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Dog, cat, something else, or nothing?


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So as we were pulling out of the driveway yesterday, this guy was standing in the street...

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So we put him in one of our paddocks until we could locate the owner. Been to every house in our neighborhood, and haven't found them yet. I did put him in the barn with the other 2 last night because it was 58 and raining. When you introduce a new horse, everybody gets geared up. This guy is very young, hasn't been on a lead rope much (although he did have a halter on) and when I offered him a carrot this morning, he looked at me like"WTF is that"?

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11 minutes ago, IUFLA said:

I love happy endings...

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For sure. A few years ago came across a miniature pinscher that had been hit on the highway. Rushed it to the vet and eventually contacted the owner. It lived and the owner ended up being the Aunt of the owner of the salon my wife worked out of. 

Bonus is the vet gave us a lifetime discount.  All office visit fees waived, just pay for work done and meds.  

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15 minutes ago, IUFLA said:

I love happy endings...

Screenshot_20210424-101950.thumb.png.3ff0c2961b77a9983338e1cd8adbde8e.png

I don't know if it's because it's Derby week but we've often thought about down the road buying some land and having horses. They are absolutely beautiful animals. Out of curiosity and I'm sure there tons of variable but what's average cost per year per horse?

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34 minutes ago, Seeking6 said:

I don't know if it's because it's Derby week but we've often thought about down the road buying some land and having horses. They are absolutely beautiful animals. Out of curiosity and I'm sure there tons of variable but what's average cost per year per horse?

I figured it out once, and for ours it was about $3,500 per horse per year...

That includes hay ($9 per bale delivered and put up and we go through 250 square bales a year), grain ($15 per bag and we go through a bag a week) pine shavings ($5 per day every day) for stalls, farrier fees...$150 per visit every 6 weeks...we don't have them shod now because they aren't jumping and lightly ridden, so we just have them trimmed...shoeing would be about $300 for both of them... and vet visits about $700 each in the spring and fall for shots, teeth floating, and sheath cleaning for the gelding. My wife and I do all of the daily work required (mucking stalls, ect) so we don't pay for any of that unless we bring somebody in when we go somewhere.

A lot of people around here don't put much into their horses. They let them pasture graze, feed them rice bran rather than grain, never take them in a barn, and don't fiddle with shots or farriers. And it shows.

So, yeah, there's a big disparity between taking care of them properly, and just owning them. 

 

Edited by IUFLA
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1 hour ago, IUFLA said:

So, yeah, there's a big disparity between taking care of them properly, and just owning them. 

 

Same thing can be said about any pet Owner or someone who cares for them. Right now I’ve got a stray cat that some owner left behind purring under my chair.

Edited by Drroogh
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3 hours ago, IUFLA said:

I figured it out once, and for ours it was about $3,500 per horse per year...

That includes hay ($9 per bale delivered and put up and we go through 250 square bales a year), grain ($15 per bag and we go through a bag a week) pine shavings ($5 per day every day) for stalls, farrier fees...$150 per visit every 6 weeks...we don't have them shod now because they aren't jumping and lightly ridden, so we just have them trimmed...shoeing would be about $300 for both of them... and vet visits about $700 each in the spring and fall for shots, teeth floating, and sheath cleaning for the gelding. My wife and I do all of the daily work required (mucking stalls, ect) so we don't pay for any of that unless we bring somebody in when we go somewhere.

A lot of people around here don't put much into their horses. They let them pasture graze, feed them rice bran rather than grain, never take them in a barn, and don't fiddle with shots or farriers. And it shows.

So, yeah, there's a big disparity between taking care of them properly, and just owning them. 

 

Thanks for this. Great numbers to work with. Honestly was expecting more. Appreciate it!

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5 hours ago, Seeking6 said:

Thanks for this. Great numbers to work with. Honestly was expecting more. Appreciate it!

Sure...happy to share info...

As far as land goes, if you want good, healthy grazing, figure about an acre per horse. We have 3 acres and at one time had 4 horses on it, and toward the end of summer they'd have it pretty worn down. We have 2 on it now, and they have plenty to graze on...

