FreeRepublic Saddle Club thread! - Thread 12

[HairOfTheDog]

The FreeRepublic Saddle Club - (very out of date) Who's Who *pics*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, usually about our horses, sometimes about our dogs, gardens and other stuff we do. :~)

I have a ping list for horse threads that are of interest, and MissTargets will ping everyone most mornings. Let MissTargets and/or me know if you would like to be on the ping list.

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.

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
The FreeRepublic Saddle Club thread! - Thread NINE
The FreeRepublic Saddle Club thread! - Thread TEN
The FreeRepublic Saddle Club thread! - Thread 11

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

[Duchess47]

Thanks for the pictures. If I saw someone coming down the street dressed in black with a hood and a mask, I'd be calling the Sheriff's Department, figuring it was a terrorist or gang member.

Every time I see dreadlocks I start itching and looking for spiders. They reenforce my opinion of hippies as people who don't bathe very often. A woman comes into the library every once in awhile with them. I shudder to see her.

[HairOfTheDog]

I think they show themselves pretty well as the side most Americans don’t want to be on. ;~)

[Duchess47]

Well from the pictures, the guys in black aren’t real proud to be on that side themselves, since they are afraid to show their faces.

[tuffydoodle]

Funny that you mention saddle fit. That’s Tuffy’s saddle and all the straps were let all the way out for him. For Mina I had to take them nearly all the way up. I was afraid it wouldn’t fit her but it actually fits her better than it did on Tuffy. It was a little small on him.

[MissTargets]

Mina is very pretty and looks so nice under saddle. It is interesting to look at her markings and try and figure shapes. Sort of like you do with clouds. lol

[HairOfTheDog]

Good morning all... I’m in busy mode this morning... We have a potential storm tonight with high winds possible, so I’m going around battering down all my hatches!

[MissTargets]

Be safe and I hope it is not too bad for you.

btw, my vet said to give Lugar Benadryl for his itching. A whole lot more (3-4 caps) than what you or I would take. It seemed to help, but he gets really sleepy.

[Duchess47]

Good morning. Wind and rain all night here and still sprinkling every once in awhile. That’s good though, if it’s raining, it’s not snowing :)

[Duchess47]

I had forgotten about Benadryl - thanks for the reminder :)

[Rose in RoseBear]

Hello, all!

You may know me from the Hobbit Hole, or remember me from the Saddle Club thread last year about this time ... I lurk mostly.

Every year, a group of crazy people around the world each strive to write a 50,000 word novel during the thirty days of November. To that end, I have a set of questions about quarter horses in general, and the Western riding disciplines of cutting and reining in particular.

Would y'all mind if I asked a few questions? It can be FReepmail, or here in the forum, whatever's more convenient ...

[Duchess47]

I wouldn’t mind at all, although I probably don’t have any answers - it sure would be interesting.

[PayNoAttentionManBehindCurtain]

We love questions, it gives us something to fuss...errrrrrrr discuss about:)

Becky

[Rose in RoseBear]

<smiling at Duchess47> Thanks!

First, about cutting:

• How many head of cattle in the cutting herd? It looks to me to be between two and three dozen, but I could be wrong. Is there a standard number?
• Would you ever use a herd of longhorns for cutting?
• Are cutting competitions held in an arena, or a corral, or some other structure?
• My hero breeds quarter horses and trains them in the Western riding disciplines. He has a silver dun stallion named Peltre (Pewter). Do people use the term grullo to describe silver duns?
• Would a stallion be used to work cattle, or would he just stand at stud?
• I've seen video of a woman who does reining while bareback. Is that a cool trick (looks like one to this uninitiated eye)? Or is it just a dangerous stunt?
• Is it reasonable to have a ranch that raises both Longhorn cattle and quarter horses?
• How many acres would that ranch have to encompass to accommodate both horses and cattle?

[Rose in RoseBear]

<laughing!>

[PayNoAttentionManBehindCurtain]

Cutting is usually done in an arena....not sure of the size of the herd, the cows, at least around here are never longhorns, but are herefords.

Most definitely stallions can be used...reining bareback I don’t believe would be allowed in a real competition, but would be more then a “trick”... but not really a dangerous stunt. It would depend on the expertise of the rider.

I worked for a ranch that raised horses and long horns, and it was 1000 acres...but they had some more leased land in the area.

Becky

[Rose in RoseBear]

How big is the arena? I've seen 100 feet by 250 feet, but that was for steer roping.

If I described the arena as being slightly smaller than a football field, would that be about right?

I can handle a thousand acres, with some creek bottomland to grow hay and some leased acreage for additional grazing.

It would be the cattle that would need the grazing land, correct? Not the horses?

[Duchess47]

Well, I don't have a lot of answers for you.

Would you ever use a herd of longhorns for cutting? Are cutting competitions held in an arena, or a corral, or some other structure? ...I doubt anyone would use longhorns in competition, too much chance of injuring a horse. Competitions are usually held in arenas.

Would a stallion be used to work cattle, or would he just stand at stud? ...A stud can do anything any other horse (mare/gelding) can do and usually better :)

I've seen video of a woman who does reining while bareback. Is that a cool trick (looks like one to this uninitiated eye)? Or is it just a dangerous stunt? ... Well, it's sorta like cutting horses working without a bridle. Very impressive, shows level of training, ease of riding the horse, things like that, but I don't think a lot of people would do it.

Is it reasonable to have a ranch that raises both Longhorn cattle and quarter horses? ... Change that to appaloosas and that's my dream ranch. Very logical to raise both.

How many acres would that ranch have to encompass to accommodate both horses and cattle? ...well, again, depends - where does your hero live? If it's Nevada, he needs thousands of acres, if it's North Carolina, 30-40 acres is more than sufficient.

[Rose in RoseBear]

Duchess, I thought the same about cutting with Longhorns ... looks flashy and retro, but, you know, horns ... pointy, long, ouchie ...!

I don't think this is a cutting competition ... more like a demonstration. And thanks for letting me know that some people cut without a bridle ... I wanted my hero to do that, just sit there with a fist full of mane and counterbalance, all calm and controlled.

And should I say that Peltre is a "stud," or a "stallion?"

[Duchess47]

Not with a fist full of mane, the saddle horn :)

http://www.nchacutting.com/ag/pubs/history001.php

[Duchess47]

Another picture - and I guess it depends where you're from whether you call him a stud or a stallion. Here, they are studs, although we'd probably refer to an Arab as an Arab Stallion rather than Arab stud.

I watched a cowboy at the Salinas Rodeo in a cutting competition reach down and take off his horse's bridle and preceed to work. The stands were on their feet when he finished.