Gianna

𝔼𝕢𝕦𝕖𝕤𝕥𝕣𝕚𝕒𝕟 𝕠𝕗 𝟙𝟛 𝕪𝕖𝕒𝕣𝕤 𝕒𝕟𝕕 𝕠𝕨𝕟𝕖𝕣 𝕠𝕗 𝕒𝕟 𝕠𝕥𝕥𝕓 Instagram: Cherry_Cola_2013 (its private, so pm me) YouTube: @giannacherry

[gianna-and-cherry-horse-tips]

What should I know about shavings for stalls?

I have found that rice hulls work the best, pine shavings don't dry out, so you need to change them at least once a week. Rice hulls, however, dry out, and you only need to change them about once a week. I find for my horse's bed I need 13 cubic feet.

[gianna-and-cherry-horse-tips]

Any tips on mounting?

Make sure you have one hand on the horse's neck and one on the front of the saddle. Put one foot in the stirrup, and balance your weight, before swinging your leg over, this puts less of a sudden weight on the horse's back, so they won't have back problems in the future.

[gianna-and-cherry-horse-tips]

Any tips on blanketing?

After you toss the blanket over the horse's back, do the front straps first, so the blanket won't slide back. If the front straps are clips; clip the clips towards the horse's body, so the clips won't get clipped on hay nets or fencing.

With the middle straps DONT go directly across, or else the horse will be able to twist the blanket while rolling, make sure they are crossed in an x.

Do the trail straps last. Make sure they are clipped toward the horse's body as mentioned above. Either criss-cross straps or interlace them.

Hope that helped!

[gianna-and-cherry-horse-tips]

It's been raining a lot and my horse got an abscess my farrier didn't give me much advice. Do you have any advice?

What I do whenever my horse gets abscesses, is go out and buy diapers, duck tape, Epson salt, and the green slime Epson salt.

I first spray the abscess on jet mode, with a hose, for a good fifteen minutes attempting to pop the abscess with the high pressure, then I warm up water in a bucket and dissolve Epson salt, and soak the hoof for fifteen minutes a day, or until the water gets cold. Then I apply the green slime Epson salt to the diaper, fit the diaper to the hoof, and wrap it up with duct tape, it normally holds for 12 to 24 hours, be sure not to wrap it up too tight.

hope that helped!

[gianna-and-cherry-horse-tips]

Thoughts on putting fish in horse waters to keep them clean?

I have found, that too many algae grow for the fish to keep up. I also wonder and worry if the horses accidentally drink the fish. Personally, I have just found that the fish don't work, and then you are stuck with the problem of trying not to kill the fish when you have to take out the fish and clean the bucket yourself.

I hope that helped.

[gianna-and-cherry-horse-tips]

What do you use to scrub horse waters?

I use a weaver dandy brush, and it works well for me.

[gianna-and-cherry-horse-tips]

Any tips on horse waters?

my personal rule is that if you wouldn't be comfortable drinking out of it, you should dump it out, scrub it and put new water in.

[gianna-and-cherry-horse-tips]

ᴛɪᴘꜱ ᴀɴᴅ ᴛʀɪᴄᴋꜱ ꜰᴏʀ ʜᴏʀꜱᴇꜱ ᴡʜᴏ ᴘᴜʟʟ ʙᴀᴄᴋ ᴡʜᴇɴ ᴛɪᴇᴅ

Tips and Tricks for horses who pull back when tied

First of all make sure to NEVER hard tie your horse if you are unsure if they pull back, or will pull back when scared. 

Remember that quick release knots are only useful if you are standing right there, so be sure to bailing twine from hay bales. You can tie baling twine to the tying post, make sure it is a big enough loop so you can attach your lead rope to it, rather than the post. I do the same with cross tying. At the top of the cross ties they are attached by a loop of bailing twine, and I attach the cross ties to a loop of bailing twine connected to the halter. 

There is always going to be one time that your horse gets scared and pulls back, however, if they do it as their way of trying to get free, that will become a problem. What worked for me was something I like to call fake tying. Fake tying is where I would loop the lead rope through the bailing twine, and hold onto the lead rope while I groomed and tacked up my horse. The one downside of this is that you can't walk away. Once your horse learns that you are holding onto the lead rope, it will understand that it can't pull back, and then you can go back to tying.

photo above not mine

Photo below mine

[gianna-and-cherry-horse-tips]

ᴡᴀʏꜱ ᴛᴏ ɢᴇᴛ ʏᴏᴜʀ ʜᴏʀꜱᴇ ᴇᴀᴛɪɴɢ

Exchange all hay, with fresh hay.

Give more desirable hay, (instead of giving them orchard grass, offer them a flake of alfalfa) 

Give grain (sometimes grain is more valuable, and just a few bites of grain will get them eating)

Let them graze then re-introduce the hay

Give some treats (it might simulate eating)

Please note that the effectiveness of each tactic above varies from horse to horse. 

Photo not mine

[gianna-and-cherry-horse-tips]

Photos not mine

[gianna-and-cherry-horse-tips]

Photo not mine