Helllooooo....
I've been meaning to post but of course haven't had the time.
Daisy is completely fine; i took her out the day after I posted last time and she was fine; jumping a bit and galloping a lot. She felt amazing.
I also rode Bubba. Normally Bubba is a very tank-y ride; very strong, and my biceps KILL after a ride. Now that he's retired, Jean is trying to ride him long and low; sort of westerny/hunter horse, so that he'll do well in pleasure shows. Because she's used to him, he does great at it with her. But our last few rides together were awkward because I was trying to ride long and low, but I'm not used to him enough and it was hard to get him to do it and I ended up using a lot of contact anyway. Last ride on him on Friday was like riding on clouds though :). He felt incredible. We just clicked riding together with the new technique. My arms weren't sore at all, and he did everything amazingly. He stayed at a nice controlled, same speed trot and canter in both directions. I had to do nothing but balance; he controlled his speed and kept it slow himself. He felt amazing, best ride on him ever! So I'm quite excited to ride him again. I'm finally completely convinced that I can ride him successfully in county fair; we'll kick butt ;) (Unless we have some sort of unplanned disqualification again :P)
Anyhow, I rode Daisy western on Saturday. Note to self upon seeing the photos: I REALLY need to buckle down and get a new pad! I wanted to go western to test run my new boots :) like 'em?
And I rode her in the rain, bareback, with the western bridle on Monday evening. That's where I took the fourth picture. She was so great; at the end, with just very slight wiggling of my fingers to "run" the bit, she went down on the bit...with a loose rein and no contact. Very cool. :) I'm yet undecided about which bit to be using...her Tom Thumb or the curb...For various reasons, I can't decide. I may try the curb again; it's not as harsh, correct?
The trimmer came today and Daisy has no bruising and relatively hard hooves, and they look great :) they make me smile.
Question is, do you guys trim the feather-like things on their fetlocks? I never have, but lately I've noticed them...I can't decide.
That 'tis all for now. On Thursday I will indeed to go to witness the gelding operation :) should be cool.
And after looking at old posts, I want to point out that she never stands like this anymore:
https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3ISgC_pFR932DRkxk3gqJ_j0Z90blRb4oN3-X07Qzk-qYwJlzCD1nTBBQk_vdILUR7tHjHK72OEkU9QDs9hrKc5J94fBix8nkxr2CH-hnwMyeltvLyjEAsbXNM4GUNgsqoHOYgIXdkLU/s1600-h/groomed.JPG
Not sure why...better trimming...really because of more selenium? idk. But it's awesome. :)
Until my next post,
I've been meaning to post but of course haven't had the time.
Daisy is completely fine; i took her out the day after I posted last time and she was fine; jumping a bit and galloping a lot. She felt amazing.
I also rode Bubba. Normally Bubba is a very tank-y ride; very strong, and my biceps KILL after a ride. Now that he's retired, Jean is trying to ride him long and low; sort of westerny/hunter horse, so that he'll do well in pleasure shows. Because she's used to him, he does great at it with her. But our last few rides together were awkward because I was trying to ride long and low, but I'm not used to him enough and it was hard to get him to do it and I ended up using a lot of contact anyway. Last ride on him on Friday was like riding on clouds though :). He felt incredible. We just clicked riding together with the new technique. My arms weren't sore at all, and he did everything amazingly. He stayed at a nice controlled, same speed trot and canter in both directions. I had to do nothing but balance; he controlled his speed and kept it slow himself. He felt amazing, best ride on him ever! So I'm quite excited to ride him again. I'm finally completely convinced that I can ride him successfully in county fair; we'll kick butt ;) (Unless we have some sort of unplanned disqualification again :P)
Anyhow, I rode Daisy western on Saturday. Note to self upon seeing the photos: I REALLY need to buckle down and get a new pad! I wanted to go western to test run my new boots :) like 'em?
And I rode her in the rain, bareback, with the western bridle on Monday evening. That's where I took the fourth picture. She was so great; at the end, with just very slight wiggling of my fingers to "run" the bit, she went down on the bit...with a loose rein and no contact. Very cool. :) I'm yet undecided about which bit to be using...her Tom Thumb or the curb...For various reasons, I can't decide. I may try the curb again; it's not as harsh, correct?
The trimmer came today and Daisy has no bruising and relatively hard hooves, and they look great :) they make me smile.
