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.

[CindyDawg]

Yeah, I just have to get it done. I've been looking at them. I need to order some more stuff too. Nowhere near to buy horse stuff. Got a pet mart but only carries poodle like stuff:')Think I've been putting it off caz I'm going to have to wear my boots with them. Boots make my feet clausrophobic and I prefer my tennis shoes. Just have to watch his feet closely .
I don't know if I would have wanted to use the spurs today though. He wasn't being stubborn or acting up. We had already been working /riding about two hours and he wanted out but I made him work in the arena first. He was scared. All the horses were. The roar and rattling in the barn so loud we could hardly talk. Horses ought to be used to bad weather though and I started just to turn him out but he was happy to go back and I needed to get out of the rain.
They all acted like they needed valium though. Everyone one of them, including Okie kicking the walls.

[CindyDawg]

Just an add on. I don't want to ruin him. Sometimes as I have mentioned he drag asses but with a firm kick he moves. I don't want to get hurt though. That's what I meant by I might not have used them today anyway. For the first time in awhile I felt apprehenive (not really the word I'm looking for but will have to do). Not sure how I wanted to progress. That's why I "stepped back" to re-evaluate the situation and started from the other side. What I really wanted was to get off of him but I didn't)
I would just want to use the spurs on him when he just doen't want to go to see how he's going to take off on me first. Today he was movingforward but all over the road and in circles to go back. We ended up in the low ditch twice. After I made him walk up straight out of it instead of around the second time he quit that though. But I just felt he was ready to bolt on me at any time. I wasn't scared but I hadn't figured out what I needed to do yet either. The storm took care of it but I'm planning what I need to do different (if anything) tomorrow. Understand?

[AnAmericanMother]

Too much spur.

(And yes, I know that the rowels turn and don't dig in. It's still too much spur, and placed too high for an English saddle.)

Start with these:

Larger and shorter are milder in action.

[AnAmericanMother]

We interrupt this horsey thread to interject a doggy news flash . . . .

EEEEEEHHHHAAAAAAAAAAA!

( . . . sorry about the Howard Dean moment . . . :-D )

Shelley-the-Dog surpassed herself in the Canine Capers Agility Trial! She placed third in Gamblers, third in Standard, and in the huge surprise of the day, she and Torie-the-Dog had a PERFECT Pairs run - both went clean as a whistle, no faults, absolutely nailed their contacts AND their weave poles, and their combined time was more than ten seconds faster than their nearest competitors! Qualifying ribbons AND first place ribbons! The matching little Choc and Black Lab girls win the day!

The nicest thing is that they have pretty rosettes for the humans . . . and dog stuff for the dogs! Shelley got a tennis ball on a rope, a squeaky hedgehog, and a folding dog dish. Plus, she got to stop off after the trial at a friend's house and swim in the lake!

She is one happy and exhausted pup!

We now return you to your regularly scheduled programming . . .

[CindyDawg]

What types are those? I'm looking in stateline and the closest I see is the clover leaf. I'm not against using spurs I'm just wary of what I'm going to do after I spur him on:') That's why I want to use them first when he is just dragging but calm in the arena.
Overall I had a good ride today and got a lot of work done. This last phase, riding outside the pens a treat for both of us when we are done. He usually enjoys it too. He was high strung today but worked well and I handled him ok.
It was just a weird feeling to have him spooking and not be able to find what spooking him. I expected some resistance this time but it was more than that. Almost a panic. Anyway I'm going to walk him thru the area tomorrow and ride him thru if the weather good. I want to know if it was the storm, leaving the barn or a combination.
Yall have any other suggestions. I brought this here because I can't discuss this with my instructor.

[CindyDawg]

You got pics?

[AnAmericanMother]

Sadly, no pictures. I'm much too busy to take any, and all my friends are running their dogs too, so THEY're much too busy to take any, etc. :-(

There is a guy who travels and photographs, but I was so agitated about winning that I forgot to go by his booth. I've Emailed him to see if I can get pics . . . !

[PayNoAttentionManBehindCurtain]

Too much spur.

Its said that opinions are like...well you know :) and everybody has one.

