# You learn something new every day!



## Common Tator (Feb 19, 2008)

We are looking for a companion horse for our girl. I did some barrel racing as a kid, and have had horses again for about the last three years, but don't attend horse events or hang out with horse people much, so there are terms that are foreign to me.

By the way, I won't be getting him, the horse with the calcium deposit that I mentioned on that other thread. The lady who has him remembered that the vet said he shouldn't have riders who weigh more than about 110 lbs, and lets just say that hubby and I aren't finger tators. We are more like big old russets!

Anyway, Last night I saw an ad for a "medicine hat" paint gelding. I looked up what that meant, since I hadn't heard that term before. Surprise! My mare is a medicine hat paint! 











When I bought her I was told she was probably a quarter horse. When the farrier first saw her he yelled, Wow! What a beauty! She has some draft in her, doesn't she?" Well, I think he is right. She is stockier than other quarter horses, and has a graceful, muscular arch on the top of her neck, like other draft horses I have seen. She is just the sweetest, gentlest horse I have ever seen!


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## SilverFlame819 (Aug 24, 2010)

I agree, what a beauty! I love the blue eyes on dark fur. It's so much more striking than blue eyes on white!

Got any body shots of her?


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## beccachow (Nov 8, 2008)

Agreed. Sunny has one blue and one brown eye, quite kooky, but they are backed by his palomino coloring so he doesn't have that washed out look to him.

Up until Sunny, those blue eyes gave me the willies...now I just LOVE them, especially as SilverFlame said, against a darker face.

She is a looker! Doesn't she need a medicine hat friend?? HUH? HUH? Yup, she definitely needs a friend.

Sorry the other horse didn't work out, but sounds like he'll be some little girl's dream come true.


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## 6e (Sep 10, 2005)

She could be quarter. My husband bought a mare that is Doc Bar bred on top and bottom that is bigger than any QH I've seen and she has the arch on the top of her neck. HUGE mare.


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## Common Tator (Feb 19, 2008)

Here is the rest of my girl, complete with a Raggedy Anne heart on her chest!










edited to add: The folks who advertised the Medicine Hat gelding don't return calls, or emails or text messages, so she won't be getting him as a companion.


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## jill.costello (Aug 18, 2004)

Oh my goodness! Darlin, she's a Medicine Hat, AND a Medicine Shield! The shield on her chest!

The native americans would have worshipped her and chosen her for a war-mare!


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## Common Tator (Feb 19, 2008)

Here is another angle. Do you think she has some draft in her?


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## beccachow (Nov 8, 2008)

She is drool worthy indeed. What a looker! That neck DOES look a bit thick.


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## bluebird2o2 (Feb 14, 2007)

What a beauty!


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## wr (Aug 10, 2003)

I don't see any draft influence. To me, she looks like the old style QH's and her and I could both stand to drop a few pounds.


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## beccachow (Nov 8, 2008)

wr, you don't think the neck in particular is thick, even for a QH? I know the chunky stocky build of her butt, legs and back can be QH, but perhaps it's the white color giving the illusion that her neck is big! 

She just looks solid and dependable. I love her!


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## wr (Aug 10, 2003)

Her neck is a bit thick but she looks a bit cresty to me.


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## Common Tator (Feb 19, 2008)

It doesn't matter if she has draft blood in her. If someone came on here and had convincing proof that she wasn't a horse at all, but was really a giant rabbit, I would still love her just as much! However I would have to find a different forum to talk about her.


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## wr (Aug 10, 2003)

Common Tator said:


> It doesn't matter if she has draft blood in her. If someone came on here and had convincing proof that she wasn't a horse at all, but was really a giant rabbit, I would still love her just as much! However I would have to find a different forum to talk about her.


And that's all that really matters.


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## jill.costello (Aug 18, 2004)

wr said:


> Her neck is a bit thick but she looks a bit cresty to me.


Awwwww, c'mon, commit! That is the crestiest neck I've seen since my neighbor decide to feed her pony "like a big horse" back in 1984!


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## wr (Aug 10, 2003)

Jill, I have to be careful how I word myself because I think I'm getting a bit cresty too. I'd love to say I wintered well but the last one is gone and the next one isn't quite here yet.


