Re: Stall bound, tail brushing and Clydesdales, unrelated
This message is from: Mary Thurman <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> --- Janne Myrdal <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: My sister in law is looking at buying a Clydesdale > gelding, 2 years old, > halter broke (barely)Anyone > out there have ANY > experience with Clydes??? Janne, Before we got into Fjords, we had some experience with Clydes through a friend whom we helped with his. They ARE magnificent - read, BIG!! The first team I ever drove was a 'dead broke' team - mare and gelding - of these horses. Since then I have driven a 'big horse' or two at clinics, plowing bees, etc. One thing I did find with Clydes - many of them have really bad feet. This comes because certain lines of them tend to have pretty thin hoof walls for the size/weight of animal on top of those feet. Hence, you are FOREVER fighting cracks, quarter cracks, missing chunks of hoof wall, etc., which often results in a horse you really can't use much because his feet can't stand up to use. So - be SURE to look is feet over well, and have a trusted farrier look at them to check out the good and bad points. Other than the foot problem, I can't think of anything else 'bad' about Clydes - they are just too darn BIG for some of us! I had to sit on their backs to comb manes and stand on a stepladder to groom them! And getting a harness UP onto that back - and DOWN again - can be a challenge if you are small and have no one to help you. Also, a full grown Clyde does NOT fit into a standard side-by-side load horse trailer, unless you can remove the center divider and haul just one Clyde. We had a stock trailer which had been converted for BIG horses before we got it - had two permanent 'stalls' in front with heavy gates behind them, plus a 'loose' box area in the back one-third of the trailer. I believe the trailer was converted to haul a pair of hunter/jumpers. We used to haul a team of Clydes - fully harnessed, except for bridles - in those two front stalls with the doors fixed open so they could 'overflow' out into the back part of the trailer. The back of the trailer had a full door with safety latch, so we could use the trailer without the front 'stall' doors closed. Believe me, two Clydes in that trailer was a LOAD - they weighed over a ton apiece! I'm not sure that even a new, slant load, two-horse trailer would be adequate for them, considering their weight. For their size they are really very 'kind and gracious' animals in my experience. AND they LOVE attention! Good luck to your sister-in-law. Mary = Mary Thurman Raintree Farms [EMAIL PROTECTED] __ Do You Yahoo!? Yahoo! Shopping - Thousands of Stores. Millions of Products. http://shopping.yahoo.com/
Re: Tail brushing
This message is from: [EMAIL PROTECTED] In a message dated 12/1/00 11:03:08 AM Pacific Standard Time, [EMAIL PROTECTED] writes: << The young lady who cleans our tack at the ranch recently sewed an excellent tail bag for her horse. It covers the whole tail. I am going to ask her to make some for ours, despite Jack's objections! >> >>OBJECTIONS, OBJECTIONS!,,, Of course I have objections! I have no problem with the tails and I don't want my Rafael ( a very male Fjord at that) runing around with a wishy washy baggie hanging off his butt.. I feel as long as he has someone who cares enough to "pamper" his behind, he dosen't need anything more. I have recently learned to "french braid", which incorporates all of the tail. So, I ask, what more is necessary??? Oh yea, a "baggie hanging off his butt.. I rest my case : ))) Jack
Re: Stall bound, tail brushing and Clydesdales, unrelated
This message is from: GAIL RUSSELL <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> >and is selling him for less than a thousand. Anyone out there have ANY >experience with Clydes??? Apart for their majestic look, and of course the >bud commercials I know nothing about temprament etc. Any info would be >appreciated. My farrier charges big bucks to shoe drafts. I gather that, even when they are good about their feet, they can still lean on a farrier and be awfully tiring to work on. Gail Russell Forestville CA [EMAIL PROTECTED]
Stall bound, tail brushing and Clydesdales, unrelated
This message is from: "Janne Myrdal" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Ofjords, so sorry to hear about your mare, hope and pray all goes well. I once had to stall a warmblood trotter mare for 5 monts, a hoof problem, she literally wore the stall floor, wood, into a circle as she walked and walked and swung her head at every turn. The floor looked like something from "The Count of Monte Cristo". She did ok tho, and did not lose herself, but stayed mentally with me, and emerged a winner. We used to put a rabbit and some do goats, in the stall. My current QH mare's best friend was a gaot until it died this summer, and that was in the pasture. Give it a try! I almost never brush the Fjord's tails, - I am still trying to build up my QH mare's tail after the prior owner must have brushed her hands off, uffda. My sister in law is looking at buying a Clydesdale gelding, 2 years old, halter broke (barely) The owner got married, looking for a good home only and is selling him for less than a thousand. Anyone out there have ANY experience with Clydes??? Apart for their majestic look, and of course the bud commercials I know nothing about temprament etc. Any info would be appreciated. Janne in 20 below windshield ND.
