HORSE MANAGEMENT NEWSLETTER AND MORE!!!
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Topics in this issue:
1) Feature: How much do you know about your horse's diet?
2) Notes on the mineral selenium
3) Recommended books, videos, and CD-ROMs: Beyond the Hay Days
4) Fun and educational websites: books online, nutrition articles, and art
5) Featured rule: Hay at rallies
6) Horsey Humor: You know you're a real horseperson when...
7) Free item exchange

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Feature: How much do you know about your horse's diet?
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by Stormy May

Most horse owners are mystified by trying to decide what their horse should
be eating. Besides the debate over what hays are best, there are enough
equine grains and other supplements on the market to feed a small (or medium
sized!) country. Analyzing your horse's ration scientifically might seem
like a smart choice but even then, it seems that the more you read about it
the less you know what to believe.

For those of you who have the USPC B/HA/A manual, there is a worksheet that
shows how to balance a ration. Unless you're a math whiz it might take you
quite a while to figure out. What is useful in the manual is the several
pages of nutritional value charts. If you don't have the manual, I'll guide
you to some places where you can find these values online.

The BEST online resource I've seen for figuring out equine rations is on the
Purdue University Cooperative Extension website at:

http://www.ces.purdue.edu/extmedia/AS/AS-429.html

I'm going to walk you through their method. Please make sure you visit the
webpage above either before you finish reading this article or before you
sit down to calculate your own horse's ration.

Let's start with figuring out what your horse needs. Please keep in mind
that for all these numbers to follow, they are averages. This isn't rocket
science, use the numbers as guidelines not absolutes. Even more important
than the numbers are the questions: is your horse currently a good weight?,
is s/he healthy?, is there at least a bit of shine to the coat?, does s/he
have enough energy to do the work asked?

So, on to our theoretical horse:

Salsa is a 12 year old, 1,000 lb TB/QH cross gelding in moderate work. He
is in good condition on his current diet of orchard grass and rye grass hays
and is a relatively easy keeper. He lives in a large corral with 4 other
horses (no grass growing) so the amounts he eats we'll calculate as one
fifth of what all 5 horses eat.

Right now, Salsa receives approximately 10 pounds of orchard grass hay in
the morning, 8 pounds of ryegrass hay for lunch, and 10 pounds of orchard
grass hay in the evening which totals out to:

20 lbs orchard grass hay per day
8 lbs ryegrass hay per day

A) Horse's daily requirements (from Tables 1 and 2 on the Purdue webpage)
(since they give amounts for 880lb and 1,100lb horses and Salsa is 1,000lbs,
I'm going to go back to what I learned in my junior high math class and use
ratios to figure out what the numbers should be for Salsa. If you were
never very good in math, it will get you close enough to just take an
average between the 880lb numbers and the 1,100lb numbers.)

Salsa needs
Digestible Energy: 22.4 Mcal per day
Crude Protein: 1.97 pounds per day
Calcium: 27 grams per day
Phosphorus: 19 grams per day
Vitamin A 1000: 20.0 IU's (International Units) per day

B) List ration ingredients and pounds of each in the appropriate columns.

You can start out by using the numbers in their charts but if you'd like to
get even more precise, you can send your own feed in to get analyzed.
Here's a website that contains a list of labs that will test feed:

http://66.102.7.104/search?q=cache:3QAsZ4Wf7dkJ:www.cahe.nmsu.edu/pubs/_a/A-
327.pdf+nirs+testing&hl=en&ie=UTF-8

From the Purdue webpage table 4: Late bloom orchard grass
Digestible Energy: .78 Mcal/lb
Crude Protein: .076 lb/lb
Calcium: 1.09 g/lb
Phosphorus: 1.22 g/lb
Vitamin A: 3.29 IU/lb

Since there isn't a listing for ryegrass hay I had to do a lot of digging
and finally found what I was looking for on page 62 of the "Nutritional
Requirements for Horses" book available to read for free online at
www.nap.edu (from their main page, do a search on "horses" and then under
the "Nutritional Requirements for Horses" heading click on "READ Free
Online."

