Well, I went out to see my horse today, but in the end I didn't! I packed up the kid, went to see my dad, called his GP and left a message. Get to the paddocks and as I arrive the GP calls back saying I should try to hide my dad's keys (long story, but he's threatening a drive back to East Gippy from Melb today and he's NOT well in the head or body, after dropping his major depression bundle again last week). So, sadly, I looked out at the paddocks where my horse is, somewhere (couldn't see him, and I'm looking at 60 odd acres with hills and trees!), and drove back to my dad's I am determined to see my horse this week, so I'm going to force the issue tomorrow. After swimming, the kid can stay with his daddy while I head out for some pony time. THEN I can come back and study! Sunday I'll be at weekend school, so I'll have something nice to daydream about...
Oh, and I managed to make it to my club's rally day last Sunday (well, I WAS on duty to close up!) and a new member was riding around on a beautiful big black thing. A Fresian stallion, no less. That's what I want (well, not a stallion, I'll take a gelding!) when I have a farm!! My dream horse!! Alongside my current equine beau, of course!
Me, me! I'm horsey! I actually haven't ridden though since I was pregnant with my first - 5years ago! I do hope to ride again as it truly is my sanity. I do a bit of pencilling now and again to try and stay in the loop but I haven't even done that now for about 12 months. I have done dressage and some eventing.
God, i wouldn't have anything fiery! All the wild nags of my youth have put me right off. GIve me something with a bit of scope and a VERY even temper and i'm happy! A nice cobby gelding i think - something about 15-15.2hh but broad so it can take up my long legs, manage most riders, and still short enough to vault onto. Also hairy - i can't be doing with rugs all year round or expensive food in the winter. A nice native cross. A gypsy-pony would be fine. Got it all planned ain't i? My friend is breeding her riding mare this year - In a few years i'll be begging her to cross her with a nice cobby stallion..though i'm not sure i can be bothered breaking a youngster again... No probably not! LOL. So lazy!
Dach i can remember wondering WHY we had to rise to trot, so infrequent was my use of a saddle. But i find it SO hard to sit to trot in a normal saddle. Has anyone tried the treeless saddles? They're totally amazing! We used bridles often but not always. Some of them coudn't be trusted without a bit, but even then we never used nosebands or browbands, just a headpiece and throatlash, bit and reins - the bare minimum to fasten and to clean LOL. I loved bareback jumping! But then these were ponies, 14hh! I can remember jumping one of the mares 2 foot 11 bareback (the highest jump we could build with our oil drums, traffic cones and improved poles!) from TROT - she could really fly! It's a bit different on the 16.3hh cobs all my friends seem to be keen on nowadays!
I'm so excited to see if Smee likes the idea of horses or not. in a way i'm jealous of her - my parents were mainly disinterested, i would actually go without to let her ride!
Bec, it sounds like you'd like the Australian Stock Horse. My favourite breed - they're so versatile, not too big & not too small, spirited yet trustworthy, they're happy in a paddock but if you want to stable them they gloss up beautifully and they have a bit of fire but they're not so hot blooded that they're stupid.
They're medium weight and very athletic. My wonder mare Onyx could carry anyone although she frequently chose not to if they were carriers of the Y chromosone. She had a particular aversion to ****y young men who thought they were very gifted riders rofl.
DP isn't at all gifted (or ****y!) but his normal weight (he moonlights as a personal trainer and has a lot of muscle) is around 14.5 stones (100kg?) and i'd like it if we could have a family horse but that he weren't restricted by the horse's type, so when he's ready to jump he can, kwim? I do like the look of the ASH, reminiscent of the ponies i rode as a kid, just a hand or two taller, but same type, you know, solid but speedy. Maybe i could have a cob for him and the kids and an ASH for mummy to have fun on... Ah, dreaming of horses is so much cheaper than buying/keeping them
I'm in love with Irish vanners. You can get youngstock in Scotland right off the boat for a few hundred pounds if you're willing to take your chances. My friend had a beautiful black gelding, Ivor (as in Ivor the Engine, VERY apt) who was from Ireland. He was a little tall for me at 16hh, but SO much horse. 9 inches of bone, lots of feather, flaxen mane down to his elbow, forelock to his nostrils. Such a handsome lad. We used to ride him on the village green and jump the public benches on him. LOL. The owner of the old manse (no longer an manse and NOT occupied by a churchman anymore as demonstrated by the swearing) used to come out and yell that we were churning up the turf. Which i guess we were but you don't think about that when you're 100 feet up on the back of pegasus' evil twin do you?
Ooh I've been having a look at some Vanners online - they're magnificent!! Not really my type but absolutely gorgeous none the less. I love the prevalence of Pintos - I'm a sucker for a paint pony (just so long as they don't have pink eyes).
Oh dear, I'm glad I found this thread..... I need your help/opinions.
Sadly we have to put down our lovely Razz (actually he's MIL's), he's 30 and has cancer. We can't put it off, it's to happen this Saturday.