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## jill.costello (Aug 18, 2004)

:hysterical:.....


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## Common Tator (Feb 19, 2008)

Guess I "wintered well" to, and have been doing so for many years! So I have a special understanding with my horse, er giant rabbit. Us big girls have to stick together!


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## SilverFlame819 (Aug 24, 2010)

I've just gotta stand up for the horse here now! I've wintered well since I was about 10, but I think your horse wintered JUST RIGHT. You can see the slight definition of her ribs, which tells me she's not "a BBM"  She's gonna need a horseychologist if you keep talking about her like that! 

I always tell people I'm like a bear... I'm saving up for winter.


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## wr (Aug 10, 2003)

SilverFlame819, I actually don't think that's an indentation at the rib, I think that's the equine version of muffin top.


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## Common Tator (Feb 19, 2008)

Making fun of my poor baby! We're not fat! We're fluffy!


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## harvestgirl (Apr 29, 2005)

she's gorgeous!


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## SilverFlame819 (Aug 24, 2010)

wr said:


> SilverFlame819, I actually don't think that's an indentation at the rib, I think that's the equine version of muffin top.


*rofl* So she's got... barley top? 

I meant along each rib, you can see the lines. 

I think she's just poy-fect.


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## Tiempo (May 22, 2008)

She's a beauty! I love that heart on her chest!

I'm not seeing any draft either, I work with a couple of registered paints that are as big as her, one just this morning in fact that makes your girl look slender


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## beccachow (Nov 8, 2008)

Ok, the biggest question is...how big is the rain gutter on her back? My boys have flies on rafts floating down their spines.


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## Common Tator (Feb 19, 2008)

You can see some of her rain gutter in her head shot. She doesn't need one though. At the first hint of rain she runs into her shed.


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## wr (Aug 10, 2003)

SilverFlame819, call them lines if you will but if that's the case, I don't have to discuss my rolls cause I know for a fact that with a little pressure, I can still find my ribs :rotfl: 

Common Tator, we're not picking on your mare, I got one at the ranch that's fairly rubenesque. I'm gonna guess that 'equine babysitter' isn't exactly a good cardio workout and I have a sneaky feeling that cookies, muffins, goldfish crackers, peanut butter wraps, apples, carrots and bagels and cream cheese aren't exactly helping her maintain her girlish figure.


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## southerngurl (May 11, 2003)

So beautiful! I bet she looooves the mud . Yep, I do believe those are ripples, not ribs. She does look a lot like the draft crosses across the road. They are paints too- well there is only one over there now but that's beside the point. 

I'm a foot freak- looks like her quarters are jammed and she needs some flare addressed!


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## Common Tator (Feb 19, 2008)

Can you imagine the tears welling up in those big blue eyes if she knew what we were saying about her? She would have to eat to console herself! But she doesn't get cookies or candy. She does get carrots, and she lives in an apple orchard, but no crop this year. we had a late frost. There is only an occasional apple falling to the ground. 

The hooves are being addressed by the farrier. He will be doing another trim soon. Sotherngurl, I don't know what you mean when you say her quarters are jammed?


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## jill.costello (Aug 18, 2004)

I *think* what she is saying is that if you look at her hooves, you see that the line of her coronet band flares UPWARDS at the back on either side of the hoof, meaning her rear quarters are pressing up/jammed up. The picture in post number 5 of her chest-forward is the one with the best example of this on her front hoof that she's pointing: see how the hair seems to be swooping down in the front, but up in the back?

on a balanced foot, the coronet band (the hair liine) is very straight and even all the way around.

farriers, check-in....


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## DamnearaFarm (Sep 27, 2007)

HOLY cow (not the mare, lol) that's one heckuva crest. Just looks like a fluffy paint to me. 
Beautiful girl (and I don't usually like MH horses)- love the fact that her blue eyes are 'lined'. 
My gypsy keeps rain gutters, it's part of his breeding, lol.


