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Posted on 02/24/2006 9:12:25 AM PST by HairOfTheDog
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!
Ah - I see - Those are pretty! :~D
Well last year my cat did get the babies:(. There were only 2 and he got both, I think when they were taking thier first flight. I was really upset, the parents sat out there and called and called. It was so sad.
Once these have hatched, the cat isn't going out there thru the day. He's just going to have to stay in the house except at night. I'm hoping they don't take to flying at night.
Becky
LOL, boy they are crammed in there aren't they:)
One year in this same nest, there was a whole bunch like that. I happen to be sitting out there the day they took the plunge. It was so cool the parents sat out on the electric wire that crosses our yard and would call to them over and over, and swoop in and out. Finally one by one they took off. That night and for several after they would all come back to the nest, but they never all fit again:), some of them would land up sitting on the edge of the roof.
I don't know how any of them parents or babies get in the nest to begin with, it is built so close to the underside of the roof. They have to swoop down under the eave then in a short space go up and squeeze between the roof and the edge of the nest. It's amazing they can do it.
Becky
Your camera does work pretty well, and adds a little dream effect around the edge, eh :~D
I love zinnias, but mine got so tall and floppy that they fell over. But they seemed to root where they touched the ground and still looked pretty good, even if they were a little disheveled looking. I planted the wildflower mix last year and wasn't real pleased with it either. Not all of it came up and what did was rather haphazard. Some of it did reseed and came back up this year so I let them stay, in the part outside of the rock bed. I don't know what they all are, but they don't look too bad. My marigolds always reseed too. I'll pull them up out of the lawn and the gravel in the driveway and everywhere else and transplant them to the flower bed and they survive the whole process just fine. They're pretty tough little flowers!
These are Thumbelina zinnas. I've been told they don't get so leggy.
The wildflowers don't come up at all like the picture on the box:), imagine that. They would look better somewhere else I think, just not so good in a garden like I'm trying to get. But hey, its a flower:).
I've planted marigolds every year but this, but have never had them reseed themselves. This is the first year too, that I haven't had impatients come back on it's own. We had such a dry winter, and I didn't realize that would hurt things. My elephant ears aren't doing as good as they did in the past. But the lillies may be choking them out, I don't know. i didn't realize lillies were so invasive. I've got tons more of them this year then last..
Becky
LOL, yeah, it works pretty good. Funny how in some pictures the cracks hardly show up but in others you can really see them.
Becky
Something has moved into the ceiling inside the barn, on a piece of the sortof pressboard insulation that has fallen down a bit and left a gap. They've dropped some tell-tale moss and nest material down from above. I don't know if it's a bird or a red squirrel. I have seen a red squirrel in there, chirping at me from the rafters when I come in.
This brood did that too. Some nights some of them ended up roosting on the little ledge board you can see running around the inside of the porch, just under the nest. On other nights, most of them would be in the nest. In the mornings there would always be a big ruckus because they still wanted Mama to feed them, {kinda like grown human kids, huh?} , even though they were almost as big as she, and she would sometimes, but she mostly wanted them out of the nest so she could start another brood. She's already added another couple of rows of mud to the top of the nest to make it bigger. She raised 5 in the first brood last year and 6 in the 2nd brood. This year she started off with 6, so who knows how many there'll be in the 2nd batch this time. I say more power to her because the more she raises, the more bugs they'll eat and the fewer 'skeeters I'll have to deal with. They do kinda make a crappy mess on the concrete under the nest, but I keep it hosed off and I guess it's a small price to pay for the entertainment value and the bug control service.
The NATRC site is sure quiet today:)
I was hoping there would be more discussion. Even tho I sent in an opus on the discussion, I remembered something that I had planned on commenting about, but forgot. I don't really want to be the one to stir things up again:)
But get this: At the obstacles if there is a line and you have to wait your turn you are suppose to wait for the horse behind you to complete the obstacle before leaving. It's because if horses have had to stand together even for just a short time, if the horse behind you sees you leaving it can upset it and it will blow the obstacle. But people forget sometime.
At the ride, everytime, the rider in front of me forgot to stay. That really doesn't bother me, because I don't want Harley to be dependent on other horses. BUT, at one of them there was a rider behind me, and then the rider that had the rearing horse that the judge said was dangerous. I waited on the rider behind me, as soon as he finished the judge told both of us to wait till the next rider, the problem horse, had finished. She said don't move stay right there. The horse did it just fine and we all went on.
BUT, isn't that giving her an advantage? The judge never told anyone to wait for me....another incident with the problem horses that I think was unfair. And this horse and rider placed above me....I'd like to know how many other times the judge stepped in and "helped" her...
Becky
Thumbelina Zinnias...I'll have to keep that in mind for next year coz I really like them. I guess they're kinda like the dwarf Day Lillies that they've come out with that only get 12 or 18 inches high instead of 3 feet high like the regular ones.
My flowers have nothing much going on right now, it's been so wet, they're mostly trying to not drown, and nothing's blooming well... except this blue stuff in the hanging pot. It's such a pretty blue. :~D
Yeah, they do make a mess under the nest. The nest here is right above our front door, over the porch:\
But I do enjoy them so I let them stay. Every year Mack threatens to tear it down. One year sparrows did, but the swallow rebuilt:)
Becky
That blue stuff looks like creeping phlox???
I like the tiny daisies:), I'd let them grow too, weed or not:)
Becky
I don't mind the birds, but a squirrel in the rafters would make me crazy. They chew things to pieces, even wires. They're almost as bad as rats.
The sunflowers I planted are dwarf too. I planted the regular ones one year, and they were as tall as the house. Any wind or rain knocked them over, they weren't pretty at all, just tall stalks with an occasional leaf then these huge flowers that the stalk couldn't hold up...
I wasn't sure how these dwarf ones would be, but so far they are turning out pretty nice.
Becky
Certainly. Do you think this judge was aware that this horse was a problem? Did they all know about the rearing incident?
That whole passing discussion I thought was interesting. To me, it's just good trail ettiquette to pull off and let faster horses go by, at the next place it's safe to do that. With our trails that are closed in or steep on both sides, sometimes that can be a little while, and everyone understands that, I'd guess, competition or no. I found it interesting that she posted the complaint about people who don't allow others to pass, and instead, just speed up. Is that a problem that happens enough to get in the way? I'd think most riders wouldn't rush their horse unwisely, they're not in a race.
Really, I thought the poster was just posting some kind of rant to throw her weight around, like her pride had been hurt by the accusations, and she wanted to display some pecking order superiority... you think?
I like my squirrels :~D So they can stay too, as long as they don't chew anything.
I like the little daisies too, and the hanging basket it really pretty, but your grass is GORGEOUS! I guess there's some advantages to having all that rain. ;o)
Heh - yeah - you spend every dry day mowing :~D
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