Really, I'm Back For Good...Needed Some Time Off

I don't even have a good excuse except that nothing seemed to 'speak' to me about horses. Sure, I got a new rescue mare but things have gone so well, well, nothing really to report other than I've already reported.

At any rate, she's doing well, has fattened right up, been on her although she isn't very broke and certainly not trained. Next Spring is a-coming! Got the thrush under control and already, actually a little late, the shoer is due back out to trim her up again.

The one biggie I was worried about was the seemingly lack of material to yap about. WELP, let me tell you, I have revisited a horse website, very popular but I'm not telling the name because I'm going to rip it up a bit, and there is PLENTY of material for me to gripe about for the next few years.

So...let's get at it, shall we??

Holy Cow, It's Been Too Long! Sorry!!

I am so ashamed (well, almost)!! I didn't realize it had been since August 25 since I had posted!! Way to go, what a way to run a blog, eh??

Okay, my bad and all that. Life just got in the way.

Upcoming: I have a new rescue mare. Fixing her right up! There is/was so much wrong with her and now she's starting to look like a real horse instead of something out of Ethopia. This is my true love, fixing up horses. I'm very good at it, if I do say so myself.

So, there will be posts soonest about what is going on with her. The shoer is coming out on Monday to put a trim on her. She has really bad thrush, about the worst I've ever seen so we'll see how the shoer handles this!!

Again, I'm so sorry I haven't been posting. Time just got away from me. :-)

What NEVER To Do When Selling

http://medford.craigslist.org/grd/1341222874.html

Never, never, never admit you must sell and put a price. Of course, I can understand that this poster doesn't want to give the cute pony away, he kind of shot himself (assuming it's a man...) in the foot by stressing how much he needs to sell.

Of course people are going to offer next to nothing for the colt! Then the poster gets kind of ruffled feathers and sort of hurt and still can't sell the pony.

A strange thing I noticed in the ad...he says he has to unload the pony and is moving but will trade for more value in training. Kind of odd in my book but whatever floats your boat!

If you stress this much about selling, it kind of stands to reason that you need to offload the pony colt pretty quickly and will entertain offers...which are then turned down. So the colt stays put and more ads are put out about getting rid of him.

I suppose it will all work out one way or the other (always does, doesn't it??) but this should be a prime example about how to keep a horse forever!

This Is A Joke, Right??

http://medford.craigslist.org/grd/1339056246.html

Really...a horse whisperer, huh? How about a real trainer? Would that do?

Honestly, this has to be joke of some sort.

Learn How To Put A Bit On Correctly

http://medford.craigslist.org/grd/1338393138.html

I've noticed this lately on several posts AND when I go look at horses and their tack. People don't seem to know how a bit goes on a headstall.

Check out the lower left pic of the bit on the headstall. The damn thing is on upside down. See how it inverts into a 'V' but it looks like it's been pulled in a just a little bit?? That is, oh, so wrong! The bit is supposed to be the other way around and follow the curve of the horse's mouth, from the bars, over the tongue and on to the opposite other bars. Only a nimrod tries to put a bit on upside down to hurt the horse into submitting, which I think that's what these examples I've seen lately are trying to do. They don't have a CLUE how or why a bit works the way it's supposed.

So, if you don't know how a bit works, WHY in the hell are you even using it?? If you can't put a bridle together properly, should you really be in the saddle?? I think not!!

This is basic horsemanship. If you fork a horse, you should know how to saddle and bridle your horse properly. For this, there is NO excuse!

'Always' Come Out With A Happy Horse?

http://medford.craigslist.org/grd/1337516332.html

At first glance, this is a nice ad. Personally, I would like to see pics but the overall tone is one of a gentle, nice person with horses.

The part I have a problem with is when ANYone states that, no matter what, they ALWAYS get so-and-so out of a horse. My first thought would be that this person needs to deal with WAY more horses.

I don't care who you are, if you've never had a horse that won't play ball the correct way, you need to deal with a lot more horses. I've found that about 3-5% of horses are actually hardwired wrong in the brain and can't be fixed. Just like people. There are the horsie loons out there that shouldn't have been born in the first place!

Now I know of trainers who only deal with certain breeds or even bloodlines. Hell, the older I get, I'm nearly to that point myself! That's fine. If you specialize in, say, hunt seat, you only want a certain type/kind of horse. To try to make a square horse fit into a round hole is defeating, big time! So, if you have any sense, you look for a certain type.

My problem is when someone says, 'come one, come all' with any type of horse and the horse will be a 'happy' one after the training. In the law of averages, just doesn't happen. If you're a trainer, you should have been on literally hundreds, if not thousands, of horses and have dealt with any and everything the horse can throw at you. Just because someone has trained even 25 head, doesn't mean much. Especially in this day and age of quickie training and people buying rank 4 year olds with nary a bit of handling or very little (actual case mentioned here).

So, I'd say go out and watch this poster and get in depth info about what he/she has done. If you have a fairly complacent horse and just want to plunk around an arena, then this may be the deal for you.

Forgot to say, even highly successful trainers have failures. The difference is that they know how to cover it up and keep the duds out of the limelight and never admit to it. No trainer is 100%. No one.

Need To Know The Other Side Of The Story

http://medford.craigslist.org/grd/1337294992.html

This is a perfect case of someone who is disgruntled about how her mare came home. I can sure agree that something happened to the poor thing. Just looka the pic. BUT we're talking horses here. I would like to see the rest of the mare and see if she's in good weight or if she's all torn up over her body where the stud bit her.

As an aside, years ago, my horse biz partner had a stud who would bite the mare on the neck and tear holes into her flesh. Had to use a muzzle on him.

Anywho, back to the post subject...however, the mare is a horse and we all know that horses are an accident waiting to happen. Things happen all the time in the best laid plans.

My first thought was what was the other side of the story? A reputable breeder who breeds for free and then sends the horse home? I'm not sure if the mare stayed at the breeders during her pregnancy and foaling and then sent home or just the breeding and on to home. I think it means that the mare stayed put, was bred, foaled and then sent home (judging by the time of year it is).

Did the owner not check up on her mare? Nowadays there is all sorts of ways to keep tabs on your horse. Just a short video or even hotmail and yahoo have video and audio stuff. That should be in the contract. If not, it's too much trouble, I'd say the mare needs to stay home.

In this case, going by my gut feeling, I'd say there is blame to share on both sides. An owner wanted to lease her mare for a while (that's fine) but didn't follow through. The breeder is busy and sees a good deal and probably thought the owner wouldn't check up anyway (how many actually do?) and got her foal (I think) and sent the mare home, who looks a bit battle scarred.

Also, the mare could have banged her head on the trailer or a fence. No telling where. I'm betting the mare owner will keep better tabs and records from now on. Like all of us, sometimes you just don't see things coming till they happen to you and then you know to watch for that very thing.

So It's Magic That Works

http://medford.craigslist.org/grd/1337302942.html

At first, I was going to be snorky and have some fun with this ad...however, upon reflection, I can see another side of this.

After sitting back and watching the horse-owning crowd for the past few years, I'm truly kind of appalled at what has emerged AS the local horse rider/owner. Well, appalled might be too strong a word but close to it.

Remember when I wrote a little while back about the author of an article who took a whole freakin' page to explain to people why and how you shouldn't let your horse physically push you around?? In the real world, a short paragraph would do but in the alternative universe, you now need a whole page because people might not be 'comfortable' with disciplining their horse.

Still, I'm bothered when anyone says that your connection with a horse is 'magical' or 'mythical' or whatever. It's not. A horse is a real creature that is hard-wired to defend itself by fleeing or fighting back. It's up to the rider to learn to read their horse and then put that info to good use. There isn't any big mystery to owning or riding a horse.

Sure, getting out on the prairie and looking at a thunderstorm in the distance will take your breath away but it's not magical. It's real life.

However, as I stated above, after watching and reading all about how a horse elevates us to heretofor unknown bliss, someone DOES need to step in and get these types to be safe around a horse. If it takes talking to them like you're from Magical Land to show them how to be safe, then by all means, I 'think' I'm for it. Later on, after the rider has had a few wake-up calls dealing with the reality of a horse that just doesn't WANT to cross the water and wants a good tiff, then they may seek out a real grounded trainer/instructor for help...or sell the horse because the Magic was gone and find another better suited horse.

It makes my teeth itch to state such things but, honestly, someone needs to be in the niche of (mainly) middle-aged newbie riders who've only watched RFD-TV and think that riding is soooo EASY. All ya need is 'the Magic'.

*sigh*

Frost Is Coming!!

Time to worm that cute little hoss in the barn! As soon as we get a good frost, that's the time to kill the worms that can do serious damage to your horse.

"Ustabe" I wormed every month but now, only about 4 times a year. Every three months. My adorable cranky mare is in a place where she's not exposed to other horses very much and I've kept her wormed pretty good, so there's not really a reason to worm as much.

If I were showing her a lot or I had a lot of horses coming and going, then, yep, need more wormer. She looks great, a little too spunky lately though!

I can't remember if I posted this, but if you go to the Farnam.com website and click through all the links, you will come to a page that is full of horse-item related coupons. There is a dollar off coupon for Ivermectin. That's a good place to start. :-)

Now, go love on your darlin'!

The Case For Laying A Horse Down

Yep, there are cases where it's the thing to do. Just recently I ran across a situation where a fellow bought a herd of horses that had been running out loose for God-knows-how-long.

So, he brought a wad of them up to his place and started sorting. The best he can tell is that the owner said most had been broke at one time but nothing for years afterward. So, armed with this info, he tackled these horses. Now, I gotta say that he's made of stronger stuff than I. I wouldn't have messed with them, period, but they really are nice looking horses and supposedly registered. So, really, may be worth the time to deal with them.

Anywho...he wades in and starts in on them. Most of them are so wild that to get the saddle on, he had to tie up legs/hooves and a few he had to lay them down. Not flipping them but laying them down in a controlled manner. I think I've seen CA do this but he's probably not dealing with some uber-wilds from the depths of the Oregon pastures. These are horses intent on keeping their freedom and will be damned if anyone is going to tell THEM they are to be ridden.

This fellow had to do it to get control of the horse and let the horse know who was boss. Even after sorting through 20 head, he only found FIVE that were rideable. The other 15 will head out for bucking stock. Wow!! Can you believe?