But with horse people they all have at least 2. :)

BigMack

[PayNoAttentionManBehindCurtain]

Understand?

Yep.

BigMack

[AnAmericanMother]

Those are "Prince of Wales" style spurs. A very mild blunt ended English spur. You probably have to look in the English side of State Line Tack to find them.

Here they are: Prince of Wales Spurs

It's darned odd that State Line only has one set of English spurs. I would look somewhere else that has a wider selection. They should have 2-3 sizes of POW spurs, plus Tom Thumbs (which are even shorter and blunter) and some longer German ones as well.

Look here (Bucks County Saddlery) for a wider selection. (Even though whoever put together their website has trouble telling Wales from Whales . . . :-D )

[CindyDawg]

Well, I'm working on just one. Right now I just try to do what everyone tells me. I'm very moldable but I'm starting to see some opinions developing.:')

[CindyDawg]

Agree? LOL

[PayNoAttentionManBehindCurtain]

OBTW congrats on the dog trail.

[AnAmericanMother]

Oh, it's only my opinion.

But until you're sure your leg is very still, a milder spur is better. They're only 8 bucks or so, and you can reuse the straps, so if it's not enough oomph you pass 'em off to somebody else for 3 bucks and buy a stronger set.

The alternative is to find yourself sitting on air when your horse takes offense, or (which is really worse in my opinion) savaging his sides unintentionally because your leg is swinging.

My trainer did not allow me to wear spurs until my lower leg stayed completely still on the flat at all gaits AND over fences - without stirrups! (Lots of us who came up in the day of very short stirrup hunter equitation have trouble with pivoting on the knee, which causes the lower leg to swing.)

[AnAmericanMother]

Re the spooking:

I will bet you it was the weather. If it was a big storm cloud, the atmospheric pressure drops enough for US to sense it - the horses pick it up much quicker. If he's been pastured for any amount of time, he associates that drop in pressure with big ugly lights and loud noises, not to mention high wind and hail etc.

We have a pony in our barn who goes a little nuts when a storm is coming in. She was once in a barn where part of the roof blew off during a tornado - and pinned her in her stall. She was not injured . . . at least not physically . . . but when it storms she trembles and sweats and we hug her til it's over . . . fortunately she's a very tiny pony and feels safe as long as a human is hugging her neck. She'll hang her head out of her stall and SCREAM for somebody to come stand with her. Poor baby. (She by the way is a wonderful jumper and Pony Club pony for the littlest ones . . . as long as the weather is fine.)

[HairOfTheDog]

Hullo all - just checking in briefly from the beach house... My horse won in the kentucky derby! WOO HOO!

Speaking of WOO HOO, CONGRATULATIONS AAM on the agility trial! Well done! :~D

And on the spur question, I guess I have an opinion too ;~D I would start with a mild spur and work UP if needed, rather than starting too harsh. And I would use spurs more to 'urge on' a stubborn or lazy horse more than I would to try to force a frightened and hyper horse, at Cindy's level especially.

[AnAmericanMother]

Congratulations on your winning horsie.

I missed the race . . . cleaning out the car. Boo hoo. I'm glad that Smarty won. I always like to see the horses from nowhere come in and make the big punters look foolish. Of course, if you go back up his bloodlines you find horses like Foolish Pleasure and Secretariat, so he's not an underbred horse - just no stakes winners in his immediate pedigree.

He looks like a game little horse -- only 15 hands and change.

[CindyDawg]

Congrats to you and AAM. I assume bay wasn't on the track? :')

[AnAmericanMother]

If Bay had been on the track, all those young'uns would have bowed down and given him proper respect.

:-D

Thanks for the congrats. I'm so excited for my Shelley Dog that I can hardly sit still (she on the other hand is zonked out in her crate - after a hard day running trials she went nuts swimming in the lake at our friend's house and she is too pooped to pop! I had to stop her from jumping in after awhile - she just looked too tired to be taking headers off the dock and the water is still cold - I didn't want to have to practice my Lifesaving on a dog!)

[HairOfTheDog]

Bay would make a better pony horse than racer ;~D