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## southerngurl (May 11, 2003)

jill.costello said:


> I *think* what she is saying is that if you look at her hooves, you see that the line of her coronet band flares UPWARDS at the back on either side of the hoof, meaning her rear quarters are pressing up/jammed up. The picture in post number 5 of her chest-forward is the one with the best example of this on her front hoof that she's pointing: see how the hair seems to be swooping down in the front, but up in the back?
> 
> on a balanced foot, the coronet band (the hair liine) is very straight and even all the way around.
> 
> farriers, check-in....


Yes, the quarters are the sides of the hoof. They will naturally have a bit of an arch to them at ground level. This arch is part of what allows the hoof to bottom out as it expands on impact. If the hoof doesn't have this arch, they will jam up into the coronet to try and get that arch. This can eventually contribute to underrun heels and quarter cracks. The coronet can get this jammed up look from overgrown bars as well. But I would ask the farrier about it, because it's not something that happens overnight. 

When they get jammed up like that, you can actually trim them down, walk the horse around a few minutes and see the quarters "grow" as they unjam some and trim it again!


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## Common Tator (Feb 19, 2008)

Well NOW you've gone and done it! I'm going to have to stand there and pick the farrier's brain when he comes back!


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## Jay27 (Jan 11, 2010)

Pretty mare! I love the heart on her chest. I'm not seeing any draft... even horses with only a slight amount of draft usually have a little more feathering on the leg... even if the draft used in the cross doesn't have much for feathering. One thing is for sure, that mare never missed a meal... oh well, rather see them a little heavy than thin. The 'equine muffin top' comment made me crack up!


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## Common Tator (Feb 19, 2008)

southerngurl said:


> The coronet can get this jammed up look from overgrown bars as well. But I would ask the farrier about it, because it's not something that happens overnight.


Ah. Our ranch is at an elevation of about 5700 feet, in the mountains. We had an incredibly hard winter last year. We had three feet of snow with our first big storm, and whenever a little bit would melt, we would get another hard snow to replace what had melted.

Our place is two and a half miles from the highway. Hubby was having to snowshoe out to feed the horses. The effect on their hooves is that they didn't get to touch solid ground, except in their shed, for months! No natural wear and tear like the rest of the year. No access to a farrier. Their hooves grew long and started to swoop. So when the snow melted we were able to get the farrier in to see them, but he said it would take several trimmings to correct what was done.

I have a hoof rasp, that I had been tempted to use to shorten the hoofs a little bit, but I don't have the knowledge to do it right, and I was afraid I would do more damage than good. And I have a bad back. I couldn't hunch over very long at all. I am having a serious guilt issue over letting the hooves get that long.

Anyway, here is hubby getting ready to shovel the snow from the berm that the snow plow left at the top of our road. I know some of you are seeing that I live in southern Califunny, and I do. This is only about 80 miles from Los Angeles. Elevation makes a huge difference in weather! I grew up in Washington State, East of Seattle in the foothills of the Cascades. My parents house is about 500 feet above sea level. We have much more severe weather in winter, at our ranch in the higher elevations than my parents to nearly a thousand miles North!


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## Common Tator (Feb 19, 2008)

Okay. I am the first to admit that I am not the most knowledgable person about horses. So I will appreciate the advice I can get here. I am looking for a companion for our girl Chantal. I am looking for one that we can ride, Broke and gentle. Whatever horse we get will have a wonderful life at our ranch, and will probably plump out like Chantal, because they will have 42 acres to graze, and we feed Alfalfa hay and grain in the winter. So many of the horses I am looking at are so painfully thin, that I would be afraid for them to go into winter without a little more meat (and fat) on their bones.

I am looking for a free horse, but am also looking at cheap. This poor girl is being offered for $200.00, and my heart wants me to take her just to give her a better life, but she needs to be able to get through that first winter!








Then there is this girl, who is 14 and well broke. $350.00. She has been used to give lessons and according to the seller, is "bomb proof".
She looks like she has a healthier weight, and would do better up there. What do you think?


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## SilverFlame819 (Aug 24, 2010)

I think the paint has an upside down heart on her side to match the right-side-up heart on your girl.  ALSO, she is predominantly colored, while your girl is predominantly white. Brown eyes on this girl, blue eyes on your girl. $150 cheaper for the paint means $150 more hay and grain you can dump down her gullet. 