By and large, I don't like laying a horse down in such a manner but in this case I'm all for it. There is a guy on the internet named Endospink who lays horses down by turning their heads and somehow it puts the horse so at ease, he'll just drop. What I've described is nowhere near what this guy does. Actually, I like Endospink's ways and think it's fine in its place. I don't know you could get close enough to these horses to turn their heads in the first place! You'd probably end up parting your hair with a hoof!

I've noticed that people will gasp and grab their chests when you mention laying a horse down with tying a leg up but in it's place, it's a good tool to have in your tool chest.

The Anatomy of Riding...The Book

I lucked across a book called, The Anatomy of Riding by Sara Wyche. If you can buy it or check it from the library, please do so. I've only made it a bit of the way through it but it is chock-a-block full of info about how riding affects your horse.

One big deal is that I've never been a proponent of doubling a horse. Somehow I always thought it was the wrong thing to do. If your horse is so out of control, it's either you can't ride and shouldn't be aboard or your horse needs a LOT more work to stay under your command. It seems to me that a lot of the "Natural Horsemanship" people (did you catch my snark for those two words??) seem to think that doubling substitutes for training. You can't stop? Double your horse seems to the be order of the day.

To my mind, except in extreme cases, should a horse be doubled. If a horse is running away with you, I sure don't want to take his head away from him and let his rear end fling out, not to mention the strain on the front legs! If your horse is runaway prone, YOU need to do something to get that notion out of his mind and stay in the round pen then progressing to a small arena. Not doubling the horse.

Anyway, just wanted to point this out. Be leery of anyone who touts doubling as a 'fixer'. Not a good choice at all.

Now, go love on your brat! :-)

*Sigh*...Do I Need To Repeat Myself?

http://medford.craigslist.org/grd/1317750065.html

I'll bet you can just GUESS what I would say about this frickin' ad, can't you?? Good Lord...don't people pay attention in school anymore...or even get there in the first place?? Wouldn't you want to trust your horse to this girl? It DOES make a difference in how you present yourself, y'know. If you can't communicate properly, what makes anyone think you can do much of anything?? Not in this day and age. Back in the day, people didn't have chances to go to school and learn properly and did fine but not in this day and age.

"Ridding"...really?? Ridding, huh?? Gah!!!

Seriously, if anyone knows her, point her to GED classes or something!

The Skeeters Are Eating My Mare And Me Up!

Holy cow, are you having skeeters like I am?? I mean, even walking out in my lawn, hordes of the bloodsuckers just rise up as one and then attack! I have plenty of anti-itch creme on hand.

But that brings me to my horse. I douse her with Zonk-It and the little widgets still get through. I've used Bug Blocker, same thing. At least the bug stuff is slowing them down. I would dread to think what my mare would have to endure without some sort of bug-stuff.

I even spray over my mare's head. She doesn't appreciate it at that moment but she does seem to understand that it's to help her. Even using the roll-on stuff, you can get dirt in their eyes and then they can try to scratch and do more damage or rub hair off.

My bug-zapper works overtime at home. Hubby thinks that there are easily 10K skeeter bodies in the bug zapper after 3 hours work. Pretty good hillbilly entertainment, watching the zapping going on, if you ask me. hehehe...

At any rate, do the best you can about keeping yourself and your horse safe and bite-free. All you can do is just keep trying. A cold snap is bound to happen sometime!!

Finally! Got Into My Account!

I haven't bailed and gone off to Australia, although, lately, there sure are times I wished I were there...

Anywho, for some reason, my dial-up is being super slow and I can't access all the 'net like I like. I could die of old age before this thing loads sometimes!

Alas, I'm still here and it has been a long time since I posted. Welp, read on, dear reader. As usual, I have plenty to say! :-)

Isn't She The Cutest Mare??

http://medford.craigslist.org/grd/1302059063.html

I don't have any reason to post about Ventura (I don't know who owns her and not making any money off of posting this) but her pic is of the cutest little mare!! She just looks like a doll, doesn't she?? Kinda on the small side but she's my kinda mare! Packing that big, ol' man around, you know she has to be one tuff little lady.

I'm not really a Paso fan but years ago, I got the chance to train a Paso mare and the trouble I had learning the gait!! Fortunately, the owner just wanted to trail ride so I still looked good when they took the mare back. But, I'm telling you, that mare had the hardest hoofies I've ever seen on any horse. Just diamond hard!!

Just had to bring her to everyone's attention!

Unsigned Paperwork Means You Have A Grade Horse

http://medford.craigslist.org/grd/1302373599.html

Jeepers, will people ever learn?? I don't care WHO the horse is and HOW well the horse is bred or trained, if you don't have papers in your hand from the registry in your/someone's name with the horse's registered name on it, you don't have a registered horse. You have a grade horse.

That lessens the value/worth most likely. There are cases that the grade horse is worth quite a bit but with papers, it would be more.

According to the ad, she hasn't done anything, don't even know if she's broke. So, we have an unregistered, unbroke 4 year old mare who has color and the ad says well bred. Come to think of it, why didn't the ad state who daddy and mums are??

So, pop quiz here, do you REALLY think she's worth $2000?? Just imagine, in this market, what you could BUY for $2K!! Now they can ask all they want for any of their horses but reality has to set in some time.

One last thing, the ad (and a lot of ads state this) says that this darlin' could go in any direction you take her. No, she can't. She's long and a weak hip and couldn't do dressage very well. Well, she could take a stab at it but as for her holding it together for very long, I don't think so. Actually, she looks like she'd make a nice pleasure/trail prospect and then maybe with some work, see if she couldn't do a step up to the next level.

A Prime Example Of Lop Ears

http://medford.craigslist.org/grd/1302379000.html

Or a prime example of ears set WAY too far forward.

See how the ears look like they just go straight with the neck, over the horse's nose? Then when she has them 'at ease', they go to the side. This is not an attractive attribute but really won't make much difference, if any at all, in the way she rides. I once knew a champion jumping mare who had this condition and she could jump the moon. But in Jumpers, you can have pretty much anything as long as the horse can get over the fence without knocking a rail or rubbing.

The thing that would really worry me is the ad states that teenagers and very inexperienced adults have been riding her. Holy cow! Unless that trainer was after the teeny-boppers and inexperienced adults, this little lady is probably pretty damn spoiled. I sure would want a severe discount on the sale price.

Wow...

The 'Potential' Word

http://medford.craigslist.org/grd/1301120119.html

First I want to say that, generally, I like this colt and I like the ad. It seems that Alisha is upfront and is willing to put her vet on the line to talk to potential buyers about the colt. I'd still say have your own vet take a lookie-loo anyway just to be sure. It's a case of who's paying whom here.

Anyhoo, my beef is with the word "Potential". In this case, Alisha is trying to show that this colt can go way farther and is trying to buff up his image and bring in some extra money. That's fine, that's a seller for you (I'm included in this crowd). But you still need to stand back and LOOK at the colt and really see what he is at that moment and not what he's going to be in 3-6 mos. of saddle time. You're buying the colt RIGHT NOW and not what he's going to be in 3 mos. time.

Of course, you need to 'see' him in the future and if he fits what you're trying to do but you're buying him NOW. Fergit the "P" word and look at him. If he fits what you want to do, physically, mentally, bloodline-wise, then buy the sucker.

The trouble with buying potential is that no matter how well bred a colt is or what he looks like today, there is a chance that he's going to change physically or just flat not live up to his blood. Take the case of Storm Cat. He's a TB sire, since retired, who commanded $400K (you read right, that's THOUSANDS) but yet about a year ago, you could have bought some of his own get for a whopping .38 cents a pound at a kill pen, where they were rescued by a horse rescue. His get didn't live up to their daddy and so were dumped. There's a bit more to this story but for all intents and purposes, I'm going with the short version here.

So, the upshot here is, looka the colt/filly and keep your head. If everything falls into place, buy the cutie-pie but know what you bought...not pie-in-the-sky promises.

Now, go love on that horse of yours!!

WTF Does This Ad Say??

http://medford.craigslist.org/grd/1301262716.html

I'm thinking, just a thought here, that MAYBE it's for someone to come out and watch the joint whilst the owners are away and also to feed the critters.

Good Lord, people!!! Didn't you go to SCHOOL?? Didn't you pay ATTENTION?? Spelling isn't that hard, nor is punctuation! You don't have to be perfect but you do have to be understandable.

My first thought was if you wrote up a contract with the poster, you probably won't know what the hell you signed as the contract would be indecipherable, unless written by a lawyer...which might be worse...but I'm betting the attorney would have spelling and punc's down pretty pat.

Ads like this drive me to distraction. If I can't understand what they are saying, do I really, really want to do business with them?? Even if you have a learning disability, you can ask people to help you figger out how to spell the damn ad and punc it. Hell, I've even written that people can send me ads and I'll correct them and send them back with no copy kept on my end. I've done proofreading for newspapers and boo-boos just leap out at me.

Jeez...people get somewhat educated!! Grrrr!

Have Your Plan In Place

http://medford.craigslist.org/grd/1298614156.html

Doesn't this just give you chills?? How many people have actually thought of what to do with a horse body after it dies?? I confess, I haven't but this ad brought it to the forefront for me. After some thought, I now have a plan and will keep it.

So, what DO you do?? A lot of my friends have said in the past that they have little medical emergency accounts stashed full of money for such events. I think that's a good idea. You never know when you will need the vet or the dead truck to come pick up a body.

Sit down today and make your plan. It may save you a lot of heartache in the future.

Prime Example Of A Long Horse

http://medford.craigslist.org/grd/1299127707.html

This is a horse that has each end in a different zip code. A way long back/barrel. I'm kind of appalled that she's been bred but she has because she throws color.

Actually, I like a smidge longer back than most people as I feel like the horse is a smoother ride. But when you get to this long in the picture, you're starting to ask for problems.

I know that years ago, actually eons, the old time horsemen liked a longer barrel and flank as they thought the mare would have extra room for carrying a foal. That never really made sense to me because the mare still contributes her DNA to the foal and so will most probably have a longer foal anyway.

Her hip is pretty weak and I don't get how she's super fancy either. Looks rather plain to me. But the other parts are okay. Hopefully she has a nice personality too.