Mitch ADORES him, loves to go feed him and run around the paddock - what do we tell him? We want him to say goodbye one last time, and I think we should say something next time we see Razz - but what?
I want to tell him to say a special big goodbye to Razz because we won;t see him again because.................please fill in the blanks for me! Mitch is only 3, I don't believe in bull$hiting him, and don't have any firm religious beliefs.
It's going to be a very upsetting day and not looking forward to it. At least Razz won't feel so sick anymore. Poor old fella.
Thats so sad lulu2 Its hard enough to deal with it yourself let alone explaining it to kids. Im not sure what to tell you sorry
I have been riding since i was 4 or 5 and have had all sorts of horses, I had arabs when i was younger and showed them for years at a pretty high level, but now have a lovely TB gelding who is nearly 17hh and by far the biggest horse i have ever had.
Not long after i got him i found out i was pg and has been has been hard to work/ride him with bad m/s. Am just starting to feel better but being in lockdown makes it pretty boring just doing flatwork. I suffered last pg with SPD and have symptoms starting already so have no idea how i am going to get on him in a few months. chair could work if he keeps still he walks off when you get on.
I didn't ride through any of my other pg's so this is a new experience and being such a big boy its going to be interesting.
I was planning to do some dressage and eventing with him so that will have to wait until next year.
So glad i found you girls!! People think i am mad when they know i ride still (they think i should be house bound or something)
it's so hard saying bye-bye to our animal freinds.
I think it might be best to just explain the facts - that you have to say a special bye-bye because he's sick and he has alot of owies so the vet is going to visit him and put him down and after that he won't come back. That it's very sad but it's best for Razz because now Razz won't be feeling bad anymore. Maybe you can give Razz a special going away present like some carrots.
There is a book about explaining death and other hard questions by Miriam Stoppard - perhaps your local library or bookshop has it. It's important to avoid euphamisms like being put to sleep because it can make children scared of sleeping.
My friend's horse died last week. She went out to him and he was down, looked maybe colicky, spasming and flailing. Her and the farmer (who owns the grazing) managed to get him to his feet and page the vet but he went down again before they could get him walking and he just died, right there. He was 29. The vet said, maybe colic, maybe something neurological (rythmic kicking out didn't sound like colic to him) but in a lot of ways, though it was traumatic, it was easier for her than having to make the decision. He was otherwise old but healthy.
I guess i'd tell the truth, the horse is very old and is sick in a way that won't ever get better, and hurts a lot, so the vet is going to come and make it not hurt anymore but that means Razz can't be here anymore. As a very small child my mother used to tell me when horses died they went to be the foam on the waves in the ocean (she also told me the northern lights was the angels singing and the moon eclipse was perhaps (she was raised evangelical but didn't practice anymore) God blinking. I don't know where you stand on such things. SHe never lied to me and she never stated them as fact she KNEW, but she allowed my natural sense of wonder at that age to comfort me, if that makes sense. I still love to watch the ocean horses race to the beach even now i'm a grown-up who knows better
allgirls i too would have ridden through PG if i'd had a horse. I have tips for teaching a horse to stand while mounted if you're interested. Taught a 14 year old once (who used to rear, walk off, spin his quarters out, you name it) so it should work on any age.
I came across a book only last week aimed at children about life and death, 'Beginnings and Endings: with Lifetimes in Between' by Bryan Mellonie and Robert Ingpen. It's a Puffin book and the ISBN is 014-350144-5. At three, he might even be very ok with it, as long as you say the truth.
My GF's 3 year old dealt very well with the death of their dog just before last Christmas. They told him that the dog was sick and he was dead and not coming back. He nodded and never asked where the dog was after that, because he understood enough that he was gone forever. I haven't had to deal with this when I have a child, it's hard enough trying to process it alone. I was devastated for months when my first horse was put down in 2000.
Thanks ladies, I really appreciate it. The other things I am dreading (I know, I'm horrible) is the sixteen million question I will be asked repeatedly, and the fact that he will have to go over and over and over it for so long.
I didn't have very much to do with Razz (it was very much a "DS and Daddy" thing)so I can distance myself a little - I feel more for the rest of the family that is so upset already. The mechanics of the whole episode (burial etc) is pretty jarring too.
Thanks again - if MIL relents and takes on another horse ( she swears she won't rescue another one), I'll pop in again.
Lulu, it just occured to me that you might want to make sure you explain that it's only animals who get put down when they're old and sick - you wouldn't want Mitch fearing for his grandmother's safety or getting scared if he's sick.
Thanks hoobley that would be great. Because he is the biggest horse I have ever had just getting on is a challenge, all my energy is used getting on him its quite a sight really..
He is getting heaps better and only takes a couple of steps now, being off the track he doesn't have the greatest of manners on the ground, he isn't being nasty, he just doesn't know any better and nobody has given him the time basically. He is such a big beautiful baby.