Also, I think that the extra feed your girl is eating to give her *cough* "barley top"  would go into THIS paint girl instead, and they'd even each other out... Your girl would lose a few pounds, and this girl would gain a few. They're made for each other!!  (Plus... it's a personal preference... I think the sorrel is kind of homely).


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## Jay27 (Jan 11, 2010)

Liked the sorrel until you pointed out the upside down heart... I'd go for the paint... She needs it more...


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## DamnearaFarm (Sep 27, 2007)

She may NEED it more, but can you realistically make her comfortable this winter? I don't know your set up or I could go more indepth. Any info on the paint as far as riding abilities? Although, honestly, someone who allows a horse to get in this condition is going to lie about whatever they can to get you to buy it.....


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## Common Tator (Feb 19, 2008)

I hadn't noticed the heart either, until SilverFlame pointed it out. That is funny, and cute!I think she is a rescue.

The craigslist ad says: "
200 is her rehoming fee she is between 15-18 years old i have been feeding her to put weight on her she rides well she will make a great trail horse with more weight or a companion horse she is beautiful !!! she needs someone to love her she rides very well and has no vices or problems just had feet done and shots please give her home .... "


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## Common Tator (Feb 19, 2008)

More depth info. Our ranch is 42 acres. It is in the mountains, so while much of southern California gets dry and yellow after the spring rains, our place stays green from Spring through fall, although it does start to yellow up as fall progresses. Our place used to be a Boy Scout camp. There is a long covered rifle range, that we have converted into hay storage and horse shed, so they have a place to go to get out of the elements. It has been open on all sides, but before it gets too cold this year, we will be enclosing on three sides. The horses will always have access to their shed. In the Spring we wean them onto pasture from the hay and senior feed, and in the fall we wean them off pasture and back onto hay and senior grain as they start finding less grass to eat in the pasture. They will still have grass to eat, until snow falls and covers the grass, so the new horse will still be eating more than most horses. I don't know how much weight she can gain before it gets cold. So I am also worried about her weight.

Does she look sway backed to you?


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## wr (Aug 10, 2003)

My winter is much more severe than yours and I've put weight on horses but it isn't easy and could be made more difficult if she has any conditions that contributed to her poor condition.


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## DamnearaFarm (Sep 27, 2007)

Could just be the angle and her starvation. Once the spinous processes are visible, it's a bit hard to tell much about the 'real' body.
So.... she will be somewhere she can be checked on readily and will have a three sided shed. Good feed and hay.
If your winter starts around December......
You should be able to get her now, start her on a beet pulp/alfalfa pellet/senior feed mash and have a blanket she can use when it starts getting cold, she should be fine.


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## SilverFlame819 (Aug 24, 2010)

I don't think she looks swaybacked. Looks to me (from comparing the top of her rump against her withers) that she's standing with her butt uphill. I don't know any horses whose rumps are that much higher on top that the withers. I'm sure the direction she's standing in the pic also doesn't do much to show her actual body weight either. Maybe go take a look (and a trailer) and see what you think?


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## SilverFlame819 (Aug 24, 2010)

Plus, your girl's a sorrel paint and this girl looks to be (possibly?) a bay paint?

All their points are opposites, except they both have big hearts. 

I'd definitely go for the paint. She's got a nice face.


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## southerngurl (May 11, 2003)

I don't have hard winter experience really but would think a good blanket could make all the difference in the world.

Do y'all think her front right knee looks big?


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## Common Tator (Feb 19, 2008)

Please correct me if I'm wrong here, but I am not sure that a blanket is such a good thing. When it starts getting cold, the horses coats get thick and fluffy, and they look like equine wooly bears. Once they are in the wooly bear stage, the cold doesn't seem to phase them.

Doesn't putting a blanket on top of that send a message that the cold is over and it is time to shed?


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## wr (Aug 10, 2003)

Common Tator, how cold do you get, how soon do you expect winter and is this horse in the same general area you are? I don't usually blanket unless the horse is severely thin because winter coat comes in over the slick coat creating loft and it's actually the loft that keeps them warm. The same concept keeps us northerners from freezing to death in winter - layers create loft and loft keeps warmth in, not cold out. 

