The FreeRepublic Saddle Club thread

[HairOfTheDog]

Free Republic has a lot of horse people that have found each other on other threads…. And since we all like to talk horses, how about a thread where it is not off-topic, but is THE topic?

A few of us thought it would be interesting and informative to have a chat thread where we can 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. We may not ~always~ have a lot of activity, but when we do, it will be fun. I will put 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 will also develop a ping list for horse threads that are of interest. 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.

I am hoping this thread will be a 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.

[PayNoAttentionManBehindCurtain]

What ya doing ya old bag? :)

Did ya get to ride yer donkey today?

BigMack

[CindyDawg]

No. I'm on a 14 day plan and can't ride again till Tue. Gonna start tieing him up. Yall bored over there? :')

[AnAmericanMother]

Oh, melanoma in grey horses is for real. I think it's from overexposure to the sun with a lack of protective pigment.

We discussed it quite a bit with the vet, and I've heard the same from several other vets as well. The decision about when to put her down was a tough one.

I'm still looking for a pic of my other favorite former horse, the chestnut QH ex-racer. My daughter was on his back at 18 months, with all of us anxiously hovering (and the horse in question standing there looking utterly bored).

[PayNoAttentionManBehindCurtain]

Its been a slow day at the ministry of truth :)

BigMack

[CindyDawg]

Put a new perspective on LTW huh? Hang in there.

[CindyDawg]

Is 500 a precious around here? :')

[PayNoAttentionManBehindCurtain]

I put my first chick out of misery today:(. I had a chick dying, Mack has always taken care of that for me but that wasn't fair because the chickens were my project.

When I checked on them this evening I knew it wasn't going to make it and was suffering. I chopped his head off:(. I think I might have nightmares tonight. The body part was flopping around after I did it. I may not hatch anymore. Seems it has to be done once or twice every batch.

Becky

[CindyDawg]

It's hard. A bullet might be easier. I sent you FM and I'm sorry, but it's really long :')

[CindyDawg]

Does your husband ride too? Mine is thinking about it.

[PayNoAttentionManBehindCurtain]

Cindy, I'm sure your ride goes real smooth today so have fun:).

I'm going to mow the yard today, that takes about an hour, then either ride a horse or mow in the pasture????? Super coming here this evening with here family to ride. I'll take pictures.

They are trying something new tonight. They have a big grey mare that they bought for Travis (husband). But she is very dependable so Blake (son, 6 years old) has been riding her on trails, but that leaves Travis without a horse. Jennys 4yr old, (Dot) takes after her daddy, Rocky and is small, both to small for Travis. Travis is a big guy. Well tonight they are going to try Blake on Dot. She has never, never done anything since Jenny started breaking/training her. Very laid back horse. BUT she is young and Blake is only 6. If Blake can handle her, then Jenny can ride Rocky, Travis can ride his horse, Big. We don't really want to put Blake on Rocky loose on the trail because of the stud thing and there will be mares around. I'm planning on taking Rusty tonight, so we may land up Jenny taking Harley so that we don't have the stud out there with Blake on a mare. Decisions, Decisions, Decisions:)

Rocky has never never done anything, but with a 6 year old and mares, I'm not sure if I want to try that till Blake is better rider. He mostly has only been in arenas, and only started riding last year, and only about 1 or twice every other weekend when they have him.

He is going to live with them this summer so hopefully we can get him on a horse alot more. He does really good for his age, he just needs time in the saddle.

Becky

[HairOfTheDog]

Great ancient history shot! A picture tells a thousand words! She doesn't look too much a rebel there, just a little on the bit. And your helmet looks like one of those army bucket helmets!

[HairOfTheDog]

He is going to live with them this summer so hopefully we can get him on a horse alot more. He does really good for his age, he just needs time in the saddle.

I have a friend of mine who is fearless, and just as fearless with her son, they are risk-taking personalities! Anyway, she started him on trail about 6, a lot sooner than I would have, he just wasn't strong enough then to control the horse I didn't think, and at first she often ponied him on a line she hung on to even though he had reins, which she got pretty good at.

I always told her it was too dangerous to pony... that if they spooked his horse would just pull her off her own and they'd both be gone.... but I am a worrier, and for her nothing ever went wrong.

I felt safest on trail with him sandwiched between us... behind me with mom behind, figuring his horse was a little more insulated from getting spooked in the middle of the pack.

