admin answers:

It always depends on the horse, but generally it is very easy to retrain a STB to be ridden. Most of the ground work is complete and generally you won’t have problems trailering, clipping, bathing, etc.

My current STB is so laid back I hopped on him the first day we had him and rode him around the pasture. I was planning on taking it slow, but he kept falling asleep when I saddled him and didn’t even flinch when I put weight in the stirrup so just hopped up and went. In 10 years of riding him he has never bucked, reared, bolted, or raced off and most of that time he has been ridden by a beginner. Every STB I’ve retrained has been the same and I’ve been on them in less then a week. I know a lady that took her STB to an endurance ride (and won it) less then a week after they took her off the track. The STB I’ve gotten my hands on came from my parents or family friends so I know those horses were with excellent trainers and never abused. If your horse was abused then you may have more issues.

A plus is that most STB don’t associate being ridden with racing. My current STB is laid back, calm, and can be ridden by a complete beginner, but you hook him up to a cart and he can get hot and takes an experienced driver.

There are some gotcha’s. STB race hollow backed, head up high, and on a tight rein as they often lean into the reins. If you want your horse to canter and balance himself look at getting dressage lessons. It will take some time for him to build topline muscle that will allow him to collect so don’t expect to much too soon.

Don’t fall into the trap of trying to get your horse to canter by pushing him as fast as possible so he “breaks” gait. When you do this your horse will put his head up high and hollow his back which is exactly what you don’t want. Dressage lessons will really help you get over this and will prep your STB for whatever else you end up wanting to do with him.

If you haven’t checked out New Vocations I recommend you do.

Http://www.horseadoption.com/standardbred-adoption/

They generally are really helpful in placing horses and if you are in an area they don’t have any horses right now they may still be able to hook you up with a horse.

Personally I think STB make great first horses and that is why I chose an OTSTB to be the first horse for my husband. My husband who maybe had 3 rides under his belt before we got him and the STB has been very patient and forgiving. I can’t imagine a better first horse.

One other thing because the STB have a lot of miles on them and tend to race a lot more then other breeds get a vet check (I’ve seen vet checked sound STB on New Vocations that had over 200 races under their belts). You don’t want to find an amazing horse and get attached to find out he isn’t sound for what you want.

Good luck and I hope you find the right horse.

admin answers:

This sounds a little worrying. I think that previous advice, of getting out of the house, eating a bit better and exercising will REALLY help. And maybe seeing a doctor.

Exercise will help you with sleeping because you will actually be tired, and it just makes you feel more relaxed and better in general. I really suggest trying that. It’s a bit hard because it is snowing….and I’m not too familiar with the weather in Colorado, but try and get outside for a walk at least every second day. You can make it to go and do something you like if you aren’t motivated. For example, you could walk to a store and buy something you like, like a magazine. If there isn’t anything like that in walking distance, you could drive, but park furthur away to get some walking in.

If that isn’t possible, you could always start smaller…you live anywhere close to the movies? An internet cafe? Even hanging out at those kinds of places a couple of times a week might help you to get out of the house. Maybe even meet some people.

You kinda sound like you need something to do with your days…what about volunteering somewhere? They always need people, and you can meet people! Its good to have something scheduled because it is a reason to go out, and a reason to wake up in the morning.

Also getting sleeping back on track will help. Don’t have any caffiene, and not too much sugar in the few hours before bed. Don’t play on your computer for at least an hour before you plan to go to sleep…things like computer games and tv and movies activate the brain, they wake you up. Try reading instead, or listening to calm music – it naturally winds your brain down (edit: reading on a book, not a screen).

If you aren’t motivated then it’s hard and nothing I can say will help much, but think of it this way: you sound like you already know that the way you are living now is not good for you. I mean..you’re hearing things…kinda worrying. You should probably speakl to a doctor as well as trying the above

admin answers:

It sounds as though your are doing every thing correctly, just in case you are not I will give you guide lines to follow so you can see if there is any thing wrong at all OK. Feed your guinea pigs as follows, this is for one guinea pig

Unlimited guinea pig pellets that are 18% protein and have Vitamin C with no nuts, seeds or other colored stuff in them

Unlimited hay, timothy, orchard grass or any goo grass hay you can find at your local Feed and Seed store, that is where your local farmers shop and every thing is much fresher and at least 1 1/10th of what you would pay for them at a pet store.

1/2 to 1 cup of dark green leafy veggies daily such as kale (the best) romaine lettuce, swiss chard, dandelion greens, mustard greens, parsley, red and green bell peppers, a mix of these daily with the pellets provide all the Vitamin c they need.

Fruit should be fed every 3 days only as a treat as it is to high in sugar to be healthy for your guinea pigs also it is high in acid so if fed daily it will cause sores in the guinea pigs mouth.

Change the water daily to assure it is drinking ample water.

Actually you should not be bathing them, that can cause problems for their skin and if the shampoo were to get into the eye it could cause issues there. It can also cause an URI. Guinea pigs make a white milky fluid in their eyes that they work through their fur with their front paws, it is their natural conditioner. When you bathe them you wash this out and risk harming their tender skin. Only bathe them when them have been ill and messed up their fur. If their cages are properly cleaned there is not need to bathe them. One of the biggest errors many people make is not putting enough bedding in the cages so it is not absorbent enough. They get worried about the cost, however, if the purchase pine shavings at the Feed and Seed store they can get a 12 cubic foot bag for only $10.00, I have to cages that are huge and one bag lasts me 2 1/2 months as I only have to throw out 1/2 of the bedding that is wet, the other half is just fine and I put in on the bottom of the cage with 3″ of new bedding on top of it. Bathing can also just be stressful for some guinea pigs and the stress alone will cause them to get an URI.

Your little tyke does sound like she may have an URI, the crusty eye, not eating, not moving about are all signs of URI but the red eye does not necessarily go with it so she may have a couple of things going on.

Some times we just for no reason get a guinea pig that has a weak immune system. I have that with my little Suzzi, she was a rescue, she and her sister had mites so bad at 5 weeks old they had lost all their fur except a bit on their heads, they were locked in a cold unlit bathroom in a 12″ X 12″ box and they had been treated with Ivermectiom for horses and she was given to much and it has really affected her little life. The poor little thing is so dumb, she has no reasoning ability, poor little thing, but she is sweet. I was able to re-home her sister but I lovingly had to keep her due to her medical problems and she is always at the vets.I do know how you feel, I know I take perfect care of her but there are times I just think I should be able to stop her form getting sick, I know she suffers when she is sick and I don’t like to see her suffer.She gets consent sinus infections.

Good luck, hope every thing works out well