Any Horse owners?

[Robert Mickley]

Well I'm no horse person. There are horses here on the farm though, all mutts except the haflinger. Cous has a large pony that came from an amish farmer. we use him to pull a wagon and he just loves it, he wants no part of a saddle but put the harness on him and he gets all kind of excited. He loves to pull that cart. I have worked with an amish that logged with a team of Percheron's. That was fun and I have toyed with the idea of getting either a Percheron or a Belgian. One thing I did learn from the amish was if your going out to work the horse that day feed them some spelts instead of oats in the morning. They get more energy out of the spelts. Feed them spelts in the morning your going to the field all day. A lot of the amish feed spelts all winter.

[Ken Fitzgerald]

I give up Robert .....what is spelts?...........I started working with horses when I was 11 in Blanding, Utah.................worked with them on and off through HS. I've fed them a lot of different things but what is spelts?

[Larry Klaaren]

I give up Robert .....what is spelts?...........

I had to look it up. The dictionary definition is "rhymizones".

Hope that clears it up.

In Websters it said . . . "A primitive strain of wheat, now seldom grown."

I think the Amish mean wheat when they say speltz. They speak German amongst themselves. They didn't know I could understand a little bit of it - took two years in college. That was fun. Their language was a "low dialect" that originated in Switzerland. Since they have been isolated over here (as far as language goes) their terminology has taken some of it's own twists and turns as well as their pronunciation and diction.

Larry

[Mike Cutler]

I wasn't trying to steer anyone towards, or away from an auction in my initial post. I was only putting it out there for a resource.

The info by Larry and Bill is right on. The Amish turn over their teams on a regualr basis, and for any number of reasons as pointed out. It doesn't make them bad people, it's just that they use their teams for daily work and have to decide in advance whether or not a team or a single will remain sound for the season. It's an odds on bet that no one other than the Amish are looking to work their teams for sun up to sundown on a daily basis, except for their religous days of observance. There isn't a lot of rest ime for a working farm horse.
If they decide to replace a team. They need to get their animals to the auctions "In good flesh" to make them saleable to the slaughter industry, or to a private individual. They can't wait until they are lame
Good, sound, trained working horses can be bought at an auctions, but you must be experienced, or hire someone that is experienced.

To support this I would offer the story of our horse.
Our horse is an off the track thoroughbred. He was purchased for less than the price of a good contractor saw. He won 4 races as a two year old, and placed or showed in all of the rest. Two episodes of "Exercise induced Pulmonary Hemmorage(bleeding from the lungs) ended his racing career as a three year old, and made him worthless.
This horse has a pedigree that includes Seattle Slew, Secratariat and AP Indy within the first four generations. Two Triple Crown winners, 4 Belmont winners, three horse of the year, and the most expensive breeding thoroughbred stallions in America, and this horse has absolutley zero value. He is worth the price of meat.
A complete neophyte could safely handle this horse. His ground manners are impeccable, and he is completely halter broke. You can find good horses, but it's a risk. Just a little story to share is all.

Dang Bill, why did you have to go and expose Tod? I was really lookin' forward to owning a "Stallion Mule"

[Ken Fitzgerald]

Larry...........when packing elk on the horses and mules...........we often grained them in elk camp. Talk about personality changes. Not grain fed, they were pretty docile.........with grain we knew we'd have to watch them closely!

[Tom Saurer]

I've grown up around horses. Whatever you do, have a good, trustworthy horse person look at each horse. Anyone can be taken, but it happens a lot less to the experienced people.

I grew up going to horse auctions and my family has gotten some good horses from them. But I will always prefer buying privately. You have more time to interact with the horse and the owner.

[Larry Klaaren]

Larry...........when packing elk on the horses and mules...........we often grained them in elk camp. Talk about personality changes. Not grain fed, they were pretty docile.........with grain we knew we'd have to watch them closely!

Grain includes complex sugers (unless it's been fermented), which are broken down into . . . less complex sugars . . . which some people allege contributes to hyperactivity.

If they are on grass, there's a whole nother digestive process that is used to digest the grass. BTW, you can't just switch them from day to day, it has to be a gradual process.