Ryegrass hay

Digestible energy: .71 - .83 Mcal per pound
Crude protein: 8.8 - 10.3 percent
Calcium: .53-.62 percent
Phosphorus: .29-.34 percent
Since there's a range, I'll take a middle average for each value.
Unfortunately it didn't contain a listing for Vitamin A. Since I know that
Vitamin A is lost the longer the hay is stored, and Vitamin E values can
vary considerably I may consider adding a Vitamin A and E supplement to
Salsa's ration depending on what my totals end up being.

C) Make sure the weight of the ration ingredients do not exceed 2-2.5% of
body weight. Salsa receives approximately 28 lbs of hay for 1,000 lbs of
body weight so he gets 2.8% of his body weight. I'm not too concerned about
the number being high since right now Salsa doesn't get any additional
supplements, the number is an estimate between feeding 5 horses, and he's in
good condition and health.

D) To figure out the amount of nutrients Salsa is getting I do the
following:

Orchard Grass Hay
Digestible Energy: 20 lbs x (multiply by) .78 Mcal/lb = 15.6 Mcals
Crude Protein: 20 lbs x .076 lb/lb = 1.52 lbs
Calcium: 20 lbs x 1.09 g/lb = 21.8 grams
Phosphorus: 20 lbs x 1.22 g/lb = 24.4 grams
Vitamin A: 20 lbs x 3.29 IU/lb = 65.8 IU's

Ryegrass Hay
(since the many of the values for the ryegrass hay were in percentages
rather than grams or pounds, we'll have to take a couple of extra steps...)
Digestible Energy: 8 lbs x .77 Mcal/lb = 6.16 Mcals
Crude Protein: 8 lbs x 9.55% (remember 9.55% = .0955) = .764 lbs
Calcium: 8 lbs x .58% = .0464 lbs (if you remember that 16 oz = 1 pound and
1 oz = 28.35 grams then you can convert .0464 lbs to 21.0 grams)
Phosphorus: 8 lbs x .32% = .02 lbs (9.07 grams)

(If he were getting a grain ration, I would add it here after getting
information from the feed tag and calculate it out just like I am doing for
the hays.)

E) Total the amounts of nutrients for the two hays fed:

Digestible Energy: 15.6 Mcals + 6.16 Mcals = 21.76 Mcals
Crude Protein: 1.52 lbs + .764 lbs = 2.284 lbs
Calcium: 21.8 g + 21.0 g = 42.8 g
Phosphorus: 24.4 g + 9.07 g = 33.47 g
Vitamin A: 65.8 IU's + ?? = over 65.8 IU's

F) Compare what Salsa's getting (section E) with what his requirements are
(section A)

Digestible Energy: Salsa needs 22.4 Mcal per day, he's getting
approximately 21.76 Mcal per day (.64 Mcal deficiency)

Crude Protein: Salsa needs 1.97 pounds per day, he's getting approximately
2.284 lbs per day (.314 pounds excess)

Calcium: Salsa needs 27 grams per day, he's getting 42.8 grams per day (15.8
grams excess)

Phosphorus: Salsa needs 19 grams per day, he's getting 33.47 grams per day
(14.47 grams excess)

Vitamin A: Salsa needs 20.0 IU's per day, he's getting over 65.8 IU's per
day (45.8 IU's excess)

I'm going to take this one step further and calculate the Calcium to
Phosphorus ratio (Ca:P). Even though Salsa's Calcium and Phosphorus intake
is in excess of his requirements, I know that with these two specific
minerals the most important part is that they are in balance with each
other. The CA:P ratio should be from 1:1 to 3:1. If I were to feed it in a
ratio that had more phosphorus than calcium, or not meet the minimum
requirements of one or the other it could lead to diseases such as "big head
disease". If I divide 42.8 grams by 33.47 grams I find that Salsa is
getting a 1.27:1 ratio of calcium to phosphorus which is in an acceptable
range. If your horse gets a lot of wheat bran (high in phosphorus) be
especially careful of maintaining a good ratio.

