Leaves not Stems

      9 Comments on Leaves not Stems

No not THOSE kind of leaves.

Have you ever removed ALL of the stems from a flake of alfalfa?

This is not a job for people without patience sissies.

(even a cameo by the sheep-ies)

There is only one horse in the world………….. that could get me (& my husband & the Bad Event working student) to do this……

My name is Wonder Pony.
My Rider is Bad Eventer.
This is why I drink.
 
 

Some horses have better survival instincts than others.

I’ve heard about race horses just off the track, in a field full of food who nearly starved because they didn’t know they were supposed to…….

you know……..

walk around and EAT it.

I have one of these horses.

Our season ended in the most fantastic fashion.

A qualifying score over our first set of Red Numbers – WHOOP!!!

And the Wonder Pony earned some much deserved time off.

Turns out…….

Wonder Pony doesn’t LIKE time off.

And after a few too many days without his Bad Eventer……….

 
 

He decided to end it all……….

Fortunately, I was able to intervene………….

and much to his horror he spent the next 2 weeks having many

many

Dr. Dolittle moments.

And now he eats leaves, not stems.

And has an entire team of dedicated veterinarians, vet students, and technicians that will be rooting for Wonder Pony & Bad Eventer their next time out.

Thank You so much to the team at Texas A&M for keeping Wonder Pony & Bad Eventer in the game.

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9 thoughts on “Leaves not Stems”

  1. Kate

    Just so you know, your wonder pony and your horror pony look quite similar. I know one has a blaze and the other a star, but identifying which red beastie has which is not something I can seem to keep straight. Then again, I haven't exactly spent a lot of my time trying…

  3. Equine Snob

    I might be a little slow… or perhaps a better description could be "uninitiated"… But, wouldn't alfalfa pellets or chaff be easier? Am I missing out on a key concept?
    Silly wonder pony…

  4. Bad Eventer

    The goal is to limit his fiber. The fiber content is much higher in alfalfa stems (~40%) than the leaves (~12%). Alfalfa pellets or chopped alfalfa is still full of the high fiber stems, it's just been made into smaller pieces. Hope that helps 🙂

    1. Equine Snob

      Aha! I get it now.
      It has to be the first time EVER that I have heard of wanting to limit fiber for a horse! Now, I'm just plain fascinated. 😉

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