The Sevens Ranch

07/11/2023

05/06/2023

The last time I was brave enough—or stupid enough—to post something about hobbling my horses, the outrage was such that I vowed never to do so, again.

I’ve stood by my word, until this morning.

I’ve got a road trip planned and as I walked out into the white winter wonderland—for it snowed again last night—to feed in the early dawn, I knew something wasn’t right. Tee was missing. I chucked out some hay for the others who are travelling with me and went in search of my old friend.

There he was, in a tight spot, where it seems he had discovered a coil of old wire in a hedgerow that is next to the yard. It’s a reality when one lives in an once-abandoned farmstead with decades and generations of old stuff. We clean up continually, but still. Like rocks in the fields, some forgotten treasure is always working its way up. The wire had slipped and bound his front pastern with two wraps, so tightly that I couldn’t at first see where he was caught.

Tee was standing, worried and shaking but sure that I would come and help. I eased in, said the W-word quietly and got to work. The manure pile behind my horse told the tale of a long and uncomfortable night, spent in stillness in the teeth of the storm. Thank goodness I was moved to go out unusually early and begin to get ready for my journey. Thank goodness none of the other horses had chased my submissive friend while he was caught by the front leg.

Thank goodness Tee knows how to hobble.

This is one of the skills he rocks, despite loud voices braying about learned helplessness and the cruelty of outdated methodology. Despite their knowing best, today, I am still going on a fun road trip with my horse and not, in a panic, hauling him to the vet.

In this time of all or nothing thinking—of absolutely knowing what's right and what's wrong—more than ever, I am seeking that beautiful thing called balance.

05/05/2023

The Sevens Ranch is honored to be hosting Pete Genovese of Optimum K-9 Training on May 7th 10:00-12:00 and May 20th 1:00-3:00. These canine training clinics are open to the public and will be held in our indoor riding arena. For more information on Pete and Optimum K-9 Training please visit https://www.optimumk9training.com/about-us/

To register please contact Pete directly at 240-285-7827

12/12/2022

Did you know....

Horses have around 205 bones in their skeleton, but some Arabian horses have fewer ribs and lumbar vertebrae than is typically found in other breeds of horse — 5 lumbar vertebrae rather than 6 and 17 pairs of ribs rather than 18.

12/12/2022

This rings true for those that have to use halters for muzzling purposes. Always use breakaways that have thin leather crown pieces or better yet ones that use baling twine attached to the buckle and cheek piece. Twine breaks easier than leather. I’ve also seen two similar “hang ups” in trailering situations where the EMG release trailer ties did not in fact release the fallen horse. Thankfully both were ok but what a scare.

This is not our horse but the photo is from someone's Facebook post. They are kindly trying to warn other equine owners about the risk of leaving halters on an unattended animal. Our hearts are both terrified and relieved along with theirs and grateful for their photo that we are sharing. The horse, distressed and with already blue gums, would eventually have died from strangulation but was thankfully found in time. When donkeys find themselves snagged by their halter, in an effort to free themselves they will often spin, thereby tightening the halter and hanging themselves. Our vet has personally seen two cases of this happening with a halter caught on a regular fence post and both ended tragically.

Please, please, please don't leave halters on your donkeys, mules or horses when you are not outside with them monitoring. If it's tempting to do it because an animal is hard to catch, work on training the animal. At the very least, use only breakaway halters though even those are not guaranteed to prevent this kind of disaster. Wearing a halter unattended is a 100% preventable disaster waiting to happen.

12/11/2022

Happy ! As the temperature starts to drop, what happens to the hoof and the legs of wild horses as they stand in deep snow or in icy water? Even though the horse has a winter coat, do cold legs chill the body?

AWHC volunteer Deborah Walker explains that "Since the legs are mostly bone and tendon, they do not respond to colder temperatures like the muscles do. Every step a wild horse takes pumps blood through pressure on the “frog” in the hoof called a shunting mechanism. The direct shunt opens up allowing blood to travel through larger veins rather than the usual smaller ones to keep the body warm, since the legs and feet are basically unaffected."

Photo by Deborah Walker

11/02/2022

Old man Lincoln is settling in and gaining weight every day! He can be a bit of a grump but has a very sweet side once you spend enough time with him!

10/29/2022

Real whole milk has:
🥛 21 minerals & 13 vitamins
🥛 8 grams of high quality protein, containing all 9 essential amino acids
🥛 It's all natural, a true farm to table product, containing 2 ingredients milk and vitamin D.

10/29/2022

I’ve witnessed more love and compassion on a farm in one hour than I’ve ever seen in a city in an entire week!! Stand strong and keep on farming y’all!!

95% of dairy farms are family owned. The time, energy and care these farmers put in is absolutely amazing. Today, thank a dairy farmer for loving their cows and for providing us a product that is full of nutrients.