Calling out to all Horse Owners!

[HorseTechie]

If I may have a bit of your time! :D I'm doing a some marketing research for a multi-media project I'll be doing for my capstone thesis on my Master's next semester.

What I like to do, is create an interactive, educational computer program on horse anatomy and basic health care. It would be displayed in Macromedia Flash format, and I also like to convert some illustrations that I will create, into animations. Like the flow of the blood, the process of the digestive tract, the gaits of the horse, how a lame horse would move if he was lame in the front or the back... things like that.

However, I can't exactly cover everything. My plan is to just focus on topics that are sometimes hard to understand for most horse owners. Sometimes the book is not clear enough, and your vet and/or trainer, and/or barn manager may not be on hand to clarify the confusion. (sidenote, this is just a school project... it won't be reproduced in emasse afterwards.)

So what I ask from you, the horse owner, what topics that you like for me to feature in my project. I have my own list of concepts I want to focus on, but since this is supposively a product disegned for a wide interest of horse folk, I want to make sure I include the opinions of other in my study.

Thank you very much for your time! :)

[Trunks]

are you going to cover some off the common illnessesand there warning signs and how to treat them because that would give people some very valuable info. P.S. hope you do good on your project.

[Cascadia]

HorseTechie.....I help you in any way that I can

i would like to see programs on horse anatomy. There is a program on horse diseases.....and I have it.

I think that it would beneficial to find info on the actual anatomy of the horse so that you use the program to look at the digestive system.

[Trunks]

my mom has that to


OFF TOPIC how many horses to you have I have 5, there cool

[Cascadia]

I have 4 qhs and a tb that is in greener pastures. to see them....go to my website

[HorseTechie]

Yes.. the anatomy of different systems sounds like a good bet. I may illustrate the different kinds of colics, and why it's bad if they rolled about too much.

I've also wanted to know how to identify the severity of colic too, but I dunno how well that could be illustrated. They say the gut sounds are very different in a bad coliced horse, versus those in a healthy one. But I would need someone to get a digitaized tape recording of that (since I don't have easy access to horses all the time at the moment)

Yeah.. I'm merely a horseless horse lover right now. One day soon I'll have some of my own. *sai*

[Cascadia]

HorseTechie......one of my horses has a long history of colic. He has had just about every type of colic. So, I might be able to help you. :wink:

[Voltron]

I had a horse once. Sold him to McDonald's...

[JameO]

I had a horse once. Sold him to McDonald's...

:lol: MMMMMMM. Yummy burgers. Yummy nuggets. Yummy pop. Just don't order the lemonade. They might have messed up on the order. :lol:

[HorseTechie]

Hrmm.. well, since I don't see how the American fastfood industry has anyting immediate to do with this thread, any more offtopic banter like that will be deleted. ;)

HorseTechie......one of my horses has a long history of colic. He has had just about every type of colic. So, I might be able to help you. :wink:

Sounds great! I was talking with a couple others about the unpredictable nature of colic too. And the suggestion of some home remedies.

I think I might want to settle on the most common methods of diagnosis and prevention. Anything that you have done to ease the horse through his misery?

[Cascadia]

my horse with colic problems....I am always careful on how much fresh green grass he gets in the spring time. He is a big-time roller but he rolls more times than normal, I usually suspect colic. When I go out to the barn, I always care my cell phone with me just in case, he does colic. If he does colic, I walk him around the barn until the vet arrives. When one of my horses is sick, I never leave his side. Usually, the vet tubes him and gives him a shot. However, my freshman year in college, Patrick severely coliced. He had to be taken to Texas A&M University to save his life. It turned out that his small intestine was dying. He is now live and kicking....he does not want to leave my farm because he knows that he is well taken care of at my barn. Everyone in my family recognizes his signs of colicing so that we can help him.

[JameO]

my horse with colic problems....I am always careful on how much fresh green grass he gets in the spring time. He is a big-time roller but he rolls more times than normal, I usually suspect colic. When I go out to the barn, I always care my cell phone with me just in case, he does colic. If he does colic, I walk him around the barn until the vet arrives. When one of my horses is sick, I never leave his side. Usually, the vet tubes him and gives him a shot. However, my freshman year in college, Patrick severely coliced. He had to be taken to Texas A&M University to save his life. It turned out that his small intestine was dying. He is now live and kicking....he does not want to leave my farm because he knows that he is well taken care of at my barn. Everyone in my family recognizes his signs of colicing so that we can help him.