Edited by IUFLA
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39 minutes ago, IUFLA said:

Sure...happy to share info...

As far as land goes, if you want good, healthy grazing, figure about an acre per horse. We have 3 acres and at one time had 4 horses on it, and toward the end of summer they'd have it pretty worn down. We have 2 on it now, and they have plenty to graze on...

That's what our friends did. They were neighbors here in Indy. Kids went to college....and decided to buy some land up near Lebanon and try the horse world. We all go up there on weekends to feed and watch them play. Pretty cool stuff. 

I'm for lack of better term pretty bad about asking questions. I'm asking you this now and 8 years from now I'll be buying a horse farm. I always need to know the costs/background, etc...everything possible before I enter the fray.

My grandparents were from dirt poor county outside Lexington but some of my favorite trips as a kid was going down there and just taking care of the horses for a few days. Pretty cool stuff you can walk out and just see them grazing and living their best life.

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On 4/24/2021 at 8:10 PM, Seeking6 said:

That's what our friends did. They were neighbors here in Indy. Kids went to college....and decided to buy some land up near Lebanon and try the horse world. We all go up there on weekends to feed and watch them play. Pretty cool stuff. 

I'm for lack of better term pretty bad about asking questions. I'm asking you this now and 8 years from now I'll be buying a horse farm. I always need to know the costs/background, etc...everything possible before I enter the fray.

My grandparents were from dirt poor county outside Lexington but some of my favorite trips as a kid was going down there and just taking care of the horses for a few days. Pretty cool stuff you can walk out and just see them grazing and living their best life.

A friend of mine once told me if there was such a thing as reincarnation, he wanted to come back as a horse on a farm my wife was in charge of...

Ours get babied...They each have 3 blankets...a fleece for below 45 but above 40, medium weight 39-33, and heavy weight for anything below 33...

We use to put full fly sheets on them in the summer, but it gets too hot here, and they looked like 4 legged Klansmen...

Shoo Fly, Won't Bother Me: 14 Best Horse Fly Sheets

Edited by IUFLA
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1 hour ago, IUFLA said:

A friend of mine once told me if there was such a thing as reincarnation, he wanted to come back as a horse on a farm my wife was in charge of...

Ours get babied...They each have 3 blankets...a fleece for below 45 but above 40, medium weight 39-33, and heavy weight for anything below 33...

We use to put full fly sheets on them in the summer, but it gets too hot here, and they looked like 4 legged Klansmen...

Shoo Fly, Won't Bother Me: 14 Best Horse Fly Sheets

That one could have been in the movie, "Birth Of A Nation".     😁

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12 hours ago, IUFLA said:

This is the mass they took off of our female Lab. She's back home now and on the mend...

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We are taking our oldest cat on Thursday to remove a benign fatty buildup on her belly similar to that.

Glad your dog is OK. My wife is worried but things like this is normal.

Edited by mrflynn03
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We are having a bit of a rough time with our dear dachshund Chloe. They are prone to back issues (IVDD) that can leave them paralyzed and we thought that since she was 14 we had avoided IVDD. 

On Monday, she started having some trouble walking so we took her to emergency vet. They said to keep her confined for two weeks. That night she couldn’t even stand on her own and it’s now full blown IVDD. 

We are not doing back surgery on a 14 year old dog, that would be too invasive and risky. Also back surgery is not a sure thing. So, we have to keep her immobilized in a crate for 8 weeks and hope for the best - with steroids, pain meds, and Gabapentin. Many dogs recover fully with strict cratre rest, but many don’t regain the use of their back legs. 

We are hopeful and committed to the treatment, but it’s really rough seeing her like this. 

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59 minutes ago, Lostin76 said:

Dang, poor girl. I bet she will feel so much better when she recovers and realizes this is gone!

She seemed in pretty good spirits this morning...It never really bothered her much, even up until yesterday. It had went from golf ball sized 2 weeks ago, to softball size because of fluid build up. She has to be crated too for 10 days and she's not happy with it...It's funny, all 3 have their own pillows, but when I got up this morning, the other 2 were laying right by her kennel...Support and solidarity I suppose...