I actually find the secret to putting on weight in adverse conditions has more to do with when I feed than how I feed. If the horse is in sufficient condition to be on self feed grass hay, I prefer that approach and I'll supplement 3 times a day (beet pulp or whatever floats your boat). If the horse is iffy and I don't feel they need free choice, I feed multiple times a day and the weather network is my friend. They can generally forecast a cold snap 5+ days in advance I increase their feed as many days ahead of cold weather as I can to compensate for the drop in temperature. A thin horse is a bottom end horse and I never feed a poor doing animal with others, they get pushed off feed and ultimately erode further. If you have a barn, put Skinny Minnie in at night when temps drop further. 

Please be aware that Skinny Minnie may have a radical change in personality when she's fat and sassy. The first time I brought home a walking skeleton, he was quiet, meek and docile but after a winter on good groceries, he became agressive, obnoxious and had a tendency to fire at random. I think I paid $800 for him, monthly his grocery bill was about the same as an entire pen of weanling heifers, I spent a full year retraining him, sold him to a little gal for the amount she got for her 4H steer and I was the idiot that bought the stinking steer :rotfl:


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## Common Tator (Feb 19, 2008)

Winter usually begins in earnest in mid December. During the day temperatures will be in the 20's or 30's. At night it drops into the single digits or teens. 

WR, being from Canada, I imagine you get much colder temps.

The horse barn is visible from the house, but not next to it, as it used to be a rifle range. However the horses can walk over to the house whenever they want. Last year when we had our big storm that dumped 3 feet of snow, the horses plowed their own path to the house! We continued to use that path for the rest of the winter!


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## DamnearaFarm (Sep 27, 2007)

Basically, horses can stay warm via hair (starving horses can sometimes lose their coats or do a summer time type shed once they're being fed properly- I had one go completely naked!), body fat and stokin' the fire from within with hay. With her debilitated condition, there's no body fat to burn and the feed she eats is going to be needed to replace that. 
Yes, a blanket could make her shed out, but a warm blanket is a lot better than having her thin and cold with no protection. You could always play it by ear and see how she is when it starts getting cold and/or blanket as needed.


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## Jay27 (Jan 11, 2010)

Remember... grass hay produces more heat than alfalfa. Alfalfa would seem as if it has more calories, but it takes a lot of energy (read calories) to extract those calories. A nice soft grass hay is a lot easier to digest. This seemed soooo counterintuitive to me, but my girlfriend - an equine nutritionalist - assured me it is true. I primarily feed alfalfa hay, but keep some grass hay around for those extra cold days (and to feed my boy goats). 

On blankets, I do not like blanketing. I do have one horse that is blanketed because he is boarded, gets riden and his blanket gets taken on and off daily. If something were to happen to his blanket, whether it get wet, torn or otherwise compromised, he would get a new one put on. Otherwise, a horse can get in real trouble if something happens to their blanket during the middle of the winter. Their coat just hasn't grown thick enough to keep them warm without the blanket. And if their blanket were to get wet... well, that's obviously a problem. I have thrown a blanket on a horse that is normally unblanketed on really cold nights... I only resort to this when they are shivering. I think most of the time they are fine if they have free access to grass hay and shelter.


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## wr (Aug 10, 2003)

Jay27, I'm sure your girlfriend has explained it more eloquently but I was told that there is a difference between actual protein and serviceable protein. When I've had to deal with a horse in very poor condition, I use prairie wool, which tests about as poor as you can get but achieves the best results in the least amount of time.


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## wintrrwolf (Sep 29, 2009)

Its the heart that convinced me you should get the paint. And I saw that knee but it could be the way she is standing... I have had my rescued pony for "oh geesh" 4-5 weeks now...she is still not in top condition but her coat is coming in thicker and I cant see her ribs anymore, so thinking you might have time before winter hits. Good luck on whichever you choose.


