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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.
Yeah.... and donkeys and some smaller mules are no bigger in the girth.... the pack saddle frame is pretty simple and can maybe even be cut down if needed. She's pretty wide. Would all be in getting a sinch short enough.
sinch=cinch... ;~D
Tie it to your saddle tonight! :~D
This is the tree laying across the trail
Here is the stump end
This is some wild plums. There is a whole field of them.
I was trying to take a picture of a really neat looking weed:). Wondering if you had this stuff there. It doesn't show up well in the picture tho. But I thought it was neat the way my shadow showed up. The weed looks like someone unrolled a ball of bright orange stringe all tangled up on top of the grass. You can barely see it around my shawdow.
A turtle we saw
And Grizzly cooling off in the creek:)
I almost got a picture of a deer. I was going down a trail and there she was standing in the middle of the trail up ahead watching us. She stood there long enough for me to pull the camera out and get it turned on, but when I was raising it to point at her she took off:(.
Becky
Wild plums are cool!
I don't know of the orange-string grass.... I think that is local to you!
Too bad about missing the deer shot.
Did you guys ride today?
I had to run to town to get some stuff to work on my chicken coop. 30 some babies in the dog crate was getting a bit crowded, but they're not really big enough to let loose in the coop I had, they could have gotten out. I discovered plastic mesh fencing and zip ties. So much easier then wire mesh and U nails.
Becky
Ahh..... Chicken nursery expansion...
We haven't ridden yet, but maybe we will!
Not really expansion just making it more secure for smaller chicks. I've got the door way fix that if they're big enough to get out of it they're big enough to be out of it:) About 3 ft high. Easy for me and bigger chickens to get over but not for the little ones.
I'm hoping to have the ambition to ride Harley this evening in the arena. Having some coffee now. But this cold/allergies are really zapping me.
Did you know you have to ask for Sudafed at the pharmiscist counter now. I guess it's used for meth making. LOL. I might be under survelience now. I bought iodine earlier this week which you also have to ask for at the counter because of the same reason. I got it for the horses feet.
I've been forgetting to tell you, that those boots do not work. They don't stay on good, and one of the lacings have already broke. They're still under warrenty so they're going back this week. So I'm back to barefoot with my horses. So I'm toughening them up with a mixture of iodine and turpentine on the soles and vaseline around the coronet band.
Becky
Too bad about the boots!....
I've been curious about your test. I hate to say this, but I predict as hard as you work horses, you are gonna have to find a farrier you can live with and go back to shoes. The amount Bay works, maybe, if he were just ridden lightly in the pasture. But not out in rocks, gaming, or any kind of regular use. Just my feeling on it.
You might prove us all wrong, but if and when you go back, at least you'll know more about it than you did before!
Wow, you are a looooooong ways from me, but cool new facility.
Curious about the rather elaborate stalls inside what appears to be a temporary structure. Is this a work in progress and those stalls will be moved or is the big tent the final product?
Disclaimer: No, I have no financial interest - I'm just enthused that this project could bring visitors and business to our tiny little town.
They are gorgeous stalls! Doesn't seem like an all-weather structure, but may work in Pennsylvania.... or here in WA where wind isn't a huge issue.
LOL....I'm afraid you're right:). But I'm going to give it a shot. A friend of mine is trying it too. That's the biggest draw back that I have seen so far for me going barefoot, is it makes it difficult to ride with others. I don't like holding riders up while my horses pick they're way. But Celia is taking the barefoot route too and she rides with me alot. She's been doing alot of research on it too, and she has come up with that it can take 1-2 years to get them adjusted. I'm not sure I have that much patience, or desire to have my horses ouchy for that amount of time. Seems a bit cruel. Just playing it by ear right now. If they really sore up, I'll go back to shoes.
Becky
Those are neat looking barns.
Around here several people have built arenas with tin roofs, and cavas sides. In the winter you can block out the wind and weather, and in the summer roll up the sides for circulation, but still shady because of the roof. A friend of mine has one and is planning on putting in some kind of sprinkler system to keep the dust down.
Becky
That's cool.
I guess the real test would be to take a young horse and never shoe them. They go the first couple years of their lives with just trimming, and somewhere around two we change that on them when they start work. What if you could start one barefoot instead of trying to convert one.
Or take something like my pony, who has been barefoot likely her whole life, but would she actually hold up under work or rougher ground? Her feet start to chip and break unevenly at about 9-10 weeks. Even without shoes, she has to be kept even and filed. And I think it is vital to their long term soundness that their feet are the same on both sides, that one isn't more worn or more chipped than the other at any given time.
Yeah, they are, except for the price. I've been told the two that I have seen were $150,000 each.
Yesterday, when Heather and I were done riding and I was taking her home we stopped at the local burger place for lunch. Some lady was listening to us talk horses and stopped and asked if we did English. I said Heather did. Well this lady started telling us she raises throughbreds for racing and had a mare that just wasn't going to make it as a race horse and she was looking for a good home for her. Said the horse was very sweet, 17 hands tall, blood bay color, would make a good English/Jumper. At first she said when her horses didn't make it as a race horse she just almost just gives them away to get them a good home, and that was what she was wanting to do with this one. Well, Heather had stars in her eyes. The kid wants a horse so bad. The lady said (and I don't think Heather caught this), that anyone could take the horse and try it as long as they want and if they decided they wanted to buy it well she'd just...oh....just $1000. Now I don't know about you but $1000 is NOT a give away.Especially for a horse who is barely broke, the lady said it doesn't know anything but to run around the track.
Heather just called me to ask about all the expenses it takes to keep a horse. sigh. I bet she's told her parents it was a give away. I'm afraid she is getting her hopes up.
Celia has a horse that she started working him barefoot, and rode him barefoot for several years, even up here. He could trot over gravel and it never seemed to bother him. Then she took him to a competition ride in Ark. She said she had never seen rocks like they had there. It was the ride from hell she said. Well the horse got really really sore, and she had already entered another ride for 2 weeks later. She had no choice but to shoe him. She left the shoes on him for 6 weeks then pulled them. He's never been able to go over the rocks barefoot as well since then. She regrets ever shoeing him.
That is why she's going to try barefoot again too. She thinks it can be done. It will just take awhile for the horse to get back to that "natural" foot that they had before shoes were ever put on. The difference between her and I tho, is she does not ride as much as I do. If her horses get rode 2X in one week that is alot for her. So it is hard to say the same would work for me.
Becky
OOP's:)
Becky
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