58 minutes ago, Lostin76 said:

We are having a bit of a rough time with our dear dachshund Chloe. They are prone to back issues (IVDD) that can leave them paralyzed and we thought that since she was 14 we had avoided IVDD. 

On Monday, she started having some trouble walking so we took her to emergency vet. They said to keep her confined for two weeks. That night she couldn’t even stand on her own and it’s now full blown IVDD. 

We are not doing back surgery on a 14 year old dog, that would be too invasive and risky. Also back surgery is not a sure thing. So, we have to keep her immobilized in a crate for 8 weeks and hope for the best - with steroids, pain meds, and Gabapentin. Many dogs recover fully with strict cratre rest, but many don’t regain the use of their back legs. 

We are hopeful and committed to the treatment, but it’s really rough seeing her like this. 

We went through that with a Boxer we had a few years back...heartbreaking...I hope she can recover...

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4 minutes ago, IUFLA said:

She seemed in pretty good spirits this morning...It never really bothered her much, even up until yesterday. It had went from golf ball sized 2 weeks ago, to softball size because of fluid build up. She has to be crated too for 10 days and she's not happy with it...It's funny, all 3 have their own pillows, but when I got up this morning, the other 2 were laying right by her kennel...Support and solidarity I suppose...

We went through that with a Boxer we had a few years back...heartbreaking...I hope she can recover...

It is really heartbreaking to see them like this. You wonder how confused and scared they are. Or if they take it in stride. Hoping for the latter. Her appetite has been strong, which is always a good sign. She also wagged her tail at me yesterday when I was trying to hold her so she could use the bathroom. That brought on the waterworks for sure. 😭

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4 hours ago, Lostin76 said:

We are having a bit of a rough time with our dear dachshund Chloe. They are prone to back issues (IVDD) that can leave them paralyzed and we thought that since she was 14 we had avoided IVDD. 

On Monday, she started having some trouble walking so we took her to emergency vet. They said to keep her confined for two weeks. That night she couldn’t even stand on her own and it’s now full blown IVDD. 

We are not doing back surgery on a 14 year old dog, that would be too invasive and risky. Also back surgery is not a sure thing. So, we have to keep her immobilized in a crate for 8 weeks and hope for the best - with steroids, pain meds, and Gabapentin. Many dogs recover fully with strict cratre rest, but many don’t regain the use of their back legs. 

We are hopeful and committed to the treatment, but it’s really rough seeing her like this. 

Sorry to hear that. I wish her the best 

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My dogs are getting older, 13 yrs.  Noticed they were having mobility issues not long ago. Vet gave me Rejensa supplement for joint health. After only a few days noticed they were getting around better. Been 3 months and haven't noticed any problems.  Definitely recommend a joint supplement for older dogs. 

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7 hours ago, 13th&Jackson said:

Sorry to hear that. I wish her the best 

Thank you! 

5 hours ago, mrflynn03 said:

My dogs are getting older, 13 yrs.  Noticed they were having mobility issues not long ago. Vet gave me Rejensa supplement for joint health. After only a few days noticed they were getting around better. Been 3 months and haven't noticed any problems.  Definitely recommend a joint supplement for older dogs. 

Smart. We’ve been giving Chloe glucosamine for a few years and I’m sure it helps. 

So, we sprang for the MRI today after talking to a neurologist who didn’t think her symptoms were consistent with IVDD. Turns out she either had a stroke (most likely) or there might be a brain tumor (we hope not). 

It’s been a rough week for her and us, but she’s back at home. 

They think the stroke happened either Sunday night or early Monday morning. My wife was remembering today that Chloe was at the end of the bed around 4am Monday morning and then she kind of shuffled weirdly up into my wife’s arms with an odd look on her face. 

We are wondering if she was trying to tell us that something wasn’t right. No way to know if that’s when it happened, but we are just glad to have our old gal back home. Thanks for the concern everyone. 

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