G) What this whole analysis tells me is that with the exception of
Digestible Energy, Salsa is getting plenty of what he needs, in the right
proportions. If I feel like I need to add a little bit more Digestible
Energy (for example if he doesn't seem to have enough energy for the work he
does, if he's losing weight, or if I increase his work load) then I'm going
to look for a supplement that is high in Digestible Energy (Mcals) but
doesn't add much protein, calcium, phosphorus, or Vitamin A. Also, since
he's already getting more than 2.5% of his body weight in hay, I might look
to reduce his hay as I add this supplement. I'd have to do the whole feed
analysis over with the changes I'm thinking of making.

As an sample supplement, Purina's Equine Senior's nutrients are:

Digestible Energy: 1.225 Mcal/lb
Crude Protein: 14%
Calcium: .5 - .6%
Phosphorus: .4%
Vitamin A: 3,000 IU/lb

If I were to give Salsa just one pound of Equine Senior per day it would add
1.225 Mcals Digestible Energy (this would more than make up for his .64 Mcal
deficiency). However, it would also add to the excesses that he has in all
the other areas, especially protein and Vitamin A. There is probably
another, more cost effective supplement that can add Digestible Energy
without tipping the scales on protein, calcium, phosphorus, or other
vitamins and minerals.

This article is just meant to get you started on the path to balancing your
horse's ration. What you may be most surprised at is the amount of excess
nutrition your horse is getting in the form of expensive supplements. The
manufacturers are banking on the fact that most horse owners feed
supplements based on recommendations from friends or reading catalog
descriptions rather than sound nutritional analysis.

If you wish to go further, let the Internet be your playground. You can
start calculating the approximate amounts of vitamins and minerals your
horse gets (horses should have free access to a trace mineral salt block
which makes the minerals a bit difficult to calculate). Just remember, not
everything on the Internet should be taken as gospel, use your best
judgment. See the webpage recommendations below for more great
feeding-related articles.

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Notes on the mineral selenium
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Selenium is a mineral that all horse owners should be aware of. To
paraphrase some of the following excerpts, too little selenium (less than
.1ppm or .1 mg/kg) and a horse may exhibit signs of tying-up (azoturia) or
other symptoms such as anorexia, emaciation, generalized muscle weakness,
rapid heart rate, and diarrhea, all of which could ultimately lead to death.
Too much selenium (over 5ppm or 5 mg/kg) can lead to "blind staggers" or
"alkali disease" which also may result in death. Following, are several
excerpts that I found while researching selenium.

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From: http://horse.purinamills.com/bulletins/musthaveminerals.htm

How your horse uses it: The trace mineral selenium works in concert with
vitamin E to scavenge destructive free-radicals and aid in muscle
development.

Where it's found: Most forages contain selenium, but the amounts vary
greatly, depending on the area of the country where the forage was grown.
For example, the soils of Florida, northern California and western Oregon
are low in selenium and produce selenium-deficient crops. In contrast, the
soil in parts of Colorado, Montana, the Dakotas and Wyoming contain toxic
amounts of the mineral.

Dietary requirements: Horses require only about 0.1 parts per million (PPM)
of selenium in the diet. Since soil conditions affect selenium content, it's
wise to have your hay analyzed to see how much it supplies. Supplementation
in conjunction with vitamin E is useful in treating some cases of tying up.

If he doesn't get enough: A selenium-deficient diet results in reproductive
problems, immune deficiencies and, particularly in foals, white muscle
disease, where the muscles become weak and useless.

If he gets too much: Selenium poisoning usually occurs when horses graze on
plants that contain high levels of the mineral. Horses suffering from acute
selenium poisoning--with blood levels of more than 72 PPM--may exhibit
colic-like discomfort, increased heart and respiratory rates and
head-pressing or staggering behavior. Long-term grazing on plants that
contain between 5 and 50 PPM of selenium can lead to chronic toxicity and
associated anemia, lameness, a rough hair coat and brittle, malformed
hooves. Untreated chronic toxicity can be fatal.

