new family member...another horse!

[Immortal_sin]

Damn, Darkeye beat me to it lol! Congrats on your new horse, we got one too!
She's a Kiger Mustang X ....super duper trail horse and extremely energetic.
She's already made friends with my paint mare too!
Her name is Sophie, and I'm excited to be able to ride with my daughter now

 

[Spider-man 2]

WOW, Holley! She's soooo pretty! Do I smell you getting horses like Ts? Horselings maybe? LOL. I can't wait to come visit again and see what's going on with ya'll and the new horse. loves ya

 

[TRowe]

Ok... I have no equestrian knowledge to speak of, so I must ask: What's with the face masks?

Congratulations on your new acquisition!

Tim

 

[LPacker79]

They're fly masks.

 

[TRowe]

Ah HA! That makes sense.

Thanks!

Tim

 

[Bry]

I was sitting here wondering why the heck you'd want to put a blindfold on your horse. LOL The fly mask thing makes sense though, those flies can be annoying as hell. How much does it cost to feed one horse? You also mentioned that the horse has "made friends" with the painted mare. Is it generally a problem to introduce strange horses? I would think not, because they are herd animals by nature. What about sexes, do females tend to get along better than males? Oh, and how long is the average life span of a horse?

 

[Elmolax]

horses are so beatiful :S
It's always been a secret craving of mine to ride one... I've never been allowed to tho. I'm allergic to hay >_> :'(

 

[Immortal_sin]

thanks all! The flies are bad this summer, since there's been no rain and it's hot hot hot!
I feed them approx 4-5 flakes of hay per day, plus a small bucket of dry cob (corn, oat, barley mix). Bales of hay are approx $3, and you go through a couple bales a week. I'll let you do the math, I too scared!
The dry cob lasts a month or so, and costs $8 for a 50lb bag. The really expensive part is the hoof trimming and shoeing. That runs around $130 total for shooeing both mares every 6-8 weeks or so. Then, there is hoof care, brushes, skincare, etc....a nominal fee.
Dwayne, Sophie won't buck you off, I promise! . However, she's quite the frisky girl.
Introducing new horses can generally go well, but you never know. Both Mariah and Sophie are fairly dominant mares, so I wasn't sure how they'd establish pecking order. So far, Sophie is content to let Mariah lead, but I doubt that will last much longer. She has already chased Mariah out of her own stall on more than one occasion!
As far as lifespan, I think they can live well into their 30s if taken good care of. Mariah (the paint) is probably in her late 20s. Sophie is 18. They are both in terrific shape, besides Sophie being a bit on the 'chunky out of shape' side!

 

[Bry]

How long does it take a horse to grow up to adult size? I didn't think horses have a pecking order like wolves/dogs do.

 

[Imegnixs_Cinder]

wow, beautifull horses, congrats! I used to ride a lot when I was younger, wanted to train to be a BHSAI (British horse society Assistant Instructor) but it never happened and I moved to the city and had a kid lol. One day when I win the lottery tho I will get myself a horse.
To answer some peoples questions on here. The size of the horse depends upon the breed rather than the sex. Generally they can live for about 30 yrs, and if its under 14.2 HH its classed as a pony rather than a horse tho this measurment may vary in the US Im not sure. The size of the horse you should get depends upon the size of the rider and what the horse is wanted for. Horses don't generally have a pecking order as such but in the wild the stalions will fight over the controll of the mares and you usually find 1 dominant stallion in charge of them all. In captivity tho its usual for the stalions to be castrated unless they are being used for stud. Stallions can be pretty feisty and are not generally in same field with the mares.
Sorry to barge in on the thread, just thought would try n be helpfull

 

[MSFT Charmed 1]

Horses

How long does it take a horse to grow up to adult size? I didn't think horses have a pecking order like wolves/dogs do.

Hi Bry, this is Darkeye's wife. Horses have to be about 3 years old to be considered adult and "rideable". Thoroughbreds can be as young a 1 1/2 because the Jockey club which is the thoroughbred registry considers all the horses birthdays to be January 1st, so even if the horse was born in June 04, come Jan 1st 05, he/she is considered 1 year old. Kind of silly. But for the majority of breeds about 3 - 4 years of age is appropriate "adulthood". However, I have heard of weanling stallions impregnating mares (their only 4-6 months old) the little horney devils! So all the parts work at a very young age. and stallions especially become very interested in the opposite sex EARLY. Not tooo much different from my husband :}

Anyhow, Darkeye's New baby is AWESOME!!! We took him out away from the barn today to still enforce his "Quarantine", and took him out into a big field, we lunged him, and then I got on him then hubby got on him, he didn't spook, budge, nothing and he kept tryin to get in our laps!! He's gonna be the perfect first horse for Darkeye. They even had a close encounter of the dirt bike kind, (the kid on the bike didn't see them) (wait, HUGE Horse, 6'2 guy, okay he must have been blind! LOL) Anyhow,m came flyin right towards them, when he saw the horse, he got off the gas, anc went around, Harley (the horse) just picked up his head, looked said "okay its a bike" and then put his head back down and started eating. LOL What a total HAM!!