Tail brushing
This message is from: "Cheryl Beillard" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> Well, I for one don't think this is an odd question .. I have noticed different levels of reluctance and/or indifference, from each of my 5 fjords re their tails. Following Carol Rivoire's injunction against tail brushing (see her book!) I have resisted the impulse to play dolls, which is what I think tail brushing can devolve into ..! but I also have several mares who get their tails in a terrible state .. and so I do wash them periodically and use a conditioner.. Some don't mind at all, one of my younger ones gets quite upset at her tail being handled, but I persevere. The other thing I have discovered is something called Cowboy Magic .. there must be lots out there using it ...but what a wonderful product! It's a conditioner that you can use without wetting the hair and you apply about a .25c piece size dob on your hands, rub and run your hands through the tail. Do this for 3 days or even 3 times a week and almost instantly you have a tail you can pick out, without brushing/pulling, which I think is the aspect which troubles my young mare.
Re: Tail brushing
This message is from: [EMAIL PROTECTED] I will begin by saying that Jack is the "Tail guy" in the family. He can take a dreadlocked tail and turn it into something beautiful in 15 minutes! However not wanted to be faced with dreadlocks every week, he sprays liberally with Show Sheen and makes a braid. Doesn't fold in half, just lets it hang down. The hair stays untangled and grows very full, since you're not pulling out tangled hairs any more. The young lady who cleans our tack at the ranch recently sewed an excellent tail bag for her horse. It covers the whole tail. I am going to ask her to make some for ours, despite Jack's objections! Brigid in CA
Re: Tail brushing
This message is from: [EMAIL PROTECTED] I really had to weigh in on the tail issue. As some of you may know, Marnix has a very bountiful tail. On marathon day I used to try a conventional mud wrap. braid to the end and fold over and wrap the whole thing with vet wrap. However it's so heavy that it would sort of be like having a baseball bat hanging from his butt. It almost always worked partway out and looked goofy. Now we just braid and fold the bottom and wrap strategically with vet wrap and electric tape. Whenever he gets burdock in his tail I spray with Show Sheen and brush and handpick. I also use Cowboy Magic after a shampoo. His tail is so thick and full that it sometimes takes 1/2 an hour to get it untangled but he loves being primped. I have never had a Fjord object to having his/her tail handled and when I am starting them in harness I make a point of gently holding the entire tail straight up and out of the way. In the beginning some have tried to clamp their tails down but I have found that if you gently prevent them from doing this they eventually give in and relax. This makes it so much easier to put the crupper on and make sure that all those little short hairs are free from being stuck under the crupper which I imagine could become quite annoying if not down right uncomfortable. Having a horse who will let you push his tail up and out of the way also makes taking their temperatures much easier. When doing mane trims I always brush out their tails and bang the bottom as handpicking is way too time consuming for a barn full. Haven't read Carol's book so don't have a clue as to why she doesn't brush tails except maybe because it does breaks the hairs off. Most of my Fjords have pretty lavish tails and losing some hair now and again isn't quite the disaster it might be in other breeds. I am always grateful that I don't have to pull their tails as is the norm in ridden eventing. Vivian Creigh
