It's poison, of course.

I've been thinking a lot about what I'm throwing into my boys' beet pulp mash and why...  The formula has gotten a LOT simpler than it used to be (thank goodness!), and I think it's a lot better.  I switched to doing beet pulp with Triple Crown Complete mixed in.  After consulting those on the endurance.net google group, I switched from TCC to TC Senior because it was lower in starches and higher in fat, which is what I need. That seemed to be a pretty balanced meal.  Then, I scaled it down to 2 1/2 lbs of each in their big, yellow flexible bucket, and filled it about halfway with water.  Originally, I was letting the beet pulp soak all the way and then draining off the excess, but decided to leave it nice and soupy for them when I discovered they would still eat it (Snickers actually drinks down to it!).  That way, I'm getting lots of water in them but not blowing through feed.

The other day, I texted Shelley to see if I was getting them everything they needed.  However, the Triple Crown senior is meant to be fed 5 lbs per day per horse, 4x what I'm already going through for my boys!  That's not going to happen.  Instead, we added a mineral powder to the mix.  That way, I didn't add a lot more feed since they were getting plenty and if already fills their buckets up.

At Marri's we found a little scooper for it and determined that it would be about 3 scoops of the minerals to total what both horses needed, then I'd mix it in and divide it into their buckets.  So, after working with them briefly in the pasture, I added the powder and mixed it up!  BIG mistake.  I finally earned myself the "Are you poisioning me?!" face from the horses.  Snickers made it pretty clear how he felt about me messing with their beet pulp:

"What did you DO to our mash??"

You gonna eat it??

Then Snickers tasted it, and showed me his clear disapproval, while Flash sniffed his cautiously and somewhat disappointed that he didn't get his same yummy mash.

I added some Senior on top to get them to start eating again.  It kind of worked - they ate it down a ways, but then Snickers opted for the hay.  Flash kept at the mash, though not as eager as usual.

Today, I added the powder with the dry ingredients so it could soak along with everything else.  I added one not-quite-full scoop to the mix.  I worked with Snickers in the arena, then put him back and hauled out the mash.  Luckily, someone (probably Flash) had cleaned up the buckets as usual, so yesterday's mash didn't go to waste.  With today's mash, I couldn't see the powder in it, so I wonder if it actually dissolved or was just really spread out.  Either way, they didn't seem to have any issue with it today!  Success!

Of course, Flash was so interested in what I was doing when I bent down to scoop out more mash that he swing his head right over mine and drooled lots of nice mashy soup right on my head.  By the time I went home, it dripped all the way down to my neck and went down the back of my shirt!  Yuck!  Thanks buddy.

Anyway, I'm really glad they liked it this time.  They're getting a little less than half of the full amount they should be getting, so I'm going to add a half-scoop tomorrow and see how they do.  If all goes well, I'll just keep adding until I'm about at 3 scoops again.  Two scoops would be fine, though, if they don't like any more than that.  I just feel good that they're getting the nutrients, vitamins, and minerals they need!

Beet Pulp Attack

This time ON me!  Since I've been subbing, I've been setting my beet pulp mash up to soak in the morning, leaving it in my car all day, and then delivering snacks to the ponies after work.  However, due to the freezing rain we received, I started off today with a nice little slip and spill with beet pulp mash ALL OVER me!  At least it was warm I guess.  I ran back inside and changed, then was on my way to work with the lovely bucket of beet pulp.

At least the ponies were happy about getting it today!  I picked out their feet while I they were eating - I've been trying to do that as often as possible to keep their feet healthy and to get them (particularly Flash) better about letting me/Beth work with their feet.  I am still itching to ride and haven't had the chance...  Too cold/inversion/too slippery/sick/etc.  Maybe tomorrow?  I hope so!  And I hope this saddle comes soon so I can ride in it!!

**Pictures coming soon**

Fences, Dizziness, and Beet Pulp

I was so excited when I woke up and felt better today!  I've been trying to ride for the last 3-4 days...  Monday, there wasn't any school, but I started to get sick and before I had a chance to even think about riding, Marri called to tell me Flash had barreled through the fence as she was coming to feed, letting both him and Snickers out, and she couldn't catch either of them.  After she got off the phone with me, she caught Flash but Snickers kept running for a long time afterward.  She said he's very stand-off ish. Yup, that's my horse!  We did talk about getting some training to help him with that.  I'll have to look into it, because I know he can be a pain to catch.  We don't even need to revisit our roping incident from last Spring...

