Equine Stupidisms

Since moving up here to West Virginia, I’ve heard a plethora of incredibly ignorant horse-related “facts”.  I’ve mentioned a few of these tidbits of wisdom in posts before, but I thought I’d list them together to share in the humor.   Folks, some of these are so stupid you just have to laugh.  Crying and pulling out your hair over the idiocy coming from these self-proclaimed “horse experts” does no good.  Trust me, I’ve tried it.

 

Myth:  You only need to deworm your horse once a year in the summer.

Fact:  Doc and I disagree on this one slightly.  His thought is that if you only have a handful of horses that never go anywhere and you never bring in any new horses, then twice a year is plenty.  I feel that four times a year is the minimum, or else you’re just throwing away good money on feed.  Since I have so many horses, with horses coming and going constantly, I deworm at least six times a year.  Sometimes I’ll throw in an extra ivermectin wormer between rotations if I notice some of them aren’t looking their best.

 

Myth:  Horses don’t need water every day if they’re not being worked.

Fact:  In cool weather, horses will drink about 10-12 gallons per day. During hot weather they drink 20-25 gallons (or more) per day depending on the heat and humidity.

Myth:  A horses’ hooves stop growing after a certain age. (I actually heard this from someone calling himself a farrier!)

Fact:  Hooves and human fingernails are made of the same stuff.  Do your fingernails ever stop growing?

Myth:  Kerosene works great for killing lice.

Fact:  Um… maybe it does, but do you really want to douse your horse in something extremely flammable when you can just buy a bottle of lice powder from any feed store for around six bucks?

Myth:  Tennessee Walkers have to be broke to ride before they are two because if they get too old you’ll never be able to break them.

Fact:  Tennessee Walkers are just like any other horse.  With the right approach and common sense training you could successfully turn a wild, unbroke 20 yo TNW into a horse suitable for a beginner rider.

 

Myth:  If a mare or stud isn’t broke to ride when you breed them, you won’t be able to train any of their progeny.

Fact:  It is true that some personality traits can be passed on genetically.  However, not being broke is NOT a personality trait.  No matter how rank the sire or dam, if you treat the foal right from day one, you’ll have a happy, personable, well-behaved horse that’s relatively easy to train.  I’m sure someone out there is going to tell me about a bloodline or two that produces untrainable horses.  To that I simply say “then stop breeding them”!

Myth:  You should never castrate a cryptorchid stallion because they will surely die.  If they do survive the castration, they will be proud-cut and always act like a stallion.

Fact:  Yes, some cryptorchid colts do die from the surgery, but it’s very rare because it is typically an easy surgery for a veterinarian!  There are backyard “vets” around here who think that just because they own a knife they can castrate a colt without the use anesthesia or sterile instruments.  A proud-cut gelding is simply a gelding that still has the testosterone-producing glands that may have been missed during castration.  Some people request that the vet leave in the glands so their horse still acts like a stud.  Just because he is proud-cut does NOT mean he can still impregnate mares.  A good vet will remove the glands even on a cryptorchid stallion.

Myth:  You shouldn’t castrate a stallion over five years old or it will kill them.

Fact:  Timmy was 17 years old when he came here and was castrated.  His blood vessels were larger so he did bleed a little more and took more time to recuperate than the youngsters, but was otherwise fine.  There is no age limit on castration!

 

Myth:  Riding a horse one or twice a week for 4-6 hours is the way to get them into shape.

Fact:  That would be the same as telling me I had to run a marathon every weekend after sitting on the couch watching soaps and eating bonbons all week.  Fitness in a horse is a long-term goal, not something to be achieved over night.  Riding them hard only once or twice a week can cause severe damage to their legs and backs.

Myth:  All Thoroughbreds off the track are hard to handle, flighty, and dangerous.

Fact:  Tell that to Quest, Joma, Imperial, Eve, and Sketches.  In my experience, TBs off the track can be difficult to handle because they’ve been locked in stalls most their lives and because of the steroids and drugs that are pumped into them to keep them running, even when in pain.  This is nothing that a few months of down time and 24/7 turn out can’t cure!  The TBs I’ve dealt with have all been wonderful and affectionate horses, great for the vet and farrier, easy to ride, and they all loved being bathed. 

 

Myth:  You can tell how old a horse is by how many fingers you can get between their ribs.

Fact:  If you can get a couple of fingers between each rib FEED YOUR HORSE!  You tell a horse’s age by their teeth.

Myth:  You don’t need to have their feet trimmed if you’re not riding them. 

Fact:  Hooves grow constantly, but more so in the spring and summer than in the fall and winter.  Regardless of what time of year it is and whether or not you are riding them, they still need to be trimmed on a regular basis, preferably every six to eight weeks.

Myth:  A colt won’t breed it’s own mother.

Fact:  If it’s got a penis and testosterone, it will try to breed just about anything with a uterus.  Colts can impregnate mares as early as six months old.  Fillies can get pregnant as early as a year and a half of age.

Myth:  All horses under two years old are called “colts”. 

Fact:  A “colt” is a male horse between one and four years old.  A female horse between one and four years old is a “filly”.  The term “Foal” is used for both genders under one year old.

Myth: A horse isn’t skinny unless it’s “eye sockets” are sunken in. 

Fact:   I can only assume he meant the supraorbital fossa, which is that “dent” above the eye.  The supraorbital fossa contains fat tissue and horses in poor condition might have a deeper dent than a fat horse.  However, age also plays a part in how deep the dent is and older horses will typically have a deeper hole.  Horses with Cushings disease may not have a dent at all, or it may appear swollen.  So while the condition of the supraorbital fossa could lend itself to the overall condition of most horses, it should not be used as the only criteria.

Last, but not least, this is one I’ve heard for many years, not just since moving to WV.

Myth:  My mare has been irritable and cranky so I’m going to breed her to calm her down.

Fact:  I don’t even know where to begin on this one.  There are sooooo many reasons that a horse could become unhappy under saddle.  My guess is that someone, somewhere, had a mare that they were riding with ill-fitting tack and eventually she got so tired of her back hurting that she threw the human off her back.  Said human decided that the issue was her hormones and all she needed was to have a baby.  16 months later the foal was weaned and the mare is now happy and jolly again -- not because she had a foal, but because she got 16 months off to HEAL!  People, stop using this as a reason to breed your mare!  Just give her some time off from riding and have a vet examine her.  Paying for a vet exam is a whole hell of a lot cheaper than taking care of a foal!!

Besides, you really haven’t seen irritable or cranky until you’ve met Sassy.