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.

[HairOfTheDog]

That's right.... ecurbh and I are getting married at our family beach house, in June, down on the beach. I wanted to put the $$$ we might have spent renting a place for a reception on nice flowers for the house instead. It's a gorgeous setting... At the wedding time, the tide will be way out like this, and we'll be standing on the dock with everyone gathering around. ~smiles~

[HairOfTheDog]

Is their pasture really lush where that is all he gets for forage or do they still feed? How big is it roughly and how many horses on it?

[HairOfTheDog]

I need to get another coat of paint or two on my desk so I can get it back set up again and have computer. But in between, I hope to get Bay ridden, maybe it should be ecurbh's turn with his saddle.

[CindyDawg]

It's mostly dirt. There are a few patches of grass but not a whole lot. The horses keep it chomped down. I haven't seen any roatation. They throw hay bales out in the middle.

[CindyDawg]

He will get the same feed but only 1 scoop twice a day instead of two and it's a diffrent hay.

[HairOfTheDog]

OK. I thought they'd have to have an awful lot of room to have good pasture for many horses. And they don't get any grain or supplements in addition to hay? - what kind of hay? - grass hay or alfalfa?

[PayNoAttentionManBehindCurtain]

I am not using a tie down right now using a running martingale., but they really have more of a purpose then most people understand.

Heather just got here, will continue later.

Becky

[HairOfTheDog]

Ah. - we cross posted.... OK - at his weight now and those options talk to your vet about it if you would feel more confident, but that type of feeing schedule sounds like a good amount for a horse working at his level. He doesn't need a lot of groceries at his age and level of work. If you were competing hard or he was hard to keep weight on, it'd be a different story, you'd want to closely regulate his feed for top condition.

[CindyDawg]

Well that's why I want my vet instead of the "house" to look at him. All the horses were losing weight awhile back, not just mine. The owner switched to pellets only. Now they are all gaining big time. I was reading about some of the problems that can occur with being too heavy last night. He was also put on a suppliment for the loss and his hoofs. This is all new to me so until I get more experience I want to bring my own vet in who I trust and doesn't have a vested interest. That's why I was sounding this off of yall. I knew you guys would pick up on things I need to look at and consider. I really like this thread, Hair:')

[HairOfTheDog]

I am not using a tie down right now using a running martingale., but they really have more of a purpose then most people understand.

OK, talk to you later then! - My access will be iffy once ecurbh wakes up, but I will be back sometime!

My experience with tie-downs is real limited. I've never used one. I have seen horses that have had them used for long periods, and they do tend to develop 'upside-down' necks... all the muscling on the underside of the neck from leaning on it, and no muscling on the topline of the neck. I think that happens most when it is used instead of training to hold down a "too-high" head ~all the time~.

I have used both running martingales and german reins/draw reins at times to correct evasive head behavior.

[HairOfTheDog]

Definately more problems that can develop from being too heavy than a little on the light side.

Most immediately, they can founder. They don't even have to be overweight to founder, it can happen real fast (in hours) from too much protein too fast. Here, founder happens on too much spring grass. Sounds like you won't have that fear, but the opposite fear of not enough power in his feed. You can keep an eye on that and I bet he'll find the feed he needs. They can adjust his amount of grain and free-feeding grass hay will keep him feeling satisfied if they feed enough.

The other slow-to-develop problem from remaining even a little overweight is they will develop a cresty neck, and that excess fat in the crest of his neck is hard to get rid of if allowed to develop. Stallions have that wonderful cresty neck. Good for them, not good in anyone else!

When is the vet coming out? It'll be good for him to look. He can look at the state of the pasture and the horse and really make an informed judgment.

[AnAmericanMother]

I think we have to distinguish between raising and lowering and tightening and loosening.

You can "close the door" with a low outside rein, but the horse can get too much on his forehand (for my purposes) with a low rein. If you close it with a high(er) - not waving around your ears, up at ribcage height - rein, then it should keep the forehand light enough for a good takeoff. The horse will always duck into a loose rein.

[AnAmericanMother]

If it doesn't rain (and it's been threatening all morning) all of us are riding this afternoon.

I got Gracie a brand new jug of Red Cell last week, so she should be full of vim and vigour after a week on that stuff. It actually makes her snort! (I don't know what they put in it, the label just says vitamins and minerals, but I swear there's uppers in there or something.)

Have a new hunter course set up at the barn, all of us take turns building new jumps, and one kid's dad is quite a carpenter - built two new roll-tops, one about 1 foot tall, the other is a monster at 2 1/2 feet high AND wide. It looks very intimidating from the takeoff side, but the first time is the worst time! When Gracie is looking at a new scary fence, her ears swivel round in circles and you can feel her hindquarters sink lower and lower as she thinks about putting on the brakes. But she does always get over somehow - it usually isn't pretty, down to a trot and pop over from a near standstill.

I'll try to get some shots of the kids if it isn't raining.

[CindyDawg]

Soon. The receptionist going to call me back with a date in just a few minutes. Since it is a well visit he's going to svedule it. Yeah, Becky hinted at this last night and I was reading up. I knew about it but forgot what it was called because I had concerns about the lenght of travel. I watched his feet very closely (as you can probably tell from my posts:')I didn't notice about the protein though. I guess I just zoomed in on what was pertinent at the time.

[HairOfTheDog]

Yes, try to get some pictures.... hopefully there will be someone around that can snap some of you too!

I think Red Cell looks like you are just feeding them rich blood. Worked wonderfully on my old dog when she just wasn't keeping weight and had no energy without it.

Right now, Bay is still a lot of horse for an old guy. I don't know if it is in his future or not, but he doesn't need it yet!

[CindyDawg]

Tomorrow between 9 and 10 :') I'm going to turn him out after that.

[AnAmericanMother]

The problem with the tie-down or standing martingale is that the horse can "lean" on it. Since there's no rider control over the length of the tie-down, the horse can lean on it inverted (neck bent the wrong way) and NEVER yield to the bit. This old pic of me on Bella back around 1980 or so shows a horse going inverted in a standing martingale.

She was a pretty handy horse and a good jumper, so I could keep the martingale adjusted tight enough to keep her head down, but it's still too high and you can see the reverse curve in her neck. If I had known about German martingales or used draw reins, her nose would have been in the proper position. You can see that her habitual nose-high position has kept the crest of her neck from developing.

Gracie started out going inverted ALL the time. She had absolutely no crest muscle at all (mostly she had no muscle anywhere). You can see from this pic of us in the hunting field that she now goes with the neck properly arched and has good but not excessive development of the top line.

[AnAmericanMother]

What a great place to get married!

Receptions are always more fun at your own place. Everybody seems more relaxed - and you can always go get a comfy pair of shoes if your feet start to hurt . . . :-D We had our reception in my parents' back yard - everyone had a great time, including the folks who jumped (or got thrown) in the pool.

[AnAmericanMother]

. . . and another thing I noticed when I posted those two pictures . . .

If you look at the rein line from my elbow to Bella's mouth, it's a "broken line" - my hands are down out of line as Bella evades the bit upward. She's getting above my hands even though I'm leaning forward with very short reins.

Compare the pic of Gracie - we were in a very slow canter at the start of a long uphill. I didn't have her heavily collected, I am sitting way back and my reins are very long because of my seat (and the fact that Gracie has a neck like a giraffe!) But you could still lay a rule on the line from my elbow to her mouth.

[AnAmericanMother]

OK, OK, I'm gonna try for one thousand!

(That's a LOT of posts!)