Question is, do you guys trim the feather-like things on their fetlocks? I never have, but lately I've noticed them...I can't decide.
That 'tis all for now. On Thursday I will indeed to go to witness the gelding operation :) should be cool.
And after looking at old posts, I want to point out that she never stands like this anymore:
https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi3ISgC_pFR932DRkxk3gqJ_j0Z90blRb4oN3-X07Qzk-qYwJlzCD1nTBBQk_vdILUR7tHjHK72OEkU9QDs9hrKc5J94fBix8nkxr2CH-hnwMyeltvLyjEAsbXNM4GUNgsqoHOYgIXdkLU/s1600-h/groomed.JPG
Not sure why...better trimming...really because of more selenium? idk. But it's awesome. :)
Until my next post,
10 comments:
Love your pictures! I'm not sure, but i think by tom thumb you mean the smooth snaffle, thats broken in the middle, with small shanks right? That's less harsh than the curb, but I find that most horses that hold their heads down don't like that one as much, it always ends up pinching them or something.
Also, I clip the feathers on my horses, atleast the front feet, but i'm not sure what everyone does.
I like your post and photos. I'm happy for you with your successful ride on Bubba. I don't know what Daisy did wrong standing on the photo fromt the link.
Maybe you can explain.
Love you, Mom
According to picture on google (:P) and my recent knowledge-learning on bits (YAY PONY CLUB!) It looks as if the curb is harsher. Both the tom thumb and curb use leverage rather than direct pressure which a snaffle uses. When you're using a bit with leverage that means if you pull back with 5 ounces of pressure it could put 10+ ounces of pressure on the horses mouth, where as with direct pressure it would put the exact about of 5 ounces.
The tom thumb bit is jointed in the middle, which is less harsh than mullenmouth bits, or bits with no joint(s), put it creates the nutcracker effect. The curb bit has a port (the thing that goes up in the middle) which puts pressure on the roof of the mouth and the tongue. Be careful to make sure you don't have a very tall port, it is harsher the taller the port gets.
Also, make sure your shanks aren't too long on the bits. The longer the shank, the harsher the bit. Remember when I talked about leverage? Okay, well if the purchase, the top part of the shank (above the mouthpiece), is one inch, and the shank is five inches (thats a pretty darn long shank) that means if you put 10 ounces of pressure on the bit, the ratio of purchase to shank is one to five, than it would be putting FIFTY ounces of pressure on the horse. So with that long a shank, you'd have to have very light hands. (:
I'm glad you took the time to read and hear my new found knowledge on bits. Thanks(: Just had to get that out there... Hehehe:P
Loveyou,
~Lydia
Thanks Lyd...I've heard that Tom Thumbs are harsher because they're training bits...they have nutcracker effect, AND shanks, so aren't as friendly...
I just am undecided because last time I used a curb she did a lot better with it on ring work...but HORRIBLE with it outside a ring-ignored it...
Hmmm... Maybe try a different bit totally. :P Or find a bit for inside and a bit for outside. I don't know much about western bit types though, that's why I had to research the pictures on google, lol:P So, I couldn't recommend one. (:
Did you know there's something called a gag bit? The reins go through a loop at the top and a loop at the bottom of both the rings/cheek pieces. And it puts LOTS of pressure on the poll. It pulls the bit up in the horse's mouth too, essentially gagging the horse... (that's where it's name came from) It sounds really harsh, lol.
I like bits.
Can you tell?
I may do my 4H public presentation on them.
In fact, I think I just decided.
I will.
:D
Love,
Lydia(:
Bits are sorta cool I guess...I would do two different bits, but I don't have two headstalls....and it's a pain to swap them.
I'm torn between trimming the feathers...I never have before :P I would mess it up ;)
I'll explain in a later post, mom. :)
I've trimmed Stewy's feathers... Usually once he's all shed out (because he STILL isn't; he doesn't get all the way shed out until June, the nutcase:P) or before an event/county fair, ect. It's not really that hard. Believe me, you wouldn't mess up. :P
You know how clumsy I am, and even I didn't!
With scissors?
'Cause that's all I have :P
Haha I did it with my little trimmer things.... Well, I may have done it with scissors. Either way is fine. :P
sounds pretty awesome (: I rode horses for 6 years.
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