Beth's Wildlife Journal

Take Care of Your Horse

2006-02-16T10:38:00.000-08:00

If you have a horse, or work with them, or just like them, it is a good thing to know how to take care of your horse before you get started. Horses are just like people. They want food, water, a place to live, and a place to romp around and play. If they are tired, let them rest, if they are in high spirits, don't yell at them to calm down, but calm them down yourself with a gentle hand and a soothing voice. Love them, take care of them, and get to be friends with your horse.

The first thing I do when I meet a horse is let it get to know me. I don't make any quick movements that might scare the horse. Horses seem to like gentle, quiet people who never act rough or unfairly towards their horses. Some horses are very sensitive to how they are treated. If someone acts rough with them, they get very nervous. In that state, if something startles them, they could be hard to handle.

But, if you are lazy and let the horse do all the work, he may not do what you want. Once, when I was learning how to ride, Bear kept on walking towards my teacher because I was not telling him to do anything, so he did what he wanted to. If you are firm, but not cruel, the horse will respect you and not behave as badly as often.
After riding your horse a lot, the tack (saddle, bridle, etc.) gets very dirty with sweat and dust. When the tack rubs up against the horse, it can be very uncomfortable. So clean it with a sponge every once in awhile. It is a lot of fun to do on a hot day.

Some people give their horses a lot of oats in their feed mix. This is not always such a good idea. They can get colic or founder, two rather dangerous symptoms. Colic is when food or some other foreign object block the intestines. It is sometimes very deadly, but sometimes it passes through without surgery. Founder is a dangerous inflammation in the hoof caused by overfeeding. You can give your horses oats, just not too many.

Just like people, horses like clean, tasty water. If you don't refill and empty it often enough, it will get a nasty smell and a bad taste. When your horse comes in from a hard workout, or a hot day in the sun, they deserve good, clean water with no pieces of straw, food, and dirt in it.

If you did not brush your hair or take a shower, you would get very dirty after a while. During the warm seasons, horses like to roll in the mud and when they come in, they are caked with it. You can brush them with a curry comb, a hard rubber brush, to get out most of the dirt, or a soft body brush for light grooming. If they are covered in dirt you can give them a bath if it is not to cold. It is nice to groom your horse often because if the dirt rubs up against the saddle blanket or other pieces of tack, it can get very uncomfortable for the horse. Its like walking around with your shoe full of sand.

How would you feel if you had to stay in the house all your life, and never took a step outdoors? You might get very bored after a while. Horses don't even have all the toys you have and it can get boring in the stall. Also they could begin to feel cramped. The stalls are usually rather large, but to a horse its not very big. They can't even take seven steps forward. Also they could get fat and lazy from getting no exercise. Furthermore, the barns aren't always lighted very well, so it can get very dark. Staying in the dark a lot, and then being suddenly thrust into a blistering summer afternoon, or a sparkly bright snow-covered day, can give the horse very bad eye problems.

Imagine you are a cat and you have to stand in you litter box all day and your owner never cleaned it. For one thing, it would get stinky, for another you would not want to walk around in all that you-know-what. A horse produces several pounds of manure a day, and the stall can get stinky really fast. Also the horse can get thrush from standing in wet saw dust all the time. Thrush is a fungus which develops in the hoof and makes it soft and hard for the horse to walk. It may be a nasty job, but clean the stall often, your horse will thank you.

This may seem like a lot of work, but let me tell you, the days I spent at the barn were some of my happiest. "Is it worth it?", you ask. For me, it dosen't pay half the amount I am willing to do if I can just be with the creatures. It is really special to be able to just muck out stalls, fill feed buckets, and ride the horses. By the way, give all your horse friends a pat and a carrot for me.

Flower Culture #6 and 7

2005-05-04T10:35:00.000-07:00

My plants are SOOO BIG!

We worked on the grass by the curb and William and I dug out some huge rocks.

Flower Culture #6: Weekly Flower Post

2005-04-26T16:36:00.000-07:00

My plants are growing so big! I can't wait until they are big enough to attract butterflys.

