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All about horses in northern B.C. Issue # 101: November 13, 2001 Published each Tuesday by Kristi McCrindle, editor, from Grassy Plains, BC It amazes me how busy I can be, now that we are basically out of the "horsey season". I bought a new reining saddle, it just arrived on Friday, and it was Sunday afternoon before I even had a chance to try it out - amazing! But on the other hand, I have been pretty productive at home. I have allowed my horses to become second behind many important chores such as finishing some insulating projects, washing the exterior trailer walls before it freezes again, splitting firewood, and that kind of thing. I have also managed to get everyone caught up on their deworming, which was late this time. Deworming is something to be thinking about at this time of year chiefly because you should always deworm for bots after the first killing frost. Of course, this past week has been too mild to kill larvae, so hang on a little longer if you are going to deworm them soon! Farrier care is also important at this time of year - pulling shoes, putting pasture trims on horses, and considering a winter farrier schedule - these topics all need to be addressed. Keep in mind that many northern BC farriers are also employed in other businesses to pay the bills (contrary to popular belief, farriers seldom get rich just shoeing horses!) and many of those are involved in logging which gets active in the winter. Therefore, getting an appointment with your farrier may be extremely difficult - take that into consideration and book ahead, be flexible if possible, and perhaps look around for other farriers who may be able to pick you up for the winter months (please discuss this with your regular farrier first!). photo courtesy Chris Hassell One more note while I think of it, if your horse has been blanketed during this recent wet weather, you may want to take the time to pull the blanket off and carefully curry your horse?s body, paying special attention to his back. Many blankets are water resistant but not waterproof, and if the horse stays wet for several days underneath his blanket there is a good chance he will develop rain scald (also called rain rot). Till next week, try and enjoy some of this relatively quiet time with your horse, deworming, getting his feet trimmed and grooming him! ~ Kristi :) email to editor: kristi@hiway16.com Photo Show for horse photos Horse articles (word search: horse) Check our Horse Trailer Sharing Page or... add your listing if you wish to share your horse trailer ride Join us for a discussion about everything to do with horses on Horse Talk Your opportunity to meet horse enthusiasts across northern B.C

	Past articles are all available in the
Emergency! Part 4 Preparedness First Aid		Buying a Horse Trailer, Check for sharp edges outside
Talk to your veterinarian and other local horsepeople about setting up a first aid kit. Learn how to use the items you keep in your first aid kit - if you have no idea what to do with an item, it probably shouldn't be in your kit. Along with your first aid kit, have the drugs you may need on hand. Some drugs are prescription only, such as bute, so be prepared to pay the vet to examine your horse at some time so that you will have these drugs on hand. Some handy items to consider are Banamine, phenylbutazone (bute), penicillin (various types), epinephrine, eye drops, saline solution, etc. Keep in mind that a vet will only dispense drugs that he/she feels that you are capable of using - and that you will use your judgment in the case one may be needed. Where we are located, in a relatively remote area (2 hours from our vet and at the mercy of a ferry which does not run 24 hours a day), we need to keep these types of things on hand but we realize that they will not be for every day use - only for extreme emergencies. Hopefully we never have to use this emergency kit! Small Rubbermaid totes will work well for your emergency and first aid kits, as they will keep things dry and away from dust and animal damage. You can store your bandages, vetrap, ointments, etc in your regular use first aid kit, and your medications, flashlights, and other important emergency items in a different kit. Next week I?ll talk a bit about contingency plans.	Northern B.C. Horse is brought to you courtesy of our advertisers including: Burns Lake Building Supplies Griffin Enterprises Hoskins Ford Northern Horse Supply Ridennoure Paint Horses The Tack Store Thanks to our advertisers for making this all possible... ...for information about advertising, email jim@hiway16.com Western, English, Penning or Trail riding, all equine sports have a voice on Northern B.C. Horse If you are new to Northern B.C. Horse, check out all the previous issues on the Archive page. Kristi is building a great knowledge base about horses, with the emphasis on our area of the world.	Now you can get out of the trailer, and spend some time looking at the areas where your horse will be standing tied up. Horses are curious creatures, as well as easily bored, and they can and will get into trouble if left unattended while tied at the trailer. Something as simple as your license plate, if it sticks over the edge of the fender, can cause serious damage to an impatiently pawing horse. Again look for poor welds (it's usually easy to remove sharp edges on welds with a grinder or even a file), exposed edges on sheet metal, rust that has left a raw surface, and also bent spots on the trailer. When a trailer gets bumped into something, usually the sheet metal bends somewhere, leaving a sharp corner that may be dangerous to your horse. One important sharp edge to be very aware of is the back of the floor of the trailer. Most trailers now come equipped with a bumper pad on the rear trailing edge, which is handy to prevent cuts and bruises when loading. More than one horse has fallen when loading or unloading, and their legs can slide underneath the back of the trailer - a sharp edge here is extremely dangerous in that type of situation. And of course, rust creates sharp edges as well. Anywhere your prospective trailer shows rust that has eaten through the sheet metal, you will have areas that can seriously injure a horse. You have to take these into consideration when buying a trailer (or maintaining an older one). Another serious consideration of rust is that as metal rusts, the integrity of the steel is compromised. A badly rusted vehicle (be i car, truck or trailer) is not going to be able to withstand an impact as well as a solidly built vehicle. Sooner or later, rust in the frame is going to cause structural weakness - and every time you load your horse, you are trusting him to the strength of that trailer. Rust is probably one of the primary reasons people sell steel trailers and purchase a newer trailer (the other main reason being lack of space as their needs grow). Eventually, an older trailer is going to need to be either completely overhauled, or completely retired - and whoever does either is going to be taking a monetary loss. This doesn't mean don't purchase a trailer that has rust on it, but it does mean to be aware of it and the long term effects. More next week on buying a trailer.
	If you have tips or questions you'd like to share with other local equestrians, please mail them to kristi@hiway16.com

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