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]

I should have enough when we put the septic sytem in. I say we because we have done it before but not this time. We have to get the guys with the big tools to do it. Costing a fortune and no firm estimate. It all depends on how much time and problems it takes with the rocks. Ours are mostly white though. Very decorative but I worry about snakes. I'll take some digital pictures next time we are there, esp of Eddies rock. It's a boulder out in the water:')

[CindyDawg]

You know, a little paint and a rock flower bed around those trucks.....:')

[PayNoAttentionManBehindCurtain]

Everyone around here has used all the rocks they can for every purpose under heaven, and still they keep surfacing:), and then you just pile them up, and for that matter, we're all sick of rocks for landscaping. With that much rock around, it's hard to tell if it was being used for anything or just there naturally.

Becky

[Inge_CAV]

Will your septic system pass a perk test then?

[PayNoAttentionManBehindCurtain]

Hope to use them some day.

I'm luck that I have a bobcat to move them around with. Most of the people around here have to just leave them where they lie, as they're to big to move around. It wasn't till we got the bobcat that the pasture and yard started getting cleared. We tell people all the time they would do better with a bobcat rather then a tractor, and still they buy tractors that are all but useless. With the bobcat I can knock down trees and move those big rocks. I think people just think the tractor makes them look more "country". Becky

[Inge_CAV]

"You know, a little paint and a rock flower bed around those trucks.....:')"

LOL! That might do it. Actually, I do not live out there and it is way back off by itself. There are no roads that pass by other than the one road that leads into it. The place is so out of the way that you have to know where it is to find it. : )

[PayNoAttentionManBehindCurtain]

Alot of the "lots" here didn't pass a perk test. Luckily we did, but we had to put in 400 ft of lateral line. Which makes a horribe mess to clean up with all the rock that gets dug up for them. Knocking down trees is not a good idea either. You wouldn't believe the amount of rock the roots pull up when you do that.

Of course now, the water company has ran out of taps, so no one can get water.

Becky

[Inge_CAV]

Pile them up on wooden pallets that you can move with your bobcat and offer them for sale. Someone will want them. : )

[Inge_CAV]

"I'm luck that I have a bobcat to move them around with"

Yes you are and I have a track loader that is so handy. It is just a big bobcat with tracks.

[PayNoAttentionManBehindCurtain]

I've had several people ask about that, but it goes back to the problem of moving them. Most people don't have a bobcat of their own:), and hiring it done is very expensive. Believe me we have tried everything. Been here 25 years. There really isn't anything more to do but pile them up.

Becky

[CindyDawg]

I'm not exactly sure what all tests required now and esp since its on the water. We are letting the experts do this job. Too many permits, government inspections... They decide where it will go. We get a few choices but all $$$. Probably just going to stick with lateral lines. We are self contained right now though so we aren't in a big hurry.

We are also checking with the county about horses right now. We want to put a paneled holding pen on the property for my horse when we are there. Neighbors can be the biggest tattle tails sometimes.

[PayNoAttentionManBehindCurtain]

The only thing we are not allowed to keep here are pigs.

Of course at the time they tried to get a Home Owners Ass. going one of the things they were going to do was limit the number of horses you could have on your property. Didn't go over well with the horse set:)

Becky

[PayNoAttentionManBehindCurtain]

How much land do you have at the lake?

Becky

[CindyDawg]

I have never understood this about pigs. A pig or two no worse than any other farm animal. It just depends on how they are cared for. My kids raised them for 4H. We had a clause in our contract for this. People were always "you can't have pigs" like they were nasty or something.

We have been trying to buy some acreage across the street at the lake for several years but it hasn't happened yet. We keep offering though.

[CindyDawg]

A little over an acre.

[Inge_CAV]

"I've had several people ask about that, but it goes back to the problem of moving them."

Just offer them by pallets only and to load them onto their truck or trailer. Let them worry about unloading them. : )

Lots of new homes being built around here and there is a demand for field rocks.

[PayNoAttentionManBehindCurtain]

The soil is so thin here, that one horse can have five acres ate down to dirt in about 2 weeks. So the places that have horses are just bare ugly rock and mud, with a house sitting in the middle. The "city" people who have moved in in the last few years, had landscaping co. come and clear their land and laid sod. Now they want everyone to have that. They think if there were less horses that the grass would grow on these places. But it won't. like I said one horse will keep it down, except for weeds.

The only reason I manage to get a little grass growing in the back is because I keep my horses in runs mostly and they only get turned out for part of each day. But even then it gets pretty thin in summer because there is no soil to hold moisture and get a good root system going to sustain it thru the hot, dry months. It's alot of work that most people don't have time for.

Becky

[PayNoAttentionManBehindCurtain]

Does it have trees on it?

Becky

[Inge_CAV]

"We are letting the experts do this job"

I agree, it may be more expensive but fewer headaches later on.

"Neighbors can be the biggest tattle tails sometimes."

You have that one right. : )

[PayNoAttentionManBehindCurtain]

Well, I wouldn't mind them coming to get mine:) Send them this way:)

I was told that when building a house with this rock the builders want the rock to be fresh dug out of the ground??? Not rock that has been dug up and laying on the surface for a long time??? I don't get that, don't know if it's true. But I had a guy come and look here, and he wouldn't take what I had already got out, he wanted to dig more up. I was told by numerous people not to let them do that, as they leave your land in a mess and won't put it back right. Ever hear of this??

Becky