Any horse owners?

Good on you painting on the hoof oil or hoof grease whatever they call that particular one. You will notice when his feet are cracked or jagged they need trimming, we get our horses feet done every 6-8 weeks. My horses with shoes get done more often as they overgrow their shoes.
I think that your boy will be happy to have horses close by, they can depressed on their own as they are herd animals. So long as he has some friends he will feel safe. Sounds like you are enjoying him which is great! If he eats too much of your tree you can paint sump oil on them, as tree bark in horses bellies doesnt work very well....

One of my boys had shoes when we got him, the other didn't. His hooves were pretty tough, but the ground he was used to was softer than our paddock so he cracked one of his hooves pretty quickly. We put shoes on him at that point to allow the crack to grow out as it was quite long and then after that, left the shoes off him. We got the farrier in to file his hooves down as they started to get small cracks or flare out at the bottom.

The other horse didn't have strong hooves. He'd always worn shoes and we continued with it. We'd had him for about two years and he fought with another horse through a fence and sliced the lower part of his leg open. He required stitches for a while and daily injections for a week and once the stitches came out we had his shoes removed. We had to keep him in the small holding pen of a cattle yard for six weeks while the injury healed. After that, it was a few months before I could ride him again, so his hooves toughened up and we never put shoes on him again. He was 13 when the injury occurred...he's now 30!

Neither horse did any showing or pony club while with us though, never been floated again. All riding was in the paddock or on dirt tracks on the side of the road, so they weren't on super hard surfaces. So having no shoes worked well for us.

All mine are barefoot but when I bring Milly my clydesdale filly into work she will definately need her shoes on. She is riding 3 so I wont have her shod until she is a little older. She has a trim every 6weeks was just done yesterday. When I got her as an almost 2year old she hadn't seen a farrier and her hooves looked like 3 leaf clovers with splits. Now they look great but because of the weight of the clydesdales they tend to have very large flat hooves that are prone to splits.

2 of mine dont need a farrier as they have lovely hard feet that shape really well naturally. The shetty mare is one of them but I do occassionally give her a little rasp myself to keep them rounded.

My welsh mare is trimmed every 12weeks. She has a history of laminitis so its really important to keep her feet trimmed and not let her get much length.

Another horse crazy one here!

I've been riding since I was 4 (past 21 years) and had my own horse/pony since I was 8. Currently have an 11 year old bay TB gelding, who would be diagnosed with ADHD if he was human! He is a cheeky bugger who constantly keeps me on my toes but I love him dearly.

We have a new pony! My DD1 has been riding my boy, a 15.3hh QH, but he's just too big for her. So last Saturday, after much looking, we brought home a 13.2 Australian riding pony. He is beautiful! She had her first lesson on him yesterday and he was perfect. My boy is very happy to have a friend, although my boy is quite bossy!

Would love to revive this thread!!

I have a stunning 6 year old 16.2hh Bay Thoroughbred Gelding and a true gentleman 21 year old 14.3hh Chestnut Quarter Horse x Arab Gelding.

Love love love my beautiful boys!

My TB is well bred having Sir Tristram as his Grandsire but is unraced himself as he was hand picked by the stud owners daughter as an eventing prospect. He's a VERY cheeky boy but such a super sook now we've spent alot of time getting to know each other and build a bond through lots of groundwork. He has amazing talent in Showjumping and I'm hoping we can get out there next year and see how far we can go together :)

My Quarab is from a paint QH so has a big flashy blaze, 3 socks and a really unique half sock/band up his leg but not down the bottom, he is a super sweetheart and is happy to go trail riding, have my little ones lead around on him and can still put in an impressive effort over a Cross Country Course too!

I just love them to bits and couldn't be without them now! We're on 3 acres at the moment but are currently shopping for 10+ as I'd love to get the kids a pony also :)

What disciplines is everyone here focussing on??

