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Home Your Horse Country Column Archive as featured in Two Lane Livin' Magazine West Virginia Events

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Two Lane Livin' Your Horse Country Column archives

2010 Column Archives - Includes "Running barefoot together, Horse Fly problems, The Unwanted Horse, Natural Parasite Reducer, World Equestrian Games, How a Horse's Stomach Works", and more...

2011 Column Archives - Includes "An animal’s calendar is weather and temperature defined, Unconditional Love and how to get it from your horse, The importance of good dental hygiene for your horse, Root crops as fodder for horses, cows, sheep, chickens, and other critters, including YOU!", and more...

Written by Dawna B. Smith, Journalist and Reporter, writer of the monthly "Your Horse Country" column for Two Lane Livin' Magazine

 

To view complete column, click on the month issue link provided.

 

May 2010 - West Virginia is Your Horse Country! Several years ago when gas was almost $4 per gallon, three Kentucky Conner High School students, decided it was cheaper to ride their horses to school than to drive their gas guzzling pick-up trucks.  They made national news.  Would the world have listened better if the media had announced that “Horses aren’t just hay burners but are valued community members and expeditious compost makers”? Read more.

 

June 2010 - Your horse and you, running barefoot together, just like God intended.   Before my pony, I’d run barefoot on our sandy gravel road, enjoying how the fine scratchy sand felt between my toes, helping cushion the ball of my foot. My small feet left many imprints in the damp tire tracks of our driveway, just like T-Rex must have done many millennia ago. We never shod our horses. After winter Dad would trim up their feet, and we’d ride gravel and paved roads. Conditioned, our horses didn’t go lame or have hoof problems. Read more.  

 

July 2010 - These hot July days have me humming “Summer in the Country”.  Hot town, summer in the country; Flies on the horse’s back getting dirty and gritty

been sprayed down, isn't it a pity ; doesn't seem to be a fly left in the city! We have 350 of only 3,000 blood sucking horse fly species found worldwide, plus barn flies, bot flies, deer flies, and the famous fruit fly. Where’s Carmen Miranda when you need her? Read more. 

 

August 2010 - The Unwanted Horse. Thin remnants trapped within a fence placed by human hands. Starving heads rise hopefully as people drive by grassless lands. They’re eyes beg for food, water, and a little “human” compassion.These unwanted horses needlessly suffering across our nation. What is an “unwanted horse”? Perhaps it’s a faded child’s dream, a middle aged compensator, or a spontaneous purchase with little understanding of the true cost involved. Read more.

September 2010 - Pumpkin and your horse, Mother Nature’s way of keeping parasites at bay! September is when Mother Nature tosses her colors like fruit loops across the hills. Soon, brilliant sumac reds, golden poplar, and orange maple leaves the color of pumpkins will capture our senses as we leave the humid summer behind, relishing the crisp autumn air. Yes, soon there will be PUMPKINS again! Hurray! It wasn’t until last year when there was a severe phytophthora blight on pumpkin fields that we felt the blight’s effect and could not find canned pumpkin. Thank goodness we could still find pumpkin seed, one of the most nutritious anthelmintic seed you can find. Anthelmintic or vermifuge is an agent that destroys or causes the expulsion of parasitic intestinal worms. Read more.  

October 2010 - World Equestrian Games & International Equestrian Festival – SIXTEEN days of pure horse candy! The BIG question is ….will YOU be attending the World Equestrian Games (WEG) or the International Equestrian Festival (IEF), which are both being held in Lexington, Kentucky, from September 25th through October 10th, 2010? Whether you’re exhibiting, competing, or a horse enthusiast, we’d like your opinion of either of these historic events. You can provide us your comments by visiting www.YourHorseCountry.com and submitting your information and op-ed articles. Items that we feel would have a public interest, time permitting, we will contact you to schedule an interview. Read more.

November 2010 - Over 500,000 spectators at the Alltech FEI World Equestrian Games! By the closing day of the Alltech FEI World Equestrian Games, total attendance topped half a million, averaging 35,000 people per day spread out over the Kentucky Horse Park’s 1,224 acres, which includes competition facilities, 260-site resort campground, and offices of more than 30 national and regional equine organizations and associations. Read more.

December 2010 - People and horses should graze small amounts frequently to help reduce health problems.  Used to perpetually grazing and consuming small meals, many horses suffer when subjected to reduced forage intake or when fed too much at one time. Their digestive system is monogastric not ruminant, like a cows. A horse's "upper gut", stomach and small intestine, is where most of the few nutrients are digested and absorbed. The unique characteristics of its "hindgut" or large intestine allows for the utilization of cellulose and other fermentable feed similar to the way cows digest using their forestomachs. Read more. 

January 2011 - A New Year’s Resolve. An animal’s calendar is weather and temperature defined. An animal’s calendar is weather and temperature defined, their bodies adjusting as needed to the changing seasons. It’s amazing how quickly horses can shed their fuzzy winter coats in preparation for warmer weather. This fall I noticed how quickly they put on their winter coats. We’ve been taught to dress in layers, take off when needed, and add when temperatures drop below our comfort zones. It’s only during winter that I can run my fingers through their plush coats, the hair thick and velvety, wondering how many more opportunities will I have to feel that special texture. Read more. 

February 2011 - Unconditional Love and how to get it from your horse. Horses have many uses, from draft animals to gentle and willing therapeutic assistants that help bring smiles to the sick or physically challenged, but they also excel at unconditional love for their herd leader. Horses are herd animals and hate being alone. When the cats follow us, they’ll prick their ears forward and eagerly snuffle these smaller herd members. The cats will twine themselves around the sturdy legs making sure that each has been marked appropriately. Yes, the horses belong to them as well. Read more.

March 2011 - The importance of good dental hygiene for your horse. Spring reminds me to check my calendar for my annual dental visit, and to call the equine dentist to have the horses’ teeth floated. Unlike human teeth, a horse’s teeth will continue to grow. Pastured horses and not stable kept often don’t require frequent teeth floating, as the natural act of grazing helps wear the teeth. It’s the front teeth that are used to clip the grass close to the ground, while the cheek teeth on the top and bottom act like mill stones to help break down the course forage for easier digestion. Everyone worries about colic. Good dental hygiene allowing for proper chewing of food can help prevent costly and sometimes deadly colic problems. Read more.

April 2011 - Root crops as fodder for horses, cows, sheep, chickens, and other critters, including YOU! Flat land, a valued commodity in West Virginia, is prized for home sites and gardens, but most often is reserved for narrow hay fields that hug creeks and our serpentine roads. Mountain top hay meadows aren’t usually conducive to producing large round bales, as they tend to want to roll down the hill. They also tend to be drier and not produce as much forage, as our water soaked valleys do. So, hay is often square baled on hill sides where flatlanders would not even dream of driving a tractor or four-wheeler. Twenty-two percent of West Virginia residents are disabled, and it’s possible that our rough farming terrain and joy of outdoor sports are contributing factors. Read more.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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