Anyway, Marri showed me how to fix the fence.  It wasn't difficult at all, but I just couldn't get it hot! It was on, but I just couldn't seem to get confirmation that it was working even when I grabbed it. I went back out that evening when Marri was there, but by that time I was starting to feel pretty sick.  She did confirm the fence was working - so I was pretty proud of myself for fixing the fence, but I just need to figure out how to test it lol.  My problem was that I wasn't putting the second end on the ground haha.  Oh well - lesson learned!  I moved the ponies from the small pens they'd been in all day back to their big pen, and got some satisfaction when Flash got a good shock - I knew he wouldn't be testing it again soon!

I couldn't sleep at all Monday night because my headache got so bad and I was so stuffy, and then I ended up calling in sick.  My butt was confined to the couch the rest of the day :(  I wanted to see my ponies so bad!  But Trevor said no :(

So today, I was so excited when I woke up feeling almost normal!  I went to work and was great for the first half of the day, but then started feeling dizzy and it hasn't really let up since.  Since I was having trouble just getting through P.E., I figured riding probably wasn't a good idea.  Instead, I ran a few errands (bought more beet pulp), then rested for an hour at home, and finally went and fed all the horses just before dark.  Thinking about how I wanted to put more pictures and posts on here, I took a few pictures by the light of my headlights and that were much better with the help of iPhoto ;)

Flash making a mess eating his beet pulp

Snickers

Snickers drinking down to his beet pulp - he loves it!

Flash making more messes

Flash's mess.  He spills so much because he shoves his face into the mash and splashes it around!

To the hay...

More of Flash's mess frozen on the gate

Mmmm alfalfa!

Snickers stealing from Flash's bucket

Beet pulp

This thread challenged my previous thoughts about beet pulp and encouraged me to learn more in order to back my point of view - and I did feel that my research ultimately did support my points as well as enlightened me a little more about beet pulp:

Horse not Drinking

and related...

Different types of beet pulp?

Soaking beet pulp...

To keep my boy hydrated, I give him soaked beet pulp. I havent been able to lately, but I'm starting back up again, especially with the cold weather and needing to make sure they get enough water. I board, so I decided to put it in my largest water bucket, add water and soak it in the morning, then take it out to him and my other horse in the afternoon. Around 8 this morning is the first time I did it - put about 5 coffee cans of beet pulp pellets (total for both horses) in the bucket (which made for about 2 inches deep of pellets), added 2 coffee cans of triple crown, and then added warm water in the tub for soaking. I checked it periodically to see if there were any hard pellets and added water accordingly. It's just past 11 now, and this is the monster I found in my tub.

I think I'll cut the recipe in half from now on...

Read more: http://www.horseforum.com/endurance-riding/soaking-beet-pulp-147612/#ixzz2J3KQRo34

Stalling Snickers

Honestly, after all the bonding we've been doing, Snickers is like a whole new horse, and I think it's because I'm a "safe" person that he's comfortable and patient with. Right down to the way he leads with his eyes and ears on me, head lowered and relaxed (as opposed to swinging his head high to look at everything, dancing around, and whinnying for his friends), he acts comfortable with me. Yes, we still get the occasional whinny, but then his attention is right back on me. And guess what? He enjoys just standing there and being brushed! We lunged in the round pen as a warm up/exercise the other day (since he's in the stall), and his ear was on me, paying attention, and definitely not looking for where his friends were. I think being in a stall has also helped, too, since I'm his buddy now and he's not so concerned with the other horses. I'm so happy with where we're at :)

Here's the ironic end to this little incident - though I think (though I wouldn't say I'm confident) I could catch him in the pasture now, the stall is going to be a permanent move. I finally went and got the supplements I need for him to get into shape for endurance, and it would be impossible to have him eat/drink them in a pasture situation, especially boarding. One of my worries for him being in a stall was that he would have too much energy, but as I mentioned above, he's more calm and relaxed than ever. So now the stall, and the two new buckets of supplements I hung up in there today, are his new home!

Read more: http://www.horseforum.com/horse-training/cant-catch-my-horse-118092/page4/#ixzz1tRM9l9e9