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Posted on 02/24/2006 9:12:25 AM PST by HairOfTheDog
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
The FreeRepublic Saddle Club thread! - Thread EIGHT
New folk and occasional posters, jump right in and introduce yourselves, tell us about your horses, and post pictures if you've got them!
Heh - yeah - I bet :~D Take pictures :~D
Well they have calmed down now. I tried pictures but didn't catch anything that conveyed the humor of what was going on:)
Becky
I know the challenge... I've tried many times :~D
That was a great 24 ending, you're right...
What's Brother Palmer got? What about Audrey? :~D
I really hate this 'wait all the way till next week' business.
Just catching up on some posts I missed. I certainly hope you are feeling better soon.
I know whatcha mean. Bob does best when I stay COMPLETELY out of his mouth, except for slight little bumps here and there when he starts to get strung out. Of course that's nearly impossible at the start of the ride because he's so hyped up to go. Then I have to get in his mouth and he starts tossing his head. I'd been riding him behind everyone else at the start, then changing his position to the front, which he doesn't like, then the middle, then back to the back throughout the ride, just to get him used to being in different spots, but I've decided that putting him at the front in the beginning of the ride next time might be the best place for him. That way he won't be so hell-bent to take off. He'll be wanting to hang back with his buds.
Bay will get on the muscle and dance the first few miles down trail when he's in front, and where some might find that to be less than desirable, I take it as a sign that he's feeling really good and I don't rain on, or in this case 'rein in' his parade too much. I ~like~ that he can still be a lot of horse at his age. I trust him even when he's all coiled like that, because I know his limits. He's not gonna blow up.
But those are the situations where I get into some head tossing with him... when we really need to ~stop~ and ~wait~.
LOL! The guy who owns one of the stallions I breed my mares to has done this too, only it wasn't Viagra, it was testosterone. Apparently he bred him to so many mares that he didn't quite have enough lead in his pencil. The only problem with it was that he was a fire-breathing sex machine when he was on it. Nearly unmanageable. Hopefully he won't do that again this year.
It's a Windows Media player file... best results probably if you right click the link above and 'save target as' to your desktop rather than trying to stream it.
Here's Frog's description she sent with the email:
Heres the video I took this past Saturday at the stair step creek crossing. Each step is about a foot high and the bottom one is farther than that, but they have put some erosion control block at the bottom to try to help it, but Im not sure if it helped or made it worse. Of course Bob had to stop with his front feet in the water and his back feet on the bottom step and take a look around, which put me at a rather precarious position. Youll have to forgive the poor camera skills. I was kinda all over the place, but mostly shot the back of Bobs head. Theres definitely room for improvement! ;o)
I wasn't at all comfortable with Bob's dancing, because it was right on the verge of turning into a buck and I sure didn't wanna get that started because the trail was rather steep (down hill) at that point. Bucking down hill ain't my idea of fun. I got the lead rider to slow down a bit, at least until Bob got the edge off, and we were fine. By the end of the ride (about 4 hours) I could sit there and hold his reins in 2 fingers and rate his speed with my posture.
On a green horse I'd not like that coiled muscle behavior at all...
That's yet another reason why I'm so happy with Cyn... She ~never~ gets on the muscle over wanting to go. Not at the beginning, and not on the way back home. And she doesn't get antsy just 'cuz Bay is. Bay could leave her far behind and I've yet to see her worry about it. It's usually ecurbh who decides to trot to catch up because she just doesn't care.
Yeah, you lucked out with Cyn. There ain't a whole lotta horses out there like that. It may be because she was a bottle baby that she's like that. She considers humans to be her herd too and is just as comfortable with them as with another horse. Of course there's the bad side of that too, like when she tries to muscle you around like she would another horse, but y'all have pretty well taken care of that. So I'd say the good outweighs the bad.
Either early training or just her rather lazy temperament, but it's a blessing... I don't think ecurbh has much fear... but I'd have been a nervous wreck if she was the type to want to be a lot of horse or get on the muscle. De-escalating that is a rather complicated set of skills to learn right off the bat, and early attemps often go ill.
She's a little crabby... Bob said she kicked at his horse when he was following her "You need to put a ribbon on that horse!" but on the other hand, Bob's horse is an intimidating presence and tends to get right on a gal's butt, so I think it was warranted. Bay threatens him too.
Oh, I got the ebay saddle yesterday, and it was just as nice as the listing. I was going to try it out yesterday evening, but it was raining sideways with about a 20mph wind and was about 40 degrees. Colder'n a witches you know what! That wind was coming down the center of the barn like a wind tunnel and I wasn't hanging around for NOTHING! Hopefully I can check it out better this evening. Oh, and to top it all off, I got a post card from the Amish guy I ordered the 2nd saddle from a few weeks ago and it's ready to pick up. When it rains, it pours. I'm definately going to cancel the order for the first saddle that I ordered back last year. 6 months is a bit too long to wait.
You better cancel the order quick, or you really will be up to your withers in saddles :~D
I don't know a lotta mares, or any horse for that matter, that appreciates somebody riding their butt. I know that a horse shouldn't kick on the trail under any circumstances, but I can't help but feel that people who let their horses tailgate deserve what they get when they let their horse do that. I used to have a riding buddy who was the worlds worst to come blasting up your butt like a rocket and Truly's mother nailed him in the knee one time for it. If looks could've killed, we both would've been dead, but he brought it on himself, in my opinion, and apparently in everybody else's too because they got quite a good laugh out of it. He'd done that to everybody at one time or another.
Well, he said he'd send me a postcard requesting a deposit before he started, and since I haven't heard from him, I'm assuming I've got time. But you're right, I'll do it as soon as I get this new saddle tried out.
I need to get on up there and pick the new one up, but I've got to do "pony rides" at my Great Nephew's 3rd birthday party this Saturday. Never mind that I don't have a "Pony". They're going to have to make do with a 17 hand 1500 pound "Pony" by the name of Tennessee. It should be interesting. Maybe I can get up real early and go pick it up before the party, depending on how early the party is. I can't remember. It's about an hour and a half drive up there, one way. If I can't make it, I'll have to write him back and let him know when I'm coming. Otherwise he'll think I've stiffed him and will sell it to somebody else.
The horse that we'll borrow for Becky, Kat, ~hates~ Bay. Always has. I've never really seen him act horsey or studly around her, so I don't really know why. She's fine if I give her ten feet of clearance, but if I allow him to get close behind, or her rider allows her to get close when we're milling about in a group, she'll back up to hit him. And it's personal, she doesn't act that way to other horses.
She's otherwise great. It's just a dynamic we have to be aware of. She'll follow him just fine, just doesn't like him behind her. And Bay knows it... he avoids her like a bad smell. This is as close as I could get Bay to her for this picture, and he doesn't want to be there. ;~D
Heh... sometimes the best kid horse in the group is the biggest one :~D
You can tell that she's got an ear fastened on him too.
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