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Thread III: http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/1311311/posts |
Posted on 04/26/2004 12:06:41 PM PDT by HairOfTheDog
Free Republic has a lot of horse people that have found each other on other threads…. And since we all like to talk horses, how about a thread where it is not off-topic, but is THE topic?
A few of us thought it would be interesting and informative to have a chat thread where we can share ideas, ask for input from other horsemen, and talk about our riding and horse-keeping. We have a lot of different kinds of riders and horses, and a lot to share. We may not ~always~ have a lot of activity, but when we do, it will be fun. I will put a link to this thread on my profile page, so if you have something to say and can't find the thread in latest posts… look for it there and wake the thread up!
I will also develop a ping list for horse threads that are of interest. As FreeRepublic is a political site, our politics and other issues will probably blend in…. There are many issues for horsemen that touch politics… land use, animal rights/abuse cases that make the news…. Legislation that might affect horse owners.
I am hoping this thread will be a fun place to come and share stories, pictures, questions and chit-chat, unguided and unmoderated and that we come together here as friends. There are lots of ways of doing things and we all have our quirks, tricks and specialties that are neat to learn about.
Hey.... I posted me and my extra forty pounds.... You can certainly post your sack of potatoes...
The horse is now out of the barn:'(
Does she step on it with her back? She might overstrike more on that side than the other.
That's what I love about Gracie.
She worked like a champ today - we really got the two-track thing working, and she actually got a good shoulder-in and went to three tracks. Very soft mouth and yielding extremely well.
We went on to jumping and she did some excellent work - trainer let us "choose our own course" so we did some 180 degree turns over pretty big fences - for such a long-backed mare she's very agile and the turns are good for her. The whole secret is to balance her BEFORE the turn starts (easy to say!) The big roll top is about 2'4 or so and it had a bar over it - we came thundering down on it and Gracie put in a BIG one (she's very respectful of the roll top because it's also rather wide) but we kept it all together and our trainer said she looked especially fine - front legs tucked up to her whiskers and a good arch. She is such a smooth jumper that even if she stands back and puts in a huge one I just slip the reins and draw them back in as soon as her hind legs touch down.
?
Becky
Barn Again (TOS)
Remember how I told yall that the other women can do horse stuff gracefully but I seem to have to get caked in dirt before I'm happy? My husband took a picture of me cleaning his hoofs and brushing under his belly. I looks like I'm almost on my head with my big butt sticking up. I told him he better not ever show that one to anybody:')
I used a hoof strengthening supplement in her feed and also painted special "nail nourisher" on. Also I think her hooves were soft from standing in wet pasture - she's now in a different pasture that's higher and drier.
I really think that the key was using the bar shoe and retrimming her to give it a chance to heal. But once we started using the other stuff, the new hoof grew in perfectly strong and sound. The last of the inserts that were glued in grew out about two years ago, and she hasn't had any problem since.
Well, I hope to always have complete editorial control over the pics we take of us ;~D the camera does plug into ~my~ computer, not his, and I am real good on the delete button!
(She REALLY is dressed up when we go out - bell boots front and neoprene brush boots on all four legs, not to mention big saddle pad, bump pad, breastplate, German martingale, girth cover, etc. etc. etc. But (as I tell my husband) it ALL has a purpose. No kidding.)
Agreed.... Certainly on one of these great rides of yours you'll find a soul that can operate a camera!
So are you talking about a crack that went clear into the coronary (sp:) band? That is cool. I've never heard of one of those being cured.
Becky
You do have a lot more tack on Bay than I use for Okie. All I use is a saddle pad, saddle, front cinch and a bridle. What does all of the rest of it do?
The only other thing is the breast collar, which is to keep the saddle from slipping backward.
hey are yo still there
Yeah, I went back and looked again. I thought there was more there but your stuff just heavier than mine. I use a light nylon head stall and reins. My saddle also synthetic and the pad built for it and just barely shows.
He wouldn't necessarily need the breastcollar on relatively flat ground, but it does keep the saddle in place going up hill on trail without the cinch being really tight. I don't like an overtightened cinch. I use a breastcollar on him english also. Some mountain riders also use a crupper that goes back under their tail to keep the saddle from moving forward, but Bay has such a huge wither his saddle never slips forward.
That was one thing about NATRC that took me some getting use to. You can use any kind of shoeing you want, except for a boot that goes up past the coronary band. But you can use NO kind of leg protection or leg support.
The theroy is: 1.They want only horses who don't have any kind of interference, if your horse comes up with interference marks you loose point. This will supposedly keep people from breeding horses who have comfirmation problems that result in forging or interference.
2. If the horse is conditioned properly they won't need leg support.
I've never really been for sure if I agree with all this. I always used boots on the front legs just for support. But once I started competing I stopped using them and condition with out. I've never had problems with that sort of thing, but I still think it wouldn't hurt:)
Becky
He really is a phenomenal photographer - used to be a semi-pro (i.e. he had a day job) and has done some fine work. Back when we lived in NJ and I was on my college riding team, one of his regular schemes was to hang around the stable and take pix of the riders and horses. He went to a lot of the shows too. He would run the prints himself in the "darkroom" - our only bathroom with black plastic stapled over the window - and sell them at the barn the next week. He kept himself in beer money that way . . . :-D
So if we can get him out to the barn, I'm sure we'll get some highly flattering pictures!
He is in my English bridle that has a noseband on it... so that'd be extra for you too ;~D
And he has that thick pad with extra in the middle for his old sway back.
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