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## jill.costello (Aug 18, 2004)

I would have a WATERPROOF and BREATHABLE blanket on stand-by for "just in case". (the waterproofing on the blanket has breathable properties; you must make sure that any blanket you buy is rated as "waterproof AND breathable").

Ideally, yes, absolutely, the "loft" of a horse's winter coat is a fantastic insulating layer, and they do normally gorw exactly what they need for the conditions they're in. That said, THIS paint-gal is under-nourished, and it takes nutrition and minerals in the proper amounts to grow hair, just like anything.

Also, even a wooly-bear horse with a fantastic winter coat is in danger in WET, FREEZING weather. When that filuffy coat gets WET (and I mean soaked to the skin), it provides NO insulation.

All my horses (when I lived in Wisconsin) were left to grow whatever they needed. BUT, if the weather station was calling for "freezing rain" or "sleet" or any other WET nastiness at temps below 40 degrees, I would blanket to keep them DRY.

A DRY horse can shiver to keep himself warm till the storm is over; a WET horse can shiver all he wants...he's getting hypothermia :-(


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## Common Tator (Feb 19, 2008)

It may all be a moot point. The owner of the paint mare hasn't responded to my last email with questions. Two of the questions were, "where are you located?" and "when can I come see her?"


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## wintrrwolf (Sep 29, 2009)

Common Tator said:


> It may all be a moot point. The owner of the paint mare hasn't responded to my last email with questions. Two of the questions were, "where are you located?" and "when can I come see her?"


Well gosh Tator those are pretty personel questions don't ya know. 
If it is ment to be it will be. I almost got a different horse then Snickr. Right down to the point of walking out of the house on the way to get the other, and called owner first to let her know we were on our way, "Oh we sold her last night" she says...hmmm, so am a firm believer if its ment to be...


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## jill.costello (Aug 18, 2004)

Common Tator said:


> It may all be a moot point. The owner of the paint mare hasn't responded to my last email with questions. Two of the questions were, "where are you located?" and "when can I come see her?"


The owners may have already had a bad experience with someone answering the ad and then getting rude or pushy about the horse's condition; threatening to call ASPCA, or whatever.

I might word another email that very sweetly says, "I think she'd be a perfect addition to my farm, I have plentiful hay and feed and would love to help her"

or something to erase any doubt that you're not some PETA person or animal cruelty investigator...


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## SilverFlame819 (Aug 24, 2010)

Great idea, Jill.

Let us know who you end up getting!


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## Common Tator (Feb 19, 2008)

Thanks Jill, I sent the email several hours ago. No word back yet.


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## southerngurl (May 11, 2003)

The horse may already have a new home, some sellers won't bother to tell you.


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## Common Tator (Feb 19, 2008)

I was thinking that too. I made an appointment to see the sorrel mare tomorrow morning.


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## onthespot (Oct 7, 2007)

She does look drafty to me. Like the kind they use for packing trips, or like a PMU draft/paint cross from years ago. I like her!


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## Common Tator (Feb 19, 2008)

Thanks Onthespot! You can meet her when you visit!


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## hrslvrtrailridr (Jan 9, 2007)

Some of the early foundation QH had draft stock in it. Check out Old Fred, one of the founding horses of QH...had excessive white too, which is now acceptable.


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## malinda (May 12, 2002)

I used to own a draft cross and several of my clients currently do. I don't see any draft in her, usually they will have much more bone than she has. The old style QHs were "draftier" than most and did have some draft in them from way back, but she doesn't have the feet or legs of a 50% cross. Many QHs also have the "nest" thing going on - where the neck is a bit short and ties into the chest really low. And being an easy keeper will attribute to the crestyness.


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## 6e (Sep 10, 2005)

She is a spitting image of a mare my husband owns, but my husband's has no draft in her at all. She's registered APHA and has Doc Bar on top and bottom. My husband's mare also has the very thick neck....ok, she's kind of thick all over. LOL She really enjoys her meals.


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## GingerN (Apr 24, 2007)

Common Tator said:


> Guess I "wintered well" to, and have been doing so for many years! So I have a special understanding with my horse, er giant rabbit. Us big girls have to stick together!


We are not big girls, we are just really easy keepers...

