Tack n' Talk
Online Equestrian ResourceArchive for Uncategorized
Tack and Talk Gets a New Stable!
Thank you to all our horsey fans!
The wait is over – our new stable…I mean website…is up and running! Check out our new home at tackandtalk.com!
Tack ‘n’ Talk gets a Redesign!
Hi everyone,
Tack ‘n’ Talk started in May 2009 – since then it has hosted several contests, interviewed some top equine athletes and professionals, and provided you with informative training and horse care tips.
Now, encroaching on our 5 year anniversary, Tack ‘n’ Talk will be getting a whole new redesign!
What’s in store for Tack ‘n’ Talk:
– New URL at tackandtalk.com
– New site layout with easier access to your favourite content
– A Tack ‘n’ Talk store, where you can find your favourite items at a click of a button
During our redesign, we will still be posting content on Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/tackandtalk
HorseTap, A New Horse Health App for Phones and Tablets and NOW APPLE!
Tack and Talk is proud to present to their readers, Horse Tap the Animal Health App for your Android phone and tablet and NOW APPLE!
HorseTap was built with animal owners in mind. Horse’s can’t tell you what’s wrong and there is nothing worse than seeing your partner in pain and not knowing what to do. Now, you can learn what’s wrong with just the tap of your finger.
Horse Tap: Horse Health on ‘Hoof’: The app that lets you decide when to call a Veterinarian.
Do a google search on ‘when to call a vet’ and there are a huge number of blogs and posts on the subject. Everyone seems to be asking the same fundamental question, but when your horse is sick do you really have time to trawl through the internet looking for answers or wait for someone to reply to your desperate tweet?
Horse Tap uses a non-web based method, asking a series of quick questions to triage whether you need to call your vet immediately or if you can manage the situation at home. This approach allows you to take your phone or tablet to your horse and make that vital decision ‘on hoof’. Within seconds you will have the essential knowledge of how to manage the situation taking away all the stress of wondering how to proceed.
Horse Tap’s horse care section guides you through daily checks of your horse’s legs, hooves and teeth and contains information on grooming, feed allowance, shoeing and vaccinations. Horse Tap turns your daily checks into a game, you are entertained as you work through them with Chester the horse under the characteristic blue sky, green grass, white clouds setting and, if after these checks you do not notice any worrying signs, you are rewarded with Chester rosettes. If there’s a problem you are directed to the veterinary section of Horse Tap where you can learn how to take vital signs and recognise what tools are a must in your horse ‘veterinary kit’. Working through these checks allows you to understand what is ‘normal’ for your horse making it easier to pick up on anything wrong and reducing the length of time taken for the vet to receive that very urgent call.
If you want to find further information about what may be wrong with your horse, then Horse Tap also features both an extensive anatomy section and a horse disease section, a handy reference tool for horse owners as well as pre-veterinary, and veterinary students who are in need of a quick, yet informative summary, for exam revision. Horse Tap also includes invaluable revision required for pony club efficiency exams.
Horse Tap aims to minimize unnecessary calls to the veterinarians freeing up the time veterinarians have to respond to those urgent matters. With Horse Tap you can work more closely with your veterinarian. By working together in a swift and informed manner your horse will be restored to full health in the shortest possible time when every minute can be critical.
HORSE TAP – everything you could possibly need for a quick stress free initial diagnoses at your fingertips. MAKE THAT FIRST CALL A HORSE TAP CALL!
Available on Google Play and Amazon for android mobile and tablet and kindle.
http://is.gd/horsetap_googleplay
Follow HorseTap on twitter: www.twitter.com/farmtap
No Hoof, No Horse: How does the hoof grow?
In previous articles, we discussed the external and internal structures of the hoof. By understanding the structures of the horse’s hoof, we can understand how the hoof grows. The rate and the quality of growth, much like our own fingernails, varies and while we don’t depend on our “claws” for survival, horse do depend on their hooves.
Our Reader Winter Survival Tips
Presented by: Larissa W. Cox, M.Sc. Applied Equine Science
Sometimes it’s very hard to accept horse ownership especially during the cold winter months when all you seem to be doing is dealing with keeping your horse comfortable and safe. However, here are a few survival tips received from our readers that can help.
