The FreeRepublic Saddle Club thread! - Thread EIGHT

See our "who's who" page! ^

[HairOfTheDog]

The FreeRepublic Saddle Club - Who's Who *pics*

This is a horse chat thread where we 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. In the previous threads we have had a great time talking through lessons, training, horse lamenesses, illnesses and pregnancies... and always sharing pictures and stories.

I always have 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 also have a ping list for horse threads that are of interest, and MissTargets will now be pinging everyone most mornings. Let MissTargets and/or me know if you would like to be on the ping list. 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.

So... like the previous threads, this is intended as 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.

Previous threads:

The FreeRepublic Saddle Club thread - thread ONE
The FreeRepublic Saddle Club thread - Thread TWO!
The FreeRepublic Saddle Club thread - Thread THREE!
The FreeRepublic Saddle Club thread! - Thread FOUR
The FreeRepublic Saddle Club thread! - Thread FIVE
The FreeRepublic Saddle Club thread! - Thread SIX
The FreeRepublic Saddle Club thread! - Thread SEVEN

New folk and occasional posters, jump right in and introduce yourselves, tell us about your horses, and post pictures if you've got them!

[FrogInABlender]

Hey, thanks for the info on Stinger. I got this stuff that's taking over my pasture and I don't know what it is but it's a pain. It's got small leaves and a fleshy reddish stem with little fuzzy looking places at every joint that have needles in them. If you don't keep it cut, it'll get 6ft high. Somebody said they thought it it was bullnettle but they weren't sure. Then there's the Summer Cedar and blackberry bushes. Will Stinger kill all that and not kill what little grass I have left?

[HairOfTheDog]

Believe it or not, I HAVE that album. In vinyl.

We had it too, in the family record cabinet I grew up with. It's great stuff :~D

[estrogen]

Farmer, I know your in my climate zone. Being a novice, can you give me some advice on my pasture

Waylon ate practically the whole thing. Will it come up again in spring? Should I seed again? What do you do this time of yr. with your pasture?

[HairOfTheDog]

Prayers for your mom and grandparents in that flooding, Beaker.

[RebaJ]

We just started the muscles, bones and joints this week. It's not the subject as much as it is a combination of the instructor and my allowed time to study. I don't have much quiet time for anything. He is fast paced and loves to test.

[HairOfTheDog]

A pasture improvement discussion would be great.

We have a product called Crossbow we used on our scotch bloom and other weeds. This is the first year we've sprayed at all, I've always been pretty reluctant about using poison on it. We only have a little hand sprayer, so it's a little like peeing on a forest fire, but we'll be picking at it anyhow.

[ShakeNJake]

I used WeedBGon which contains 2-4-D. It is a broadleaf weed killer. I only have weeds because the grass isn't thick enough right now. Once the pasture is more established, the weeds won't be a problem. Since I will be using a pasture mix which contains clover, I won't be able to use a broadleaf weed killer in the future since it would kill the clovers too. I kept my horses off it for a few days, but the over-the-counter products like WeedBGon are safe to let them back on as soon as the product dries unless you are raising animals for meat or have nursing youngsters. Commercial preparations have a longer withdrawal period.

I haven't heard of Stinger. I only have about 3/4 acre to cover though so have done it myself with the hose-attached concentrated formula.

Good point about discing although our local extension office recommends it when rebuilding a pasture.

Thanks for the info!!

[ShakeNJake]

Man, I know how you feel! I am in the middle of microbiology and am studying like crazy. I have a lab practical test tomorrow too. Just took my third lecture test yesterday.

Are you in General Biology? If so, let me know if I can help out with explaining stuff.

[ShakeNJake]

LOL! I love your analogy. You might try looking up your weed online. Just run a Google search for weed identification and your state name. Should get a number of hits with photos and descriptions.

We have some pretty tough weeds out here in Texas too.

