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!

[HairOfTheDog]

My friend Bob's horse paws like that and sprays everybody.

[FrogInABlender]

I rode Tennessee with a crupper for years and never thought a thing about it. But one time I was riding Truly with it on and a big ol' horse fly kept following us and biting her on the butt. She must've clamped her tail down real hard on it and it weirded her out or something because she bucked me off 3 times in one hour. Boy, she was quick. One second I was riding along just fine and the next, I was doing a front flip over her left shoulder and landing flat of my back out in front of her. She had never bucked before and the crupper may have not had a thing to do with it, but took it off just the same. I never rode her with it again. I never got caught out on the trail without a can of OFF in my saddle bag either. ;o)

[HairOfTheDog]

Bob always used a crupper on his mule too... mules typically have ~no wither. But when he got his horse Kai and tried his gear on to see if it fit, the first time the horse took a step and felt it come into play I thought he was gonna sit down! It was the funniest thing... He was all weirded out too, so we lunged him with it on and moved really weird and bucked a little for the first ten minutes or so too. I think Bob uses it now, so he did get used to it, though I'm not sure he'd ever need it on that horse.

[HairOfTheDog]

Here's Kai pawing the water in a creek, and he does have the crupper on, so he did get used to it ;~D

This was on an appy club ride... I'm a little out of place on my A-rab horse ;~D

[FrogInABlender]

I think the crupper tends to bother mares more than geldings. I think they're a little more particular about their butts. The only other time I got bucked with one on was when I was riding one of somebody else's mares with my saddle and crupper. She was fine 'til we started to go down hill, then it was rodeo queen time. I managed to stay on that time although I don't know how. She was a bigger mare and not as quick was my only guess. What ever it was, I was proud of it coz she was bucking pretty hard, and down hill at that. The landing would NOT have been pretty.

[FrogInABlender]

Those are some pretty Appys! You shoulda just painted you some white spots on Bay's butt and called him a Snowflake! ;o)

[HairOfTheDog]

I wish I could paint his butt and join that club. They're a great club, with a great private camp spot in the forest, but they won't let you join unless you own an appy.

[FrogInABlender]

...but they won't let you join unless you own an appy.

Well, that ain't very nice! I don't care what somebody else's riding as long as they keep up and they're not crazy or drunk. I don't think you'd have a problem with the Bay Man keeping up with anybody. Oh well, it's their loss!

[HairOfTheDog]

They're just very particular about it being a breed club. I've gone there as a guest of Bob or my landlord, but they won't let me join.

[PayNoAttentionManBehindCurtain]

Hey, that would be fun puddles for people if it was warmer:) Great pictures.

I don't know if any of my horses would get in. Rusty might have. But I know Harley and Rocky wouldn't.

Becky

[PayNoAttentionManBehindCurtain]

That sounds interesting. I 'd like to learn to trim, or at least just rasp them off smooth a bit.

Becky

[HairOfTheDog]

Bay skirted through the gate opening right at the edge but the mares spent quite a long time walkin' around in it. Something new to break up a drab day I guess. ;~D

[PayNoAttentionManBehindCurtain]

JP has been here all day, but he has gone home now. I had hiim help me bury the soaker hose:) What little boy doesn't like to dig in the dirt. I have one side finished and am running it for awhile to see if it's worth the work of burying it. I'm thinking I'll have less puddling. Anyway, that's what I'm hopeing for.

Becky

[PayNoAttentionManBehindCurtain]

I noticed the sprinkles in the water...it's still raining there???? So sorry.

It's nice and sunny here today, but the windy is chilly. It's suppose to be nicer tomorrow, and Julia is coming to ride in the afternoon. I hope to ride tomorrow and Thurs/Fri. this week.

Becky

[HairOfTheDog]

Raining off and on... it's actually sunny at the moment. It's real changeable.

[HairOfTheDog]

It would ~look~ tidier buried, certainly... don't know whether it'd be easy to keep it buried.

[PayNoAttentionManBehindCurtain]

It does look alot nicer. So far only one place has floated back up. I don't think I had it deep enough there. I think it's going to work pretty good.

Becky

[HairOfTheDog]

Well, I'm out to get those stalls clean. Ugh!

[Beaker]

but I was worrying about how they'd pay the taxes on the place. I had never thought about it before but I just recently read an article about the Home Depot Dream Home contest and how those people who win were never really expected to be able to keep the place, that most of them sell it.

Hahaha, we were talking about both those things last night! Are you sure that you weren't in the room? ;-) The 50,000 dollar check that the people get is mostly to help pay the taxes on the new house. But things like the original mortgage stay the same, and sometimes that even gets paid off as part of the *prize*. Lots of times with the Home Depot contest, people enter not realizing the taxes that come with the house. Only one person so far has been able to keep the house. The rest have to sell. Sad, if you think about it.

[Beaker]

Wow. That's a biiig puddle!