I thought Medicine Hats didn't have any color around the eyes, only over the ears but I could be wrong on that. I'll have to check on that.

A Wanted Horse Ad Without Info

http://medford.craigslist.org/grd/1298780224.html

Words almost fail me on this one. Doesn't this ad just MAKE you want to donate your horse to Brits??

For one thing, the first thing that came to my formerly-horse-trader-mind was, this is a front for a kill-buyer. Maybe not but I'm almost willing to bet'cha that somewhere down the line, there is a one-way ticket to the bolt going on here.

If there actually is someone named Brits who really does want a horse, she certainly needs to put a bit more effort into finding one. Maybe in this day and age, she'll have people beating down her door to take their horse and not care what happens to them after that. But I'd sure shudder to think what it would be.

Bah, a class-act ad, eh??

Why, Why, Why Do People Buy Horses That Are Too Much For Them??

As an aside: I did ride yesterday and while my mare and I got eaten up by buggies, we had a great time plus she needed a slight tune-up. Did us both good!

Okay, on to the subject. Just in the last couple of days have I ran across people who tell me that they bought horses with what-I-call-severe behavioral problems and then tell me of their hospital/emergency room visits!! Oh, yeah, they did!

Remember my post a week or so back about the guy who was explaining how to keep your horse out of your space but that some people might not be 'comfortable' with pushing back?? Welp, it's true. I just met a couple of specimens who don't want to push back and as a result, were seriously hurt, like could have been paralyzed-hurt. They don't know each other, just happened that I met them.

One person has a straight Egyptian Arabian...hello?? In case you don't know no nuthin' 'bout no Aye-rab horses, these tykes are prized for their 'presence and brilliance'. That means, if you see them in a show, they are the almost looney ones running around in the Liberty classes acting nuts. They are also very inbred, which as we have seen with the late Hapsburg clan in Europe, inbreeding is not a good idea, lower lip and all. You get froot-loops doing such things!! They are good looking but to me, they look like they could break in two just any minute.

So, adding this PITA horse and an owner who doesn't want to 'impose' her values on the nutty horse, your sum is an emergency room visit. Honestly, I thought of offering my services but 1. I'm not insured for giving lessons (see other posts about how dumb I think this is and that the one taking the lesson should carry their own insurance) and 2. I doubt she would listen to me any way. Horses are to be loved and cherished (okay with that one so far) and they have 'feelings' and those feelings get hurt. Ready to hurl yet?? Took about two seconds for me to decide I don't want any part of this one.

Another was a horse that had been severely abused by being ran all over the place to the point that the horse only had a stop and 'dead run' gear. A very sweet lady somehow got the horse, I'm not real clear how but just go with the story, and in the end, (you saw this one coming, didn't you?) was severely hurt, thankfully not paralyzed. Somehow through several years and injuries, the horse finally came around and they had several years together before the horse had to be put down for some reason.

But, in these two cases and many others, I wonder WHY do people buy trouble?? I remember being silly and young and buying the first horse that came down the pike but I had (still do have) a survival instinct that tells me that a particular horse is WAY bad news for me.

In these cases, one decided to stick with her horse and the other lady decided she's not going to do horses any more. Just too much for her. But she's missing out on a lot of fun and if she really doesn't want to do horses, that's fine, but she caused herself too many problems by going with her heart instead of her head. A little heart is fine but you have to really think things through when buying.

This is one of the great quandries that I don't understand. Whatever the case, get out there and love on your horse!!

Still Too Friggin' Hot, BUT...

You can still do stuff with your horse, just to keep them in line.

Yesterday, I thought I'd try to ride. I know, what a dumb thought, but I'm having withdrawal pains, y'know?? In case the heat continues, I'm going to ride in the evenings but that's sort of scary in that no one from the ranch is around. If I should fall off or get dumped or hurt at the barn, no one would really notice for a while, maybe even too late. My hubby would know AFTER A WHILE that I didn't show up but he wouldn't send out a search party pronto. Since I have a cell phone with me, that's great, but it's usually sitting on the fence post (railroad tie end) and not easily accessible if I'm on the ground. I've thought of getting some 2-way radios and latch one onto my person. If they get crunched, that'd be okay, not okay to crunch the uber-expensive cell phone though.

So, yesterday, I fed the critter, haltered her, tied her up to the fence, ran a brush over her hide with some fly spray, tossed the saddle on. She was not a happy camper once bit. Life is rough, eh? I hung her bridle on the saddle horn and then retreated to sitting on the fence to watch the show.

It was so hot that I felt like a hammer was hitting me through my Monty Montana hat and T-shirt (yes, a T-SHIRT so don't start with me). So, I felt like my mare was feeling it just as well but she's taking full advantage of the fact that I'm not doing much with her and getting a little bit snotty. She's an Appy, what can I say? Love my dumpling!!

We looked at each other for a while, she fretted but her heart wasn't into it, I could just tell. Her frettiness lasted a whopping 5 minutes or so, a record for her, then she stood still and looked at me. Actually, I felt sorry for her. Hell, I felt sorry for ME.

I unsaddled her, threw hay and went home. My point is that even if it's a little bit of something, no matter how hot or cold the weather, you can do something with your horse to show them that you're still a force in their life. They will 'get it'. When you take on a horse, unless you have big pastures and don't really care to do anything (such as ride), I feel like you have a responsibility to keep the horse 'in training' of some sort. There are always things you can do to show your horse that it's still your ballgame and they play it your way.

I hear that the weather is supposed to cool off, clouds were rolling in yesterday late, so I'm still ahead of the game with Spotted Butt (I mean the horse, of course) in that she's been saddled plus the tying up to the fence, that put her back on my track, not hers. Hopefully, I won't lose another day of riding, if the weather stays sort of nice, because I did something yesterday.

Will let you know how it goes, weather-wise and saddled-wise! Now, go love on your horse!!

So Hot, So Hot...What To Do In The Meantime...

Sorry I've not posted in a little while but it's been so hot that I haven't ridden much and that's where I do my thinking for this blog!

This is a reminder to take extra good care of your horse. Put out a salt block for him to lick. I like that block because they can lick at will. I have friends who don't like them but add salt. Too much work for me but it gets the job done.

Make sure your water is plentiful and clean. Even with the fish in the tanks, make sure the water is somewhat see-through. Top those tanks off!

Since it's so hot and I'm not riding much, I wormed my dear spotted one and then watched for a while to make sure she wasn't going to have a reaction.

Check those little hoofies out and make sure all is well there. No big chips or cracks. I like to rub Hooflex in 2-3 times a week into the coronet band and on the frog because it makes me feel better. I've read lately that dressings and similar things don't really help but I disagree, I think they do to a point. Won't hurt anything anyway.

Douse your darlin' with some good fly spray. Be sure to follow the label directions but I'm seeing some big, honkin' flies that really hurt when they land and try to bite on my mare.

Keep the mane, tail and forelock looking good and don't let big tangles start. I use liberal amounts of Show Sheen several times a week to keep things orderly. You can download coupons for Show Sheen too!! I sure do!

Make sure you have some sort of shade that the horse can choose to stand in or out of. It seems to me that shade is mostly where the flies are and horses may not stand under it but make it their choice and use the fly spray.

Anyway, I heard on the radio this AM that today and tomorrow will still be HOT but then some clouds will start to roll in and some cooling off. I sure hope so. I want to RIDE! My mare is getting a little snotty and needs some straightening out!

Hopefully we'll be back on track about making tracks! :-)

Giving Away A WHAT??

http://medford.craigslist.org/grd/1281495906.html

Good Lord! Also, I hope this ad doesn't indicate the state of our educational system... Anyway, here's a good laugh!

A Whole Page To Explain A Simple Procedure

I confess, I don't get this one.

I was reading in a PNW horse magazinelet (that's bigger than a pamphlet and smaller than a real magazine, I just made that word up!) a fellow's article about keeping your horse off you while leading or standing around.

He took the whole page to explain a simple procedure of popping your horse in the shoulder and growling at him with a short "NO!" and then the appropriate body language that tells your horse you mean business.

Don't get me wrong, I respect this guy but I'm suspecting he's playing to his readers, clients or whomever by going overboard with the explanations. I know that a lot of newspaper writers get paid by the inch and so will inflate their articles. I know, I've been a newspaper author/columnist in the distant past.

But it brought home to me how everything in this day and age has to be explained to the nth degree without any true feelings between the horse and rider. The rider/handler has to be told what to do instead of developing and relying on instincts and learning each horse is different but not so different that most training ideas will work on most horses. Then you need to learn to tweak your training to fit the horse. If you have to tweak too much, then you need another horse or find a different area of horses to be in.

But, back to my original thoughts, a whole page??? Just to get a horse to move over. He addressed the idea that 'some' people might not be 'comfortable' in pushing their horse over, I can't remember the exact wording, and I thought, then what in hell are they doing with a horse in the first place?? They would rather get stepped on, I guess, but at least they'd feel good that they didn't push their horse over.

*scratches head*

Even on a lot of my horse boards, the tone and flavors are changing. People need to feel good about doing something with their horse and make it way tooooo hard rather than, say, pop the horse in the shoulder and problem solved.

Welp, I'm going to keep doing this blog and saying what I know works but I may be seriously out of date now.

Whatever happens, just get out there and love on your horse and then go for a ride!!

Had A Fire On The Ranch, What To Do About Your Horse?

This is a quick post because I'm hot and tired but it's very important.

We had a brush fire on the ranch just a little while ago. It didn't jump the dirt road to get to the pens where I keep my spotted butt mare but there was a LOT of smoke for a little while.

Someone had seen the smoke from across our valley and called in the Fire Suppression Team, not to mention a helicopter showed up!

We zipped over quickly after my hubby had noticed the smoke billowing up! He grabbed a pitchfork and went to work with it while I scrounged around for a shovel. About the time that he and the ranchhand got it sort of under control, the Fire guys showed up and then the heli.

But, while I'm concerned with saving the ranch (and all the hay!), my main concern was my mare! I've already lost one pregnant mare about 5 years ago in a trailer fire and so I had some flashbacks big-time. But other than the smoke being bad for a while, she wasn't in that much danger...however....(you knew that was coming, right?)...

