What Other People Think

Not everyone is going to agree on care & management of their horse & that's ok. You may read this blog & not agree with some of the things I do whether that be feeding or management. Really its ok though. I don't need any one persons approval. The only approval that really matters & should always come first is the horses. I have never been one to follow a crowd or fit in with a certain "group". I tend to float through making my own opinions & assumptions on things especially the care of my son. I am a research crazed mother (of Ben) who tries to find the best solution to what arises. I'm not perfect nor will I ever be, but I will do what I feel is right by my son whether one agrees or not. I have a lot of respect (as one should) for all Ben's Dr.'s & caregivers. I take what is given to me & implicate a plan that will best fit Ben for who he is. Ben pretty much told me what he wanted the only thing I had to do was start listening better. Now that I have he is one very happy guy!

Some may not agree with the alfalfa that Ben gets because alfalfa has such a "bad" reputation. Guess what? His Dr. at the hospital specifically wrote that he is to have alfalfa added to his diet in the form of hay or soaked hay cubes. I originally tried the soaked cubes & while he ate them he didn't love them. Cubes are easier than bales of hay to store & lug around. After talking to a friend & buying a bale of high quality western alfalfa to give a try it was all history. Cubes were not on Bens list anymore now that he had a taste of the really good stuff & so he now gets 1-2 fakes of the hay a day. It's not easy lugging a bale that's over 100 pounds but he whispered & I listened. He also has free choice orchard/timothy mixture (pretty sure that's what it is).

Turnout.....a touchy subject for some. More is better, all the time is best. I am extremely lucky that my barn has agreed to let Ben be outside all the time. My barn has always had great turnout (best I have seen honestly) but it was his request to be fully out & he wasn't budging on it. He will stall walk into a merry-go-round until he's out of the box.... What about when it rains some may say I just say he will either get a bath or go to shelter. He's a very intelligent horse anyone who has taken the time to get to know him even just a little picks up on it straight away. It was more of an adjustment for me to not be a helicopter mom when he started living outside. Ben thrived with this change its like he had been trying to tell me for years & it took him shouting at me for me to wake up & realize he needed this. Lets be real horses are outdoor animals we choose to keep them in for various reasons.

It has taken a lot of trial & error to figure out what Ben needed. Turns out what he really needed was to be more like a horse. To be treated as such as well. Diet & turnout have been his major lifestyle changes. With both these changes he has transformed into a different horse & probably gives a sigh of relief that after so many years he has found someone who listened. He has had 2 really good owners that I know of in his many homes that took great care of him, but somewhere in between many things happened & changed & not for the better until he came to me. He has always stall walked since I have owned him so why did I stall him? That's what everyone else did & at the time I didn't know much in regards to horse care. Had I known what I do now I would have never stalled him. You live & learn I suppose.

I often find myself thinking about decisions I have made in the past. Wondering if I had made a different choice would he have come to this point? Alas I chose a different path & have gone through (still am) such a learning journey with him. I can't say I regret things because then I wouldn't be where I am now. What I do regret is that it has all made an impact on Ben be small or large. I am doing my best at choosing what is best for him & respecting his request all at the same time.

Take home message is do what you feel is right for your horse & their needs. You can by all means listen to others but don't let it interfere with your instinct & your horses voice. Research , read, & research even more! Don't be afraid to try something new that others may not agree upon. If you have done your research & your horse is whispering choose what is right.

Oh side note nothing happened that prompted me to write this either its just a random thought as usual that sails through my mind like a shift In the wind.