What does colic mean?

[HorseTechie]

In generic terms, any kind of pain in the stomach and intestine area. Like from gas, eating something bad or poisonous, sand, a blocked or twisted intestine, parasites....

[GK Punk]

When I was a kid I grew up around horses. My dad owned several of them.
Unfortunetley, He's gotten to injured while working to take care of, and ride horses so he had to sell them.

I know, it's kind of off topic, but i just felt the need to say it.

[That Matt Guy]

I've never seen a horse in real life. Seen plenty of other farm animals, but never a horse.

[Cascadia]

my second home is pretty much either the barn with my horses or in my personal laboratory.

[The Defibrillator]

A horse tried to eat me once when I was like 10. It scared the crap outta me, and I've vowed never ta get near one o them beasts again.

[Cascadia]

I have been around horses since I was 2 years old. I have had many injuries but I still ride. I am never scared of them.

[HorseTechie]

Yeah.. I'm not scared of them either. I just know now to keep my distance around the nutty ones.

But I can see how some people develop fears of horses. I have a friend who is terrified to go in a horse barn, or to go horseback riding. She heard so many 'horror' stories about horses now, her overactive imagination gets the best of her. *sai*

[The Defibrillator]

She heard so many 'horror' stories about horses now, her overactive imagination gets the best of her. *sai*

What are you trying to say? :lol:

Well I'm sure if a relative or friend of mine owned a horse I would be less fearful of em, but I live in the middle of suburbia so I almost never see horses, so it's just all the more fun to have my imagination get the best of me.

[HorseTechie]

In that, she thinks horses are these mean, hairy, scary beasts, like the ones you see the Nazgul riding in Fellowship of the Ring. Or some equivelent of that. :wink:

[Pizza Face]

I know that I have always had many questions about my horses. But what I really want someone to explore is the relationship between horses and turtles. Are they natural enemies? do horses eat turtles or the other way around? If left in the wild, do they form a natural symbiotic relationship, like with birds and rhinos? These would be interesting topics for a thesis. :wink:

[Cascadia]

turtles and horses do not have a relationship with one another. Horses cannot eat turtles because they are herbivores. Turtles cannot either because they are not able to bite a horse with their beaks.


any horse lover is welcome to join me on horsechat.com and chat about your fav. equine friends.

[Storm Wolf]

I find as a first time horse owner I get really upset when something is outta place or unusual about my horse. Just recently she scratched her eye badly and the vet had to come out and stain her eye...now I find myself putting in three different types of eye medication several times a day and a pain and swelling reducer two times a day. I am absolutly terrified of my horse Colicing(sp?)....and even the slightest scratch on my horse drives me up the wall :embarass: I can't handle her being in any kind of pain.



Really what I would find useful is something that shows symptoms and signs of different illness and ect. :P :wink:

[Cascadia]

colicing scares every horse owner. Luckily, my colic-prone horse has made it through his colic episodes.

[Storm Wolf]

Question....ummm... are some horses are more prone to colicing? and if so....why? :-?

[Cascadia]

some horses have more sensitive digestive systems than other horses.

[HorseTechie]

YEah... I think the breeding and genetics have much to do with that too. Was talking to another horse owner on a TF forum, and she said she owns an adopted Mustang. And that Mustangs as a whole never have problems colicking. So either they are tougher, or that thier diet had not been messed up by the pampered diet and lifestyle of a barn kept horse. Interesting...

Oh, and also, I thought it might be cool so start out with a real picture of a horse, then fade that away into my hand drawn animation of the innards and stuff. :P

I could get in touch with the riding stable I used to go to to get pictures, but trhen I thought if you guys have some good pictures of your horses, maybe I could request those too. I justy seek a clear shot from the side of the horse. Without saddle and bridle and rider, and with the horse walking, or standing without other humans in the picture.

I don't wnat to take anoy old picture off the internet for this, cause they say all the images, sounds and research has to be valid and used with permission.

[Cascadia]

HT....you can use my pics off of my website....