I carried my halter around with me 'just' in case I had to grab her quickly and get her out. The thing that struck me was horses have to be able to be caught and lead away without panic. They may even need to be loaded into a trailer and hauled off. No 'discussing' here, just get their ass on the trailer and send them on their way!

Will they lead through smoke? Does the horse trust you to not get them hurt, even if they panic?? Would they stay tied if that's all you could do, get them out, down the road and tied up to keep them safe from running amok and maybe out onto a highway? If you have to put them in an unfamiliar pen, would they 'know' enough and sensible enough to stay safe and not do something stupid like try to jump the fence and hurt themselves??

Now, I have PLENTY of room to get my mare out and get her to safety relatively easy as my pens back up to about 1000 acres of pasture plus all the hay fields. She could get away but I could still find her if I had to turn her loose, but what if you're boarding at a small place with lots of traffic and other people?? Do you have your plan in place??

It is FIRE SEASON, people! Get your plans in place and fix what you notice to be wrong.

Now, take care and go ride your horse!!

Opened A Can Of Whoop-Ass On My Mare Today

This is a tale of how to knock some sense into your horse's head. Now, I don't go about telling folks to beat your horses, although at times....wellllll.....ok, back to the subject!

My semi-adorable Appy mare has a history of being abused and becoming very defensive. But, she's also an Appy and smarter than than the average bear! She KNOWS how to intimidate to get her way, just cuz she wantsta....

That doesn't work with me one bit. At first, I was a little intimidated by her because, well, hell, I'm a middle aged lady who has plenty of bloody-body memories and now, I just don't want to go through the pain!!

I had noticed the last few days that she was a little 'off' from normal. See, this is WHY I say to sit out and watch your hoss so you can KNOW when your baby/brat/idiot horse is not acting right.

So, today I had her tied up to groom her and normally, she's like, Right On!, with it. Today, she turned her butt to me when I put my hand on her hip to move her considerable butt over and backed her ears into serious mode. Let me tell you, I grabbed her lead rope, jerked it off the fence (she ties with only looping it over the rail, it wasn't tied hard and tight) and she got a mega-spanking with some salty words thrown in!!

We went right and left and she had move her butt all over the place, she had to back up, moved her front end, all the move-stuff BUT with lots of my telling her what a rotten horse she was. Actually, it was worse but I'm not repeating it, not even on here...

Okay, now here's the critical part. Once I 'read' her body language that she 'got it' not to turn her butt towards mommy in a threatening way...or any way for that matter, I backed off and walked off, leading her. That's critical to learn to read a horse. She KNEW she did really, really wrong and was 'sorry' she did so but if I had kept on with her, she would have been pushed past her point of no return and start to turn on me. She's 1100 lbs or so and I'm nowhere near that much (not telling either) so it would really be an uneven fight. She could have trounced me and I'd have been in the emergency room or at the undertaker's right now.

But, even though I was royally pissed at her, I had control of myself to still read her and to stop when the stopping was good. Afterward, I tied her right back up and walked around her with fly spray and such and she never moved a peg.

Then I left her tied and sat on the fence for a bit. Now, the problem with having a really smart App is that she knows how to work a knot, she untied herself and where did she go??? She came right over to me with her head down. I petted her poll (between her ears) and then she brought her head up and I loved on her. It was over.

The whole thing lasted less than 25 or so seconds. That's the trick. When a horse does something really BAD, you have to jump on them like a hen on a junebug, not this 'asking' them or trying to work it out. Jump on them and get it over! That's how horses do it in the wild.

You don't need to beat them into submission. If you do, you need to find another horse... Just when they do something bad, get onto them and then, it's forgotten.

I know that my adorable mare will be lots better tonite and for a while...till she tests me again!!

Now, go ride!!

Doesn't Matter What Bit

I got to thinking about an email I received from someone who asked about her bit she uses on her horse. She mentioned that 'others' thought she should use something else but her horse was going fine. (My disclaimer, I haven't looked at the emails in a couple of days so just remembering off the top of my head. I'm still going to change the email server-thingy, just haven't done it...life gets in the way, y'know??).

Unless you are showing a horse in a class/show/etc. that SPECIFIES a certain bit(s) or disqualifies certain bits, as long as your horse is going well and comfortably, any sort of bit your horse likes is fine to use. It may look strange to others but it's your horse's comfort and willingness that you need to keep happy.

I have a problem with those bitless bridles and don't like them but if a horse is going well in it, then why not use it?? If you want precision in your horse's movements, the bitless bridle isn't going to cut it, a spade or full bridle will. But if you are plunking down the trail with only a rawhide loop around his lower jaw AND you have control, then use it!!

There was a famous trainer, now deceased, Jimmy Williams who was known for outlandish get-ups on his horses...but his horses won! In a class like Open Jumpers, my understanding (and what I can remember of the rulebook...) you can use ANYthing on horsies head as long as you get over the fence in one piece and don't knock a rail down. Mr. Williams was a trainer of a horse who couldn't STAND to have a headstall on but could jump the moon. I can't remember the riders name but she was very good...Suzy Somethingorother, I think. Mr. Williams ascertained that the horse (can't remember his name either!) could use the rawhide indian 'bridle' and that's how the horse was shown by Suzy S......! In that case, you could use any sort of thing on the horse's head.

In other classes, you need either a bosal or ring snaffle or for aged, older horses, you have to use a shank in western shows. But going down the trail, whatever floats your horse's boat! Never mind what others say as long as it fits properly and is in good/great condition with no pain for the horse.

Now, go ride!!

My View On Bits

Use the least amount of bit you can. That about sums it up for me.

Ok, so what DO you use that is the least amount?? It does make a difference if you are a newbie to horses or if you've been forking the old horse for years and 'really' riding (not passengering).

If you are a newbie to horses and their training, just say you're trying your hand at starting a colt. I like the vacquero ways of starting a colt in a bosal then progressing to the ring snaffle and on to the gentle curb.

A newbie is going to need a little stiffer, thicker bosal than say an experienced rider who can feel his horse better and work the reins. Just to give the newbie a little more 'omph' to tell the horse to pay attention. If an old hand gets up there, they can and will use a thinner, more pliable bosal. Generally, as you go along, you can go thinner and lighter with the bosals if you like, even to the point of leaving one on under a bitted headstall. Just as a horse should progress along with his training, the newbie rider should be able to progress with more horses to using a lighter, more flexible bosal.

As an aside, ALWAYS buy the better quality bosal that has a rawhide core and is slightly bendable, never buy the steel cord core. The bosal must be able to bend around the nose to work correctly, not just working on the nose.

About ring snaffles, I AM a ring snaffle girl! If it's a ring snaffle, I probably have it. Everything from uber fancy-schmancy to plain ol' $4.00 job.

I love slip ring snaffles. I think that the rein sets up a vibration that tells the horse something is getting ready to happen, collects himself and away you go. A set ring, like an eggbutt or D ring doesn't have this 'feature'. To me, the newbie rider MAY need to go with a set ring as they are a bit stiffer and may draw the horse up a little quicker, but you don't have the 'feel' that is so important to true riding. I do have offset snaffles and an eggbutt or two but I MUCH prefer the slip ring.

There is a website that tells to look what kind of mouth your horse has and what kind of bit is suitable for that sort of mouth. Like a low palate or thick lips or a deep mouth, etc. I'm in Firefox right now and I have it saved in IE (of course). I'll try to remember to post the link so you can read about the different mouths. My mare doesn't like ANY sort of pressure on her tongue (due to abuse, I'm sure of it) and likes a straighter mouthed snaffle and a medium port curb. I'm kind of ahead of myself but you'll see what I'm talking about in a sec.

About curb bits. I like a sweet iron mouth with copper inlay or a copper mouth. I tend to buy mostly Reinsman bits as they suit me just fine but I do have other brands. You do want the horse to slobber as this shows a wet mouth and a wet mouth can feel things better than say, a dry mouth and using an aluminum mouthed bit, there are a few still out there.

I like a medium shank, like 5-6 inches that I don't have to use a whole lot of rein but not so much shank that I've overbitted the horse. The longer the shank, the lighter your hands HAVE to be. A short shanked curb, you can kind of get away with more pulling than if you had a longer shanked bit. If you pulled too hard with a longer shank bit, you'll likely pull the horse over on you. That's why shorter curbs tend to be colt or started horse type bits.

'Bout those pesky mouthpieces. I'm for simpler the better. A medium and high port bit is about all I need. I don't hold with catherdrals to set a head. If you have to use that, go back and do more training. It's a short cut. I'm not too hot on low ports either, or straight bits as where does the tongue go?? It just gets mooshed down into the lower jaw. A medium port has a place and a high port really gives tongue relief. I've heard/read where people think the high port will hit the palate and create a rub spot. Not in my experience has it but then again, you have to have educated hands on the other end of the reins.

More 'bout' the stupid mouthpieces out there now. I've seen in my tack catalogs some of the downright dumbest bits, supposedly to 'correct' a horse. If you need such bits to correct your horse, YOU are doing something wrong. If he's spoiled and dives to the inside of turns, you need to do more training, not look to a shortcut with a bit. If he won't stop correctly, other than he's built wrong to stop right, you need to go back to basics and teach 'whoa' all over again.

A bit is not the problem solver, it's a communication device from your brain to the horse's mouth/brain. Reins are an extension of your arms clear down to the rein ring, hence to his mouth. IF you need some of these friggin' correction bits, you're aren't doing it right and not a horseman. Get the books down and start studying!!

I'll be more than HAPPY to debate bits with anyone on this subject. It's a pet peeve of mine.

Now, get out there and love on your Sugars today!! ;-)

I've About Had It With The Email...How Many Times Have You Heard THAT??

I have been back-and-forthing with some readers and now can only get to the main page in Yahoo and it won't go any farther. So, that was the last straw and when I get back from horse-time, I'm changing the email to hotmail, as that one always loads for me.

I'm sorry if I missed someone and please try sending again. I don't know if it's my dial-up or what but it's happening in my other yahoo account too. Grrrrr!!! Hotmail, here I come!!

Promised that I would write about bits and I will, just had some family stuff going on.