I'm sadly still horse-less but have a question for mamas with horses and kids. How do you manage time for your equine buddy, and what do you do with your kids while you're doing it? I've got DH to agree to a tree change so we can have enough space for a horse for me and ponies for the girls, but I'm wondering how I'm going to manage everyone. DDs 1 and 2 are at the age that with some guidance, they will be ok to just deal with their ponies themselves, but DD3 is a long way off, and a long way off being able to amuse herself while I ride. How does everyone do it?

LuluHB, I'd love to know too. I've ruled out getting a horse for the next few years while the kids are still young. Plus I want to make sure the kids really really REALLY want one and that it isn't a passing phase before we commit to getting them a horse/pony. I miss riding terribly but wrestle with both time and the what-ifs. Can't look after kids if I get hurt.

Our old boy is still going. He's looking every bit his old age though now and makes me terribly sad but forever grateful he's still with us and I now live on the property with him so can care for him properly in his twilight years.

DH bought me home a horse two and a bit months ago. It was a big surprise. I have not owned a horse since 2003. I did work with horses though and in 2006 had a really bad accident that I did not realise until just recently blew my confidence out of the water. It was not a riding accident so that aspect is fine, it is handling them on the ground. My new horse is a little jumpy so we are learning to trust together. He is just a pleasure ride for me I have no interest in any eventing or the likes.
I have just started looking for a pony for the girls so they can share this with me.
Lulu, I won't lie, I don't get nearly as much time as i would like to spend with my horse but I take what I can get. Luckily my horse is the type you can leave for weeks and he is fine. He also has 30acres to himself and horses on both sides to keep him busy.

Yay for a new horse Kazzo. That's lovely. Its really hard to get that confidence back after a nasty fall or experience.

PRMG - so sorry to hear about your old boy. Its awful knowing they're ageing, but he's obviously had a wonderful life with you and is being well cared for and loved. I have those thoughts too about the kids and it being a passing thing. I've got the girls signed up for regular lessons starting next school term and if that goes well, the riding school has a great scheme whereby you can lease one of their ponies. With the two girls having lessons its actually cheaper to lease a pony for them to share, and the lease arrangement includes all the equipment, farrier, vet expenses etc as well as a riding lesson each week so we would really be well in front. Will be interesting to see how they feel when most of their out of school time is spoken for. Given we will need to travel to the agistment centre its not quite the same as having ponies at home, but it'll be a good indication I hope.

Kazzo how have you gone with riding post birth? I jumped on and promptly realized more pelvic floor exercises were in order :)

I will have to go back through the old posts to refresh my memory. Recently I sold my two kids ponies. It was a very very hard decision but they have both gone to homes where they are used and cherished. I sold them so I can concentrate on my own horses and as a result brought myself something pretty special (A registered black Clydesdale mare broken to harness) She is gorgeous and due to foal in March. She was a few months along when I got her. I still have my other Clydesdale mare who I have been doing a lot of ground work with in the hope to get her in a cart also but I will have to pay someone to finish her off as I am not confident to do that. Milly is also in foal due in March so its all very very exciting to be expecting two clydie babies. Isis my new mare currently lives with my parents as I purchased her with a filly foal at foot which my mother paid for for herself so she isn't with me yet but Milly and Woody the stallion is. I am really enjoying my feathery babies which is a very welcome distraction from my recurrent m/c's and studying.
As for confidence I was surprised to have lost some of mine when I started riding Milly again. When I purchased her she was green broken in and I didn't ride her for 13months. The first time I got on her she really tested me but once we got over that she has been going really well under saddle. Little turd pigroots however I have not managed to get her out of that but apart from that she is such a good girl.

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Kazzo how have you gone with riding post birth? I jumped on and promptly realized more pelvic floor exercises were in order :)

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Yeah, I did notice that too. DS was 4 weeks old when DH brought Diamond (I call him Mondo though) home and when I rode him I could only wlk around. At first trotting felt like my insides wanted to escape so I started working extra hard on my core exercises :) I have not been able to ride him since DH has been away. So I am looking forward to him returning so I can.