[HairOfTheDog]

We've thought we should either disc it, plow it or at least Harrow it just to break up and loosen the ground a little. It's pretty compacted, most of it is weeds (or moss now), like ShakeNJake's situation, and I thought we'd want to break up the dirt a little. I think it needs fertilizer. Even though I now have a secondary turnout area I can use to rest it, it had no zest to grow last spring. It's green now, but not really growing. It's cold now, but that was also tru last spring. I was mowing my lawn twice a week and the pasture sat there looking sick.

I have three horses on this 3.5 acre pasture, and I can rotate it with another area, but it's probably still not big enough to keep them from eating it down.

[HairOfTheDog]

I love your analogy.

I use it a lot... because we don't have a tractor, or really the right size tools to run a farm here, we get by with hand and lawn equipment, and I mow that pasture above with our push mower! Even fertilizing sounds daunting because I'd end up out there with one of those Scott's lawn spreaders spreading weed and feed.

[FrogInABlender]

... most of it is weeds (or moss now)...

If you got moss I think you need to spread lots of lime. Moss grows in acid soil. A soil test would tell ya.

[HairOfTheDog]

I just need to find out who does these soil tests. I can't find anyone that does it! Then I'd have to figure out how to spread the lime.

I'd love to just hire it done. Hire someone who knows to come in, plow it, disk it, whatever, spray it, seed it, and fertilize it. I don't know anyone that does that kind of work, and I don't see it advertised, 'cept the people who do lawn care. Maybe they'd do it, come in and spray it with that hydroseed stuff, I don't know.

[ShakeNJake]

I have the soil from hell. It is called caliche, and is an alkaline clay. When wet, it is like bottomless glue. When dry, it is like concrete. We have a summer position (no rain) for our doors and a winter position (after enough rain).

We use high-nitrogen fertilizer to help acidify the soil. No moss around here!

Like Becky, I may have to harrow or disc to break up the surface so grass seed can take hold once it germinates.

[PayNoAttentionManBehindCurtain]

Hey, the pasture rebuilding talk is great. I need all the advice I can get on that:)

I just got in from a ride. I took my camera, and held it in my hand the whole ride and snapped 47 pictures:). Don't worry, I wont' post them all, but I'll post some as I come in and check the thread today.

Fall is really starting to come one. Lots of trees changing, and leaves falling. But it is suppose to be very hot here today, with a cold front (down to the 60's) move thru tonight.

Becky

[PayNoAttentionManBehindCurtain]

Your soil sounds just like ours.

A few years ago I did have some good spots of bermuda growing, by just keeping the weeds mowed down and not letting the horses on it 24/7. My biggest problem is we have very little soil around here, alot of rock under what little we do have. I dont think grass can get a good enough root system going to sustain it during the dry times.

Becky

[FrogInABlender]

Yeah, lawn service people can spread lime coz yards need it too, but it'll cost you a pretty penny. Do you not have a Farmers Co-Op or anything around there? They usually do stuff like that. You buy the lime from them by the ton (coz it takes alot) and they come in a big spreader truck and spread it for you. The do the same with fertilizer. It takes 2 or 3 years to get the full benefit of your lime when you've got real acid soil. Once you get it started, you really need to spread it every year or at least every couple of years to keep it right.

[HairOfTheDog]

If we have anything like a farmer's coop, I don't know about it. We might, but I'm not in a real agricultural area. If you get out of town around here, our 'farmers' grow timber. :~D

[HairOfTheDog]

Woo hoo! Riding pictures! At least someone's riding AND taking pictures around here!

[PayNoAttentionManBehindCurtain]

This is the county line road that runs up the side of our property, this part is past our property.

This picture is from the top of the east side of the creek looking west. If you look to just above and to the right of the shadows on the left side of the picture, there is a dark spot, a break in the trees. That is the trail on the other side that I ride up. There is a dip in the top tree line, that is the trail too, at about that point it turns back to the north.

This is the creek at the bottom of the hill in the last picture. Just a few feet from the water where I cross it was as dry as bone.

This trail starts about 1/2 way up the other side of the creek and takes you back down to the creek where the deep water crossing that isn't deep anymore is. I turned down it because it also takes me to a more steep climb back up the hil and the same sidel. Good work out for the horse. I thought the changing trees pretty.

Same trail still.

Becky