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From: http://www.cvm.uiuc.edu/petcolumns/showarticle.cfm?id=181

Many different sources of selenium are available for supplementation, the
most important factor is selecting a source of the proper strength and
selenium content that is available for digestion. Only one consistent source
should be used. A free-choice salt/mineral mix containing selenium is the
safest form of supplementation.

The supplementation rate for selenium is generally 1 mg per horse per day.
Supplementation can go as high as 2 to 3 mg per day without any ill effects.
Doses of 5 mg per day can lead to problems with selenium toxicity.

Clinically, selenium deficient horses will often "tie-up," a degenerative
condition of the muscles also known as rhabdomyolysis. It can affect the
heart muscle, the muscles of respiration, as well as the large muscles of
the back and limbs. It can also cause a decrease in the efficiency of the
immune system, leading to opportunistic infections.

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From:
http://www.neosoft.com/~iaep/pages/nutrition/toxicosis/seleniumtox.html

The condition was called "alkali disease" which in its chronic form resulted
in loss of hair from the tail and mane, abnormal hoof growth, lameness,
anemia, salivation, grinding of the teeth, paralysis and eventual death. An
acute form which can follow consumption of plants with very high levels of
selenium results in a condition know as blind staggers which is
characterized by elevated temperature, labored respiration, a bloody froth
in the mouth and nose, respiratory failure and death.

Most of the early interest in selenium was focused on its role as a toxic
element. However, in 1957 Schwarz and Foltz discovered that it was required
in the diet of animals and it has since been included in a list of twelve
essential trace elements along with chromium, nickel, vanadium, tin, zinc,
iron, copper, iodine, managnese, cobalt, and molybdenum. It is now known
that the areas where it is deficient far exceed those where selenium
toxicity is a problem. Early nutritional studies revealed a relationship
between vitamin E and selenium and for a time it was believed that the
vitamin could replace selenium in the diet. It was later shown that this was
not the case and that some selenium was required irrespective of the level
of vitamin E. Further studies have revealed a complex relationship between
selenium, vitamin E., lipids, sulfur and sulfur containing amino acids.

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From: http://www.ruralheritage.com/vet_clinic/selenium.htm

"Alkali disease," is characterized by hair loss from the mane and tail,
sloughing of hooves, joint erosion, and lameness.

Excessive intake of selenium may result from consuming plant material raised
in areas where the soil contains a high level of selenium. The areas with
high selenium soils are west of the Mississippi River. Prior to the 1930s,
when alkali disease was first proven to be caused by selenium toxicity and
the high selenium areas were identified, many horses and cattle died of the
disease. Dr. Merl Raisbeck of the Department of Veterinary Science at the
University of Wyoming reported that each year before 1930 a vast number of
animal deaths in Wyoming were attributed to alkali disease.

Although the number of cases of selenium toxicosis has greatly decreased
since 1940, toxicity is still reported. During a recent three-year study in
Wyoming Dr. Raisbeck found four substantiated cases of selenium toxicity of
horses due to the ingestion of high selenium forage. A few recent cases have
also been reported in Colorado and Iowa.

Cases of toxicity due to selenium in the water, excessive use of
supplements, or environmental contamination are occasionally reported. The
dangers of excessive selenium cannot be ignored.

Requirement
Selenium was first shown to be a required nutrient for laboratory animals in
the 1950s. Shortly thereafter it was established as a help in preventing
muscular degeneration in farm animals. Prior to 1950 white muscle disease
was common in calves, lambs, and foals raised in areas where the soil is
lacking in selenium. Selenium supplementation and injections have saved the
lives of millions of animals.

Although severe selenium deficiency is usually much more common in young
animals, it may also occur in older animals. Selenium deficiency may impair
reproductive performance and decrease resistance to disease.

