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Jennifer Macaire

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Jennifer Macaire

Category Archives: The story of Kalin des Vents

Kalin des Vents, Kalin’s story

Managing the field horse

05 Friday Apr 2019

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Horses do better in pastures. The bigger the better. A strong, well-built lean-to, a few trees, no barbed wire, good solid fences, a large, easy-to-clean water supply, and good grazing is all you need to keep your horse happy. Depending on the weather, most horses don’t need rugs in the winter – if you don’t need to clip them, let them get as fuzzy as possible, and only rug if the horse is dropping weight. Feed in the winter is easy as well – as much hay as the horse can eat, and grain if the horse is working out. A salt lick is always a good idea.

Kalin is 20 now. He has equine piroplasmosis, or chronic piroplasmosis, so we keep an eye on him – we’re careful about his weight. He gets a treatment twice a year, and that seems to work wonders. We use homeopathic medicine made from artichokes for his liver. He gets one month treatment in the spring and fall –  and so far so good.

He only wears a blanket if the temperature goes below freezing, and even then, only if there is rain or sleet as well. Dry cold doesn’t bother him. He’s barefoot, so he only gets a good trim every month or so, and once a week he gets filed if his hooves needs it.

In the winter, make sure the ice doesn’t form on the water trough – horses need to drink a lot, especially in hot or cold weather. We’ve never bothered with the ‘warming the icy water up’ – we break the ice, they drink it cold – Kalin doesn’t mind. Just make sure you break the ice. Some people put bundles of hay in the trough that keeps the water from freezing into thick, unbreakable sheets. We just go morning and evening and break the ice.

He was dead lame for two days this year – but after a couple days he was fine. He probably stepped on his own foot or over-reached and kicked himself. We left him in the pasture and let him walk it out. I figured that if he hurt, he wouldn’t walk on it.  After three days he was galloping, so he was back under he saddle and working fine.

He’s been jumping well too, and looks great. Winter is over, his artichoke treatment is over, and now it’s time for vaccines, worming, and filing his teeth. Summer will be fly season – we will put a fly mask on him and keep him covered in fly spray as much as possible, (although for the past two or three years, there haven’t been as many flies as usual. Bad sign for humanity – but Kalin is more comfortable).

In the fall it’s the artichoke treatment again, another worming before winter sets in, and feet maintenance, as fall can be either very wet (soggy feet – not good – we use Norwegian tar) or very dry with a ground that’s hard as rock (dry feet – use grease – we use laurel grease, which works wonders on dry hooves and heels – don’t forget the heels!). Fall is also when we evaluate his condition for winter. We want him going into winter with some fat on him – it helps grow his coat and keeps him healthier/warmer. We start working him a little less and feeding him a little more – when winter comes, it starts with wet, cold weather, so we might rug at night if he hasn’t gotten his winter coat if the weather is particularly bad, but we prefer to let him get cold – it stimulates the growth and thickness of his winter coat. So far we’ve only done this once – usually we wait until January – February when a real storm rolls in before rugging him. This year, he only wore his rug for three days.

Fall is also when we clean and waterproof his rugs. As in the spring, we give his tack and blankets a thorough cleaning. Once or twice a year, we take everything apart and clean and grease the leather. Usually we do it on a sunny day, with a picnic lunch, and spend the day doing it. It’s a good idea to walk the fence-line as much as possible. A good idea to check the field for rabbit holes, downed branches, anything that could cause injury. As my father-in-law used to say: “A horse is an accident looking for a place to happen.”

Since he’s in a field, Julia doesn’t need to ride him every day.  Usually he gets ridden three times a week, and for his age that’s probably enough. So, big pasture, good fence, nice grazing, lots of clean water – and that’s about it for the horse that’s kept in a field! 

 

 

 

Horse Stories

25 Monday Feb 2019

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My daughter’s horse learned to lean over electric wires with his coat on, so he didn’t get shocked – then one day he stepped over and the wire bounced back up and there he was – stuck in the middle – he flew into the air – ended up in the wrong field. Had to restring the electric fence, repair two posts, and he doesn’t get a coat in the winter anymore. (he doesn’t really need one!)

We had a pony called Blackie who could open any stable door – he had a friend, Cartoucho, a retired polo pony – and Blackie would escape his field, go to the stables, open Cartoucho’s door, and off they’d go. They usually headed to town, and hit the nearest vegetable garden – for some reason, they loved vegetable gardens. We’d get furious phone calls, and have to go fetch the two truants. The funniest thing that happened was an old man found them on the road, heaading to town. He managed to grab Cartoucho and, having no halter, took his belt off to hold the horse. His pants promptly fell down. He reached for his pants, and off ran Cartoucho – the man’s belt still around his neck.

