[sillybunny11486]

I was just wondering if anyone has any weird things they've herd that they want to share. Like horsey folk lore and what not.


I've herd you should not house pigs with horses, because pigs are meat eaters and horses sometimes freak out.

You can tell a horse is dehydrated by pinching their skin.

Cribbing and weaving are learned behaviors.

 

[Spastic_Dove]

The part about the skin is true. You can do it on a lot of animals, but horses it is really easy to see the results. Well hydrated skin will snap back quickly. You should also test for capillary refill time, etc.

I believe Cribbing and Weaving are learned. They result from boredom. Not sure how much FACT this is though.

 

[1dog3cats17rodents]

I was just wondering if anyone has any weird things they've herd that they want to share. Like horsey folk lore and what not.


I've herd you should not house pigs with horses, because pigs are meat eaters and horses sometimes freak out.

You can tell a horse is dehydrated by pinching their skin.

Cribbing and weaving are learned behaviors.

Myth
Fact
Depend on what you mean by learned. Horses don't learn t crib from other cribbers, but they do "learn" the beahviors when bored and understimulated

 

[TwisterRush]

Most grey horses are stalled most of their life, due to increased risks of cancer, sunburn etc from hot weather
( heard this from a friend, but grey horses, usually have black skin,not pink skin. so i dont believe that this is true,it is cruel)

 

[Spastic_Dove]

My greys have always been pasture kept...
They do have a higher risk for melanomas though

 

[SmoothTrails]

The skin works on most animals including humans, dogs, cats, or horses.

 

[sillybunny11486]

I keep a fly sheet or sunscreen on my tricolor mare (mostly white) in the summer, shes out 24/7 though.

Any one hear of using antioxidents to help prevent free radical damage to try and ward of cancer, tumors ect in lighter colored horses?

 

[Jessabel]

I was told that white hooves are weaker/more brittle than black hooves, but I don't think that's true.

I also heard that horses have an inborn fear of tigers, snakes, and pigs.

 

[SpringWolf]

there's a saying about white hoofed horses:

One white foot—buy him.
Two white feet—try him.
Three white feet—look well about him.
Four white feet—go without him.

Old wives tail about white hoofs not being as strong as black hoofs. But i t started somewhere. The only thing i can see being true is that white feet are more prone to mud fever.

 

[sillybunny11486]

I thought mud fever was scratches, that has nothing to do with the hoof. I've actually had a horse with no socks get bad scatches. Like real bad, he had them for 5 years if he hadnt died he probably would have still had them. He would go on antibiotics for injuries and the scatches didnt seem to be effected by it.

 

[SpringWolf]

um ya i know that...but most white hoofs i have seen have some amount of white in their legs (meaning socks, etc), I also never said a horse without socks doesnt get mud fever...i said white feet are more PRONE. I as well have had horse without white feet get it. I have a horse with one white foot, if he's gonna get mud fever, it is always in the white foot first.
oh and just for your info...mud fever, scratches = same thing

 

[Sophie19]

I have an inborn fear of tigers too.

 

[sillybunny11486]

^^ lol me too.

 

[Lobelia Overhill]

I was told that white hooves are weaker/more brittle than black hooves, but I don't think that's true.

I knew a horse who's feet were white and the farrier said he'd very good feet.


Someone told me you could value your horse according to how many times it rolls right over - £1,000 per roll. she claimed her pony [that her parents bought for £600 or possibly less] was worth £12,000 because he rolled right over 12 times one day.

We all fell about laughing at her...

 

[ridergirl23]

i heard that horses have an inborn fear of pis and snakes (obviously tigers!) and about that: one white hoof : buy him two white hooves: try him thing, what if the hrose has no white feet? lol rena has all balck legs and ive heard of the rolling thing, but my mom taught me it was for hundreds of dollars, nt thousands, lol. it went like: if i horse rolles, but doesnt roll to his otheer side without getting up, then he is worth 50 dollars, if he rolls over his back to the other side he is worth a hundred dallars,and so on

 

[GoldRush]

The skin test is true...vets do it all the time to all animals for dehydration test.
The white hoof thing is based on white nails and hooves being softer, not necessarily weaker. Six of one, half dozen of another... My horse is surely afraid of bear and mountain lion, and most are afraid of snakes, if they learned it from other horses. Not sure of horses raised in places where there aren't snakes like Ireland, so goes to figure that is a learned behavior. White animals usually have a higher cancer rate than dark colors, esp. ears, eyes and noses. Sunscreen (highest SPF) is recommended for those animals outside a lot. I worked as a vedt tech for years, and white cats were the worst as far as melanoma on ears and noses went. Only treatment was to remove the cancer surgically, so there were a LOT of earless cats around! Didn't really seem to matter if the skin itself was pink or grey/black.

 

[Honeysuga]

The way I always heard it was

One white foot- buy him
Two white feet- try him
Three white feet- be on the sly
Four white feet- pass him on by

I always heard this growing up and I gladly look everyone who told this to me in the face and tel them that they are full of crap! It has been proven that white feet differ in no way besides color to black or striped feet.

Btw, there is another thread similar to this one I think it is caled myths and superstitions or something, It has a ton!

 

[kevinshorses]

Most grey horses are stalled most of their life, due to increased risks of cancer, sunburn etc from hot weather
( heard this from a friend, but grey horses, usually have black skin,not pink skin. so i dont believe that this is true,it is cruel)

A very high percentage of grey or white horses do have skin cancer. Most show no signs of it but if they are sent to slaughter it shows up there. The meat price for grey horses is lower than colored horses because they have to be slaughtered seperately.

 

[MacabreMikolaj]

I heard a quote somewhere that apparantly vets have that goes "it's not if a grey horse gets cancer, it's when." Obviously it's not entirely true, but due to grey not actually being a color (it's literally a depigmentation of the hair, and can actually be viewed loosely as a disease to some) it increases the risk of melanomas tenfold. Even if they're benign, most greys end up with them.

Here's a good one - beet pulp! It seems the myth of beet pulp has been perpetuated over the years as it causing colic if it's not soaked - that it will swell up in a horses stomach and cause him to die. This misconception seems to be due to the large pellets of beet pulp being prone to causing choke in horses that bolt their food. However, if your horse is a bolter, then beet pulp is definately not your only worry and MOST of his/her food should be soaked to prevent choke.

The Myths and Reality of Beet Pulp - Susan Evans Garlinghouse
Feeding Beet Pulp to Horses
Beet pulp for horses. It's high in digestible fiber. It has a low non-structural carbohydrate level. It has a low glycemic index. Beet pulp!
The Horse | Feeding Beet Pulp

You pretty much cannot find a reputable article that continues the myth of soaked beet pulp being necessary. I find it amusing that people still swear by it.

 

[upnover]

Yep, I know several white horses (with grey skin) who've gotten melanomas. Don't know any colored horses that have...