In the 1960s researchers discovered that selenium can help prevent tying-up
disease in horses, but does not prevent all cases. Since selenium has been
widely added to horse feeds, the number of tying-up cases that respond to
selenium has been greatly reduced, and tying-up continues to be a problem.

Identifying Deficiency
If you live in an area where the soil is known to be lacking in selenium and
you feed your horses only home grown feeds, you should use selenium
supplementation.

Select a supplement that provides 1 to 3 mg of selenium per day or use a
trace mineral salt that is fortified with selenium. Salt products designed
for horses contain 30 to 90 ppm selenium. You may add the salt to the feed
or offer it free choice.

Free choice feeding of selenized-salt has been widely used for sheep and
cattle because supplementing grazing animals is often difficult. Fewer
studies have been conducted with horses, but salt appears to be a reasonable
source of selenium, particularly for horses that graze. If you use a
commercial grain mixture fortified with selenium, you probably don't need a
supplement.

If you are not sure whether or not your horses are getting enough selenium,
and the horses have muscle problems, selenium may be involved. Your
veterinarian can take a blood sample and have it analyzed for selenium or
glutathione peroxidase, an enzyme that requires selenium.

Selenium is needed for a horse's normal muscle function and health. Three
adages apply: An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure‹selenium
supplementation need not be expensive, but if selenium is needed and not
provided, the cost can be great. Use moderation in all things, and good
things come in small packages. The horse needs 1 to 3 mg of selenium per
day, but 50 mg per day may cause toxicosis.

One mg is 0.0000022 lb. Thus you must exercise care when using selenium
supplements. The amount of supplement you add must of course be greater than
one mg, because the selenium in the supplement is diluted with carrier. Read
the label carefully and add adequate but not excessive amounts to keep your
horses healthy.

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From: http://www.ansci.cornell.edu/plants/toxicagents/selenium/selenium.html

Alkali disease is more chronic than blind staggers, often taking years to
manifest itself. It is caused by feeding on plants and grain that have
protein-bound, insoluble selenium. This disease can affect all livestock,
but it is detected mostly in cattle and horses. General symptoms include:
lack of vitality, anemia, emaciation, stiffness of joints, lameness, rough
coat, loss of long hair, and hoof sloughing and deformities. Hoof
deformities are a classic sign of selenium and can cause lameness and severe
pain for the animal; food and water must be provided to the animal, for it
may be hesitant to walk.

The most effective way of preventing selenosis is to remove the animals from
the seleniferous area. Treating the soil with sulfates, thus changing the
S:Se ratio, can sometimes depress Se uptake by accumulator plants. Results
from studies have shown that feeding a higher protein diet may reduce the
toxicity of Se; animals fed the same amount of toxic selenium but fed a
higher protein diet lived for a few more days than those animals fed a low
protein diet. Dilution of high Se feeds with low Se feeds in a mixed ration
will help to prevent toxicity. Recognition of seleniferous plants, proper
land management, and grazing control are all necessary to completely prevent
selenosis.

Deficiency of Se is much more common in the eastern United States where the
soil content of Se is low. There are many different diseases that affect the
different species, all of which will be addressed in the species sections.
There is one disease that is consistent in all livestock species, and that
is Nutritional Muscular Dystrophy, or White Muscle Disease (WMD).
Nutritional muscular dystrophy is caused by the deficiency of Se and/or
vitamin E and S-containing amino acids. The disease is characterized by
degeneration of the skeletal muscles, causing stiff gaits, and other
problems.

The nutrient requirement for horses is 0.10 mg/kg. Nutritional muscular
dystrophy is the known disease that affects horses with Se deficiency.
Similar to sheep, there are three different patterns of NMD that can occur.
The first is acute, with death occurring within 24 hours. The foal's tongue
may be paralyzed, making in unable to suckle. The second case is more common
and is induced by exercise. Older foals are more susceptible to this form;
they show an unsteady gait and general muscle weakness, rapid heart rate
with arrhythmia, and labored breathing. After a few days, it is difficult to
make them stand and they salivate excessively. Mortality from this condition
is only about 30-45%. The third condition affects mostly older animals, and
is the result of chronic Se deficiency. Affected animals show anorexia,
emaciation, generalized muscle weakness, rapid heart rate, and diarrhea.

