Posted on 08/07/2007 7:33:14 AM PDT 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, 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!
Would not hurt to re-evaluate at 2 even. It is not necessarily "loose jointed" as it is the mature muscle and ligament structure is not there yet. You would be amazed at the difference it makes between a dog that is well muscled and a dog that is not.
Ruby humps her lower back as she runs, it makes her hind legs hit the ground 2-3 feet ahead of her front legs. But she seems to run perfectly square and push equally off both hind legs - the flexion of the back appears to be straight and not canted off to one side. I'm not used to the porpoising though, because Shelley is a short-coupled and short-backed Lab, presenting the little tight square from shoulder to hip to hind paws to front paws. When she runs she doesn't appear to flex anywhere, just shoots forward in a lump with the legs working frantically underneath. She does have a big overreach, just like Ruby, but it doesn't get up into her back. (I don't know if any of that description makes sense!)
A lovely female Lab in our neighborhood named Emma was a skinny little rail as a pup, but I saw her yesterday at age approximately 3 and she is everything a Lab should be - gorgeous head, beautifully muscled, bulked up in the quarters and shoulders/neck but still lean everywhere else. And she's got over her spookiness and is now forward and friendly as a Lab should be (she was a rescue and very, very wary of people). I told her owner she MUST come out to the retriever training days.
I would have been spooked, too. Are these SanD?
We are supposed to see 81 degrees today. I have to work, but maybe will get home to see it. My arms got burned a little yesterday at the pond when the kids came over to fish.
I’m 51 and started back riding (on a green 2yo) 2 yrs. ago after 18 years w/o a horse. I was scared, too. Got let around a little first to get the feel of it.
My husband just started riding after I did at 52 and he’s pretty good now. He had one give him a bad scare as a child and hadn’t been on another one till then.
Hi Cindy! Where are you in those pictures? :~)
I think the metal panels are probably the easiest to construct... but I’ve never actually owned a round pen!
If you get the round pens, I would get the metal panels with the drop-in pins on each side. Those are the ones I have experience with. They are easy to set up and take down (helps to have 2 people though) and you can easily add more sections as you want a larger pen. Plus they're durable. Make sure you get the ones with the baked-on paint, and keep on top of any rust that shows up.
An old doctor friend of mine said that childbirth makes you lose your nerve. I dunno about that, but I'm definitely more cautious.
I've ridden all my life and never really stopped except when my obstetrician MADE me when I was pregnant, but I had an incident about 10-12 years ago when I was dumped over a fence by a mean horse who was gunning for me. I wasn't hurt but it shook my nerve (go figure, the two times I was actually hurt it didn't scare me at all, mostly because in both cases the horse didn't mean to hurt me - either just being cranky or stupid). But it really is true that the best thing to do is crawl back on. It took awhile, but I found a nice mare that I'm very simpatico with. I trust her and she trusts me, and we're happy as the day is long. If I make a mistake, or she makes one, we both say "Oops!" and go on about our business.
If you need to get your nerve up, spend some time grooming, clipping, bathing, etc. Your trainer will be glad of the extra help. Then pick a nice quiet horse to start on, longe or ground drive him to begin with, just so the two of you have all the commands straight. Then pick a nice hot afternoon when everybody's feeling sleepy and take a baby lesson with the little kids. Horses are calmer in company!
AAM is right. I was thrown by a mean horse several years ago and broke 3 ribs. It took me a while to get my nerve back but I kept at it. I bought a really nice horse from a friend and after about a year he and I became a team and I feel very confident in him. I would put a kid on him, he is a safe horse.
I'm riding a big palomino a/k/a "The Big Dumb Blond" that was given to my trainer because he was uncontrollable in the hunting field. He does tend to bolt, he is a big strong boy and can really cut on the speed in a hurry, he's also not the brightest bulb on the porch, but he responds well to praise and calmness. I thought I would be terrified, but after taking it slow over a few little fences I don't have a problem with him at all (my trainer was amazed - ) I was also amazed when I found out I was riding him in a French snaffle when he was supposed to be in a gag bit . . . . doesn't seem to make any difference getting him stopped, it still takes 3-4 strides.
I got on one that I broke last year and not fooled with much yesterday and she reared up and fell over. She went right and I went left and just stepped back away from her. I put her in the round pen and we lunged her till she was sweating and then took the saddle off and let her stew. She was mad and wanted to go back with the other horses, running and pawing. I wouldn’t let her out till she was coming to me and following me around. We rode her that pm in the round pen and she did good. Hal rode her first and I was trembling when I go on.
We have metal rail panels that have the pins on the ends. The only thing I don’t like abt. ours is that they are curved on the ends and make a V so that if a horse reared (and we have one that tried) and got it’s hoof in that V it could be bad. That’s why I didn’t leave Sasha without watching her, but she never tried to go over.
(I can hardly bend over.)
Did I miss an update about Frog's thumb? Is she going to have to have surgery on it? (Hope not.)
I had my grandson's 7 and 6 last week due to a family emergency on their mom's side so I was really out-of-pocket. I had just gotten back from Tenn. on Sunday night, took a breather Monday and Tuesday had to drive to Atlanta to meet her and pick them up, and she picked them up Saturday. They sure do have a lot of energy ..........
You can get them at a co-op or Tractor Supply.
Thumb is in hot pink cast and has to wait 5 more weeks to find out abt. surgery. MD appt. tomorrow.
We have new pics that you can see her cast in. We rode 5 hrs. Sat. to a place we’d never been. Beautiful. The internet called it the Grand Canyon of the South, called Walls of Jericho, near Scottsboro. You’ve probably either been or heard of it, since you have a house there.
I never thought about somebody getting a hoof caught in the gap between the panels, but horses will do all sorts of stupid things you never thought of . . . .
Just looking around, this outfit has safety stops to put into the gap -
Re: Walls of Jericho -- I've heard of it but never been there. I did hear about a place (for hiking) called the Pisgah Gorge? I think.
Oh wow - that would help stabilize the joints also, I would think.
Those look much safer than ours. Sturdy, too.
This place was off 72 on Hwy 79. It had a hiking trail separate from the horse trails and parking lots for either. It was worth the trip.
Here are some pictures from our ride Saturday.We have SEVERAL more but I will let Frog and HF post some others.
Hi Jean, and welcome to the thread! I’m glad to hear that you’re taking the plunge and trying to get started back riding. That takes a lot of guts when you’re really scared deep down. My advice would be to trust your trainer to pick the right horse for you, and then to get a riding buddy that you trust and ride with them. I don’t show or dressage or anything, just trail ride, but having a nice calm buddy to lead the way, who will stop when you need them to, is really helpful. Just take it slow until you get your “horse legs” back and I’ll bet you’ll be fine. It may take you a year or two to fully get your confidence back, but don’t rush it. It’ll come. I look forward to hearing of your progress!
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