The FreeRepublic Saddle Club thread - Thread TWO!

[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. In the last thread we had a great time and were a great help to each other working through lessons and training, horse lamenesses and illnesses, questions and challenges and always just our stories we like to tell.

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 Becky pings everyone most mornings. Let Becky (Paynoattentionmanbehindthecurtain) 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 last thread, 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.

[HairOfTheDog]

~shakes head slowly side to side~

[estrogen]

I wonder if my area in NE Ohio has a ladies group to ride with? Anyone know?
I'm a new rider (old and only 1 yr. of lessons)and today I was totally frustrated, my horse Waylon, was such a brat !!! He wouldn't stand still for me to mount him and then he just moseyed along the arena and wouldn't do anything I told him to do.....I hate days like today, they are so frustrating.
Anyone have any tips for mounting and making your horse stand still? He was fine until about a week ago !!

[HairOfTheDog]

If you don't have somebody to be a header, then stand him in a corner so he has nowhere to go, mount quickly, don't hesitate or you'll get hung up half-way, and check him immediately with the reins if he moves. Then stand there for awhile if you want him to stand for mounting. Most people don't realize that if they get on and immediately cue the horse to go every time, the horse will anticipate the 'go' and get in the habit of walking off.

Sometimes they are just excitable one day and impatient to stand, sometimes walking out after mounting is learned because you either don't keep contact with the reins, or because you inadvertently goose them. Or they just learn it's OK because they get away with it most days. Hard to say what was going on today unless he does it all the time. It isn't unusual for them to fidget and walk off on ya, some people are more insistent it more than others.

[CindyDawg]

Did the weather change? All the horses today feeling frisky around here. I (now:') use the tech Hair mentioned. Header or where they can't go anywhere. I have to watch myself though because if they move a little I tend to pull back too hard on the reins and back them up ot turn the head. I now count to myself too on mounting. I was so hesitant and would back down several times. Now unless something wrong I'm going up on the 3rd hop. Might not work for you though. I have less experience than you do and hesitate to mention anything so take it for what it's worth :') Just some stuff I've gone thru with mounting problems.

[CindyDawg]

Hey now, I rode in the cold, drizzle and dark today:')

[Beaker]

I want to go into nuclear chemistry. Who knows, maybe I could be an equine radiologist.

[Beaker]

I'm telling you, if I could trail ride more often, I would. :-) My barn has a lot of trails out back, but they're very confusing and easy to get lost in, so I always go with my trainer. If I had my own horse, I'd go all the darn time.

[CindyDawg]

It's a growing field. Have a clinic on your ranch. Load those colicy horses with barrium until they glow and see where they are stuck:')

[Beaker]

The poor baby. :-( What do you mean by power tools? The denstists that I know use the manual floaters and files.

[Beaker]

Well someone just asked me what I've been smoking. I'm getting rude private mail about a post I didn't make on a thread I wasn't on:')
I would go to the mods. I've gotten rude private mail too, and mostly it's just from trolls.

[Beaker]

What woah, what's wrong with Cheney??

[CindyDawg]

He took off. I was no fun:')

[Beaker]

. Have a clinic on your ranch. Load those colicy horses with barrium until they glow and see where they are stuck:')
ROTFL!!!!!

[Beaker]

It's real cold. 61 and windy
Ooooh! That's warm! Here, we had our first snow, and it was 29 and windy when I was up at WPI in worcester. It was maybe 32 down in southern mass.

[CindyDawg]

It's all what you are used to I guess. We were at the lake last year when the temp was in the high twenties. We came in after dark and had to change propane tanks out and then wait for the trailer to heat. I was wrapped in a blanket and couldn't stop shaking. Even my teeth were chattering.

[tuffydoodle]

Well, I've never seen them but the gist I got from my dentist was that the tools would be similar to the tools that the asian nail technicians use but on a much larger scale. Quicker but not nearly the control you have with hand tools. Seems that the new equine dentists are going the power tool route and charging a ridiculous price. My guy said he fixes lots of horses that had been worked on by the power tool dentists.

[tuffydoodle]

We Texans are such wusses in the cold but the older I get, the more the heat is bothering me. This past summer was very mild and I still had trouble. It was sooo humid it felt like you were breathing soup.

[CindyDawg]

I'm from Fort Worth but I don't remember the cold bothering me. When I moved here I felt like I couldn't breath. Now it doesn't bother me. I felt cold grooming and walking the horse but it didn't feel cold at all riding. Funny huh? I guess we were burning energy.

[CindyDawg]

I would think the noise would bother the horses too.

[Beaker]

It's all what you are used to I guess.
Of course. :-) It's just a windy sixty would have been nice when I was sitting outside and could no longer feel my extremeties. :-)