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!

[PayNoAttentionManBehindCurtain]

Well the forecast calls for it to clear up this afternoon, and it's suppose to get pretty hot after today.

I need to run to town to get gas so I can finish up mowing the pastures, I just don't feel like going tho:)

Becky

[BladeRider]

OK, here are some pictures I took of the ride From and me went on Sunday. I hope they post this is my first time posting pictures.

[HairOfTheDog]

Those are great :~D First time I've seen pictures of that rather open area where you can see very far. :~)

[HairOfTheDog]

There's times when it's handy to have a gas station right next door :~)

[BladeRider]

OK, here are some pictures I took of the ride From and me went on Sunday.

I guess that should have been "Frog" and me. Sorry. I wish I had a picture of Jake with his fly hat on, you can see some of it on his ears in the last shot. The deer flies were AWFUL in some places. Horses don't walk to good when their head is betwen their knees trying to rub flies off!

[PayNoAttentionManBehindCurtain]

Very nice pictures:). The one with the rock cliff in the background is so pretty.

Becky

[PayNoAttentionManBehindCurtain]

That would be very nice:)

I have to go about 10 miles.

Becky

[FrogInABlender]

Those turned out pretty good but dark horses don't show up well in the shade. Grace just looks like a big shadow in most of them. But you can really see that reflector on the back of my cantle bag. I wouldn't have thought the flash would have bounced off of it that bright in broad daylight. Interesting!

[FrogInABlender]

...I wish I had a picture of Jake with his fly hat on...

Your wish is my command. I didn't post it the first time because it wasn't the best picture of either one of you. But it does show his "Mule Ears" hat, so here it is...

You can also see it, just barely, in this shot. It's just the wide angle version of the vertical one I posted of you earlier...

[BladeRider]

Your wish is my command. I didn't post it the first time because it wasn't the best picture of either one of you. But it does show his "Mule Ears" hat, so here it is...

Well thank you my dear, I need to take a close up so everyone can REALLY get the effect of his mule-ish ears under that hat.

[PayNoAttentionManBehindCurtain]

Since it's a bit slow in here today, I thought I'd post a few pictures of my garden. I'm not "real" happy with it this year. I've decided that the "wild flower seed mixes" you can get don't look all that great in a formal garden. They look a bit weedy and unkept. But I do like the zinnas, this is my first year to try them. The fern is getting bit covered up with the hibscus, but I'm think that my help to shade them.The last picture is of the little male barn swallow who sits there and talks to the missus who is on a nest in the eaves over the porch:), barn swallows are really neat pretty little birds. You can see much of him, but he is blue/black with a rusty/cream breast. We have them every year in this same nest.

Nothing at this end has started to bloom yet, hibscus, foxglove, glads, calla lillies, the fern is between the two hibscus.

The red bud tree is finally shaping up like I want it.

Becky

[PayNoAttentionManBehindCurtain]

LOL. I've seen those ear covers before. They are funny, but according to what I've been told they work real well. We have those awful deerflies here too. Poor Harley just has to tolerate me misting fly spray over his head.

Becky

[HairOfTheDog]

I think your garden looks beautiful, even the wildflowers! But I'm not a formal kind of gal :~D

Your ferns must be pretty puny to be hidden by those hibiscus :~D Oh well, here's hoping they get stronger with more time.

Are the zinnias the ones that look like sunflowers? They're really pretty.

[BladeRider]

LOL. I've seen those ear covers before. They are funny, but according to what I've been told they work real well. We have those awful deerflies here too. Poor Harley just has to tolerate me misting fly spray over his head.

My husband hates that I put that on his horse, I think it might be the lacey affect on the front, hey but they do work. I did not use it the first time out and Jake was miserable. I was waving a branch over his ears most of the ride. They do make their ears look much longer than they are in real life though.

[PayNoAttentionManBehindCurtain]

I forgot to include my morning glories. I have 3 varieties this year:)

The purple one has already start to fade, but you get an idea of the color. The other variety is a tiny bright red flower on the vines with the feathery leaves. I don't have any blooms today, they bloom better when the ground is very dry. The vines on one side reached the top of the arbor yesterday, I'm not sure why the other side is going so slow.

Becky

[HairOfTheDog]

Those ear covers are popular with arena show jumpers, who pack the horse's ears with cotton and cover them with that, for horses that are bothered by crowd noise.

I wonder if the covering wouldn't bother some horses more than the noise.

[FrogInABlender]

I really LIKE your garden! It looks so relaxing and peaceful. I'd like to sit out there early in the morning with a cup of hot chocolate and a magazine. That's what I do in mine. Mine's not much, but it's on the secluded end of the house and there's nothing but a grown up field to the west. They've planted it in pines, so it'll soon be a forest instead of a field, and a shade garden instead of a sun garden, but it's nice to have someplace like that to fiddle with and relax in. I'd like to put in a fountain of some kind too. Yours looks really nice.

I've got barn swallows on my porch too. A brood of 6 have already hatched out and flown the nest. Here's a picture of them...

They were SO funny those last couple of days because only 5 of them would fit across the front of the nest and it was a rather tight fit at that. The runt got pushed to the back I guess and was a day later that the others in getting up the nerve to take to wing. But they're really amazing when they do because they really seem to know how to fly from the very first time. I was worried about them when we first moved in because of my cats, but they had nothing to worry about because the little buggers never hit the ground like so many other baby birds. They take off out of the nest like F18s and never look down. It's really cool.

[BladeRider]

I wonder if the covering wouldn't bother some horses more than the noise.

I was worried the hat would bother Jake at first but he never seemed to know it was on. Blade wears one without a problem also. I will soak them in fly spray before I put them on, hoping it will keep flies off the face around the hat also.

[PayNoAttentionManBehindCurtain]

The fern isn't dying, but it has done any real growing. I'm hoping it's just getting it's root system good and established:)

The yellow ones are sunflowers, and I've noticed a few birds already landing on them and eating at the centers. The zinnas are hard to see in the far off pictures. Here's a close up.

Lots of pretty bright colors:)

Becky

[HairOfTheDog]

The hat part wouldn't bother them, and I don't think it looks that funny :~).... with the show jumpers, I was wondering if the cotton stuff in their ears would bother 'em.