The FreeRepublic Saddle Club thread! - Thread NINE

See our "who's who" page! ^

[HairOfTheDog]

The FreeRepublic Saddle Club - Who's Who *pics*

This is a horse chat thread where we 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 previous threads we have had a great time talking through lessons, training, horse lamenesses, illnesses and pregnancies... and always sharing pictures and stories.

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 MissTargets will now be pinging everyone most mornings. Let MissTargets 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 previous threads, 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.

Previous threads:

The FreeRepublic Saddle Club thread - thread ONE
The FreeRepublic Saddle Club thread - Thread TWO!
The FreeRepublic Saddle Club thread - Thread THREE!
The FreeRepublic Saddle Club thread! - Thread FOUR
The FreeRepublic Saddle Club thread! - Thread FIVE
The FreeRepublic Saddle Club thread! - Thread SIX
The FreeRepublic Saddle Club thread! - Thread SEVEN
The FreeRepublic Saddle Club thread! - Thread EIGHT

New folk and occasional posters, jump right in and introduce yourselves, tell us about your horses, and post pictures if you've got them!

[CindyDawg]

I hate when I don't read the rest of the posts and copy. Sorry.

[PayNoAttentionManBehindCurtain]

LOL, well actually the place smelled amazingly NOT horse:)

Becky

[HairOfTheDog]

GMTA and all :~D

[CindyDawg]

Well they aren't all like that. My place rides english and western and everything in between. There have been a few stuck up riders pass thru but most are down to earth.

[HairOfTheDog]

Here's a pic I took at Tiff's, where I'll be going to feed this weekend while she's gone.... I'll take more this weekend that show her horses better, I only took a couple today. Kat, that you'll be borrowing, has her butt to the camera... Her young mare that had the baby last year is in the barn... I've lighted the picture so she's at least visible.

That Great Pyrenees will be staying here with me this weekend. She's only about 6 months old.

Tiff's place is ALL hill. You can sortof see that in the pic.

[PayNoAttentionManBehindCurtain]

That's a big dog:) How will your dogs do with her?

Has Tiff done some fence work? What's in the pictures all looks pretty nice.

Yeah you can really tell it's alot of hills. Has to help keep the horse in good shape climbing:)

Becky

[PayNoAttentionManBehindCurtain]

Does she still have the baby?

Becky

[HairOfTheDog]

The dog's gonna get even bigger :~o - she's pretty mellow. I think she'll do OK.

That part of the fence looks good, she's improved it a lot since the last time I was there, I used to sortof gripe about her fencing when she had the newborn foal there, if you remember. Parts still need work, but I like the work she's done there at the top. The house and barn sit on about a half acre that's flat. The rest is going up or down hill at about 45 degrees. ;~D Yes, lots of good climbing. :~D

[HairOfTheDog]

She just sold the baby a couple weeks ago.

[CindyDawg]

This was all barb wire,last year, right? She has done a lot of work.

[Beaker]

Basically there was this really snotty woman at the barn who owned a really expensive warmblood, and she made SURE that you knew how expensive her horse was, even though she never rode it. She was very condescending too, always saying that she hoped that I enjoyed my "little rides" etc. I wanted to sock her in the nose. Well one day she was shipping off her expensive yet unrideable horse off to W. Virginia, and she ended up lecturing me on why REAL horse people use shipping wraps instead of shipping boots to ship their horses, and how her BOYFRIEND who (supposedly) was on the US Olympic team used shipping wraps, blah blah balh and so forth. She told me that I wasn't a real horse person because I used shipping boots instead of wraps. (I had made the mistake of asking her why she was standing there in the isle with her horse) She normally did this anyway on a regular basis. I hadn't noticed that his legs were wrapped because she didn't do a very good job of wrapping them, or preparing him so that he looked like he was going to W. Virgina. I haven't seen either one of them since that day.

[Beaker]

Did it smell like roses or sweet flowers? We actually had to put one of those ionizing sprayers in the front door to my old barn because parents of the snotty kids complained of the smell. (I kid you not) It was so ridiculous! It of course did NOTHING after the first 5 minutes of being in the air. It was like trying to put a rose on a skunk. (Not that I mind horse smell, but you get the idea!)

[MissTargets]

Good Morning all. Here we go with another Friday...

I took the day off today. Too nice to work.

[CindyDawg]

LOL. I think this is catching.

[Beaker]

I took the day off too! :-p

[PayNoAttentionManBehindCurtain]

She was very condescending too, always saying that she hoped that I enjoyed my "little rides" etc.

LOL, that's good. Reminds me of a story:). I got to know a lady who barrel raced (or thought she did anyway), while I was hauling Jenny around when she was younger. At the time I was doing CTR's on Belle. Anyway, and this is not an exaggeration, for at least the last 10 years I have never seen this woman compete, I've only ever see her run exhibitions. She's been training the same horse for that long. She's very impressed with her own training methods, and never hesitates to give advise even to those of us who don't barrel race.

Anyway one night a year or two ago, I was over at the ranch watching Charlie rope. Her husband roped at the time so she was there with him. She had taken her horse and was sitting on it out in the arena watching the roping. I walked out there to stand next to a barrel that had a fire burning in it to get warm. She rode over and we chatted for a few minutes then she asked "Are you still doing your little trail rides." I answered Yeah, yeah I am. paused then said , are you still doing your little exhibitions. She did a double take at me said yes, and walked off. I thought it was pretty funny.

Becky

[Beaker]

paused then said , are you still doing your little exhibitions.
That's awesome Becky, good for you :-)

[PayNoAttentionManBehindCurtain]

Good morning.

It's a nice morning here, but rain is heading our way. Might even get severe this evening. I've got a few hours before it gets here, so I'm finishing up my coffee then heading out for a ride. Might be the last chance this weekend.

Becky

[PayNoAttentionManBehindCurtain]

This place is all just brand spanking new. Like I said I didn't even know it was there and it's not very far from me. It was very impressive.

Becky

[PayNoAttentionManBehindCurtain]

LOL, I don't know if it was awesome or not, looking back now I was being pretty facetious. It doesn't bother me anymore, but back then, because I enjoyed the sport so much I got frustrated with those that viewed the sport as "just trail riding". Since then several barrel racers and ropers have gone with me when I ride, and they come back with their tongues dragging. Can't believe I do that 4-5 times a week when I really get going. I've had two ladies never go again with me. They said the rocks were too hard on their horses feet.

Anymore I don't care what people think of my sport. Unless they've done it they just don't get it. When I ordered my new saddle I could tell the girl in there thought from what I told her that I was "just a trail rider". When I took my saddle back in Wed. to have the tie rings put on, she said "what in the world have you done to this saddle" I said I ride, I'm not loping around an arena for 20 minutes a few times a week, I'm riding, trails, out in the woods for 2-3-4 hours 4-5 days a week. She just looked at me like OOOHHHHHHHH.

I never use to understand why the people who competed in arena events seemed so dismissive of trail riders. I know that trailriders who ride for pleasure could out ride those people, and I KNOW trailriders horses are better. So I just don't let those prejudices get to me anymore.

Becky