I think it is different now that I have the kids to look after. My biggest worry is that what if I get hurt. My kids need me. No one can look after them like I do. By putting myself in a position to get hurt I am taking that risk. Then I have to remind myself I do the same when I drive my car, or cross the road or so many other daily things. I am jut a lot more careful and restrained now. I also need to get a helmet. I made DH wear his when he reides his dirt bike so the girls know it is a must and I am a hypocrite for not wearing one.

I had forgotten about this thread! Last November we added to the brood with a 9hh, 9yo Shetland gelding for Miss 2. He was a birthday present for Miss 2 and a companion for our ARP as the QH is now happily plowing through pasture at a friends place down the road - we are lacking in pasture and our friend needed an extra mouth after losing several of her aged horses in the past 12 months. The Shetland is a lovely boy, broken to saddle but we have had to mouth him. Lulu, my kids are a bit older than yours - DD1 is 10 - and so they are able to help with the horses. It's something we do together and we all enjoy it. DD1 and her friends who are familiar with horses are allowed to play with the Shetland with indirect supervision (with their parents permission, obviously), and DD1 is able to tack up her ARP without assistance. We hard feed twice a day and DH usually does the morning feed before work whilst I'm sleeping and in the evening I prepare the molasses and he does the rest. DH picks up the poo with the help of our three kids. I rug and unrug as required during the day. I think we are only able to keep the horses as we all put in the effort. Having them at home makes it far easier, we have friends who agist their horses and the travelling to and from looks like a time consuming nightmare!

I ended up being given a standardbred last year.
8 years old, never been sat on and within 5 mins we were trotting around.
I luffs him, and he is perfect for what I want to do these days.
I am lucky to be able to keep him at home, so he doesn't cost much, so I don't feel too pressured to ride if I don't have the time.
I am happy to just hang with him, I think horses are a part of my soul, I am never as happy when I don't have have one.

I am so excited and happy. On Sunday I found an add for a little pony. Went and had a look yesterday and we fell in love. Today they dropped him off. He is the cutest little thing and is so great with the girls. Even better he has cheered up my big boy who was very lonely. He has been used for kids parties and tolerates so much. He has been left alone for about a year so needs a bit of work but the girls have already been able to have rides on him.

These are my boys Diamond (Appy) & Toby Keith

That's awesome, Kazzo! Sounds like a match made in heaven. (Can't get the link to work though).

It's warming up here and I need to get the rug off my old boy. Except he's snaky. Really snaky. If I even think about heading towards his back legs, he lifts a warning. I'm working on him, brushing his neck, trying to handle him etc but he's just getting really crabby the older he's getting. He has never kicked me or anyone but I treat him like an old dog - not quite sure what they're going to do. Tomorrow is going to be warm and I plan to bring him in to eat the grass in the backyard. Will try to get his rug off then.

Great work on the pony!
I was thinking, again, of breeding from our Aus Pony, but I keep coming back to my first line of thought: "there are plenty of ponies out there who are already born and have been bred by far more experienced people". I feel like I am thinking about it just because she has a uterus, and despite what some people have told me about foaling having a calming influence on mares, I think ours has been a doll-face, with only the occasional mare-y stuff. On the whole, she's dreamy for a pony who hasn't been out much, and the kids are just hitting their stride with her.
The Shetland has probably missed the boat for the kids' attention, as he's more challenging, being so green. I'll send him off for further education with a friend's uncle and he'll be perfect for our next addition. Plus, the kids can help me work him up for their little sibling. Or we'll train him to harness!
Meanwhile, my other three are enjoying bachelorhood and spring grass, naked, free and spelled until I foal down in March.
Anyone been to the Equestrian Mums website? Facebook page, too. I'll kit myself out in some merch when I get my horse back into work next year!
(I've changed username, for those who remember me - my second last avatar had one horse in it, but I've collected some more since my agisting days).