He's a terrific rider at 8 now. Strong and athletic and still fearless like his mom.... I get this worrying gene from my dad. I'd be nervous with ~ecurbh~ on trail because he's inexperienced! I don't know when I would let a kid go!

[AnAmericanMother]

My son would drive you crazy. He's ADHD and a serious risk taker, fortunately he's also extremely athletic and a very good rider.

We started him at 6 or 7. I put him on the Gracie mare in the ring (at that point she had only just been green broke, but she was rock steady from the time we took her off the trailer.) He was slapping the reins on her back and yelling, "Gallop! Gallop!" She just looked at me, and I said, "Walk on." So she did. She never would take orders from him - always looked to me for confirmation (she had his number.)

Now he's riding the hot horses, especially this funny little Appaloosa named Hershey. Hershey is unusual for an App - he has a pretty head, a long tail, and a long reaching stride like a warmblood. He does however have the App disposition - but when he bucks my boy just sits up straighter and whacks him with the dressage whip. Hershey has learned that it's easier just to do what he's told the first time - he winds up doing it anyway in the long run.

[PayNoAttentionManBehindCurtain]

He's gone with us and with his dad and Jenny quite a few times when he was riding Big, or another old horse his other grandparents own. He does real good. It's not really him I'm worried about doing something wrong, as much as the horse. He's pretty fearless and that's 90% of the battle. Somehow I think horses pick up on that and are less likely to pull stuff on a rider, no matter the size of the rider or experience level. I think most kids are that way IF they haven't had a bad experience at the start of their riding career. IMO, that's why people who start riding as very young kids have trouble understanding the fear a person who is an older beginner.

I was 32 before I rode a horse. I've been riding not for 18 years. It's only been in the last 5 years that I ride with much confidence. My children on the other hand, can't remember NOT having horses. One friend of ours said he loved watching Jenny run barrels because she rode with such "wild abandonment" LOL. That is what I'm shooting for some day:)

My heart still gets to pumping hard when I'm fixin to run barrels. I have trouble letting the horse really open up.

Becky

[PayNoAttentionManBehindCurtain]

How old is your son now?

Becky

[HairOfTheDog]

Bay is super careful with real little ones... the littler the kid, the slower and more careful he walks. A toddler on him, and he'll walk like he is being sent to the grave. A teenager, he'll test a little more. He can tell who really needs taken care of, as I think most horses can.

[AnAmericanMother]

My boy's 13 now, he suddenly hit a growth spurt this winter - he may be getting too big for Hershey, which is a shame. We'll have to put him on one of the big warmbloods like Lexie. She has a canter like an out of balance Maytag. I HATE riding her on that account. She also jumps like somebody threw a firecracker under her tail. I am spoiled because Gracie jumps smoothly out of her cantering stride - it's as though she just takes a longer stride and you're over.

[PayNoAttentionManBehindCurtain]

Isn't that funny how that works?:)

I think if you can get kids grounded real good in the basics before anything scary happens, then it's not so bad when it does happen. Blake has just enough experience now that he's got a good foundation, but I'm not sure that if the horse spooked or something how it would affect him. Although the last time he was here, he was riding Big in the arena, she was in full blown season and being a bit horsey. Then for no apperant reason she started bucking. And she bucked for awhile, it wasn't just a lick or two. He stayed right with her, and when it was over he didn't seem to want to get off. I wondered if WE didn't spook him more then the horse, you know, asking him if he was OK, and telling him how good he was doing, etc. He kept looking at us with a puzzled expression like "What?" I think we should have not even commented. He may not have known the horse did something "bad".

Becky

[HairOfTheDog]

Heh... thought she just had a rough canter ;~D

[PayNoAttentionManBehindCurtain]

Jenny started out on the coolest little Quarter Pony. He was a buckskin too. There were two other little girls in the neighborhood who had ponies, and for about 3 years those three girls roamed around between the three properties on those ponies. They had jumps set up everywhere. They go off on the trails behind our houses riding bareback in their swimsuits and gallop thru puddles. They were known as the "Pony Pack" around the neighborhood. I took the pony once to the vet for routine stuff and the vet looked at the little guy and said, I haven't seen a horse in this good of shape in years. He is rock hard.

It broke my heart when it started getting obvious that she need something bigger. I never really worried about her out on that pony. You know and I don't think we even have pictures of him:( I wasn't good at taking pictures.
When she did move up to a bigger horse we found an older gelding, who turned out to be as realible as the pony. But I still worried more for awhile when she took off on him.

Becky