From: lovejoy@helicon.math.purdue.edu (Victor W. Lovejoy)
Subject: New Horse/some questions
Organization: Purdue University, Department of Mathematics
Date: Mon, 11 Jan 1993 19:19:58 GMT

Hi, horsey folk, this is Vic. My fiance, Jodi, and I, bought a standardbred
filly just before Christmas. She was injured at age 3 months and has Sweeney,
nerve damage, in the shoulder, so the nerves don't cause the muscle to work
and the muscle atrophies. She's 10 months old now and the muscle group the
sweeney affected isn't a weight-bearing group. She can't be ridden or driven,
but she can be bred and that's why we bought her. Buying her was the first
step in making our dream of having a horse farm come true. 

She is tall - almost 15 hh now and we think she'll be about 16.2 or more
when she's full grown. We named her Sweeney because that's how Jodi (a Vet
student here at Purdue) refers to animals when they have a physical problem.
The weekend after Christmas we trailered her down to Jodi's parent's farm
where she has about 30 acres of pasture and woods to run - and she can really
run! There is a QH gelding on the farm that was born there - and he was a 
real basket case when we first introduced them. 

They met for the first time over a fence (because we didn't know what he
would do) and Sweeney spent several minutes mouthing around his muzzle,
producing a very bubbly saliva that stayed on the fence railing for a long
time. What kind of behavior causes a horse to produce that saliva? We thought
it might be some kind of instinctive ranking behavior, but we aren't sure.
When we finally turned her out with the QH, Lightning, he chased her around
for a few minutes and nipped at her flanks. She was easily able to outrun
him. After awhile, they stopped and Lightning snorted real loud and then
they started eating grass nose-to-nose, like best friends. 

They get along fine now so we aren't worried about them. But now that the 
semester has started, we will only be able to get down to take care of them
two or three times a month, on weekends. She has been on a grain ration for
several months but now is getting no grain, just clover hay and all the 
grass she can eat. I am wondering if it is OK to give her a small helping
of grain when we are there, and then let her eat roughage the rest of the
time. I have read this group for some time and I know it's not good to 
change the feed routine drastically. 

We'll use grain to entice her to come to us and be haltered. She stands
very well for the halter and I am teaching her to lead like a lady. I will
be hauling hay to the horses (when Jodi and I are married and living in
that area, we will be able to get to them once a day, at least, so the 
level of care to which Sweeney is accustomed wil be resumed in about four
months) and we decided that it would be best if I bought a pickup truck
instead of a car so we can take care of the heavy hauling. Could
someone tell me about the minimun size and hauling capacity of a truck
for general farm - city - driving back and forth, 75 miles, to school?
Is there an FAQ about trucks? 

We are very excited about having our first broodmare, and giving an otherwise
doomed horse a chance at a productive life. I have many questions and I'm
sure there will be more posted in the weeks to come. Any information would
be greatly appreciated.  




PS: A black lab puppy (about six months old) was dumped in the area where
the farm is and she came to us one evening, so we have increased our family
by two in one long weekend! We named her Tar.

Victor W Lovejoy 

is

lovejoy@helicon.math.purdue.edu