Flower Culture #7: Care for outdoor Perennials

2005-04-26T16:34:00.000-07:00

I pull a lot of weeds. There are these strange, fuzzy ones that have strange looking leaves, but sometimes has sunflower leaves.

This is my back yard shot for the week.

The clementis closest to us has grown a whole lot, and usually it has a hard time keeping up with the other. It must be backward year!

Flower Culture #10

2005-04-22T11:58:00.000-07:00

The purpose of a siol test is to find out how much acid is in the siol. That way, you can plant plants that like that kind of siol.

Flower Culture #9

2005-04-22T10:12:00.000-07:00

I should write three plants which are used to the following,
Shade
Full sun
Dry soil
Moist soil

Shade:
Columbine
Purple Cone Flower
Tall Bearded Iris

Full Sun
Hollyhock
Shasta Daisy
Ground Morning Glory

Dry Soil
Butterfly Weed
Aster
Hardy Crysanthemum

Moist Soil
Fringed Bleeding Heart
Christmas Rose
Pansy

Flower Culture #6: Weekly Flower Post

2005-04-21T12:18:00.000-07:00

My poor plants were bone dry yesterday, so we watered them, but I think they could of lasted a few more hours.

Flower Culture #7: Care for Outdoor Perennials

2005-04-21T12:14:00.000-07:00

Yesterday I planted Sea Thrift, Bleeding Heart, and Trailing Verbena. I also got a few more rocks for the tree. I also weeded the deck. I got handfuls of seedlings.

These are pictures of the whole back yard.

This is a picture of the whole front yard.

I will be having a picture from the same angle every week to see the prgress.

Flower Culture #8

2005-04-13T06:08:00.000-07:00

I have to state "which three plant nutrients are most important to flowering plants."
Nitrogen stimulates lush, green growth. It is very important for lawn fertelizer. Don't put very much on perrenials, which take their time in growing; in fact, if you do give them too much, they will give out weak, thick, water holding stems and large floppy leaves instead of flowers.
Give Perranials phosphorus. It will help build strong roots and stems, and it is important to the production of flowers and gives both blossoms and leaves with a rich, healthy color.
Potassium helps plants fight against disease and cold, so it is very good to give in the fall before the heavy frost.

(By the way, the weeds I pulled yesterday are smaller. The seedling on the left is one I just pulled, and the one on the right is one I pulled yesterday.)

Flower Culture #7: Weekly Perennial Post

2005-04-12T09:48:00.000-07:00

I weeded all these sunflower seeds!

I picked them out, then lay them out to dry.

I also watered the plants.

Flower Culture #6: Weekly Flower Post

2005-04-12T09:36:00.000-07:00

Look! They have gotten so big!

Flower Culture #7: Care for Outdoor Perennials

2005-04-08T07:39:00.000-07:00

For this, we have to care for two or more perennial Flowers growing outside for one growing season by watering, weeding, and controlling pests. I need to maintain a record with weekly entries, listing work done. Yesterday I fluffed the soil around the hostas and azaleas. I also made a rock ring around the tree to keep the mulch from sliding down. It was rather hard to find big enough rocks, so I had to dig most of them out.

Flower Culture #5: Window Boxes

2005-04-07T14:28:00.000-07:00

To make a window box, you should first pick where to put it. Then, use screws to make a rectangular box the length of your window. The best woods to use are redwood, cypress, or cedar, which are highly resistant to decay. Drill numerous holes in the bottom for drainage. Put some small runners along the bottom to prevent the drainage holes from blocking. Make sure you use outside paint and flowers that contrast your house.

Flower Culture #6

2005-04-06T11:11:00.000-07:00

Look at my little seedlings!

They are so cute! I can't wait until they are blooming and attracting butterflies!

Flower Culture #4: Controlling Pests

2005-04-06T07:05:00.000-07:00

I need to name three kinds of pests and how to control them.

Aphids: Knock them off the plant with a hose, or spray the plant with soapy water, witch kills the aphids, but is harmless to the plant and environment.

Beetles: Hand pick them off, or leave a bowl of water with a little oil or kerosene on top.

