FreeRepublic Saddle Club thread! - Thread 12

[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The FreeRepublic Saddle Club - (very out of date) Who's Who *pics*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, usually about our horses, sometimes about our dogs, gardens and other stuff we do. :~)

I have a ping list for horse threads that are of interest, and MissTargets will ping everyone most mornings. Let MissTargets and/or me know if you would like to be on the ping list.

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.

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
The FreeRepublic Saddle Club thread! - Thread 11

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

[CindyDawg]

You sleeping in the barn tonight?

[Duchess47]

:) No - no more sleeping in the barn. We’ve got cameras on her stall and Tyke’s and I just get up every hour and check the camera. We haven’t started loking them in at night yet, although I think we’ll have to start soon with Farah. Her belly doesn’t look dropped yet so I haven’t reached the PANIC stage. I have reached the point though where Bob or I will check her several times a day for wax and for her baby to drop.

[PayNoAttentionManBehindCurtain]

Beautiful pictures:) Is there always water running in that fall, or is it from recent rain?

Becky

[FrogInABlender]

It rained a good bit the Wednesday before that picture was taken (on a Friday) so I’d say most of it is probably from that. Though judging from the vetetation down in that holler, I’d say that it probably has SOME water going over it all the time, with the possible exception of drought years like we’ve had for the last couple of years. I’m hoping we’re done with those for a while!

[Tuscaloosa Goldfinch]

I've been so busy the last few weeks I haven't been able to ride. We painted the finished area of the new barn last week, babysitting, dentist stuff for my mom and me on Good Friday, and then her major shopping day for 3 weeks, her dog and cat food and groceries, whew - so I said Saturday - "I want to go riding anyone else want to go?" Joanna did and so we went. Down our drive to the street, across and down a dirt road which turns and backs into a neighborhood, and the road becomes paved.

She has a relative on her husband's side in that neighborhood and we saw his son playing in the yard. We stopped to say hello and out came their two dogs, and they gave us fits. We tried to leave and they followed us, and the little boy was following us onto the dirt road area trying to catch his dogs, who were barking and biting at the heels of our horses. One of them kept trying to jump up and bite my Beau on the nose, and Hammond got in a lick or two and he is shod. We turned around and rode back into the neighborhood to get his dad to catch the dogs so we could leave.

I must say our "guys" handled all this very well. Finally the dad comes out of the house and was able to hold onto the smaller of the two as we took off out of there. The larger one still came after us but gave up finally. At least the child wasn't trying to handle that on his own. We won't go visit THAT relative again while on horseback. Anyway, we are thinking we need some sort of spray? Has anyone used something called Spray Shield? It's made from citronella and the ad says it sprays a long way and there won't be the blowback problem as might be the case with pepper spray.

[MissTargets]

In a dog situation like that, I like to just face the dog with the horse and yell at the dog to go lay down in a stern voice. When you go to ride away and they keep following, just swing your horse around again. It seems to work for me.

The pack animal instinct is to attack from the rear and when the dogs get faced head on, it scares them.

[MissTargets]

My friend Judy, with the real nice Appaloosas, has to take her one broodmare to her trainers for foaling. The mare, Emmy faints dead away after she foals. She will get up and then just fall over. They always have a vet on stand-by for her. Could be blood pressure.

Good luck with Farah!

[Duchess47]

All of our trail horses are turned to face dogs and go to them. I’m not sure how that would work with something like a pit bull though. They will also chase and attack dogs in the pasture. It seems that some kind of spray would be a good idea.

[Duchess47]

I had never though about blood pressure - that may be what it is. I’ll have to ask our vet about it.

[HaveFaith]

My Sissy still hasn’t had her’s yet. She is waxing and soft around the tail, but not pointy in the middle yet. We get up and check her every 2 hrs. all nite (Mostly, Hal). I have to go to Nashville for a medical conference after work today and won’t be back till Wed. night. Hal is reading my book on foaling. Her 340 day is April 1, but it is her 1st baby. She will be 4 June. Wish us luck. We need it.

[FrogInABlender]

Wow, that sounds like a bad scene with the dog. I’ve been attacked by a dog on horseback before and it was terrifying. It was a Pit-mix and not only was I afraid the dog was tearing my horse up but I was afraid of what he’d do to ME if I fell off in the process. After that I wondered about a spray too, but since I very seldom ride where there are bad dogs anymore I haven’t looked into it, so if you decide to try one let me know if it works. It would probably be a good thing to have along when walking or bicycling too.

[HaveFaith]

I usually try facing them, too. But if there are 2 of them and you are trying to go the other way it is hard.
I’ve never heard of a spray, but would be interested in getting some if you find any. I ride down country roads with alot of dogs if we don’t have a big ride and trailer them somewhere.

[Duchess47]

Keeping my fingers crossed that Sissy doesn’t foal until April :)

[FrogInABlender]

Here's pics of my Saturday's ride with BladeRider...

Once upon a time a girl named BladeRider comes out of her cave after hibernating all winter...

But she decides that waking up is hard to do so she takes a nap for a while at the base of a nice comfey tree...

After her nap she goes in search of a new cave to nap in. This one's a bit too wet she thinks...

So's this one...

This one looks promising...

But this one's just right, and it even has a friend named FrogInABlender in it...

After finding her new cave she takes her trusty mount Blade out for a ride in the creek, being very careful not to get her delicate feet wet...

Then she and Blade come upon a new cave with it's own stream running through it.

Life is good!

THE END. ;o)

[Beaker]

LOL! That is a great story with pictures!

[Duchess47]

Great pictures (and story). I’m just gritting my teeth with a desire to explore those caves with a metal detector :)

[HairOfTheDog]

Fabulous! ~APPLAUSE!~

[HairOfTheDog]

I must say our "guys" handled all this very well. Finally the dad comes out of the house and was able to hold onto the smaller of the two as we took off out of there. The larger one still came after us but gave up finally. At least the child wasn't trying to handle that on his own. We won't go visit THAT relative again while on horseback. Anyway, we are thinking we need some sort of spray? Has anyone used something called Spray Shield?

Hi everyone, just catching up... I had no idea you'd been chatting so much, no one pinged me and I've been puttering around.

For dogs you don't know, I just turn on them, as Frog said. Run right over the top of them. Theses dogs, you probably didn't want to risk hurting because they were relatives, but actual strange dogs, I'd just run them over. Let the horse nail them.

[HairOfTheDog]

I’d be too worried that any spray strong enough to work, there’d be a big risk that you’d either hit or spook the horse using it.

[Beaker]

Good evening everyone!

Happy Monday, how was everyone's easter?

I thought that I would post a couple of pics. I only got two before the blasted camera died.

Here's a pic of me bridling Levi. The gal that took the picture, took at as he was doing his customary yawn whenever I put his bridle on. In my opinion, he's so big that it looks like I'm bridling a cow.

That is also the picture of the inside of the new barn. It's dirty, sorry, and it's not the fanciest, but we're doing the best to call it home.



Here's a pic of me on him. I look funny because my legs are so short. I tried to highlight the pic. a bit so that you could see that he was eyeing the scary, scary mud that I was making him walk through. He was a pill, doing airs above the ground, leaping, and doing small bucks and at one point, all four feet left the ground as he jumped straight up in the air. But, he's calmed down enough so that my trainer didn't have to get on him first this time, and he is relaxing more. Now, work is a chore instead of So! Much! Excitement!