Carl Russell

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  • in reply to: Greetings from NW Ohio #49627
    Carl Russell
    Moderator

    Nice job Gordon, ramble on! Welcome to DAP, Carl

    in reply to: electrolyte recipe for scouring calves #49588
    Carl Russell
    Moderator

    Thanks Geoff for your discussion, but I will concur with Elke.

    I also have been raising and caring for calves for many years, and while it is conventional wisdom to withhold milk from scouring calves, the milk is their food, and there is good evidence, and I have found it to be true, that feeding the electrolytes with the milk, or soon before, or after is what complicates the problem.

    Sure the calves will survive for several days on electrolytes alone, but it won’t give them what they need from the milk, and the milk is not the problem. And this is also verified by my vet.

    The electrolytes are necessary, and your recipe is good and easy.

    Thanks, Carl

    in reply to: Hi, Elainea from Felton, DE #49606
    Carl Russell
    Moderator

    Welcome Elainea from Delton DE. Hope to see some pix of those Shires, Carl

    in reply to: electrolyte recipe for scouring calves #49587
    Carl Russell
    Moderator

    We don’t take the calves off milk, just alternate so that the bicarbonate doesn’t counteract the action of the rennet. Give the meds in AM, then at mid-day give the milk, so that they can have food, cause it’s not the milk that’s making them sick, but the bug in the gut.

    Carl

    in reply to: DAP Referral by ATTRA #49600
    Carl Russell
    Moderator

    Thanks Robert for the heads-up. Anyway, you haven’t met my wife Lisa McCrory yet, she’s the one with all those contacts.

    Carl

    in reply to: Urban Coyote? #49227
    Carl Russell
    Moderator

    Hint, we need a smilie with Tongue-in-cheek.;):D:rolleyes::eek:

    Carl

    in reply to: Blanketing #49398
    Carl Russell
    Moderator

    I have mentioned this in other posts, but I agree with some of you, that as a general rule, horses don’t need blanketing. However, I have used blankets for years, when at the end of a winter day in the woods. I am not concerned about the wet hair per se, more so that the animals are still warm-hot, as they have just come to the landing with a normal working load.

    There is no way that in a natural setting, horses would ever exert themselves at the level that I have expected from them, so I feel I need to take responsibility for that. I could spend 1/2 hour walking them to cool off, but it’s usually 4:30-5:00pm, and I use the blankets purely to let me do other chores, or drive truck and trailer home, letting the horses cool down slowly, so they don’t get chilled. I rarely leave the blanket on more than 1-2 hrs, and then turn them out.

    Horses that are in good flesh, and hard from regular work will sweat much less. Even still in very cold weather like zero, moisture will condense on the hair during work, but as several have pointed out, it is not so much the wet hair as the body warmth that needs to be regulated. I haven’t hurt my horses treating them like this for over twenty years.

    Carl

    in reply to: Hello from Southern AZ #49337
    Carl Russell
    Moderator

    Good to have you, Tom.

    Welcome, Carl

    in reply to: Vegetable Oil For Chainsaws #49343
    Carl Russell
    Moderator

    Bar & Chain oil!!

    Isn’t that what you were writing about?

    Hope I didn’t miss something.:D

    Carl

    in reply to: Vegetable Oil For Chainsaws #49342
    Carl Russell
    Moderator

    When I smell McDonalds I don’t think about food.

    I’ve used some veg based B&C, but I think it has something added to it anyway, to increase tackiness. I think straight veg will just evaporate, or burn, won’t it? I must admit I haven’t made much progress in this arena. I’ll look into it this week.

    Carl

    in reply to: Change in Goverment? #49270
    Carl Russell
    Moderator
    near horse;5110 wrote:
    Based on what you said about the man, why would you not have some hope?

    I have a lot of hope. I am always hopeful. Realistic about the collapse of modern culture. Realistic about the corporate control of government. Always hopeful, because I know that these dinosaurs will die too.

    And how do you define where your neighbors begin and end? Within 5 miles of your place? 100 miles? That is feeding the world – each one of us doing a little bit.
    My neighbors are within walking distance.
    It will take the collective “us” and “we” to get something changed. It’s hard if not impossible to be part of a society if you just want to be “left alone to do your thing”.

    Lack of govt. oversight is what got the country into this mess and now we’re going to worry that Obama might step up and regulate something?

    Carl – what are you trying to say? He will change things or he’ll be “same crap, different day”? I have a lot of respect for the man. He is one of the most admirable people who has come out of our government in decades, but I don’t have a lot of respect for the position. I don’t think he will be able to change a lot of how our government affects its people, but he may affect how the people feel about their leader.

    Pomp and circumstance IS the hallmark of American govt. From 21 gun salutes, to the star spangled banner at every sporting event down thru grade school knowledge bowl tournaments. Nothing new.


