Thursday, November 18, 2010

Equibuns



Janow was doing well yesterday. We went for a drive, Roger driving. He got his tongue over the bit two times and I had to jump out and head him while we fixed it. The noseband is now tighter and the bit is higher. Janow wanted to trot a lot, but we walked mostly.

Today I am not going, I get to rest.

Feeding horses is tricky. Add to that the fact that with boarding horses at a stable, you don't get ultimate power to choose, you have to go with what they feed everyone. Not every feed is available in every region and comparable prices. It's easier to get if you live where they grow it. If they have to truck it across three states....$$$$$

Rabbits and horses are very similar in both digestive anatomy and feed, and temperament. Both are prey animals. Both have functional cecums to digest roughage. Both practice copraphagy, though rabbits more than horses, and horse people try to limit it to control parasites.

Gastric stasis in rabbits and colic in horses are equally serious. Licking and chewing in horses is exactly like teeth purring in rabbits. A binky is a buck, only smaller. If you build their stall/hutch out of wood, they will eat their way out.

People who don't have horses have asked me if horses are like dogs or cats. People who don't have rabbits have asked me if rabbits are like dogs or cats. Actually, rabbits and horses are more like each other.

3 comments:

Unknown said...

Look at the stall behind Janow in the post-----no exposed edges in the wood. All edges are metal pipe.

Look at the fence between Janow and Sunbeam in yesterday's post. See the bite marks?

d. moll, l.ac. said...

All very correct. Good to hear Janow is doing better. The other say I was asked if I named my rabbits.

The Fab Furs said...

Good to hear that Janow is doing better. Silver and Janow--separated at birth!!!