I would prefer to see people buy a horse or livestock from the owner without going through an auction facility. Get their word for it. When the animals are congregated, there may be exposure to disease (I have to be careful not to make an absolute statement. This is my disclaimer.) It may be very difficult to trace back ownership of the horse if there is a problem if you buy it at auction. It's may be hard to get a real valid sense about the animal's temperament and fractiousness in that situation. And it is possible that an owner doped up a horse and showed up as late as possible and ran it through the barn, as someone said earlier.

On the other hand, the lame horses are usually sold privately, and they are sometimes sold by people who can "see ya coming" and talk you out of your "horse sense" and convince you that you don't need to get them to sign anything, get an exam, etc. etc.

There are people who are able to sense what's going on with horses. Technology has its' place, but there are also people who just "get it" when they are around a horse. Insurance companies won't take their word for it though. So . . . . use your own "horse sense" and whatever else is available to you.

Larry

[Mike Cutler]

Larry...........when packing elk on the horses and mules...........we often grained them in elk camp. Talk about personality changes. Not grain fed, they were pretty docile.........with grain we knew we'd have to watch them closely!

Got to watch out for Alfalfa also. 16% protien. Too much to a horse not used to it, and you got a rocketship on your hands, or even worse the potential for colic.

We use "Horse 10". 10% protien for our horse. He doesn't get much grain either. You really have to pay attention to the contents on the back of the bag, or you'll have an 1100 lb, 4 year old, that's had too much "candy" and "soda pop" on your hands.
For future info, if needed. Blue Seal has an excellent website for info on grains. What is really interesting about their site, is that even though they are in the business of selling grain. They don't encourage indiscriminate use of grain as a daily feed, They contend that grain is supplement for horses in work, and that free access to quality pasture is best. Of course Foals and Mares require some different care due to pregnancy and the proper development of the foal.

Interesting stuff, but a little outside of the original post. I apologize.

[Robert Mickley]

I give up Robert .....what is spelts?...........I started working with horses when I was 11 in Blanding, Utah.................worked with them on and off through HS. I've fed them a lot of different things but what is spelts?

Small grain like wheat or oats, more protien in it. And when the Amish around here say spelts they mean spelts not oats or wheat. Brother rasies some for a cash crop and he feeds some of it too in the winter. Has a grain mill out in Toledo that buys strictly orgainc grains and he is always looking for organic spelts.

[Gil Mitchell]

we've got three perchons and a quarter horse. I done carriage rides, weddings , parades up untill about two years ago. had to quit due to bad back and knees. think i'm gona take the team to the sale this summer , to much work just to watch them run in the pasture.

[Larry Klaaren]

Before I get more off-topic on the off-topic topic, buy the horse you like, if you don't know the horse business, get someone who does to help you. You may want a soundness exam depending on the economics involved and whether or not you insure it and how much you insure it for.

I found some information about spelt. I was wrong. But at least I'm man enough to admit it boldly.

Spelt is a sub-species of wheat, with a larger grain and a darker color. It's wheat, but it's not what we think of when we say wheat. The people who write about it differentiate between the lines of wheat with Latin and German names for the lines. The spelt wheat line was developed about 3,000 years ago in the middle east. The reason that wheat beat it out in North America is because wheat has a much higher production per acre. Very little has been grown in the US in the last 60 years, but it is making a come back in the organic market. Guess what - it's a great horse food.

For an unknown reason, people who are intolerant of wheat can often digest it, even though it is also high in gluten. Very high sugar content.

In Italy it is a common recipe ingredient. (Reminds me of Durham wheat which is a darker wheat raised in the Dakotas for pasta.)

As near as I can tell, there are only a couple of localities in North America where spelt is raised, beyond the occasional farmer who produces organic foods in a vertically integrated marketing plan. One is in Ohio where there is a production facility. Another is in eastern Washington, and apparently there is an area or two in Canada where it is raised. It has an association with German cultures (like the . . . Amish?).

It's not much for wood working, although the grain is interesting. You'll get it later, you'll laugh then.

Larry

[Bill Lewis]

Larry, I got it!