    What I was referring to is that the American establishment showed how little real appreciation they have for race, by trumpeting this milestone event, as if the fact that he is black, says something about us. There are some people who because of race, or family history, may truly celebrate the fact that a black man has been elected, but for the rest of us, we should be aware enough to realize that his value goes way beyond that. By reducing at least some of his importance to skin color, we just show how much we still have to learn, and with him as president, we won’t be able to sweep it under the rug any more.

    Carl

    in reply to: Cross Check Ring #48861
    Carl Russell
    Moderator

    I have used one for many years, and after reading this thread, I took it off to see if my theory was right. I was told that it helped to even the tension, and to take the slack out of the cross check as the horses move independently.

    I found that to be exactly the case. I drove them for several days like that, and although I didn’t notice any significant detriment to not having it there, I could see the lines slacking and shifting in their angle toward the mouths.

    Again, I saw not detriment, but I decided to return the ring because I have grown accustomed to the effect that it has on line tension and evening.

    Carl

    in reply to: check reins #48272
    Carl Russell
    Moderator

    I only use them when working new horses. Generally they are more interested in breathing than eating when they get to stop, after they get used to working for me.

    I use it to restrict the fidgeting that results from a horse trying to get a snack. I usually do not have it applied when they are working, but will put it in place once they stop, unless we are just doing light work, and the animals don’t need to move their heads so much as they will when working hard on uneven ground.

    The problem with letting them graze, or browse, while working is that it is a result of them asserting their own initiative, and that will distract them from focusing on your initiative. They should be fed well enough that they shouldn’t need to eat while working.

    The head movement of a working horse should never be restricted, no matter how nice an up-headed horse may appeal to some people, so check reins should only be set to keep the animal from getting their head to the ground.

    Carl

    in reply to: Starting colts #46325
    Carl Russell
    Moderator

    I agree that 3 is young for heavy work. I hitched mine starting very young, at first next to the mare who was hitched single, then with the evener adjusted so the big horse had most of the load, and then only on light work with wheeled vehicles, like spreading manure, plowing, mowing, and cultivating. By 4-5 he was a big well-developed horse that could get an increasing amount of the workload.

    The main reason for starting them this young, in my mind, is to get them accustomed to not only the commands, and the routine, but also to managing their energy. I have started a few horses that were 4,5, and 6, before they were put to work, and they generally have so much energy that it takes a fair amount of time and experience for the teamster to get that energy focused. I know a lot of people who buy a young (6-8 years) team of “started” horses that turn out to have way too much energy for them. This is not entirely the horses fault, but also the fact that they have not been working long enough to have a sense of how to manage their energy when working. Starting a young horse in harness goes a long way toward this.

    I watched Andre”s young horse this fall at NEAPFD, hitched in a four abreast set-up. While Andre’ drove the horses back to the barn, he stopped to answer a question for me. We were standing next to the Woodmizer sawmill exhibit, and as they started the saw up to cut a log the engine revved up, and the saw blade squealed, and that colt stood like a statue!!!

    All in all though, as teamsters we need to be responsible for the physical expectations we place on our young horses.

    Carl

    in reply to: Change in Goverment? #49269
    Carl Russell
    Moderator
    Robert MoonShadow;5068 wrote:
    ….I think I’ll base my hopes for the future & the recovery of the ills of this world on me – you – us – the common citizen of this little place we call Earth. I choose to learn to farm with animals. Not merely because I like animals; but because, to me, it makes economical, ecological & moral sense to do so. I don’t need to feed the world. I just want to feed my neighbors. That’s plenty enough to accomplish, in my lifetime.
    Just my opinion.

    Well said!!!

    I think there’s a huge difference between “realism” and “pessimism”. Seeing the Corporate Oligarchy for what it is, is the first step to recovery. Obama is just a new player in that tired game. I’m with Robert.

    The major thing I have to say about Obama is that he is the first intelligent, thoughtful, peaceful, forthright, disciplined, and purposeful individual to take the oath of office for decades. He may not be able to stop the ship from sinking, but he may respond to it in ways that truly help us in the long run. The truth of the matter is that he has had to play the game to some extent to get to where he is.

    I don’t put it past him to bring more than most people are prepared to deal with. For example, the self-congratulatory pomp and circumstance of Tuesday, with the multinational corporate government controlled media celebrating the fact that although it has been a long and painful journey, we have finally allowed ourselves to let a black man be our president, is absolutely ignorant and undignified, and I think we may be in for some real education about the true ills of this cultural structure.

    Or something like that. Don’t get me going.:eek:

    Carl

Viewing 15 posts - 2,491 through 2,505 (of 2,964 total)