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.

[Duchess47]

Good night and best of luck on the interview.

[PayNoAttentionManBehindCurtain]

Good morning.

Becky

[deaconjim]

Good morning. Woke up to the first frost of the year. Guess it's official now.

[AnAmericanMother]

Wooooo-hooooooo!

I love Ray Stevens. We always play his records on long car trips.

[AnAmericanMother]

Duchess, you get that helmet and you wear it! Just 'cause you've been lucky so far doesn't mean you're going to keep on being lucky.

Last Tuesday night during our regular riding lesson, one of the students in our class (an adult beginner) was taking a very quiet horse over a series of little low jumps (I mean, you could have stepped over these yourself - no bigger than 18".) Well, something spooked Count in the middle, and he took off like a shot. Got to the end of the ring and of course ducked right because of the ring fence, and his rider went sailing off his left shoulder and flew head-on into the fence. Her head hit the post with a < THOCK > you could hear all over the hill.

She picked herself up, dusted herself off, and got back on (she's a pretty tough customer). But we would have been dialing 911 if she hadn't had a helmet on.

Back when I was growing up, nobody wore helmets. A kid in my high school was horribly injured - she was doing something stupid (jumping her horse over a picnic table) but she paid a helluva price. She's partially paralyzed, can't speak properly, can't even hold her own eyes open. She'll always be dependent on others, never hold a job, never do the things we take for granted.

My dad went out the next day and telephoned New York and got me a jockey helmet (they were the only ones wearing helmets at the time). I wear a helmet whenever I get on a horse for any reason. I have one with a hoofprint in it that I keep around to remind me . . .

Seriously, get a brain bucket! Stetson makes some that look just like Western hats.

[Duchess47]

Good Morning, let us know how the interview goes.

[Duchess47]

Good morning,
I've about decided we had a pole shift recently while I was sleeping. We are having the most unusual weather here in my area.

[CindyDawg]

I will. It's at 9:30 this morning. I'm just getting around.

[CindyDawg]

How did you get kicked in the head? I wear a helment when riding but rarely on the ground.

[Duchess47]

Yes ma'am,
I did do some searching last night on the types available. I found one that looks a bit like a baseball hat, which I ride in occasionally. I am going to keep looking and give one a try.

I've been pretty cavalier about it for several years. I found out about five years ago that I have degenerative bone disease and was told that horseback riding was one of the things I shouldn't do since if I come off I'll probably break my neck or spine. I have been careful in that I only ride dead broke horses now, but I'd be the first to tell someone else that even dead broke ones can have an accident or a bad fright.

Mostly, just wanted to ignore the whole problem but I probably should be adult enough to face it and take precautions since I won't stop riding. I still haven't found one that looks like a Stetson but I'll keep looking.

[Duchess47]

Good luck, I'll keep my fingers crossed. I've got to get moving and get ready for work. Eye appointment at 8 this morning. My dear, darling, sweet min pin puppy ate my glasses. :)

[tuffydoodle]

You need to go post this to those australian morons that think they are omnipotent. I swear, I hate to see anybody making fun of people who wear helmets. It's the smart thing to do.

[AnAmericanMother]

I wasn't really KICKED in the head - a green horse and I fell at a fence, and in struggling to get up he stepped on my head. He didn't mean to and he was very sorry when he realized what he did.

In contrast - my mare and I fell last seaon while hunting (I mean she was FLAT out on the ground), and she rolled her eyes around and found me before she moved a muscle. Then she rolled onto her chest and got up very carefully.

I like my mare, she has a ton of good sense (she wasn't hurt either, just had the breath knocked out of her).

[PayNoAttentionManBehindCurtain]

I don't wear helmets either. I think it should be a personal choice for adults and for the parents of kids.

I do not say one word to people who wear them, try to talk them out of it, I don't appreciate people getting on my case about wearing one. Every adult KNOWS the horror stories of people injured. I've made my choice, I'd like people to respect my choice and leave me alone.

I ride motorcycles, horses and bicycles. I've had people nag me about helmets for all three. The last time I rode my bicyle some old man in spandex flew past me on his bike (he didn't have the courage to stop) and hollered at me to put on a helmet. I made a vow then, from now on I was going to get as beligerant about leaving me alone about it as the helment naggers are about putting one on.

JMO:)

Becky

[CindyDawg]

Yeah, I need to do that too. I was having trouble seeing the cones the other evening until I was right on them. I'm NS in one eye and FS in the other and glasses bother me but I'm getting to where I'm gonna have to be "bothered" I guess:') Did yall see the post about glaucoma / blindness computer use? Everything harmful it seems:'(

[AnAmericanMother]

Have you considered a shock vest? They make very nice ones now that you hardly feel. That would probably help protect your back in the event of a fall.

Stetson used to make a helmet with a cover that looked just like a western hat (though obviously looking a little large on your head). I have no idea if it caught on or if it's still available.

[AnAmericanMother]

Well, you suit yourself, you're right, it's a free country.

But if you're a parent or if other people are dependent on you, you ought to think about their welfare even if you're not worried about yourself. It's kind of like seatbelts - don't let the busybodies rile you up so that you refuse to do something for your own safety just because you're mad at the busybodies.

I'm probably real strong on this because I didn't just HEAR the horror stories - the girl who got hurt was a classmate and rode at the same barn I did. I didn't see the accident (I was in the upper ring at the time) but I sure saw the aftermath first hand. You wouldn't want a dog to go through what she suffered.

[PayNoAttentionManBehindCurtain]

Don't you think that we all have some issue that puts us at risk? Some people smoke, some people are overweight, some people don't use seat belts....these are all issues that can be fixed only by the individual. We all know the horror stories of what happens if we don't correct these behaviors. If we were all honest we all have issues that put us at some type of risk that we won't correct just because we don't want too:).

That old man in spandex hollering at me to put on a helmet when I was just going slow down a bike trail where there was no traffic just struck me wrong, on top of all the comments from horse people and motorcycle people. Most of them, any one could look at them and tell them things they are doing that put them at risk in one form or another.

Becky

[AnAmericanMother]

Smoking and being overweight don't kill or cripple you in an instant, those are more lifestyle issues. Seat belts - I'm a former pilot and an aerobatic harness kept me from being seriously injured once. I buckle up as soon as I get in the car, and I always have since long before seat belt laws appeared on the scene. My dad's also a pilot, he had seat belts put in all our family cars long before they were required. I tend to look at what the pros are doing and do likewise - although I won't go so far as a Nomex suit . . . :-D

I most certainly do NOT want the government mandating what I do with reference to safety. But most h/j horse show associations for example mandate helmets in competition, and you have to wear a shock vest to compete cross country. That's purely a business transaction - you want to compete in their show, you play by their rules. No government involvement.

And certainly nobody can tell you what to do in your private activities. But taking precautions against kill-me-quick hazards is a good idea.

[PayNoAttentionManBehindCurtain]

Smoking and being overweight don't kill or cripple you in an instant,

That wasn't my point, but I also disagree. Maybe not an instant, but they can cause physical problems that can burden loved ones.

I wear seat belts.

For every horror story you tell about injuries to people not having helmets on, I can show you one of injuries caused BECAUSE a person had a helmet on. Getting it hung on something, causing overheating, etc...

I'm not aruging the pros and cons of helmets. I'm arguing being respectful to people who have made their choice. I respect those who choose to wear a helmet. I do not throw horror stories at them of the risks they are taking wearing them. I don't comment at all. That;s all I'm saying.

Becky