I r HORSES!
Horses, orses,
by
Dr M. E. Ensminger, Ph D. Clovit, Colifornia
You ' re asking
Here are several pertinent and timely questions that I have received from different sections of the United States, along with my answers:
Q. Why the recent boom and interest in horses?( From a magazine editor in Texas)
A. Here is my thinking—
1. Horses have become a status symbol. In the middle ages, the rich man rode a horse and the poor man walked. When I was a boy, the rich man rode in a horseless carriage and the poor man had a horse. Today, the rich man has a horse and the poor man has a car.
2. There are more and more race tracks, and these have stimulated horse production.
3. More leisure time and more emphasis on physical fitness and the outdoors have accentuated interest in horses.
4. More parents and others are coming to recognize that horses are wonderful companions for boys and girls; they shower their love and affection on horses, the animals occupy their time, and they don’ t get into trouble.
5. Many older folks associate horses with hot, dirty work— I’ m referring to draft horses and mules, of course. However, in the thinking of the younger generation, horses are fun. Today’ s youngsters never followed a“ foot burner”( walking plow), and few of them would know how to harness a draft horse.
Q. Among my Shetland Ponies, of which I am a breeder, I am plagued by a stifled condition. What can you tell me about it?( From the State of Washington)
A. The stifle joint in the horse corresponds to the knee in a man. A horse is said to be stifled when the patella( or kneecap) slips out of place and temporarily locks in a location above and to the inside of its normal location. Technically, this condition is known as dorsal patellar fixation. Sometimes it is possible to place the patella back in normal postion manually. However, the most effective treatment is surgery, known as medial patellar desmotomy, which consists of the removal of one of the ligaments which attach to the patella.
Q. In a recenf column, you stated that fescue pasture will not cause mares to abort. Sir, I beg to disagree. I find that a steady diet of fescue— fescue pasture in season, and fescue hay in winter— will produce poor results. I have experienced both abortions and weak foals at birth.( From Kentucky)
A. I’ m not surprised. No matter how good any one feed ingredient may be, if not balanced out poor results are inevitable. Q. What causes laminitis( founder)?( From New York)
A. It is caused by over-eating, over-drinking, inflammation of the uterus following parturition, or inflammation of the intestines. It is seen most often in over-fed and under-worked ponies which are confined and in mares after foaling.
Q. My pasture is short, so I want to self-feed a salt-protein block to my horses. My local feed dealer has such a product. But please tell me how to start my horses on this type of feeding program.( From Florida)
A. When starting horses on saltfeed blocks, limit intake and avoid too sudden feed change by( 1) giving, at first, a fill of hay or pasture, and or( 2) limiting the time of access to the blocks. After horses have become accustomed to such blocks, feed them free choice, along with all the hay and pasture they want, and provide access to plenty of water.
OCTOBER 3... Cairo, Georgia, Championship Horse Show. Contact O. R. Wall, Manager, Box 5431 or call AL 2-1085, Columbia, S. C.
OCTOBER 3... Sheffield, Alabama Lions Club Horse Show. Contact: A1 Holt, Manager, 994 Lanier Blvd., N. E., Atlanta, Georgia.
OCTOBER 5... Ellijay Horse Show, Ellijay, Ga. Contact: C. W. Bradley, Chatsworth, Ga.
OCTOBER 9-10... Natchez, Mississippi.
OCTOBER 9-13... State Fair of Texas Horse Show, Dallas, Texas. Contact: Ray W. Wilson, P. O. Box 26010, Dallas. Texas. 75226.
OCTOBER 10... Second Annual National Jamboree Horse Show, Chatsworth, Ga. Contact: C. W. Bradley, Chatsworth, Ga.
OCTOBER 11... Annual York Horse Show, York, Pa. Contact: Greg Woolridge Tally Ho Personnel, 40 N. Beaver Street, York, Pa., 17401.
OCTOBER 15-16-17... Greenwood, South Carolina. Contact W. J. Dillon, 2702 W. Market St., Greensboro, North Carolina.
OCTOBER 16-24... The American Royal, Kansas City, Missouri. Contact: Lon Cox, 402 Live Stock Exchange Building, Stock Yards Station, Kansas City, Missouri.
OCTOBER 15-17... Chattanooga, Tennessee. Contact: Col. James Seashole, Field House, Chattanooga, Tenn.
OCTOBER 17... McDonough, Ga. Contact Jimmy Seashole, or Mrs. Woodrow Garrett, Whitesburg, Ga.
OCTOBER 27-NOV. 1... Washington, D. C.
OCTOBER 28-30... Mississippi State Championship Horse Show, Jackson, Miss. Contact: F. B. Daniels, 614 Bankers Trust Plaza Building, Jackson, Miss.
OCTOBER 30... Decatur, Georgia Charity Horse Show. Contact: A1 Holt, 994 Lanier Blvd., N. E., Atlanta, Georgia.
OCTOBER 29-31... Jackson, Mississippi.
NOVEMBER 3-10... New York, N. Y.
NOVEMBER 5-8... Baton Rouge, La.( Jubilee).
NOVEMBER 11-14... Montgomery. Ala.
NOVEMBER 26-27-28-29... Charlotte, North Carolina. Contact W. J. Dillon, 2702 W. Market St., Greensboro, North Carolina.
NOVEMBER 27-DEC. 5... Chicago International Horse Show Chicago, 111. Contact; F. M. Flynn Room 120 Exchange Building, Union Stock Yards, Chicago, 111., 60609
44 VOICE of The Tennessee Walking Horse