Busy busy busy - and bugs

Many apologies for the lack of blogging - both reading other blogs and posting to my own. The last five or six weeks have been one thing right after another. I've been working a lot of extra hours and have also been doing a lot of extra horse chores. Spring is finally here and we're already on the cusp of summer, so that means a lot of maintenance around the farm.

I'm happy to report that P and AP are doing well. We do ride occasionally, mostly just a short hack. P is definitely not getting any younger, but it's good for us to get out and enjoy the weather.

What we don't enjoy is bugs! The bugs have come out in force this spring, and we do try to be careful about bug control on the farm. We keep manure picked up and put it in a pile to compost. Has anyone used fly predators? We've used them for several years and find that they do help a lot. We also use sticky traps for the adult flies and other kinds of flies. And of course P and AP wear fly masks and are sprayed with fly spray. If anyone has any more bug control tips, please share!

I also wanted to mention that Show Sheen has done a pretty good job on P's tail. I've used up almost all that was left in our bottle and I've decided to try Cowboy Magic detangler next. I think I tried it in the past and wasn't impressed - but I'm thinking that I just didn't use enough and P's tail required a lot of help! Cowboy Magic is a lot more expensive, but maybe I can use it more sparingly after the Show Sheen.

Hope everyone in blog world is doing well and having fun with their horses!

Spring and Show Sheen

Sorry I've been missing from the Blogger world for quite a while now. Life has gotten extra busy as spring has arrived, and I really don't have enough hours in the day. What time of day do you usually blog? I've been trying to be extra careful with managing my time, but I still feel very crunched!

After snow season is done, we immediately enter mud season, so we're still waiting for things to dry out a bit before riding here. I checked the ground today, and it's a little squishy but improving quickly. P and AP are enjoying moving around without dodging the snow banks, and I'm sure they're perfectly happy to delay riding for a while.

And they've been shedding a lot, so we've been grooming a lot. It's that time of year when all hair coming off the horse somehow ends up on the human!

In an effort to make both of their tails more manageable this year, I've been spraying some Show Sheen every week or so. They really need a couple of thorough washings, but I thought the Show Sheen might at least start the detangling process. I've heard both good and bad reviews about Show Sheen and we just happened to have a bottle in the barn, so that's what I'm using for now.

I may eventually try a different detangling product with P. The Show Sheen seems to be working on AP's tail but P has a really thick tail and it's pretty tangled. Any recommendations?

I hope everyone is doing well and having fun with their horses!

Doing some horsey reading

Since the weather has been very uncooperative lately, I've been spending some time reading about various horse topics and products. Not only am I finally catching up on reading other blogs, but I've been reading some of the online horse forums. Both are really good sources of information from real owners and real horses.

Blankets

I think that P may need a new blanket next year, so as this year's winter comes to an end, I've been reading about people's experiences with different blankets. There are so many brands and styles of blankets now - it's overwhelming! And they all seem to fit a little differently depending on your horse's size and shape. I don't even know what to try first! I may borrow an older Weatherbeeta just to see how that fits P. Luckily she is fairly easy on her blankets, but I do want to purchase one that will last for a while.

Allergies

With winter ending and spring on the horizon, that means it's almost allergy season. I have trouble with allergies myself and I've been reading about different supplements that are supposed to help horses with allergies without resorting to steroids or other prescription medicines. There's quite a range of supplements out there - from spirulina to MSM to various herbs. I just read recently that antioxidants like vitamin C and vitamin E also help. Again, it's hard to know what to try first!

I guess the end result from all my reading is that the old saying is true - ask two horse people their opinions, and you will get three different answers!

Failing miserably at blogging

I'm sad to say that so far I've failed pretty miserably at my goal to blog more this year. I've been really busy over the past few weeks. I feel like I just haven't been able to get out of the routine of horse care/work/eat/sleep - there isn't time for anything else!

Winter weather also makes things more difficult with the snow and ice. P and AP get a very extended vacation during the winter and have been spending their days munching lots of hay. I think they're actually a bit bored and I wish I could do more with them.

I hope all bloggers are doing well and having more horsey time than I am!

Grooming

Since riding is completely out of the question right now due to weather, I decided to work on one of my other goals for 2015 - grooming!

P actually got a pretty thorough grooming this weekend. I usually just use a curry comb and soft brush, although I also have a softer curry for the legs. I don't know how P manages to get her legs so dirty! It's hard to get all the mud and manure off the legs at this time of year.

It's also hard to do anything with the mane and tail right now. P's mane and tail could really use some detangler, but first I think they need to be washed. Unfortunately, horse baths are also out of the question due to weather.

So I ask fellow horse bloggers - are there any products out there that can be used to clean and detangle dry hair? I wouldn't want to get the hair really wet in the cold weather, but if I could use it on a few spots on a warmer day, that would be nice.

2015 goals

I've had a lot of fun reading everybody's 2014 reviews and 2015 goals, so I decided to write down a few goals for the coming year:

1. Ride more and have fun

Sometimes life gets so busy, or I get so caught up in just getting everything done to take care of P - and we run out of time to ride! We do have a lot of weather-related issues (bad weather, bad footing), but we definitely need to make more time to ride and have fun in 2015.

2. Blog more

I'm a terrible blogger, and I'll try to be better!

3. Pamper P a little bit, especially as she gets older

This goal actually includes a few things:

- Start P on a joint supplement. I'd like to see if a combination of glucosamine, chondroitin, MSM, and hyaluronic acid help her at all.

- Be more diligent about grooming, especially mane and tail care. When I get busy, I tend to slack off on grooming. I would like P's mane and tail to be a little less tangled.

- Possibly schedule some massage sessions for P - if I can afford it. I've seen bodywork do a lot of good for horses, and I think P would really like a massage!

4. Try to eat healthier and lose a little weight

This goal could actually be for both P and me - but it's mostly for me! Because I'm so busy, sometimes I don't eat healthy foods, and I always eat on the run. If I eat a little better and lose a little weight, I think it would help my riding.

I think that's it for now. Thanks, bloggers, for inspiring me to write down some goals. Happy New Year!

The holiday season, hay, and joint supplements

Hello, bloggers! Apologies for the lack of blogging - I have to say that I am a pretty bad blogger. The holiday season has been busy, and it feels like the month of December has just flown by.

P and AP are doing well, although the weather has not been particularly nice lately, so I think they're a bit bored.

They're standing around and picking at their hay more. We currently have a decent batch of hay, not overly sweet and green but also not stalky and yellow. I'm pretty picky about purchasing hay because it's so important to find hay that P is able to eat. But we've had some tough hay seasons recently with a lot of rain, so it's not an easy task!

I'm also considering starting P on an oral joint supplement for the winter. I know there's a lot of controversy over whether or not oral joint supplements actually work. There are many people who believe that they don't, and there are quite a few anecdotes from people who think they do. I feel like such a supplement junkie between considering ulcer supplements for the ulcery horse and now a joint supplement for P!

I've been comparing different supplements and ingredients but haven't made a decision yet. SmartPak has a lot of different supplements with a lot of positive reviews. I think it's a matter of finding a high quality supplement with different ingredients and giving it a try with the individual horse.

P does not have bad arthritis, but she's getting older and occasionally shows some stiffness which may actually be from some sort of past unknown injury. She's not a high-level athlete by any means but I figure it can't hurt anything but the pocketbook.

I hope everyone and their horses had a happy holiday season!