*Everyone should know that it is not bugging me to ask questions. I'm happy to give my take on whatever you ask. I do give my opinions based on my experience and knowledge and while it's not always the most popular, just my thoughts.*

Which Bit To Use??

Someone asked me about bits and which one would be the best one. I don't have a lot of time right now (the saddle IS calling) but I'll get it together better in my head whilst riding (my best thinking times) and post about what I think are the way to go with bits.

Now, get out there and RIDE... ;-)

Imprinting A Foal...I'm Not A Fan

Of course, I'll tell you why!! :-) I even bought a book that 'splains it very well, tried it on a few foals and watched some folks that swore by it. All in all, I didn't like how the foal turned out.

To me, God put the mare and foal together to let them figure out how to do things. I'm to be on the sidelines with help, if needed, but overall, staying the hell outta the way for the time being. Mommy horse needs to bond with her foal and the foal needs to sort his legs out to get up and moving about. Now, to my mind, why do I have to get right in there and start rubbing??

I once watched a lady put a mule foal to sleep while she was rubbing the upper gums in his mouth. Okay, looks impressive but why do you need to do this??

To me, foals end up too much a 'pocket pony', which I don't like. I like horses, mules, hinnys and zebras to keep their distance from me as I am the Queen of their world and they need to look up to me for their daily sustenance. I had one foal who would rub back on me and then one day when I wasn't looking, the foal reared up at me like I was another teeny-bopper that wanted to play horsie.

My favorite version of foal training is to leave mare and foal alone for the first three days or so to get to know one another. Let the mama horse do her thing. By the way, I'm not even in favor of foaling in a stall, put them in a safely fenced pasture and stand back! I'm there to dunk the stump in iodine and make sure that the gooey birth sack (that is just THE grossest thing!!) and placenta are out of the mare and then I'm outta there for the time being.

I realize some, only SOME, horses are so valuable that they must be monitored but for the general horse population, there isn't a need. It's a human thing to try to control what happens, that's basically it. For a laugh, just think of trying to control Mother Nature...oh, yeah...

To me, the foals that are left to Nature's way come out of it with a 'respect' that an imprinted bratty foal doesn't have. Imprinted foals are left with this idea that they are on a level playing field with me and we're equal. Oh, hell no! They seem to be pushier and swishier tailed than the foal who is left alone.

The non-imprinted foal gets to bond with his dam and she shows him a thing or two on her own. On or about the third day, I may hang a foal halter on the foal just to show him that I AM around but don't leave it. I've seen people hang a halter on a newborn and a lead to drag! Don't do this! Older horses will learn and if they get into trouble, they may pull something but a newborn is more likely to kill themselves.

I don't try teaching all sorts of things at once, like leading and picking up hoofs. Even if I wait till the foal is closer to a month old, I have never had big problems teaching them to do these things. They may be a little stand-offish but they aren't hanging on you like an imprinted foal. I want my horses to be naturally a bit standoffish and to ALWAYS keep an eyeball on me. If he's a little goosier than an imprinted foal, great, so be it. This standoffishness (is that a word?) will translate to later in life when you have a 2 or 3 year old ready to be started and is watching you, gauging you and will be infinitely easier to deal with because he sees you/me as Queen of the Universe again.

An imprinted foal is more likely to think THEY are the Queens/Kings of the joint. So, I guess if you've made it this far in my post, I'm against imprinting a foal.

Now, go hug your horse!! :-)

Flummoxed. People Who've Been Around Horses All Their Lives, But....

Don't know a bloomin' thing about horses. Isn't that the strangest thing you've just about ever heard??

Lately, I've ran across several folks who tell me they rode as a kid and have had horses most of their lives but, as I can attest as I've seen it in the flesh, don't know how to properly saddle a horse or put a bridle together.

When I went to resaddle the mare, I was amazed at the lousy quality of the blanket. Holy cow, I'd have used that blankie for my cowdog when she was having puppies! It was horrible and dirty. The bridle was a hodge-podge with a totally inappropriate bit for a green horse.

But then, when I try to say something, I get defensiveness. Hey, they asked me and I told them. Being non-direct is not in my vocabulary. Plain and straight foreward is my style, as you well know if you've been reading this blog any time at all.

Or the case of a young Arab who needs to meet the vet for an attitude adjustment but the people think he's the bomb and want to breed him....Have they not noticed that there is a glut of ooky horses out there that can't find a home, not to mention some nicer ones too that can't?? Guess not.

These questions are one for the ages and I guess will go on till the end of time. But I'll keep trying to show people the correct way. 'Bout all I can do. *sigh*

Listening Wasn't On My Mare's To-Do List Today

If you ride enough, you'll soon figger out that not every ride is the same as the last ride or even something to gauge future rides by.

I sort of crunched my neck and for a few days, I couldn't ride. So's, today I figgered, since it was gawjus out, now's the time to fork the beastie. Oh, boy, whatta ride I had!

She found more dragons and tasmanian devils to spook at! Her cute little fox-like ears were all over the place, except on me. We had a ride a few days ago where she was 'off' (to put it nicely) and I think she thought she could exploit that and get me to turn around, head to the barn and get put up just THAT much faster.

Well...she was soooo wrong! I rode through it because I felt confident enough to go on. I'm still facing down Bloody Body Syndrome just about every time I ride so I felt like a million bucks when I got back to the barn. Showed her littled spotted ass! That I did!! *hand pump*

The point is, even though she wasn't in the mood to pay much attention to me, we rode through it instead of baling and going back to the barn (like I did the other day). I MADE her listen to me as we went over hill and dale. I only stopped going in any direction when a wheel line was in the way (muddy, which I never ride in) or the grass/alfalfa was so thick I couldn't see where she was putting her delicate little footies. Then I'd turn back.

I'll guarantee you by tomorrow, she will have thought about all this today and will be a better ride manana (a spanish word meaning 'tomorrow' but I don't have the little squiggly thing above the first 'n').

So, instead of doing some sort of voo-doo training scenario that costs bundles of money from a BNTT (big name TV trainer), we got out there and covered some ground and fixed the problem.

Now, THAT'S the way to ride! Yeehaw!! :-)

My Sweet Horse Who Used To Be An Absolute Nut, A True Rescue Tale

She wasn't sold to me as a rescue and little did I know how much rescuing this poor baby would need!

One of the worst attitudes I've ever seen in a horse. But I had seen her bloodlines on her registration papers and she did have a kind eye. I've never had a bad Appaloosa and it never crossed my mind how wacky she could be. I had that horse-trader gut feeling that she was a good horse, never mind I only rode her once before buying her. Just looking at her, I got the gut feeling of 'yup, she's a good'un!'

Then, I got her home...Egads is the nicest I could say.

I've bought and sold absolutely hundreds of horses and thought I knew what I was getting into. But after a couple of months of my mare, I seriously thought I'd lost my eye for buying a good horse, no matter what that good horse was hiding under.

In good faith, I couldn't sell her to anyone knowing that she was a whack job in the head. So, I kept her and we battled it out.

I'm so glad I still own her. She'll be mine till the end of days. Underneath all the "Natural Horsemanship" crap that she was put through, there was/is an absolutely fabulous mare who would almost lie down and die for me. She is the best ride I've had in many a year. I can take her down the trail to any sort of terrain and she trusts me enough to go anywhere I point her noggin. I trust her to tell me that something isn't right and we can't go thataway. Like over an old bridge.

She's not spooky and thoroughly enjoys seeing the sights as much as I do. Even running wheel lines that water the fields don't phase my baby-darling.

Now, don't get me wrong, she has her days but by and large, she's a lambchop. I was sitting on the fence thinking that some day she's going to be so lame from all the injuries she suffered before I bought her, that I have to make sure she is comfortable for the rest of her life. I feed MSM to try to help her get along but the day will come when I have to think what's best for her and let her go. I don't know how I will do it, don't even want to think of it but must plan for it.

The point of this post is, there are horses that by sheer training ignorance (like my mare) they are unintentionally abused and then get viscious and hostile and people just unload them, even though they made the problem. Thankfully I got hold of her, then couldn't sell her in good conscience and we worked through her problems and brought her around to see that I'm the good gal and to trust me.

It takes time and lots of work and heap big plenty of patience and oodles of experience to bring them back from the brink. I'm so proud of her and unless I'm offered a million dollars, she'll never be for sale! Just think how many horses have been ruined and never got the chance to show who they really are. Just think of it!! Way too many.

But in her case, she had the chance, has good blood and someone, sometime in her past did do a really decent job in training her. I just had to dig down and bring it out, so well she had hidden it.

So, if you are having trouble with your horse that you KNOW is good down deep inside, please keep trying and showing the horse how much you need them to be good to you AND to themselves, they will come out of it.

It's soooo worth it!! Now, go ride! :-)

Wet Saddle Blankets Make Better Horses, Riders

*First off, it's bloomin' hot here so I'm in the house trying to cool off!*

Boy, if nothing else, the title will get some people going. I've met so many people in the last few years who really think/believe that it's only training sessions that will 'fix' a horse.

Not so, and I'll tell you why.

When you get out on the trail or even the arena, your horse is working off energy (hopefully you aren't intimidated enough to keep him from working off energy). He goes forward, using his engine (his buns) to propel him and you. After a while, you should see a little bit of sweat in the triangle of his neck (the part of his neck in front of his shoulder where it dips inward a little bit, sort of looks triangular) and then he's close to starting to listen to you.

Even if you aren't a good rider and do things 'wrong', the longer you stay in the saddle, even going down the road, eventually you ARE going to HAVE to straighten up your back and get your legs into the correct position. If you go up and down hills, you'll figger out ON YOUR OWN that going downhill is better if you sit back but not so hard as to feel like you're pushing his middle down. If you go uphill, you'll soon realize (your horse may even tell you forcefully) that sitting forward and grabbing a bit of mane is the way to go, not just sit there like a lump on a log in the saddle.

It's better if you do have an instructor to show you the way but if you don't, if you have any sense of horsesense, then you should be able to follow and figger it out that some things don't work. Books that show the correct way are better than nothing and you can figger out the correct way.