- Put thin blankets under thick blankets, or
- Put thin blankets over thick blankets instead of the traditional method. They are easier to wash and much easier to mend if they get torn. Also, a lot cheaper to replace!
- Put gloves everywhere: In your car, in the tack room and in the feed room. You’ll be glad you did.
- Plastic sleighs are much easier to move things around in the snow than a wheelbarrow. Just put the items on top of the sleigh and tow it along. Get your horse used to towing during the summer so that he can help you out during the snowy winter months.
- Have lock de-icer handy to open locks to trailers and padlocks. WD40 is also handy to have around.
- Try putting 2-3 balls floating inside your water troughs to prevent freezing.
- Buy a car plug in bottle. Plug it into your lighter and you’ll have a warm drink to sip in no time.
- Fill all your hay nets for the week during the weekend when it’s light outside and you can see what you’re doing.
- Get a headlamp that you can put on your head so you can see where you’re walking.
- Worried about your horse not drinking enough water during the winter months, soak his hay prior to feeding.
- Is the mud around the barn getting you down, use carpet remnants for your walking path.
- Wrap insulating tape on your rake handles to keep your hands warmer longer.
- Take an older pair of barn boots and put 1/2 inch sheet metal screws in the sole of the boot so you can walk anywhere and not fall down.
- Kitty litter under your car tires when you get stuck.
Do you have any tips you would like to share with Tack and Talk readers? Just send them in the comment section below!
MERRY CHRISTMAS!!
Thank you to all our readers, you have made 2013 wonderful for us here at Tack n’ Talk! We feel so blessed that we may be able to share this endeavor with you all!
Merry Christmas everyone!
With warmest regards,
Larissa
Tack n’ Talk Blog
Has Your Horse Been Naughty or Nice?
It came upon a midnight clear that all the horses stared at the most magnificent starry night, nickered at the marvel of it all, and then quietly hoofed it back to their barn and hay-filled mangers. There was much gratifying chewing and then the eldest and wisest mare began to tell the story of how her ancestors — and particularly her long distant cousin, the donkey — were there on that special day that we now celebrate as Christmas.
Who’s to say that horses don’t have dreams of molasses cake, Jolly balls, oatmeal cookies, hot bran mash, new cozy blankets and candy-cane mints?
And, as owners, we are only too happy to oblige. Interesting enough, a British study revealed that 97 per cent of horse owners included their equines on the Christmas shopping list.
Personally, my Christmas Day always includes the barnyard critters. The horses get extra ear rubs and more hay than usual and a special bran mash. I tend to take my time doing the barn chores, as it gives me a warm glow to have them savour their meal in a cozy and clean mess hall. There’s nothing like a barn for that warm and fuzzy feeling!
So whether it’s tossing an extra flake of hay, fluffing some extra bedding, lingering just a little longer in the barn, riding your horse while hauling home the Christmas tree, or humming a favourite carol while cleaning the paddock, from my barn to yours, have a very Merry Christmas.
– Larissa – Merry Christmas Everyone!
RIP Nelson Mandela
The world lost an exceptional human being and ambassador of peace today. Rest In Peace Nelson Mandela.
Anky van Grunsven’s Bonfire died at age 30.
Anky van Grunsven’s Sydney gold medal-winning horse Bonfire has been put to sleep at the age of 30.
Anky announced the news on Twitter and simply said: “My heart is broken. Bonfire is dead”.
Bonfire suffered from Cushing’s disease and was euthanased yesterday (28 October)
A statement on Anky’s website explained: ”He already had problems with his adrenal glands for a while and in the last weeks he also had inflamed hooves.
“On Sunday it became so bad that we had to decide to put him to sleep.”
The Oldenburg gelding by Welt As had an international career spanning 9 years.
The combination helped the Dutch team secure silver at the 1992 Olympics and then went on to take team silver and individual silver at the 1996 Olympics.
Bonfire and Anky then won individual gold at the 2000 Olympics in Sydney.
Alongside their Olympic achievements they were also four times World Cup champions and took part in the World Equestrian Games twice — winning it once at the Hague in 1994
Read more at http://www.horseandhound.co.uk/news/olympic-superstar-bonfire-put-to-sleep/#2WjCvKydUef724VY.99
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