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]

That's great. Are there more horse/rodeo events for kids nowdays or am I just becoming more aware. Seems like it used to be equitation or jumping only and is now branching out. High School rodeo is really popular out here now.

[PayNoAttentionManBehindCurtain]

There are several Jr. Rodeo Associations around here. I think they are great, because they have adult classes too, so mom's and dad's can compete.

All the big rodeos have a Jr. Barrel class now too.

The only problem with the Jr. Asso. is the cost is pretty high if you're wanting to compete for a year end award, which is saddles in all the classes. To qualify you have to go to so many a year, they have one every weekend. They move them around so that no one has to always be the ones traveling far. By the time you pay for the hauling, food, entry fees, it can really run into some money.

They do have pay back tho at the end of each one, so we just usually went to the ones that were close.

Becky

[Duchess47]

Yep, it gets really expensive just showing too by the time you pay all the fees and gas to get to the shows. I think it's worth it though, especially for the kids. Sure teachs the value of hard work since it takes a lot of it to win :)

[PayNoAttentionManBehindCurtain]

I do to. It's just that I don't see how parents with more then one child can afford it. IMO, it might be better to give something less expensive as the year end award then saddles.With all the age groups they have, and all the events it adds up to alot of saddles. Belt buckles would be less expensive, and just as good a keepsake as the saddles. I mean how many saddles can you set in your livingroom:)

I also wish they had some sort of rule that the horses the kids ride had to be trained by them, but there would be no way to monitor that. So many of these kids get on their parents professionally trained horses (which very few can afford) to compete. But then, if frogs had wings they wouldn't bump their butts everytime they jumped either:)


Becky

[PayNoAttentionManBehindCurtain]

Only so many times I'd fall for that!

LOL. Having a last cup of coffe before heading to town and reread this:) Did you intend the pun?

Becky

[Duchess47]

I guess one of the things I like about halter and shoemanship classes is that aside from the horse's confirmation, much rides on how well that horse is cleaned up and in shape - lots of exercise, shampooing, mane pulling, tack polishing involved there. I do hate to see parents buying a win so to speak but there isn't nearly as much of that at the local horseman's associations. You see it a lot more at the breed shows but we don't go to many of those - and that's one of the reasons. No sense paying lots of money to compete against a big name trainer.

[HairOfTheDog]

much rides on how well that horse is cleaned up and in shape - lots of exercise, shampooing, mane pulling, tack polishing involved there. I do hate to see parents buying a win so to speak but there isn't nearly as much of that at the local horseman's associations. You see it a lot more at the breed shows but we don't go to many of those - and that's one of the reasons. No sense paying lots of money to compete against a big name trainer.

I was always trying to show against really high power horses in the Arab shows too. It was clear to me that there was a whole entire category of levels above me. I love to see the people whose horses, tack and clothing is so spit polished perfect, riding around all ready to go, and you never saw them prepping. It was like they got up that way in the morning. I would strive for all the perfect grooming, feet eyes mane tail clipping and shining... I'd try like heck and my horses just didn't look as finished. Maybe they did but I was looking too close at my own. But I'd try the same show sheen spray they used and I'd always just end up with a greasy smeer. It's hard! I swear I'd get dressed, get on a perfectly clean horse, and still end up with a big black smudge on my white breeches.

[HairOfTheDog]

~chuckling~

[HairOfTheDog]

I was going to go on to say that it was the money and politics and caliber of competition in the Arab shows that really got me more interested in jumping. I was just a kid with a backyard horse and a backyard trainer.

Jumping it was time and faults. No politics, no subjective judgments, just time and faults. No deciding how my big clunky mustang or my little arabs 'looked' or performed next to Miss Fancypants.

[FrogInABlender]

I'm the same way. My problem is that I have company so seldom that things get really out of hand. Then when someone does come over, it's usually on short notice so I'm running around "like a frog in a blender" trying to get things picked up and hidden somewhere, anywhere, that they can't be seen. The dining room table was always the worst. My husband tends to dump his pockets, the mail, newspapers and anything else that he's carrying on it until you can't even see the top of it. I'll let it go until I just can't stand it anymore, then I'll rake it all off in a box and throw it in the computer room and shut the door. Then the computer room gets to where there's just a path to the computer and everything else is junk. I've sworn to do better since we've moved but old habits are hard to break.