Lilac borers: Kill the parents before they lay eggs, or break the eggs by spraying them with water.

Flower Culture #3: Drainage

2005-04-05T09:36:00.000-07:00

If You have a plant in an area with lots of clay, it could drown in the water. You need to make sure that it has good drainage before you put in a sensitive plant, like a rose. Not only could it drown in the water, but if it is really warm, you could have a whole bunch of mildew on your hands. Warm, muggy air with a lot of water could also create fungi growing there too.

Flower Culture #2: Hot Beds and Cold Frames

2005-04-04T06:39:00.000-07:00

Let's say that you have some seedlings that you want to get out side. If it is in late spring, you can make a cold frame. a cold crame is basically a box with a glass lid. You can put plantlings in there to protect them until they are larger. You should open it on warmer days, because you don't want them to get mildewy. You are planting plants, not fungi. If it is still rather cold, you could make a hot bed. It is like a cold frame, but there is an electric cable on the bottom, covered with layers of dirt. You can put your plants in there to protect them from the cold.

Flower Culture #6

2005-03-30T09:29:00.000-08:00

My little plants are coming up!

I wonder what that one little thing is, in the corner.

Flower Culture #6

2005-03-23T07:37:00.000-08:00

I'm so happy! My plants are popping up!

Flower Culture #6

2005-03-16T06:40:00.000-08:00

For this one we have to prepare the soil, fertilize, plant, and grow to maturity three different kinds of annuals. Last year I helped Mother with some cantaloupe, impations, and sunflowers in her garden, but this time William and I have our own hanging pots. Mine is a butterfly attractor. It has Annual Ludine, Bachelor Buttons,annual Baby's Breath, Cosmos, Dames pocket, sweet William, Candytuft, Marigold Larkspur, Sweet alyssum, Purple coneflower, Plains Coreopsis.

2005-03-14T07:38:00.000-08:00

I have to write a story about a mammal that I have seen. I have a few.

Squirrels

Well, first of all, a squirrel came to our back yard and began hacking away at the cord that held the nut-bell on to the shed. a few hours later, he had a big chunk of half-gone nut and molasses in his mouth, it was almost bigger then he was! Then he tried to get over the wall. He managed to get half way over it, then it fell. He tried over and over again with the same results. He tried again, and he finally got it over. Months later, a squirrel was on the shed trying to get the nut block that was on the bungee connected to the shed. Then, he got on it, upside-down! He was twirled and bounced. He actually fell off!

Mammal Honor: Item #7

2005-03-11T08:02:00.000-08:00

I have to state what the largest mammal is, where it lives, how it feeds, and what it eats.

The blue whale live in all but the polar seas, and is rarely seen at the coast. They live on the surface. They eat tiny organisms called krill. They sift it through their baleen to get out the water. Not only are they the largest animal that ever lived on this planet, but they are also the loudest. Their noise can reach up to 188 decibels! That is louder then a jet plane!

2005-03-10T09:15:00.000-08:00

I have to list four aquatic mammals and where they live.

Manatee:Found primarily in shallow costal rivers and estuaries in florida and along the Caribbean
Dolphins:Virtually all seas and oceans
Porpise:Siberia and Alaska to California
Gray Whale:Along the Pasific coasts of Asia and North America

(I don't really like looking up stuff, but I have to.)

Mammal Honor: Item #5

2005-03-09T06:38:00.000-08:00

I have to write four things that mammals do that are harmful.

1.)Mice can eat horse feed
2.)Rats can spread diseases
3.)If you are a sheep farmer, you need to look out for wolves, they eat the flock
4.)Ground hogs tunnels can cause harm to horses, because if they step on it, their foot goes down and they can hurt themselves.

Mammal Honor: Item #4

2005-03-08T07:40:00.000-08:00

For item #4, I need to list four beneficial mammals and tell why they are benefical.

Cow: It gives milk
Horse: They can carry us on their back
Ox: they can pull heavy loads
Dog:Guide dogs: thy lead people who are blind, Search dogs: they can sniff out people who are lost, Sheep Dogs: they can help herd horses, cattle, and sheep