Yes, your mare is beautiful, and yes, she is chubby, and DEFINITELY yes she is cresty. To save you some heartache and her some pain, I would definitely reevaluate your feeding program, and put that pretty girl on a diet. For some reason, cresty critters seem prone to founder... I don't think she is drafty, just pudgy and cute and old style stock horse like WR said. I'm serious about that crest though. There is a mare that I just love at our barn and would be perfect for my 14 yr old (and I am not a mare fan at all), but because she has a cresty neck (and is not overweight at all otherwise) I am not even gonna try to get her. I am in the doghouse over that one too!


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## GingerN (Apr 24, 2007)

wr said:


> Common Tator, how cold do you get, how soon do you expect winter and is this horse in the same general area you are? I don't usually blanket unless the horse is severely thin because winter coat comes in over the slick coat creating loft and it's actually the loft that keeps them warm. The same concept keeps us northerners from freezing to death in winter - layers create loft and loft keeps warmth in, not cold out.
> 
> I actually find the secret to putting on weight in adverse conditions has more to do with when I feed than how I feed. If the horse is in sufficient condition to be on self feed grass hay, I prefer that approach and I'll supplement 3 times a day (beet pulp or whatever floats your boat). If the horse is iffy and I don't feel they need free choice, I feed multiple times a day and the weather network is my friend. They can generally forecast a cold snap 5+ days in advance I increase their feed as many days ahead of cold weather as I can to compensate for the drop in temperature. A thin horse is a bottom end horse and I never feed a poor doing animal with others, they get pushed off feed and ultimately erode further. If you have a barn, put Skinny Minnie in at night when temps drop further.
> 
> Please be aware that Skinny Minnie may have a radical change in personality when she's fat and sassy. The first time I brought home a walking skeleton, he was quiet, meek and docile but after a winter on good groceries, he became agressive, obnoxious and had a tendency to fire at random. I think I paid $800 for him, monthly his grocery bill was about the same as an entire pen of weanling heifers, I spent a full year retraining him, sold him to a little gal for the amount she got for her 4H steer and I was the idiot that bought the stinking steer :rotfl:


I think you and my daddy are kin....


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## Jackie (Jun 20, 2008)

wr said:


> Jay27, I'm sure your girlfriend has explained it more eloquently but I was told that there is a difference between actual protein and serviceable protein. When I've had to deal with a horse in very poor condition, I use prairie wool, which tests about as poor as you can get but achieves the best results in the least amount of time.


What is this prairie wool you speak of?


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## wr (Aug 10, 2003)

Prairie wool is the hay we get from native grass. As you know, most of our world has been cultivated and seeded to domestic grass species so it isn't easy to find.


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## Jackie (Jun 20, 2008)

wr said:


> Prairie wool is the hay we get from native grass. As you know, most of our world has been cultivated and seeded to domestic grass species so it isn't easy to find.


K where I come from we call it wild hay and tame hay. Wild hay being just natural prairie. Never seeded. Tame hay of course is hay that someone planted at one point. 

I dislike alfalfa and I prefer to feed my horses wild hay. I can find it if I look hard enough.


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## Common Tator (Feb 19, 2008)

GingerN said:


> We are not big girls, we are just really easy keepers...
> 
> Yes, your mare is beautiful, and yes, she is chubby, and DEFINITELY yes she is cresty. To save you some heartache and her some pain, I would definitely reevaluate your feeding program, and put that pretty girl on a diet. For some reason, cresty critters seem prone to founder... I don't think she is drafty, just pudgy and cute and old style stock horse like WR said. I'm serious about that crest though. There is a mare that I just love at our barn and would be perfect for my 14 yr old (and I am not a mare fan at all), but because she has a cresty neck (and is not overweight at all otherwise) I am not even gonna try to get her. I am in the doghouse over that one too!


My chubby mare got that fat grazing at the ranch all summer, with no additional feed. She is a VERY easy keeper. I hope my new mare does well grazing too, but hopefully she won't get chubby too.


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## SilverFlame819 (Aug 24, 2010)

So, um... Not to sound ungrateful or anything...

But WHERE ARE THE PIX of your two new critters?!


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