[Duchess47]

:) It is sooooo much work and the girls always take two sets of show clothes - 'cause someone is going to sneeze and slime one of them. It takes them a full day on Friday to get four horses ready to go, and that's horses that have been groomed daily and bathed every couple of days, and blanketed in stalls. Then show morning, at the grounds 2-3 hours early for more grooming, hoof polish, exercise for them that need it, and rushing to get dressed at the 15min gate call :)

[Duchess47]

Is your husband related to me? :)

[HairOfTheDog]

It is fun.... And I'd really get into grooming and helping a kid show. Not mine, mind you, but someone elese's kid!

I remember getting them ready, my stallion being nearly white, he took some grooming, standing there on Friday with his tail in a bucket of bluing. And I would have it looking great. And then we'd all trot in for the stallions class and someone there would have one of those glistening white tails that dragged on the ground when they stood. Gosh, it was hard.

[Duchess47]

I think it's a lot harder at the breed shows because you are competing against people with the money to hire full time horsemen to do the work. And horses that aren't used for anything else. When you're working or riding your horses, not keeping them stalled and in tail bags 24hrs a day, there is so much dirt, naturally someone gets scratched or bit, or in our case, rubs half their mane off and turns the rest black from the pipe rails the night before a show. Everyone I've met at the local shows has the same problems we do, truck won't start, horse that has loaded a thousand times before suddenly decides it doesn't want to trailer the morning of the show, 2minutes before gate call gets diarrhea :)

[FrogInABlender]

I know whatcha mean about getting slimed. I think horses sometimes do it on purpose as a joke. I like to ride in Christmas parades and I always try to look nice. I'll wear a red wool blazer with a white tuxedo shirt and black tie with a sequined vest, black pants and shiny black riding boots. I got slimed so often that I started pulling sweat pants and a rain slicker over the top of it all while I was getting ready and only pulling it off just before I mounted up. Even then, he'd usually snort or sneeze in my face or tag me somewhere with slobber. Don't think horses don't have a nasty sense of humor sometimes!

[HairOfTheDog]

I wish I'd been showing Bay, he has clean habits, doesn't rub his mane out, and has a great tail ;~D

But he's one of those horses that can't be body clipped. His coat is three different colors from root to end of the hair, and he looks like heck clipped.

I liked body clipping my stallion. Being a white/grey Arab, he'd actually get darker clipped, and some of his dappling would show again.

[FrogInABlender]

Do ya have any pictures of him all spiffed up for a show. I'd love to see 'em.

[Duchess47]

LOL - I swear you can tell they do it on purpose and are laughing at your reaction.

[Duchess47]

I'll bet he did look gorgeous clipped. We tried body clipping a weanling one year for showing. Lots of work and really hard to get it to look half way decent. We used rose oil on him after clipping.

[HairOfTheDog]

I have very very pictures of me showing.... I don't know if it is just that we didn't carry the camera everywhere like I do now with digitals, or what. Today, I'd have a million pictures. I think I remember there being pictures stuffed in envelopes long ago, but they must have been lost! It's been 20 years ago now. I have scanned a couple of the ones I do have.

Here, I am all dressed up on my Mustang. We're at home, and he's all winter shaggy, so I don't know what this was about. Maybe the outfit was new. He was such a gangly horse, I only showed him in jumping, and he really could jump anything, if not in classic photo-form :~D

Here I am showing my half Arab mare who came next in hunter.

And this is silly.... here I am showing my trainer's Arab in native costume. Those colors are hideous, and what's up with the wedding cake hat? And, my top is just a bra with gold fabric sewn to it... I think I recall something about a jewel in my belly button.

Here I am just working my stallion, I wish I had pictures actually showing him. I liked my saddle-seat outfit most of all with the long coat-tails and my derby hat. I felt like a million bucks in it. You'll just have to imagine it. ~shrugs~

Here's one more of me grooming my stallion, we aren't at home, so we're getting ready to show somewhere. I wish I was still that thin. ;~D