Pet Food Reviews

[Ken Anderson]

Growing up, we had from 10 to 21 horses at a time. My dad would buy them at auctions, raise them, and sometimes sell them, keeping the ones that didn't sell, but, other than feeding them before going to school in the winter, he did most of the caring for them.

The only time I can remember seeing a doctor when I was a kid was for Boy Scout Camp physicals, and we never brought dogs or cats to the vet, but the vet would be called out for the horses from time to time. I can remember asking him to look at one of our cats while he was there one time, and he did. I don't remember what was wrong with the cat at the time, though.

 

[Ken Anderson]

Ken, can you do a review of some dog foods and rate them as to how dogs like them? I hate to keep buying canned food for Niki and have her not eat them.

I will do that. Any particular brands?

 

[Connie Bennett]

Growing up, we had from 10 to 21 horses at a time. My dad would buy them at auctions, raise them, and sometimes sell them, keeping the ones that didn't sell, but, other than feeding them before going to school in the winter, he did most of the caring for them.

We farmed with horses until I was four. Granddad raised Welsh/Morgan crosses that my cousin and I broke to sell. I’ve been paying for my own non-stop, since I was 12.

Horse keeping in today’s world isn’t even close to when you and I were kids. My horses ran 24/7 on 98 acres with beef cattle. They had a run-in barn and I fed them a cup or two of homegrown oats twice daily to keep them coming up to the barn.

So much has changed, starting with soil quality which leads to poor quality of everything that’s grown in it. I was gobsmacked when two of my horses developed metabolic issues. I had to learn a whole new way of horse keeping.

 

[Ken Anderson]

My dad used to farm with horses, although not in my memory. He did have one huge horse named Bill, who had been one of his workhorses, while the other had been a sibling. That horse was huge, and the gentlest horse we ever had. My older brother told me recently that the horse's sibling was also named Bill. The other one had apparently died before I came along. I'm sure there was a story behind both having the same name. I'm guessing that because they were a team, any directions he wanted to give to one would apply to the other as well. "Whoa, Bill" would be a lot simpler than "Whoa, Bill and Dave."Although my dad no longer farmed with horses, given that he had a couple of tractors, he kept Bill, referring to him as retired, and would spend a great deal of time walking him around and talking to him.

My dad farmed several 40-acre plots and grew most or all of what he needed to feed the horses, and there was a river on the other side of the pasture that they drank from. One of us kids would have to lead them to the pasture before school in the winter and break a hole in the ice for them to drink; then they'd keep it open the rest of the day. There was a 15-acre pasture and a barn that they could go in and out of as they pleased during the day, and were shut up in the barn at night for warmth in the winter.

Although we had horses growing up, neither me or my four brothers ever rode them. Some of our cousins would come over and ride the horses from time to time, but I was never once on top of a horse until I was in my 30s, and then I fell off a couple of times. Perhaps because we always had new horses coming and going, I always found the horses to be too skittish for my tastes, although I enjoyed hanging out with Bill. He kept the others calm when he was nearby.

I never paid much attention to what they ate. I know my dad would have different kinds of hay in bales for the winter, so it wasn't a matter of just feeding them hay, and Dad would mix up other things for them to eat. We would have to break up a bale of hay for them before school in the Michigan winter, but he took care of the rest of it.