1968-Voice Of The Tennessee Walking Horse 1968 August Voice RS | Page 66

Hv diviaea into thrGe
A. The grain ration is usual >
njght. Becau$e
equal feeds; given morning, n0,01|’aV is a hindrance jn
a digestive tract distended with 1 - ^e ftay at night
hard work, it is best to feed m<>st fourth of the daily
The common practice is to feed on
an(j n00n feecj.
hay allowance at each of the rnor at6nighti when thy
ings and the remaining one'ha hich to eat leisurely
animals have plenty of time in wn
Accordingly'
Horses learn to anticipate tie‘
larity, as deter!
they should be fed with great reg w/ather> th
mined by a timepiece. During Wcl
i anfi i^t4f
will eat better if the feeding hours ar
in the cool of the day.
.
m.,rrk
Usually the grain ration is fed first,
h\-
age following. In this manner, the a
e
bulky roughages more leisurely.
ALL ABOUT HORSES
Neither summer weather nor vacations result in my
getting a respite from questions — but I’m glad it’s
that way. Here are some of the stump-the-columnist
questions that I’ve recently received, along with my
answers:
Q. How many purebred horses and ponies are be­
ing registered annually in the United States?
A. About 130,000.
Q. How can I determine the age of horses by the
teeth?
A. The approximate age of a horse can be deter­
mined by noting time of appearance, shape, and de­
gree of wear of temporary and permanent teeth.
Temporary, or milk, teeth are easily distinguishable
from permanent ones because they are smaller and
whiter.
The best way to learn to determine age in horses is
by examining teeth of individual horses of known
ages. I must caution you, however, that even experi­
enced horsemen cannot determine the age of an ani­
mal accurately after it is 12 years old. After this age,
the teeth change from oval to triangular and they
project or slant forward more and more as the horse
becomes older.
Also, an animal’s environment can affect wear on
teeth materially. Teeth of horses raised in dry sandy
areas, for example, will show more than normal wear;
a five-year-old western horse may have teeth that
would be normal in a six- to eight-year-old horse
raised elsewhere. The teeth of cribbers also show
more than normal wear. It is hard to determine the
age of such animals. The age of a horse with a parrot
mouth, or undershot jaw, also is difficult to estimate.
Q. What are the symptoms of vitamin A deficiency?
A. Severe deficiencies of vitamin A may cause night
blindness, reproductive difficulties, poor or uneven
hoof development, respiratory symptoms, incoordina­
tion and fanciful appetite. There is also some evidence
that deficiency of this vitamin may cause or contribute
to certain leg bone weaknesses.
Q. How many times a day should I feed my horse?
Also, because of school activities and social affairs, I
don’t feed my horse at any regular time. Will this
irregularity hurt him? Which should be fed first, grain
or roughage?
66
Q. What’s thrush?
A. Thrush is a disease of the foot, caused by a ne­
crotic fungus characterized by a pungent odor. It
causes a deterioration of tissues in the cleft of the
frog or in the junction between the frog and bars.
This disease produces lameness and, if not treated,
can be serious.
Q. This is show season, so I’m trailering my horse
from show to show. What rules should I follow relative
to feeding and watering before, during, and following
transportation?
A. The grain allowance should be limited to a half
feed before loading out and for the first feed after
reaching destination. In-transit horses should be given
all the good quality hay that they will eat — prefer­
ably some alfalfa, so as to keep the bowels open -
but no concentrate.
Commercial hay nets or homemade burlap contain
ers may be used to hold the hay while in transit; but
do not place them too high.
When transporting horses, give them fresh, clean
water at frequent intervals, all they will drink, unless
it is extremely hot and there is danger of gorging
Beginning about a week ahead of moving horses, it is
a good idea to add a tiny bit of molasses to each pail
of water, then continue this practice while in transit,
thereby avoiding any flavor or taste change in the
water.
Q. My saddle club is planning to construct a show
ring. What is the standard size?
A. There are no standard or required specifications
as to ring size. For most purposes, a ring 125’ x 250'
in size will suffice. However, many good show-rings
are either smaller or larger than these dimensions.
For example, the ring of the famous Devon Horse
Show, in England, which is much used for jumpers, is
150’ x 300’ in size. But the ring at the Spanish Riding
School, in Vienna, in which the Lipizzans perform, is
only 59’x 180’.
Q. What’s meant by simple and multiple gene in­
heritance?
A. In simple gene inheritance, only one pair of
genes is involved; thus, a pair of genes may be re­
sponsible for color of hair in horses. However, most
characters — such as speed—are due to many genes;
hence, they are called multiple-gene characters. For
most characters, 10 or more pairs of genes are in­
volved. Growth rate in foals, for example, is affected
by (1) appetite and feed consumption, (2) the propor-
(Continued on page 70)
Voice of the Tennessee Walking Horse