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Introducing Myself

1K views 11 replies 7 participants last post by  ArizonaSun 
#1 ·
I recently moved from the Pacific Northwest to Arizona. I have been a horse enthusiast literally all my life, and have owned several over the years. I thought I had owned my last horse, but find now that there is time and space, there is room for one or two more, and will be ready to bring one home in the first part of the year. Now is the time to prepare and learn what is new. Horse keeping in Arizona is different than in the Pacific Northwest. I read that many horses are not shoed here because their soles are harder.

Being older and not ridden much over the past 15 years, I am looking forward to taking a few lessons for a tune up on balance and attention, and maybe link to the right horse. I am worried about buying a horse from a stranger. A horse with a few miles on him or her with a sense of adventure for a morning ride would be the right partner for me. I joined this forum to find out what other older riders are experiencing, and maybe to connect with a trail riding group in my region. Also am interested in learning more about nutrition differences in this area. I've read that too much iron in the diet is a cause for concern. True or not? When I find the right horse for me, I know there will be issues that come up and I will appreciate having a forum for feedback to my questions.

In the meantime, happy trails to you.
 
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#3 ·
What part of Arizona are you in? It's a big state with a varied climate! I believe we have members from all over the state, from Tucson to the Valley to Northern Arizona. I am up in the Northeastern part of Arizona myself.

You know, everything I know about nutrition I learned online from places like this forum. I actually don't know of any of my friends and neighbors who know much about iron levels or horse nutrition in general. I swear, nobody worries about that stuff and just feeds whatever hay is easy to get (usually alfalfa) and only add grain if they need more calories. I am the most neurotic horse owner in my neighborhood. :lol:

All I can say is the straight alfalfa horses seem to do fine. But I personally feed alfalfa and bermuda together so my horse has something to nibble on most of the day. I HAVE lost some horses to colic over the years when I was feeding meals of straight alfalfa twice a day. So while other people don't worry about it and never seem to have a problem, I am personally trying to feed a more grass-hay based diet. I still think alfalfa is good.......but I think it's also good for them to always have something in their system and the grass hay allows me to do that. I know that's not what you asked, but those are my thoughts on Arizona horse feeding since I know nothing about iron levels. I do think we have high iron based on the color of our water filter in our house.

Shoeing.......well, that probably depends a lot on where you live and how much land your horse has to roam. The more area they have to walk around the drier their hooves will be and the more exercise they will get, the better they will do barefoot. I keep my horse barefoot and boot if I am going to ride someplace especially rocky. My neighbor rides her horses completely barefoot all the time (but she doesn't ride as much as I do). At least two other neighbors keep their horses shod. So it's a mixed bag I guess. I would go by how your horse feels. If they do great barefoot, keep them barefoot. You can always put Easyboots on the fronts if you are doing major rocky areas. If your horse is a tenderfoot you may need to boot every ride or just go to shoes.

I have a neighbor who rides pretty hard to whom I sold one of my horses. That horse was barefoot with me for 8 years (his whole life) but when the neighbor bought him he decided he needed shoes because he rides quite a bit and like to canter and climb rocky hillsides. So shoes work better for him. Part of the reason I like barefoot is because I trim my own horses anyway, so I like not being dependent on a farrier. I trim if they need trimming, boot if necessary and go barefoot whenever I can get away with it. :cool:
 
#4 ·
Thank you each for your welcome and encouragement

I've fed orchard grass in the past with just a bit of alfalfa on occasion. The Bermuda grass in this region looks very good, and there is a resource for it nearby.

By the way, I presently live in Cottonwood, which is just south of Sedona. We are building on two acres. We won't have grass, but we have just enough land for a small amount of hay storage plus shelter for 2 horses and an acre for them to move around on. But it all must wait until after the first of the year.

Thanks for the feedback regarding whether to shoe or not shoe.

I haven't seen much information about riding groups here in Cottonwood, so if either of you know of any, let me know.

Again, thank you.
 
#6 ·
I've fed orchard grass in the past with just a bit of alfalfa on occasion. The Bermuda grass in this region looks very good, and there is a resource for it nearby.

By the way, I presently live in Cottonwood, which is just south of Sedona. We are building on two acres. We won't have grass, but we have just enough land for a small amount of hay storage plus shelter for 2 horses and an acre for them to move around on. But it all must wait until after the first of the year.

Thanks for the feedback regarding whether to shoe or not shoe.

I haven't seen much information about riding groups here in Cottonwood, so if either of you know of any, let me know.

Again, thank you.
I would love to live in Cottonwood or anywhere in the Verde Valley. I just visited there (again) in March with my sister, who had never been there. I am so jealous. I hope you find a couple of nice horses and have a blast.
 
#5 ·
Welcome! I'm in Arizona as well. This is my first time owning horses in the state. We currently have three recently procured horses. I have not owned horses in awhile and have only been riding other people's horses for several years. I rode friend's rodeo horses mostly recently.

Of the three horses we have all of them were being fed straight alfalfa prior to our purchasing them, so we have continued with that. The other was being fed whatever hay was cheapest, so her diet has changed. I have also added Select Alfalfa as a ration balancer as well as an MSM supplement which I mix with 6 oz of sweet feed just because that's the only way they eat it. That also lets me mix in the SandClear once a month. I would ideally like to have a grass hay available to them all of the time but I cannot afford it although I'm toying with the idea of a slow feeder in each of their stalls. However, my mare is fairly destructive in that her apple jolly lick thing was completely eaten in one day. *face palm* Her salt block is also nearly gone as she is relentless.

The newest one, that was being fed whatever hay was cheapest, has feet that are in pretty bad shape. The farrier is coming tomorrow, so I'll have to update you on the shod vs. barefoot things. On the other two, one is barefoot with excellent feet (boyfriend's horse) then my mare is shod. But she was previously being started as a head horse, so she was hauled fairly frequently. I have light rims on her since we will be ultimately working on barrels after a bit.
 
#7 ·
Hello again!

Yes much has changed regarding horse care. It's a whole different world in terms of feed, compared to when we were young:)

When you start your horse hunt, give some consideration to a gaited breed. -- they are great for bad backs, knees, and shoulders:)


Along with Tennessee Walkers, Missouri Foxtrotters, Rocky's and Kentucky Mountain Horses, gaited Morgan's and Appaloosas have registries.

That's just the U.S. Horses. There are a handful of other gaited breeds that tend to be a little shorter:)

Regarding your iron question -- yes too much iron is not good. It depletes copper:zinc, both of which are needed to stabilize insulin, and give the horse healthy hooves and coat.

A horse will get enough iron, naturally in forage (grass and hay). They don't need a feed with added iron:). Most horses will do well on a quality ration balancer, regardless what area of the U.S. they live:). Brands can vary because some feed stores prefer THIS over THAT, lol

I have an insulin resistant horse, so I went one step further and feed him a soy-free, no added iron, condensed vit/min supplement. I use Timothy pellets as the carrier for whatever supplements this horse needs.

Enough on that subject so your head won't explode, lol. I just wanted to sort of bring you up to speed in the feed department:)
 
#8 ·
@ArizonaSun

Welcome. I’m in the Pacific NW. just started trying to ride after an almost 50 year break. There are special forums for folks over 50 and over 60. They over lap. Check em out. My wife and visit Arizona for Spring Training. Love the sun sets there. I’m a little jealous. Hope you find the right steed quickly.

When you enjoy that adult beverage watching the sun set lift one for us guys getting rain.

Rob
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