The FreeRepublic Saddle Club thread! - Thread TEN

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
The FreeRepublic Saddle Club thread! - Thread EIGHT
The FreeRepublic Saddle Club thread! - Thread NINE

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

[PayNoAttentionManBehindCurtain]

LOL, well yeah, everyone falls off, but there is no guarantee that it will only be once:)

Becky

[CindyDawg]

Well it sounds like she is getting better already. Cindy recovers but she has never got good bladder control back though. She tries to hold it but she can't.

[CindyDawg]

I didn't want to pop his bubble though:'). He did admire that I can sit SLs 6th shift though. (3 speeds of walk. Poke along...normal and almost trot. 3 speeds of trot. Bumpy, Bumpier and oh my spine) He says he has to put her in a canter because it hurts so bad.

[AnAmericanMother]

Check with your vet. Phenylpropanalimine (marketed I think as ProPan) is a human antihistamine that was taken off the market awhile ago. It is for some reason a specific for urinary incontinence in female dogs. When Shelley was spayed they damaged some nerves to the bladder and when she's very deeply asleep the sphincter relaxes. Apparently that's a common side effect of spaying.

Anyhow, half a pill with each meal and she's right as rain. Hasn't had an accident since. My vet says one of her female poodles has been on it for 9 years with no side effects.

You might try it and see if it helps.

[AnAmericanMother]

Don't worry about medicating all the time. We medicate Shelley twice a day (see previous post) and it's just routine. We have a little druggist's mortar and pestle, just pound the pill to powder and sprinkle it over her food. No big deal.

[PayNoAttentionManBehindCurtain]

Ok. I just was thinking of several of our acquaintences who had dogs that had so many health issues, and all the meds those dogs took just to keep them alive...I don't want to get sucked into that game. But Nikki has no other health issues, the vet said it was probably arthritis or a slipped disc...If she can stay completely comfortable taking a pill a day, well, I'd consider that, But she'd have to be really well, I don't want to prolong an old dogs misery just because I can't let go. I'd like all my animals lives to end on good notes, not after months of my trying to eek out an extra month or two...

Becky

[AnAmericanMother]

Medicating an otherwise healthy animal is quite different from fighting to the last ditch and stone wall for a critically ill and/or dying one.

I had to put a cat to sleep for the second time in just a few months -- poor cat was stone blind, had high blood pressure, kidney failure, and cancer. As long as she had a good appetite and got around o.k. I was letting her have her chance, but when she stopped eating and started sitting hunched up in one spot, it was time to let her go. She was a tough old kitty, though.

[FrogInABlender]

...when she stopped eating and started sitting hunched up in one spot...

I've seen that posture a lot and I just hate it because I know it's the beginning of the end. I've had to put down 5 cats in the last 2 years from some form of cancer or another and they all got like that in the end.

[Ramius]

Hey everybody-- I'm not sure who all to ping, but Hairofthedog and Ecurbh asked me to sign on and let y'all know that their cable internet is out, so they can't get online just yet.

Their power was out this morning, and has since come back, but the internet connection is still down. Aside from that, all is well with them and critters. They had a long night but everybody survived, and they called me while out at breakfast.

[Duchess47]

Good afternoon,

All the dogs get treated like they are in the Army :) Well not quite but they are pretty well behaved other than growling at everybody if they are sitting in my lap. Except at feeding time they are generally sacked out somewhere sound asleep.

[Duchess47]

I'm really glad to hear it's something she'll come out of. Maybe when she's over it, you can just medicate her as needed instead of every day.

[Duchess47]

Thank you. Miss Targets can ping everyone I think.

[Duchess47]

Shoot, should have pinged you to the thread above.

[FrogInABlender]

Thanks! RosieCotton had already done a quick post to let us know that the power and cable had been out but she had been on her way to work and hadn't talked to them to know how everybody made it through the night. I'm glad to know that there were no more barn monsters. Thanks again!

[AnAmericanMother]

Wow, good news. Glad everybody's o.k.

(How does anybody LIVE without the internet? < g > )

[CindyDawg]

Thanks. I'll ask the next time I take her in.

[MissTargets]

Good Morning.

I didn't see the post about Hair's Internet being out, until this morning. Hopefully, it is back on this morning. One feels so out of touch and lost without a connection.

[CindyDawg]

I have an abrasion at the far right base of my right thumb, on the back of the palm of my hand. It happened while I was riding yesterday. I hold the reins in my left hand. It's about pencil head size and kind of square U shaped. It is very sore and inflammed this morning. It's never happened before. I don't know what I rubbed against that time. Ever get friction burns in that area?

[AnAmericanMother]

You wear gloves?

When I don't wear gloves, I get all sorts of abrasions, mostly between my ring and little finger and on the top of my index finger. My mare gets a little strong when jumping (or hunting) and I just ride her in a French snaffle with a German martingale, so if she gets really forward I have to hold on pretty hard. It's worse if it's raining and the reins get wet.

The "real" leather hunting gloves are so expensive, I switched to a thin nylon carpenter's glove with foam and ballistic nylon reinforcement on the palms and across the side of the index finger. Home Depot sells them, they're black, and nobody can tell the difference if you take a black magic marker and color over the yellow logo on the back of the palm!

[PayNoAttentionManBehindCurtain]

Well, if you hold your reins in your left hand it's hard to tell...what do you do with the right hand while you're riding?

Becky