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From: http://horse.purinamills.com/bulletins/poison/lamenessinducing.html

A number of detrimental effects occur if the diet contains less than 0.1 ppm
(or mg/kg) selenium. However, greater than 5 ppm in the total diet is
harmful and causes chronic selenium poisoning of livestock; greater than 25
to 50 ppm may cause acute selenium poisoning and sudden death due to
pulmonary congestion and edema.

Selenium-rich soils occur in areas of low rainfall, where minimal leaching
of selenium from the soil is likely to occur. In North America this occurs
primarily in the Rocky Mountain and Great Plains regions. In a recent
survey, selenium excess attributable to native plants was reported in only
eight states (California, Colorado, Idaho, Montana, Oregon, South Dakota,
Utah, and Wyoming). In contrast, in all 50 states except four (Delaware,
Rhode Island, West Virginia, and Wyoming), selenium deficiency, was reported
to be a problem.

Acute selenium poisoning most commonly occurs as a result of the inadvertent
addition of excess selenium to the diet.

More common than the acute is a chronic selenium excess. Traditionally,
chronic selenium excess has been divided into two syndromes referred to as
blind staggers and as alkali disease. Both syndromes are associated with the
chronic ingestion of forage and crop plants that have accumulated 5 to 50
ppm selenium in their dry matter.

Excess selenium consumption results in the substitution of sulfur in keratin
by selenium. This results in defective formation of keratin, the principal
protein present in the hoof and hair. Initially, affected horses lose the
long hair from the mane and tail; it breaks off at the site where excess
selenium is incorporated in the hair shaft. This gives the horse a roached
mane and bobtailed appearance, and is the reason the syndrome has been
referred to as "bob-tail disease." Lameness develops as a result of
inflammation of the coronary band and abnormal hoof wall formation affecting
all feet. Initially, affected horses walk stiff-legged, with tenderness
followed by pronounced lameness. Horizontal rings or ridges that may
progress to full-thickness cracks through the hoof wall causing severe
lameness are characteristic. Some horses may slough the hoof wall entirely.
Chronic selenium excess has also been associated with anemia, liver
cirrhosis, emaciation, and degeneration of heart, bones, and joints in
horses and cattle.

A diagnosis of selenium poisoning is best confirmed by submitting samples of
feeds ingested for analysis and then determining the selenium concentration
in the total diet as described in Chapter 6. A selenium concentration in the
total diet dry matter greater than 5 ppm (5 mg/kg) should be considered
potentially toxic. A serum selenium concentration above the normal of 0.09
to 0.3 ppm is suggestive of chronic selenium excess, although 1 to 4 ppm is
typically present, whereas serum levels up to 25 ppm have been reported in
acute poisoning. Excess selenium in liver or kidney is also indicative of
selenium excess.

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Recommended books, videos, and CD-ROMs!: Beyond the Hay Days by Rex A. Ewing
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Beyond the Hay Days: Refreshingly Simple Horse Nutrition, Second edition
by Rex A. Ewing

A reviewer from the Amazon.com website writes:
This is an excellent book on horse nutrition. It makes nutrition easy to
understand and information is presented in an easy to read format. Nutrition
concepts (such as protein, fat, carbohydrates, ATP, enzymes, minerals,
vitamins, etc.) and how they are metabolized by the horse are explained.
Also included is a chapter dedicated to MSM, DMG, Chondroitin Sulfates,
Glucosamine, and Bromelain. The book details how much protein, fat,
vitamins, minerals, etc. your type of horse needs (broken down into
maintenance horse, pregnancy, lactating, growing, performance, or stallion)
and how your horse's health, care and general condition contribute to his
ability to absorb these nutrients. Each chapter includes charts highlighting
the information presented. Additionally, at the end of the book are charts
and formulas to help you determine exactly how much your horse needs of each
nutrient and how much he is currently receiving in his diet. They were very
easy to use, and this will allow you to see where his diet is deficient.
This is a great book for the horse owner who is interested in horse
nutrition, wants to optimize what he is feeding his horse, and is curious as
to the benefits (or not) of all those supplements on the market.

