Riddle

[nrly]

This is Riddle in his pen here in Mesa, AZ it has been wet and cold, but he is doing wonderful...

[nrly]

tonight I took this picture and thought it was a good one. 12/13/07

[DianneC]

He looks like he's settling in. Wet and cold in Arizona is still warmer than Bend, Oregon!

[fantasykiger]

I hear that DianneC..LOL ;D It is freezing cold here in Bend. Thankgoodness for the water trough heater or I would be chopping ice every morning.

nrly..Riddle has a very kind eye in that second picture, it is a nice photo.

[nrly]

thank you, Last night we were able to brush out his tail, brush him all over, and use the curry comb and get the little bit of mud off him, and he loved it. Today the vet comes out to check his teeth, float them if need be, and give him his shots. will let you all know what the vet said, Hubby says it looks like he is putting on weight already, he is getting fed 2 leafs of hay twice a day. bran, pellets, senior manna, corn, everyday. he will get up their where he should be, and Tuesday he gets his hooves trimmed.
nola

[lindad]

Nola,
Be careful about feeding TOO much. I would skip the corn, especially if he is getting pellets, due to too much starch and concentrated calories and too little nutrition. Also older horses with problem teeth may have difficulty chewing corn. These horses are easy keepers and you don't want to trigger glucose intolerance and laminitis by gaining too much weight too fast. They survive on grasses in the wild. Ask your vet, but it sounds like a lot of feed to me. Free choice hay would likely be your best bet and the safest, along with worming and dentistry. Remember the more hour he spends eating grasses instead of concentrated feed the better. My daughter has her mare from childhood and the mare is about 38 years old and she feeds bran mashes and pellets, cocasoya oil, etc because her teeth are bad and she can't eat enough hay and chew it well enough. A little oil would be better than corn for calories to avoid laminitis. Remember all feed changes should be done slowly especially on these seniors.
Linda D

[nrly]

yes tonight the vet was out his teeth are good no need for floating, we are not going to be giving him corn any more, he got his 3 in 1 shot tonight, gave him a clean bill of health, He pretty much said the same thing Linda, but he would like to see us put him on a supplement called:STRATEGY in the green bag since it is for horse's on Alpha. Also we wormed him tonight what a chore but the vet showed us how to do it next time.
nola

[lindad]

Nola, that is great! I know that I like to feed and can get them too fat. My mare is almost too easy of a keeper, and a little is a lot for them on suppliments or concentrated feed. Riddle is a good lookin guy and when you get him into condition, you are going to be sooooo proud! I cannot wait to see what emerges from under the winter coat come spring, and we get to see the bloom.
Linda D

[nrly]

yes we do. last night as he was prancing around his pen he was snorting and we got a glimpse of what he will look like. Also where we are at their are some stupid or I should say Ignorant people. A lady put her mare right by where the vet wanted us to put Riddle, when we asked her to move she said put him to the left of Rosie, we said no he is a stallion, she then told us we will have to wait till she gets back for the bathroom. Which we did, her excuse was I knew you were bringing him up but I thought I could be back from the bathroom before you got there. Now the bathrooms are where he is penned. I do not get it. So I told Barry (the stable owner) we really need to educate people , he just said she knows and would not do a thing. Then she was walking her mare near the pen of Riddle and he of course being a stallion wanted her, when she got away from him and back to the stable with her mare, i walked over she said man he was feisty, I said no he was a stallion and that is why we wanted Rosie moved someone could have gotten hurt,she just laughed, now this women has never owned a horse, and this is her first one. I was a bit upset to say the least. sorry about the venting... any way he is awesome and we are so glad to have him as part of our family.
nola

[Michelle Clarke]

Keeping a stallion in a public boarding stable will be hard on everyone for sure! The stable owner really needs to set down some rules with everyone so all involved stay safe. Someones' stupidity can get Riddle injured, not to mention what else can happen. I bet you can't wait until your place is ready!

[nrly]

you are so right about that... it is going to be up to Jim and myself to make sure Riddle is not put in that kind of position again, cause it seems no else cares, and his safety is very important.
nola

[nrly]

He loves his alfalfa, and i had my bag there so I could groom him, which he loves....
nola

[fantasykiger]

Look at that beautiful mane he really looks good. You can tell you been doing alot of grooming.

[nrly]

he is putting on weight, letting us groom him, do his feet, he just loves the attition. not too say he does not have some issues that have to be addressed, we will get the them. will keep you all posted,and add pictures as he changes.

[nrly]

here is a more recent picture of Riddle taken 01-01-08