So, by extension, if you start doing better in the saddle, your horse is happier too. If he's not and would rather be back at the barn, he'll get over it, you're the pilot. But if he's barn sour and insists forcefully on turning back to the barn, you'll have to become a rider (not a passenger) and show him the error of his ways. If he's a jigger, you'll have to figger out how to sit in the saddle and use your center of gravity and a little bit of rein (soft hands) to show him that walk is what you want. It won't come easy but you'll learn it can be done without an expensive trainer.

Even a horse that wants to pitch and have a hissy fit can be ridden and shown that he can have all the fits in the world, might as well get down to work and to knock off the shenanigans.

My old fashioned ways aren't popular right now but miles and wet saddle blankets are the way to go for fixing most major problems. Now, you might ask, are there any horse problems that CAN'T be fixed by doing so? Yep, there are in my book. Rearing is one that I do not deal with. A horse that rears to evade is gone from my barn on the next hot horse trailer out of my property. I'm talking about the real rear that Roy Rogers used to do only the horse means it to scare you...which it does me. I'm not real fond of runaway horses either. I now have plenty of fields that if a horse wants to runaway, he's going to run till he can't stand BUT I'm not strong enough, nor brave enough anymore to deal with this. He'd be gone too. (As an aside, I once had a mare who would take off without notice and she ran for a good mile before slowing, when she started to slow, I made her go and go and go till she couldn't go anymore. She never ran away again however, I was 35 years younger and had lots of cotton fields to do so.)

So for the basic horse and rider combos, just getting out and riding the trails over anything you can find, is the way to really learn to ride and be a part of the horse...and the horse is part of you. You have to come together in situations like this. No two ways around it.

Now, get out and ride!!

Promise, I Will Post Something Soon

I've been riding my socks off (my mare's sorta stockings on her back legs are now almost down to socks!) and have plenty to say but life gets in the way.

Please look for posts later today, as again, I have a lot to post about!! :-)

Frickin' Hot, Too Hot

It's way to hot here today. When I went out to feed and water my horse, she stood there kind of dull-eyed. Worried me a little bit but now I'm sure it's the heat. She was eating well and took a good slurp of water and isn't drawn in the gut, so I'm pretty sure she's fine. Just freakin' hot.

I now water her in a smaller bucket thing rather than the 1000 gallon tank. This way I can KNOW she is drinking water and getting fresh too when I fill it. Have her salt block out there, which makes me feel better.

Seriously, I can do without this heat.... Thumbs down from me.

Salt Blocks Are A Must

In this hot weather, it stands to reason that your horse is going to sweat just walking down the trail. To keep things functioning as they should, put a salt block out free choice.

This is only a reminder! A big plus is you might get a nicely shaped block that you could enter in an art show... :-)

Up The Feed A Little Bit

This post is pretty short and sweet. :-)

After your horse has been standing around doing nothing much and you start riding, you can up his feed about 1/2 cup for the days you ride. If he starts to look a bit too thin, then you can still up his feed. I guess I should say this is for trail riding. If you are going into harder, tougher riding, like competitions, then you will really have to adjust his feed.

There isn't any excuse for a horse to look or be too thin while being ridden. He may start to trim up a bit, (don't we all when we start to walk regularly?) but I mean getting THIN.

As I posted before, get to know your horse and what he's supposed to look like and then keep him there.

Learn To Read Your Horse

Went out to ride this morning and from the get-go, I knew something was wrong with my mare. She wasn't acting right. Not that she was ill but her behavior was flat off. I knew it must be really bad when she turned her butt to me and backed her ears. She hasn't done that since right after I bought her. In case no one remembers, this mare was uber-spoiled and she fairly steamrolled the previous owners into submitting to HER...which doesn't work with me.

Anyway, I reminded her abruptly that that won't fly and she straightened up. I saddled her but she was still 'off'. Normally, I step aboard and head out, not much warming up going on. I feel like she can warm up walking down a trail as well as walking around the pen. But it felt like there wasn't anything on the end of my reins or under my saddle. Kind of like if you're driving a car and the steering wheel has too much play in it, something akin to that.

So, today, we went around a few times to work the kinks out. She settled a teeny bit and I opened the gates (yep, while aboard and there are two gates to the outside world) and away we went. We probably got a whopping tenth of a mile down into the fields and she did this twisty, head in my face, hoppy toad thing with a snort that she's never done before. Somewhere in the recesses of my mind, I KNEW to take her back. So, I arc-ed around and we walked back, sort of under control.

Went back to the pen and we went around and around and figure 8'ed and stopped and side-passed and all the while, she wasn't even there in her mind. I don't know where she was but it wasn't with me this morning. She phoned the ride in is what she did.

Basically, it wasn't a good ride at all. I wished for the thousandth time that I had bought a gelding. Geldings, to me, are just happy to be alive while mares can be drama queens. I don't know what her problem was but it went downhill from the time I got to the barn.

Not wanting an emergency room bill, I did enough with her to give her a chance to do things right and then quit her. Back in the day, I would have ridden through it in the fields but I don't do that anymore.

After I stepped off, I tied her up and let her stand with the saddle just barely loosened. After I drank some coffee and perused a tack catalog, I unsaddled and braced her then let her go.

Even when I threw her hay, she was 'off' in the way she charged the fence, which she never really does. I growled at her and she stood back. Then I talked to her, asking her what was wrong and to tell me.

The point to this long-winded post is that you have to learn to read a horse and know when to go ahead (like on out to the fields for a long ride) and when to back off, unsaddle and call it a day. Not every horse is going to act the same all the time, especially higher wired mares, like mine. There will be days when your plans are shot to hell and you have to sigh and give it up and work with your horse. Sometimes you need to spank him to get him going right, know when he's challenging you too. Not a one-size fits all sort of training/riding deal. I believe I avoided what could have been a really bad accident for one of us, if not both. This is part of the deal where you have to get to know your hoss and know what is wrong/off and then deal with it. Or make him go even if he doesn't want to.

Hopefully, tomorrow will be better. I damn sure hope so. *sigh*

So Much To Write About!! Also, Email Problem...*sigh*

I am so behind in all my writings!! Hang in there and I'll get caught up.

Don't know what the deal is with yahoo but if there is much more in the way of problems, I may change the email for this blog to hotmail. If you've emailed me, I'm appologize, I can't get into it. I even have trouble with my other yahoo emails...getting mighty tired of this... Grrrrr!!!

Only Buy Quality Equipment, Especially Bits

I have not a problem one with paying close to $100 for a bit. Usually I buy Reinsman and if I hit it right, the tack store is having a 20% off sale of their bits...

When it comes to dealing with horses, it pays to buy the good stuff. Don't $kimp on reins and headstalls and especially bits.

As for saddles, I only ride quality saddles, name brand. Usually I'm astride a Billy Cook or similar. I have $100 saddle pads.

About the only stuff I skimp on is buckets, which I can get at the dollar store or shampoos for my baby-cakes. Almost all my halters are hand-tied rope halters and even then, there is a difference in a quality hand tied one and one that is cheaper. I can't tell you the rope halters I've retied to fit my horse better. What's with this short noseband part of the halter?? Geez.

Anyway, this is a reminder, when it comes to your horse, buying quality will last you forever and almost guarantee comfort for your horse. It'll be cheaper in the long run.

Get out there and hug your horse!

NO Tying With The Reins And Drag Lines

http://medford.craigslist.org/grd/1239008178.html

I think this mare is tied with the reins, looks like it. Anyway, this is a big, big no-no. Never tie your horse with the reins. If you MUST tie, like in an emergency, your horse should be trained enough to stay put with looping the reins over whatever is serving as a hitching post.

The reason you don't tie with reins is because is if he should set back (which he should never do but he is a horse after all), if you do have quality reins (which you should have) he can really injure his bars (where the bit sits in his mouth, no teeth for a short stretch of jaw), not to mention scare the living snot outta him.

If your reins are the type to snap quickly, well, you shouldn't have been using them in the first place, they were tooooo cheap.

A lot of times, at especially rodeos, you'll see horses lined up on the fence tied up with their reins. That's fine as those horses aren't tied hard and tight. If they were to pull back, the little baling wire they were probably tied with, will bend, reins come loose and the horse walks free.

THEN he should be broke to dealing with loose reins. He steps on them and he should NOT panic and throw up his head and snap your good reins (those suckers are expensive!!). If he does this, he's a knothead and you better get on with teaching him to not do this. Your fault for not teaching him.

Put a short drag line on him on his halter while he's in his corral. About 6 ft. will do. I know some people like longer and some like shorter. I'm a '6-footer'. Let him loose to walk around. He steps on the line and throws his head up and pops himself in the nose. Nothing happens. He might panic a moment but if you don't react and stand there. Let him figger out in his little mind that he won't get hurt. You won't be popular with your horse for a little bit but this is something every horse must know.

Let the line get around his legs and stepped on. If he has any sense at all, he'll figger out pretty damn quick that it's nothing. If he doesn't figger it out quickly, maybe you need to find another horse to hang your halter on!!

So, back to the original point, don't tie hard and tight with reins and have your horse trained to deal with accidently loose reins so he doesn't hurt his mouth.

Now, go ride. :-)

Keep Salt Available

Everyone should know that when you sweat, you're losing electrolytes and all that medical stuff. Anywho, be sure to have a salt lick out for at will licking. I mean for the horse although you could use it in a pinch, I suppose...

I like sulphur blocks but it seems that a lot of horses nowadays don't like them. There are mineral blocks but make sure you get the one for horses and not beef cattle. The difference is urea and while I can't remember offhand why it's bad for a horse, it just isn't, so be careful.

You can buy holder things that look like a partial plastic box. These are handy if it rains as the water runs on through and keeps the block off the ground and melting too fast. I had a block one time that lasted about a whopping 1 1/2 weeks or so.

Table salt can be added but I've found that horses don't eat all of it as it's grains are too small so let the horse have at freestyle.

'Bracing' Your Horse

I have found a better way to brace your baby. Walmart sells cheap spray bottles for a whopping $.97 and you can mix up a little linamint and water to spray on your horse's back and loin. You can also add a smidge of witch hazel if you're a mind to.

Seems to me better to spray a mist onto her back and loin and lightly massage in, not to totally dry (you'd be there all day) but to make sure it's getting down to the skin. Even spray on the cannons and tendons but I like full strength for down there and then fairly vigorous massaging.

