need a bath. No, I’m not kidding.
About the Author
TRP Services offers Thoroughbred horse racing and horse racing tips online for horse racing handicapping and those who love thoroughbred horses for the horse racing tracks.
Why is keeping a Horse Shoe considered ‘Lucky’?
The horseshoe is considered very lucky and used to be hung in many homes to protect and attract good fortune for the family residing inside. As with many superstitions, there are contradictions to be found with the beliefs associated with the horseshoe. For instance, many believe that to hang it with the ends pointing upwards is good luck as it acts as a storage container of sorts for any good luck that happens to be floating by, whereas to hang it with the ends pointing down, is bad luck as all the good luck will fall out. Others believe that no matter which way you hang the horseshoe, good luck will come. According to this superstition, the ends-pointing-down display simply means that the good luck is able to flow out and surround the home. If the horseshoe is hung over a doorway, ends up will catch good luck and ends down will let the good luck spill over the door and stop evil from entering. Perhaps a combination of the two was used so that after a few days, when the horseshoe was filled with good luck, it would then need to be emptied so that residents could benefit from that luck and the process would be repeated until the end of time.
Horseshoes were also considered lucky because they were made by blacksmiths, which is also considered a very lucky trade. Because they worked with elemental fire and magical iron, they were thought to have special powers. It was believed that a blacksmith could heal the sick and if a couple was married by a blacksmith, their marriage would be a happy one. Their work with horses also brought them much power and prestige, not just because they made the lucky horseshoe but also because they were the keepers of the Horseman’s Word (the basis for the movie, The Horse Whisperer.)
Horseshoes were originally made from iron, which may also account for the superstitions that are associated with this object. Iron was considered magical because it was able to withstand fire and was much stronger than other metals. The superstitions for iron are thought to originate in prehistoric times. It was used as a charm to ward off evil spirits.
Another aspect of the horseshoe that added to it’s good luck was the fact that it was commonly held in place by seven iron nails. Since ancient times, the number seven was considered very important. Life was divided into seven ages; a rainbow has seven colors; astrology once held that seven planets made up the universe; there are seven deadly sins; a seventh child was thought to have special powers; there are seven days in a week; the moon changes from one phase to another every seven days; and a long-held belief states that the body goes through a radical change every seven years.
