Horse Lovers Group: Messages by lovesgelding

Hi to you all. Weather is beautiful in Michigan again today. in the 70's which is perfect, for me, to ride and so I will do so today. I have a question. Zak, my 7year old gleding is barefoot and has been for a few years. I give him hoove supplements, Focus, feed him Stragegy grain, not over done and good mixture of hay. His hooves seem to be very tender. I think I have been in denial, or I have been riding him more than I ever did, some in the arena, soft sand and some trail, which is a little hilly and like virgin woods, not kept up very natural, but not rocky. It seems when he hits the gravel on the road outside the barn he is very tender, and also on cement. He trips now and again, which kinda freaks me out,thinking if we are on a hill he may trip and really fall. So I ride kinda anticipating trips, not good. I feel for him and his feet. After much contemplation, I have decided to get him shoed, only the front, and see if this will help him. I really do not like to put shoes on him, but I do not want him huring either. Just wanted some advise, maybe some of you have had a similar experience. Oh yes, I did have him x-rayed last year for navicular disease, but thank God it was neg. turned out he was being trimmed wrong,poor guy. Have a wonderful farrier now who is very caring and has strenghtened out the trimming mishaps anyway. Please respond, I hope I am on the right track. I trust my farrier but feel the need more imput based on previous experiences.

Thanks,
Pat,
lovesgeldings

Happy birthday to you, happy birthday to you, happy birthday dear Jo, happy birthday to you.

Best,
Pat

Hi all. I have been having trouble with Zak and his bit. This is a relatively new problem and I just really discovered what he was actually doing with his bit. I asked one of the ladies at the stable to check to see if Zak's bit was in his mouth correctly, like I did not have the bridle up too high where the bit would be too far back in his mouth,or dropped too low. Well it turned out that Zak was pulling his tongue back so that the bit was resting on the floor of his mouth and his tongue resting over the bit and then he would readjust it with the tongue over, and back and forth it goes. I hear that is a dangerous position, like now control, well I have ridden him on the trails and such, noticed he was dancing a lot and dropping and like yawning stretching his mouth on the way home. I was feeling sorry for him thinking something was really wrong. Had his mouth check, teeth good. I went back to the mullen bit from a curb bit yesterday and he seems to be playing with it less. Anyway, I was hoping someone would have some in put on this situation. I did get some advice to get a strap that goes around his mouth to keep it closed, but geeze, that thought bothers me, like wouldn't he get a little claustraphopic?spelling. Any suggestions? He does not like snaffle bits, anything broken or that moves really makes him play way too much, he tosses his head and acts up, that is the reason I went to a curb bit, very low port, now with the Mullen he is still playing with it, I am just afraid that he will hurt himself or me, with his tongue over the bit. Please help. Thanks,

Pat

Just wanted to welcome all the new members. I thinkyou will find this site full of caring and good folks.

Pat

Hi folks: Man, oh man, went on a long ride trail ride yesterday with niece and 5 other gals. What a wild ride, but the most fun I have had in a while. Zak was so full of himself. All he wanted to do was canter, and as you know my story, I had been trying to get him to canter all winter in the arena so I could learn how to ride it in a secure environment, but he would have none of that. Now that we are out it is all he wants to do, so I am learning to handle it. He took off yesterday from a walk to a canter with some mild bucking. Being the novice I am, I thought he was tripping over his feet or something, but my audience said no he was bucking. Well it all turned out ok, I mean I rode it out and finally came to my senses and my mind started working; dis engage the hide quarters and this really works in stopping and slowing down the horse, I was just reminded of this by you folks yesterday on this site :) thank you very much. Zak kept wanting to go into a canter, so I had to ride with pressure on the reins which I do not like to do, I am afraid that I will hurt his mouth. If anyone has any suggestions on how to keep in a low key, I mean he is always riding the bit. He will be just 7 so I know he is young and full of energy, but he was never like this before, as a matter of fact he was always lagging behind and we had to trot to catch up. In the arena I can keep in a nice jog for quite a while, but outside he is a totally different horse, no jogging or trotting, walk or canter, lol lol lol. I am very glad because I guess he is really feeling good, I mean I had trouble with his feet for a while but I guess those problems are gone, lol lol.