Of course, the upshot is the minute you turn your lambchop loose, she's gonna lie down and roll, getting nice and icky but happy as a clam. That's what's important now, isn't it??

Bigeloil Makes A Lovely Perfume

The title says it all, doesn't it??

Okay, my lovey-dovey mare seems to be fine today but since I'M a little sore from yesterday's ride, I thought I'd rub her down with some diluted linamint. One of my faves is Bigeloil or Absorbine.

I made a body brace of the Bigeloil and sprayed it on my dumplings back and loin. Only a little as I didn't want to overdo it. Rubbed her cannons and tendons pretty good too.

Anywho, I now have a wonderfully good smell about me. I walked up to the house and my hubby wanted to know 'what's that smell'? Silly man, he should have KNOWN.

Being a bit silly about this but my point is that sometimes a bit of linamint will be the ticket between riding tomorrow or not. Gotta take care of your baby.

What Happened To My Posts??

For some reason, when I tried to log on, I got my posts from clear back the first of June. Scared me, I thought I'd lost them all.

So, if that happened, please click on the link again and hopefully the current page will come up. I think I better get busy backing up my writings!! I sure don't want to lose them!

Stretch That Achilles Tendon!!

A good rider always keeps her heels down or at least level with her toes while the foot is in the stirrup. None of this heels high stuff goin' on! Maybe I should do a brush up on good horsemanship for a few posts but while I'm on the subject, I'm gonna let fly.

You only put the ball of your foot into the stirrup and then the heel is level or a tad lower than your toes. You don't want to push your heel too far down because, depending on the barrel of the horse and how long/short your legs are, you can push your lower leg out, away from the horse or even get east/west toes (pointing opposite directions).

So, the first thing is how to get the stretched out, elongated achilles tendons? The best way is by riding, of course, but since most of us don't spend all day in the saddle, here's how I have done so in the past. Use your common sense on this. If it hurts too badly, don't do it. Don't force yourself into contortions to do this. Be sensible about this.

Take a 2x4 post and lay it on the ground. Holding onto a chair or the hitching rail, put the ball of your foot or if you can't, your toes on the edge of the post. Slowly and gently ease your heels down to the ground. If you can do it all the way, great, if you can only go half an inch, that's fine too. The point is to stretch that tendon (I'm tired of spelling out achilles, ok?) so while in the saddle, it's almost natural for your heel to stay down without much thought. While on the post, you have to bend your knees a little bit and stay balanced or you'll go ass over teakettle. Oh, yeah, do this on the ground, NOT on something hard, like concrete...remember, use common sense! :-)

This way, you have to streeeetch that tendon AND work on your balance! A two-fer!! Plus a 2x4 is cheap and you didn't have to spend $100 for a signature post from a BNTT...*snork*...

Now the only thing I've really noticed is that for western, balancing on the post puts your a bit out of whack. Your heels will be a bit too far back but still, working on balance and the stretching will be great for you. Pretty soon, you can do this without holding on to something. I stretch even while walking up steps to my tack room. Anywhere you can find to stand on the balls of your feet and let your heels down.

The next day or so, you'll feel it, oh, yes, you'll feel it and that's good. That means you're doin' it right! Keep at it and don't ever give up. As long as you ride horses, you'll need the stretched tendon.

Now, after stretching, go ride. :-)

The Smell Of New Mown Alfalfa

Haying is in full swing and the sweet smell of alfalfa is in the air. There just isn't much better, maybe Honeysuckle, but not by much.

I love the smell. It's the best. :-)

Check Your Tack

Now that I'm in full mode riding, I went for a great ride this morning. On returning, I pulled the bridle off and noticed that the browband had not quite rubbed a spot on my mare's head. More like a pressure spot. I'd never seen that rubbing before so I checked my bridle.

Turns out, my browband is pretty freakin' fancy (lots of braided rawhide as it's buckeroo) and where it's sewn into the loop part that goes on the crownpiece, it's quite a bit thicker. That caused the rub.

Now, why would it rub this time and never before?? Welp, this is a fairly new headstall and today my mare and I went a LOT farther than ever before and she did more sweating than before. The stars aligned and there was the pressure spot.

So, I got home and checked my other headstalls and found one with a thinner browband. I'll change her bit to that headstall for longer distances.

Moral of the story is to always check your tack, no matter what type of riding you're doing. Might save you and your horse in the long run.

Ride on!!

Facing Down 'Bloody Body' Syndrome

First off, does everyone know what BBS is?? A scientific explanation as designed by me is when you know you can get seriously hurt (very bloody and broken) in some event because you HAVE been hurt (very bloody and broken) in that event in the near and distant past. Your mind preys on you and brings up all sorts of 'what ifs' and overtakes your very being. Then, to lump in your age (I'm over 50 and not going to tell how much over) and your declining equilibrium, well, bad thoughts start to happen.

So, now that our move is over and done and things are settled, the frickin' rain has stopped, I was ready to start some serious riding. Now, I'm a member of the Appaloosa Horse Association and they offer a Trail and Distance Riding thingamajig. I was a member over a year ago but due to my job, never got to get very far, plus my crabby mare had a really bad absess, so nothing much happened.

Welp, I rejoined today. Woo-hoo!! This morning I saddled up my spotted crank and rode for a bit. I'm telling ya, I did have some thoughts while saddling. Oh, 'what if, what if, what if' till I drove myself nuts. What is I can't reach the phone, what if I get knocked out (that has happened several times over the years), what if I knock some teeth out, etc.

Finally, it was like, "Oh, cowgirl up and get on the friggin' horse!"...and I did. We had a great ride and the feeling afterward was a rush! Since it had been about 3 weeks since I rode (or feels that way) I didn't go far this morning but tomorrow, I am heading a bit farther out. Even my mare was wanting to go on, not back to the barn!! She seemed to want to head down the two-track trail.

So, by facing down my irrational fears, I had a great time this morning plus I can now win things from the App club for forking my darlin'.

I feel extra good because I faced down a major fear. Almost nothing like it!!

Now, you guys get out there and ride!!

An Experiment...Sort Of Ignore This Part

Nope, didn't work. I'm trying to link to an article about hoof abscesses. Something didn't work right...so....I'll keep trying. Sorry, if this is boring, I appologize but I'm trying to make this a better blog so please excuse the construction. :-)

*sigh* Now it says that the site I linked to, doesn't exist. Now, how can that be?? I have it open in it's own window. Getting frustrated but I'll keep trying.

L'arnin' Them Bloggin' Rules

Yep, I'm reading the book, 'Blogging For Dummies' and it's great. Of all the blog services out there, by sheer, dumb luck I picked the best one to start out on, to learn on.

This book has answered oodles of questions that I had and I'm going to experiment a bit and then present the finished, better blog...I freakin' hope...

So, hang in there with me. I really appreciate my readers!

Buying Clean Feed

This is something that I've been meaning to post for the longest time...and then forget to do so. But, today, I'm on top of things and was reminded to post this when I went out to feed.

Normally, I buy very clean, steamed, rolled barley for my mare's grain. I only feed enough to get her vitamins down her, not really for nutritional purposes. She gets about a pint of grain twice a day.

This last bag I bought of barley has a LOT of chaff in it. When I bought it, I didn't think to ask for triple cleaned grain and got this stuff instead. I kind of wondered, in an off-hand way, why the bag was so cheap, er, inexpensive and now I know why.

Since I've opened it, I don't know if the feed store will take it back, I thought well, I better figger out a way to clean the grain up. Simple, really. All you have to do is when you scoop the feed in the scooper, pour it out slightly higher than normal into your bucket while standing in a bit of a wind. The wind blows the chaff away and the grains fall down into the bucket. Do this several times and you'll have pretty clean feed, not perfect but better than chaff-y feed. By the way, do this before you throw feed into your horses' feed bucket, do it outside somewhere.

Next time, I'll be sure to ask for the right grain... :-)

This Is Butt High, An Explanation

http://medford.craigslist.org/grd/1230457996.html

Here is a yearling filly who is starting her awkward, gawky stage and a perfect example of her buns being way higher than her withers. Her hoofies seem to be pretty level, even her back may be a scoche lower than her front and still her rear end is higher. Now her withers aren't really developed yet so it gives an impression of lower even than it is.

She's just a gawky girl, bless her bones! But all horses go through this. As she progresses through her second year, her front end and rear end will change heights pretty quick and you can see the difference in even as few as three days. But they don't seem to grow at the same time, it's like a ruler that one end is higher and then the other end is higher and so forth.

Since she's a Quarter Horse, she should pretty well level out when she matures. Her neck looks like it's jammed on instead of set on, this is normal too. Her neck is thin, that's normal. The thing I really don't like is the second pic that looks like she's looking around with her ears instead of her nose. I like 'em when the look at something with their nose sticking out first, that's what you see first instead of seeing eyes and ears first. Even from this angle, I think her head could be set on a bit better.

But this is a case of bloodlines. I wasn't going to check Allbreed but, in the end, I had to know, yep, I was right, she's a Hancock horse. So she's bred to work her buns off for you, not look purty and charm the socks off anyone. She'll be a working fool. So, for this, you can cut her slack on the weird way she's standing, especially that back near hock and the off-side leg.

All in all, I'll betcha she'll be a nice little horse someday. Thumbs up from me!

My Traditional Views Are Being Heeded! *Gasp!*

Sump'in is in the air. I'm actually being asked, yes, ASKED for advice by newbie or fairly new horse owners for help with their horsemanship and their horse. The old *'N'atural 'H'orsemanship* stuff isn't working out so well, it seems, and several have asked me to help them straighten out their little Triggers with my 'back in the day' horsemanship ideas. (Remember, I think there is a BIG dif between 'Natural Hor$eman$hip' and natural horsemanship.)

Can. You. Believe??

A couple are seriously overmounted and I am going to have to lay it on the line about their horse. They thought they could buy almost any horse and using love and understanding, get their horse to love and understand them right back...only to get semi-seriously hurt and look for help elsewhere.

As far as I know, they don't read or even know about this blog so it's not like they sussed me out and then were looking for advice/help. This is me talking to my neighbors and friends and people found me.

I'm actually kind of thrilled. At my age, I'm not too much on retraining a spoiled horse (bloody body syndrome comes to mind rather quickly) but I can sure give lessons again and be a help to someone that really wants a good horse.

