Stop the wood chewing!!!!

Lad is a smart horse and a wonderful ride but for all his wonderful qualities has a very busy mouth. During the winter Lad began chewing on any wooden object within reach. I tried several products - paints and sprays designed to prevent cribbing and chewing. I even bought him toys, balls and objects to occupy his limber lips. All to no avail - Lad was on a one-horse mission. Lad seemed intent on reshaping my new wooden fence posts into interesting and clever shapes. I had become very frustrated and I was about ready staple his lips shut when I came across a number of large plastic pots I had saved from the nursery. I placed the sturdy black pots over the tops of my fence posts and secured them with a fence staple on the backside. Problem solved – no more chewing!!!

Bug off!!! Tips for getting relief from those pesky bugs.

Fly and mosquito season is definitely here in the sierra foot hills where I live and ride. I am determined not to be pushed around by bugs!! I just put out a double order of fly predators and several stinky fly traps. The traps are already half full in just a week! Yikes! I hope this isn’t a preview of the coming summer.Some of the additional things I do to make the battle against the bugs a little easer are the following:
For easy insect repellent application I use a three gallon garden tank sprayer. The type used to spray weed killer in the garden. I like Larry’s, a plant based, natural repellent mixed with water. I just pump the sprayer, press the trigger on the spray wand and pass it over the horse. This gives a steady, even coating with little effort. I have three horses to spray down in the mornings and it makes process go so much quicker. I also tie fabric softer sheets to my horses’ manes and tails. This also works well on camping trips I just leave them on for several days.
When I am on the trail - I keep a small rag soaked with a 50/50 mixture of Avon Skin-So-Soft bath oil and alcohol in a zip lock bag. I have separate a human rag and a horsey rag. They fit easily into your saddle bag.
Happy Trails!
Gloria Garland L.Ac., Dipl. Ac. & Ch.
Licensed Acupuncturist & Chinese Herbalist
Whole Horse Herbs www.wholehorse.com