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]

I agree, I thought it was dumb when it was just western horses.

I will say that although we didn't stay for the Western Pleasure classes yesterday (they were all in the afternoon and we were cold) we watched English Pleasure, and many of both the stock horse type and the Arab type looked very nice and head-up and placed well. There were only a few of the exaggerated head-down horses, enough for ecurbh to see what we have been talkin' about.

I wish I could load pictures I took, but my photo place upload tool is malfunctioning.

[Duchess47]

You're right about that - Sweetie is a broad backed horse, QH/Appy. I'm not sure where the problem lies, probably several things. I've watched him go through several saddles and horses, although I do know Sweet will be there or here until she dies. He bought her from us :) He can't ride anymore due to physical problems of his own.

[Duchess47]

Good morning,
Congratulations on your first day. That's a great start :)

[Beaker]

Do you know why it would throw his weight forward?

[Beaker]

Let me rephrase that. Would it throw your weight more forward then an english forward seat saddle?

[Duchess47]

I don't have any idea. I never sat in it and it may have been as American Mother stated, just very ill-fitting on the horse. It could have been the way the stirrups hung, I do know that makes a difference to me on various western saddles.

[AnAmericanMother]

FWIW, a saddle will throw you forward because the cantle is too high in relationship to where your sitting.

As you note, this can be because the stirrups are set wrong - i.e. if the stirrup brackets are too far back, you will tip forward. Also can be something like too much stuffing in the lining (the part of the saddle that touches the horse's back under the cantle). Or if the gullet is too broad in front. Or if you are using a lift back pad when you shouldn't. Some saddles are designed to push you forward and down onto the knee rolls.

I have the opposite problem - my mare has a dip in her back and very, very prominent and narrow withers. I have to make sure that I use a lift back pad or I look like I'm riding up hill. Also, I have to have a saddle with a very narrow throat so that the lining rests just below either side of her withers instead of further down her sides - protects her from saddle sores.

[Beaker]

Thanks for the info. :-) I wonder if that's what the saddle is supposed to do, or if it was just a tack problem. I can ask the guy at the tack shop the next time I go, which will be soon.

[Duchess47]

Thanks for the information. I'm accustomed to fitting western saddles but that's it. I know I'm more comfortable in my husband's cutting saddle than my pleasure saddle or his roping saddle but I only know that the way the stirrups hang in the cutting saddle versus the pleasure saddle is a big part of it.

[CindyDawg]

Sarah Lee looks like she is losing weight to me. When do you start being concerned about them? Horses always hungry but she was eating different than she used to and like she was really hungry. She's almost if not last in the pecking order. I'm going to try to check in her at feeding time more. She was only gone two weeks but she's scraped up.

[tuffydoodle]

I have experience dealing with hard keepers, let me give you my 2 cents worth.
Have her teeth checked.
Make sure she's wormed regularly.
Make sure she has access to good coastal hay 24/7. I keep round bales out at all times and when they are in a stall on acount of bad weather, I make sure they have hay to munch on the entire time. I don't put round bales out in summer, I have plenty of good pasture.
I find that if I do all of these things, grain is unnecessary. I do feed my horses half a scoop of crimped oats once a day to mix with their supplements. Tuffy gets Farrier's Formula because of his crappy feet and they all get Strongid C.

I think you can tell by Tuffy's pic that my system is working pretty well. Winnie the Palomino was losing weight so I just recently had her teeth done, wormed her good and I did bump her grain up to a whole scoop, instead of a half.
If all of that doesn't work I'll have to move her to another pasture since that would probably mean the other horses aren't letting her at the round bale. I don't think that's the case, I have seen her eating with the other horses.

[CindyDawg]

I worm her ever month. She gets lots of hay. I had cut her from 3 scoops to 2 scoops of pellets a day. She's just looking a little sunk in between her belly and hips and her flanks looking a little flatter to me. Might not be anything. She's just usually she's a slow steady eater. Today she didn't want to come up for air. I do need to get her teeth checked though. I was just trying to wait til Feb/March when Okie due.

Nothing to do with this but it seems her winter coat came in overnight too. I thought at first she was just matted but it's just thick, coarse hair.

[PayNoAttentionManBehindCurtain]

What type of wormer's are you using?

Becky

[CindyDawg]

panacur (fenbendazole)

[PayNoAttentionManBehindCurtain]

Hey, did you ever get those pictures loaded. I'm looking forward to them:)

Becky

[tuffydoodle]

Does she have the appearance of a pot belly? What kind of horse is she?

[tuffydoodle]

Panacur isn't a broad spectrum wormer. You need to rotate it with ivermectin.

[PayNoAttentionManBehindCurtain]

You may want to try rotating wormers. If you use the same one all the time the wormers can become resistent to them and they don't work. I have no idea how long it takes that to happen. I just know vets reccommed rotating.

And I don't think that one will take care of bots, if you have bots there:). To get rid of bots you have to use a wormer with ivermectrin in it. Brand names are Zimectrin, Equavalen, read labels.

I worm every month too but rotate 3 different kind, one with ivermectrin (Pet Smart lots of times has one brand on sale, the ones with ivermctrin are usually a little more expensive unless you catch one on sale), Strongid Paste, and Anthelicide.

A winter coat should not really be coarse, they should be soft and still somewhat shiny.

Becky

[CindyDawg]

She's a QH paint. Her belly bigger than my other horse but she came like that and the vet said to keep worming her and that it was ok. I'll get some more pics tomorrow.

[CindyDawg]

I was but we have indigenous horse worms here and the vet wanted to pop um with it one more time and then rotate. They are due the 15th. I need to go by there this week.