Interesting shoes. My mare TB 27 years old foundered last spring , for the first time. Had to take her off pasture and reduce grain. I had just got her to the proper weight. She has slight rotation about a degree. But this summer she was sound and did quite a few trail rides and jumped larger jumps than we had in a while. I was helping another woman improve her x country jumping but she was scared to do coops or any over 2 feet. Tried to get her to do some 3 foot jumps. My mare did fine, but the other rider just got too tense.
In Sept she took her gelding to a baby x country 18- to 2 feet course. The week before her horse was lame and was going to take my mare. However the night before my mare was lame from arthritis and her gelding became sound. We went to the event and her horse stopped on every jump.
I advised her to use a crop and be firm about the request. After she did that, her schooling did better, since Moe then realized she really did want to jump the fences. He was taking his cue from her and just slowing down before the jumps and the rider would let him.
I got a chance to ride Sunday after 7 inches of rain on Saturday and the ground was actaully quite nice. Got a lot of sand and in Sept we did not have any rain and the ground was hard as concrete.
I had a farrier appt and found out about a barn picnic and games. Now I had not ridden in 3 wks since she was lame for arthritis and decide I would come back and play.
Got delayed in home chores and came back to the barn halfway through the games. They had rides with an egg on spoon and a glass of water and relays across the arena and change clothes.
The participants were some young teens and adult women. I competed in a timed event that had to run across the arena, dismount, rip a page out of a catalog and remount, and gallop back to the other side. I took too long, I had just gotten on and did not get any warm up and asked my mare to gallop, she did but I was too slow getting the page and remounting. All of us had our stirrups really long for ease and galloped without stirrups. The women were all on TB 15.2 to 16.3 hands tall.
The next event was to gallop around 3 barrels and hit the soda can off the barrel top with a stick. The ex polo pony went first , but he was too fast and missed the can.
My mare was standing dead quiet but when I shortened the reins to her neck and grapped the stick and said go. We took off. WE were very acurrate and she really had her haunches under her and elevated the front so I could slow and just lean to hit the can. Kept a short quick gallop and did not slow until well past the finish line. MY MARE DID IT IN 16 SECONDS. REALLY GREAT AND WON THE EVENT. WE WERE .5 SECONDS FASTER THAN ANYONE ELSE. PRETTY GOOD FOR 27 YEARS AND NOT RIDDEN IN 3 WKS AND JUST WALKED INTO THE ARENA AND RAN THE COURSE.
Of course I figured she saw the few horses in front and figured what she had to do and just decided to compete. Experience does count, even if we never did barrels before.
I had a nice time and it was fun. Lots of food afterwards and even saw everyones boyfriends and husbands at the barn, which is rare. My son came with me for once. Had turkey and desserts and jsut a fun time.
Hey, good to hear from you. Sounds like you had a good time.
I've done those egg in spoon things. One time I was concentrating so hard watching the egg I rode the horse right into a corner of the arena without even knowing it till the horse stopped and I looked up:)
Becky
That's quite a thorough update on a lot of subjects! I'm sure Tuffy is glad to hear that your horse is again sound after foundering last year.
Oh it sounds like you had a ball. Can't help but be proud of yourself and your mare with that kind of time, even if you'd done it 100 times :) Congrats!
Enjoyed reading your post and it sounds like you had a great time.
Thanks for the information on your foundered horse.