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Fun and educational websites
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The National Academies Press, read more than 3,000 books online free
including the "Nutrient Requirements of Horses, Fifth Revised Edition"

http://www.nap.edu/ search from this page for "horses" and then when you
find the "Nutrient Requirements of Horses, Fifth Revised Edition" click on
"READ Free Online".

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http://horse.purinamills.com/bulletins/musthaveminerals.htm

A very simple, easy to understand article about the horse's "Must-Have"
minerals, reprinted from Equus magazine. Includes calcium, iron,
phosphorus, selenium, sodium chloride (table salt), cobalt, copper, iodine,
magnesium, manganese, potassium, sulfur, and zinc. This is HIGHLY
RECOMMENDED for anyone going for their C3, B, or HA ratings.

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http://ianrpubs.unl.edu/horse/g1403.htm

Great webpage about reading feed tags

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http://www.ext.vt.edu/pubs/horse/406-473/406-473.html

Another webpage about balancing rations, from the Virginia Cooperative
Extension

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http://www.galeriepleinaire.com/prints.html

Beautiful horse prints

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Featured rule: Hay rations at rallies
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2002 Horse Management Handbook page 30 section 13:D : Hay

Hay rations need to be formulated by weight. The feed chart must indicate
what amount, by weight, of hay is fed each morning and evening.
Prepackaging of hay is not encouraged or recommended but is allowed. The
feed chart must indicate the ration of hay and whether it is free choice or
not.

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Horsey humor: You Know Your A Real Horse Person When...
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you change lanes while driving and your "inside" leg moves to apply
pressure.    

you click to your dog.  

you click to your friends.    

your daughter's birth announcement reads: "it's a filly!"    

you've taught your dog to longe.    

there is at least one saddle in your living room.    

you wonder if Hoofmaker doubles as a moisturizer. 

while jogging, your "inside" leg extends farther to help you balance.    

you think the 5th fairway would make a great galloping lane. 

while walking your dog, you hold the leash like a rein.

you post over speed bumbs.      

you half-halt your dog while out walking.      

you explain to your child's pediatrician that you knew the child was sick
because he was off his feed.   

you show up in city clothes dressed for appointments and when you get there
people reach over the breakfast table to pick alfalfa out of your hair.

you're trying to get by a co-worker in a restricted space and instead of
saying "excuse me" to him/her, you cluck at them instead.

no one wants to ride in your car because they'll get sweet feed and hay in
their socks and purses...but that's ok because then you'd have to rearrange
all the tack to make room for them, anyway!

your spouse does something nice for you and you say "good boy" or "atta
girl" and pat him/her on the neck.

your boyfriend complains that you love your horse more then you love him and
you answer: "And your point is?"

you are totally grossed out by human hair in the sink or tub, but don't mind
horse hair in your washer, on your clothes, in your food.

you consider a pristine golf course as a waste of good pasture land.

you buy duct tape by the case, and carry rolls in your pocketbook, your
briefcase, and the console of your car.

you plan your pregnancy around the show season so you can send your horse to
your dressage instructor for training during the eighth and ninth months.

you dress like a lawyer on weekdays and someone who needs a lawyer on your
days off.

you pull a $17,000 horse trailer with a $1,700 pickup truck.

you seriously consider trading your 1996 Buick for a 1988 Diesel crewcab
dually pickup truck, even swap.

you realize that finding a horse shoe truly is lucky because you've saved
ten bucks.

your trying to get by a co-worker in a restricted space and instead of
saying "excuse me" to him/her, you cluck at them instead.

