The FreeRepublic Saddle Club thread

[HairOfTheDog]

The pony was actually quite bad when we went out of sight back in the woods... trumpeting and runnin' the fenceline. Bay is pretty herd-bound to her too, but he handled it ~much~ better.

When I take him away for trail rides and leave her alone, I give her Quitex Powder to settle her down so I can drive away without checking the rear-view mirror. Makes her just not care too much about anything ;~D. Some people use it daily, I only use it when I am gonna be leaving her, or during 4th of July :~D

[PayNoAttentionManBehindCurtain]

Great pictures. I am taking some tonight when my kids are here, and will MAKE Mack post them:)

You look like you had a great ride. Makes want to run out and get saddled up:)

I noticed the fencing. Is the white flat suff "hot". I've been thinking about getting some of that mesh hot wire for the front, mostly for cosmetic purposes. But I also have my back "forty" :) seperated by a wire that is hard to see. I have had trouble with horses going thru it. I wondered how good/easy that stuff was to put up??? We can't hardly put up real fence because of the rock. We can't dig a hole deep enough to sink a post, and even driving t-posts is very very difficult. Except for the perimeter which we paid to have done, we have hot wire, and the arena is made of portable panels.

I liked your shadow. Good way to get one excersiced.

Becky

[CindyDawg]

That's why I asked lol. Just studying. Which is the "outside" shoulder? Really storming now. If I just drop out we lost power. Flickering.

[HairOfTheDog]

The white tape is hot... (one of them isn't really hot but they don't know that) I use it all the way around for visibility because the other hotwire is so invisible... In the woods there are three hardwires and field fence mesh below that, and it is completely invisible without the tape.

[PayNoAttentionManBehindCurtain]

I never use any kind of boot on the trail just for the reason Hair says. In fact in the oganization I compete in they are not even allowed. Now doing hard arena work, I usually wrap the front legs. Turning a barrel is totally unnatural for a horse, puts a lot of strain on their legs.

About taking pictures. I have agreed to work for Mack, uuuuhhhhh, so I will be in his office, so I am going to have him show me how to post my own pictures. But that will be next week.

Becky

[HairOfTheDog]

And the tape is super easy to put up and even move around if you want. It is a little bit elastic to pull it tight, and at the end you can just tie it in a knot :~D

[CindyDawg]

Did I post trail somewhere? Sorry. I was talking about trailers. I figured out the inside and outside in the pens but what about when you are in the open?

[PayNoAttentionManBehindCurtain]

Out side shoulder I think is refering to when you are making a turn which shoulder is on the outside of the turn. Ex. If you are turning to the left, the right shoulder is "outside". Make sense? Would that fit the context you are using?

Becky

[HairOfTheDog]

We were just sitting here wondering if we had finally thought up a purpose for my shadow pony! What if she could be a pack animal for ecurbh and me to carry our stuff so we can pack up into the mountains? I bet she could carry all the stuff we'd need for a week, don't you think?

[PayNoAttentionManBehindCurtain]

I would imagine. Ponies are usually pretty tuff little things and she looks very healthy.

Well my kids are here, so I'm gone for a while. Will post lots of pictures later.

Super has her camera too:)

Becky

[CindyDawg]

Not really. I'm teaching myself to trot and I want to do it correctly. Before I was told to sit. I was reading that you don't just sit for a sitting trot though and that that should come after posting. I was reading that I should be rising out of the saddle as the outside shoulder goes forward and to sit when it comes back. If the outside is by the fence ( left or right depending on your direction, right? ) then which is the outside when you aren't in the pens? Or have I got it backwards? :'(

[HairOfTheDog]

Well, she'd need a lot of work before I would trust her to not take our stuff and head for home, but at least it is a potential purpose for her!

[CindyDawg]

And she wouldn't have to stay behind! :')

[HairOfTheDog]

The convention of rising on the outside shoulder is important only to be on the proper diagonal for show purposes. For you learning to 'post' as a more comfortable way to ride a fast trot or on trail, it makes absolutely no difference to the horse.

Does he have a nice slow jog-trot? If he does, I would sit it and not try to post it. It's actually difficult to post to a slow trot and looks and feels awkward. I only post when we are doing a long stretch of extended trot.

[CindyDawg]

We will have to ask Becky that:') Fast is in the eye of the rider IMO but I think he's fast. I'm comparing him to the 20-30 y/o school horses though. You know, the ones you have to constantly kick to keep um walking? Are you watching Americas mustangs on the explorer channel?

[HairOfTheDog]

You'll want to learn to post eventually because it is more comfortable for both horse and rider for periods of long trotting at any kind of speed. But learning to sit it first is definately not 'improper'.

Have you trotted on him yet under saddle? He will trot faster on the lunge line than he would when doing any kind of trained collected jog trot under saddle.

My Bay has a tough trot to sit at any speed... he has a lot more vertical bounce in his trot than most QH types, especially horses that are western-trained.

[HairOfTheDog]

I am not even finding an explorer channel... wonder if I get it! ~looking~

[CindyDawg]

It's cool. Pat Paranelli? calming them for blood draws.

[CindyDawg]

He trots while lunging with and without the saddle. He trots in the arena with me riding. I posted on the school horses but really didn't learn when just following "up, down" instructions from the trainer. I keep my butt on the saddle but I'm not a light weight and feel like I'm bouncing all over the place. I'm getting better and I was thinking about trying the posting with him sometime soon.

[AnAmericanMother]

Posting to the outside shoulder actually is more important than just convention in the show ring. If your horse is turning you should always post with the outside shoulder (when the outside shoulder is going forward, you are rising). This is because it takes your weight off the pivoting forefoot. Also, when you begin to work on bending your horse, the correct diagonal helps your aids on the bend.

If you're trail riding, you need to alternate diagonals. Most horses have one diagonal that feels more comfortable than the other. That's because horses are right or left-sided just as we are right or left-handed. If you can view your horse from above, you will probably see that his backbone is flexed one way or the other. The foreleg opposite his flexion (the open side) is the canter lead that he will tend to 'fall' onto - i.e. if you run him into a canter from a fast trot. You need to work on bending him opposite his natural tendency, so you have to post more on the more uncomfortable diagonal.

My mare was naturally flexed to the left (most horses are) but we have worked so hard on opening her left side that she is now equally comfortable on both diagonals and can spring into either lead quite easily (she still prefers her right lead slightly though.) I would learn to post first if your horse has a springy trot. Don't stand in your stirrups or throw your body up; let the horse's spring throw you up out of the saddle. You need only anticipate it by a fraction of a second, let the horse do the work! The slower your horse's trot, the slower your post should be.

In order to get a good sitting trot, you need to relax your upper leg and tuck your bottom under. Tilt the pelvis slightly forward so that the two frontal prominences (your "sitz bones") are in contact with the saddle. In essence you "stand" in an English saddle rather than sit in it. Let your upper leg relax and flow around the horse's sides. Shoulders well back. The next step is to disconnect your upper back from your pelvis, as though you had a U-joint in the small of your back. The back stays straight while the seat moves with the horse. (This is harder to describe than it is to DO.)