16 May , 1962
You Can Help This Column Win Space In Your Own Paper
( Note — Subscribers to the Voice can help get a fine “ horse column ” started in their hometown newspaper . One of our new-found great friends is Charles Goldswig , a summertime resident of Route 1 , Clayton , O ., near Dayton . He spends winters in St . Petersburg , Fla . and recently organized the Florida Tennessee Walking Horse Assn . Says he was inspired to do this by reading Chapter 10 of our Biography book . Ask your favorite newspaperman if his newspaper doesn ' t want a horse column and if he answers “ yes " tell him to write Charles Goldswig , Rt . 1 , Clayton , O . This may get something started . Here ’ s a sample of Charlie ’ s column reprinted from the St . Petersburg Times . It ran once a week there all winter . Here ’ s a great person in the Tennessee Walking Horse Crusade . BAG )
THE HORSEY SET By Charles Goldswig
Much of our mail has been in die form of questions about show horses , inspired no doubt by the many shows which have been held in this area recently .
Two outstanding horsemen from different parts of the country , Lee Fahey of Kansas City , Mo ., an authority on saddle horses , and Horace Young of Lewisburg , Tenn ., an expert on walking horses , were judges at the horse show in Largo a few weeks ago and we were able to collaborate with them in obtaining some answers to the following questions :
Question : How long is the pre-natal period ? Eleven months .
Question : At breeding time , is the mare taken to the stallion or is the stallion taken to the mare ? The mare is taken to the stallion .
Question : What are the sleeping habits of horses ?
Some horses sleep standing up ; some lie down .
Question : What type food and how often are horses fed ?
Generally speaking , horses have their breakfast between 6 and 8 a . m . About a gallon of oats is the average feeding . A permanent hay rack in the corner of the stall is kept filled with timothy hay , with a sprinkling of clover and occasionally red top to give the necessary roughage . Vitamins also are given because the soil in some parts of the country does not provide grain and hay sufficient nutrients . Lunch , between 12 and 2 p . m . and dinner between 5 and 7 p . m .; are about the same as breakfast . The amounts of oats and hay vary depending upon the horses weight .
Question : How often are horses ridden or exercised and for what period of time ?
Horses are ridden or driven for about 30 minutes daily , six days a week . They are put through their regular gaits to be kept in form for the show ring .
Question : What happens if the horse is heated up after his exercise ?.
They are completely covered with a blanket known as a cooler and walked until they are thoroughly cooled out . Three or four times a week they are given a bath with warm water to which a bracer or astringent has been added . After the bath they are dried with a rough towel and the hair is well brushed . Then they are covered with a light blanket and returned to their stall .
Question : How often does a horse need new shoes ?
About every 4 to 6 weeks a blacksmith examines the shoes and resets them to conform with the hoof . Sometimes one pair of shoes will last six months to a year as they seldom wear out .
Question : What care is given to bed or stall ?
While the horse is out for his exercise the bed of straw or shavings is completely turned over and new bedding added . About once a week all the bedding is removed and a fresh supply put in .
Question : Is there any special treatment to the coat to make him so shiny ? How about his mane and tail ?
Elbow grease with a linen or burlap rag will do the job . However , occasionally flax seed meal is added to his diet which helps develop a glossy coat . The mane and tail are never combed . There are oiled and picked by hand so as not to lose or pull out the hair .
Question : Are show horses ever turned out to pasture ?
Yes . About once a year some show horses are given a vacation . Shoes are taken off , hoofs are trimmed and they are allowed to run die pasture .
Question : How about feeding carrots , apples or sugar to horses ? This is avoided for it has a tendency to spoil SHOW horses .
Question : Are there horse hospitals ? Yes . Three come quickly to mind , Iowa State University , Colorado University and Oklahoma University . Usually a local veterinarian treats the horse in the barn and if the horse might have an illness that is contagious , he is removed to an isolation stall .
Betty Sain
( Continued from Page 15 ) as wobbly as could be . And so it has gone until you came out to see us today and took pictures .
“ Look how strong she is , and how she loves me . I ' m pretty certain she will live now — and we are all praying for her ,” said Betty as the Voice Editor left to return to Shelbyville where he works at a newspaper office ( the Times-Gazette ) . Then The Telephone Rang But on Monday the telephone rang .
The voice of Betty Sain said : “ Mr . Green . My Little filly died . Dr . Thomas was here again on Sunday and he tried to save her . But she had a septic poisoning just like her dam has and also she developed pneumonia . The Doctor says she could not possibly have lived . He performed an autopsy to find the reason for her death . We think the dam will live . Please save the pictures you took . I want to keep them .”
So Betty hung up . The newspaper story was shortened to just cutlines . Newspapers do not have space for long stories like this . But the Voice does have space and we believe Voice readers will have the eyes and the hearts to share this experience with Betty Sain . That ’ s why such breed magazines exist .
Tuesday night , April 24 , the Voice Editor called Betty on the phone to double-check these facts .
“ Yes , Mr . Green , those are right ,” she said . “ But the dam , Blackley ' s Mae Allen , died too four weeks after the filly . She became so sick and was in such pain that Dr . Thomas had to put her to sleep .”
So the story ends in all details — but Betty Sain still plans to become a breeder-trainer of Tennessee Walking Horses as she grows up . She is already training several on one of the three farms owned by her parents .