Continue reading →

Lyme disease

22 Saturday Jul 2017

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Our horse has lyme disease – it’s chronic, meaning we can’t get rid of it – and it’s cyclic, coming back spring and fall. He’s had it for about 11 years now – and it was only diagnosed last year. Like the article says, it’s hard to diagnose – the first three blood tests came back negative. What works best is a homeopathic treatment to boost his liver function – since we’ve started him on these (for humans!) artichoke pills, he’s gained weight and energy. Some symptoms he showed: an aversion to bright light, overly spooky, difficulty swallowing, shying at nothing (hallucinations?), dropped weight, low energy and lethargy, and staph infection on his legs.  He had a protein deficiency which we treated with vitamins. He was on antibiotics for the staph infection, and that cleared up well. Have scientists connected lyme disease symptoms in horses with lyme symptoms in humans? Could humans be treated with not only antibiotics but with homeopathy aimed at stimulating the liver, I wonder? Im also wondering because something bit me on my wrist, and it’s been over a month, and it’s still red and swollen. As soon as I get the time, I’m off to get a blood test! Hopefully it’s just a spider  bite, but if it was a tick, I better know now!

According to studies over 30% of horses in France (& pasture animals in general) have contracted Lyme. In some cases, it’s fatal, in others the animal’s immune system kills it, and in others, it becomes a chronic infection.

Read this very interesting post for a report on Lyme disease in humans.

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Photos of Kalin & intro

17 Thursday Mar 2016

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Just some pictures of Kalin, if anyone wants to see! And some clarifications for those who have read The Story of Kalin des Vents. Continue reading →

Kalin’s Story – part I

27 Tuesday Oct 2015

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The story of Kalin des Vents

He was a promising colt, but on the small side, and for that he was gelded and sold as a two-year-old. His grandfather had been a racehorse who’d won several big races, but his first crop of foals turned out to be better at jumping than racing, and one did so well he became a choice for breeders looking for docile stallions to cover their showjumping mares. His mother was one such mare – she’d won several grand prizes then was retired for breeding. But her first foal, though flashy, was considered too small for show-jumping, and a young woman who had just started eventing bought him. Continue reading →

Kalin’s story – part II

26 Monday Oct 2015

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The story of Kalin des Vents

Kalin could no longer compete as an eventer, but he could still jump. Julia, whose heart had been set on eventing, decided to content herself with show jumping. I’d already been nerve-wracked for years watching my husband play professional polo. I didn’t think I could take watching my daughter hurtle around a cross country course – especially knowing her penchant for difficult horses. I won’t say I bought Kalin for her because I didn’t want her to event. I did give her a choice, and she, to my great relief, chose Kalin. Continue reading →

Kalin’s story – part III

25 Sunday Oct 2015

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The story of Kalin des Vents

What makes a happy horse? Some horses are easily contented. They grow fond of their surroundings, their riders, their grooms. Some are even more basic. If they have food and water, they are content. Others are content as long as they are doing something – even if it’s simply carrying children around in slow circles. Other horses are more difficult. I think Kalin is one of those. It’s not that he’s more intelligent than other horses – but he is definitely more sensitive. He seems to feel things like happiness or sadness more keenly. When we first got him, and for the first six months, he was depressed. I think he was very attached to his first owner. She’d bought him as a two year old, and had had him ever since. For nine years she’d been his constant companion. Then he’d been injured, she’d married and had a child, and when he came back from his first injury, he’d had to get used to a different rider. And although Arthur was brilliant, he and Kalin didn’t exactly hit it off. Continue reading →

Kalin’s story – part IV

24 Saturday Oct 2015

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The story of Kalin des Vents

Julia’s first few shows were disasters. In the practice ring, before her very first round, she was about to jump Kalin when another horse got too close to him and he shied, throwing her into the jump. She got back on him just as her number was called. She knocked over three bars. For her second round she did a bit better, only hitting two bars. On her second show she managed to get him around with just one bar, and so it went. She couldn’t seem to get him around with no faults. For my husband, the reason was clear. The jumps were too low, and Kalin was bored. But despite the mediocre results, Julia managed to qualify by sheer number of top quarter finishes. She was going to the nationals, but she knew she didn’t stand a chance. She was just happy to have gotten qualified, and to be able to go with the club to the horse show.  Continue reading →

Kalin’s Story – part V

23 Friday Oct 2015

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Kalin was still far too thin in March, but by July, he’d recovered his health completely and once again headed to the nationals. It was Julia’s second year with him, and she was determined to do well, but on the first day of the championship Kalin knocked down two bars, and they was already out of the running. There was one more day, but they couldn’t make up the lost points. Continue reading →

Kalin’s Story – part VI

22 Thursday Oct 2015

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While Kalin was in Normandy, recuperating from a bowed tendon, Julia was diagnosed with ventricular extrasystoles and Paroxysmal tachycardia, and had two operations to try to correct everything. After the second operation, the doctors told her she could stop taking her beta blockers, and so she could start show jumping again in competition. Kalin, by that time had spent nearly ten months first in a stall, then a paddock, then a field, healing. He was fat and barefoot, but his legs were perfect – his tendons looked better than they’d ever looked, and he’d gained confidence in himself to the point where Carol, the farmer, put him in the pasture with the young stallions so Kalin could teach them some manners.  Continue reading →

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