Niki

 

[Immortal_sin]

NICE! ...we are of dirt bike origin anyway...so we are impressed!
I am always appreciative when a horse (or person) is cross trained in applications.
The big test is tomorrow .....when we see how the horses do on a multi-use trail. Both horses and bike riders are allowed on this particular trail.

 

[wicked]

Congrats on the mustang. What a pretty girl, you are going to love her. I have a spanish mustang, loads of character, and too smart for his own good but I would not trade him for anything.

To answer a few of Bry's questions, yes horses can live into their 30s. I have an old mare that just turned 30 (my best friend on four legs, I've had her since I was 12). As far as introducing new horses, stable situations and herd situations are different. Horses are social, a lonely horse will make friends with anything(goats, dogs, cats, etc) There is a pecking order in a herd. The lead mare (usually the oldest mare) and the stallion run things. When it storms here my old mare, the mustang(my lead mare's man, even though he is gelded) and a couple other mares stand in the barn, the others have to stand out in the rain.

I was taking care of a friends horses, three of them cost her $1600 a year for feed, shots, worming, hoof trimming and the occasional unexpected vet bill. Last time I was looking at the ads for hay in CO it was about $120 a ton for nice grass/alfalfa hay.
They are a lot of work, a lot of money and worth every penny.

 

[darkeye]

Damn, Darkeye beat me to it lol! Congrats on your new horse, we got one too!
She's a Kiger Mustang X ....super duper trail horse and extremely energetic.
She's already made friends with my paint mare too!
Her name is Sophie, and I'm excited to be able to ride with my daughter now

Congrats! She's beautiful.
Best of luck with her and I understand the "finally able to ride with xxx" comment. I can finally ride with my wife!!!!

Ja Ne!
M

 

[BGBYTOY]

Damn, Darkeye beat me to it lol! Congrats on your new horse, we got one too!
She's a Kiger Mustang X ....super duper trail horse and extremely energetic.
She's already made friends with my paint mare too!
Her name is Sophie, and I'm excited to be able to ride with my daughter now

Don't mean to butt in, But you failed to mention you not only have a Mustang, But the Kiger breed is only available from 2 herds in southesternOregon, Most other Mustangs are from Spanish decent,but are left over from what ranchers, farmers, and the such just let them go ( or they run away) into the wild.. The Kiger's give away, is a dark stripe that runs the length ( or mostly) of their back.. Kiger Mustangs are an established breed. Spanish markers were found in their blood during genetic testing by the University of Kentucky. They carry the dominant genes which code for the primitive dun factor coloration and markings. Dun factor horses are most commonly identified as duns and grullas. Dun factor markings include: dorsal stripe, jack stripe, zebra stripes on legs, arm bars, bicolored mane and tail, ears with dark outline and fawn colored interior, facial mask and cobwebbing. The Kiger is highly sought after in the Mustang keepers crowd,,You have a great Mustang Bred Horse. Very sure footed and trail savvy, they have a natural instinct to please their owners.. Nice one by the way.. :clap:

Ron

 

[Immortal_sin]

yes, I did fail to mention that
Kiger Mustangs are pretty special. Like Ron has said, they are characterized by certain markings and body type.
Sophie has the zebra markings on her legs, and the dorsal stripe. However, in the pictures I posted, they don't really show up.
We went on a long trail ride yesterday, and she is just amazing! This horse will do anything you ask of her, she loves to go. I'm very happy with her

 

[BGBYTOY]

yes, I did fail to mention that
Kiger Mustangs are pretty special. Like Ron has said, they are characterized by certain markings and body type.
Sophie has the zebra markings on her legs, and the dorsal stripe. However, in the pictures I posted, they don't really show up.
We went on a long trail ride yesterday, and she is just amazing! This horse will do anything you ask of her, she loves to go. I'm very happy with her

Congratulations... 3 of my 8 horses are Mustangs, none Kiger.. Someday maybe ?..

 

[LPacker79]

if its under 14.2 HH its classed as a pony rather than a horse tho this measurment may vary in the US

14.1H and under here in the US to be classified as a pony.

Stallions can be pretty feisty and are not generally in same field with the mares.
Sorry to barge in on the thread, just thought would try n be helpfull

Yes, stallions can be feisty as like most males, they seem to only have one thing on their mind. However, when trained correctly, they are a lot easier to work with. Our stallions were allowed to holler and prance about when they were turned out, but when they were in the barn or being worked they behaved like perfect gentlemen. We bred almost 100% by AI, but when we did do a live cover they walked up slowly and with respect for the mare. No out of control boys in my barn! I know of several stallions who charged a mare and there wasn't a man around that could hold them back. That's dangerous and shouldn't be tolerated under any circumstances. Unfortunately, most people don't take the time to teach these boys some manners.

During the off season, after breeding and show season was over, we'd turn our stallions out with a group of bred mares (that were bred to him of course) just so they could get some socialization. They were always well behaved, those cranky broodmares don't take no guff. We'd do the same with some of the younger colts, it does wonders in teaching them respect for the mares and really does help.

 

[Imegnixs_Cinder]

14.1H and under here in the US to be classified as a pony.

Same as here then, here 14.2 counts as a horse

 

[Immortal_sin]

yep, Mariah (the Paint mare) is BARELY a horse, she's only 14.3