The FreeRepublic Saddle Club thread

[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.

[fly_so_free]

Sorry double posted, computer hiccupped LOL

[HairOfTheDog]

Welcome, both of you! Racehorce people! - I will be interested to hear more about it from you guys! Hope you come and tell stories!

[HairOfTheDog]

We are watching the special on Seattle Slew that you posted about on your thread. Always been my favorite racehorse. I was a kid when he ran, and I thought he was connected to me somehow.

I sobbed and enjoyed all the tributes to his wonderful life when he died on derby day couple years ago.

[the irate magistrate]

Come to Kentucky.

We need grooms, trainers and/or, owners.

You also have more liberties left here than on the left coast.

Real Estate or rent is reasonable and, the cost of living is low.

[elbucko]

FR Saddle Club ping! Add me to the list. I didn't get my nickname by being tossed off computers.

Regards, Buck

[elbucko]

He's so pretty. I do love stallions for their great faces.

Yes he is and yes they do. It is the mark of a horseman that can discern a gelding from a stallion by the subtle differences in the shape of the head. Have fun.

[HairOfTheDog]

You're added.... we were a little quiet today, but tomorrow might bring us all time and a topic!

[CindyDawg]

bookmarked to find

[HairOfTheDog]

Was a day where we were all distracted elsewhere, eh?... ecurbh and I went for a walk on my favorite riding trail today, I am really eager to have another horse he can ride so we can hit the trails! I don't like walkin' as much as riding!

[CindyDawg]

I've been home bound today. Got some kind of respiratory infection. My husband had it last week. I told him not to breathe on me but.. oh well lol.
Going to try to go to the stables tomorrow. I really want to get him out of the stables before Sat on the trail ride but I think he will be ok since another horse going with him.

[PayNoAttentionManBehindCurtain]

I got Rusty rode good yesterday, about 3 1/2 hours. With Heather. Today Celia here will ride Harley, maybe looks like rain tho:(

So, I have a question and topic. If Bay didn't have navicular, do you think he could go with out shoes?

I am having such a hard time finding a farrier, that I am going to pull the shoes (LOL...if the d@mn farrier will come) and try barefoot for awhile. I've been doing some research, and it looks to me that it is possible to keep them barefoot, if they have no special problem.

I would not even consider it if I hadn't ridden Okie and Harley barfoot. Okie was fine, Harley did get a bit ouchy at first, but his feet were long at the time. I'm thinking if he had been trimmed right, he may have been OK too. They seem alot more sure footed and less stumbly without shoes also. The thing is we have ALOT of sandstone rock, and I mean ALOT.

[CindyDawg]

Morning yall. After Becky gets her shoe problem worked out maybe yall can give me suggestions on mine. Okie got shoes 6 wks ago.( Bear with me here. I'm learning and don't always know what I'm talking about, ok ?lol) Something to do with his sole not level on one of his front feet and he was compensating and got a chip. The vet said from the hard ground we have around here (like concrete) and it was temp and he could probably have them off in a month or so. Then he shoed the back because I want to do trail riding. What kind of pavement , texture does he need them for? He will be (and is) on asphalt at times but mostly caliche. Lots of loose rocks from marble to egg size (we try to walk around the eggs :')

[HairOfTheDog]

It is certainly cheaper to keep them barefoot. My pony is barefoot, but she isn't working. I know people who don't keep shoes on their working horses, and they do OK.

I think you could try and see if his feet will hold up under the many miles you go. Your horses work hard and go lots of miles. A lot more than most, and trail is harder on feet than arena work. My friend that doesn't shoe rides in soft arenas only, only occasional trail.

Do you think you can trim and file them correctly? They'll need it, they'll never wear evenly and will be chipping and cracking. I would fear trimming them unevenly or at the wrong angle and making them lame to work that way. If you can do it yourself, great, but if not, you'd still need the farrier to come out... Which would bring you back to the same problem!

On this topic, I did find in my Navicular research a guy who relieves Navicular horses with trimming and leaves them barefoot... He thinks shoes are unnatural and a big part of the problem.

[HairOfTheDog]

Morning! Are you also wondering if you will need shoes at all after this temporary period?

[HairOfTheDog]

Saddle Club Ping!

Becky asks the question: "to shoe or not to shoe"? at 191.

[stainlessbanner]

I keep mine "barefeeted" for the most part. Last one foundered and we corrected it with shoes by putting pressure on the other side of his hoof. He recovered just fine and threw those shoes in no time! Back to barefoot, now. I'm in mostly soft sand and grass - not many rocks and gravel.

I trim mine every 5-6 weeks. A good farrier is so hard to find, though.

[CindyDawg]

Yeah.

[HairOfTheDog]

Hmm.... Well, the answer is probably the same as for Becky... If his feet hold up barefoot under the kind of work you do, you can try.

I would probably not try to keep a trail horse barefoot if the ground was rocky. It isn't even bruising I would fear (really, shoes don't protect the soles much against bruising) as much as having them chip too short on trail and end up with ~really~ sore feet.

[CindyDawg]

Yeah. Becky has some rough terrain and he did fine but the vet says the ground different here. We'll see. He was supposed to look at him last weekend. I'm still waiting. :')

[HairOfTheDog]

Some horses have better, harder feet than others. Arabs (like mine) are one of the breeds that is supposed to have good, hard enough feet to go well barefoot. They certainly weren't shod in historic times, but they lived in the desert on sand... Also, I think some of the very natural breeds (closest to wild horses) also have tougher feet. My mustang was barefoot and did fine as a backyard horse, don't know if he would have held up barefoot under really heavy work. I know a mule-guy who doesn't believe in shoing, and he rides hard mountain country, but he things that is a feature only of mules.

There is also a belief among many that dark feet are harder than white feet, and you might run into that... Is Okie white all the way around? I don't know if it is myth or truth... Smart people disagree.