Another question? There are some hilly areas on the trail, Zak likes to trot or canter up the hills, and I have to really caution him to walk down, The quick stride up is ok, but I really want him to walk down. I guess I have my work cut out for me, all trial and error I guess. Hope to go out today but for a shorter time today, my body is a little sore for yesterday and Zak's antics ha ha.
I hope this is all spring fever and he will calm down. Oh yes,I was wondering, maybe he does not like horses behind him????? On our last ride, which was much shorter though, there were no horses following,he was last and did not seem to be as high strung? Could this condition influence his behavior? Looking forward to your comments and help, AGAIN,

Thanks again, and my best to you all,

Pat

hey barb: I am a senior and a novice rider, first horse at 67 and beginner rider. Was full of fear at first, but worked through it, now I am enjoying the heck out of my 6 1/2 year old gelding, well Zak will be 7 next month. I have finally learned to relax and have fun with it, I do not linger on the hazards involved, just get on him and go. Trust him and myself. Love it and it is a childhood dream come true. In this case time has been my friend. I really stay in the moment as much as I can.

Hope you have fun and enjoy)

Pat

Just wanted to wish all you folks a Happy Day.

You folks are grand :) really. I thought I was just sooo out of shape, I am I guess, I mean I am not as fit as a 20 year old, darn it lol lol lol. It is good to hear that many of us have the same problem and I am not alone. I usually use a mounting block when I mount, I do realize the strain on his back, I am careful about that. So,as was stated when on the trails look for a downed log or incline where I can line him up accordingly. Thanks again, but I will try all suggestions, Jon you have helped alot, I will try your directions of facing his rear and springing up. I really think that is where a lot of my problem is, is in the springing. I just feel awkward. I rode bareback last evening in the arena for the first time ever. It was soooo wonderful what an uplifting experience. Of course we just walked around the arena but it was GREAT. Horses are so expressive, as I was standing on the mounting block doing my usual awkward movements when starting something new, he just turned his head and looked at me, like what the he-- are you going to do to me now. Well, I laughed so hard,I almost fell off, his expression was so funny, laughing as I am writing this ;). Had a ball, and I believe that is what it is all about.

Thanks again folks, appreciated your humor and concern.

Best,
lovesgeldings, Pat

Hi folks: I cannot mount Zak from the ground. I am not extremely over weight, I mean I could lose about 10 pounds, which I am working on. I am not that out of shape, my legs are fairly strong, I do leg excerises,I mean I am an average old lady, 68 years old. I have invested in a stirrup that drops from the saddle horn to put my right foot in to help get the left foot in the stirrup, I have bought a small stirrup that hooks onto the saddle stirrup,and a tripod that just gives a leg up which works the best, I mean I can get up into the saddle using it, it folds up and can be tied to the saddle. I am so stubborn, that I want to be able to get mounted from the ground with no aids. I have read almost everything on the internet and have tried different positions on the ground to mount, and my Zak is so patient with all these different manenuvers it is unbelievable, but I was thinking that I am not balancing myself well when trying to mount? Zak is 15 hands, not big, I am 5foot 3inches. I just think it would be wonderful to be able to mount from the ground when trail riding, I do trust the tripod but would rather do it myself, how silly is that. Maybe I am expecting too much of myself for my age??? I will not try to mount more that twice, because I do not want to hurt Zak's back by pulling too hard on the saddle. Please be honest, should I just let it go? I keep thinking that there is a secret to it that I just do not know. Well I will accept your opinion on this, let it go and use the tripod? or keep trying? Again thanks :)

Best to you all,

lovesgeldings, Pat

Hi folks: I have a hoove question. I had Zak and Sam's hooves trimmed about 2 weeks ago. Sam was fine, but had a problem with Zak. I rode him the same day he had his hooves trimmed and he seemed a little tender buy not bad. i rode him the next evening for about an hour or so and he seemed a little worse so I thought I would leave him alone for a day or so. The next day I was going over to groom and spoil him and the owner of the stables was just brining him in from the pasture, and he was SO SORE he would have crawled if he could have to get off his feet. It was suggested that we call the vet and put him on Bute for a few days and lay off riding for about a week. We did, and now he is fine,I mean no problem with tenderness. The farrier I have really has done wonders with his feet, I mean he was trimmed wrong for many years, we thought he had navicular syndrome, but after bringing him to the vet and getting x rays of his feet it was discovered that his bones were fine but his tendons and such were messed up because of being trimmed wrong for years. So the vet recommended this farrier I have now, a woman, and she really has bought Zak around, except for this last trim. Anyway, was Zak just sore because of a bad trim? I will ofcourse talk to the farrier ab out this episode, but should I change farriers or does this happen sometimes? i heard that maybe he was trimmed too short? I just was really upset, as with us all I am sure, we do not like to see our animals in pain. I really do not know what a good trim is or how long or short the hooves should be. I have read some on line, b ut to be truthful I do not understand it all. I read also that horses are suppose to land on their heels n ot on the toes, how can I determine that? Hope you folks can help and give me some of your good and sound advice and insights.

Thanks :)
Pat, lovesgeldings