you say "whoa" to the dog.

you say "whoa" to your kids.

you say "whoa" to your truck.

your spouse brings the new saddle to bed so it can be worked on it while
watching TV.

you see the vet more than you see your child's pediatrician.

your horse gets new shoes more often than you.

you put a gun rack in your pickup truck to carry dressage whips and riding
crops.

for once you have extra money to buy yourself something, and you get the
check out counter and decide that you don't really need that shirt anyway.
That $25 could be an entry fee!

the real estate agent asks what kind of house you are looking for, and you
say, "More than six acres."

you are unreasonably pleased to get a horse item, ANY horse item, as a gift.
"They really cared!!!"

you actually like all horse items, any horse items, regardless of execution.

you stop channel surfing at Budweiser Clydesdale commercials.

you actually get to a point where flies don't bother you so much.

your horse gets more compliments for grooming than you do.

you've considered moving into the barn, since it is cleaner than the house.

your spouse hangs around the barn hoping to get a massage when you've
finished on your horse.

you go to the museum with a non-horsy friend and, whilst wandering through
the ancient bronzes, suddenly realize he is asking exasperatedly, 'Well?
What about the conformation on this one?"

you run your tongue over your back molars and idly wonder if they need to be
floated.

you can find your boots in the dark by the aroma.

you leave work feeling stiff, tense, with a stomach- or headache, and all
those feelings disappear the minute you go through the first gate to the
ranch.

you hate posing for pictures unless you're on your horse.

you spend a lot of $ on a trip to Europe and end up spending most of your
time watching horses.

you chirp to, cluck to or spur your truck/car.

the concept of sleeping in on the weekends has long since faded from your
memory.

you know you're a hunter/jumper/ct person when:

...you count how many steps (strides) you take in between the cracks in the
sidewalk, the shadows of trees, etc.

...you count strides to the beat of the music in your car and pretend that
the telephone poles are the jumps.

you don't have to be asked by your non-horsy family what you want for
Christmas anymore...they now get their own horse catalogs.

you keep a spare stud chain in your purse for emergencies.

the family photos are in the bedroom; the horse photos in the den.

the board check is paid before any other bill.

your instructor and vet are the only non-family on your speed-dial.

you always have new foal pictures in your wallet.

the photo Christmas cards feature the horses.

you have memorized the addresses of your breed association and AHSA.

you've spent so much time at the boarding stable that people think you're
the maintenance man.

you wear NASCAR baseball caps to horse shows so people won't ask you
questions that you can't answer.

you coax your horse into the trailer with a carrot, give him a bite, and
walk out finishing it yourself. (family germ theory apparently extends to
horses).

You know you're a hunter/jumper/etc. when... 

every log / yard fence / flower garden / etc. looks like a good fence.    

your dog jumps something and you sigh, "her knees were uneven!"  

From: http://www.equerry.com/html/fun/eq_humor-hp.htm  

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Free item exchange
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**FREE**FREE**FREE**

<><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><><>

Submit your free horse-related items or services here. If you or your club
has items they are willing to pass along to a new family, this is a great
place to list them. Listings can come from any part of the country, or even
overseas!

Free items may include but are not limited to:

riding clothes
rally equipment
horse-related games and toys
tack and training equipment
blankets, wraps, halters
books or magazines
horse-related artwork
and of course...horses and ponies!

The recipient may be expected to handle any shipping costs.

Please provide a phone and/or email contact with each listing. Items will
be listed in the next HM Newsletter and will not be renewed unless an
additional email is sent asking for the listing to be continued.

So...clean out your tackroom and make room for more stuff!

To submit your items, simply reply to this email or write to:
stormy@... .

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Call for submissions
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Help make this newsletter the best it can be. Do you have any issues you'd
like to see addressed here? How about ideas for recommended products, books,
or videos? Want to submit your own article, or a question for the questions
and answers section? Send them to: stormy@... and I'll keep a log
of topics and articles for upcoming issues.