As I stated in a recent post, it seems that the classical/traditional training is coming back into play and becoming popular again. Well, it may be too soon for 'popular' but it's curving back my way.

Okie dokie, just had to brag a little bit. If anything comes of this, I'll report on it, good or bad, my way or not. If nothing else, hopefully it'll be interesting reading!

Now, go ride!

Up For 'Worst Ad' Prize

http://medford.craigslist.org/grd/1230330322.html

Honestly, I should start giving out awards for 'worst ad'. First off, what the hell is a 'fole'?? Really, that's the first time in my whole life I've seen it spelled like that. Hey, goofball owner, check the dictionary perhaps??

Ain't these jes' the best pictures you've EVER seen of a horse, stud horse no less?? Check out those front legs!!

Of course, my personal pet peeve, say it with me, grammar and punctuation.

Yeah, boy...we have a winner.... A top-tenner for sure!

Do You Know This Almost Geezerette?

http://medford.craigslist.org/grd/1228617888.html

I don't know these people but the ad got me 'right here'. If you know anything about this old lady (I mean the horse...), please get in touch with the poster and maybe there will be a happy ending.

Sure hope so!!

Feeding For Bad Weather

This is kind of obvious, to me, but it dawned on me that in this day and age of, seems like, most people boarding their horses, they may not know this.

A horse's gut is their internal heating element. When they have hay in their gut, it's humming right along and the horse can 'weather' bad weather a lot better than if they don't have much in there.

Now, I've heard both sides of this argument. One side, that I agree with, says that a full gut is good for horsie-warmth and the other side says that it's not so.

From my personal experience, the full gut is the way to go. Not just for warmth for the horse but to keep all systems in check and good running order. In bad, inclement weather, if you keep hay in front of your sweetheart (I mean the horse, not your spouse) you can even do away with using blanket for his protection. If he's in good shape beforehand with enough fat reserves, he will do just fine in cold or cold/wet or wet weather with lots of roughage and plenty of fatty deposits.

If you see your horse is slightly shivering in bad weather, then throw a blanket on for a little bit and throw a lot of hay (roughage) and in no time flat, he'll be right as rain (a play on words there, did you catch that??). Take the blanket off and leave it off after that. That's what I do.

I don't get it when I see thin horses over the top standing out in the cold rain and they look like they dropped in from Ethiopia but there is a nice warm, dry house next to the horse pens. To me, get the owner's ass out there and throw some hay!!

It's all the better if your babykins has a good pasture. He can stand out there all day and night in the ooky rain and come out none the worse for wear. He's had plenty of fuel to stoke the engine and keep him going. He doesn't need to hide behind a barn, his fat is his protection.

Don't remember why some article said that it's not the gut that warms the horse but it didn't make sense to me, not from a practical, personal viewpoint.

Get out there and kiss your horse!!

I'm Really Torn On This One

http://medford.craigslist.org/grd/1228420331.html

If nothing else, my posting this might give someone an idea that they need something from this grab-bag of goodies and help the little dog...

However, after I thought about it a little bit, I had to go back to the ad several times to look at it, I can't help but think that maybe this is a sort of way of selling by guilt association. It's almost like the 'the kill trailer is coming so buy a horse quick!' sort of deal.

Whatever may be the true reason for selling the tack, the little doggy is a cute one, alright. This is where I'm going to veer off track a minute. To my mind, if she was rescued and has many health problems, I think I would have put her to sleep and saved her any more pain and hurt. What a cute little pic, sure tugs at my heartstrings, that's for sure.

But you have to think at what cost of saving a poor, sweet little (or big animal, like a horse) that it's going to cost you. In this case, the poster says he/she needs to sell stuff to pay the vet bill. At the very worst, like I said above, you get people wanting to help the puppy who will buy stuff and the poster unloads all the tack that they couldn't before.

At best, you have true altruism (is that the word I want? Too early in the morning...) of someone who is willing to lose it all to help a downtrodden cutie-pie.

At any rate, if you can use this posted stuff, give them a call or email if you see something you can REALLY use.

Putting Weight On A Pasture Horse

Every time I go to town, I pass by a horse in a pasture. A pasture is that the grass is up to his knees and he always has his head bogged right down in the grass, not coming up for air a bit.

However, he's a little on the thin side and I don't quite get that. The first thing I think of is a good worming but he seems to be pretty slick and not pot-bellied a bit. Still a good worming wouldn't hurt.

Since I see him in this little pasture every time, I wonder if the owners ever take him in for proper feeding. He may be a geezer gelding for all I know but, in my experience, that's not a reason for him to be thin. He seems to be, maybe, a TB or TB cross but that's still not a reason. I don't think he's being worked a bit, just holding the pasture down and keeping it mowed.

So, what's the deal on him then? I would say do a blood panel and find out if everything is normal. Take him in for breakfast and supper and put oats in front of him along with alfalfa and a good supplement for weight building. Check his teeth but don't get carried away (more on this later). Take all stress off of him. After doing these simple things, he should start gaining weight where you notice it in less than a week-ish.

I can't tell the number of horses I've seen over the years where someone said their horse wouldn't gain weight, only to sell the horse to someone else who plumps that sucker right up. It's a matter of finding the right combo and then DOING it, following through. Not only saying that 'he's been like that for years and won't gain weight'. Not true. If some combo of feed doesn't work, then go to the next thing but something will work. Only if he's so debilitated by something, then he won't but it'd have to be pretty big to keep him from gaining.

This has been bugging me for a while and now it's off my chest... :-) Now, go ride your horse!

Old Vs. New

Oh, boy... You know how I've been harping on the 'old ways'?? Welp, it seems that some think that the old ways are to be dismissed and even *slightly* dissed. Not totally dismissed but with a peer-down-the-nose sort of dissed, if that explains it. To tell the truth, I'm a little, teensy bit teed off about it.

Let me explain it again... I'm from the old school when it comes to horses and life in general. I have tried many, MANY of the new ways only to find out that the older, settled, traditional, classical ways are much better and less stressful on me and my horse(s). I'm not touting the old ways just to be a pain in the ass, I truly believe and have seen firsthand that a lot of the old ways are far superior to the fluff that now passes for horse training and knowledge.

Take as an example, and the reason for this got started on a horse board, the subject of conformation. Let me be really clear on this...good conformation is a must if you are to show your horse. You are judged on how your horse is put together and if it comes down to you and someone else, everything being equal and you have the nicer horse, you're going to win the class. The whole point of showing in my book. The show-conformation angle is not quite new but I used to show when confo didn't much count so, show-confo to me, is one of the 'newer' things.

However, for a saddle horse of whatever discipline, good confo is great but he doesn't have to be perfection horsified. If his legs aren't quite straight, he MIGHT have a bigger chance of going lame and then again, depending on external factors, he might not. You have to look at his bloodlines (certain bloodlines are known for unsoundness but they look great), what he's been fed from the very beginning in his dam's womb, where he's been kept and a really important one is, who is your farrier. A bad farrier can make a good horse travel bad and cripple themselves. My mare scalps big time and her legs are clean as a whistle. Not a knock on them and she's now 14 years old.

My version is more the old fashioned way, looking at the whole pie instead of one pie slice, the paragraph above.

I've noticed on the TV trainers (see other posts) that they are trending back to traditional training instead of 'carrot sticks' and cradle bridles (you can just imagine what I think of those...). Ol' Clinton A uses a lot of Kel Jeffrey's techniques that are on youtube. Mr. Jeffreys videos are from the 1950's, that I've seen anyway. I've written of McNabb too. I likey his way of starting a colt, short and sweet and to the point. No fiddling around asking Snookums if he feels like working today. Chris Cox is very good but he's over a lot of people's heads but right up my alley. There are some others I like and they are more the traditional types and produce good, sound horses that last for decades. Not cripples either.

So, this is what I'm talking about when I get bent out of shape over the 'new' stuff. It's fine and great to know the 'new' stuff but any well rounded horseman/woman should know classical/traditional too and be able to use tools from the older-knowledge toolbox.

Okay, I think I'm about over my teed-offness. :-) Hope this explains it better.

You'll Be Happy To Know

I got the book, "Blogging For Dummies" and hopefully, it will help me be a better blogger. I glanced through it today and I think it's gonna help me...and you, my dear reader, in the long run.

What could be better, now I ask you??

Okay, 'nuf about my learning curve jitters, let's get on to some meaty posts, shall we?? Read on... :-)

How About Learning Basic Grammar And Punctuation??

http://medford.craigslist.org/grd/1218351759.html

and...

http://medford.craigslist.org/grd/1218353186.html

and...

http://medford.craigslist.org/grd/1218343406.html

and...

http://medford.craigslist.org/grd/1218343406.html

These are the ones that I found at one glance!! I wonder how many more there up there that I missed??

Honestly, these types of ads drive me nuts. It's really hard to suss out what they are saying. Where does that pesky period fit in AND is it really that hard to capitalize the first letter of each sentence?? Or to capitalize "I"??

Before anyone says anything, I do make mistakes on here but my boo-boos are nowhere NEAR the cluster**** these ads show. I've almost gotten to the point of when I happen upon an ad that is nearly indecipherable, I click it off and go to the next one. Our education system in this country has it's problems but if you paid attention just a little bit in school, you'd know these things. It's basic stuff! Don't give me any ADD or OCD or whatever crap either. This basic stuff can be learned, no matter the learning disability. I have dealt with learning disabilities and too often, they are used as an excuse to not learn or as a crutch. Not happening on this watch!

So, I'm making an offer. If someone wants their ads proofread, I will be happy to read them, correct any mistakes and send them back through email. I've done proofreading in the past for newspapers and novelists and never spilled a word about the subject. I don't care what the subject is except I will not do anything that is porn related...and I will be the judge of iffy content. I'm not going to charge for this, will do it to help people out. If you'd like some help, send me an email to horseinfoperson@yahoo.com, I'll do what I can and send it back with no copy kept of my own. I guess I should say, if I get some emails that seem a bit tooooo silly, like a joke on me or the iffy content, then I won't do them. I am serious about helping people and don't need numbnuts clogging up the channels.

Welp, I'm way off subject but this is something that drives me crazy! No excuse now, is there? :-)