The FreeRepublic Saddle Club thread! - Thread 11

[HairOfTheDog]

The FreeRepublic Saddle Club - (very out of date) Who's Who *pics*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
The FreeRepublic Saddle Club thread! - Thread TEN

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

[proud_2_B_texasgal]

><>What type of fly spray do you use?<><

Bronco .. it seems to be as effective as any of the others around here..

[Beaker]

Woah, you ran over youself with an ATV? Yikes, and I thought that I was bad. I'm an uncoordinated clutz.

[Beaker]

I've had sucess with fly masks. She shouldn't try to rub it off, and if she does, just put it right back on her. They stay pretty snug because they have velcro around the neck I believe, and some even have velcro that goes around the nose part. You can also find masks that have separate ear holes.

[Beaker]

He completely misunderstood me and jumped the ring fence from a standstill.
Oh wowee! Yikes. I taught a Morgan gelding how to sidepass, and he was so proud of himself that he would sidepass for no reason at all when you were riding him, OR he would sidepass when he didn't know what you wanted. :-p

[PayNoAttentionManBehindCurtain]

HHmmmmmm..well if it works that's great, but from reading your post, and now this that the fly spray is working, it's more that the bites she already have are itching?? So the mask is not going to help that. I'd think she could still scratch herself raw thru the mask...

You need to stop the itch....hhhmmmmmmmmm...that's tough. I'd try some type of anti-itch lotion.

Becky

[proud_2_B_texasgal]

><>You need to stop the itch....<><

You're right .. I was thinking more toward stoping the bugs and eventually she'll stop scratching .. We need to stop the itch now ..

I wonder if calamine would help .. or those topical anesthetic things for bug bites.

Thanks for your input.

she scratches like crazy when her halter is on .. so I was thinking the same thing about the fly mask .. she'll just scratch through it.

(but the little mask DID have fleese around the edges .. hehe)

[MissTargets]

Good Morning.

Going to be almost 70 today! Then by Friday, only the high 30's.

Feeling a little better, but head is still stuffed up.

[BladeRider]

I am not really on any diet, lean meats, vegetables, almonds, and 1 South Beach Snack bar a day. Pretty much counting calories and carbs. 1000 cal and about 45 carbs a day.

That is what I have been doing. A grilled (or baked) chicken salad at lunch. Lean meat or fish at night with just vegetable and almonds or string cheese as a snack. I have lost weight successfully like this in the past. I started back on it 2 weeks ago and have only lost 3 pounds but have lost more inches. THe first week is touch but once I get past the first week the carb cravings pretty much disappear. My weakness is carbs. I LOVE BREAD! But it does not love me :-(

[BladeRider]

Homesick? Where are you from?

San Diego. We used to go to Yuma/El Centro all the time with our ATV's and Dune buggy (This was before I had horses)Went to Vegas about twice a year. I miss the desert.

[MissTargets]

Do any of ya'll have experience with those fly hoods

We use them in the summer, and the horses will rub them off. The little Arab mare we have, loses her's the most. They do work for keeping those annoying face flies off. There is a stick face fly repellent, I forget the name, that you can use also. Keep those wounds clean and covered with some kind of meds, or else the flies will sure make it worse.

[MissTargets]

Awesome pictures, ladies!

[PayNoAttentionManBehindCurtain]

For us, it has been a change of eating habits...it's not something we will ever be able to stop completely...That's why I don't think about it as a diet, but as a change. "Dieting" is something that for me anyway, I thought of as something I'm doing now, but once I reach my goal, I'll be able to stop....of course that doesn't work. It has to be a change that you can live with all your life.

The longer we eat like this the less we want to go out to eat, the less we want to eat junk. Because for both Mack and I anyway, we physically were feeling so bad before, that we were losing the ability to do the things we wanted to do. It's a choice we had to make. I think most people are like we were. They won't make the change till they HAVE to, and even then it's hard. But the longer you do it the easier it gets.

Becky

[BladeRider]

For someone who works Kraft, again under the name of South Beach makes a very good boxed lunch kit

My daughter took one of those on our ride with Frog last weekend. She let me have some and it was really pretty good. I have a bad addiction to carbs also. I cannot even eat one piece of candy or I fall off the wagon. Slim Fast has a Low Carb Peanut Butter Crunch bar that tastes just like a Butterfinger! If I am PMS'ing those save the day.

[MissTargets]

Bodie scratches the heck out of his tail. The whole top is void of hair. We have these metal strips on the edges of the wood, in the stalls, to keep them from chewing, and he even tore that up, so the sharp edges of the metal have made scratches on his butt. I thought Biscuit had kicked him, when I first saw the wounds. He's been wormed, so I don't think that is the cause. Between the shedding and being coped up all winter, is probably why he is doing it.

[BladeRider]

Do any of ya'll have experience with those fly hoods .. or can you suggest anything else I can do for her. Her little face looks miserable. (No pics on horse.com for a while .. LOL)

Frog has some experience with the itching and the bugs with one of her mares. I had a mare that had the same problem too. It is not so much the flies as it is those little gnats. My vet had me put my mare on Trihist and that helped some. A fly sheet, fly boots and mask will help too.

[BladeRider]

The longer we eat like this the less we want to go out to eat, the less we want to eat junk. Because for both Mack and I anyway, we physically were feeling so bad before, that we were losing the ability to do the things we wanted to do. It's a choice we had to make. I think most people are like we were.

I agree with you 100%. Last fall I lost 20 pounds in 3 months just by cutting out carbs. I allowed myself one "bad" day a week. We would have Pizza or maybe even a bowl of ice cream. I know carbs like sugars and breads are my weakness and have to work hard to limit them. I also felt mentally and physically bad over the winter eating such high carb foods. Where I work we have quarterly "snack days" and the smell of food is tough but as long as I don't give in I am ok. Just in the last two weeks I feel so much better. My joints don't ache as much and I feel so much better. It is a lifestyle change, but you can venture out of that lifestyle occassionally, just make sure you go back.

[CindyDawg]

Morning. The battle of the carbs marches on:') Here's to all off us eating healthier this year.

[BladeRider]

Here's to all off us eating healthier this year.

There is power in numbers! What better support group than the saddle club!

[PayNoAttentionManBehindCurtain]

I allowed myself one "bad" day a week.

I can't wait a week between "bad" things, hence my Chocolate Chip Peaunut Butter Bars each night:)

It is a lifestyle change, but you can venture out of that lifestyle occassionally, just make sure you go back.

You bet. Everyone knows the day I reach my goal I'm celebrating with Mexican Food and beer:)

At that point I'd think once a week I should be able to venture out:)

Becky

[CindyDawg]

Well I bought these trail mixes for my "bad" times. I'm going to see how that goes this week. 280 calories but I'm getting the fruits and nuts too. Expensive though. 5 dollars a box.