We cant get the farrier in or a vet either we are in complete lockdown. Anyone else like this?
Well, it takes a few weeks and the more often you train the quicker it is, with horses over about 6 you might need to do a refresher every now and then.
In my experience it's better to use a block and get on easily than to use your thigh muscles and end up hopping and hopping and put the horse off being mounted forever. The whole premise of horse-riding works because the horse moves away from the leg. He does this because somewhere deep in his mind he knows if something is gripping his belly it's a predator (ever seen lion hunt zebra) and he should run. Obviously with domesticity and training horses learn to curb the full-on flight reaction, but it is this premise which allows us to teach them so easily to move away from the leg, and mounting that is anything but easy and smooth for both horse and rider tends to incite this memory of predation and incites worry/panic (depending on the horse). If you're on already when he feels you mount he's ready to hear the next request, if you're trying to mount you become the lion-without-a-good-grip and stepping away from the "fuss" is a natural reaction. If you have to mount from the ground is there anyone who can give you a leg up?
Anyway, teching him to stand... THis worked on an arab stallion who was well past training age and downright dangerous when he chose to be. I started by grooming him from my mounting block. If it helps you can begin with him tied as usual and the block just next to him, then progress to standing in open space with the block next to his belly as it would be to mount. I used his bridle at first for better control but progressed to a headcollar and then nothing, just voice commands.
So you climb onto the block (or a chair - whatever it is make sure it is safe for you both- i found those large round plastic water-tubs, which have gently flared sides are good - stand it upside down and it has a biggish bottom for you to stand on and a wider base for stability) and say "stand" then begin to groom him. Whenever he fidgets you stop grooming and give the command again "Stand" and as soon as he's still say "good boy" and simultaneously go on grooming. Grooming the neck and withers is very bonding for horses so it's a good area to work on, be firm but gentle, scratch and pet him too. I tended to keep up a running commentary in a soothing voice "gooooood, there's the boy, there's the man, easy now" etc. while he is still and immediately be quiet and say only firmly and a little louder (don't shout or growl though obviously! lol) "Stand" if he moved. The idea is to get him thinking that standing next to that mounting block is the loveliest idea and he'll have a happy time.
Once he'll stand to be groomed, tack him up from it too. Lots of horses are eager to be off so the aim here is to let him see it's ok to be calm and that we don't have to get too wound up about going out for a ride. Once he's tacked up you stand on that block and chat to him and groom his withers and neck and keep asking him to stand if he fidgets.
Once he'll stand fully tacked up, relaxed and easy and not move you progress to putting your foot in the stirrup. Don't get on, just put a little weight there in the stirrup and wait. If he fidgets say "Stand" - you might find he takes a leap backwards in training and you need to recap the tacking up phase but it's worth it because it reassures them that what they thought to be true was in fact true. It's nice to stand still next to the mounting block.
Once he'll stand with some of your weight in the stirrup you can progress to getting on. Repeat "stand" as you settle and find your other stirrup, sit for a moment, then get off again. Do this a few times, each time giving lots of petting and scratching and "good boys" when he is still.
Eventually he will be standing still all the time you use the word "stand", and if he's fidgety the command will remind him to relax and wait.
Horses need reassurance that you know what you're doing. In the wild a lead mare makes all the decisions about who goes where and the pecking order and the stallion fights off all the competitors and protects them from unwanted attention. That means mares need to be dominated a bit (NOT whipped or shouted at, just dealt with firmly) and boys, even geldings, need to be treated with consistency and not fought with - stallions especially pick fights - outwit, don't battle - he weighs a quarter of a ton and he'll WIN! In all of this your aim is to make even better friends with him and teach him that it is the most positive and favourable option is to stand when you tell him to. Lead mares tell the others where they can graze just by looking at them, authority is confidence and confidence need only be projected, not felt (in case you don't always feel it).
Don't overdo the training sessions' length - 3 5-minute sessions will have a far more positive effect than one 15 minute one. Try to stop before boredom/frustration sets in on either side (you'll get to know the signs) and always end on the best note possible - if he was standing for 30 seconds at a time and it's turned into 10 then say stand, wait 8 seconds and then praise praise praise and end the session. Even if he is tied up to begin with, give him masses of praise for standing still.
HTH and it works for you. I take it you're flooded in? I hope that resolves soon.
Equine Flu has hit out here and most of NSW is in lockdown. It's totally ballsed up this years racing carnival and the industry is losing millions by the day.
I am determined to see my horse this week, so I'm going to force the issue tomorrow. After swimming, the kid can stay with his daddy while I head out for some pony time. THEN I can come back and study! Sunday I'll be at weekend school, so I'll have something nice to daydream about...
My friend is breeding her riding mare this year - In a few years i'll be begging her to cross her with a nice cobby stallion..though i'm not sure i can be bothered breaking a youngster again... No probably not! LOL. So lazy!
it's so hard saying bye-bye to our animal freinds.
Bookmarks